The Tiger King

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/32922889.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Category: F/F
Fandom: BLACKPINK (Band)
Relationship: Lalisa Manoban | Lisa/Park Chaeyoung | Rosé, Jennie Kim/Kim Jisoo
Character: Lalisa Manoban | Lisa, Park Chaeyoung | Rosé, Ella Gross, Jennie Kim,
Kim Jisoo (BLACKPINK), Ennik Somi Douma | Jeon Somi, Son
Chaeyoung, Kim Dahyun, Hirai Momo, Matthew (Somi's dad),
Hwangssabu, Yang Hyunsuk, Jackson Wang, Park Jinyoung (GOT7),
Park Chanyeol, Bae Joohyun | Irene, Kang Seulgi
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Boxing, AU where Lisa is a boxer and Chaeyoung
is a pilates instructor, Thriller, Psychological Drama, Past Violence,
Violence, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Evil Corporations,
Humor, Domestic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Angst and
Humor, Inappropriate Humor, Childhood Trauma,
Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Slow Romance, no really very slow,
Slow Burn, Fist Fights, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Alternate
Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Eventual Romance, Action & Romance,
Mystery, Lalisa Manoban | Lisa is Whipped, Lalisa Manoban | Lisa
Being a Little Shit, Jennie Kim Is Stressed Out, Drugs, Fluff and Crack,
Crack, Kim Jisoo is Whipped (BLACKPINK), Gay Kim Jisoo
(BLACKPINK), OT4, Secrets, Secret Identity, Secret Organizations,
Female Friendship, Friendship/Love, Revelations, Identity Reveal,
Everyone Is Gay, Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, Eventual
Relationships, Human Experimentation, Human Trafficking, Eventual
Happy Ending, Boxing & Fisticuffs, First Kiss, Falling In Love, Strangers
to Lovers
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2021-07-30 Updated: 2023-10-31 Words: 764,573 Chapters:
90/?

The Tiger King

by Dreamofshadows

Summary

Fight for glory.

Fight for honour.
Fight for Love.

Flirting extraordinaire Lisa is a competitive boxer and reluctant pilates student who falls
head over heels for her instructor Rosé, a gorgeous girl with many secrets to hide.

But as their feelings for each other deepen, their combined pasts return to haunt them when
Seoul's ruthless crime lords begin to hunt for a legendary assassin that has direct
connections to both women.
Shocking revelations endanger their very lives and those of their friends, forcing Lisa and
Rosé to face their demons head on while questioning just how much of their relationship is
real. And when the stakes ramp up with lives on the line, both will have to reckon with the
consequences of choices they will be forced to make.

One truth ties their fate together, and one truth will set them free: the identity of the
mysterious Tiger King.

But in the final battle for freedom, will Love be enough to save them both?
~~~~~~~

Chaelisa ft. Jensoo joined by various other idols

{boxer! lisa and pilates instructor! chaeyoung au}

warning: slow burn fic. I started writing this in 2019 so the writing might be a little
different.
Of Monsters and Men

The Truth about Monsters

The truth is this:

every monster
you have met
or will ever meet,
was once a human being
with a soul
that was as soft
and light
as silk.

Someone stole
that silk from their soul
and turned them
into this.

So when you see

a monster next,
always remember this:
Do not fear
the thing before you.
Fear the thing
that created it
instead.

Nikita Gill
 In the Ring

She jumped from side to side in agitation, punching the air as people jostled her. Her voice carried
quite well despite her diminutive size.

"Harder, you can go harder!" Jennie hollered from beneath the platform.

The crowd roared as the two boxers in the ring punched and parried, blocked, dodged and ducked.
Grunts and growls abound, their skin glowing with sweat.

The heat was intense, the excitement cranked up to feverish heights.

The turnout was high: a sold-out show with extra people cramming in—tonight's match featured
the eagerly anticipated showdown between two of the Slammer's most prized fighters.

The black-haired boxer suddenly caught her opponent in a brutal uppercut, sending the other girl
crashing back against the ropes.

People screamed, people jeered, people cheered. Money bills rained down, but none of the
onlookers cared for it—all of the audience were here to watch a fight, not scramble for money.

Jennie immediately rushed to the dazed girl's side, sponging the side of her head with cool water
from her bottle.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jennie hissed. "This isn't some water break Lisa! Get back there
and beat her!"

"Shut your gab, jeez, I know. Gimme a second," the blonde boxer groaned as she straightened.

She squinted against the blinding lights until her eyes fell on her opponent. The other girl was
waiting a respectful distance away to give Lisa a chance to recover.

Lisa gave her a good-natured grin, wincing in the process. "Ever so polite. The Jap is showing in
ya, Momo!"

Her opponent chuckled. "What can I say? I did land a good punch there—you need your time to
recover."

"Ay, so ya did," Lisa winked as she rubbed her chin as best as she could with the clunky boxing
glove. "But now get ready to kiss my fist, Kamikaze."

"Ladies first, Miss Tornado," Momo teased with a dramatic bow.

"Oh congrats, I didn't know you're a guy now—"

"Ladies! Less chatting, more fighting please!" the referee called exasperatedly over the restless
roiling of the onlookers. He had gotten used to these friendly exchanges but the audience had come
to see a duel, not a casual chat.

Both girls rolled their eyes and took their stance, little grins on their faces.

Jennie glanced from one to the other, suddenly suspicious when she noticed their identical winks.

"You idiots better not be planning what I think you're—"

At the sound of the bell, Lisa and Momo charged forward, head slamming so hard they stumbled
back and dropped to the ground with identical groans. They curled up into balls like hedgehogs.

Both girls slapped on the ground in surrender simultaneously, glancing up briefly to grin at each
other before dropping their heads to the ground again.

The referee blew the whistle; the fight was over.

Their spectators whooped and hooted their appreciation, thoroughly enjoying the show from their
favourite crack-heads as they threw more money into the ring.

Jennie and the referee glanced at each other for a moment, then face-palmed in unison.
 Drinks
Chapter Notes

there's some crass humour in here, roll with it, i was just trying to show them being
silly.

their relationships will be clarified as we go along.

i might get to rewrite it one day too but not today.

"Darling you were magnificent!" purred Momo, waving her beer.

"No babe, YOU were magnificent!" Lisa insisted as they chortled and clinked their drinks.

"Both of you sucked," Jennie snorted as she drained her glass. She sat next to the boxers, her
grouchy aura driving away her sister's adoring fans from sitting next to her.

They were about four of them around Lisa and Momo, giggling or squealing alternately when Lisa
leaned in to whisper to one of them.

Although used to having her fighters mobbed by fangirls, Jennie was never in the mood for ditzy
fawning teenage girls.

She observed them now over the rim of her glass. Jennie sized them up to be typical rebellious
teens on a night out. They wore flashy bling, skimpy clothes, too much make-up and stood out like
a lipstick stain on a white shirt.

"—and then my girl Kami here," Lisa was saying, nudging Momo, "she was like, dude, let's spice
it up! And I was like whaddya wanna do? And she was like, forget slugging it out until we knock
each other out, let's just go in like goats do! We do that for the final round, 'kay? And the rest is
history," Lisa finished as her audience tittered and cooed.

"And now you both got matching black-eyes. Well frigging done." Jennie added grumpily.

"Oooooh somebody's in a sour mood," Momo wiggled her eyebrows. "You should get her a
girlfriend Lis! Maybe if she got laid, she'd mellow down. One of these gals might want a piece of
her."

She turned to the girls. "Hey ladies, anyone be interested in shagging our trainer? I swear she can
be nice...sometimes. Hey you, sweetie, what's your name? I saw you give her the one-over. Come
now, don't be shy!"

"You might not get the prestige and glory," Lisa smirked and flexed her biceps, "but you'll get a
pretty good deal all the same, she's fit as the both of us."

"We don't want anyone but you Lisa," pouted one of the girls, hanging on possessively to the
blonde.

"Ouch Mo," Lisa chuckled, as she put her arms around the nearest squawking fangirl, "guess they
got a thing for pretty Thai's."

"Your thighs are pretty thick, not gonna lie," Momo slurred amidst squeals.

"Lisa your groupies are getting on my nerves," Jennie snarled. She didn't think she could take one
more squeal, one more fake giggle—out of the greasy harlots bumping shoulders with her.

She was only tolerating them because the naive girls were buying drinks for everybody.

Seems like she struck lucky tonight—she hadn't been in the mood for drinking after Lisa and
Momo's idiotic showing but getting free drinks was an opportunity she couldn't turn down.

As Lisa said, free drinks are free drinks—you'd have to be pretty stupid not to accept them.

She watched several hands wandering carelessly all over Lisa's front as the boxer basked in the
attention and leaned back against the bar, giving them more access.

One girl was bold enough to press a palm to Lisa's chest, delighted when her action elicited a
guttural moan.

"Babe let's not be too fresh, we're in public," Lisa husked and immediately groped the girl's butt
beneath the miniskirt.

"Hmm firm and tender," she complimented as the girl squealed and batted her hands away while
her friends looked on in envy.

Jennie snorted, wise to her little sister's ways.

"Babe, can you get me a refill?" Lisa asked the mini-skirt girl with a suggestive smirk. "And for
my big sis and the Kamikaze herself."

"You're disgusting," Jennie informed her when Mini-skirt girl obediently moved away to fetch Lisa
her orders. "Thanks though."

"You're welcome, I'm just enterprising enough to cash in on my charms," Lisa winked as Momo
laughed and bumped fists.

"Eye-shadow buddies," Momo giggled, pointing at their black-eyes and they leaned against each
other, giggling helplessly.

"Yah, your girlfriend might get jealous seeing us matching—" Lisa said at length.

"Naw, she's cool. She's like, a year younger than ya. We met like, last month I was here?"

"Right after I beat ya sorry ass?" Lisa laughed and Momo pretended to huff but she was soon
snickering.

"My ass wasn't sorry, it's yours that was sorry!"

"You have a girlfriend?" Jennie interrupted, tired of their nonsensical bickering.

"Yeah, why do ya think I wasn't throwing myself at them gals? Gotta stay faithful, ya know."

"Well that's new," Jennie muttered, "I didn't know you're able to hold yourself back from harassing
people—"
"Babe, you have to introduce me!" Lisa trilled, "I didn't know you finally caught a gal! What's her
name?"

"Dahyun. She's sweet. I think she might be...The One." Momo's eyes sparkled.

"Awwwwww," Lisa gushed, "someone's in lurrrrve."

"You said Jihyo was the one," Jennie said wearily, tapping her finger against the glass, "and Tzuyu
and Sana before that."

She sighed, swirling her glass. "All perfectly good Vault members.... scared away by your
insatiable libido, ugghh. I should charge you for them."

Momo and Lisa burst into drunken giggles, swiping their glasses of beer from the girl they had sent
to get them.

"Thanks babe," Lisa raised her glass and waved dismissively, "go find someone else now, it's been
fun hanging. Run along kids."

"Yeah, shoo shoo," Momo concurred.

"What?" Mini-skirt girl asked indignantly. She flipped her hair. "But I bought you—"

Lisa leaned in close. "Sweetie, how old are you?"

"I'm legal!" she responded shrilly, blushing.

Lisa chuckled. "That's what someone under-age says. Honey, the only reason I kept you and your
little friends close is because of that shifty guy over there in the corner."

She tipped her chin in the direction of the said man. "He seems to appreciate your fine ass just a
tad more than I do, and I don't like the looks of him."

She took a calm sip of her beer as Miniskirt girl's eyes widened. "You'd better run along now, I'll
make sure he won't follow. If he does, I'll beat him up."

"But, but, my money...my dad's gonna kill me—"

Lisa sighed. Just as Jennie expected, her sister took out some cash and handed them to the girl.

"Rather than throwing money around and buying drinks for strangers, I'd go buy myself a nice
burger with my gal pals instead, if I were you," Lisa told her and patted her on the head. "Bye doll,
have a good night."

"Oh, how chivalrous of our Limario," Momo teased when the group of girls left.

Lisa gave a small smile and went back to sipping her beer in thoughtful silence. Her cheerful mood
seemed to have dulled in a blink.

She shook her head, chugging her drink in an effort to chase away the nagging thoughts.

Just relax. Chill. Have fun.

She glanced at Jennie, who was similarly quiet now that her source of annoyance had gone.

"Hey, grouchy sisters, what's up?" Momo asked in concern, sitting up and looking serious. She
squinted at the two girls, watching intently. "Come on. Limario? Jen? You guys aren't having
fun?"

"It's not that Mo," Jennie said wanly as she glanced around.

"Then?"

Jennie shook her head. "Let it go."

"Let it gooooo, let it gooooooo," Momo and Lisa chorused, off key and chortling.

Jennie cracked a small smile as she looked at their surroundings.

This bar was their favourite haunt after a boxing match—it was a nice place to unwind after the
frenetic adrenaline-thrill induced by the relentless action of the sporting arena. Jennie liked the low
lights and warm decor, they were quite calming and soothing for her pounding head.

But Jennie couldn't just have fun, like normal girls her age. She was the responsible big sister. She
could never chill.

Her mind was always filled with bills: rent bills, electricity bills, tax bills, water bills, invoices,
deadlines, mortgage, loans, jobs, side jobs and money.... it always circled back to money.

It was a never ending, exhausting cycle, and it had been that way for nearly all twenty-three years
of her existence.

Lisa...well, something similar was probably going through Lisa's head, Jennie mused as she
glanced at her sister.

After the high of a good night catching up with Momo's escapades in Japan and some harmless fun
chatting up girls at the bar, it was time to sink back to their sobering reality.

"You got a place to bunk Mo?" Lisa asked suddenly. "You and your girlfriend can crash at our
place, if you like," she offered. Jennie didn't miss the way she chewed on her lip.

You're too kind Lis, offering what you barely have, she thought. Or it's the alcohol talking.

Jennie watched the Japanese boxer bite her lip.

"Uh...it's okay. Dahyun and I...we'll go to her place. Been there couple times. She's in her last year
at college, see...." Momo glanced at her phone, pouting. "She was supposed to call me..."

"Busy times right now," Jennie reached across Lisa to pat Momo's hand understandingly, "exam
season and everything. I'm sure she's just busy. She'll call soon. Here, barman, can I get another
beer please?"

"Jen, you don't have to—"

"Nonsense," Jennie summoned her brightest smile as she shoved the sneering voices in her head to
the very back.

She took out some of the precious money Lisa got from tonight's match to pay up. "We might be
thrifty, but tonight, we can let loose. You'll need this for tomorrow when you wake up with that
purple thing on your eye and a thumping headache."

She pushed the glass towards Momo who picked it up with a nod for thanks. Jennie hated that even
though the Japanese girl was slightly inebriated, there was still a semblance of pity in her eyes.

If there was anything Jennie hated, it was being pitied.

"And hungover and ravaged after a night of shagging," Lisa put in, grinning. The momentary
sombre cloud seemed to have lifted off her. "Hey, if yo girl stands you up, I can always offer
myself up for your release."

A smirk played about her lips. "We could do that friends with benefits thing—"

"Gross. I'd much rather have a round with your sister," Momo fired back immediately.

"Was I just rejected?" Lisa gawked. "For my sister?"

"Yeah, you little cocky jackass."

"Flattered, I'm sure," Jennie chimed in a monotone.

"Let's compromise and make it a threesome? I swear it won't be awkward," Lisa bargained.

"You'll bang your own sister? Hentai!"

"Admit it, it's hot though."

"Hilarious," Jennie said coldly as the younger girls chortled and nearly fell off their stools. "If you
two are gonna end up hoe-ing at our place, I beg you, don't. I sleep right next to Lisa, you
horndogs."

"Me? Hoe-ing with her? Ewwwwwww that's like sleeping with you, I was just joking," Lisa
shuddered at the same time that Momo added: "My girlfriend is coming soon anyway."

"Whatever you say," Jennie sighed wearily and glanced at her watch. It was already late—Lisa and
her needed to be up early tomorrow for their run, they still had to walk back—

"Oh no, I know what you're thinking. I am taking the day off tomorrow," Lisa said. She wagged a
finger in Jennie's face. "You think I'm gonna crawl out of bed before ten? Then you're wrong."

"It's not like you're tired out after that sorry excuse of a match," Jennie shrugged, "but okay...rest
day it is, I guess."

"She's letting you rest? Who are you, stranger?" Momo gasped.

Jennie only smiled grimly.

"Oh trust me it's not your idea of a rest day," Lisa chimed in. She shuddered. "Morning-afters are
never rest days....actually it's never rest day..."

Momo merely slapped her on the back and cackled. "Have fun, as always, that's key!"

She burst into uncontrollable giggles as Lisa pulled a face.

 Morning-Afters

Just as Lisa predicted, the morning after the match was absolutely horrific.

"You lazy donkey, gimme another three sets. Jump to it!"

"Jen, I've been at this for three hours, cut me some slack!" Lisa groaned but she obeyed as Jennie
circled her like a shark.

Morning afters were always horrible, especially if her sister judged Lisa had given a poor showing
so she'd push her harder.

Jennie seemed particularly irritable today.

The short trainer clicked her tongue in disapproval. "You need to be at the top of your game for the
next match! It's against that rookie."

"That rookie?" Lisa asked, lip pressing into a thin line. She knew exactly who it was but she had to
be sure.

"Yes, that one," Jennie said tersely. "So get to work. You didn't get your run in today, and you
barely spent any energy yesterday!"

"Did too! I lasted for all three rounds!"

"Your punches were sloppy as heck and your footwork was just bleh," Jennie's nose crinkled, "so
you can do with a little extra! Come on!"

"Jeez okay okay, look I'm doing it," Lisa huffed as she jumped up, touched down and did a push-up
then jumped up and came down again in the same manner and repeated.

She would have protested the searing contractions of her muscles as they worked to keep up with
Jennie's demands, but her sister was on edge today, more than usual.

Lisa had an idea why, but they hadn't really discussed anything—it was always the same reason,
the elephant in the room they knew was present there but didn't dare point out because it was
pointless to do so: nothing much could be done about it.

When they arrived home last night, Lisa had flopped on her back and shut her eyes tight, knowing
that nearby, her sister was huddled in a ball. Worrying and worrying and worrying.

In such quiet moments, Lisa would curse the world and the life she had been given, seething at the
cruelty and unfairness of it all.

They were only two girls doing their damndest not to be trampled and devoured.

Jennie never cried in front of her, but Lisa did hear the solitary sniffle sometimes. And Lisa's heart
clenched because she was helpless and weak, reluctant to console her sister with empty platitudes.

They say you're the master of your Fate but Lisa didn't believe in that notion anymore because no
matter what they did, it always seemed like they were stuck for eternity.

"Lisa, focus!" Jennie barked as she wandered around the gym. She had an uncanny ability to tell
when Lisa's concentration was slipping.
Lisa closed her eyes, her pulse throbbing in her head.

in, out, in, out.

nose breathe in.

mouth breath out.

keep the pace.

Jump.

up and down and out.

up and down and out.

"Harder! You should thank me I'm going easy on you, this is only the Ragnarok workout!"

"You think it's any easier...than the Berserker? Or....Gladiator?" Lisa gasped in between jumps.

They were favourite workout sets of Jennie's that she set Lisa to do on a daily basis, alternating
between them.

"Come on," Jennie urged instead, "put those damn lazy ass muscles to good use!"

"I really wish you'd chill for once," Lisa groaned but deep down, she knew she needed her sister to
constantly drive her.

Their very survival revolved around Lisa being in tip top form, all the time. And for that, constant
attention to working out and improving her fighting technique was vital.

Lisa was used to hard workouts, her body could take it— other gym-goers had expressed their
concern that maybe Jennie pushed her too hard.

But Lisa laughed and put their minds to rest—working out and exercising was all that she knew to
do. She had been doing it for a good couple years now, so might as well excel at it.

Her muscular thighs, arms and abs were slick with sweat, drops even stinging her eyes as they
dripped down her face and trickled in between her breasts.

Her dirty blonde bangs stuck to her forehead like glue as her ponytail bobbed up and down with the
movement. She was glad she was only in her sports bra.

Her heart pounded and throbbed beneath her fingertips as her arms quaked like jelly. But Lisa
pushed on, working on auto-pilot. She ignored the delicious tightness in her muscles as she
stretched and jumped and lunged.

"....eighteen, nineteen, twenty! Done!" Jennie called.

Lisa collapsed on the cold hard floor, gasping like a dying fish. "Phew, oh man—"

Jennie appeared overhead, her hair also swept aside in a ponytail.

Similar to Lisa she was in her sportswear attire, but she also wore a light jacket—it was draughty in
the Vault. The AC in the top left corner had stopped working again—Lisa could make out rust
eating away at the edges. She couldn't remember the last time Jennie fixed it.
In summer, if the ancient AC broke down, they would either leave the gym door wide open or if
smog was particularly heavy, they'd keep the doors closed and sweat it out.

"Don't forget you still got the skipping rope and punching bag sets to go through," Jennie reminded.
She held out her hand to the younger girl when Lisa groaned.

"Yeah, don't remind me," Lisa yawned as she pulled herself up. "Man, I'm craving a bagel right
now."

"We open in fifteen minutes, your breakfast will be here soon," Jennie said briskly, "so don't give
me excuses! You got a water break, five minutes."

"Oh thank you most kindly Jen—"

"I changed my mind, here's the ropes, start skipping."

"Jennieeeeeeeee!"
 Bagels

At seven on the dot, Jennie opened the doors to their modest gym and greeted the man waiting to
enter.

"Morning Jen!" greeted the clean-shaven man at the door. He sported a crew-cut and held two
sports bags in one hand. "How was the fight last night? Did Lisa take down the Jap?"

Jennie gave an exaggerated sigh. "Hey Matt. And I'm afraid not, Momo and my idiot back there
took it to their heads to...head-butt."

She sighed again when the man laughed and ruffled her hair with his free hand.

"I'm sure the crowd still loved them, kiddo. You still got the money didn't you?" he called over his
shoulder as he made his way inside. "Aiishh it's chilly in here. AC still down?"

"Sorry," Jennie said apologetically. "I'll try to have a look at it once I'm a little free..."

She turned away, relieved to hear the man greet Lisa, who was on her speed ball round.

Jennie's face broke into a smile once she spotted a familiar looking Japanese girl with shiny black
hair and a purplish black eye walking up to the entrance with an unfamiliar girl in tow. "Momo
hey! Glad you're still alive this morning. And who's this?"

"Figured I should introduce you guys to my girlfriend. We're catching a cab to her class later so I
thought a quick couple work-out for today would be good. And where else but at the Vault?"
Momo grinned. She wrapped an arm around the other girl's slight frame.

"Jen, this is Dahyun, my girlfriend. Dahyun, this is my Korean trainer, Jennie Kim, the one I told
you about? I mean I train at her place while I'm here in Seoul," Momo said giddily.

She seemed to be unusually cheerful for a Monday morning workout and Jennie suspected her so-
called girlfriend had something to do with Momo's happy mood.

Jennie smiled at the shy girl and bowed. "Pleased to meet you, Dahyun." She eyed the sports bags
they were holding. "So you gonna be boxing together or....?"

"Oh yeah absolutely!" Momo said enthusiastically, "Dubu here also practises boxing! Isn't that
convenient?"

"Uh, sure," Jennie chuckles then turns with a sheepish grin towards the quiet girl. Dahyun gave a
her small smile.

"Hope you guys have fun then. Momo, I'll leave it up to you to show her around? Lockers are at
the back, Dahyun. It's not much anyway, I'm sure you've seen better, far more equipped gyms—"

"Momorin speaks very highly of the Vault, as well as you and your sister, unnie," Dahyun smiled
kindly, "don't worry, I've been to many gyms. As long as there's a locker and shower and a
punching bag, I don't need anything else."

They strolled inside, Momo nattering nineteen to a dozen making Dahyun chuckle quietly.

Jennie watched them go with a little shake of her head, wondering how long they'll last—Momo
didn't exactly have a reputation for being able to hold down a girl for long.
Meanwhile, traffic was gradually building up.

Jennie took a broom to sweep the entrance as the sun rose steadily higher. It was a clear day and
the brunette felt in unusually good spirits, even whistling tunelessly as she worked.

She cared about the little gym she -co-owned with Lisa, their pride and inheritance. She always
gave her best to ensure it was running smoothly—that meant even getting down and dirty when a
toilet got blocked, or a sink got plugged, or a shower-head wasn't working. She even had gotten
around to fixing the AC but it kept breaking down—it was quite old.

The Vault, as it was called, was a tiny place, with Jennie and Lisa's flat located above it. There
weren't even half of the fancy machines and equipment you found in decent gymnasiums but still,
they made do with what they had.

There wasn't much place for heavy machinery anyway.

"Jennie, good morning!"

"Irene, hello!" Jennie bowed, embarrassed she was still holding on to the broom. "I was
just...sweeping a bit." She blushed, always rather in thrall of the elegant woman.

"Don't worry," Irene laughed and tossed her head, "it's not like it's my first time here now is it? I
know my way in, I'll just get changed."

Jennie smiled after the woman disappeared inside.

Irene was one of the Vault's valuable regulars and Jennie's closest friend, along with Matt, or
Matthew according to his membership document.

Document....a mere piece of paper....

They didn't even have any funds to issue fancy gym membership cards.

Jennie's mood abruptly soured. There she went again...

Everything circled back to money.

Her stomach grumbled, remembering she hadn't had breakfast yet. Jennie frowned at her watch
then scanned the road in front of her.

What's taking her so long today?

Immediately, Jennie began to worry, thinking up all sorts of terrible scenarios.

Like maybe the line was too long, or the diner had run out of bagels or somebody mugged her and
stole those precious bagels or she was involved in an accident—

"Jennie unnie!"

Jennie's face broke into a relieved smile once she saw the young bubbly girl practically skipping
over to her.

"Here you go, breakfast bagels, nice and toasty, fresh out of the oven! Sorry, the line got a little
long," the girl explained in one breath as she handed over the box in her hands.

Her face had a perpetual grin pasted on. She wore her mahogany brown hair in plaits today.
"Somi, you had me worried there for a second," Jennie beamed then gestured wryly at herself. "I'll
be coming along soon... I haven't even changed from my run yet."

"Yeah, I can smell." Somi said mischievously.

"Yah!" Jennie held up her broom to chase a giggling Somi. "You'll pay for that, I'll make you lift
kettlebells!"

"Meanie!" Somi stuck her tongue out at Jennie before zipping inside.

Jennie shook her head, turning her attention to the small, white cardboard box Somi had given her.

She inhaled deeply, savouring the heavenly scent of the freshly toasted bread, bacon, melted
cheese and fried egg, whilst picturing the flavours bursting on her tongue.

Jennie smiled broadly.

Breakfast bagels to start off the day was a great mood-booster.

 Welcome to the Vault

When Jennie entered to put the bagels aside for later, she was met with laughter and guffawing.

Loud music blared from the old beat-up stereo plugged to the wall, adding to the cacophony.

Lisa had abandoned her training and was instead sparring with Somi in the boxing ring as the rest
of the members watched on while performing their individual exercises.

Momo was egging the two girls on while Dahyun just stood to the side.

She flashed Jennie a concerned look, which the trainer returned with a reassuring wink and lift of
her shoulders.

She was surrounded by idiots, and none of their antics really surprised her anymore.

"Yah smarty pants! I'm gonna be sitting on you when you do push-ups!" Lisa shouted.

"Gotta catch me first, cheese-breath!" Somi chirped as she ran nimbly round the ring.

Lisa's legs were longer but she tactically stayed in the centre and lunged at Somi rather than
actively chasing the teen.

It was a strategy that seemed to work quite well, Jennie noted, pleased that Lisa was using her
head. Her sister had a number of close calls but Somi was agile and lithe like a cat.

Seizing the opportunity when the dark head bounced dangerously close, Lisa dived for Somi's legs,
tackling her to the ground. They wrestled and bickered until Lisa had her pinned down and Somi
slapped the ground in defeat.

"Took you long enough," Somi quipped.

"Pay your respects to senior citizens, yeah?" Lisa puffed as she straightened up. "Matt! Your
daughter's getting way too fresh with me!"

"Good, that should keep you in your place!" he called back, lifting dumbbells while doing one-leg
lunges.

"Et tu, Brute?" Lisa gasped, making everyone laugh, with Momo's voice cackling louder than the
rest.

Jennie's mouth quirked at the corners as she walked over to the stereo and lowered the volume to
more tolerable levels.

Thank goodness for her little sister—Lisa's natural bubbly mannerisms coupled with the happy
virus Somi always made for brighter moments at the otherwise dreary gym.

"Jennie!" Lisa called happily.

She stretched, cracking cartilage and made grabby hands at her sister. "Where's my bagels?" she
said cutely, pouting and making her eyes round for maximum effect.

"Stop it with the aegyo, it's disgusting," Jennie informed as she tied her hair back. "I ate them."
"Unnieeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Jennie stretched and joined the various people littered around the space to start helping them out
with their workouts.

Usually nobody stayed too long in the mornings—they all had places to be, especially Monday
mornings.

Today, Momo had to accompany Dahyun to class so they left around nine.

Usually when Momo popped in, she would sometimes stay around until noon and eat with the
sisters at their favourite café.

Irene finished her workout with a light jog on the treadmill, showered like the rest, and came out
smelling like daisies.

She talked for a while with Jennie as per habit before she left for her clerk job, whilst Lisa
monitored Somi and her father.

"So last night must have been something, eh, judging by that black-eye she has," Irene chuckled as
she poured Jennie a cup of coffee from her thermos.

"They head-butted because they wanted to do something different," Jennie sighed. She was still
miffed at Lisa for playing around.

"Hey, everyone needs to let loose sometimes Jen—"

"But Irene unnie, you know what's at stake for me and Lisa," Jennie said quietly.

She took a sip, the strong bitter coffee chasing down the yolk's aftertaste lingering in her mouth. "I
don't want her to get too lax or she'll start losing against other opponents for real and...and we'd
suffer the consequences."

Irene sighed. "I suppose you're right even though boxing is a bit...." she shook her head, forcing a
smile. "I admire your drive. Waking up after a late night can't be easy at all."

Jennie shook her head. "Thank you but really, it's because I have no choice. I would love to stay in
and sleep, someday. It's one of my dreams," she laughed, "sleeping in for a whole year."

"That would be perfect!" Irene agreed as she clinked her cup with Jennie's.

When Irene left, there was still Matthew and Somi sweating it out with Lisa grinning maniacally as
she watched. She leaned comfortably against the wall, mocking Somi.

"Not so cheeky now, are we?" she drawled, chomping into her bagel. Egg yolk and molten cheese
dripped on to her front, making Jennie's nose crinkle in disapproval. Those stains would take longer
to wash out.

Appearances helped to keep customers, but Lisa certainly wasn't helping in that department.

Somi had her legs looped around a punching bag, doing sit-ups in mid-air. Her abs were tense and
her teeth grounded as she lifted herself. Her plaits dangled and almost touched the ground when
she lowered herself back.

Lisa meanwhile held a stopwatch as she chattered and chewed on her bagel alternatively.
"...and did I tell you about the time I almost kneed this guy in the crotch—"

"Shut—up—you—brick," Somi gasped with each lift. Lisa merely grinned evilly, licking her
fingers and moaning in appreciation.

"Ahhh now that was one heck of a bagel, I might have orgasmed."

"Shut—up—you—dis—gus—ting—pig."

"Why? This is so fun."

"Lisa is extra cheerful this morning," Matthew noted as he sat down to catch his breath. He wiped
his face on the towel and leaned back with a satisfied grunt. "Did she find a girlfriend like
Kamikaze did or something?"

"It's because she didn't go for our run," Jennie explained, "and she hardly used up any energy
yesterday. So yeah, she's hyper."

"I—won't—get—your—shake," Somi gritted, still pulling herself up ceaselessly.

"Ohhh I'm shaking," Lisa returned mockingly, "now: fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine—ooops,
you ran out of time, sis."

Somi hung upside down. She allowed herself to drop gently, lowering herself on her hands, then
elbows, followed by back, rear and finally her thighs and the rest of her legs were on the floor.

She sprawled on the ground, dazed.

"I'm dead." Somi's tongue lolled out of her mouth and her eyes slid shut.

"Serves you right," Lisa said with satisfaction.

"You're so mean."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"You have a flat ass."

"Now that I know you're definitely lying!" Lisa said hotly. "I'll have you know that my ass is thicc
as hell and you need glasses!"

She slapped her backside, cupping it tenderly through the fabric of her shorts. "Don't you listen to
her, baby. You look mighty damn fine, li'l mama, keep it up."

"Is she seriously talking to her pancake ass right now?" Somi wondered out loud.

"Why you little—"

But Somi was quick to scramble to her feet, grab the towel and bag from her father and dart into
the showers.

"I see that's our cue to pack up," Matthew smiled as he took out a towel of his own to go wash up
as well. "Well, then, take care until tomorrow ladies, and I'm sure Somi will pass by again to pester
you later."

"No problem at all Matt. She can't resist my charms," Lisa said airily. Matthew messed up her
bangs fondly, for which she gave a little whine of protest.

"Try not to turn my daughter gay okay? I'd like a few grand kids, thank you."

"There's always sperm donors," Lisa shrugged before she burst into laughter at Jennie's sharp
nudge. "Kidding—she's like the little sister I never had. You know she's always welcome here,
right?"

"And I'm not?" he grinned.

"Of course you are!" Jennie said hastily and bowed, pushing down Lisa's head as well, "we'll be
forever indebted to you—"

He held up a hand. "Jennie please, we've been over this. You're practically family," Matthew told
her softly, "I only wish you'd let me do more—"

"We manage," Jennie smiled wanly. She bowed again one more time, Lisa following suit. "Thank
you."
 Sisters

Since their little gym didn't get anymore visitors until later in the day, and since Lisa and Jennie
also needed their break, they usually closed for around two hours, between noon and two.

This gave them time to set things in order, clean up the Vault and make sure the showers are
spotless. They showered in the gym bathrooms as well.

Afterwards they would lock up the place before heading out to the corner diner to eat. The staff
knew them well, since Jennie also worked the evening shift there.

"Here you go ladies," said the waitress, bearing their food, "party platter buffalo wings and water
for missus black-eye—"

"Brings out my eye colour, don't you think?" Lisa winked but the waitress ignored her.

"—and the Ceasar salad and water for you, Jen," the young woman continued as she laid
everything down on the table, "I made sure to have triple chicken helpings on the salad as usual.
Enjoy." She smiled, showing her bunny teeth.

"My love, I missed you," Lisa said lovingly, eyeing the pile of chicken in front of her with drool
running down her chin. "If I could marry chicken, I would. But...it's dead. And doesn't have fingers
for, you know—"

"Spare us the details of your bedroom fantasies, Lisa," Jennie said dryly. The waitress snorted,
hiding her face behind her hand.

"I was only gonna say, chicken doesn't have fingers to put a ring on during the wedding. Why you
gotta have your mind in the gutter, unnie?" Lisa said innocently.

"Wow your sister's got a point, why you gotta be dirty-minded, Jen?" the waitress smirked at
Jennie who shook her head, grinning back.

"Thanks for backing me up Nay, really appreciate it."

"The Thai Torndao," Lisa proclaimed as she snatched a chicken wing off the plate, "with the speed
of a twister, watch me devour this chicken in—"

"Catch ya later, got work to do, Tornado," the waitress chuckled as she left Lisa with a chicken
piece raised high in the air.

"But I...was going to show her..." Lisa faltered.

"You're always going to show her something," Jennie shrugged, placidly chewing.

Lisa slumped in her seat and moodily started munching on her chicken.

"Nayeon still won't fall for my charms," she muttered. Jennie rolled her eyes.

"Wake up already, it's been months. She's got eyes for her manager, and I don't blame her. Unlike
you, Jeongyeon looks and acts like a sweetheart."

"Oh? And what do I look like then?" Lisa challenged thickly as she shovelled more chicken into
her mouth with sauce smeared around her mouth and chin.
"Stop talking with your mouth full," Jennie scrunched her nose in disgust, "you look stupid. And
for your information, most of the time you sound like some perverted, cocky macho guy in a
movie. A serious turn-off for any girl, just saying."

"Seems like I'm gonna die lonely then," Lisa sighed deeply, "Nini, it's been forever since I got
laid."

"And....it's my problem?" Jennie raised an eyebrow, pausing before she swallowed a forkful of
lettuce.

"You're my trainer, you gotta do something!"

"Me?"

"Yes you!" Lisa exclaimed. "All the fame and glory of being a pro-fem boxer, they're supposed to
make me more, I don't know, noticeable? But no, here I am, still girlfriend-less.... And I'm training
day in day out, so I don't get any chance to meet any hot girl either!"

"Wow, you're welcome for working my ass off to make sure you win us money," Jennie snapped.
"Go ahead, slack off. I've got my side-job anyway. Go play around, go chase girls with Momo. Get
laid, be my guest. But don't come running to me when you can't get your chicken."

She continued chewing furiously under Lisa's stunned gaze.

"Jen—"

"Don't talk to me right now!" Jennie snapped irritably, banging down the fork once she finished.
"You pay. I'm heading back."

And she stomped out with a face black as thunder, shoving people out of her path as she slammed
the door to the café closed.

Her sister was mild-tempered but it could quickly get ugly whenever she was royally pissed.

Lisa rubbed the back of her neck in frustration.

Maybe she had taken it too far—she didn't mean to sound ungrateful at all.

Jennie worked herself to the bone to make sure they got by. Winning boxing matches was Lisa's
method of contributing to their funds.

She was well aware that missing out on that prize money meant a definite pinch of the purse, even
with Somi and Matthew buying them breakfast practically every morning.

Just the memory that they depended on someone to get their breakfast had Lisa's spoiled mood
plummet further. She gave a wry smile.

It always came back down to money.

She sighed and took out her wallet to count out the exact amount of their orders. Her wallet was
frighteningly light by the time she finished. She swallowed and placed it in the back pocket of her
ripped jeans.

"Rough night, Lis?" said the sympathetic cashier, whose tag read Yeri.

She had mouse hair cut in a bob and a sweet smile coupled with a mischievous lilt in her voice. She
pointed at Lisa's face. "Nice black-eye. Heard the Kamikaze's back in town?"

"Yep she is. And she got a girlfriend, did you know? At least she's not another gym member, Jennie
would bar her from coming back to the Vault for sure this time. We've lost enough members as it
is....and then Jennie complains that I'm a flirt abd harass people! I barely get half of the action
Momo gets!" Lisa whined.

"Well, I'm afraid you're out of luck, I'm not paid to be your counsellor and listen to you moaning
and groaning all day," Yeri chuckled as she issued Lisa's receipt. "Here you go. See you around
Lis."

"Yeah," Lisa smiled, "got a pissed sister to catch up to."

"Just a regular day in the life of the Thai Tornado then," Yeri winked before slapping Lisa's
wandering hands, "and hands off, unless you have a death wish. If Joy sees you right now, she'll
lob your head off, no questions asked."

"Chillax, just tell her I was only admiring her...mouth work—"

She laughed when Yeri's hands flew to her neck in alarm.

"Ha! Gotcha! But FYI, you have excellent make-up skills, there's only like a faint red mark
showing."

"Get lost already," Yeri groaned.

"You love me," Lisa winked and blew Yeri a flying kiss. "Send my love to Sooyoung too, tell her
get well soon and I miss seeing her. Toodles."
 Memories

Lisa quietly climbed up the stairs until she reached the landing.

She was relieved to see the ladder connecting to their loft attic was still down.

Lisa remembered times when Jennie used to spitefully pull up the rickety ladder, leaving her
younger sister stamping and shrieking her head off below her, while Jennie taunted her from the
square hole in the ceiling.

It was usually after some childish fight, maybe after they were sparring and someone refused to
admit defeat and surrender. They would chase each other out of the gym. The fight would only stop
when Hwangssabu came to investigate the ruckus, calmly ordering Jennie to lower the ladder or
else.

He'd keep a firm grip on Lisa's shirt, like holding a dog from the scruff of its neck. He always
climbed up first so that Lisa couldn't attack her sister with his bulk in between.

"What is it this time, girls?" he would sigh once inside the loft attic, eyes pinched behind his
glasses.

Back then, they had been too young to recognise the look of exhaustion in his eyes.

"Lisa is a sore loser!"

"Not true! I had you in a choke-hold! I was winning!"

"Well I slammed you down!"

"So did I! And you—"

Their bickering was always cut off by the trainer's knotted arms gathering them close to his chest
as they struggled and squealed.

"You're all sweaty!"

"You stink!"

"Leggo leggo!"

"I'm gonna faint!"

He would throw his head back in amusement, his laughter booming like thunder. "I'll let go once
you say sorry to each other and let it go. Got it?"

When they only continued to struggle, he squeezed them tighter, directing their faces to his sweaty
armpits. "

"Girls?"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" they screamed and he'd release them with a chuckle.

"So, chef, can you heat up some noodles for me? I'll just be down to have a shower, don't burn the
place down."
"Yessir!"

"As for you Lis, help your sister. Got it?"

"Got it!"

And just like that, harmony was restored in the household.

"What are you smiling at, creep?"

Lisa woke up from her memory trip only to see Jennie peering over the trapdoor opening.

Lisa smiled. "Just...remembering the old times. You were such a sore loser."

Jennie snorted, but not unkindly. "So were you. Come on up, we still have time for a nap."

Lisa climbed up slowly, the ladder's rungs creaking beneath her weight.

There were times when Lisa used to fly down that ladder like greased lightning, even as Jennie
yelled at her to be careful.

In three quick lunges, Lisa had already reached the edge and hoisted herself into their apartment,
closing the trapdoor and locking it.

She turned around.

The loft attic that they called home was tiny, made even more apparent with the slanting roof. It
was just slightly roomier than your average prison cell.

On one side, there was a Primus stove and a tiny fridge. There was a cheap, shabby cupboard
housing a few pots, cups and plates that were probably dusty from disuse.

They didn't have a sink or microwave. They did have a single light bulb dangling from the ceiling
that sometimes flickered and threatened to blow out.

They didn't have a bathroom, but they did have a toilet wedged in behind a door—it was
claustrophobic and there was no light in that box of a room.

If someone got up during the night to take a dump, they never shut the door.

They had gotten used to living in cramped quarters and boundaries were bound to be crossed—
there was, in all sense of the word, no space for privacy whatsoever.

Their beds were two thick springy mattresses on the floor, with fitted covers and comforters as
well as sheets. They were Lisa's favourite possession after her boxing gloves.

The mattresses were recent acquisitions—or shall we say, donations—since Matthew had gotten
them for the girls. Lisa still remembered times when she and Jennie hunkered down in sleeping
bags, and they were still there, rolled up in the corner.

Generally, Jennie and her used the sleeping bags in Winter—they'd hop inside them whilst lying on
the mattress and get cosy under the sheets. Although it was never toasty, it made the cold slightly
more bearable.

If they were feeling particularly chilly, they moved the mattresses together and either cuddled up
or hopped inside one sleeping bag and huddled up together like when they were younger.
There was no chest of drawers or wardrobes either, although they wouldn't have fit in the room
anyway.

Instead, the girls had separate rows of hangers nailed to the wall with all their clothes hanging on
display, even lingerie and underwear.

To tease, they used to snatch each other's panties and lean out of the single window, hollering and
waving the underwear like flags at passers-by in the street below.

"FREE PANTIES WHO WANTS IT I'M GONNA DROP IT—"

"LISA I SWEAR I'M GONNA SHRINK YOUR CLOTHES!"

They had shrunken the clothes once, by accident.

It happened the first time Hwangssabu had sent them to the dry cleaning with baskets of washing.

He must have thought it was something inane for girls to know how to work a washing machine
and besides, the two girls had confidently told him they did know.

They had accompanied him enough times to the laundromat to think it would be easy to mimic.

But as things stood, they were sorely mistaken. They had fiddled with the knobs and argued back
and forth—

"I'm positive this is the setting!"

"You can't mix colours!"

"I wasn't gonna!"

"Yes you were!"

The sisters bickered even after they had gotten the washing cycle going.

"You didn't press that button, look, says here we needed to press it!"

"Then just press it smarty pants!"

"It will ruin everything now!"

They ended up horrified and in tears once they discovered all of their precious clothes had
shrunken several sizes by the end of the drying process.

They couldn't even get their heads in through the neck hole.

Being teenagers with the average flight-or-fight response of a goose, Jennie had proposed running
away and Lisa almost agreed.

But in the end, they toddled back home and showed Hwangssabu the product of their inexperience
with teary eyes and runny noses.

He sighed, patted their heads and told them to go to sleep.

Next morning, they woke up to new shirts and jeans hanging on the walls. And they were actually
new, not stuff you get from thrift shops.
"Jen it's that shirt we saw!"

"Lisa, oh my!"

"How?" they chorused.

"Christmas came early," Hwangssabu had laughed, himself sporting a new Pink Floyd shirt. "Next
time I'll come with you to the dryer's, okay?"

It was only much much later that they noticed the small golden chain round his neck, which Jennie
said belonged to his mother, had disappeared.

"Hey, your chain! You lost it!" Lisa said in dismay.

"No no don't worry, I gave it to a friend for safe-keeping, in case somebody tries to break in
here...." he reassured.

They looked at him with wide suspicious eyes, fully intending to call him out on his lie.

But instead, Lisa glanced at Jennie, and Jennie glanced at Lisa, and in that moment, a silent
agreement was forged between the two young girls.

"Okay.....thank you."

And they left it at that.

It was, Lisa thought now as she rolled on her back and attempted to sleep, the moment they had
started to realise just how much he sacrificed for them on a daily basis.

And despite so many hardships, they were happy together.

She and Jennie helped keep the their little home spotless, dusting and sweeping with rags.

They had no way to entertain themselves—no television set, no smartphones or even books. They
didn't even have a landline.

Hwangssabu however used to bring home newspapers that strangers left behind on tables at his
evening job in a diner.

In this way, Jennie taught Lisa to read and write using a pencil to practise on the empty sides of
newspapers—Lisa had never been to school, or at least Korean school.

They hadn't practised in a good long while, especially after both of them had to work and bring in
money to run the Vault and afford their rent...

Lisa's eyes inadvertently fell to the little shrine opposite, where Hwangssabu's sleeping bag used to
be laid out.

Jennie had placed a fresh burning incense stick in the pot in front of the photo that propped up
against the wall. She had also opened the window to let the fragrance dissipate.

His smiling, bespectacled face greeted them as soon as they woke up and before they fell asleep.

Lisa could almost hear him chiding her for not talking with her sister to clear out the tension
between them.
Well, she can rectify that. She had meant to anyway.

Lisa turned on her side, facing Jennie's back. "Nini? You asleep?"

Her sister didn't reply.

She had kicked off her socks and shoes as usual, unlike Lisa who preferred napping with her shoes
on— she was going to wake up soon, and her feet dangled over the mattress anyway.

"I'm sorry back there, I was just joking," Lisa felt compelled to spill her thoughts, even if Jennie
wasn't hearing, "I know you want me to be serious about fighting so I can win us the money.

I know you're worried the crowd would get tired of my antics and stop watching or paying. But
honestly, it's just a bit of fun. I'm sure they actually appreciate the change-up in my appearances,
Jen, don't you worry."

"You say that every time."

Jennie suddenly turned on her side, her eyes boring into Lisa. "And then you go and fool around.
It's only a matter of time Lis..."

Lisa reached over and squeezed Jennie's hand. "We'll be okay. I'm definitely not playing around
next time. This was...just this one time with Momo, because she's hardly ever around anymore."

Jennie nodded. "I know. And to be truthful, I like seeing you having fun instead of...fighting all the
time... but we can't..."

She fell silent, tracing over the flat calluses and dried scabs of Lisa's hand, and Lisa knew Jennie
had calmed down.

"These hands...they should be holding some other girl's hand while walking by the river under a
full moon...not punching someone bloody for the sake of bringing in money..." Jennie said softly.

Lisa cracked a wry smile. "Well, Life seems to have had other ideas, clearly."
 Before

If Lisa thought that she and Jennie were okay now, she was in for an unpleasant surprise.

"Curl up tighter jeez! And what is that half-assed crunch? Look at your abs, I can barely see them
under all the chub!" Jennie was scolding three hours later after their talk.

The short trainer stood by, tapping her fingers impatiently against her waist as Lisa lunged and
squatted, jumped and lifted, grunted and puffed, running from one station to the next to complete
the set in the shortest time possible.

Lisa was doing her second round of exercises for the day, although supposedly it would have been
the third if you included the morning run.

"Well excuse me, we did just have lunch a few hours ago!" Lisa huffed as she sat up. "Can't you
go pick on Somi? Or Chaeyoung?"

"Don't look at me!" Somi yelled from her corner. "It's your fault for being lazy!"

"Lazy? Who you calling lazy, brat?" Lisa demanded, pushing aside one of the tyres they used for
heaving over as she marched straight towards the younger girl.

Somi abandoned the papers she was holding and immediately ran to hide behind her friend
Chaeyoung.

"Protect me unnie!" Somi squealed in faux distress as she threw her arms around the boxer.

"Get off me, punk, just taekwondo her or something!" wheezed Chaeyoung but Somi didn't relent.

"Did I mention how fluffy and cute your pixie haircut makes you?" Somi cooed as she patted the
girl's soft brown hair.

"Oh now that you're in trouble, you're buttering me up?" Chaeyoung snorted, "what happened to
'you look too butch for Mina' huh?"

"My bad, Mina adores you anyway!" Somi squeaked.

Chaeyoung snorted and continued to pummel the punching bag as best as she could with a human
koala clinging to her.

"Lisa stop slacking and get back here!" Jennie shouted.

Lisa ignored her sister's yells as she approached the two girls with a sinister grin on her face.

"Come on brat, say that again to my face," she challenged.

"I'm too young to die! Boo hoo hoo!"

"The good die young, Somi my friend," Lisa intoned, "and your day has come!"

"Unnies she's gonna kill me!"

"Where's your black belt gone hmm?" Chaeyoung smirked.

Lisa feinted a right then left while Somi swung around Chaeyoung's neck to avoid her, giggling
hilariously.

"Come on chicken-breath, catch me before I break Chaeng's neck!"

"Oh, you're in for it now missy—"

"Lisa!" Jennie whacked the side of Lisa's head hard, throwing her to the ground. "Can't you leave
people alone for once? Some of them are trying to focus. unlike you!"

"Just a little bit of...fun..." Lisa muttered and then stiffened when she realised her slip of tongue.

Jennie's eyes narrowed.

"Fun," she repeated coldly, "what did we just talk about back there?" She pointed at the ceiling,
indicating their attic.

"Being serious," Lisa said sullenly, rubbing her ear.

"Great to know you still have a working memory then," Jennie retorted and turned away. "When
you feel like it, start on the speed punching and then get to skipping. Got that? I'm going to get
ready for my shift."

"Yeah, yeah," Lisa sighed as she tied tape around her fists and stood next to Chaeyoung in front of
another punching bag.

She exhaled, her vision tunnelling and then launched into a series of rapid jabs, uppercut, hooks
and punches, battering the punching bag.

"What's up with Jennie?" Somi frowned as she loosened her grip from around Chaeyoung and
dropped to her feet, "she's....on edge."

"Yeah, she's even more antsy than usual." Chaeyoung agreed, sweat running down her temple as
she finished her set and stood back, huffing rapidly.

Lisa shrugged and kept on bashing the bag. "Sorry guys, later. I got work to do."

Somi pouted but obeyed and went back to her corner to continue her homework.

It was routine for her to visit the sisters and stay until quite late, when her father passed by the gym
again on his way back from work to take her home.

She stayed at the gym almost every day except for Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, since she had
taekwondo on Fridays.

The Vault was a second home to her—when she wasn't knuckling down to work on tedious
homework, she'd sit back with her phone or book for entertainment.

Jennie had set up a cushy, worn beanbag with its seams coming undone behind her desk for Somi
to snuggle up in when she wanted to watch Stranger Things or even sleep.

On some days she'd practice on her dancing—Somi did freestyle and Lisa would let her off on
working out too hard to focus on her dancing instead when a competition was nearing.

On other days, Somi helped clean the sparse equipment and floor, or else went on errands like
buying protein shakes, water bottles and noodle cups for the sisters' supplies.
Somi used to enjoy showing some moves to Lisa.

The elder was delighted with the opportunity to learn— she had an affinity for dancing too,
something else the two girls bonded over as they watched dance tutorials on Somi's phone to
practice.

But that was then and now....now things had changed.

Afternoons at the gym would on average be quite empty. Jennie monitored Lisa's workout like a
hawk, joining her for the jabbing sessions.

Chaeyoung, a close friend of Somi's, visited now and then for a quick work-out but she generally
tended to keep to herself—Somi had confided that her friend was only working out to impress a girl
called Mina.

A couple guys used to pop in around this time but they spent more time sitting and playing on their
phones then working out. They eventually stopped turning up as well, much to Somi's satisfaction.

Somi had frequently voiced out her opinion that these boys came only to ogle at the sisters. She
even said they took photos and videos of sweaty and near-naked Lisa to use them for...dirty
purposes later.

"Are you jealous?" Lisa teased, looking actually quite pleased when the conversation first popped
up. "I must say, it does give my ego a nice boost if they do that. I should give them a show, drive
them crazy with my sexy sweaty physique."

She flexed her arms and smirked at a disgusted Somi. "Would you rather they photograph you and
think of you when they're masturbating, then?"

"As if, yuck!" Somi snorted, "I'm not jealous." She fidgeted, scuffing the tips of her toes. "Well...a
little."

"So we have a closeted exhibitionist, lovely. Join the club." Lisa clapped her heartily on the back.
"Your dad ain't gonna be happy but just so you know, you have my undying support."

Somi shoved her and Lisa danced away, guffawing.

"I wonder if all the knocks she gets have addled her brains," Jennie sighed before she patted Somi.
"Why would you be jealous of those boys getting Lisa's attention?"

She looked at the fidgety girl closely. "You're jealous because you think we would be too busy to
keep up with you, Mimi?" Jennie asked softly. "You think you won't have our attention?"

Somi avoided Jennie's gaze, but she wasn't one to mince her words.

"I like.... when there's nobody, so we can do whatever we want....watching Stranger Things or that
stupid cartoon Lisa likes..." she muttered. "But I'm glad you guys are getting more visitors! More
business means you and Lis can relax more, right unnie?"

Jennie chuckled as she patted her head. "I like spending time with you too. And us having work
won't ever change that, okay? You're my little sister."

"OI I THOUGHT I WAS YOUR LITTLE SISTER?" Lisa hollered indignantly from the other side of
the room.
"No, you're the pain in my ass with a filthy mouth...."

Somi frowned now as she glanced at Lisa still going at it on the punching bag, hitting fast and hard
as her breath escaped in controlled gusts and pants from her mouth.

Lisa was left in charge of the gym while Jennie had long left for her part-time job at the diner.

Somi glanced at the clock on the wall. Jennie's shift lasted until one in the morning, then she'd
come back home only to wake up a few hours later for their daily run.

Times have changed, Somi reflected sadly, plugging in her earbuds.

She leaned back, smiling wryly when Billie Eilish came on—she remembered how Jennie used to
snuggle down next to her for some girly chats and giggles as they shared earbuds and music and
laughed at Lisa's antics.

And speaking of Lisa's antics, the blonde boxer always had time for Somi.

Before, that is.

Somi remembered times when Lisa would ask her to watch a movie on the bean bag together while
Hwangssabu was overseeing the gym members, or even read together so that Somi could explain
the big words that Lisa couldn't pronounce.

Sometimes, Lisa even asked to read Somi's homework, fascinated by the secrets the various words
and symbols hid from her.

"Want me to teach you?"

Thanks to Somi efforts building up on Jennie's earlier teachings, Lisa wasn't as empty-headed as
many people assumed.

And then there were the times when they simply messed around, watching vines and then quoting
them ad nauseum to drive Jennie crazy.

Somi even had had her own Vine channel where they attempted to upload some of their own vines
but to their disappointment, the channel never really took off.

Lisa had simply shrugged and said the world wasn't ready for their humour.

Then there were also the times when Somi would show Lisa a dance and the girl would copy it on
the first try, like some scan machine. Somi and Lisa had barrels of laughter fooling around and
dancing.

But now, nobody really had much time for anything, except to work and grind and work some
more.

Jennie no longer smiled.

Like genuinely smiled, with that big, warm gummy smile of hers that stretched her face when she
used to tickle Somi to near-death. Instead, her eyes were nowadays pinched with exhaustion, her
mouth almost permanently upside down.

And although Lisa could look on the brighter side of things and crack jokes, she was constantly
working out or sleeping, no longer having times for lessons or just general playfulness.
And Lisa was fed up: Somi could tell from a mile away with that dark, sullen look on her face
whenever Jennie reprimanded her.

"Stupid money," Somi muttered, balling up her fist. "Stupid, stupid, stupid...."

"Hey, what's up, brat?"

Somi raised her face to behold a smiling, sweaty Lisa.

Lisa quirked an eyebrow when Somi didn't comment anything. "What? Cat got your tongue? Or
am I that dazzling to behold? Bet you have wet dreams about me."

Somi gave a wan smile. "You wish."

"There's my Mimi!" Lisa chuckled before letting out a great yawn. "Man, I'm famished. I'll just go
wash up...say hi to your dad for me when he comes."

Before Lisa left to shower, Somi called her.

"Lis?"

"Yeah?"

"Uh...are you and Jennie....are you guys okay?" Somi ventured, with the memory of the sisters'
terse conversation replaying in her head.

Her father had told her it wasn't her business to interfere. He had repeatedly warned her that the
Kim sisters were proud and didn't like it when people showed them pity.

"Why wouldn't we be?" Lisa grinned, loosening her ponytail. "Just because Nini was grouchy? Eh,
that's nothing new. She's...tired you know. Work and stuff."

Lisa stretched again. " Speakong of stuff, you still owe me my bag of sweet stuff. Hand it over."

"Don't get caught," Somi chuckled as she dug into her bag and brought out the bag of white
powder.

Lisa mimed opening the bag and taking a great big snort, her eyes rolling.

"Ah! Finest quality crack!" she exclaimed.

"You wish it was crack."

"But it looks like crack!"

"Crack that tastes like banana and weirdly enough makes for an amazing protein shake," Somi
snickered as she pulled up her schoolbag over her shoulders.

"You're no fun," Lisa pouted.

"Well, just like you then."

Somi slapped a hand to her mouth, horrified. Her eyes grew round when Lisa paused.

"Lis no I didn't mean—"

"No it's okay. It's true anyway," Lisa said heavily. She held up her taped hands. "This is all that I
know to do, now."

Somi was silent, staring at Lisa's careful blank expression before a distant familiar horn roused
them.

"Your dad," Lisa said unnecessarily.

Somi bit her lip, throwing caution to the wind. "Lisa, I could ask my dad to help you guys with a
loan, you can always pay it back whenever until you're settled—"

"No," Lisa shook her head, "if there's one thing Jennie and I agree on, it's this—we refuse to take
more help. Your father already does so much for us. We're grateful and eternally indebted to him
but....we can manage. We always did, even before. Matthew has already done far too much...."

She turned on her heel and headed for the showers. "See ya tomorrow, brat."

Failed yet again, Somi thought frustratedly as she strode out of the the Vault to her father's waiting
car with her bag swinging behind her.
 Maybe

Jennie's bad mood never lasted for long—it was a way of life now, to live constantly on the edge,
with bills to pay every other day and desperately clinging on to every paycheck like a lifeline.

Because in essence it was.

Flare ups happened when she was feeling particularly pressed for time, and she inevitably lashed
out on Lisa—reprimanding her sister for being lax, for not trying harder, for taking her opponents
for granted, for getting too big-headed, for wasting time...

Jennie frowned deeply, lost in thought as she rubbed her arms for warmth.

The AC was still down, she had no time to check it or phone the repair man. He wouldn't be happy
to see her anyway, Jennie was positive she had some bill of his on her desk.

She hated being behind on her payments but they were rather tight at the moment. Her shift at the
diner paid a paltry wage compared to what Lisa could have brought home from the last match...

Boxing matches at the Slammer were cut-throat and competitive, living up to the excellent
reputation for the exciting female fights the organisers of the place hosted.

The burgeoning sport had snowballed in recent years, with a surprisingly dedicated following that
surprised Jennie—she hadn't been aware that Koreans would be so keen on watching women fight
in the ring.

Maybe guys got a kick out of it, while the closeted lesbians could openly swoon over the fighters.

The Slammer was at the forefront of promoting the sport in Seoul. Their activities garnered the
attention and interest of many business stake- holders, allowing for money to flow freely to sponsor
and host such events.

Thus, the organisers at the Slammer rewarded their winners handsomely for the shows they put up.
The arena was always sold out.

On average, for each fight Lisa won, she'd earn double what Jennie earned working at the diner for
a month.

Since she was also one of the handful of regular fixtures at the matches, the organisers had also
worked out a basic salary for her so even when she lost, there was still some money she could
bring to the table.

Then of course you had to factor in the generous bonuses—Lisa had once managed to get her
hands on the Silver royalties.

Jennie never experienced such a thrill again.

They had had enough money to pamper themselves for a day at a spa (they even took Somi with
them), bought fancy clothes to be able to venture out to a gourmet restaurant, spent a day at an
arcade wilding around, and paid off all the bills.

Jennie smiled now, remembering how excited Lisa was that they were finally able to buy Somi a
proper Christmas present—they had gotten her a collector's edition of a book series that the
younger girl had been wanting to buy for two and a half years.

It had cost a small fortune, but seeing Somi hug Lisa so tightly that Lisa turned purple in the face
was worth it.

Jennie took out her workdiary. On the first page was the table illustrating the bonuses up for grabs
with each set of matches won. It was a habit (or torture) of hers to daydream about the things she
could do with the prize money.

Four matches, that's Silver Royalties.

Win eight consecutive matches, that's Gold Royalties.

Twelve matches, that's Diamond Royalties.

Any further than that was rumoured to be the unattainable Platinum Royalties.

But nobody had even as yet had a five-match winning streak—that was how competitive the game
was.

Lisa's record was so far four matches, the best she ever had.

But with every new match that Jennie observed, there seemed to be no shortage of new, vicious
boxers hungry for their first win, vying to please the crowd and replace Lisa.

Her sister may have now become a regular fixture, a crowd favourite, but it didn't mean her
position wasn't threatened, no less.

Lisa could not afford to lose her ranking—if she did, they'd be pressed up in a very tight spot.

"Hmm...this one can wait...." Jennie mumbled, back to flipping through sheaves of paper, "water
bill...later....shower repair...mm...and I still need them to check the AC too..."

She had enough time to work on some paperwork before the gym officially opened, making sure to
keep a sharp eye out for impending bills she had to pay. The last thing she wanted was to have their
water and electricity cut off because of late payment.

It was tedious though and she felt her focus slipping as her eyes started to fall shut.

No no, not right now.

Her hands scrambled for the can of Monster energy and she took a swig, before sifting through the
papers again. "And this one...well it's due this month. Yay, bye bye paycheck. And this? Next."

She yawned, feeling her eyes about to fall from their sockets. She took another swig of the can—
was the drink expired? She really needed to get stronger stuff....but that was expensive too...

"Unnie?"

Jennie jumped in her seat, startled. "Oh hey Mimi, early today. Where's Matthew?"

"Trying to find a space to park..."

Somi dumped her bag next to the desk and held out the box with the bagels. "I got you breakfast."

"That's great sweetie," Jennie said absently, flipping and frowning as her eyes scanned over
numbers and words. The symbols warped and danced all over the paper, making her shake her
head.

"Jen?"

"Mhm?"

"Why were you mad at Lisa yesterday?"

Jennie glanced up. "Oh you know, short fuse because of work and stress. Life of an adult heh. Stay
young, Mimi."

Somi approached slowly and sat at the edge of the desk, watching Jennie hum as she worked.

"Don't you get tired?"

Jennie raised her head. "Hmm? Me, tired? No no, I'll wake up in a few, once this kicks in."

She took another gulp of the drink, grimacing—she didn't really care for the taste.

Coffee would have been nicer, but they had no coffee machine or a kettle and she wasn't going to
have Somi spend more money on her. Coffee from the cafés tasted awful too, so sje had to make do
with energy drinks, until Irene came by.

The hustle and bustle of people entering disrupted her train of thought.

"Morning girls!"

"Rise and shine, let's get cracking!"

"YO KAMIKAZE IN THE HOUSE!" Momo bellowed as she flung back the door for her entrance.
"Where's my partner in crime?"

"Who on Earth wakes up so happy to see Lisa?" Jennie groaned as she stood up to start the day,
stretching and cracking cartilage.

"She's towelling down and changing right now so don't get your panties in a bunch," the trainer
added, "Dahyun no-go today?"

"Tough all-nighter, she was studying while I conked out, poor thing," Momo pouted. "I didn't have
it in my heart to wake her up this morning."

"The Kamikaze has a heart?" Irene teased and everyone snickered, all wise to Momo's past flings
and her tendency to trample over hearts like broken toys.

"Hey, people change, okay!" Momo protested.

"Yeah!" Lisa chimed in, entering the gym with a towel round her neck. "What she said!"

"What did she say?" Somi teased.

Everyone burst out laughing when Lisa stood and stared, stumped. Momo didn't help her either,
just laughing her head off.

Jennie shook her head. "Come on you two, let's get you started..."
"What's it gonna be today, boss?" Momo asked, slipping on a sweat band over her forehead. Jennie
grinned.

"Oh you'll both love it, it's your favourite. Today..." she spread her arms wide, like a schoolteacher
about to cheerily announce the class's doom, "you'll be doing the Wolverine Shredder X combo.
Let's get ripped, y'know what I'm saying?"

Lisa and Momo groaned.

 Stiff

"Your neck's a little stiff Irene, that's why you feel uncomfortable," Jennie was explaining to the
seated woman as she pressed around various points on the woman's nape. "I can help set it right."

"You....you sure?" Irene sounded nervous. "Ughh, I don't even know how this happened, I try to
keep the area as tension-free as possible..."

"Relax, keep your head relaxed and free."

Jennie stood behind the older woman, one knee on the bench to have the upper footing. She gently
held Irene's head from the base of the skull and jaw, letting it roll over her palm to ensure it was
relaxed. Irene's head lolled freely and Jennie readied herself.

"Irene no need to tense up, I do this sometimes on Lisa," Jennie said softly, "keep it free and—"

In one fluid motion, she jerked Irene's head.

Crack!

Jennie released Irene and backed away as the older woman stared in astonishment, jaw slack. She
rolled her neck and shoulders. "Wow!....wow.....You did it!"

"I think you could do with another one for your shoulder muscle, here," Jennie pointed and
positioned her hands again. "Relax and—"

Pop!

Irene could only gape in delight. "Wow, I didn't even realise there was that much tension!"

"She's good right?" Lisa called proudly, squatting with a medicine ball. "Always fixed me good
and proper!"

"Same here!" Momo agreed as she paused from her round on the punching balloon.

"Hwangssabu's girl through and through!" Matthew joined in.

"I learned from the best," Jennie shrugged, slightly pink.

"Popping necks is scary," Somi laughed uneasily. She had been watching Jennie closely. "I don't
think I'd be able to do it. What if you jerked too much and...and broke their necks?" she shuddered.

"I had practice on cats. Poor things, really," Jennie said casually before chuckling at Somi and
Irene's ashen faces. "Kidding. It's just, I used to watch Hwangssabu a lot. And he used to do it a lot
on me, I got stiff so easily...." she trailed off, eyes distant. "He showed me the technique—I used to
try on him too..."

"You definitely picked it up!" Irene said quickly as she stood up and rolled her neck again for good
measure, "thanks sweetie. How can I repay you?"

"Oh no, Irene it's just—"

"Please. You have no idea how stiff I slept last night, it was awful! Had me snapping like a piranha
at my poor neighbour."
Irene turned to her sports bag then slapped her forehead. "Oh look, silly me! I didn't even get my
thermos today! Let me treat you to a coffee."

The short brunette's eyes widened. "Oh no, really, it's nothing—"

"I insist!" Irene insisted.

"Um...but I...I..." Jennie turned back hesitantly to Lisa and Momo.

"Go ahead Jen, I'm sure I can hold down the fort if burglars come in to get our stash," Lisa winked.

"And I'll be here," Momo added, putting an arm round her neck.

"Wow I feel so much safer," Matthew quipped, laughing when Lisa threw him a dirty glare.

"Somi dear, wanna come with us?" Irene invited. "Is that okay Matthew?"

"Sure, I got a good half hour before I finish," he grunted, dark patches forming at his armpits under
his T-shirt.

"What! But she's still got her sets to do with me!" Lisa cried indignantly. "Oi you! Don't think that
you're skipping leg day! I'll get you later!"

"Not today, loser!" Somi crowed with glee. She threaded an arm through Jennie's and an arm
through Irene's. "Let's go unnies. Toodles!"

"How dare you 'toodles' me, that's my line—"

Somi sauntered out of the Vault without another glance.

Lisa sighed deeply at their departing backs. "Kids," she said to Momo.

"Yeah..."

"They grow so fast...." Lisa added, her eyes taking on a wistful glaze.

"Uhmm...that's what kids normally do I guess..."

"I remember like it was yesterday that I called that kid a brat and she called me a prick back." Lisa
continued, reminiscing.

"But...wasn't that yesterday?" Momo frowned, scratching her head.

"Exactly."

"Ladies, I think you should probably get on with your workouts," Matthew called with a chuckle,
"or Jennie will be super mad once she comes back."

"Oh please Matt, we got plenty of time. They're gonna have a long girl chat to catch up, trust me on
this one, it's what girls do. You're gonna regret letting Somi go."

"So you're not a girl?" Momo snickered.

"Shut up Momo."

"I'm just saying..."

"Look, I'm not one to talk about that kinda stuff...like whatever they talk about. I'm a guy kind of
girl. One of the guys, y'know what I'm saying? They're more the feelsy kind of girls. I'm the bro
kind."

"Why do you think we call you Limario?" Momo grinned and fist bumped with Lisa. "But I'm with
ya...bro. Talking about girly feelsy stuff always has me nervous."

"You got a girl though now, you gotta start wiring up for that kinda shat now, eh?"

"Eh, it's not so bad, Dahyun gets me. We Skyped a lot while I was away, she's on my frequency, ya
get me?"

"Sweet. Hey, I'mma grab my bagel while the coast is clear."

"You haven't even done a proper cool down!"Momo protested, pausing her sit-ups.

But Lisa ignored her, already drooling once the aroma of fried bacon and egg hit her nose. "Hey
there good lookin', come to mama."

Momo scrunched up her nose in disgust at the small noises Lisa made as she chomped and gulped
and licked her fingers.

"Gawd, tone it down will ya? You sound so lewd."

"What can I say? You need bleach for your imagination," Lisa said thickly. "I'mma give this bagel
the attention it deserves for the next hour."

Momo snickered. "What makes you think you got an hour?"

"Please, I thought you were experienced with the ladies! Ask Matt—three girls meet up for a chat
over coffee? Ain't nobody leavin' before a solid hour passes. I don't even know how he let Mimi
go."

"She likes...to hang with...her unnies," he shrugged, puffing as he pushed up and down. "It's been
a...while since....they hung....out. She... told me she...misses you...all...together. So...I
thought....why not?"

"Well good luck getting to work on time then," Lisa winked.

 Chat

"So unnie," Jennie said as she stirred her coffee, "I'm guessing you wanted to...talk about
something in particular?"

"What are you saying Jen?" Irene smiled innocently. They had been sitting for a while, enjoying
their coffee and the warmth of the diner Jennie and Lisa frequented, since it was the closest
establishment to the gym.

"Yeah, it's not like we're here to interrogate you or something," Somi added quickly with a high-
pitched giggle. "I mean isn't it nice to just hang out, have coffee? Fun times."

She slipped the straw of her drink into her mouth, dragging up the liquid. "See? Fun."

Irene nudged Somi in the ribs, making the girl snort into her iced coffee.

"Don't push it," Irene hissed, teeth gritted, with a smile still pasted on her face.

"Sorry," Somi choked back.

Jennie's lips quirked up at the corners. "I don't know unnie... but it's just I was wondering why
you'd rather have expensive, shop coffee when you already brought your own thermos."

"Thermos? What are you talking about?" Irene gave a nervous laugh.

"Drop it grandma, she knows," Somi said gloomily, slumping in her seat. Irene sighed when she
spotted Jennie's smile widen.

"Fine. Fine. You caught us. I just wanted to steal you away for a second because....well Somi and I
have been...concerned?"

Jennie's eyes immediately shuttered, blocking all light from entering and her face hardened. "We're
doing okay, unnie. Lisa's just...Lisa's just going through a slump and it's...affecting us. That's all."

Irene laid out a hand on Jennie's clenched fist.

"Jen, I'm not pitying you," she said softly, "I'm not. But as a friend, shouldn't I ask when I feel
concerned about your well being?"

Jennie's shutters cracked open, light returning to her eyes. But she was still gazing at them with an
expression akin to suspicion.

"Unnie?" Somi said timidly. She took a deep breath. "I told Irene to ask. I...I hate seeing you and
Lisa...clash so much...I mean, I'm used to it, but recently....you've been going so hard on her...I
hope she's okay, and you too."

Jennie's bottom lip trembled. "I...I..."

She put her head down on the table, schooling herself not to break down.

She couldn't cry, not in front of them.

She couldn't tell them just how worried she was for Lisa yet at the same time how much they
depended on Lisa winning.
"I'm tired," Jennie whispered, "I'm so tired..."

A gentle hand stroked her head and she instantly recognised it as Irene's—there were only few
times when Jennie allowed herself to be comforted by the older woman, the emotional pillar that
propped her up.

Such moments could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

The last time Jennie remembered being this vulnerable was when she and Lisa had suddenly ended
up alone and she couldn't keep up to pay those damn bills.

For days, she had walked around like one of the dead. The fear of being thrown out on the streets
hung around her neck like a rock, and she was drowning in dread.

Matthew and Irene had quietly stepped in and paid off their debts, staving off the sisters' doom
until they had found their footing after the funeral.

"I know you won't accept money," Jennie heard Irene say softly, "but is there possibly anything
that we could do to help?"

"Yeah, anything," Somi echoed.

"No. No, there's nothing." Jennie raised her face, eyes bone-dry. "But thank you...for caring."

Somi and Irene shared a glance, their frustration mirrored.

So stubborn....

Nayeon came to clean their table. She exchanged small greetings but left almost immediately when
she sensed the terse atmosphere between them.

Jennie tried to pay for her coffee separately but Irene wasn't having that and lightly swatted her
hand away.

They lingered at the table eating their croissants, with Irene and Somi trying to make light-hearted
conversation but Jennie was wrapped in her thoughts.

"Somi don't you dare!"

Jennei roused herself to catch Somi giggling mischievously as she held Irene's phone out of reach.

Despite her amusement at Irene's fuming, Jennie patted Somi, silently asking her to give Irene's
phone back and the girl reluctantly lowered her arm.

"Seulgi just can't get enough of you huh unnie?" Somi was giggling as Irene snatched her phone
back. "Come on, text her back! Or are you gonna play hard to get? Gimme, I'll send her a few kiss
emojis!"

"Shut up! She's just a friend!" Irene insisted.

"Are you sure about that? From what you say, she sounds very smitten with ya," Somi wiggled her
eyebrows.

"You've been hanging way too much with Lisa, you're starting to sound like her!"

"Ughhh no take that back!" Somi squealed in disgust.

"Who's Seulgi?" Jennie asked curiously, feeling a slight sadness that she was too wrapped up in her
head and missing out on her friends' lives. Irene paused from her texting.

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" she said in surprise. "She's a sweet girl, moved in recently next to my place.
Kang Seulgi, that's what she said her full name is. And she's very sweet, she helped me get my
groceries in the other day, the girl is really strong. But she's kind of the clumsy, accident-prone
types? I honestly don't think she even knows how to cook, even though she's older than you Jen."

She showed them the text Seulgi sent. "She just asked me if it was normal for the toaster to start
smoking. Like..." Irene shook her head.

"Sounds like she's a handful," Jennie chuckled.

"She's on Lisa's wavelength of idiocy," Somi smirked. "Anyway let me tell you about how Irene
unnie kindly offered to cook dinner for her crush and they hit off immediately on their first date—"

"For the last time Somi, it wasn't a date!" Irene groaned, rather pink in the face. " She's just a
sweet, quiet girl that I don't mind helping out sometimes. Just because two women meet up for
dinner, it has to be a date? What does this scenario mean to you right now?"

She pointed at herself and and Jennie. "Does this mean Jennie and I are your lesbian parents and
we came to have a coffee with you, our precocious teen?"

"Or we're a threesome," Somi ventured, making the older girls splutter, "that would be more
exciting. What? Poly relationships are a thing, you know!"

"Yep, definitely been hanging way too much around Lisa," Irene said at last as Somi smacked
Jennie's back to help her stop coughing.

"I'm worried about the next match," Jennie blurted at length when they quietened down. She
fiddled with the salt and pepper shakers. Irene and Somi looked at each other again, excited for
making a head way.

"Don't push it," Irene hissed in warning, nudging Somi's foot before she turned to Jennie.

"That's not until two more weeks, right? There's still plenty of time," she said comfortingly.

Jennie shook her head. "I hope so. It's one of her toughest opponents...."

"That rookie? The Bear?" Somi asked delicately. Jennie nodded grimly.

"Ahh," Irene said in understanding, "Lisa's rival...."

"She came out of nowhere. No one knows her real name..." Jennie sounded thoughtful.

"But she's amazing. She's vicious, fast, tough, and a hard-hitter. She's the one who ended Lisa's
winning streak, you know? And she's quickly rising up the ranks. People will gravitate towards her
more and more....I'm afraid she might edge Lisa out and....well, falling out of favour with your
audience is never good...." Jennie confessed.

"And with Lisa's recent run, I'm wondering if she's truly ready for the next confrontation..." she
continued. "We'll only find out when they face each other..."

"You don't think...Lisa needs a break or...?" Irene said carefully.

Jennie shook her head. "I know it sounds cruel of me but Lisa is strong. Physically, she can take
it...."

"But?"

Jennie sighed. "I know Lisa. I've been training with her for so long. I just...I think mentally, she's
tired. And that exhaustion manifests as sloppy performances. You could be in tip-top shape and
mentally, you're not ready. Those two aspects need to be in perfect sync to win. And...it makes me
frustrated seeing her like that."

"Take a break," was Somi's immediate suggestion. "Get away from all this."

Jennie smiled wryly. "That would be nice. But we just can't, Mimi, you know we can't."

"My Dad could pay—"

"Oh look at the time, I should be heading back!" Jennie said quickly as she stood up. "And both of
you have places to be as well—"

Irene laid a hand on her arm. "Jen, we'll talk about this again. I promise. I'm happy you're telling us
though, but we're gonna figure this out and help you."

The younger girl gave her a wan smile. "Yeah...sure..."

Her empty eyes said otherwise.

 Fall

It takes seconds.

Mere miniscule, almost worthless pieces of time that suddenly turn so valuable and precious in
situations where Time is everything.

It takes seconds to either win or lose; it all depends on who moves fastest.

Lisa knew this very well: Hwangssabu had stressed upon it endlessly.

"You see, in the ring, it's not always the biggest and strongest fighter that wins," he said as he sat
both girls on his lap. "It's the smartest one, the one who thinks fast on their feet and figures out
their opponent's weakness. Learn to work smarter, not harder, when you're fighting."

"LISA WATCH OUT!"

Lisa turned just in time for a boxing glove to hit her smack in the face, sending her flying
backwards.

Ah...I was not fast enough... Lisa thought fleetingly as she crashed to the ground. She sprawled in a
daze, feeling the familiar stream of warm sticky blood trickle over her lips.

"Tor-na-do! Tor-na-do!" the crowd chanted, urging her to get up.

"Finish her! Finish her! Finish her!" yelled her opponent's fans.

Lisa felt like closing her eyes and falling into a deep sleep where nothing could touch her, not even
the mindless chanting egging her on; not even the blood; not even the flying fists; not even the
horrible strangled screams of the dying that still echoed in her head...

The exhaustion ran deep, a heavy weight in her bones in contrast with the adrenaline urging her to
get up and fight fight fight.

"Tor-na-do! Tor-na-do!" roared the crowd, stomping their feet. Their rousing cheers reached a
crescendo when Lisa sat up with a groan, holding her head.

In a fight—any fight—the body's reaction is always the same for anybody: fight or flight. Very few
people have the fight mode ingrained in them to prolong a fight—it's why street fights generally
fizzle out, when the instinct to flee kicks in soon after a couple of punches.

The brain always seeks to distance the body from danger. It takes years of training to suppress this
instinct and fight back instead.

For Lisa, she was past caring—she was too tired to fight, or flee.

Tired of working out. Tired of winning and still stuck in the same place.

Nothing ever changed, not even when she had won four matches in a row that one time, and raised
Jennie's hopes of ever improving their wretched existence.

So, so tired.

"Finish her off Kay, come on!"

"Shut up, I got this!"

Squinting against the blinding lights, she saw the Bear circling in her corner, ignoring her eager
trainer who was hopping from one foot to the other in agitation as she cheered for her masked
fighter.

Lisa had to give the Bear credit for maintaining that aloof aura.

Of course, she was not the only boxer to hide her identity just to create that mysterious persona but
it would get progressively harder to maintain it once her popularity increased.

The girl was as mysterious as they get, hiding her lower face beneath a black mask. She had raven-
black hair with bangs that covered her eyebrows but her eyes, hard in the midst of battle, now
shone with something akin to nervous concern.

"Come on Tornado!" The Bear said gruffly, tapping her foot impatiently. "Are you gonna gawk at
me all night?"

"Why don't you show us your pretty face babe?" Lisa called, eliciting several chuckles from the
crowd.

"Fight me you spineless dingo!" The Bear spat.

"Gimme a second," Lisa returned, wiping her nose with the back of her arm. Her surroundings were
filtering in through her good eye—the other was swollen almost shut already, courtesy of the
Bear's powerful punch.

Lisa stumbled to her feet, bending over her knees and breathing deeply as the rush of blood filled
her ears. She glanced at the referee who was waiting for her signal that it was okay to continue the
round.

Lisa gave him a thumbs up, earning a rousing cheer from the crowd that made her smile. Hearing
the spectators cheering for her was always a wonderful boost and she was ever so grateful for their
support.

It's just that she didn't feel like fighting.

There was always a certain key ingredient missing in her fights. A certain fluidity she used to
possess before....

Well better get it over with.

Lisa exhaled and opened her eyes, straightening and rolling her neck before settling into a stance
with her arms up, fists on either side of her face. The Bear put her foot forward, equally ready.

Lisa's vision tunnelled.

Rein it in Lalisa.

Focus.

Ready. Set.

Her eye met the Bear's own glittery pair of dark orbs, eyes that had shuttered and hardened. The
referee rang the bell and Lisa's nostrils flared.
Fight.

They charged.

>

Jennie turned away, mouth pressed into a thin line.

She had stopped yelling and encouraging Lisa by the second round, when Lisa lost.

It was clear her sister's dreaded slump had showed up again. No matter what Jennie did, even if she
were to do a strip tease, the outcome wouldn't change.

Lisa's form was too tense, her judgement scattered, her jabs always seconds late.

"Get her Kay! Get her!" her rival trainer shouted.

Jennie turned away from the ring when the bell clanged and the round continued. She bit down
hard on her tongue and squeezed her eyes shut when she heard the whoosh of heavy steps as the
fighters charged towards each other.

Jennie wished she could block out the inevitable dull thunk! of impact, the dull flump! of a body
crashing to ground, the people around her shouting KNOCKOUT! and then the ear-splitting spubd
of the whistle as the referee called a timeout to count.

The crowd counted with him, excited murmurs rising steadily to shout the numbers.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven..."

Jennie still didn't turn—judging from the triumphant yelling and booing, it didn't seem like the
match was continuing.

"three, two, one! The Bear is the winner!" the referee announced, ringing the bell madly.

Jennie turned back towards the ring when the arena erupted in raucous cheers and displeased
murmurs as people cashed in on their bets.

Stray money bills rained down on Jennie as always and the temptation to sneak a few of them
surfaced again.

But instead, Jennie faced the ring where Lisa lay, sprawled out like a starfish with her eyes closed.
One eye was turning purple and her body glistened with sweat beneath the glare of the spotlights.

The Bear was being mobbed by a sea of people congratulating her while security personnel
guarded her as best as they could as she made her way down the ring and headed towards the exit.

Jennie watched the boxer and her blonde trainer make their way out of the arena as people jostled
to follow her and celebrate.

The boxer glanced back at Jennie over her shoulder, her arrogant gaze flickering momentarily to
Lisa's defeated form still out cold in the ring.

Her trainer, a shorter woman who always seemed to cycle between elation, anger or disdain, like
the expression she reserved specially for Jennie right after another defeat—she blasted Jennie with
a scornful smirk.
The boxer Kay, or the Bear as she liked to be called, wasn't any sweeter— if Jennie could see her
whole face behind the mask, she'd bet the victorious girl was sneering.

She never openly gloated but her victories were always followed by that openly contemptuous
expression.

The Bear lifted her arm in a mocking farewell, allowing her fans to pull her out of the arena as their
echoing cheers and rampant hollering faded when the place emptied.

Jennie finally exhaled, letting the tension seep out as her fists relaxed. Defeat was always a bitter
pill to swallow, and having sneering entitled people rubbing it in didn't help ease the sting.

Another failure.

The referee climbed down from the box after he finished checking up on Lisa and handed Jennie
the meagre pile of cash for Lisa's consolation prize.

"Better luck next time," he said sympathetically, "hope she picks up in time for the Grand Slam."

Jennie nodded and wordlessly stuffed the money in her pocket before climbing over the rope and
kneeling next to Lisa.

She opened a bottle of water and emptied its contents all over Lisa's face. Lisa came to with a
splutter.

"Stop waterboarding me, woman!"

"Oh you're alive, good." Jennie returned, throwing away the empty bottle. "Welcome back."

Lisa cracked her good eye open and then broke into a wry smile. "Damn, aren't you a sight for sore
eyes, sis."

Jennie resisted the urge to smack her, watching as her sister winced when she sat up.

"Did you get the money?" Lisa asked as she tested her feet and wiggled her arms.

"Yeah..."

"Did Miss Winnie-the-Pooh say anything?"

"She said thank you for the walk-over....again."

"Great, okay." Lisa dragged herself up on her feet as she clung on to the ropes. "Lemme just....walk
— whoa!"

She keeled over just as Jennie predicted and started to giggle when her face kissed the ground.
"Ooops. The room's spinning a bit."

Jennie suppressed the urge to sigh and scooted closer to her sister, holding out her hand. "Let's get
you home."

"I wish Momo was here. She's more fun than you," Lisa grumbled as Jennie hoisted an arm over
her shoulder to support Lisa.

"Me, too."
"I wish Dad was here," Lisa mumbled quietly, so quietly her sister almost didn't hear.

Almost.

This time, Jennie didn't bother to stifle her sad sigh.

"Me, too."
 Disapprove

The morning after, Irene and Somi found Jennie pacing about the gym with no Lisa in sight.

"Has she finally gotten tired and bumped Lisa off?" Somi whispered behind her hand.

"Sometimes I find it hard to believe you're nineteen," Irene whispered back exasperatedly. "How
could such a thing even cross your mind?"

"Well, explain to me why Lisa isn't doing her workout then."

"We can ask later... but I have a bad feeling, Lisa did have that important match with that rookie
rival of hers last night...and Jennie looks a little preoccupied..."

"But....what about their breakfast?"

Irene took the box from Somi and approached the agitated girl walking with brows furrowed.

"Jen?"

Jennie didn't reply as she marched in a straight line back and forth between the bench and the
punching bags, her head bent and her finger curled under chin.

"Jennie!"

The trainer whirled on Irene with a start. "Oh unnie! Uh....what's wrong?"

"I should be asking that question," Irene snorted as she handed her the bagels. "What's got into
you? And where's your sister?"

Jennie bit her lip. "Lisa...is resting."

"Is she okay?" Somi piped up and joining the elder girls. "Uhm...this girl in class was saying last
night's match was...a walk-over..."

"Her parents let her go to such places? On a weekday?!" Irene exclaimed, scandalised. "How can
they? What kind of careless—"

"Grandma, it's just a boxing match, get into this century," Somi rolled her eyes, "besides, we're
adults, we can go wherever—"

"Oh ho, if you were my daughter you can bet your milkshake you wouldn't step foot in there,"
Irene retorted with a shudder, "nasty, violent, dirty places, just for people to throw their money
away to watch other people get beaten up! It's what makes youngsters violent! It's too
impressionable for kids like you!"

"Excuse me? Lisa started fighting when she was younger than me!" Somi protested. "And the
place is approved by regulators of the industry, it's all legal!"

"Lisa is different! She had to, but that doesn't mean I approve! Hwangssabu was wrong to raise
them that way but he never listened, and look where that got them. Look where that got him!"

A ringing silence fell after Irene's outburst. The three women stared at each other, equally stunned.
"Hey ladies, sorry I'm late—" Somi's dad stopped short in the entrance when he saw the three of
them together and immediately sensed the tense atmosphere percolating throughout the room.

"I'll uh....just get ready....over here..." he said uncertainly and backed away into the furthest corner
possible, putting in earbuds and immediately getting started on his routine.

Meanwhile, Irene reached out uncertainly to Jennie. The younger girl was holding tightly to the
box of bagels, her knuckles turning white.

"Jen...I...I..." Irene trailed off, at a loss.

Jennie shook her head.

"It's okay," she said quietly, "I know you and Matthew don't approve of our lifestyle yet you still
respect us...that's all I could ever ask for, really."

She smiled and turned to Somi. "But hey, people used to say video games turned kids violent and
those same people turned out to be wrong so...maybe same goes for boxing you know? Do what
you wanna do, Mimi, just don't do drugs, is all."

Somi pulled herself up to her full height and slapped Irene's arm. "Take that grandma!"

"I still think it's not right for teenagers to go to those places," Irene muttered.

"You also think people my age shouldn't go to clubs and bars, and that we shouldn't date right
now," Somi said dismissively, "I'm not a kid you know."

Irene waved a hand.

"I'm not gonna win with you," she scoffed as Somi did a little victory jig. "Anyway, so Lisa
was....?"

"Slumping," Jennie sighed as she put the bagels on her desk and turned to face the other girls. She
leaned against the desk. "I think I've finally gotten to the root of the problem, though I wish I had
admitted it to myself earlier. I was thinking on how to tackle it without breaking the bank."

"Well?"

Jennie crossed her arms across her chest. "Stay tuned folks, right now you should both be working
out."

"Jennie!" Irene and Somi groaned.

"Sorry," Jennie smiled, "I just really wanna eat my bagel right now."

"Can I go give Lisa her breakfast then?" Somi said hopefully.

"I'm afraid she might bite your head off if you try to wake her right now, Mimi, that's not a good
idea."

She gave Somi a kind smile. "You can stop worrying she's fine. I just let her sleep for today since
she needs it. And no, you're not skipping anything just because Lisa isn't here."

Jennie winked. "I'll be coming around to see your progress. And as you may have noticed, I'm a lot
less lenient then my sister so....take that as you will."
"I know I know," Somi grumbled, walking away and taking a mat. "I'll get started on the jumping
jacks."

Jennie's smile widened. "Good girl."

 Proxy

"Well?" Somi demanded as soon as she came in through the door.

"Good afternoon to you too, I'm fine thank you, no Lisa is still conked out," Jennie chuckled.

"Unnie!" Somi pouted.

Jennie had kept a tight lip all morning, not even relenting when Irene had to leave.

"Somi get her for me," Irene had ordered and for once, Somi obeyed without question—she
pestered Jennie until she and Matthew had to leave.

Somi was determined to get to the root of it by the end of the day and luckily, she was still seeing
Jennie in the evening.

"Aren't you tired of being all mysterious?"

"Hmm," Jennie said now as she strolled over to the bars where people did pull-ups. She ran a finger
along the metal, brushing off dust. "Maybe it's because...I'm ashamed I kept my head buried in the
sand and let the issue grow too much instead of tackling it head on."

"Oh," Somi said thoughtfully, "like...procrastination?"

The older girl nodded, her face grim. "Only my reasons for stalling aren't exactly related to
procrastination..."

"Then?"

Jennie hummed as she stretched. "Remember I said mentally, Lisa's tired? I may have
underestimated its hindering quality..."

"To the point of allowing her to endure all that battering?" Somi gasped. "Over and over again?"

Jennie looked away. "She was handling it well..."

Somi stared, slack-jawed.

"Yeah I'm the bad guy," Jennie sighed. "But I'm gonna try and fix this. Lisa....she needs to get
better....in time for the Grand Slam qualifiers."

"B-but....but..."

"Money," Jennie sighed. She spread her arms to indicate the gym. "It's all about the damn
money....and Lisa is the only one bringing it in!"

She clenched her fist. "It's never enough...we're always needing to fix something, to pay off some
bill, to buy food...we always need it...and I'm the fool for even dreaming that we'll get out of this
wretched situation one day by pinning all my hopes on my little sister and driving her on..."

Jennie sank down in a chair behind the desk, glancing around the empty gym with a painful smile.
"I honestly don't know why I'm keeping this place open. It would be one less expense to worry
about...."
"Don't say that!" Somi said in alarm. "Come on, Dad and I love it, and so does Irene. Momo comes
here too whenever she's in Korea, and those people in the afternoon sometimes—"

"It's not enough, Mimi," Jennie said quietly, "nor is my diner job enough. Lisa is the only one
bringing in the buck."

She shook her head. "If I shut down the gym, Lisa and I would lose the apartment too, because that
was the stupid contract. And without this place, we won't have anywhere to go...so we have to stay
open...even if everybody stops coming here."

She straightened. "I think I will have to close early today, since Lisa won't be here to keep an eye
on things."

"I can stay!" Somi volunteered. Jennie shook her head.

"Thanks sweetie, but if something happens, you'll be held liable and I'll be charged with
negligence, since you're not an employee. I can't risk that happening."

Somi's enthusiasm wilted, her face turning glum. "Wish Momo was back already...Lisa feels better
with her around and she could look after the gym while you're gone."

"Sweetie, you know she's busy in Tokyo. Be glad that she can visit at all," Jennie said gently, "but
yeah, I miss her goofy ass too."

Somi shrugged. "I guess...okay so, what are you going to do about Lisa?"

Jennie paused, tapping her finger on the desk with her head bowed over her chest.

"Lisa needs a break, time to relax. Her core has weakened and her form is poor, too tense. She used
to be way more sharp and fluid before...."

"Why don't you fight instead of her?" Somi asked suddenly. "There's that option isn't there? I heard
people talking about it....prox something?"

"Fight by Proxy," Jennie nodded, "but for that, I'd have to be legally named as her proxy, which
I'm not. And I can't fight her fights instead of her—the option only counts when she's halfway
through a match and decides to call in her proxy to continue fighting on her behalf."

"Well, why don't you? Become her legal proxy? Is it because of extra fees or something?"

"The proxy is....a double-edge sword, so to speak," Jennie swallowed. "Mimi, I'm not sure I'm
supposed to be telling you this—"

"Why? Because my dad disapproves?" Somi demanded hotly. "What is he gonna do, tape up my
eyes and block my ears? It's everywhere Jen, the sports has grown so much—there's ads on
billboards in the streets and Tv and Naver and Youtube....does he expect me to remain ignorant
forever? All my friends follow the televised events! But at home, it's frowned upon to even
mention it! I have you guys that are full-time invested in this thing for crying out loud and I don't
even know half of how the game works!"

"Somi, it's just that....you know how close he and Hwangssabu were," Jennie told her patiently.
"Matthew just wants to keep you away from...bad things."

"Bad things? Are you saying you and Lis are bad people then?" Somi scoffed. "Why would we still
bother to work out here then?"
"No it's just—"

"You know, I never really went against my dad. I respect his judgement a lot," Somi said with an
angry shake of her head, "but things can't always stay the same. I'm not a baby anymore. And
honestly, what's the deal with people looking down on pro-fem boxing? I don't get people like
Irene and my dad sometimes. It's just a sport."

She hoisted herself next to Jennie on the desk.

"I'm not gonna be fighting, Jen," Somi pleaded, "just the knowledge of a few terms here and there
won't hurt, right? It would help me understand you more."

"You can always look them up on the internet—"

"You gonna chicken out on me? That's what a pussycat grandma like Irene says," Somi snickered.

Jennie sighed in defeat. "Okay, okay....where was I? Oh right...well, the proxy is a bit of a double-
edged sword because...it is limited in its scope when compared to its original intention. Using your
proxy card, so to speak, isn't always the solution to a fight."

"Uhh...so?" Somi asked, not quite following.

"Professional boxing matches operate a little differently from the pro-fem boxing that is being
promoted nowadays," Jennie began. "They pick a winner based on a scoring system, depending on
the amount of punches, the defence, the aggressiveness of the boxer...the bout lasts for like three
minutes for men, two minutes for women."

"Oh...I thought fights lasted longer..."

"Fights are never as long as you see in movies," Jennie told her, "those are choreographed and
extended. Sometimes it takes only minutes to land a good knock-out punch. Now in ordinary
professional boxing, for important matches where there is a high prize involved, you have twelve
rounds, and for less significant fights, you have four rounds. Also, these professional boxers pretty
much don't fight most of them. Like they can go for six months before a next fight is scheduled and
arranged in between managements of the fighters."

Somi's eyes grew round. "I always wondered why those big boxers like McGregor aren't seen in
matches more often, only like high-profile ones..."

"They're training," Jennie nodded, "training in anticipation for the next match."

"That's way different than PFB! Lisa is fighting nearly every other week!"

"Yep," Jennie smiled, "but you see, pro-fem boxing borrows elements from underground fighting.
You fight kinda dirty. Still boxing, still regulated and sanctioned....but dirtier."

"Yeah?"

"Underground illegal cage fights are just bloody fights with no length of time—whoever knocks the
other out wins. They don't usually last long cos' they're...savage..."

Jennie cleared her throat and picked up again.

"But PFB borrows elements from it. For one thing, there's no points. There's three rounds—I'm
sure Lisa told you before—and they last for ten minutes each. You just fight and defend until the
first two rounds are over, until time runs out. So that's a total of thirty minutes of fighting clocked
in every fortnight.

If you win two out of three rounds, you win the whole match. But then, if you lose both the first
and second round yet win the third round, you win the entire match as well."

"But that's a bit unfair!" Somi exclaimed. "Say I won the first two matches and then lost the
third..."

"Not unfair. It's competition, it's what makes it exciting and unpredictable till the end." Jennie told
her. "Winning the third round usually means getting an extra bonus added to your winnings too, so
many people try to win that."

"Of course, so the match doesn't get boring with players only vying to win the first two rounds,"
Somi nodded.

"Exactly. Now the third round is the dirtiest, and can be extended if the boxers are still standing by
the time runs out, or there is a draw. You see, if a total knockout is possible, fighters are
encouraged to go in for the kill because....it also gets them an extra rise in their salary."

"Kill?" Somi said in a small voice.

"No no, not like that!" Jennie chuckled, "I meant it in a figurative sense. But the promise of all that
cash can certainly turn many of the fighters almost savage."

"So much money..." Somi's eyes were round as saucers. "I had no idea..."

Jennie nodded. "It's what makes it notorious and popular for those plucky strong girls looking to
make a quick buck, and for those looking for cheap thrill kinda thing. There's a high cash flow,
almost on par with the gaming and tech industry, and it just keeps growing when tournaments like
the Grand Slam are hosted. There's always betting pools being set and money being thrown
around...I hear it all going on behind me when I'm beneath the platform.

Watching fighters actually getting pounded and battered is good entertainment, I suppose. I mean,
the Romans of Italy used to watch gladiator fights....these are no different, except there is a
regulating authority AND first aid at hand should things turn bloody."

"Mmm....and where does the proxy come in then?"

"The proxy option was borrowed from underground cage fights. But those are usually bloody one-
time fights...a matter of life and death at times too."

Somi gave a nervous giggle but Jennie didn't smile.

"So calling for your proxy when you're too beaten up to carry on may save your life in those
scenarios...but if your opponent is too powerful, it will end up in defeat for your proxy too.
Moreover, if say, the proxy wins, they still aren't considered winners."

"What? Why not?"

"People would argue that it's not fair, since they didn't fight the whole fight. The proxy would still
be fresh, while their opponent might already be tired out," Jennie explained. "Many people don't
like using the proxy card—it's considered a coward's way out of a fight, just to live another day,
and it's a humiliating label for the original fighter who prides themselves on their fighting—simply
because they weren't able to finish the match or go down with honour."
"Ahhhh I see..." Somi nodded thoughtfully. "Lisa would never let you step in for her, even if she
was on the brink of dying. She's too proud."

Jennie nodded. "That, and in PFB, the proxy is actually quite useless. You're only allowed to use it
once every seven games. They don't want to encourage its usage but the option is there, I suppose."

The younger girl frowned, deep in thought. "So what now?"

"I was actually gonna ask you and Irene for help," Jennie said with a fond smile. She waited.

"Oh yeah good idea they could certainly help—WAIT A SECOND!" Somi yelped and turned to
Jennie in delight. "Really?"

"Don't be so thrilled." Jennie chuckled. "I'm not gonna ask for money. But...since Lisa can't stop
boxing, she has to find relaxation some other way."

Something that's healthy and won't break the bank," she added when Somi opened her mouth, "so
don't tell me clubbing or playing games at the arcade."

Somi shut her mouth, looking dejected. She pouted and hopped off the desk, heading for the
hanging bars where she clung on and turned herself upside down. Jennie slid down from the desk
as well and went up to the hanging girl.

"What do you do for fun?" Jennie questioned.

"My taxes," Somi replied calmly, turning red in the face from hanging upside down.

She burst into peals of laughter when Jennie's eyes widened. "Gotcha! Joke, unnie, joke!"

"Ha ha very funny."

"Come onnnnnnn."

"Somi I'm trying to be serious here, do you wanna help me or not?"

"Okay okay..."

Somi lowered herself upright and sank to the ground to think.

They lapsed into silence: Jennie waited patiently while Somi frowned and wracked her brain.

"Well, nothing of what I do would be fit for Lisa," Somi mused, "I read or watch a series to
unwind, or go out and buy some snack or junk food...I go out on my bicycle along the river...I chat
with friends on my socials, just browse around on Youtube for funny vids..."

She glanced at Jennie sadly. "You guys...don't even have a proper phone able to do that..."

"I'm well aware," Jennie said heavily as she brought out the bulky Nokia from her pocket. She
passed it from hand to hand. "It's like carrying out a miniature rock. But at least it does its job..."

Somi sighed. "I don't know what we can do unnie..."

Jennie patted her back. "Don't worry over it Mimi. I'll talk to Irene about it tomorrow too."

She nodded to herself determinedly. "We'll come up with something."

"That's...uncharacteristically....optimistic of you? Not that I'm complaining!" Somi added hastily.

Jennie gave her a tight-lipped smile. "I can't mope around forever—it won't get me money. If it
did, I'd be a bigger billionaire than Jeff Bezos."
 Plan

The day after Somi and Jennie's conversation, Irene had taken the two of them to the diner again
where they could talk whilst enjoying some fresh croissants. Jennie protested about having the
others pay for her pastry but Irene quickly shut her up by asking Jennie to talk about her
conclusions regarding her sister.

Irene had been similarly stumped on what Lisa could possibly do and soon the conversation had
veered off course as the women slipped further into relaxation and chatted freely.

Suddenly, mid-way through Somi speaking, Irene shot up from her seat.

"That's it!" Irene slapped the table top, "of course, why didn't I think of it before?"

"Say that again!" she then ordered Somi and the younger girl paled in fright. Irene hovered over
her like a hawk as Jennie sipped her coffee and watched the exchange with interest.

"I er....have a dance competition coming up?" Somi said in confusion.

"No not that part!"

"I'm gonna be hosting the biggest summer bash after I'm done with exams?"

"No no!" Irene said exasperatedly, "fast forward!"

There was an excited glint lighting up Irene's eyes. Jennie cocked her head to the side. "Unnie,
what are you on about—"

"Um...I actually don't mind Brussels sprouts?" Somi ventured again. Irene groaned and face-
palmed as she slumped back in her seat.

"Jennie, this girl shouldn't hang around Lisa anymore, Somi's losing brain cells by the second and
turning into her doppel-ganger! All she needs is to dye her hair blonde and you wouldn't tell the
difference."

"Hey, Lisa isn't some retarded meat-head!" Somi said indignantly. "She's smarter than the average
skanks in my classes!"

"Alright alright," Irene dismissed, "but anyway! What's more important is that you said something
that can help Lisa and Jennie!"

The other girls stared at her.

"I did?" Somi glanced at Jennie, who looked puzzled. "What? When?"

"Pilates," Irene said finally with a sigh, "you said you might not be able to make it to pilates after
dance class on Saturday!"

"Oh yeah. So?"

"Since when have you been going to pilates?" Jennie asked curiously, "how do you even find the
time?"

Somi laughed. "Time management, I'm sure you're familiar with the concept. And oh it's a piece of
cake really, I just spend an hour, no biggie. I started recently like....two months ago now? It helps
with my flexibility for dancing."

"Focus!" Irene exclaimed, bringing their attention back. "Look, I don't have much time but listen
here: Lisa can't relax as such. But pilates might be the solution!"

"Uhhhhhh....."

"Hear me out—Pilates helps you to relax and strengthen your muscles. It's just what Lisa needs to
relieve tension while not losing out on her body strength, in fact, she'll be improving it, instead of
trying to bulk up all the time! It will also help with her flexibility, which last time I heard you said
she was sorely missing, Jen."

Somi's eyes shone. "Unnie, you're a genius!"

Irene gave a superior smirk and folded her arms. "Well, Jen?"

They waited expectantly when Jennie lowered her eyes, deep in thought as she weighed out the
pros and cons.

"It's true that Lisa would definitely benefit from those types of exercises," Jennie said slowly, "and
to be absolutely honest, I had considered Pilates or Yoga for her..."

The hanging silence at the end of her sentence didn't sound very promising.

Somi asked the inevitable: "But?"

Jennie sighed and opened her eyes. "Money," she said quietly, "we can't afford those lessons...they
won't be cheap either..."

A brooding silence descended, enveloping them in their silent bubble as people around them
chatted and enjoyed their morning coffees and breakfasts.

"Okay, I've had enough of this!" Irene declared after an age, slamming her hand down on the table
and making them jump. "Somi, what's the name of the place you go to? What's your teacher's
name?"

"Uh...uh the Rose Pilates Studio, named after its owner and my instructor, Roseanne Park," Somi
said fearfully as Irene whipped out her phone and typed furiously for thirty seconds.

"Sorry, Seulgi sent something," Irene apologised, ignoring Somi's titters, "now...."

She typed for a few more seconds and stopped, a smirk curving her mouth upwards.

"This one?" Irene flashed them the screen with the establishment's details and address. "Is this the
one?"

"Yeah—"

"Irene no." Jennie's voice was terse. "I won't let you do this. I refuse."

"How do you know what I'm gonna do?" Irene said innocently.

"Yeah, how do you?" Somi asked, coming to Irene's defence. She had cottoned on to the elder's
intentions.
"Because I'm not as oblivious as you two make me to be," Jennie retorted, "Irene, I told you, I'm
not going to accept any money on your behalf—"

"Do you think," Irene interrupted, "that watching you and Lisa struggling—oh don't kid me, I know
you are!—do you think it makes me happy, watching you struggle to make ends meet? Lack of
money keeps holding you back from everything and this time, it might even ruin you for good.
Jennie, listen to me—something needs to be done. Having Lisa attending a few sessions might
greatly help her to improve."

"Yes but—"

"Therefore," Irene cut in, "I want to help, and I'll gladly help by sponsoring the sessions."

"No."

"Jennie stop being stubborn!" Irene said in exasperation, "this is a golden opportunity!"

But Jennie shook her head. "I can't," she whispered and abruptly stood up from the table. She had
run out of the café before the others could register what was happening.

"I'll get her. I'll convince her," Somi said hastily before chasing after Jennie.

She rushed out of the diner to see Jennie hadn't run far—she'd recognise that brown ponytail
anytime. Somi jogged after the short girl hurrying away and hunched up with arms wrapped around
herself.

"Unnie," Somi called softly once she had caught up. Jennie didn't try to run ahead as Somi fell in
step with her which she took to be a good sign.

"Mimi..." Jennie croaked. She was still avoiding the younger's gaze. "Mimi, I can't...I just can't let
Irene do this..."

"Why not? She only wants to help you. As a friend." Somi pointed out. "She's an adult, she knows
what she's doing."

"You don't understand..." Jennie said desperately, on the verge of wringing her hair.

"Make me then!" Somi burst out, "Irene's right. You think we're happy watching you struggling to
make ends meet? You think we're happy you guy have to live in that tiny attic without even the
basics in there? Why can't you see that we just want to take care of you guys—"

"Enough." Jennie stopped and trained her fierce gaze upon the younger girl. "Money doesn't grow
on trees Somi. You wouldn't know because you were never wanting so far in your life."

"You think I'm oblivious and naive, don't you?"

"Yes," Jennie said firmly, ignoring Somi's indignant noise of protest, "you're lucky in that sense
and I hope you show your appreciation to your father. He works long hard hours to make sure you
and him are comfortable. He works even after he gets home. Because trust me, money isn't a joke.
As for Irene, it's not like she's some super rich billionaire either, she's just comfortable."

"Is it so bad she wants to share?" Somi protested. "Unnie, she cares about you. She wants to help
you ease up a bit. That's what friends do. Why can't you let her?"

"Because I'm a burden!" Jennie snapped. "Because we are both a burden, my sister and I, and it
will be a waste! It's sucking us dry, and it will suck her dry! Anybody who's involved with us will
be dragged down. We're just stuck in this like...like vortex thing that guzzles money endlessly! It
will be money wasted on us, when she could be treating herself or...or...damn it..."

Jennie turned away from the other girl. "It's like she's gambling money. What if in the future she
would have needed that money she spent on us? What if she needed those savings she spent on
Lisa and me? I've been trying so hard to be independent because I don't want to be in anybody's
debt but now....how could I even face Irene in the future if I can't repay her back?"

"You wouldn't know if you can't pay her back or no—"

"Trust me I do. This pilates experiment won't change anything," Jennie insisted. "We'll still be
stuck, penniless and additionally, in debt to Irene. I can't let that happen."

"At the expense of breaking Lisa?" Somi said, suddenly angry. "You're gonna back away from this
opportunity because of your stupid fears....just to let Lisa be destroyed?"

"They're not stupid fears and she won't be," Jennie said doggedly. "Lisa can take it."

"No she can't!" Somi's voice was shrill. "She's reaching the breaking point! Can't you see that? Are
you so blinded by your greed you'll willingly break Lisa to get money?"

A heavy silence enveloped them as they stared each other down, punctuated by the bustling
pedestrians and traffic passing by them.

"Lisa is stronger than you know," Jennie said quietly. "Trust me."

"She doesn't look it! Especially when she ends up with all those awful bruises!"

Jennie sighed. "I know you all worry about her but Mimi...Lisa and I...we know her endurance
level, and she's barely even reached a quarter of that limit. It's different from what people see. Yeah
she may be fed up but...it's.... look, it's complicated."

Somi threw her head back, laughing unpleasantly. "Oh so now you're gonna be excusing all of her
pain and the bruises she collects, just because she can apparently 'take it?' I think you're over
estimating her, Jen—she's not some superhuman. She's just...a girl, like me. Like you."

Jennie gnawed on the inside of her cheek and reached out to her. "Somi—"

But Somi snatched her arm back, her bottom lip trembling. "Unnie, if Lisa ends up broken or
worse, it's you I'm gonna blame. Keep that in mind."

"Who said anything about—"

Somi turned away with her hands stuffed in the pocket of her jacket. "Keep it up. Keep believing
she can take it, and one day Lisa just might snap."

Jennie was left in a daze as she watched the younger walk away from her and enter the diner once
again.

She held her head and took a deep breath, ignoring the funny looks of passers-by as she paced
along the pavement, churning over Irene's offer in her head.

To Jennie, it was like a blind shot in the dark, in hopes of somehow, some way, she'd hit the target
and all the problems would be solved.
Is it worth it? she wondered.

But what if it meant the beginning of dependence? What if she'd be coerced to accept more hand-
outs from Irene, or even Matthew?

They meant well, but wherever money was involved, Jennie had rapidly learned early on in life that
good intentions could always be twisted out of shape until you were left sinking helplessly in a
quicksand of debt.

Face it Jennie, sneered her inner voice. You're just a pair of low-lives scrounging a living. None of
you can even work menial office jobs—that's just how useless you are. You're both at the bottom of
the food chain. Mere scum. Fish food for the big money sharks.

"Shut up," Jennie said wearily. Such thoughts plagued her daily, to the point that she had grown
quite desensitised.

It was merely a fact she accepted. She didn't try to fight it because it was true, but that didn't mean
she let herself wallow in self-pity. She didn't have the time anyway, not when every day was a
constant fight, on the brink of falling.

Eventually, she gave up trying to make sense of the turmoil in her head and slowly made her way
back to the Vault.
 Decision

Unaware of the conflict raging in Jennie's head, Lisa greeted her sister cheerfully when the latter
entered the gym.

"Back already from your girl meeting?" she called as she lifted a medicine ball above her head and
squatted then stood up and repeated.

"Mmm," Jennie responded. She made a beeline for her desk to avoid Lisa's gaze—once her sister
noticed her brooding mood, she was sure to ask. And Jennie needed time to think and evaluate her
options.

Somi would be soon returning to the Vault to leave with her father, but Jennie wasn't sure she
could face the girl right now.

If Lisa ends up broken, it's you I'm gonna blame, Somi's words echoed in her head.

Preposterous. Lisa wasn't some fragile vase, she could take all the hits that came her way—

Do you really want to find out? The voice sneered in her head, what if she ends up like
Hwangssabu?

But that was way different! Jennie protested yet the voice in her head was relentless.

Lisa is over-worked. She barely has a life outside of boxing. She's just existing.

She's not going to die though! Jennie argued.

Maybe physically she can take it but go on, admit it. You're killing her from the inside, slowly but
surely, the wicked voice sneered. Some trainer you are. You only care about the money.

It's still not like Hwangssabu... Jennie retorted feebly.

So it's excusable? the voice asked. How about a quick reminder of what went down back then,
hmm?

Jennie gripped the edge of the table and gritted her teeth. No please—

Memories immediately flashed in her mind's eye, terrible images she had learned to suppress but
they still somehow resurfaced when she least expected them: old echoes of nightmares, raw
screams of horror, the clash of bodies and bone, the stench of blood and lastly, death—

Jennie stiffened. No, that wasn't going to happen. Not under her watch. Never ever—

"Jennie?" Lisa was waving her hand in front of Jennie's face. "Hey. You okay? You look a bit
spaced. You got your hand on some weed this morning? Can I have some?"

Jennie's face split into a weak smile.

Of course her goof of a sister would always try to crack some joke—she wasn't sure they would
have made it this far in life if Lisa had turned out to be as dour and serious as herself.

Lisa still had on that mega-watt smile. "Hey, what's with the face? Turn that frown upside down
sis!" she chuckled and tapped underneath Jennie's chin.
On instinct, Jennie reached out and wrapped Lisa in a hug, holding her close.

"J-Jen?" Lisa spluttered in surprise.

"I'm going to fix this," Jennie mumbled in her shoulder, coming to a decision. "Things will get
better. I promise."

Lisa hesitantly returned the embrace, baffled by her sister's unusual show of affection. She glanced
at Matthew who looked similarly stumped—everybody knew how Jennie wasn't one of the most
effusive persons around.

"Okay, get back to working...I have to make a call...." Jennie said softly. She turned on her heel
and disappeared into the bathrooms.

Lisa shared another look with Matthew before they shrugged and went back to their work-outs, the
thumping music in the background helping them keep their tempo.

Somi drifted in some time later when her father had finished packing up.

"Ready to go?"

His daughter nodded, her eyes scanning the gym. Lisa noticed her searching gaze and gestured in
the direction of the bathrooms.

"Nini's gone in there. I'll call her—"

"Nah, it's okay, I'll be seeing you guys later anyway," Somi reassured. Before she walked out, she
glanced back over her shoulder at the blonde boxer hefting weights on her shoulder.

>

"Dahyun," Jennie greeted later that day, pleasantly surprised to see Momo's girlfriend, "hey, you
know Chaeyoung then?"

Dahyun had been visiting frequently for brief morning work-outs after getting her membership,
much to Jennie's delight (she half-suspected Momo had something to do with Dahyun subscribing
to the membership fee but Jennie wasn't complaining).

But today, Dahyun walked in with Chaeyoung for the afternoon session.

"Me and Son Chaeyoung know each other from boxing club at college," Dahyun explained, "but
it's only today that I got to know she trains here too. Since I didn't come in the morning I
though....why not now? She gave me a lift too."

"Somi's a little late," Chaeyoung told Jennie as the trainer opened her mouth.

"How did you know I was gonna ask for her?"

"Please, she's like, your little sister. She's always hanging with you and Lisa," Chaeyoung grinned
as she unpacked her sports bag. "'Kay Dubu, you wanna have a go in the ring?"

"Sure!"

Jennie leaned back at her desk, feeling some of the weight had lifted off her shoulders. She couldn't
wait to tell Somi about her decision and was actually rather excited. Even Lisa had no idea what
she was planning. Jennie leaned back against the desk, tapping her fingers in a quick rhythm.
"Hey guys, I'm here." Somi called as she trailed into the gym.

"Wow no grand entrance today?" Chaeyoung laughed, dodging Dahyun's hook. "What happened to
announcing to the whole world that you were blessing us with your presence?

"Yeah well, maybe I'm growing up," Somi retorted.

"Noooooooo," Jennie cried and wrapped her arms around the younger girl, "don't ever grow up,
Lisa would kill me for turning her partner-in-crime into a mini-Jennie."

"Oh thanks for the sentiment, for a second there I thought you really loved me but I see now... you
only want to save your skin," Somi chuckled, secretly pleased with Jennie's affections.

She hugged Jennie back. "You're being awfully clingy today, I haven't seen that part of you in so
long."

"Moment is over," Jennie grinned as she released her arms from around Somi. "But anytime you
want a hug, I can oblige. You do know I respect you a lot right?"

"Hmm, you do?" Somi said thoughtfully.

"Mhm. And to show you that I do....why don't you give Irene a call?" Jennie suggested.

Somi frowned suspiciously. "You're getting me to use up my credit?"

"Oh for the love of—text her or something, she has something to tell you!"

"Can't you tell me yourself?"

"You know what? Fine, maybe I should." Jennie took a deep breath.
"IagreedtoIrene'splanshe'sgonnabethebenefactorandsponsorLisa'spilates sessions."

"I'm sorry, come again?" Somi said, cupping her hand to her ear. She had a wicked grin on her
face. "You talked too fast unnie, sorry."

"I agreed with Irene," Jennie mumbled, fidgeting with her fingers. "You guys were right....and
maybe Lisa will get better in the ring too. So...Irene's gonna be sponsoring the sessions...she
already arranged the dates."

Somi smiled toothily. "See? That wasn't so bad."

"Irene has set me up on blind dates?" Lisa asked, emerging from the showers. She looked
positively delighted and pointed at herself. "I'm gonna show Momo that this hot stuff can get it on,
anytime! All the ladies will be queuing up."

Jennie groaned as Somi and the other two girls laughed.

"You're that desperate, get it on with one of your fangirls!" Chaeyoung called.

"Don't encourage her, she could be charged for defiling minors!" Dahyun yelped, catching
Chaeyoung's chin with a clean hook.

"Nah, them girlies are just after me for the fame, I want a real connection you know?" Lisa said
dreamily. "You know the kind where we meet, look into each other's eyes and they can tell my
shoe size straight away? Like they do in the movies."
She looked puzzled when the other girls snickered; even Jennie's mouth was quirked up at the
corners.

"I told Irene that you're not stupid, but sometimes you make me question myself," Somi giggled
before continuing: "We fixed you up for some pilates sessions, idiot. It's all taken care of—Irene's
gonna be paying and your sister gave her blessing. Cool right?"

"You start tomorrow, four in the afternoon," Jennie added. "I'll be starting at a later shift to help
you prepare."

Lisa's face fell. "Pilates?" she echoed. "Tomorrow?"

 Upset

"Lisa."

No response. Jennie shrugged tiredly and decided to change into her night clothes before she tried
speaking to her again. She hung up her diner uniform and flopped on her mattress.

"Lisa." she tried again.

Still no response from the blonde, and Jennie was near giving up—she knew Lisa was still awake
but in a dank mood after she was informed their plan for her to attend some pilates sessions.

Jennie had tried to talk to her little sister right after dropping the news but Lisa steadfastly ignored
her, heading straight to the punching bag and starting on her sets without another word.

Somi bit her lip and stared at Jennie in confusion while Jennie gently steered her away and asked
her to leave the blonde to think. Time passed by slowly and Jennie feared that once she left for her
shift, Lisa would implode. She managed to convince Somi to leave early by promising to have a
positive answer tomorrow.

Which brought her to this moment—Lisa was being incredibly difficult and Jennie felt pressed for
time to get an answer before she fell asleep.

"Lisa, come on, I'm not gonna sleep before we talk about this."

The tense atmosphere between them was thick enough to choke Jennie, spurring her to keep trying
until she made a breakthrough.

They weren't kids anymore. Hwangssabu wasn't around anymore to make them apologise to each
other. It was up to her as the eldest to reach out and make peace with her little sister, even when the
latter was being a brat.

"Lisa, talk to me."

"Why?" Lisa's voice was tinged with annoyance. "So that you can go ahead and decide on stuff
without my opinion anyway? Just go to sleep, we got a long day tomorrow."

Jennie sighed. "I'm sorry it turned out this way. It was on the spur of the moment—"

"Yeah well, sorry ain't gonna cut it," was the lofty reply.

"But you're being rather childish about this whole thing too. I'm glad you didn't throw your tantrum
in front of Somi."

"Childish? So I'm just expected to follow everything you say without objecting, like some empty-
headed prize cash-cow?"

Jennie massaged her temple. "I didn't—"

"Just shut up okay? I'm really mad right now, I don't wanna talk," Lisa growled.

"Just why are you making such a big deal out of this? I told you, it's the next best thing after taking
a break—"
"Pfftt excuses. Pilates is for those whiny, skinny white hoes and sluts who can't even lift their
purses," Lisa snorted, "I would have signed up for these pilots classes—"

"It's pilates, and you know that—"

"— pilots classes had I wanted to be more flexible for sex positions in bed," Lisa sneered,
completely ignoring her sister' correction. "So otherwise, I don't need it. It's a waste of my time.
Period. Period."

She glanced at her sister, barely able to make out her silhouette by the faint light of the streetlight
seeping in through the dirty window. "Tell Irene unnie thanks but no thanks. She can keep her nose
out of our business too, while she's at it."

Jennie pursed her lips. "Okay now that's just plain rude. They're only trying to help! Somi is
concerned about you the most, and Irene is kind enough to help us—help you—get better."

"I'm fine! Nothing's wrong with me," Lisa insisted. "I don't need any pilates session, I train
everyday!"

"Oh yeah, that must be why we're drowning in money right now," Jennie retorted scathingly. "Cos'
you're obviously so good you win every single match. We need to buy a new wardrobe for our
Chanel and Gucci, and I go running in a new pair of Vans every day."

"Oh no you didn't," Lisa snarled after an age.

"Oh yes I did," Jennie said tiredly.

"That's a really low blow."

"I'm disappointed right now Lis. It wasn't easy for me to accept unnie's help and you throwing it
back in my face is exasperating. Throwing a petty tantrum about it isn't helping either."

"Don't my feelings factor in at all? Is it always about what you think?" Lisa demanded. "I never
once question you or complain, when all I want is to sleep instead of waking up at the crack of
dawn to go for a bloody run every single damn day. Now just because I raise my voice this one
time about something trivial, you act like I'm some bad-tempered kid that misbehaves all the
time?"

Jennue massaged her temples, trying her best not to snap back. Arguing wasn't going to help
anyone and she needed to be the mature big sister right now.

"Lis, of course your feelings matter. I couldn't have asked for a better athlete to train—you follow
all my instructions...well except when it comes to taking things seriously sometimes.

But my point is, you're definitely not some misbehaving kid and I'm sorry if I made you feel that
way. I only agreed to these sessions because... the end result is definitely to your benefit and our
collective benefit. Especially if you start winning again..."

When Lisa didn't speak, Jennie continued in hopes the younger hadn't fallen asleep yet.

"It sounds selfish when I say it like that but....we really need the money Lisa. And you're good at
boxing...once you get back to winning, we'll be fine."

Lisa still wasn't saying anything but she was holding her breath, listening. So Jennie continued:
 "Look, it's only going to be a one-on-one session—there won't be anyone else, so you don't have to
feel out-of-depth or anything. Give it a try, at least once. I'm sure it will benefit you—pilates will
help you release that pent-up tension," Jennie begged. "It's an opportunity to get away from this
miserable place...."

She gestured at their gloomy surroundings. "Irene has only paid for three sessions for now.
Just...please try? For your own good....I...I don't want you to...die..."

Lisa stiffened and quickly turned on her side.

"Jen? Where did that come from?" she said sharply. "Who said anything about me dying?"

Her sister avoided looking up. "I...I just...I know this whole boxing thing hasn't been the easiest on
you.... it comes with a lot of sacrifices and mental stress, and you're so strong, you carry on
working and fighting and smiling even when you fall down. But the way we're doing it isn't
healthy, and I realised that, but I couldn't do anything, I couldn't help and...."

She took a deep breath. "I got my chance to fix my mistake now. So seeing you being so....so upset
about the plan is frustrating because I want to make this work...I want you to get better..."

They lapsed into silence until Lisa spoke up again.

"You've been working hard too, unnie," she said quietly. She reached out in the dark and found her
sister's hand hanging off the mattress.

Nobody spoke as their fingers touched and slowly entwined, wrapping tightly around each other as
if they'd never let go.

"I just...was pissed you didn't talk to me about it," Lisa mumbled, "because I trust you and your
judgement a lot. I know you want what's best for the both of us and you're always striving to make
sure we get by. I wish you could trust me more..."

She played with their fingers absently before gazing up at Jennie's eyes, which gleamed by the faint
glare of the streetlight streaming in from the window. "You're...the best big sister I could ever ask
for, you know? I...I don't say this much but...I'm glad we met...that day."

She felt the brunette squeeze her fingers. "I'm sorry. Forgive me?" Jennie asked remorsefully.
"Next time, you'll be the first to know. I was so nervous to tell Irene and I had to do it before I
changed my mind again—"

"Of course I forgive you," Lisa interrupted softly, "and thank you, for everything. For not giving up
on me and for making your own sacrifices too."

She sighed. "I suppose I will have to attend then....even though I still think pilates is for those
whiny hoes that drink kale juice and cry when they break a fake nail then play with slime all day
long. I bet the instructor is like that too."

Her sister chuckled, making Lisa smile as well. They were okay again.

"Find out tomorrow," Jennie said after a yawn, "and Lisa? Please behave when you go there."

Lisa grinned to herself. "Can't promise that."

 Neighbour

Everyone had been excited for Lisa. It was like she had multiple doting parents sending her off on
her first day at school.

And she was definitely loving the attention.

Lisa would be lying if she said the flurry of activity didn't make her heart twinge in nostalgia. She
soon pushed those feelings aside and was soon swept up with important matters such as cleaning up
and choosing what to wear, as though she was heading out on a first date.

The highly charged atmosphere present as everyone helped her prepare before sending her off on
her big adventure only increased her excitement and she forgot about her previous disdain for
attending.

Thankfully, nobody dropped by in the afternoon, leaving Jennie to focus solely on preparing Lisa.
She had sprinted to the laundromat with Lisa's favourite shirt in the morning, because Lisa
discovered a stain on it and was adamant on wearing it to her session, for good luck.

Somi had gotten her a knapsack to put in a towel and a change of clothes. Irene had managed to
sneak back to the gym during her work break and was attempting to apply some light make up on
Lisa.

Keyword being attempting.

"oOHH, rED LipstICK PleASE PLease!" Lisa begged as she rummaged through Irene's makeup
bag with the enthusiasm of a hyperactive five-year old, "I waNna! I haven't tried one in so long!
And ooh eyeshadow! Are you kidding me, you have Fenty mascara? I want wings! Pleaseeeeee?"

"We said light make-up Lisa, we're not turning you into a clown cos' you already are one," Jennie
reprimanded, "now let Irene work."

"Oh yeah remember that time, Lisa turned herself into the Joker?" Somi giggled.

"How could I forget?" Jennie chuckled.

"It was that one time—"

"It was every time."

Lisa had been somewhat make-up obsessed back before when she and Jennie had more freedom to
roam around. She loved visiting the beauty shops at the mall and trying out samples, but her
technique in lipstick application lacked the finesse of the likes of Somi and Jennie. More often than
not, she ended up looking like a kid with a face smeared with tomato sauce.

Matthew had given Lisa an energy protein bar in the morning to have after she was done with the
session—according to him, he always had one at hand for when Somi finished because she always
emerged ravenous after the workout.

"Are you really gonna be wearing that shirt?" Somi asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Why? It's clean now."

"Yeah but 'Unicorns are real' ?" Somi said, pointing out the tagline written on the shirt, "that
doesn't scream maturity to me."

"I agree with Somi," piped up Irene. "You gotta show a mature, serious image."

"Unnie back me up!" Lisa whined. Jennie didn't pay attention as she was busy dusting and wiping
Lisa's sneakers. Lisa sighed and threw her arms up in exasperation.

"You two grannies need to lighten up. It's my favourite lucky shirt and I'm wearing it, so there!"
she said loftily, her nose high in the air. "FYI, unicorns might be real too!"

"Settle down Lis. Now, remember to be polite and don't speak brash, first impressions go a long
way," Jennie fussed as she handed her sister the clean sneakers and smoothed down Lisa's T-shirt.

"Yes Mom," Lisa said sarcastically.

"Don't move or I'll poke you in the eye," Irene warned, waving her mascara brush.

"Yes Granny."

"Why you—"

"Do you have cash for the bus? And extra cash in case you need to call me?" Jennie went on,
unperturbed by Irene's indignation, "are there those telephone boxes even around anymore?"

"Not sure," Somi frowned. She circled around Lisa, looking her up from head to toe with a critical
eye.

"I don't think either of you have ever scrutinised me so closely before," Lisa noted, basking in the
attention. "Please beware my goddess-tier visuals do not accidentally blind you, I can't have my
subjects go blind, it would be a real shame. You wouldn't be able to appreciate this hot piece of—"

"Maybe I should give her my phone, in case she runs into some muggers..." Jennie muttered
absently as she chewed on her lip.

"Are you hearing yourself right now?" Lisa scoffed and struck a pose. "Do you know who you're
talking to?"

"It's not you I'm worried about, idiot, it's your victims," Jennie said with a faint smile, "it wouldn't
be nice to leave your victims with a potential concussion out on the street in some back alley now,
would it?"

"Ah, you have a point," Lisa said thoughtfully. "But then again, they shouldn't have messed with
me in the first place."

"Naturally, but nevertheless, I don't want the police to consider you a public menace, you get me?"

"I get you."

Somi and Irene glanced from one sister to the other, mouth agape.

"What is wrong with you people?"

"Confidence," Lisa said confidently. "And fake crack," she added as an afterthought.

"Figures," Somi dead-panned. "Now listen, Rosé won't stand for any of your half-assed buggery
—"
"Ooohhhh Rosé huh," Lisa wiggled her eyebrows, "we're on first name basis huh—"

"Shut up idiot! It's just an abbreviation of her name, everyone calls her that, she uses it herself!
Now she's really quiet and nice so don't you dare harass her. And oh please, don't you dare
associate me with you in anyway, got it?"

"Awww, am I that shameful to be associated with?" Lisa pouted, batting her eyelashes. "I'm
innocent, look at me."

"Stop blinking!" Irene said exasperatedly.

"It would ruin my image with her, and we have it going good so far," Somi retorted. "Just...don't
flirt. And don't open your mouth. At all. Well maybe just to breathe and say hi. But that's it!"

"Why?" Lisa asked curiously.

"Because you'll be cursed," Somi said seriously. She burst into peals of laughter. "Okay okay, it's
because your version of polite isn't everyone's version of polite."

"Hey, I can be a real gentlewoman you know!" Lisa protested.

"Suuuuuuure."

"Bet I'll make friends and win her over faster than you did!" Lisa challenged.

"Bet!" Somi said determinedly.

"Pinky promise on it?"

"You're such a kid Lisa," Irene chuckled as Lisa and Somi locked pinkies and swore on their bet.

"Okay l'il mamas, am I done? Can I go? I still gotta catch the bus," Lisa reminded, hopping from
one foot to the other impatiently.

"You sure you're gonna wear that old thing?" Irene said doubtfully, indicating the black oversized
leather jacket enveloping Lisa's frame. She thumbed the jacket's material, pursing her lip in
concern. "It' not very...presentable. Don't you have anything better than this vintage reject?"

Lisa hugged the jacket tightly to herself, gazing pleadingly at her sister.

"It's her favourite jacket Irene, let her be," Jennie said gently, "it's not like she's heading somewhere
formal anyway. She can always take it off inside the building."

Irene sniffed disapprovingly when Lisa broke into a contented smile but didn't push the issue
further.

"Okay I think you're good to go," Jennie pronounced once she finished her inspection. She smiled
as Lisa punched the air and whooped. "Behave, you hear?"

"I'm off to explore the big wide world then. Wish me luck!" Lisa said cheerfully, throwing up a V-
sign.

"We'll be waiting!" Somi hollered as Lisa skipped out of the gym.

>
"Number two-four-four, number two-four-four," Lisa mumbled, clutching on to the piece of paper
with the address. She glanced up at the drab, gray block that housed the apartment and pilates
studio somewhere within.

"Looks kinda...like any other building," she decided as she stepped inside, " ohh the interior is
fancier, huh. I wonder if people wear all that glam bling bling and carry chihuahuas in their purses
here, poor things. And do they really wear pink on Wednesdays?"

Humming, Lisa stepped into the elevator and pressed the button to go up. But just before the door
slid shut, a hand slipped in between, making the doors slide back.

Lisa glanced at the woman that entered then let her eyes fall to the floor as they ascended.

Seconds ticked by, with Lisa trying not to breathe too noisily. They were enveloped in that
awkward and dreaded kind of deafening silence, usually occupied by strangers constrained in a
tight space for an extended period of time that felt like hours.

When her floor neared, Lisa gave a breathy exhale—the air in the box was stuffy and stale, with a
strong smell of coffee emanating from the cup the other woman was holding.

Being in proximity to a pretty stranger also had Lisa feeling rather self-conscious. She would have
preferred to brush shoulders with pretty girls after the adrenaline high of a successful match at
some bar, where the lights were low and her confidence soared.

The elevator juddered to a stop and the doors parted. Lisa moved forward at the same as the
woman made to walk out. None of them relented, which resulted in both of them getting stuck
together in the doorway, pressed up shoulder to shoulder.

"After you," Lisa said politely. See Mimi, I can be a gentlewoman!

"No no, after you," said the other woman immediately and then pressed forward to exit at the same
time as Lisa.

Squeezing and shoving they finally managed to pop out of the tight space like corks of a
champagne bottle but not before Lisa accidentally stuck her foot out and made the other woman
stumble.

"Ahh!"

Hot coffee spilled from beneath the cup's lid, trickling down her wrist. The black-haired woman
looked up with a glint in her eyes.

"You git, what was that for?" she exclaimed.

"Sorry?" Lisa said non-plussed.

"On top of being rude, now you're gonna play ignorant with me?" The woman scoffed. "I just got
scalded thanks to you, dumbass! And my top!"

There was indeed a sizeable brown stain spreading across her calico shirt, ruining it.

"For a pretty face, you sure look like the dumb one to me around here," Lisa shrugged and walked
away from the fuming woman.

"Why you—"
"Y'all think you're mighty important people lording it up here above the plebs like me," Lisa called
over her shoulder, "but news flash sis—you're not above anyone. Shocking, right?"

"You insolent meat-head!" sneered the infuriated woman, "I know your kind. You don't even have
any idea how to dress and look normal. How old is that shirt you're wearing anyway? And which
brand? Thrift-shop charity shops?"

Once upon a time, Lisa would have cracked and hell long broken loose by the first sentence the
woman uttered, but not anymore—Hwangssabu had worked patiently to help her rein in her
fighting instincts.

She was now in complete control of her emotions and actions. Lisa even managed a tiny smile as
she turned to the woman behind her.

Lisa blinked but didn't rise to the bait, hanging on to her jacket protectively—it was her armour, her
strength, even if it was worn-out. Lisa could face a whole army down, as long as she had her
precious jacket.

Make them think they won, and then get away, she thought. Just like boxing. Strike another time,
when they're vulnerable.

"I'm sorry," Lisa said abruptly, "I need to be elsewhere right now. Have a good day and please
accept my apologies, but I can't pay for a new top."

She bowed ninety degrees to the flabbergasted woman and walked away down the corridor, not
even bothering to hide her smirk. Just the sight of Miss Mean Girl having her ass handed back to
her cooked medium-done was satisfying enough for Lisa.

"Wait!"

Lisa stiffened. Celebrated too soon.

"Behave," Jennie's voice whispered in her head.

Lisa took a deep breath and turned to the shorter woman. She was about Jennie's height, with dark
pupils, heart-shaped lips and slender pant-clad legs.

"I like you," declared the raven-haired beauty and instead of the sneer that marred her features, she
now wore the brightest smile, her eyes turning into crescents. It changed her whole aura—sunshine
seemed to bathe the hallway, even though there were no windows.

Lisa stared in amazement, rather unnerved she couldn't even come up with a snappy comeback to
such an unexpected statement.

"Uh..."

"Are you gonna be living here?" the girl asked eagerly, "I've never seen you around before. I'm
tired of stuck up and snooty pretentious hoes, so having you here would be a breath of fresh air
because it's just me, my neighbour and my baby right now. Say, what's your name? Oh and I'm
sorry back there, it was totally my fault I went try to get out before you, even though I offered you
to step out. So I hope you accept my full apologies for insulting you. I actually really like your
jacket, vintage jackets have that kinda feel to them, don't they?"

She bowed deeply then straightened and stuck out her clean hand, presumably for a handshake. "I
like to mess around with people, it's fun. The name's Jisoo! Bygones?"
Lisa was beyond confused. "Uh..."

"Oh I'm sorry, people tell me I come off too strong, I'll back off. But I hope to see you around!"
said Jisoo with a chuckle. "They say I'm weird but honestly, I'm not a psycho if that's what you're
thinking. I'm just...unique. Eccentric. Embracing myself. Not that I can embrace myself right now I
got coffee all over me and I'd pour the rest on me as well..."

Lisa couldn't help it—she felt her lips turn up at the corners, which made Jisoo's eyes light up.

"Oh, you can smile! More, more!"

Lisa broke out into a wide toothy grin, making Jisoo clap happily as though Lisa performed some
magnificent magic trick.

"You have a beautiful smile, did you know that?" Jisoo beamed.

Lisa just stared because no, she didn't know that—nobody had anything special to say about her
face, other than it being frequently bruised black and blue.

Jisoo's words were kind and sincere, making way for a warm and fuzzy feeling to settle in Lisa's
heart. She liked this feeling very much.

"Thank you," the blonde boxer said, suddenly bashful, "and to answer your question, I'm only here
for my appointment at the Rose Pilates Studio—"

Jisoo's eyes widened. "Well why didn't you say so? Come on, it's right next to my place, let me
take you! When's your session starting?"

Lisa glanced at the clock hanging at the end of the hall. "According to that clock...five minutes
ago."

"What!" yelped the raven-haired girl in shock. "Come on, we have no time to waste then!"

She chucked the coffee cup in the nearest bin at the same time that she grabbed Lisa's hand and
took off running.

>

"Okay this is it. I should probably go in with you to apologise for tardiness, it was my fault after
all," Jisoo said as they drew up to the door.

Lisa smiled and decided to relieve the pretty woman of her concerns. "It's okay, you don't have to.
We're actually five minutes early."

The other girl's jaw dropped. "Wha— but you....so you...used me?"

"Well now, that sounds bad," Lisa winked. "Let's say...I took the opportunity to be taken to my
destination without having to trouble myself to find it."

She watched closely, waiting for Jisoo's smiling facade to crumble, waited for the sneering persona
to return. She wanted to laugh in the face of this hypocrite who was insulting her one moment and
then acting all friendly afterwards.

Yet what happened next had Lisa step back in surprise.

Jisoo was giggling, hiding her face behind her hands. Her giggles were actually quite adorable and
her eyes twinkled with good-natured mirth.

"Aiish, you got me good there! That was sneaky, but I think I like you even more now!" she
laughed, "by the way, what's your name?"

"Lisa."

"Very pleased to meet you, Lisa," Jisoo grinned. "See you around!"

"Wait!" Lisa called after her. "Can...can I ask something?"

Jisoo turned back and tilted her head to the side like a curious puppy. "Sure, anything. Just don't
ask who I work for, I work in top secret government facilities that guard classified information
about UFO's and unicorns and other supernatural—"

"Unicornss exist?" Lisa gaped, "they're really real?"

"What, you think I'm messing with ya?" Jisoo demanded, hands on hips and her mouth pursed up.

Lisa started shaking with excitement and revealed her shirt beneath the jacket. "Oh man oh man I
gotta tell Somi—"

She was cut off by Jisoo's multiple loud cackles, watching dumbfounded as the raven-haired
beauty leaned against the wall for support.

"Oh! oh you adorable bean!" Jisoo laughed. "I wish I did work in such a place! Beats processing
papers all day!"

Realising she'd been duped, Lisa started to laugh too. " Well, I'm pretty gullible. I get excited about
unicorns and stuff like that. My friends don't believe they exist."

"Join the club!" Jisoo sighed, "but hey, nice to know you believe in them too." She winked. "That
was payback by the way, for making me run."

She held up her index finger. "One thing you should know about me, I hate running."

"You're quick to retaliate," Lisa commented.

"I'll take that as a compliment! Now, you wanted to ask something?"

Lisa nodded, suddenly more comfortable. "Uhm...do rich people have to wear pink on
Wednesdays?"

Jisoo stared at her for a solid ten seconds before she burst into low giggles again.

"Lisa, you're the best!" she gasped at last. "This ain't the set for that Mean Girls movie you know.
And for the record, I hate pink."

Lisa grinned, pleased she made that dazzling smile reappear—the dim light in the corridor seemed
to shine more brightly when Jisoo smiled.

"Anything else before you're late for your class real?"

Lisa shook her head and gave her thumbs up. "Thanks for the welcome."

"No problem!" Jisoo beamed. "Cheers!"

She gave a wave and strolled off, stopping in front of a door and keyed in a pass code number to
enter. She noticed Lisa watching from the distance and pretended to gasp and turn her whole body
around, crowding on the door to hide her pass code.

Lisa had to smile—it would have been impossible to see the pass code from this distance—Jisoo
was definitely exaggerating. But there was something endearing in her whole dramatic act.

Jisoo finally opened her door and saluted cheerfully before disappearing inside, making Lisa shake
her head and turn to ring the bell

Seems like I made a friend. Maybe not all the people who live in fancy rich buildings are snooty
hoes, Lisa decided.

She hoped the instructor would be just as friendly as her eccentric neighbour.
 Meet

Lisa didn't know what to expect when the door opened—the outside was bland enough, with no
hint of the place actually being a pilates studio. The corridor was cold and rather dark.

To be fair, she didn't know what a pilates studio was supposed to look like anyway. Maybe
something like the Vault? But add more cushions. And maybe a blender to make detox kale juice
in the corner. Maybe everything would smell of roses too, since it's called the Rose Pilates Studio?

Lisa was even getting second thoughts about it being the right place—maybe Jisoo tricked her. Or
given the girl's apparent eccentricity, she might have directed Lisa to the wrong place.

But there was no time to back out as the door slowly swung open and Lisa pulled herself up
straight, remembering Jennie nagging her about slouching.

"Um...hello?" said a low voice, airy and sweet as honey.

Holy...

Whoever Lisa was expecting to answer the door, it was definitely not this tall girl with luxuriant
red-hair in a crop top and yoga pants that showed off her hourglass figure. The woman didn't look
to be older than Lisa herself.

And she would have looked even prettier if she got rid of the frown too.

"Uh hi, I'm Lisa, um I'm here for my pilates session?" Lisa replied and glanced at her paper. "And
you must be..."

"Roseanne. You can call me Rosé. Come in then," said the other woman shortly as she stepped
aside.

Okay, not the warmest welcome... Lisa thought as she moved in past the other woman. She caught
a whiff of the instructor's scent as they brushed shoulders—fruity and sweet, reminding the blonde
boxer of strawberries.

Lisa's mouth immediately watered—she hadn't tasted strawberries in a good long while since they
were quite expensive and she wasn't about to have Somi or Matthew buy them for her like some
charity case.

"Nice perfume," Lisa complimented.

The red-headed girl glanced back with pursed lips. "You're sniffing me already?"

Lisa stiffened. "Uh...by accident?"

She was feeling intimidated by this alluring girl who somehow gave off a hostile vibe, different
from Jisoo's sunshine aura.

"Don't do it again, please," Rosé said brusquely as she marched away down the hall.

Lisa could only stare, her eyes immediately zeroing in on the curviest backside she had ever set
eyes on. Her breath caught in her throat she stared shamelessly.

Her butt looked firm and just begging to be smacked, swaying tantalisingly from side to side and
Lisa found herself entranced, like a snake following a snake charmer's hypnotising movements.
Rosé hips jutted out dangerously in a seductive manner, popping off with each step that had Lisa
blindly reaching out to lean against the nearest wall.

She had not been prepared for such an attack. So unfair! She had come here for a pilates session
for heaven's sake! Was the universe trying to test her?

The girl certainly looked amazing from the front but holy mama, what was that line from that
Derulo song again?

Damn baby you got a bright future behind you.

"Are you alright back there?" Rosé called flatly.

No, Lisa almost blurted. Now that she recovered from her near-fainting episode, she was struck by
the instructor's indifferent demeanour.

Somi said she was nice? Why is she cold? Maybe she had a bad day? Maybe it's me? Do I stink
already?

Lisa sniffed her armpit, fervently wishing she had packed a deodorant.

"Take off your shoes please and you can hang up your jacket there too," Rosé called over her
shoulder. Lisa obediently took off her jacket and hung it up, giving it a fond pat before she paused
uncertainly, staring down at her sneakers.

She had walked for several blocks from the bus stop, would her feet be sweaty? Would they stink?

She couldn't think she'd be able to live with the embarrassment—what if this Rosie Posie got chatty
with Somi?

Mimi would never let her live it down if she got to know, she'd tease Lisa to death.

"Uh....I'm not sure...my feet...I've been walking..." Lisa said, hoping the instructor would catch on
to her dilemma.

"There's a bathroom," Rosé pointed absently, eyes glued to her phone, "go ahead."

Lisa nodded woodenly and toddled into the bathroom.

Well, at least she was sensitive enough to understand and offered the usage of her bathroom. But
maybe it's because she doesn't want to smell stinky feet too... I wonder if this is her personal
bathroom?

Does she live here? Alone and grumpy? That's sad...

Lisa's eyes fell on a cup next to the faucet with two baby pink toothbrushes in it, before they slowly
rose up to meet her own reflection.

"Get a grip," Lisa rebuked herself in the mirror. "Don't let her get under your skin. You're here
because other people are trying to help you. You gotta make this work. Be friendly. Give her a
chance."

After a quick scrub of her feet (they hadn't smelled too bad either) Lisa towelled off and padded
out of the bathroom to join her instructor.
The room where Rosé sat was bright and airy, painted in a warm pastel colour. The temperature of
the room was just right—she definitely had her air-condition unit working, unlike back at the
Vault. Different types of metal frames and equipment lined the room, with colourful gym balls
neatly stowed away in corners. She was disappointed that the room smelled of ordinary air
freshener and there was no blender juice machine in sight.

"Let me take your bag so we can start," Rosé said.

Lisa handed her knapsack over, too busy drinking in her surroundings. She was particularly
fascinated by all the different machines on display. They looked like more advanced versions of
kiddie's climbing frames in the park.

Lisa looked around in awe, her head swivelling back and forth to take it all in. Curiosity overtook
her and she stepped up to the windows looking out over the city. Rosé's apartment was high up
enough to see the tops of some skyscrapers.

"We're really high up here," Lisa yelped in delight and pressed her face to the glass, squashing her
nose and palms against the window pane. "Whoaaaaa so high!"

She resisted the urge to slide open the window and lean out to feel the breeze caress her cheek—it
probably wouldn't be polite.

Lisa had never been in such a high building before but found herself loving the heights. She turned
to the other girl with shining eyes only to find the instructor with arms folded, tapping her fingers
against her elbow.

"Whenever you're ready," Rosé said frigidly. Her brows knitted when her eyes fell on the smear of
condensation Lisa left behind on the otherwise spotless glass.

Lisa felt the cold surly aura hit her again and her enthusiasm dropped.

She felt foolish—the instructor was probably thinking how childish Lisa was acting, as though
she'd never been in such a high building before, which was true.

"Yeah uhm...just admiring the view...sorry..."

The red-head released what sounded suspiciously like a scoff but Lisa brushed it off. She was
adamant on making this woman her friend—it was unthinkable for anybody to resist her charms,
mortifying even.

"So uh, what do we do?" Lisa asked.

"First we'll start with some stretching to get into the swing of it, loosen up some muscles, get you
all loose and flexible. Then I can probably start you on some light exercises."

Lisa nodded. "Sounds good-"

"Now once we advance a little further, it would be helpful to know where exactly improvement
needs to be done, although I'll be sure to focus on all parts of your body," Rosé added stepping up
to Lisa.

All parts eh? Lisa smirked and then reprimanded herself. Get your mind out of the gutter!

They were eye-level with each other, a fact Lisa found rather disconcerting given she hung around
midgets like her sister most of the time.
"I'm also gonna ask a series of questions as we go along, like what you do and general stressors
present in your day-to-day life. Nothing too personal," Rosé reassured, "but it will help us to figure
out where the most attention needs to be given regarding strengthening your body and re-aligning
it. Are you okay with that?"

Lisa nodded, hands on hips. "Right with me, chief!" she chirruped.

Rosé arched a brow and gave a slight cough. "Right okay...let's get down."

Lisa couldn't suppress her snort of mirth, making the instructor look up at her quizzically.

"What's so funny?" Rosé frowned.

"Nothing," Lisa giggled behind her hand. Get it together sheesh now is not the time to think of
innuendos!

Rosé's gaze hovered over Lisa for a few seconds, blinking as she scrutinised the blonde's sculpted
physique. Her gaze went up slowly, pausing to take it all in.

Lisa unconsciously flexed her arms and to her delight, the instructor turned away in what Lisa
interpreted to be bashfulness.

Aha! Take that Somi, she'll be my bestest best friend by the end of this session! I'll woo her
over! Lisa crowed inwardly.

She sat down on the spongy yellow mat next to Rosé, waiting for instructions.

"Say uh...Rosé...can I ask questions too?" Lisa asked brightly. "About pilates stuff?"

Rosé looked slightly taken aback. "Uhm...sure. What would you like to know?"

"What's that?" Lisa pointed.

"The reformer."

"What's it do?"

"Reforms your body," came the curt reply. But Lisa wasn't discouraged.

"And this? And that? Oooh what about this one? What's this do?"

"It's called the Cadillac—"

"Like the car? Well, now when people ask if I drive, I can always say yeah, a Cadillac," Lisa joked
and snapped her fingers. "Yeah?" she added hopefully, watching Rosé for a reaction.

Rosé blinked before folding her arms. "Ms Kim, I think it would be to our benefit if we continued
on to the exercises. Not everyone has the luxury to waste time with frivolous talk..." she glanced
pointedly at the clock on the wall.

Lisa's hands dropped. "Oh. Okay. You're right. Let's get to it then?"

Rosé nodded and led Lisa through a series of stretching exercises in order to loosen up her body.

It boosted the boxer's ego when she noticed Rosé was paying closer attention now, observing her
execution of the exercises. At the same time, Lisa couldn't help but notice how the instructor stole
surreptitious glances at the clock from time to time, nibbling her lip almost raw in the process.

Lisa brushed it aside too, trying very hard not to think of the possibility that Rosé couldn't wait to
get rid of her.

Aside from this particular concern, the rest of the session progressed smoothly.

Rosé pointed out Lisa's breathing technique, advising her to use her stomach muscles more, helping
her ease into the more convoluted positions. She spoke softly, giving Lisa her time to fully settle
into a position she was copying off the instructor. Rosé nodded in approval when Lisa followed her
directions.

Contrary to her indifferent demeanour before, Rosé seemed to be invested in doing her job
properly, regardless of how she viewed Lisa.

The boxer could appreciate the professional attention she was receiving, despite the sting of the
chastising words and the instructor's odd fixation with the clock on the wall.

Was she waiting for somebody?

"Easy, easy, don't do it so violently," Rosé chided at one point, "you might hurt yourself."

"Nah, I'm used to it, I'm in the gym all the day, darling," Lisa grinned, "this is nothing. If I have to
be honest, I'm actually getting bored. Can we move up to the hard core stuff already?"

Rosé sat back on the mat, Indian-style. "Trying to speed things up won't help to strengthen your
core muscles—these improve over time with prolonged exercise and attention. If you try to
hopscotch your way towards the end goal, the more likely you can hurt yourself."

"Hate to break it to ya honey, but I'm only here for these three sessions and then I'm out. Sooooo
I'm expecting to be revving up and back on the mend by the third time. You know third time
lucky? I have important places to be. Like the gym for instance."

Lisa flexed her biceps. "These bad boys need to do their share of lifting weights, not just stretching
like dainty flowers do."

She was pleased to see Rosé's nostrils flare at the provoking comment.

Ah! Hit a nerve, have we?

"Ms Kim, I understand you seem to have an extremely dim view on the benefits of Pilates. Why
did you even enrol for these sessions in the first place?" Rosé asked, her tone laced with
annoyance.

"I didn't really want to," Lisa answered cheerfully, stifling her giggle as the instructor's eyes
widened, "but see, I have a couple friends who want to help me improve my game. Did Irene
mention I box for a living?"

"Irene? Oh, the woman who arranged the sessions?"

"Yeah."

The girl puffed her cheeks up thoughtfully. They looked soft and squishy and so very pinch-able.

"Box? Like....putting things in boxes at a store?"

"No, boxing," Lisa chuckled, "ever heard of PFB? Pro-female boxing? It's what I do for a living."

"Fighting?" Rosé's eyes hardened, her face taking on a scornful expression. "I don't really keep up
with...those kinds of barbaric disciplines."

Lisa laughed outright. "I'm not surprised you view boxing as barbaric. The casual spectator only
sees the brutal and violent side to it."

The other girl shrugged. "Everyone is entitled to their own opinions."

"Maybe I can change your mind," Lisa said with a wink.

"Once you change your mind about Pilates being a discipline for the dainty and meek or whatever
goes on in your head," Rosé replied immediately.

"Ahh, we have a tricky one," Lisa chuckled, "but we'll see, we'll see. Anyway, boxing. Now see, I
hadn't been at the top of my game. My trainer says I have overworked myself to the point of
burnout and also my core strength seems to have slipped. I lost a lot of my agility and I've been
under a lot of tension."

"Tension?"

"Yeah. Responsibilities and expectations dumped on you," Lisa said nonchalantly. She wiped a
bead of sweat rolling down her face. Pilates stretching was slightly more exerting than she
expected. "So I agreed to this for you to fix me up and then I can get back to winning. Easy enough
right?"

Rosé chewed on her lip. "Ms Kim, I don't think you understood the point I just made—Pilates is
not just some mere stretching sport. It's a discipline whereby you work on re-aligning your body
and core strength, reducing tension areas.

You can get hurt if you don't do it properly so please, be careful when I say you can't expect to
be...revving up and back on the mend by attending for just these three sessions in total. There's no
crash course. It will take time."

"Awwwh...no short cut at all?" Lisa pouted as her gut writhed unpleasantly.

But more time meant more sessions, which meant more money Irene had to spend on her...and if
the sessions amounted to nothing, it would all be a waste. If she didn't get back to winning, she and
Jennie would be done for.

Would they really have to live out on the streets? Maybe Somi or Yeri or some other diner pal
would let them camp out at their places?

Tension was a thick band wrapped around her head and squeezing hard like a boa constrictor,
tighter and tighter until Lisa thought her head was going to crack under pressure. Was this what
Jennie endured daily with that grim look on her face? No wonder she couldn't smile.

"Are you under some deadline?" she heard Rosé ask from far off.

Lisa returned to the present with a shake of her head. "Uh...not exactly but uhm...you see uh..."

She gazed at Rosé, licking her lips nervously.

How could she possibly explain the root problem to this woman, who had done nothing but look
down her nose the moment Lisa walked in through the door?

"There's this boxing tournament about to start soon. The qualifiers I mean," Lisa muttered, "and...I
like to start out strong and...keep the momentum if possible...you know..."

"The fights are very...intense," Lisa explained when Rosé looked confused, "regular matches
outside of tournament season are held every week, but boxers only fight every fortnight, to give
them a chance to recover. However, during tournament season that is coming up this
spring/summer, we fight every week for around a month to weed out the weaker fighters, until
there are the top qualifying sixteen still left—it's officially known as the Reaping, but folks also
refer to it as the Purge."

"Charming terms."

Lisa chuckled. "Well, after that the qualifying sixteen take a month long break. There are no
regular matches during that time either—it's the only time that's quiet at the Slammer, aside from
the week of Christmas and New Year's..."

Lisa trailed off, aware of Rosé's quizzical gaze on her.

"Anyway, I want to get back to winning," Lisa wrapped up abruptly with a smile. "But if it can't be
done well...I suppose I'll wing it."

"And what happens if you don't make it through...the Reaping?"

"If I don't qualify you mean?"

Lisa paused, thinking back to the uncomfortably sticky summer nights of Jennie heating up their
cup noodles that tasted like sweat, and sometimes even having to resort to rationing their food and
their water to keep up with rent and bills.

Jennie would even give up most of her cup noodles to Lisa, since the boxer had a higher
metabolism. When Lisa protested, Jennie insisted Lisa couldn't afford to lose her muscle bulk
during the time away from the ring.

"Well..." Lisa began, "it's kind of...delicate....I depend a lot...on qualifying... see, I never qualified
before..."

She ducked her head away to avoid Rosé's reaction and scratched the back of her neck, mortified at
herself for revealing such a humiliating detail.

Yes, for all her bravado and cocky showing, Lisa was most disappointed in herself for being one of
the so-called best fighters at the Slammer, yet unable to snatch a spot in the qualifying sixteen. It
was an embarrassment and she often found herself the butt of jokes amongst other fighters.

"How long have you been fighting?" Rosé asked curiously.

"Four years this year..." Lisa said quietly. She hunched up over her knees, and fiddled with her
toes. "I...I really need to qualify..."

"It's that big of a deal?"

Lisa gave a small, sad smile that Rosé didn't see. "Yeah..."

It was the same story every summer, for the past four years since Hwangssabu's death: Jennie
always shed a few kilos but she smiled and dismissed Lisa's worries by saying she could do with
some body trimming. Lisa's mouth ran dry whenever she spotted her sister's collarbone jutting out
rather alarmingly whilst training.

At night, Lisa would lie on her back with the low persistent gurgles of Jennie's stomach mingling
with the distant cricket chirps and mosquitoes buzzing in through the open window.

In the morning, they never mentioned the sounds—it was just another elephant in the room.
Jennie's ribs stuck out prominently underneath her skin as she quickly pulled on her tank top, aware
of Lisa's guilty gaze on her. Thankfully, their friends at the diner always helped out with the lunch
and breakfast part of the day—it was the only way Jennie and Lisa didn't starve.

"I'm sure if you spend these few months out of the ring it wouldn't be much of a loss," Rosé said,
oblivious to Lisa's turmoil churning in her head. "You could focus your energy on filling your time
with something else... picking up some job, perhaps."

Lisa shook her head pityingly. "You really have a low opinion about boxing, huh?"

Rosé remained silent but her eyes gave away her disdain.

Lisa shook her head. "Picking some other job...yeah I guess..."

Since she wasn't fighting, Lisa used put in hours working at the diner with her sister as well, in an
effort to make money. But that stint as a waitress didn't last long: it was four years ago, her first
summer participating in the Grand Slam and she hadn't made it through the qualifiers.

Somi's dad had kindly given the sisters a job at the diner since he ran the place. However, he was
forced to fire Lisa after only a month into summer—Lisa had gotten into a brawl after confronting
a filthy lout who harassed Yeri.

Lisa ended up breaking the guy's nose and punching him to a pulp. He woke up after three days.

It had been a stressful period for her and Jennie, not least because Hwangssabu's death was still a
fresh wound. Lisa could have been prosecuted and Jennie would have been unable to bail her out,
which would give the authorities no choice but to throw Lisa in jail. They miraculously avoided
that situation thanks to Yeri's testimonial against her harasser and Lisa was handed a couple of
hours doing community work instead. After that, Lisa stayed in charge of the gym while Jennie
worked double shifts instead.

And so thus passed four summers since each time, Lisa always failed to make it to the qualifiers.

"Well..." Lisa said at last, forcing a smile, "let's just say that long story short, I would be in a very
tight place if I don't qualify, financially speaking."

Rosé tilted her head. "They pay good money then, the boxing matches?"

"Yep. We get by mostly from my wins so...yeah. Rather important I get back to winning."

"'We' ?"

"My sister and I."

Rosé was silent for the longest time, making Lisa lower her gaze and curl her toes self-consciously.

Why did she have to blabber? In hopes that she would touch the aloof women's heart and get some
discount on future sessions? Ridiculous.

When Lisa raised her face, she felt a painful twinge in her chest once her eyes fell on Rosé. The girl
had her body half-turned away from Lisa, watching the clock hands intently.

Well, maybe she can't wait to go on a date, Lisa thought with a faint smile, or maybe she really
really likes clock watching.

The instructor sensed her movement and swiftly turned, their gazes colliding. Nobody spoke for a
full minute, the heavy silence punctuated by their breathing.

"Let's carry on," Rosé said at last. She avoided Lisa's eyes for the rest of the session.
 Frustration

"The conquering hero's home!" Somi announced when Lisa stepped in through the Vault's doors.

Jennie stood up from her seat where she had been busily drumming her fingers against the table top
for the past hour and a half. "You made it. How did it go?"

Lisa dropped Somi's knapsack and wordlessly walked past Jennie and Somi until she reached a
punching bag, whereupon she started head-butting the hanging cylinder dizzyingly fast like a
woodpecker. She didn't even care about her bangs getting sandwiched in between.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Somi yelped, "what happened? You're gonna hurt yourself!"

Lisa never stopped—if anything, she only hit the punching bag harder and harder until her head
was a blur.

"That is Lisa being frustrated," Jennie said calmly to a bewildered Somi.

"She doesn't do that when she's frustrated," Somi frowned. "She punches the bag when she's
frustrated."

"That's because you've never seen her frustrated over a girl," Jennie explained. "This only
happened once before, back when she discovered she likes girls—"

"AAAAAARRRGHHHHHHHH!" Lisa screamed, clutching fistfuls of golden hair.

She flopped face down on the nearest mat and covered her ears as she drummed her feet. "SOMI!"

"W-what?" Somi said fearfully.

"Have you seen her butt?" Lisa bellowed, "Have you seen that damn booty? You were right and I
had no idea! I am living a lie! I'm not thick at all! I have a flat pancake ass! I DIE! I am
DECEASED!"

And with that last intonation, Lisa halted all movements and fell silent, arms limp at her sides and
still face down.

Somi's jaw hung so wide that Jennie thought it would fall off.

Jennie walked next to Lisa's prostrate figure and cleared her throat. "You do know the mats don't
get washed very often here..."

"Like I care," came the sulky reply.

"Is her butt really that amazing?" Jennie sighed.

"Yes."

"Amazing enough for you to eat the germs stuck on people's shoes?"

Lisa turned her face up, eyes round. She brought her hands up and cupped the air in effort to
explain her experience. "Jennie, it's...it's like..."

She snapped her fingers at Somi. "Come on, Mimi, help me out here, you've seen it! Gimme
something to describe Rosie's bobble-butt!"

"I am going to pretend I never heard that sentence. I have a session with her later this week you
perv," Somi shuddered.

Lisa shook her head and tutted as she waved a finger. "Prude. I did not raise you this way! You
gotta appreciate the asses Life gives you, no matter who that girl is! Asses and boobies, remember
that!"

She turned to her sister. "Jen, she has this...this juicy peach of an ass, and then a tiny ant waist, so
every curve is emphasised! Every single damn curve. You get the picture?"

"I get it," Jennie said.

"And it's just there in front of me, just begging me to reach out and squeeze. My fingers
were itching to tap that booty..." Lisa mimed performing the action to emphasise her point. "You
have no idea the torture I went through!"

"I think I can imagine."

Somi snickered. "Don't tell me you fainted too. That would be too cheesy!"

"Well I almost did!" Lisa returned, her face serious. Somi stared for an age before she collapsed in
a helpless, giggling heap with tears streaming. Lisa didn't pay her attention—she still had more to
tell.

"And then she has the effing audacity to sway her effing hips like some mothereffing Victoria's
Secret model! The sheer disrespect! Like who the hell does she think she is? How dare she?"

"I see," Jennie said.

"The only reason I didn't wolf-whistle the moment I clapped eyes on her," Lisa lamented, "is
because I don't know how to whistle."

"How unfortunate..."

"I'm serious! And she has this gorgeous mane of thick red hair and these beautiful clear eyes—"

"It's dyed," Somi put in, wiping tears from her eyes, "her hair—she had been blonde before."

"—and on top of that, she smells absolutely delicious, fragrant like strawberries! And she has these
pair of sinfully puckered lips and the squishiest pair of cheeks I've ever seen in my life! It's
like...like in that chipmunk movie, Mimi!"

"Chipmunk movie?....Oh, Alvin and the Chipmunks?"

Yeah...yeah chipmunk....suits her. Chipmunk!" Lisa chortled. "She was like an angry chipmunk,
but so adorable I almost couldn't resist pinching her cheeks when she pouted at me!"

"We've crossed new boundaries of weirdness today," Somi said warily as Lisa giggled and rolled
on the mat. "Well, at least you got around to your dislike of pilates I guess, seeing how things went
so well..."

Lisa suddenly sat up, all traces of mirth disappearing from her face. "I don't know about that. She
gave a lot of mixed signals..." Lisa trailed off.
"She did?" Jennie smirked. "She was probably put off by your....drooling."

Lisa frowned. "No she...she wasn't very welcoming. Right from when she answered the door...."
Lisa's mouth stretched into a grin. "But that's okay, she's still kinda hot when she's cold."

"She wasn't welcoming? Really?" Somi's brows furrowed. "That's strange. She's always nice to me.
And as far as I know, she's nice to other clients as well, I mean I got to know from a couple
classmates who go there too and they had nothing but praises..."

"Did you do anything to piss her off? Were you punctual?" Jennie questioned.

"Yeah I was. Oh wait, I gotta tell you about this weird woman I bumped into inside the elevator,
she said her name is Jisoo—"

"Oh!" Somi said in delight, "you met Jisoo unnie? She's a darling. Lemme guess, she pulled the
elevator prank on ya?"

"Yeah! What, does she really do that to every new person she sees? She spills coffee on her shirt
on purpose?"

"Yeah, to see if they're stuck up snooty pricks she can mess with!"

Both girls laughed as Jennie looked on, perplexed.

"Back up, who's this Jisoo?"

"I think she's a little older than you unnie," Somi explained, "she has a yoga studio next to Rosé's
pilates studio, she's Rosé's neighbour. And Rosé isn't that much older than you Lis. I think she's
like...twenty-two? Anyway those two are friends, Jisoo often stops by to say hi."

"You didn't mention this instructor girl was only twenty-two and yet, she already runs a sizeable
pilates studio," Jennie said, sounding impressed, "and this Jisoo, the older woman, how old is she?
Early thirties?"

"Oh no no, she's like twenty-four."

"Twenty-four," Jennie nodded slowly, "and she has her own yoga studio as well. Nice."

"Well, you guys have the Vault, don't you?"

"We inherited this place," Jennie said dismissively. "They live in a high-rise building in that fancy
district. They made it in life..." Jennie looked wistful. "They must be rolling in money. Or their
families are loaded and helped them out."

"Jisoo hates the rich bourgeoisie neighbours, says they all look down their noses at everyone so
she pranks any new people she thinks might be neighbours. She always tells me not to get rich. I
think she hates being rich," Somi said thoughtfully.

Jennie snorted. "Tell her she's welcome to drop by and swap with me anytime."

"Will do," Somi winked.

"She's a weird one, that's for sure. I thought she was pranking me at first," Lisa chuckled, "but she
turned out to be friendlier than Miss Rosie Posie—"

"Gosh all these nicknames, stick to Roseanne or Rosé, like she wants you to!" Somi chuckled.
"—anyway, that chipmunk packs quite an attitude, let me tell you! Like the moment she opened the
door, it's like she saw vomit stuck to the sole of her shoe."

"You're exaggerating," Somi said dismissively.

"Honest! Well okay, she just was... indifferent, at first. But she warmed up a little later when we
got down to the exercises properly..." Lisa scratched her head thoughtfully. "Maybe I intimidated
her? Or she was having a bad day?"

"Possibly..." Somi pondered, "but really, she's always sweet and a darling during my session with
her. We talk about a lot about school and stuff."

"She certainly knows what she's doing, I'll give her credit for that," Lisa mused, "but the thing
is....she said I would require more sessions than just three to really re-align my body and stuff..."

Lisa chewed her lip and glanced at Jennie to find her sister mirroring her own pained expression.

"I know," Jennie croaked. "Pilates isn't some quick fix solution. I know that..."

Lisa's shoulders slumped. "I tried to explain my situation a bit...you know about the qualifiers? But
she said there was simply no shortcut..."

She fell into a brooding silence, as did Jennie. Somi watched them, heart aching for her two unnies.

If only they let us help more..., she thought bitterly. Stupid money.

"Well, but how were the exercises themselves? How do you feel?" Jennie said brightly to clear
away the cloud of gloom settling on them.

Lisa shrugged and flexed her arms. "Nothing too different. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to feel
anyway. Rosie said tomorrow I might wake up with a bit of muscle ache, since I've moved different
muscles than I usually use, so I guess there's that. But I do feel kinda more loose. I didn't sweat all
that much, but I'll still take a shower I guess."

"Oh and another thing," she added, turning to glare daggers at Somi, "I never saw a blender to
make kale juice, you liar!"

"That's because it's in the kitchen, smarty!" Somi sang, "but I bet you haven't been in the kitchen
huh? So much for making friends with her faster than I did! I even got to drink the stupid kale juice
you're always dissing!"

"She let you into her kitchen?" Lisa's eyes widened. "Made you your own juice? And you drank
that stupid detox drink? Traitor! What did I tell you about turning into those whiny gym hoes? I'll
never forgive you!"

"Yeah keep telling yourself that to sleep at night, I know you're jealous," Somi said smugly,
"aaaaannnd there's my cue for my dramatic exit," she added hearing her father's car horn. "See ya
tomorrow!"

They watched the girl run out of the Vault with fond smiles, which soon faded once Somi
disappeared out of the door.

"Jen..."

"We'll talk later perhaps?" Jennie said softly, crouching down level with Lisa, " I gotta head out for
my shift. Did you eat your protein bar Matt gave you?"

"On the bus yeah but—"

Jennie put her hand on Lisa's arm. "I'm gonna try and figure some way so you can keep going for
the sessions without having Irene pay every time, okay? If anything, Ms Park's uh, rear, seems to
be a wonderful incentive for you. I haven't seen you so motivated and energised in a good long
while."

"So you're basically giving my pervert tendencies the green-light?"

"That sounds so wrong," Jennie chuckled as she straightened, "go shower Lis."

"Jen?"

"Hmm?"

Lisa looked uneasy. "I tried telling her a little about our...financial situation and uhm...she
just...wasn't that interested."

"Why did you do that?" There was no anger or annoyance in Jennie's tone, merely curiosity. "It's
not like we go preach around about our status to just anybody."

"I don't know I thought...maybe she might...understand and...and give me a discount or something,"
Lisa mumbled. "I don't even know where I got that idea. She clearly doesn't like me and she hates
boxing. I'm nothing better than...than some dumb goon, in her eyes."

Lisa's shoulders slumped helplessly. She looked up quickly when she felt Jennie patting her.

"That mustn't have been easy to talk about, it was brave of you. Thank you for trying," Jennie told
her gently as she smoothed Lisa's bangs. "But it's my job to worry on how we're gonna get the
money to continue your sessions, okay? I'm the big sister, so leave that to me."

Lisa caught Jennie's hand in hers. "We're in this together unnie. I'm allowed to worry too. I don't
want you to spend another summer starving yourself for me. It makes you weaker in winter...."

"I'll be okay."

Wordlessly, Lisa pulled Jennie down in a sitting position on the mat. She wrapped her long arms
around Jennie's waist and laid her head on Jennie's chest to listen to her sister's beating heart.

Lisa closed her eyes to hear the soothing thud-thud-thud right beneath her ear, a tiny content smile
adorning her face as the worry lines in forehead vanished.

"Anxious?" Jennie guessed, stroking her hair.

"Mmm," Lisa hummed, "I missed this. Remember we used to sleep like this?"

"You were always a clingy monkey," Jennie smiled wistfully.

When they were younger, Lisa had a habit of resting her face on Jennie's chest and falling asleep to
the beat of her sister's heart whenever she was visited by night terrors. It was Lisa's way of staying
grounded without losing herself to the haunting demons in her head.

"Do you still get them? Those nightmares?" Jennie asked.

"Nah. Why do you ask?"

Jennie pursed her lip. "Somi had me thinking...she's worried about you, you know? It's what tipped
the scales...she's afraid you'd break. I know you're stronger, way stronger than she can possibly
comprehend, but I thought I'd ask..."

"I'm good Jen. Mimi couldn't possibly understand what I'm capable of like you do, so you have to
be patient with her," Lisa said gently. "I'm nowhere near in danger of being triggered. I promise."

"I knew that," Jennie nodded, "but just checking...for Somi."

She undid Lisa's arms from around her waist and stood up. "Much as I don't mind cuddling with my
sweaty gross sister, I have to go for the shift."

"Ey yo! When's the next date with Rosie the Chipmunk then?" Lisa called after her.

"Eager now are we?" Jennie winked. "Day after tomorrow. We'll start on some skipping and
speedpunching in the morning okay?"

"But tomorrow's Ragnarok day," Lisa frowned. "Hey, you're not planning on turning me into some
dainty flower just because I'm taking pilates now, are you? I can't cut back on my weight training
here!"

"No but I don't want you to exert yourself, in case you wake up a little stiff. I expect that tomorrow,
so we'll go easy. I don't want you to tear a muscle."

"But I'm feeling fine! As fine as rain!"

"Look okay, we'll see how you wake up, and we'll take it from there," Jennie compromised.
"Happy?"

Lisa looked at her suspiciously. "You're hiding something. What do you know about pilates and
the aftermath then? Out with it!"

"Nothing much, only that you shouldn't look down on pilates so much," Jennie smiled. "It's a sports
discipline like any other, has its challenges like any other sport."

"That's something Rosie Posie said too," Lisa snorted before adjusting her voice. " Miss Kim, you
seem to have an extremely dim view of pilates bla bla," she mimicked making Jennie's smile widen.

"She probably sensed your disdain for pilates from before she opened the door, that's why she
acted cold around you."

Lisa shrugged and stood up as well, popping her spine as she stretched. "Nah...I think maybe she
really was having a bad day...she was kinda antsy too...looking at the clock a lot. She couldn't wait
to get rid of me. Maybe she was expecting a pizza delivery. Or her boyfriend was coming over. Or
her girlfriend? I really need to ask Somi more about her... I wonder if she's into girls..."

"There you go again with your daydreams."

"No worries Jen, I don't have a chance with her," Lisa laughed, "she dislikes boxing, like Irene and
Matt...and I have a feeling although she's Jisoo's friend, she kinda looks down on poor people like
me so yeah... also, she's too pretty for the likes of me. It's the classic she's-out-of-my-league
scenario. I'll just have to settle for them bar groupies, or just go solo."
"Well I can join you in that department," Jennie smiled, "we'll go solo together."

Lisa squinted at her sister. "You sure you don't wanna try for some other guy? I'm sure Somi
knows—"

"It wouldn't work. I don't have time for anyone except you."

"Such a shame, you're quite the catch unnie. If we weren't sisters, I'd take you out."

"Oh yeah? And where would you take me?" Jennie asked curiously.

Lisa shrugged nonchalantly. "Somewhere..."

"Quite the romantic aren't you."

"Hey technically I can date you, you know. Just say the word," Lisa winked. "No but seriously,
think about it! We're not blood-related—"

"Ms Park has gotten you too horny," Jennie chuckled. "Go shower and cool off, I'll see you later."
 Almost

The long day of waiting was almost over.

She glanced the clock again, willing the hands to move faster. Just a little longer...

In hindsight, she shouldn't have accepted to slot in a session today—she kept the day purposely
empty for a reason.

Yet, the tantalising possibility of adding a new client to the roster and increasing her salary proved
to be too tempting—she could always do with extra money.

And that's how she caved in, thinking she'd be capable of enduring a few hours of teaching. If
anything, it would be a good and healthy distraction, right?

She congratulated herself for breezing through the morning, going about her daily chores and
cleaning but as the clock skipped past three, her restless fingers started to tap out irritating rhythms
on every surface they rested on. It was the sign she dreaded each time—subconciously, she had
learned that once her fingers started tapping, it meant her mind had already started its inexorable
decline into the dark abyss of fear.

She hook her head and filled a glass with water, just to have something to do, and tried to distract
herself. The new client—yes, a good topic to ponder.

The instructor was aware of the expectations—she was going to be expected to be professional and
deal with her client courteously, warmly.

But how could she, when her mind kept drifting away from the present, her brain painting dark and
dreadful images straight out of her worst nightmares?

The pilates instructor was brought out of her brooding with the sound of her phone buzzing. She
snatched it up in an instant, teeth snagging on her bottom lip.

Chichu: just got back!! thanks for looking after my baby! <3

She sighed and slumped in her seat, barely having the energy to send a half-hearted 'no problem
unnie' message back after the thumping in her heart had stabilised. A bead of perspiration rolled
down her temple and she quickly wiped her brow.

Get a grip. Nothing bad's happened . Meaning everything is still okay. Okay. It will be okay.
Nothing's gonna happen...get a grip.

She repeated this mantra as she paced up and down and all around her apartment like an uneasy zoo
animal roaming its cage. On such days, her apartment felt cramped, the air suffocating.

How she wished today's client would cancel! She would climb up the stairs of the building on her
hands and feet for a week if such a miracle occurred....

But on cue, she heard the doorbell go off. The instructor sighed, getting to her feet.

She had no clue about the identity of her client. The voice over the phone—who only introduced
herself as Irene—had only mentioned that the client was a twenty-two year old female and her
name was Lalisa Kim.
Must be some rich kid who have people doing everything for them, Chaeyoung mused as she
walked up to the door. Bet they're rolling in money, just what I need. Lucky you, lucky me.

She just hoped the client was not one of those pretentious snobby women with blobs of fat strapped
to their bodies as if it were about to fall off them—she had nothing against the bodies per se, but
their owners could be irritable and expect to shed off all the fat and transform into super models
like Kendall Jenner in the blink of an eye.

The instructor wasn't sure she'd be able to cope with whiny demands without snapping.

She undid the numerous chains locking the door and opened it. "Um...hello?"

If she had the psychic ability to peer into the future and realise the extent of the havoc this gawking
girl would wreak on her life, Rosé might have been too afraid to open the door and embrace her
fate.

Because Fate had already proven to be cruel to Rosé in the past and she was uncertain if such a
concept as freedom or happiness truly existed.

But as things stood, Rosé was blissfully unaware of the hurricane she had just unleashed with the
simple act of answering the door to her next client.

For now.

>

It could be that she was on edge— she kept glancing at her phone to check the time at every
opportunity when Ms Kim's attention wasn't on her.

But Rosé couldn't think up a more logical reasoning for why she seemed particularly hyper-aware
of the tall, muscular girl in the oversized jacket.

She had long dirty-blonde hair swept up in ponytail with numerous split ends. She had a chipped
front tooth, chewed nails and one eye seemed rather squinted. There was also faint discolouration
of skin around her jaw—small patches. The last thing Rosé noted was the wide forehead hiding
beneath the girls' bangs—probably the reason why she had bangs in the first place.

Ms Kim moved and talked like a guy—cocky and sure of herself, even though Rosé had noticed
the girl's disconcerted expression when she repeatedly blocked Ms Kim's attempts at being
friendly.

But then again, the girl's wide curious eyes drinking in her surroundings, her chirpy voice asking
questions and her eagerness reminded Rosé of a child, which immediately induced her anxiety to
return full-force after being distracted for a few seconds.

If she had been in a more receptive mood, Rosé knew she might have even smiled at the girl's
enthusiasm and curiosity. If it had been any other day, Rosé knows she would have complimented
the shirt proudly claiming that 'unicorns are real'.

But today was not any other day. She glanced at the clock. Soon. Her fingers fidgeted at her elbow.

Ms Kim acted as though she had never stepped inside a high building, pressing her nose to the
window as she gasped in awe, resembling a certain someone that Rosé was trying very hard not to
think about right now—
"Whenever you're ready," Rosé gritted out as she tapped her elbow, reining in the urge to snap. The
sooner we get this over with....

But despite her anxiety, Rosé found herself curious about this unusual client—for a rich kid, she
dressed like some street-wise con artist and peppered her dialogue with smooth endearments.

The girl also blatantly stared, much like a guy. Rosé would have felt uncomfortable under her gaze
but she was quite used to getting lusty stares. This girl's intense gaze was off-putting, but harmless
—she never acted on her impulse, unlike men she knew.

The new client was never arrogant as Rosé feared. She obediently followed the instructor's
directions once they got underway and Rosé had the chance to examine her robust build.

The clock struck a quarter past. Soon.

Ms Kim's physique was well-toned and bulked up, which the instructor might have detested on a
girl— too many muscles take away the soft femininity in a girl. But for Ms Kim, everything was
just right, a finely balanced and sculpted figure with powerful tendons and muscle wrapped around
the limbs.

It was obvious this girl worked out extremely hard at the gym to maintain such a physique which
intrigued the instructor and made her wonder what led her to pursue pilates. Rosé was always
curious about this of her client's history: she collected such information diligently, so as to better
locate the weakened areas that needed attention.

Rosé stole another glance at the clock. Half an hour left...

She had thought that so far, she had been doing a pretty good job of reining in her anxiety but Miss
Kim's brazen statements were grating on her nerves.

There is no shortcut Ms Kim, she sneered inwardly at one point, satisfied to see the smug smirk
wiped off the younger girl's face. Take that for saying pilates is for dainty flowers. Huh!

Of course Ms Kim had to go and show her true colours after they had been getting along quite
smoothly.

She earned her money from boxing—that dirty, violent, senseless so-called sport of bashing
people's brains out. Where's the point in that? And why would she ever go in for pilates if she
doesn't like it?

Almost there, almost time...

Rosé's nervousness increased but she kept it well in check—it wouldn't do to snap at a potential
client. She couldn't afford to lose precious money like that. A little more...

Her hopes of securing another client went up in smoke once Ms Kim started talking about her
livelihood and mentioned her apparent financial struggles.

Wel, that explained her mannerisms and fashion sense.

Rosé felt ashamed for judging so quickly—Ms Kim was no rich kid. The girl, only perhaps months
younger, was subjecting herself to fighting, reduced to a mere boxing machine in order to make
money for her and her sister.

Was she doing it willingly though? Has she never gone to school?
Surely, she could pick some other job? Why did it have to be boxing?

Questions like this scurried through her mind, along with Ms Kim's earnest face, looking up at her
with big hopeful eyes.

"So no shortcut at all? Not even some cheats?" Ms Kim asked at the end of the session at the door.

"I'm afraid not. I'll see you next time. Rest well." Rosé said numbly.

On other days, Rosé might have been more concerned, might have delved in deeper, might have
allowed herself to be intrigued further by this unusual girl.

But it would have to wait—it was well past five and soon, her nightmare of a day would be over.

Rosé showered, noticing that Ms Kim had left everything in order with the shower head hanging in
its place.

Some of her clients who also used the bathroom basin weren't as thoughtful but Rosé didn't find it
in her heart to tell them—she just wanted their money and besides, it was a little thing to worry
over when she had more pressing issues to deal with.

But still, that small action brought a smile to her face.

She dried her hair, her eyes stuck on the clock.

Almost. Almost. A few more minutes, and she'll breathe freely again...until next time.

No don't go there. Rosé reprimanded herself with a shake of her head. Stay in the now.

She clutched the towel, checking for streaks of red dye but was satisfied to find none, for the time
being. It was only three days since she had freshly dyed her hair, out of necessity. Change was a
necessity.

It was tiring having to keep changing her hair colour but what else could she do? It was almost an
unspoken rule to change something about her appearance now and then, otherwise risk being guilty
of complacency, of lowering her guard. You can't trust people to keep their mouths shut for sure.

If she valued the current version of freedom, then change was a necessity, as she told herself each
time she counted the split ends.

She was so going to be bald by thirty.

Red was good, red was bold and strong, red stood out.

Although come to think of it, she'd be more noticeable wandering around with red hair...they won't
be happy...

Rosé's eyes were once more drawn to the ticking clock, hypnotised by the sound.

Her phone was already in her hand, silently swiping and typing in the emergency number for the
police...just in case.

The clock struck the hour. Rosé held her breath.

And now she waited for five minutes.

Ten minutes.

Fifteen minutes.

Her nerves were torn to shreds, her lip gnawed raw. She tasted blood.

Traffic, she thought desperately, just the traffic, it's happened before, it's happened...

Still, she never let go of the phone and strained her ears expectantly, waiting for the moment of
reprieve to arrive.

Should she call?

Wait.

Is that footsteps?

Wait.

Please. Please. Please.

She jolted when she heard the click of the door and rushed out of the kitchen area and into the hall.

"Hey Mommy I'm home!" chirped a little girl as she swung her Dora the Explorer school bag on
one shoulder. She was holding a tortoiseshell cat in her arms and set it down. "Sorry it took long,
Bori was feeling lazy. We should stop feeding her too much cat food huh? If we climbed the stairs,
she wouldn't make it."

Rosé sank to her knees, all distress and anxiety evaporating on the spot as she hugged the girl close,
smoothing the long brown hair down her back.

"Hey baby," she mumbled. Her heart was beating again, she was breathing again. Rosé drew a long
sniff, inhaling in her daughter's scent.

She was here. She was safe.

For today, sneered the voice at the back of her head but Rosé was too relieved to pay it attention.

She sat back on her heels and cupped the girl's face. "You hungry, sweetie?"

The girl nodded vigorously, her eyes bright. Rosé broke into the first real smile of the day.

"Let's get cooking then. Who's up for...gamja-tang?"

"Me! Me! Me! Me!"

"Wash up," Rosé chuckled and kissed her daughter's forehead, "I need my assistant chef in the
kitchen right away."

"Bori can help you," the girl giggled and Rosé chuckled with her.

"Yeah sure, she can help us when we're eating. Now don't forget to throw the uniform in its
basket!"

"Yes mommy!" The girl skipped away, kicking off her shoes in the process while Rosé shook her
head, hiding her smile as she went to pick them up.
Today, Rosé wasn't going to scold or berate—there was the rest of the week to do that.

Today, all that mattered was that she was safe and sound.

Rosé felt serenity slowly flood her system as she allowed the realisation to sink in. And for the first
time in almost a day filled with tension and anxiety, Rosé allowed herself to relax. She even started
humming cheerfully as she tied up an apron around her waist.

>

"Now don't forget to brush your teeth and if something happens, you call aunty Jisoo okay?" Rosé
said as she knelt in front of her daughter and kissed her fondly on the forehead, cheeks and one last
boop on the nose, making the little girl giggle.

"Do you have to go mommy?" she pouted up at her, her cheeks puffing up just like her mother's. "I
wanted to cuddle and watch cartoons."

"I'm sorry baby. I really really am. I will make it up to you tomorrow okay? We'll make cookies, I
already bought the ingredients. And we'll watch movies and cuddle together in the evening how
about that? We can even make pizzas for dinner."

Eyes shining, the girl nodded vigorously. "Did you buy the sprinkles? We didn't have them last
time. The rainbow ones."

"I even bought special unicorn cones because I may or may not have bought a tub of ice cream as
well," Rosé winked, giggling when her daughter's eyes bulged in her head.

"I want ice cream now!" she clamoured.

"No baby, it would be bad for your tummy. I want to give it to you tomorrow as a present for being
a good big girl tonight okay? I'll be as quick as I can."

She rubbed the cat's ears who came slinking silently out of the kitchen and into the hallway where
mother and daughter stood. Rosé crouched down and picked up Bori, handing the cat to her
daughter.

"Bori will keep you company as usual okay? Cuddle her if you miss me."

Her daughter immediately took the cat and hugged her close. "I always miss you, mommy."

Rosé's heart cracked and she ducked her her face away, blinking back the moist liquid in her eyes.

This was always the moment that had her almost bawling and cursing her lot—parting with her
daughter to head out for the night's work ahead. It was wrong and probably illegal to leave an eight
year-old all by herself but Rosé always reasoned that Jisoo was just next door.

She couldn't bring herself to come up with some lame excuse like going out on dates—Jisoo had a
heart of gold and definitely wouldn't mind babysitting. But she would be sure to grow curious and
ask all sorts of questions. Rosé didn't have it in her heart to lie to her unnie.

"Repeat Jisoo's number after me okay?"

Her daughter obediently recited Jisoo's phone number—it was a routine she was well practised in
but Rosé made her repeat it three times.

Just in case.
"And it's written on the fridge as well, and there's a paper in the drawer, just in case. And if aunty
comes along, tell her I'm out on an errand—"

"I know," her daughter said, still holding on to the cat. "I'll go brush my teeth now. Goodnight, I
love you!"

Rosé bent down and kissed her daughter one last time on the forehead. "I love you too baby, so
much. Sleep well."

"Love you too mommy!" giggled her daughter, "I'm gonna get my ice cream tomorrow!"

Just as the girl was about to walk away, Rosé straightened up and called her. "Baby?"

Her daughter turned, only to be engulfed by Rosé's tight hug.

"I don't want to go," Rosé muttered in her daughter's shoulder. Right now, she felt as though she
were the kid, with their roles reversed.

"You said bad things might happen if you don't go, mommy." Her daughter's voice was muffled.

"I did," Rosé said bitterly.

Which was why, she had really better get going.

One last quick peck on the forehead and Rosé wrenched her gaze away, walking determinedly out
of the apartment without looking back once and locking it up behind her, double-checking.

She put her hood up and her covered her face with a face mask before digging her hands in her
pocket and walking to the elevator. Once inside, she pressed the button to the ground floor and
stood waiting and watching the numbers whiz by, steeling herself when she reached the bottom
and exited the building.

There it was, the same burnt-out shell of a battered car that picked her up each time, waiting just
outside the entrance. Rosé expected it to fall apart anytime but somehow, it still miraculously
functioned surprisingly well—the car's mechanic was one nifty professional.

She walked over to it slowly, steeling her nerves with each step as her hands balled into fists.

She opened the car door and slipped inside, her nose immediately wrinkling with the thick fug of
cigarette smoke lingering in the stale air. She didn't turn to face the driver.

"Hello again, love."

The day may have ended, but for Rosé, it was only just beginning.
 Stuck

Jennie roused herself up with the first light of dawn and stretched herself out like a cat. She rolled
on her side and poked Lisa's foot.

"Come on Lis. Jog time."

"Yeah," Lisa rasped, her voice rough from sleep. "Gimme a second."

She stuck out an arm to prop herself up but pain slithered up her limb fast as lightning. Her
shoulders throbbed. As she slowly woke up, Lisa grew aware of sore, tender areas all over her
body making their presence known when she budged. She attempted to roll off the mattress but
even that one simple movement proved impossible—her muscles ached as though she had been
steamrollered by a bulldozer.

"J-Jen I can't move," Lisa whispered.

"What do you mean you can't move?" Jennie said, busy dressing.

"Exactly what I said. I can't move!"

Jennie loomed over Lisa's frozen figure as the blonde lay beneath her, stiff as a corpse with eyes
bulging.

"Hmmm, can you move your eyes?"

Lisa swivelled her eyeballs back and forth.

"Your tongue?"

Lisa stuck her tongue out.

"Your fingers?"

Lisa wiggled her fingers, frowning when she glimpsed Jennie's mouth quirk up into a faint smirk.
"Jen? Why are you laughing?"

"Am not," defended her sister as she hid her face behind her hands, "but...seeing you like this...you
obviously can't be doing anything today."

"What? What? Why?" Lisa exclaimed. "I'm not sick, I'm good, I'm fit as a fiddle, I can—HOLY
MOTHER OF BAGELS!"

In the midst of her outburst, Lisa had violently pushed herself up in a sitting position only to
collapse again as her muscles screamed and pulsed and throbbed in pain, the aches flaring up to
unbearable levels that had Lisa floored.

"Why can't I move? Am I going down with some sickness?" she said panic-stricken. "I don't...."
she trailed off, her face darkening with realisation. "Roseanne."

"I diagnose a case of over-exercising and mild lactic acidosis, nothing that won't clear up in a few
hours," Jennie said as she sat back on her heels, "but I don't think you'll be able to accomplish
much exercise in that state so if you do get up, take it easy, no exercise."
Lisa looked up at her sister, appalled. "Over-exercising? Me? Is this some kind of sick joke?
Knock it off!"

Jennie got to her feet and stretched. "Well, I did warn you. Pilates isn't merely some stretching
sport for the...how did you put it? Meek and dainty. And you exercised muscles that you weren't
usually exercising—"

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Lisa shouted. Jennie shrugged and took up her windbreaker jacket.

"I'm off for a run. Catch you later."

"Hell no, come back here! You can't just—"

Whistling tunelessly, Jennie lowered the ladder and went down through the trapdoor, her steps
fading away even as Lisa called after her furiously.

"What am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to stay stuck here like some kind of dead roach? What
the hell? Unnniieeeeeeeee!"

But Jennie was long gone.

Lisa struggled and gnashed her teeth, attempting to sit up but each time, she crashed back on the
mattress, red in the face from exertion. Her stomach tightened each time she tried pushing off the
mattress and she found herself simply unable to move.

A light sheen of sweat formed over her brow as she struggled in the gloom under the watchful,
serene paper gaze of her former trainer.

"What am I gonna do Hwangssabu?" Lisa pleaded the photo opposite. "Man. Hot as she may be,
that instructor really owned my ass, huh? I shouldn't have dissed pilates, this is definitely
karma...but can you blame me?"

On a sudden burst of inspiration, Lisa rolled over to Jennie's mattress, groaning and moaning and
grinding her teeth as her body protested vehemently and the muscles contracted.

Straining, she finally grabbed Jennie's Nokia after a solid five minutes of stretching her hand and
inching closer as she scrabbled to reach the phone.

"Thank goodness these things don't have passwords," Lisa muttered as her fingers stabbed the
keypad. "Aha! Is this the number?"

She rang it up, tapping her fingers impatiently as she resisted the urge to roll over and sleep off the
effects. Her whole body felt as though she had gone through three rounds of washing—she felt
bedraggled, like an article of clothing you wrung out to dry.

It was still nearly dark, the sky only faintly grey as the new day began. But Lisa wasn't thinking
about time—she couldn't care less that the instructor was probably still asleep.

She needed answers and she was going to get them, one way or another.

"Don't you dare be switched off," she threatened into the phone, "because I'm gonna flood you with
calls and—"

She was thrilled to hear the dial tone in her ear, meaning Rosé's phone was switched on and the
call was going through.
"You better pick up you little trick ass hoe because Imma get—"

"Hello?"

A strange shiver rushed down Lisa's spine once she heard the instructor's husky voice right in her
ear. Goosebumps erupted all over her arm and for a moment, Lisa was rendered utterly speechless.

Her raspy morning voice.

Was it legal to sound this sensual in the morning?

SNap oUT of IT!

"Hello? Who is this?" Rosé said again. She sounded sleepily confused and Lisa pictured the girl
with heavily-lidded eyes, lying in her bed with tousled hair and startled out of her slumber. Her lips
would be puckered up and her cheeks puffed up as she tried to make sense of what was happening.

Adorable.

HANG ON A SECOND.

Lisa jerked out of her stupor, uttering a low cry. She wasn't about to get distracted from her mission
by that devil of an instructor!

"Good morning, Roseanne Park," Lisa said coldly, "or should I say, Rosé. What the hell did you do
to me? "

A beat of silence. "Huh?"

"I CAN'T MOVE OUT OF BED! WHAT EXACTLY DID YOU DO TO ME?" Lisa bellowed.
"OUT WITH IT!"

"Ms Kim?" Rosé said after a bewildered pause. "I...it's almost six in the—"

"I don't give a crap what time it is!" Lisa snarled. "Just what did you do to me? How long am I
gonna be stuck like this? I...I have to train. I...I can't miss a day...a whole day..."

Lisa's voice lowered to a whisper, distressed. "Please. Look, I'm sorry I dissed on pilates okay? But
I can't stay like this for....for however long this will take to wear off! What am I gonna do?
You...there must be something you can do!"

A beat of silence followed.

Lisa pressed on, hating that her voice was bordering on a pitiable whine. "Please. I have to train, I
have to keep up my training, I can't fall behind...I have important matches....the qualifiers..."

She half thought the other woman had fallen asleep but to her relief, Rosé's voice came back over
the line.

"Ms Kim, what you are experiencing is normal," Rosé said in a surprisingly mellow tone. Lisa
expected her to yell back now that she was properly awake. "Although I do suggest that if the
pain increases or you present symptoms such as nausea or vomiting or diarrhoea, you check
yourself into hospital because it means your body isn't metabolising the build-up of lactic
acid. But I believe since your body is used to intense exercising, it will be fine. So don't worry,
it will clear up soon."
"But...but how soon?"

"It varies from person to person...."

Lisa gulped. "So...so in the mean time, I can't move?"

"It's only temporary Ms Kim, no need to be alarmed," Rosé reassured. "I'm sure you have
experienced this kind of muscle ache before, given that you exercise for long stretches of time.
Might I also add that in your line of...umm, sport, you must be familiar with uh...being stiff
and uh...bruised, uhm..."

Lisa was not amused. "Well Ms Park, thank you for that absolutely useless observation. Yes in
boxing I do get beat up but I assure you, since I am quite a good fighter, I don't turn stiff as a board
even after losing a match, contrary to your prejudices. Shocking, ain't it?"

"Ms Kim—"

"Absolutely dying to see you next time, Ms Park," Lisa said frostily, "and I mean it in the literal
sense of the word." She ended the call, seething.

What was that uptight woman's deal with boxing?

Lisa flopped face down on Jennie's mattress with a sigh. Seconds later, the phone gave a short
abrupt buzz. When she checked the screen again, it was a notification from the telephone company
informing her that the phone had run out of credit—she had used the remaining precious minutes
with her last phone call.

Lisa groaned.

>

Tired of her sister's tearful pleading and whining, Jennie had succeeded in getting Lisa down to the
gym just so that she wouldn't feel left out. They had managed this with Lisa piggybacking on
Jennie and nearly crushing her in the process as they climbed down the ladder.

"Man I feel so lousy. I feel like I won't ever lift a dumbbell again!" Lisa grumbled from her spot on
the mat in the corner. "For heaven's sake, Jennie had to feed me the freaking bagel!"

"That's because you're a baby," Jennie called as she helped Matthew lower himself down in a plank
position.

"Be sensitive to injured clients Jen!" Lisa shot back making her sister roll her eyes.

"Drama queen..."

"What was that?"

"I wish your tongue was injured..." Jennie mumbled, earning a snort from Matthew and Irene.

The self-proclaimed invalid now lay face up, arms folded as around her the morning regulars were
going about their workouts, except a certain annoying teenager who didn't seem to grasp the
meaning of 'giving it a rest'. Lisa's attention snapped to the said girl sitting nearby and attempting
to stifle her giggles, which she was failing horribly.

"It's not funny, Mimi," Lisa said coldly.

"BWAHAHAHAHA HA!" Somi burst out, falling back helplessly and kicking her feet in the air as
she banged the ground. "Oh gosh oh gosh!"

Lisa could only shoot venomous glares at the guffawing girl. "You little brat..."

"Do it again! Do it again!" Somi howled in return. "That face, oh you look like Yeri stuck pickles
in your bagel again!"

"Don't you dare speak of such blasphemy!" Lisa snapped, "and get on with your workout!"

"Ah pipe down Tornado," Somi teased, "admit that you got owned! I have to get Ms Roseanne a
present for this one. And ohhhhhhh I have to take pictures to show her of course. Say kimchi!"

"You'll pay for this!" Lisa snarled as she twisted and turned away from Somi's phone, groaning
with the mere act of lifting her arms. "That chipmunk...I...I had no idea..."

"Karma, as they say, is one mean....female dog," Somi finished when her father gave her a pointed
look. She held her hands up in protest. " What? I didn't say anything! I kept it clean!"

Lisa smirked and stuck her tongue out at Somi. "Pussy."

The other girl recoiled. "Yuck get yo nasty tongue away ewwww!"

"Mimi, why don't you go work on the sets now?" Jennie said as she passed them by, "Lisa will
only keep you talking. I'll stay and keep her company."

"Yeah, go do your sets, Mimi," Lisa said smugly, "let me know when you feel like dying. I'll be
over here, chilling."

Somi threw her a dirty glance and walked away, only to be replaced by Dahyun who came up to
the sisters and plopped herself down next to Lisa.

Her eyes were shining happily. "Guess who called just now?"

"Yo tofu! I can't see anything! Where ma loser at?" called a familiar voice from the phone's
speaker.

Lisa propped herself up as best as she could and eagerly waved at Dahyun's phone, wincing and
putting on a brave face. "Momo! Am I glad to see ya!"

"Lis? You finally got shagged gurl? Praise be!" Momo cackled once she took in Lisa's state.
"Who's the lucky baby mama? Are you pregnant already too?"

"What the hell Mo?" Lisa yelped.

"Sometimes I wonder how come you're a CEO back there. The mind boggles," Jennie put in with a
shake of her head.

"Momo's a CEO?" Dahyun asked.

An awkward silence fell, punctuated by Momo's coughing.

"Er no babe, Jennie likes to joke heh, cos she's mean like that ain't ya?" Momo said at last with a
hurried glance in Jennie's direction.

Jennie nodded, her face blank.

"She meant like SI-EYO, it means like a manager in Japanese, like I told ya, remember? Imagine
me being an actual CEO! Oh wow everything would crash and burn," Momo chuckled and Lisa
joined in the laughter.

"Yeah she's bonkers! Didn't you hear her ask me if I got pregnant? Like what the hell man!"

"Well then if you didn't get shagged, what happened? Hit-and-run? Cramps? They never affected
you before..."

"Pilates, it was that damn pilates class my sister so kindly sent me to," Lisa groaned. "I mean, sure,
the instructor was hella hot but I don't think she's worth this pain. I haven't written my will yet, and
I'm probably gonna die later in the afternoon, but does anyone even care?"

"Drama queen!" called out Somi, Matthew, Irene, Jennie and Dahyun. Momo threw her head back
and cackled at Lisa's indignant expression.

"Laugh all you like, when I die, imma haunt you all! Then we'll see who's laughing!" she barked,
making them chuckle.

"Do you hear yourself Lis?" Somi grinned, "it's like being threatened by a kitten right now."

"Yah you—"

"Okay okay, that's enough," Jennie sighed as she stood up and glanced pointedly at Momo. "Mo,
I'm sure you got work...."

"Yeah, gotta go in a minute—"

"Wait! Moguri!" Dahyun called as she turned the phone around to face her girlfriend. "So, about
Friday, we still on right? I can't wait to see you!" she added contentedly.

"Uh about that babe..." Momo frowned as she scratched her nape.

Dahyun's bright smiled dropped. "Hmm?"

Jennie and Lisa were trying not to eavesdrop on the conversation, with Jennie edging away
stealthily while Lisa hummed under her breath and cast her eyes everywhere but on Dahyun.

"Uh...I got a little tied up this Friday, might not even be able to make it for the weekend. Work, you
know." Momo couldn't seem to stop coughing.

"Moguri, are you sick?" Dahyun asked in concern.

"Nah babe just choked on my spit a while ago, can't seem to clear it out properly. Ahem."

Lisa closed her eyes, having heard the excuse a few hundred times before. And she knew what was
coming next as well.

"So... the Friday after?"

"Got that nasty deadline, tofu, sorry. Once I clear up a day in my schedule, I'll make it up to you, I
promise, I'll—"

The sound of a door opening and then a high-pitched giggle cut her off. Momo's eyes grew round
as she stared at someone off screen.
"Momoooooo," warbled a fruity voice, "what's taking you so long, bab—"

Momo made a noise like a gagging seagull. "Sakura-chan! I mean san! I-I will have the papers on
your desk in an hour, I p-promise!" she gabbled in one breath, presumably to the owner of the voice
called Sakura.

Momo turned back to Dahyun and flashed a hesitant smile.

"I have to go, that's my new secr—my supervisor, I have to get back to work or she'll kill me. We'll
talk again really soon tofu!"

"Yeah...I guess..." Dahyun said in a small voice. When Lisa peeked, Momo was pursing her lips,
thinking hard on how to salvage the situation.

"I miss you so badly sweetie. I swear, I'll take you somewhere nice next time I'm back in Seoul."

"Yeah. Yeah that would be great." Dahyun managed a weak smile. "Go, Moguri. I miss you too."

Momo blew her a kiss. "I'll be thinking of you. And say bye to Lisa for me!"

The call disconnected, but not before they heard that same high-pitched giggle ring out as the
screen went black.

Dahyun's shoulders slumped as she put her phone down next to Lisa. The phone screen showed a
wallpaper of her and Momo smiling together as they puckered their lips. Lisa's throat closed up.

"Well...seems like she's...busy..." Dahyun's forlorn tone gnawed at Lisa's conscience.

"Yeah, the Kamikaze's a bit of a workaholic but don't worry, time will fly and she'll be here before
you know it!" Lisa told her cheerfully, pushing away her guilt. She nudged Dahyun's side to bring
the younger girl out of her sombre mood.

"Hey, make sure you're on time for lectures, eh? It's almost nine already."

Dahyun nodded and picked up her phone, wandering back to her bag with a crestfallen face and
hunched shoulders. Lisa watched her go and sighed to herself.

She wasn't certain how far deep Dahyun was in the relationship. As the younger girl packed her
things with a downcast expression, Lisa felt the pang of guilt hit her again.

But what was she supposed to do?

She had seen this scenario play out countless times—Momo wasn't exactly the epitome of faithful.
She enjoyed fooling around with girls, even if the said girls would turn out to be actually nice
people.

It's what made Lisa frustrated—it would be wrong to intrude on her friend's relationship, but
Dahyun was a sweet college student with starry eyes that shone brightly whenever Momo came up
in a conversation.

Moreover, Dahyun generously allowed Lisa to talk with Momo when she face-timed her girlfriend
in the morning at the gym, giving up a portion of her time and money for Lisa and Momo to chat.

Jennie had also grown fond of the girl in the few weeks she had been attending—Dahyun had
struck up a friendship with Somi on account of their mutual friendship with Chaeyoung. Dahyun
had relaxed and started smiling more freely while Somi was pleased to have a sparring partner that
wouldn't knock her down in five seconds flat like Lisa.

Often times Lisa wanted to wring her hair out—was she supposed to stay watching in silence as
Momo trod over yet another girl's heart, or should she turn on her best friend and warn Dahyun to
stay away from Momo and her canoodling tendencies?

Lisa sighed, covering her face with her arm.

Why did she have to be friends with a playgirl?

Lisa gave it around three weeks top before the couple broke up. It was the same cycle all over
again: Dahyun would be mad and quit the gym membership.

And there goes the money...

Jennie wasn't going to be happy.

"Lisa!"

She snapped out of her reverie. "Uh, yeah?"

"I'm gonna step out real quick to post these flyers okay?" Jennie had a sheaf of glossy posters under
her arm.

Lisa's brows furrowed. "Flyers? Are we gonna start a band?"

"You idiot, it's for this place!" Somi snickered as she loomed over Lisa. "Unnie asked me to make
some advertising flyers for this place and she's gonna be putting these up around the
neighbourhood. I got a sheaf of my own that I'll pass around. So do Dubu and Chaeyoung and
Irene. Should have thought of this way before, I'm sure you'll be absolutely booked once people
take notice."

She was still panting from exertion, her face glistening with sweat beneath the fluorescent lighting.
Somi dangled her ponytail above Lisa's face.

"Is it wet enough for a shower?" she grinned and flicked the sweaty strands. Droplets flew off but
Lisa wasn't even the least bothered when they landed on her face.

"Stand down pussy, you can't even say the word 'bitch' because Daddy dearest might hear you,"
Lisa sneered and Somi shot her a glare.

"Daddy's precious little girl," Lisa trilled wickedly. Somi's expression turned murderous.

But before she could strangle Lisa, Jennie stepped in between them. "Much as I'd love for you to
shut her up Mimi, I don't believe violence is the answer for today. Besides, don't you need her to
monitor your dancing later?"

"Who, her? She can barely sit up, poor thing. She might crack her spine if she tried." Somi wore a
sickeningly sweet smile as Lisa seethed and brandished her fist in a poor attempt at threatening her.

"I'll be better!" Lisa said loudly. "Rosie said it will wear off!"

"Rosie huh?" Irene joined them as she peered over Jennie's shoulder, a faint smirk on her rosy
face. "So....seems like you enjoyed yesterday's session. Ms Park seems to be quite the deal."

"Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally
unique, completely not ever been done before—need I go on?" Lisa dead-panned. She winked as
Somi stomped her foot. "And I believe you owe me two chicken buckets now Mimi. Take that!"

"Still at it with the memes tally, huh?" Irene remarked.

"They won't ever stop," Jennie shook her head and zipped up her jacket. "Lisa, behave please."

"Why do you always say that? I'm only a year younger and perfectly capable of being a mature
adult—"

"Hey unnie, which photo do you think I should show to Rosie? I'm sure she'll appreciate them a lot
now that she has gotten to know Lisa. Help me choose?" Somi said casually as she took out her
phone and showed Irene, right in front of Lisa's stupefied gaze.

"So this is the one where Lisa's picking her nose, and this one is where she has a fistful of chicken
in her hand like a toddler, and this is the one where she looks like she had the best orgasm of her
life, and this one is where she's glaring—"

"You said you deleted them you brat!" Lisa shouted as she successfully threw herself forward with
a visceral yell and latched on to Somi's ankles. "Delete them I said!"

Jennie hid a smile as Somi flapped her feet helplessly in order to rid herself of Lisa, who clung on
like a leech and loudly demanded Somi to 'delete those damn photos or else'.

"Try to keep them from wrecking the place," Jennie said to Irene as she sped past.

"Don't be long!" Irene called anxiously.

As Jennie was about to step out of the Vault, a quiet voice called out to her. Turning back, she
spotted Dahyun emerging with her sports bag in her hand.

"Hey! Take care in class and see you around," Jennie told her, carefully skirting around the delicate
topic of Momo.

She had sensed something fishy was about to go down the moment Momo had excused herself
from coming back to Seoul to see Dahyun.

"Jen?" Dahyun fidgeted timidly. "Can...can I ask you something?"

Bracing herself, Jennie nodded. "Go ahead."

"Moguri...she's really a CEO, isn't she?"

Jennie bit her lip, guilt rising up in her throat as she remembered letting slip that detail.

Momo had always strictly instructed her and Lisa not to give away this crucial tidbit of
information to just about anyone, but especially not her dates. Momo didn't want girls getting on
with her for the money and glamour that came with her title.

But Dahyun's glossy gaze caught Jennie unawares—the girl was clearly upset.

"Yes, she is." Jennie admitted, watching the younger closely as Dahyun nodded.

"And...and do you know who...I mean if she's...good friends with...Sakura-san?"

"I never heard Momo speak of her before." Jennie said truthfully. She had a hunch it was Momo's
latest side chick, but she didn't voice her suspicion.

Jennie couldn't bear seeing Dahyun sad—she was a nice girl that Jennie had grown to appreciate in
the short time she had known her.

Dahyun was a sweet Vault member who was respectful to the other gym goers and she helped keep
Somi in check when the latter got too boisterous with Lisa.

Somi listened to her well, because aside from being quite sensible, Dahyun was a surprisingly
good boxer who could more than hold her own against the likes of Somi herself, even beating her
and holding her down in the ring as Lisa cheered them on.

"Hey...she must have her reasons for keeping quiet about it, you know?" Jennie said finally. "Talk
to her next time she calls. It's the next step in your....you know."

Jennie was hesitant to mention the word 'relationship'— after the events that transpired earlier, the
word sounded bitter and ironic.

"Yeah....I suppose you're right." Dahyun fidgeted some more. "Can—can I come back later too?"

"Of course! You don't even have to ask," Jennie reassured. "We love having you around, even just
to chat."

Dahyun gave her a small smile. "Me too. The Vault is small but...it's homey, because of you guys.
That's why I like coming here. And I'm glad Moguri introduced me—it can get lonely at the dorm.
All I do is play the piano or computer games or read. I barely see my roommate."

Jennie patted her shoulder sympathetically.

"No matter what happens, you're always welcome here, don't forget that," Jennie told her sincerely,
"and I'm not saying that just because of your gym membership," she added, making Dahyun
chuckle.

"I'll have to take your word for it."

Jennie smiled, pleased she was able to lift Dahyun's mood. "See you later then?"

"Absolutely!" Dahyun called over her shoulder.

>

As she walked around the neighbourhood putting up the flyers, Jennie's mind drifted back to
Momo and Dahyun's conversation.

Although she had moved away to give the pair some space to talk, she could still hear the third
voice that entered the same room as Momo. She had a bad feeling about this Sakura, but it wasn't
anything new—Momo was known to fool around just for the fun of it, no harm done, no judging.

Except there was harm—a great deal of it, in fact— when Momo conveniently forgot to mention
this fact to her supposed girlfriend she'd be dating.

In plain simple words, she cheated with side chicks, and on some occasions, even managed to
cheat on the side chick and girlfriend.

It irked Jennie, because she was friends with every one of Momo's so-called exes that came to the
gym, which was where Momo picked them up from. And they all drifted away from Jennie and the
Vault once they realised Jennie had been aware— yet never warned them—about Momo's
tendencies.

And Jennie didn't blame them—she knew she was weak. But what if you're friends with the both of
them? Which side do you take? Was there like a girl code to all this drama?

Lesbians, Jennie sighed to herself as she trudged on. It wasn't unbearably cold thank goodness, and
the weak sun's rays filtering through the overcast sky lightened up the gloomy environment. Spring
was just around the corner.

But Jennie paid little attention to the weather: her thoughts were still ruminating over this latest
dilemma that Momo shoved on them.

That is not to say that Jennie took a back seat and let Momo get it on with the next girl that tickled
her fancy without being chastised.

She scolded Momo endlessly, berating her over and over like a mother to a rowdy child, but Momo
was an egotistical happy-go-lucky girl without a worry in the world, only caring about her next
tryst.

Of course the girl had no room for worry—Momo inherited an impressive automobile company
back in Tokyo, so money was never a problem, and she was too short-sighted to grasp the fact that
Jennie and Lisa were losing precious gym members and thus money, because of her playgirl habit.

To be fair, Momo often offered to recompense Jennie for the loss of the jilted exes, but Jennie
declined.

"The only thing I want from you is to be a decent human being and tell the girls that you're dating
what they're getting themselves into," Jennie had told her once, when they were out drinking to
celebrate a victory. "I'm tired of all your exes getting on my case just because I know what you're
like and I chose not to tell them."

"Don't pay them attention—"

"Easy for you to say that, you're all the way in Tokyo!" Jennie snorted. "Honestly, what' s your
deal? Just let them know it's not as serious as they want it to be. And if they don't like it, you find
someone else. There's plenty of fish in the sea." It all sounded logical to Jennie.

Lisa had gone to the bathroom unaccompanied, but Jennie wasn't worried about her sister being
attacked—even if Lisa had been even remotely tipsy, it was the attacker Jennie would be worried
for, not her sister.

Momo gave Jennie a fixed smile then went back to fiddle with her glass of beer.

"Where's the fun in that?" Momo said at last. Jennie raised an eyebrow but Momo wasn't looking
at her.

"That's just being a jerk, Mo. A really obnoxious, selfish, jackass of a jerk. A fckboy, for want of a
better word."

"Maybe I want it that way," Momo said loftily. "Maybe I'm a stereotype but guess what? Yeah, I
want to have a good time, but I don't want to commit. I like my girls, and anyone who's clean
qualifies to be my girl if I like them and they like me back. Now if that earns me the title of
playgirl, so be it. I'm not rejecting the label, because I know I am."
She gave a toothy grin, tapping her nose. "And I like it."

"That's just the thing, though," Jennie tried again. "Why go through all the trouble of pretending to
be in a relationship, when all you want is to get in a girl's panties? I'm sure there are plenty of
girls who can do booty calls and one-night stands, no?"

Momo took a long sip of her beer, wiping the froth on her lip with the back of her hand. "Maybe
because I'm a hypocrite, then. It's nice doing couple-y things, but then they start expecting more
and more. And I can't do that. So I back out when they start getting too clingy."

"One day it will come back to bite you in the ass," Jennie said solemnly, "it always does. You're
playing with people's feelings...one day it will be your turn."

Momo had merely given her wider smile than before and called the barman for another beer.

The conversation had stopped there but Jennie still sometimes remembered it whenever Momo
introduced some new girl claiming she had found The One.

And so far, they had never lasted.

Dahyun was most probably destined for the same fate. A shame, really. Jennie had known better
than to grow attached, yet here they were. It was like having to part with a lost puppy that now
needed to be returned to their original owner.

The short brunette sighed deeply as she finished tacking up her final poster, smoothing it down
over the post. Jennie cupped her hands over her mouth to blow on her fingers as her thoughts turned
to Somi's suggestion for the advertising campaign. The idea was to attract new clients and
hopefully earn more money so Lisa could keep attending pilates without having to depend on
Irene.

Jennie was doubtful anyone would step foot into the shabby, modest and wifi-less gym, but she had
allowed herself to be carried away by Somi's enthusiasm in the heat of the moment. Somi had
come up with the idea all by herself when Lisa had gone to pilates. She had even designed and
printed out the posters with her own money.

Well, it wouldn't hurt to try, right? Maybe classmates of Somi or friends of Irene like that Seulgi
girl might be interested, Jennie thought as she wandered back to the Vault in hopes of finding the
gym still in one piece.

>

"Now five, six, seven, eight—turn and and up and twirl, left hip thrust, sl-o-o-w body roll and up!
That's it, that's it!"

"She's really good," Dahyun said admiringly as they watched Lisa monitoring Somi dancing to the
beat.

"You should see her dancing when she's really dancing. She really has a knack for it," Jennie told
her, her voice betraying a hint of pride, "in another life, she could have been a dancing machine...."

Her voice dropped before she recovered with a little shake. "But well, it wasn't meant to be."

Lisa's muscle ache had subsided greatly by the time the afternoon rolled around, allowing her to
even stand up and swing her arms as she walked. Jennie had given her blessings for Lisa to
dance only lightly. Jennie hadn't allowed her to train on the punching bag either for now.
 When Somi showed up, it was as though the morning bickering had never existed—Lisa greeted
her with the usual snark and they quickly got down to dancing. Dahyun had also shown up with
Chaeyoung and now stayed behind to watch with Jennie when her friend finished and left.

"You gotta do this move here a little bit sharper, I think," Lisa mused thoughtfully as they watched
themselves in the mirror, "like this. That's what your video is doing. You think you got that?"

She paused when she saw the younger girl behind her was typing industriously, her fingertips
stabbing her phone's screen with little click-clack's.

"Mimi?"

"Hmm? Yeah hang on, one second."

Somi finished her text and put her phone away. "You were saying?"

Lisa gave her a strange look but shrugged, repeating her words and demonstrating once more.

"Hmm," Somi scratched her head. "Can....can we go over it again?"

"Sure," Lisa nodded, "you seem a little distracted. We can take a break—"

"Nah I'm good."

"Let's get to it then." Lisa said as she squared up to the mirror.

"But...don't push yourself—" Somi began anxiously.

"Tish tosh, I want my gold medal from you, brat. Now again, from the top!" Lisa chuckled and
patted Somi. "Don't worry, I'm not about to die. I was joking this morning."

"Could've fooled me." Somi dead-panned, earning chuckles and snorts from their audience.

"Your competition is more important and we'll soon be getting on to more complex stuff, I want to
at least cover our basics properly." Lisa rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I can't guarantee I'll be of
any help for the advanced stuff...and especially it would be qualifying season—"

"It's more than enough you're helping me with this," Somi smiled and nudged her shoulder,
grinning widely. "Thanks Lis."

Lisa opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by a ringing phone.

"I'll get it!" Somi said hastily as she fumbled to take her phone out. "Oh...oh hey...no...oh
uhm...just at the gym...dancing... uh, y-yeah...."

Lisa watched the girl closely, curious as to why Somi seemed uncharacteristically shy, her cheeks
tinted a fetching pink. Lisa suspected was her rosiness had little to do with their dancing—they had
barely even knuckled down to do the whole routine.

"Yeah uhm...I'll text you back? Eight? Yeah, that would be great! Thanks, oppa!" Somi giggled
and ended the call. She turned to find three pairs of curious eyes on her. "What?"

"Oppa huh?" Lisa began, stroking her chin as though she had a long flowing beard. "Talking to
boys are we, huh?"

"Was that him that kept texting you in class? You didn't stop smiling," Dahyun added with a wink.
"What's his name?" Jennie asked with interest.

Somi groaned. "Get off my case! What are you, my babysitters?"

"Kinda? This place is the day care, and since we're the caretakers—" Lisa narrowly dodged Somi's
flying fist, groaning as she bent down to avoid the punch.

"Sheesh okay okay! Tell us about the guy."

"I don't have to and I won't," Somi said primly.

"Is it that music major Daniel?" Dahyun frowned as she wracked her brain. "Or what's-his-
name....Hansol, the one they call Vernon, the theatre guy? Or Daehwi? He talks to you a lot. Or—"

"Whoa whoa whoa! Timeout!" Lisa yelped. "You never told me you got a harem, Mimi! Dang girl,
and then you guys say I'm the playgirl around here!"

"Because I don't have a harem, you moron!" Somi yelled and she turned on Dahyun. "Yah! Why
are you exposing me like that? You know I'm just friendly, I talk with anybody!"

"That's true," Dahyun mused, "but you do show those guys a little extra attention...."

"Eh our Mimi is growing up!" Lisa pretended to wipe away a tear. "I never knew our little Daddy's
girl was so popular with the boys. One of them will soon sweep you off your feet and take you far,
far away from me. How will I cope? I will die of a broken heart!" Lisa wailed as she dropped to the
ground, apparently dead of a broken heart.

Somi looked down at her impassively. "Nobody is taking me away. Daehwi oppa was just asking
me if I have—"

"AHA! So it is Daehwi oppa now," Lisa came back to life with a cry of triumph, wincing as she got
to her feet. "Ow my back, ow, ow, ow."

"He's nice," Dahyun nodded in approval, "quiet and respectful for a guy, might I add. At least,
that's what I hear."

"Then he's totally not right for Mimi. She'll drive him crazy!" Lisa declared. "Poor guy, I feel sorry
for him already!"

"Is your dad okay with meeting up with guys?" Jennie spoke up for the first time. She had been
listening quietly. "Does he know?"

"You're blowing this way out of proportion," Somi huffed, "he just asked me to play Fortnite with
him later."

"He's basically asking you out!" Lisa said excitedly. "That's equivalent to a date today, playing
games online."

"Lisa no!" Somi said, her cheeks flushing.

"Lisa yes!" The blonde boxer skipped around them, grunting and wincing but never stopping as she
chanted: "Mimi and Daehwi sitting behind a screen. K-I-S-S-I-N-G—"

"How are we gonna be kissing if we're behind a screen playing Fortnite, genius?" Somi snorted but
her blushing didn't subside.
"AHA! So you have thought about kissing him!" Lisa fired back immediately. "This is it! Mimi's
gonna be seduced and next thing you know, we have a nudes scandal on our hands—"

"She's even more excited about this guy than Somi herself," Dahyun chuckled in an undertone as
Somi chased the older girl.

"Yeah well, Somi and her, they're like sisters. But we're always a bit worried she's hanging around
us too much to have a life and you know, socialising and dating. So....I guess Lisa's happy for
her..."

"She's honestly not missing much," Dahyun blurted. "Not that I've dated guys, so I wouldn't know
if they're different but just....dating in general is a hassle and time-consuming. Not to mention
expensive and...and...hurtful."

Jennie bit her lip. "I guess yeah, you have a point."

Dahyun gave her a wan smile. "Have you ever dated, Jen?"

"Once," Jennie said softly, "just a year, before I inherited this place—I was eighteen. I wouldn't
call it dating as such, either. He wasn't that rich, so we couldn't go to many fancy places like
couples do, or buy each other presents either. The break-up was sort of inevitable too...we drifted
apart."

They watched as Somi finally caught up to Lisa, bringing her down with a thump as they fell in a
giggling heap, with Lisa thrashing beneath Somi as the younger straddled her and tickled under the
armpits.

"If you ever had the chance, would you get back with him?" Dahyun asked over the loud
screeching and hollering.

"He wasn't really that much of a nice person," Jennie mused, "he often punched me. I don't think
I'd go back to him, no."

She chuckled when Dahyun's eyes widened in horror. "It's okay, I punched back. We kept it fair."

"But still...wouldn't that be....abusive?"

"I guess so," Jennie was thoughtful, "we—well, mostly me, really—didn't know better of course. I
just thought he was handsome and moody and hot. It was mostly just us fooling around, pretending
we're dating. I didn't even have his number. We'd just meet up two blocks from here, so my fa— I
mean, Hwangssabu wouldn't catch us."

"He was against you dating?" Dahyun asked, having familiarised herself with the old trainer's
legacy.

"Well, I guess he was worried Lisa or I would make some mistake and end up pregnant or sick. He
was quite pleased Lisa seemed to have no interest in guys. I remember him saying: 'well there's no
way she'll ever be pregnant if she's into girls!'"

"Yep, and this girl here better watch out too!"

The two women started in surprise when Lisa strode up to them holding Somi in an arm-lock as the
younger wriggled and protested.

"You heard Jennie: don't let a guy punch you unless you're able to punch back! Or else tell me and
I'll set him straight, especially if he decides to cheat." Lisa told her solemnly while Somi thrashed
helplessly.

"Don't encourage her to date bad guys! She should find someone that respects her, not punch her,
no matter whether she's capable of fighting back!" Dahyun exclaimed and Jennie nodded.

"Dahyun's right. Mimi, do what you like but be careful. Especially if you want to take things to
more intimate levels—"

"You guys," Somi groaned as she finally disentangled herself from Lisa's grip, "he just asked me to
play Fortnite with him. No physical contact whatsoever. Honestly, your minds, ughh."

"Eh well, we care about our baby," Lisa cooed, "I wonder what Daddy's gonna say when I tell him
his baby girl is crushing—"

"I'm NOT crushing!" Somi insisted.

"Try not to turn pink when you say that, and maybe I'll take you more seriously," Lisa told her,
snickering.

"I'm so gonna show those photos to Ms Park and we will LAUGH together," Somi vowed. Lisa's
laughter cut off as though somebody flipped a switch. Her eyes bulged in her head.

"You said you deleted them!"

"I got back-ups at home, genius! Multiples of them," Somi revealed gleefully, "just for blackmail
situations like these. Ooooooooops!"

"Get back here, you brat!" Lisa gave chase once again, limping and squawking after a laughing
Somi as Dahyun chuckled openly watching the duo run around.

"Well, duty calls," Jennie sighed as she checked her phone, "I'm gonna be late too, fantastic... Lisa,
don't strain yourself, you got another pilates session tomorrow—"

"Rosie posie is Lisa's crush and nobody's saying anything about it!" Somi shouted at the top of her
lungs. "Why is it always me?"

"I'm not crushing idiot! Besides, she hates my guts—"

"I'll walk out with you," Dahyun told Jennie, "It's best I get going too..."

Somi and Lisa paused their shouting match to wave at them on their way out before resuming their
bickering.

"Those pilates must have done something good huh?" Dahyun chuckled softly as they exited the
Vault, "Somi looks happier too."

"Of course," Jennie smiled, "Lisa would usually be too busy working out to spend time with Somi.
They needed this and I'm glad..." she trailed off.

"Thanks for having me," Dahyun said softly, "I needed to take my mind off...things..."

Jennie patted her back, deciding to throw caution to the wind and address the elephant in the room.
"Hey, whatever's going on between you and Momo, I'm sure it can be fixed. Give it time.
Communication is key, as they say."
"The problem is, I'm not sure Momo wants to fix....whatever it is that we have." Dahyun smiled
wanly. "But it's alright. I'll get over it. No use crying over spilt milk, right?"

The petite trainer couldn't think of anything else to say, so she merely nodded and watched the
younger girl walk away until Dahyun disappeared around the corner.

Jennie sighed and took off towards the diner, pondering on many many thoughts that as usual,
clamoured to be given attention.
 Do-over

Rosé giggled as she watched her daughter in her hand-held mirror. The little girl had her cheeks
puffed up in concentration as she tugged on her mother's hair, attempting to plait it. Currently she
held fistfuls of fiery strands, her eyes almost crossed with effort.

"I keep messing up!" she whined, pouting. "How do you even do them on yourself, Mom?"

"It's okay sweetie, it took me a while before I got the hang of it too. Patience is key," Rosé said
fondly, hoping the knots being tangled up in her hair wouldn't require scissors.

"Does aunty know how to do plaits? She told me she could show me once."

"Jisoo?" Rosé chuckled. "If your aunt knows how to do plaits, I'll eat two avocados for breakfast
tomorrow."

Her daughter giggled. "For real?"

"No, of course not," Rosé shuddered, "avocados are..." she pulled a face, making her daughter
snicker. "But I'm confident she doesn't know how, so I'll win," she added smugly.

"Avocados are the best!"

"Noooooo!" Rosé gasped, horrified. "You're not my daughter! Where is she? Where is she? Out
with it!"

Rosé ended up chasing the hysterical girl who ran into her room and jumped on the bed, with Rosé
following suit and tickling her hard. Startled out of her peaceful nap, Bori leapt off the bed with a
miffed meow.

"Who are you?" Rosé demanded, as the girl squealed. "We don't love avocados in this house!"

"Mommy stop, stop! I'm sorry! I hate avocados! I love MANGOS!"

"Now that's more like it!" Rosé sat back in satisfaction. As she did so, she caught sight of the alarm
clock. "Oh, it's almost time. Sorry, sweetie, gotta get ready for the next client."

"Aww already?" her daughter clung to her, "but I wanted to keep plaiting." She pouted, making her
bottom lip jut out as she looked at her mother with pleading, puppy-eyes.

Rosé shook her head in amusement. "I haven't forgotten your homework. Don't for a second think
you're off the hook, young lady."

"But it's so boring!"

Her mother climbed off the bed. "I can try help you afterwards, but I have to go now. If you
manage to finish all your exercises, you can have an extra helping of ice-cream later, how about
that?"

Her daughter dutifully went to rummage in her school bag and took out her textbooks, settling
down to work with a determined expression—she was going to get that ice-cream for sure.

Rosé smiled to see the little head bent studiously over her desk.
"I'll make some snacks later," she called from the door, "make sure to stand up and stretch every
now and then, okay? I don't want you to be getting scoliosis this early in life."

She closed the door and walked down the hall to enter the studio, which was housed in separate
section of the apartment, adjacent to their living quarters.

Rosé cleared up the area and put aside the equipment used for the previous pilates session before
she had to stop to fetch her daughter from school. They had gotten sidetracked when they started
plaiting each other's hair.

It looked to be a good day today.

The weather was crisp and not too cold—the first hints of spring after the harsh winter were slowly
becoming more apparent with each passing day, like the cherry blossoms that were gradually
flowering.

She adored those little pink flowers floating down around them like pink snow, and frequently took
her daughter to watch the trees blooming at the park on weekends. Jisoo would join them, although
the older girl preferred the trees when they were decked out in lush, vibrant greenery. They spent
many an afternoon chasing after Jisoo's beloved pet, a white Maltese named Dalgom while Jisoo
sat by reading, since she hated running.

Rosé hummed under her breath, standing with hands on hips and nodding to herself in satisfaction
once the clutter had been neatly stowed away. She had some ten minutes left before Ms Kim
arrived so she sat down on the nearest beanbag and busied herself scrolling on her phone. But even
so, her mind was elsewhere, or more specifically, on Ms Kim.

Rosé knew that she hadn't been the most welcoming host with the blonde boxer the other day. And
not to mention she had been rather prejudiced as well.

When she had made it safely back home after an exhausting night's work, eyes almost sealed shut
with fatigue, Rosé barely managed to drag herself into the shower for a warm rinse before
collapsing into her daughter's bed. It was her habit on such nights to do so—a guilty reflex to repent
for leaving her little girl all alone in the apartment until the small hours of the morning.

Rosé's last thoughts before she fell asleep drifted back to her earlier session with the blonde boxer,
briefly remembering the compliments, the lingering gazes, the enthusiasm, the child-like aura
emanating from her.

Although Ms Kim had been rather too cocky for her liking, Rosé's observant eyes also glimpsed a
shadow of fragility through the cracks in the boxer's confident exterior.

And the way Ms Kim tenderly picked up her faded, oversized jacket made Rosé's heart give a
slight twinge when she had seen the girl out after their session.

Rosé stroked her daughter's head who slept on, oblivious. The cat, Bori, was however wide awake
as it lay curled up next to the sleeping girl. She watched Rosé closely, her keen eyes gleaming in
the dark.

"I have to be nicer," Rosé murmured as her eyes finally fluttered shut. "Maybe it's not too late..."

After all, it ought to be second nature or verily, her instinct, by now, since it was what she had been
instructed to do nearly all her life—be sweet. Caring. Sympathetic. Understanding.

Lure them in, like the treacherous sirens did to the poor ignorant sailors that fell for their fatal
song.

Every person that crossed her path was a potential opportunity that could—no, must— be tapped
into and exploited. Every. Single. Person.

And that included lowly Ms Kim, with her destitute background and affinity for that hateful sport.

Today was different—there was no impending danger, her daughter was quietly doing her
homework safely in her room, everything was fine, Rosé was relaxed and untroubled.

Today, she was determined to start a fresh page with Ms Kim and hopefully, the other girl wouldn't
reject the olive branch Rosé extended to her.

The doorbell rang and Rosé hurried to open the door, aware of the faint tingles at her finger tips.

Now's not the time to be nervous, you got this!

She inhaled, composing herself one more time and opened the door. Her face broke into an
immediate smile once she took in the same blonde girl wearing the same jacket with a different
shirt this time—a plain white tee.

"Hello," Ms Kim said in a low voice, head bowed as she fidgeted with her fingers.

Rosé almost giggled—where had the cocky girl gone? Seeing her in this light, so shy and soft-
spoken, was rather jarring after their previous encounter.

"Come in Ms Kim, come in. Hope you are well?"

The boxer raised her face, a slight frown etched on her doll-like face. The discoloured bruises on
her jaw had all but faded now—shadows remained.

"Uh, I'm good...I'm okay....Ms Park....hope you are too..." she replied stiffly.

Rosé stifled a grin, internally cooing.

The blonde boxer was rather adorable when she was trying to sound refined and polite, like a kid
made to sit through dinner and forced to use their table manners in front of relatives, Rosé thought.

"I don't seem to recall you being okay at all yesterday—"

"Yes well, I never experienced it before. It was quite a shock to my system. I...it turned okay in the
end. I mean, I'm alright now. Can I hang my jacket?" she said abruptly.

"Of course. And if you wish to use the bathroom again, by all means."

Ms Kim gave her a brief side-glance before she muttered 'thank you' and hurried into the bathroom,
locking the door.

Rosé exhaled, sensing the brittle tension between them still lingering but she wasn't giving up yet.
She was confident she would coax out a smile, like the ones from the other day.

It was unthinkable for anybody to resist her charms, mortifying even.

By the looks of it, Ms Kim had been quite intrigued by her, and now Rosé prayed she hadn't wasted
the opportunity. She hadn't been in her right mind the other day but now she was determined to
start anew.
That silky, treacherous voice whispered in her ear, always too repulsively close for comfort: Don't
let me down Rosé. Or else...

She didn't need to find out what else.

"Let me take your knapsack," Rosé offered with a warm smile once the other girl emerged from the
bathroom. The blonde nodded silently and handed it over before walking barefoot into the studio
area and stood to the side, waiting.

Rosé took it as her cue to speak. "Ms Kim, I'm aware my behaviour when we met last time wasn't
exactly welcoming and hospitable and for that, I would like to fully apologise and start over. If
needs be, I can even provide a refund. I have reflected long and hard and I have come to a
conclusion that it was unprofessional of me, regardless of my mental state at the time. So... I would
like to start over."

She held out her hand for a hand shake. "My name's Roseanne, but you can call me Rosé."

She waited, her heart beating slightly faster than usual as the boxer merely stared at her, eyes
flickering from Rosé's hand to her eyes and back again.

"How about nah?" Ms Kim said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Rosé froze. Her eyes widened, mouth dropped open. "W-what?"

Ms Kim held her gaze for several tense seconds, face grave and serious such that Rosé felt the
sweat start collecting in her palm and—

"BAHAHAHAAAA GOTCHA!"

The blonde girl broke down spluttering and laughing, even dropping to her knees and leaning over
them as she held her stomach. Rosé looked on in utter bewilderment.

"Oh man, your face!" the blonde chortled, "priceless! I wish I took a picture! Oh jeez I got you
good! Hang on—I need to breathe!"

She drew several ragged breath before sitting up, eyes twinkling with mirth.

"I think that should do for an ice-breaker," she grinned and held out her hand as well. "The name's
Lalisa, but you can call me Lisa, so enough of this Ms Kim nonsense. Also, you're not that older
than me, I think, so can we please talk normally? I'm sure you can, my friend says you can."

Rosé goggled at her, speechless.

Lisa tilted her head to the side. "Hey, say something. I know I dazzle people with my wit and
beauty, it's okay, you'll get used to it before long."

Rosé felt a bubble of laughter threatening to rip forth from her throat, catching her by surprise.

She wasn't supposed to be laughing!

The instructor composed herself and finally took Lisa's hand, shaking it.

" Well...that was quite...something," she managed weakly.

"But it totally worked!"

"Were you trying to punish me?"

"Nah, I just thought it would be funny to mess with ya," Lisa grinned, her cocky self newly
restored.

"You scared me! I thought I was going to be rejected!" Rosé said indignantly.

"Look at us, we're already bickering, like we've known each other forever!" Lisa said in delight and
nudged the instructor. "See? My little prank paid off."

She glanced at the instructor expectantly but Rosé was determined in flushing out the last remnants
of guilt sitting in the pits of her stomach.

"Ms Kim...sorry, I mean Lalisa....I'm really sorry about last time. I...I wasn't okay."

"Eh, no problem, we all get bad days," Lisa said cheerfully. "As for me, I'm sorry I annoyed you
with my narrow-minded views on pilates. It's actually...quite something." she added, copying Rosé
and winking.

"I can't say the same for boxing, but I'll try to be more tolerant of it in the future, starting now,"
Rosé compromised.

"Works for me!" Lisa chirruped and she started stretching. "So....what are we gonna be doing
today? More stretching torture? Will I wake up with a paralysed neck this time round?"

She chuckled as Rosé's brows shot up.

"You know, you're really easy to tease," Lisa told her.

"And you're...very blunt," Rosé returned. She gave a shake of her head, tossing the red ponytail
behind her shoulder. "Let's just...get started. And I assure you, nobody's going to have a paralysed
neck unless you twist yourself up like some contortionist."

"Let's get to it then!" Lisa smiled toothily. "Oh! One last thing!"

Rosé settled on the mat opposite Lisa. "Yes, Lis?"

"You're already calling me Lis!" Lisa looked positively ecstatic. "Does that mean I get to call you
Rosie then?"

"What? No, it was a mistake, I didn't tack on the A at the end—"

Lisa cut her off with a giggle. "Relax, I don't mind. I'll call you Rosie."

"I...don't think that would be appropriate to have that kind of...closeness." Rosé said, albeit
uncertainly.

"Why? We're practically the same age so it's okay."

"How would you know how old I am?" Rosé said stiffly. Her fingers curled up, her heartbeat
picked up.

She was careful not to leave tracks, how could anyone know...

Lisa shrugged. "Wild guess? I'm twenty-two."

"Twenty-two last February me too," Rosé answered, internally screaming at the cool, nonchalant
way this blonde girl estimated her age. It wasn't so much the fact that she had guessed that had
Rosé flustered but rather the way Lisa ploughed forward, barging through the conversation as
though they had known each other forever.

The blunt and frank manner with which Lisa spoke reminded her of Jisoo. The familiarity jarred
with Rosé's reality, yet Lisa's direct and bubbly mannerisms were refreshing—unlike anything
Rosé had experienced before.

Rose's brows knitted. Just who was this girl?

Lisa giggled. "You're mad that I guessed."

"What? No I'm not!"

"Your cheeks are all puffed up and pouting," Lisa pointed out, leaning in with her hand ready to
pinch Rosé chubby face before she paused. "Wait, sorry, I was about to...I couldn't help myself,"
she chuckled, withdrawing her hands, "I guess not yet, we only just made up minutes ago...so
cute," she added to herself.

"They're not puffed up!" Rosé cupped her cheeks, unnerved to feel the hot blush creeping up her
face. What was happening?

"I hate them, all chubby fat," she whined again. "My body's fine, but... I can't make them go away."

She had them all her life, often making her the butt of cruel teasing from people she encountered
along the way and earning her unwanted nicknames that stuck to her like tar. Although she had
gotten used to name-calling enough to ignore it, the memories of taunting voices still stung.

"I think they're pretty, actually. Like a chipmunk's," Lisa complimented.

Rosé peered at her, scrutinising the blonde for any hint that might give away her insincerity, but to
her surprise she found none—just Lisa gazing back at her with a warm smile on her face.

Rosé lowered her hands from her face in wonder. She really does think her cheeks are pretty?

"Will you answer my questions about all this stuff today?" Lisa gestured at the equipment
occupying the area around them. "I wanna properly appreciate pilates...it earned my respect
yesterday."

"Because it had you floored?"

"Yep. You start to appreciate being able to move around, you know?" Lisa tapped the side of her
nose. "The mark of a good sportswoman is one who seeks to move beyond her mistakes and takes a
defeat in stride while learning to be open-minded about her errors."

Rosé stared at her, making Lisa burst out into peals of laughter.

"Hey, don't look at me like that, I can be smart! Shocking, ain't it?" Lisa quipped.

"Clearly." Rosé bowed her head in respect. "I would do well to take a leaf out of your book and not
form hasty judgements."

"We're learning," Lisa said giddily. "This is great, way better than I thought it would go!"

"Of course. It's the least I can do to make up for my attitude last time," Rosé said graciously,
pleased that Lisa's enthusiasm had returned.

All was not lost—she had succeeded in mending the bridge. Now all she had to do was mine for
useful information....

"You were kinda cold, not gonna lie. And I wasn't making it any easier on ya," Lisa nodded. "But
hey, water under the bridge, you know? No hard feelings, eh Rosie? Let's make it a good one,
yeah?"

This time, Rosé didn't mind being called Rosie, and her face broke into a wide grin. "Yeah!"
 Getting to know You

"What, so you eat a bagel every single day?" Rosé asked incredulously, chewing her lip.

"Pretty much! Bagels are divine!" Lisa practically had hearts in her eyes for the past ten minutes as
she animatedly described exactly the kind of bagel she consumed every day, such that Rosé almost
found herself craving to taste and savour the texture of this legendary food.

"Saturdays and Sundays though, we have energy drinks for breakfast," Lisa added with a shrug.
"My un-favourite days of the week, no prizes for guessing why."

"Energy drinks?" Rosé asked, aghast.

"Yep! We wouldn't have much in the fridge from like Friday night exceptlike ramne pots but who
eats ramen pot niodles for breakfast, ughhh! Plus the energy drinks are reasonably priced. Don't
worry, yeah I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day but we have a good tuck-in
later at lunch," Lisa explained.

Rosé shook her head, deciding to let it slide. Energy drinks...don't they have a coffee maker? Or a
kettle at the very least.

She wouldn't dream of starting the day off without pancakes and a cup of coffee, and she told Lisa
so.

"Maple syrup drizzled on them and a handful of fruits, whatever's in season. Strawberries and
mangos are the best."

"I love strawberries! Been a while since I had them...and mangos too. I almost forgot what they
taste like..."

The two women had settled into light conversation as they went through the exercises, with Rosé
inquiring about Lisa's lifestyle in order to pinpoint any possible improvements she could do to
avoid stressing her body and mind.

"But... you know...eating bagels all year round...all that cholesterol piling up..." Rosé said
hesitantly.

"I burn it up working out all day!" Lisa chuckled. "It gives me the calories I need. I actually have to
eat lots of proteins too, so chicken is nearly always what I have for lunch. Need to keep my muscle
mass, you know? Don't some people have a full English every day too?"

"Not quite recommended," Rosé hummed as she held on the handle bar and stretched her leg,
arching her back and tilting her neck backwards slowly until her crown touched the sole of her foot.

She had her eyes closed so she couldn't see Lisa's expression but she smiled to hear the other girl
gasp softly.

"Rosie, stop flexing on me," Lisa whined. Rosé's smile broadened.

"I'm not. I'm just...doing my thing."

"Right in front of my salad?" Lisa chortled as she slapped her own thigh. "Dang, if only Somi was
here, that would be three chicken buckets!"
"Somi? Jeon Somi? You know her?" Rosé asked with interest as she lowered her leg down. "She's
a nice girl, a dancer."

"Yeah, her dad owns the diner where we get the bagels and she visits the Vault with him all the
time. She practically lives with us."

"The Vault?"

"Our gym, mine and my sister's," Lisa explained. She looked wary when Rosé approached her.
"What are you gonna do? No way I can stretch like that, I'll end up with a broken spine!"

"Stop exaggerating," the instructor grinned, "from what I've seen, you're plenty flexible. If you had
been more on the skinny side, you would have had a perfect dancer's body. We'll go it slow."

She held out her hand. "I'll be helping you, don't worry. The important thing is not to rush and
make sudden movements that would jar—you could tear ligaments and tendons."

"We don't want that."

"We most certainly don't," Rosé agreed as she helped the boxer stretch out. "The moment you feel
you can't take it anymore, just say so."

Her fingers ghosted over the rippling muscles in Lisa's back— constellations of shadows covered
the fair skin, faded and discoloured like the bruises on the blonde's jaw. Rosé bit her lip when she
lightly pressed on the middle strip of the blonde's sports bra to guide Lisa into the position.

"I'm not made of china you know," Lisa remarked. She glanced over her shoulder. "Don't worry, I
don't feel a thing, darling."

"Don't call me that." Rosé said primly, pressing more firmly with Lisa's permission.

"What?"

"You know what."

"Oh, you mean 'darling'? But I called you that last time," Lisa said innocently.

"I wasn't paying attention. Please don't say it again."

"Okay should I call you sweetheart then?" Lisa persisted.

" Or baby? Or if you wanna go straight off the deep-end, maybe I can call you...love?"

Lisa went off into peals of laughter, unaware of how the red-haired girl immediately stiffened.

Rosé shut her eyes. No no no don't think of him right now—

"No wait, I got it!" Lisa cried triumphantly. "So obvious, why didn't I think of this when we
already mentioned it before? From now on, I'll call you Chipmunk!"

Rosé recovered quickly with a shake of her head. "Chipmunk?" she asked incredulously. "Do you
really have to call me with a nickname? I've been lenient, I already let it slide with Rosie—"

"But I'm a master at nicknames so it's only fair you get one. You'll grow to love it, everyone does!"

"Like my neighbour then—"

"Jisoo? Yeah I met her, now that's a girl after my own heart!"

"I wish I didn't have chubby cheeks," Rosé said dolefully, cupping her face. "I...told you I don't
like it when people—"

"Chipmunks are so so so adorable. I wish I could raise one. I told you, you remind me of
chipmunks." Lisa tilted her face so that her head was hanging upside down, just like her wide
smile. "I mean it merely as a compliment."

"Do you?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die. I can pinky promise on it if you like as well."

Lisa seemed to notice the discomfort still present on Rosé's face because her expression turned
serious. "Hey. Hey. If you really hate it, I won't call you that, even if it's cute and fits you perfectly.
I'm sorry I pushed too far. My sister told me to behave but I made you upset again. Sorry. I'll just
call you Rosie."

The smile returned to Rosé's face, warmed by the fact that Lisa had noticed and apologised—quite
different from past bullies and she appreciated it.

"You're such a kid...I can't believe you're twenty-two," she chuckled, her voice lighter now.

"Better believe it then," Lisa grunted as she pushed harder to achieve Rosé's position. She huffed
and puffed and sucked her stomach in, the muscles clenching and pulsing. Faint aches from the
previous session made their presence known but Lisa reckoned she could still push through as
lifted her leg.

"Lisa, don't push yourself," Rosé warned. She was eyeing Lisa like a hawk, brows furrowed as she
watched the blonde grit her teeth with effort

"I'm fine," Lisa gasped and raised her leg higher. "Gimme a second."

"No."

To Lisa's surprise, she felt a firm pressure on the back of her thigh, pushing it back down to the
ground.

"You're not okay to do that move. Yet," Rosé said softly, "you need practise. Please don't hurt
yourself...more."

The pleading tone in the instructor's voice quelled Lisa's protest sitting on the tip of her tongue. If
it had been Jennie, she would have insisted and probably pushed herself to carry out the move just
to prove she could.

But Rosé's beseeching gaze stopped her...

Lisa sighed and reluctantly obeyed, lowering her leg and straightening with secret relief—the
clenching in her thigh muscle actually hurt.

"Okay fine, fine. I'm not doing it. See?" Lisa said in a disgruntled voice and folded her arms,
bottom lip jutting out. Rosé almost cooed at her.

"Don't be too disappointed. Once your body loosens up with a few more sessions, you'll be able to
do much more. We'll even get started on the machines."
Lisa perked up. "Really? I can use the Cadillac?"

"And more," Rosé promised with a chuckle. "Once you have more sessions under your belt, we'll
make a pilates guru out of you."

Lisa fell quiet again. "More sessions..."

Rosé bit her bottom lip and gestured to the mats, sitting down cross-legged.

"Lisa, do you...do you often get hurt like that?"

"Like what?" Lisa followed suit and slowly sat herself down in front of Rosé. "Oh the bruises you
saw? But it's no big deal. I honestly was in more pain with the first pilates session. I thought...oh
great, karma for dissing on pilates, you know?"

Rosé chuckled. "Okay then. Now about some conclusions as regards to improvement you can do
for your lifestyle...I think from the looks of it, I would say some daily light core exercises on the
mat, like twenty minutes each, and a few longer sessions on the machines might help you regain
your fluidity."

"But," she added when Lisa opened her mouth to speak, "these have to be maintained in the long
run or you'll end up with the same recurrent problem. The mind has to be relieved of tension—we
all carry our baggage and problems. I would suggest having a break from training constantly now
and then."

"A break?"

"Even just a simple walk would be beneficial, rather than stressing your body and overworking it,"
Rosé nodded. "It's still healthy, but light enough to give some of your muscles a much-needed
break, and can do wonders for your mind too, which in turn reinvigorates your whole system.
Changing locations is stimulating for the brain."

Lisa listened attentively, albeit frowning by the time the other girl finished speaking.

"But...I would have to cut down on my boxing training..." she said slowly.

Rosé nodded. "I don't know what exactly your trainer's goals are, but don't you think they're...
excessive? Working out from dawn till evening? Not even professional boxers do that..."

Lisa shrugged. "I can take it. It does me good. I've been doing it for years anyway. Nothing ever
happened," she said stiffly.

"Before," Rosé said patiently, "but the mental stress was there, accumulating and now we have the
result—your slump in performance. From what you told me...you don't have much of a life outside
of boxing. Do you think that's normal?"

Lisa didn't say anything and Rosé pressed on.

"It is not healthy to obsess solely on winning—humans need to build interactions and connections
with people, to experience life to the fullest with all the experiences it has to offer, fulfil their
dreams—"

"I do have interactions! I have plenty of friends at the gym and the diner!" Lisa said hotly. The
instructor was stumped for a brief moment before recovering and eagerly latching on to Lisa's
answer.
"Okay, that's good! How often do you meet and go out then?"

For once she was pleased to have been proven wrong—it was always easier to get people to move
if they organise group outings, and if Lisa was already doing that, maybe she could suggest having
a group walk in the park.

Meanwhile, Lisa paused to think.

How often?

She thought back on the bar nights with Momo and Jennie after her or Momo's victories—they
weren't as frequent as Lisa would have liked, truth be told. Sometimes Momo would bail out
because of some needy girlfriend, or she'd be on the next aeroplane out of the country due to a tight
schedule. Sometimes they'd both be too dazed to go drinking. Jennie would have no option but to
send Momo back to her hotel or current girlfriend's address after phoning for a cab, and then left to
lug Lisa home.

And the girls working at the diner....well, safe to say Lisa didn't know them that much aside from
the flirtatious jokes and innuendos they traded. Hell, she didn't even pay attention when either of
their birthdays were due—she soon forgot. She could never afford presents—money was too
important to spend on trifle things like presents, and they understood her situation.

"Not much...we don't," Lisa mumbled.

"Then why not try to set up a day to meet? Like, perhaps, you could squeeze in some time for a
group stroll in the park. Normally, one can—"

"Nothing about me is normal, Rosé," Lisa said quietly, "and I don't mean it like those Tumblr girls
do. I'd prefer to leave it at that if you don't mind," she added, "I know well enough that you don't
approve of what I do, but it is what it is. I'm afraid I can't help it."

"You sound pretty normal to me, it's just your approach to time management that is rather
abnormal," Rosé shrugged. "I've worked with many types of people from all walks of life—you
don't sound any different than the next burnt-out workaholic."

Lisa stared as the other girl continued.

"And of course you can make time," she said encouragingly, "it's all about balance. You have time
for everything in the world. Time management is key and you can do anything you like once you
get the hang of that. Case in point, you made space for these sessions."

"What's in it for you?" Lisa asked, nettled. "I only made space because I thought it was a one time
thing. I wasn't intending on dropping my afternoon segment of training any time soon. Of course
you want to keep me coming back here, so you can get paid!"

"Besides," she went on loftily, "I still have upcoming matches to take care off and as I mentioned
last time, I need to win, it's essential to win. Period."

"When's your next match?"

"It was supposed to be in three days," Lisa said sourly, "but Jennie managed to swap me around for
a match a week from then. She said I would need the rest so I would really feel the benefits of
pilates."

Jennie had proposed this measure just that morning, and although Lisa grouched and complained,
she had grudgingly given her consent for her sister to ask the management at the Slammer to swap
dates.

It didn't mean that Lisa wasn't feeling any less bitter about it—skipping match nights made her
restless at the thought of being away from the ring, even though a break was what she needed,
according to everyone. But boxing was to her an addiction—even if it was killing her, boxing gave
Lisa her much-needed high.

Rosé blinked after Lisa's outburst. "I'm...I'm sorry, I was only trying to help..."

"Of course you were," Lisa said brusquely. A brittle silence enveloped them, with Rosé inwardly
berating herself for persisting and pushing the other girl.

But really! She was only trying to help—working out from morning till night isn't healthy, no
matter how important it is to win, she reasoned. I have to make her understand that...and I hope she
listens...otherwise she could end up with aggravated health problems...

"Rosie?"

"Yes?" Rosé said immediately.

Lisa sighed deeply as she twisted her wrist restlessly. Rosé winced at the continuous click-clack
noises the movement produced, like the cracking of knuckles, but she didn't stop the blonde, yet.

"I'm sorry for...for...you know. Yeah. That was mean of me. You're only trying to do your job,
right?"

"It's alright," Rosé reassured. She finally reached a hand out and rested it on Lisa's wrist, halting
her fidgeting. "People have reacted worse when I suggested they ought to cut down on sodas or
burgers."

"Whiny pilates hoes like burgers and sodas?" Lisa goggled at her. "I thought...they only ate lettuce
and kale juice."

Rosé gave an explosive snort, immediately hiding her face behind her hand in mortification as Lisa
giggled.

"Who gave you that idea?" Rosé said quickly. "People who come here are just like you and me,
they're not the health-freaks you have in your head... at least, most of them aren't..."

"So, hang on, you love burgers and sodas?" Lisa asked, mind spinning with this earth-shattering
revelation.

"Well, not necessarily sodas, they're high in sugars so I avoid them, but burgers...I have to have one
at least every fortnight. I'm more of a salad gal though."

"Like Jennie unnie then, she loves her salads," Lisa scratched her chin. "So...you like kale juice
though?"

"Never tried it," Rosé shrugged, "although they do say it has detox properties—"

"Wait, you haven't?"

"No—"

"But...but...so it was all a lie?" Lisa said indignantly. Her expression darkened. "Somi...I'm gonna
annihilate that brat—"

"Uh, is everything okay, Lis?" The red-head asked in concern as she watched the blonde boxer
mutter and squeeze her fist until the scabbed knuckles whitened.

"Peachy, Rosie, just peachy." Lisa flashed a wide, fixed smile. "I'm just...coming to terms with
some...interesting revelations," she added in a strained voice.

"Oh. Alright then..." Rosé said uncertainly and glanced at the clock, surprised to find that only five
minutes remained of the session.

Time had certainly flown by today.

"Uh...well unless you have more questions I suppose we're done for today...and I do hope you
consider my suggestions..."

"We'll see, but I can't promise anything."

"It's a start. I'll take it," Rosé shrugged, readying herself to stand.

Lisa hopped up on her feet in one powerful movement, wincing slightly, and held out her hand.
Without thinking, Rosé grasped it and squealed in fright when Lisa pulled her up effortlessly,
almost bumping their faces in the process.

Just in time, Rosé put an arm out to brace herself, her palm meeting halfway with Lisa's in a
resounding clap that startled them both.

"Aaah!"

Rosé flailed wildly as she wrenched her arms away from Lisa and fell to the ground, eyes dropping
shut as she waited for impact.

But it never came.

Instead, hard lean fingers caught her from the small of her back, halting her fall. Rosé blinked her
eyes open, her gaze colliding with Lisa's startlingly clear orbs as the blonde leaned over her,
holding Rosé's body in mid-air, perfectly balanced.

"Rosie, I got you, okay?" Lisa's brows furrowed with effort, her nostrils flared.

"O-okay," Rosé squeaked.

Her heart was beating a mile a minute from the sudden rush of adrenaline of her near fall, and it
didn't help that Lisa was smiling down at her—her hazel doe-eyes glinted. Rosé could smell the
faint musk oozing out of Lisa's skin and suddenly grew aware of Lisa's bicep, flexing with effort to
keep them from dropping to the ground.

Lisa hadn't budged, her mouth quirking up into a cocky smirk that Rosé wanted to smack off
immediately.

Which she did, very hard.

"OW WHAT THE—"

Rosé yelped as she crashed to the ground once the boxer released her on reflex. Lisa herself fell
back, flailing like a chicken with her legs in the air.
She groaned on impact, making Rosé immediately scramble to her side in concern. The rush of
blood pounding dully in her head increased as Lisa curled into a ball, holding her eyes.

"Oh my gosh, Lis, are you okay? Talk to me! Where does it hurt?" Rosé said in panic, shaking
Lisa's shoulder.

She was stupefied to hear giggles coming from the girl beneath her. The mischievous doe eyes
gazed up at Rosé from in between slender fingers.

"Gotcha again," Lisa giggled as she sat up, blinking one red eye rapidly.

Rosé huffed. "Stop it, I thought I poked your eye out. That would be terrible on so many levels—"

"Hey, Rosie chill. Like I said, I'm not made of china," Lisa grinned as she sat up. She patted the
mat beneath them. "Poking me in the eye hurt a bit, sure. And my thigh certainly didn't appreciate
me falling on it, but the mat cushioned it a bit. I'll live."

"Oh."

"That said, I appreciate your concern," Lisa said cheerfully. "Also, you socked me one good in the
face, quite a strong hand you got there."

"Well it's your fault, you were looking at me funny."

"I wasn't looking at you funny!"

"Yes you were! It was embarrassing!"

"No I wasn't!"

"Yes you were, you had this creepy stalker smile!"

"Uh, excuse me? Creepy stalker smile? Do I look like some pervert—"

"If you really want to know," Rosé said recklessly, "you were kinda checking me out, even last
time."

"Oooof, okay okay, she mad mad now," Lisa slapped her forehead, "abort mission! Oh just look at
the time, gotta run!"

"Mommy?"

The laughing girls turned abruptly with Lisa's laugh dying in her throat upon beholding a small girl
with puffy cheeks like Rosé.

"I heard lots of noises, are you hurt?" the girl asked anxiously. She was holding a textbook close to
her chest, her eyes darting in between Lisa and her mother as though Lisa was a ravenous tiger
about to pounce on Rosé any second.

"No sweetie, we got a little carried away is all," Rosé reassured. She glanced at Lisa who was still
staring dumbstruck, eyes glazed over.

"Uh Lisa meet my daughter, Ella. Ella, this is Ms Lalisa Kim. Say hello."

Ella waved shyly. "Hi, pleased to meet you. I'm Ella Park and I'm eight years old," she said with a
smile.
Lisa's mouth was still hanging wide open until Rosé nudged her.

"You...you got a kid?" Lisa said in a strangled voice.

"Yeah, why?" Rosé asked, confused. "Are you alright? You look...weird."

Weird was an understatement—she couldn't tell if Lisa was about to faint or burst out screaming.

Rosé tapped her shoulder and Lisa flinched, snapping out of her stupor and shooting Ella a faint
smile.

"H-hey kiddo, pleased t-to meet ya," she greeted breathlessly, "I'm Lisa. I'd shake y-your hand but
kinda sweaty at the moment, s'cuse me..."

She staggered to her feet, fetching her knapsack. Rosé stood up as well and went to her daughter.

"You got all the questions done, baby?" Rosé asked, patting Ella's head. Ella scrunched up her
nose.

"There's a couple I'm not sure of..."

"I'll help you in a moment," Rosé promised and softly kissed her forehead before turning back to
Lisa. "So, see you next...time...Lisa...?"

The blonde had a comical expression on her face—eyes bulging out of their sockets, mouth open in
a perfect O. She came to life with a squeal and dived for Rosé's legs.

"Caaaaaaaat!"

Rosé glanced down to see Bori rubbing her sinuous body against her shin. Lisa was suddenly
crouching down and cooing and miaowing in front of Rosé's feet, attempting to communicate with
the feline.

Rosé couldn't help it—she threw her head back and laughed. "You like cats then?"

"They're so cuuuuuuute!" Lisa gushed, eyes shining, "what's his name? Oh wait, it's a girl! What's
her name? Oh you adorable ball of fur! Can I pet you? Will you let me? Huh? Pleaseeee?"

Ella giggled. "Her name's Bori. She doesn't like loud noises."

"Sorry, I'll be quieter," Lisa whispered and held out her hand. "Bori. Hi. Pleased to meet ya."

The cat sniffed at Lisa outstretched hand, gingerly moving forward inch by inch until she rubbed
her head against Lisa's fingers.

Lisa looked on the verge of exploding with delight.

"She likes me!" she whisper-yelled happily. "Rosie, your cat likes me!"

"I can see that," Rosé said in amusement as Lisa uttered a low squeal when the cat rolled on her
back on the ground, inviting Lisa's fingers to dive into the soft fur as she raked her hand along the
cat's belly.

"Have you got cats at your home?" Ella asked as she squatted down next to the blonde.

"I wish," Lisa sighed quietly, "sometimes there would be like, a litter of kittens in the alleys
nearby. I hear them mewling for their mom at night and...well...it's kinda heartbreaking imagining
them out there...in the cold and rain."

"Bori had a special operation, right Mom?" Ella inserted when Lisa fell quiet, absorbed with
stroking Bori's belly. "She can't have kittens or run away."

"That's great kiddo," Lisa smiled. She tilted her head and looked Ella. "Hey, what's that you got
there?"

"This textbook? Just for homework..."

"Can...can I...can I see?" Lisa asked bashfully. "I won't ruin it, I promise, I just wanna see..."

Rosé was watching the exchange with interest, her eyebrows raising slightly at Lisa's request. Ella
passed it to her without much thought, watching intently as Lisa thumbed through it slowly, her
finger tracing over words as she mouthed them.

"That's the page I had for today," Ella pointed out as she moved closer to Lisa to show her. "Miss
Kang's very nice, she said if we don't get the answers she will explain everything tomorrow, but I
still want to try them myself."

Rosé smiled proudly at her daughter while Lisa scanned the page, seemingly entranced with the
words and symbols.

The red-head decided to fetch Lisa's jacket and shoes and came back just in time to hear Ella
explaining the exercise to Lisa as the blonde boxer listened attentively. Her focused expression
mirrored the same concentrated face she had while listening to Rosé's explanations.

"You're very lucky kiddo, you know that?" Lisa sighed at length, shooting Ella a small wistful
smile. "Stay in school as long as you can."

Ella pouted. "I wanna grow up quickly so I can take care of Mommy!"

"That's so sweet," Lisa cooed, as the instructor approached them.

"Lis, I got your shoes and jacket, if that's okay. Do you have any bus or subway to catch?"

"Thanks, yeah I'll be out of your hair in a moment—"

"No, no you're not bothering me," Rosé insisted sincerely. "Take all the time you like."

Lisa beamed before turning back to Ella. " You know what, how about you and I switch places
kiddo? I get to be a kid, and you be an adult. You get to go anywhere you like eh? But you gotta
pay my bills."

She chuckled when Ella ducked her head away. "You kinda remind me of my sister, kiddo. You
could be her younger sister if I didn't know better."

"Yeah? You got a picture?"

"Nope."

"Your phone?"

"Don't have one," Lisa shrugged as Ella gasped, masking Rosé's sharp intake of breath.
"How come you don't have a phone?" Ella asked incredulously. "Everyone has a phone—"

"Ella don't—" Rosé began in alarm but Lisa held out a hand.

"It's alright."

To Ella, she gave a wide smile coupled with a wink. "An alien monster with blue teeth and purple
eyes stole it from me."

Ella tilted her head. "Aliens...don't exist...right?" she said uncertainly, glancing from her mother to
Lisa. "Right?"

"Who knows?" Lisa wiggled her eyebrows, "why, I heard in America there's a place in the desert
called Area 51 where they keep all the aliens that land on Earth."

Ella's eyes bulged in her head. "No way! Mom that's not true right?"

"I don't know baby. No one knows," Rosé said truthfully, trying her best to hid her smile by forcing
a glare on instead, aimed at the grinning boxer.

"Oh well, it's up to you to decide kiddo," Lisa stood up with a laugh and handed the textbook back
to Ella, pointing at one of the sums.

"I'm no expert but maybe the answer to this one is to take away four and multiply by five. But oh,
don't tell your teacher, that's the old method not the new one they're teaching you..."

She retrieved the shoes and jacket from Rosé as Ella took back the textbook, sharing mystified
glances with her mother. Rosé checked Ella's exercise question, frowning as she tried to work it out
and drawing a blank.

"Lis," Rosé said shakily, "how did..."

Did Lisa just solve a maths problem that she herself couldn't figure out?

"I'm not any meat-head you know. Shocking, ain't it?" Lisa grinned smugly as she finished lacing
up her shoes and wore her jacket. Her eyes wandered to the wall clock and her face paled.

"Holy Mother of Bagels, the bus! I gotta run!" she yelped, grabbing her knapsack and bolting out
of the studio. On her way out, a sheaf of paper fell out of her bag.

"Lisa you dropped—!"

"Keep them!" Lisa yelled over her shoulder as she flung back the door. "Hand them out to people, I
was gonna hand them out myself anyway. Toodles!"

And she was gone, leaving the mother and daughter in hollow silence, as though Lisa took away
with her the light, laughter and warmth in the room.

Rosé started collecting the sheaf of papers, realising they were posters printed out in full colour.
The poster had a picture of an illuminated boxing ring, with a caption underneath that ran thus:

THE VAULT—WHERE CHAMPIONS ARE MADE!

Get ripped and shredded on a low-budget!

The Vault is your best go-to gym all year round

Open all week from 7am—12pm and 2pm—7pm

Famous gym members: Thai Tornado— Pro-female boxing competitor

If the Tornado can do it, you can do it too!

Rosé examined the poster, quashing the usual contempt that rose up in her throat, vile and bitter as
bile.

Thai Tornado...would that be Lisa? So she...wasn't born in Korea? Interesting.

"Mommy?"

Rosé turned to Ella. "Yes, baby?"

"I'm hungry," she pouted as her stomach grumbled and only seconds later, the sound was echoed by
Rosé's own complaining belly.

"I'll get down to making the snacks and then we'll work on the problems okay?" Rosé said
absently. But her mind was turning over the past hour with the blonde, remembering their
exchanges, their make-up, their bickering, their laughter...

It was bizarre how instantly she clicked with Lisa.

She put down the reason to be the negligible age difference. Rosé was used to being polite and
courteous around elder people that she treated as her superiors. Around younger people like Jeon
Somi, she acted motherly and treated them like her own children.

Lalisa would be the first client to be of the same age, and the first to pique Rosé's interest so much.

After today, should she consider them friends? Lisa seemed adamant on being familiar and
friendly...

Quite the enigma, that blonde girl with mischief gleaming in those hazel doe orbs.

A boxer who is apparently smarter than she looks. Puerile and bubbly. Poor to the point she
doesn't even own a phone, nor a kettle probably. Adores cats, has a wild imagination, friendly
with kids. Likes to laugh and prank people.

The exact opposite of a boxer stereotype.

Rosé trailed her finger over the poster, lost in thought.

Just who are you, Lalisa Kim?

 Girl Talk

"Honestly you should slow down," Somi said to Jennie with lips pursed, "or anyone might think
you have...energy drinkism."

Jennie merely gave her a tight-lipped smile. She sipped her can of Monster energy and drummed
her fingers restlessly as her knee bounced. "This is only my second can. I got plenty left."

"It's not even the weekend. Why are you even drinking that?"

"Nerves, I told you," Jennie said shortly, "if Lisa doesn't get along with that Rosé today, it's all for
nothing, I don't know how else to break through that slump of hers. It's the crucial make-or-break
chance."

She sipped again, thoughtful. "Not to mention she was still mad at me about her rescheduled
match..."

"Well, you could have had water, it's healthier," Somi lectured, "what kind of trainer are you?"

"A bad one, clearly."

"Unnie!"

"I'm a trainer, not a health-freak," Jennie reasoned, "I'm allowed to make bad decisions. You just
pretend I'm drinking something healthy to get rid of my nerves."

"Energy drinks don't get rid of your nerves."

"Alcohol doesn't get rid of your problems, yet everyone collectively drinks it to pretend it can do
that," Jennie shrugged, "same difference."

"It's making you more tense for heaven's sake, look at you unnie, you're strung up like a rubber
band! Chaeyoung, tell her!"

The petite boxer working out on the hanging balloon glanced in their direction at the call of her
name. "What?"

"Tell Jennie to stop drinking!" Somi urged.

Chaeyoung shrugged. "Better than biting her nails, I guess. Each to her own. Or is it 'his
own'?" Chaeyoung rubbed her chin and frowned. "Why is language always gravitating towards
male pronouns to illustrate examples-"

"Not helping, Chae!"

"What?" Chaeyoung defended as she redirected her attention back to Somi, "I'm all in favour of
everyone being a free spirit and do whatever the hell they like, you know?"

Somi rounded on the girl doing press-ups nearby. "Dahyun! Knock some sense into Jennie unnie!"

"One sec," Dahyun puffed as she performed three more push-ups before sitting back, sweaty and
red in the face. "What sense?"

Somi gestured exasperatedly at Jennie cracking open her third can. Dahyun raised her shoulders.
"Well, if it's her coping method-"

"Ughhhhhh you're all useless!"

"Pipe down little girl, leave Jennie alone and text your boyfriend, he might be missing you,"
Chaeyoung teased, "he seems to be taking the liberty to hang around you a lot these days, isn't he?"

Jennie smiled as she watched Chaeyoung and Dahyun gang up to tease a protesting Somi.

"Mimi and Daehwi are sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S--"

"Rot in hell!"

"Ladies, ladies! Hold, pause, time out! I forgot my popcorn," Jennie called out, pretending to pull a
bowl across her lap and gobbling down a fistful of popcorn with obnoxiously loud noises as she
stared fixedly at the three girls in front of her. "Okay, un-pause."

Somi rolled her eyes as the other two laughed. "Real mature of you unnie."

"Oh I'm not an unnie right now, Lisa isn't here," Jennie winked.

"That's where you're wrong!" boomed a voice from the Vault entrance.

All four whipped their heads around to behold Lisa swaggering into the gym with the widest smirk
on her face. She spread out her arms in front of her.

"Greetings, my greasy harlots. Having fun without Daddy, are we?" she drawled.

"LISA!" Everyone groaned in disgust, rolling their eyes before dissolving into laughter.

Jennie was the first to recover and stood up to greet her sister. "Seems it went...well?" she said
hesitantly, searching for traces of sulkiness on Lisa's face.

But Lisa was still smiling. "Quite well I would say. I'll tell you about it in a minute too, but first..."

She shed her jacket and dropped her knapsack in Jennie's hands before slowly making her way to
the nearest punching bag.

Before anyone could register what was happening, Lisa was hammering her forehead into the
punching bag, knocking against the fabric with hard dull thuds as she roared. "SOMI!"

Jennie, Dahyun and Chaeyoung glanced at the quaking girl in plaits.

"Y-yeah?" Somi said, mustering all her remaining confidence which had all but evaporated.

Lisa abruptly stopped, turning to the others with the same fixed smile on her face. She took a deep
breath.

"Mimi, you seemed like you forgot to mention a detail or two about Rosie..." she began calmly.

Somi's brows furrowed. "Like what?"

"LIKE THE FACT SHE HAS A DAUGHTER MAYBE?" Lisa bellowed. She fell face-first on to
the nearest mat and covered her face in embarrassment as she folded up her legs and rolled back
and forth on the mat, her voice betraying just how appalled she was.
"...and there I was, flirting and teasing like mad after we made up so nicely BUT TURNS OUT she
is a straight Mom with a kid, do you have any idea what that makes me look like?!" Lisa wailed.

"A desperate slut?"

"Chaeyoung, not now," Dahyun warned.

Lisa was still complaining and wallowing in her misery. "Mimi you betrayed me! I thought you
were my friend! I am...disgusted." Her lips twitched into a weak smile as she glanced at Somi and
the latter shook her head.

"Fine, three chicken buckets, you drama queen."

"Technically it's four but you weren't there for the third, so I'll let it slide..."

"Roseanne...has a kid?" Jennie asked.

"Yeah, Ella's her name. She's sweet," Somi nodded over Lisa's loud grouching and grumbling, "she
honestly slipped my mind-she doesn't hang around while her mom is doing the sessions."

"Why are all the hot girls taken? Or they're Moms? Or non-existent?" Lisa groaned.

"Well if it's any consolation, you could be Mommy and Daddy together," Somi laughed but
quickly shook her head. "Actually forget I said that, it's too disgusting to think about."

"Must be a really disciplined kid then," Jennie said, impressed. "Toddlers can be quite a handful,
barging around-"

"Nah, Ella is eight, unnie," Somi shook her head. She sighed when Jennie's eyes widened.

"Eight? But...but you said her mother is twenty-two!" Jennie gasped.

"Teenage pregnancy," Somi said quietly, "Rosé was only fourteen. And....and she never mentioned
Ella's dad, nor did I ever see any sign of anyone living with them..."

"A single Mom..."

"So young, poor thing..."

"Did she go to college?"

"I guess? How else would she be a licensed pilates instructor?"

"Um well now you're making me look bad Mimi, I never had any formal training to be a trainer-"

"Raising a kid at that age, that must take so much guts..."

"Hey!" Lisa said indignantly. The other girls fell silent, turning to the boxer.

They hadn't realised Lisa was quietly listening to Somi's explanation. Her face darkened when the
other girls started passing remarks and now she stood up with a fierce expression. "Rosie's doing a
magnificent job raising that kid all by herself. Stop pitying her like that, it's so belittling!"

Lisa eyed her audience sternly. "I bet you anything Rosie's a great Mom to Ella. I didn't see much,
but it's obvious they're close. And Ella's a bright, sweet kid that will get far in life, I just know it!
You can't judge a person without knowing what they went through, now, can you?"
Jennie looked away, shame tinting her face pink. She was fully-aware of the implication laced
within Lisa's words, aimed directly at her.

Because Jennie knew better than to judge someone without knowing their story.

"Sorry Lis," Chaeyoung muttered, echoed by Dahyun and Somi. Lisa nodded in approval then
turned to her sister expectantly.

"Sorry," Jennie said quietly. Lisa's dark face immediately cleared like the sun peeking from behind
dark storm clouds.

"Apology accepted y'all, turn those frowns upside down!" she chuckled, "now, what else? Oh
right! Rosie has a cat!"

Dahyun raised an eyebrow. "Okay..."

"No but like, a cat cat! You know? An actual living cat!" Lisa gesticulated wildly. "And it has
these gleaming expressive eyes and the softest coat of fur..."

"She loves cats," Jennie explained, smiling as her sister gushed about the feline.

"...and then I held my hand out like this and it just walked over and rubbed its head against my
hand! I couldn't believe it! Her name's Bori. She was so friendly, she even let me rub her belly!"

"Oh yeah, that's their cat, seen it a couple times," Somi nodded. "But it usually just lounges in the
kitchen."

"That reminds me," Lisa said, "Mimi, come here, I wanna talk to ya, one-on-one. C'mere, come
on."

"What?" Somi said warily, not budging an inch from her place next to Jennie. Lisa folded her arms,
her eyes taking on an intimidating gleam.

"An interesting thing I learned today," Lisa said conversationally, "is that Rosie had never in her
life drunken detox kale juice."

She eyed the squirming girl in front of her closely. "Care to explain your claim of buddy juice
drinking sessions then?"

"It was a joke you idiot!" Somi burst out, "because you're so obsessed with that stupid juice thing!"

"YAAAAAHHHHHH!" Lisa roared as she gave chase around the area, "you made me look like an
idiot in front of her! Come back here you brat!"

"Ooohhhh someone's worried their crush won't like them!" Somi called out as she nimbly avoided
Lisa, "you guys, quick, with me! ROSIE AND LISA-"

"-ARE SITTING IN A TREE!" Chaeyoung and Dahyun picked up immediately. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G!

FIRST COMES LOVE, THEN COMES-"

Lisa veered away from Somi and charged at the chanting duo who scarpered, squealing in unison.

"Okay, that's enough," Jennie said at last as she stifled her smirk, deciding to act responsible again.
"Quit it."

Jennie's voice was drowned out by Somi and Lisa, currently engaged in a wrestling match while
Chaeyoung and Dahyun cheered them on.

"Come on Mimi, take her down!"

"An uppercut, give it her! No a hook! Jab! Jab!"

Jennie walked up to thrashing duo with her two empty cans and chucked one at Lisa's head.

"OW WHAT THE-"

Jennie threw the other can but Lisa quickly dodged it as she released Somi and fell on her back.

"Great, now that you stopped strangling each other, mind telling us what else went on during your
session? I will have to leave pretty soon. Jeongyeon will already be miffed as it is that I'm going in
late."

"Yeah, what went on with your crush?" Somi grinned, already fully recovered. Lisa gave a tight
smile.

"She's...she's not my crush Somi. She's...got Ella. She's...just a friend," Lisa explained in resigned
tones, fidgeting with her wrist and making it click repeatedly. Jennie sucked in a breath,
recognising her sister's agitation and put out a hand to stop her movements.

Somi rolled her eyes. "Well, aside from your unsuccessful romantic pursuits, what else?"

"My romantic pursuits aren't unsuccessful you brat!" Lisa fired hotly.

"Oh yes, there's an army of your girlfriends fighting at the door, just to come in and see you." Somi
shrugged.

"OOOOOOH!" Chaeyoung and Dahyun echoed.

Lisa sighed in defeat. "Okay, okay. Well, like I said, we made-up so we're okay now. Did a few
more exercises and I do feel more loose, although still a bit sore. And then we talked about my
lifestyle a bit. Rosie's thinking that I should cut back on training so hard and just...go out with
people. Even a relaxing walk in a park or something."

She snorted before picking up again. "Huh! Cut back on boxing training? Just because I got a bit of
a slump? What am I, a daisy? Pilates will fix me up and we'll hit the ring again before you-"

"Maybe she has a point," Jennie mused.

"What?" Lisa balked, shaking her head furiously. "Oh come on, not you too!"

"I know we've been at it practically non-stop for the past few years," Jennie sighed, "but perhaps, a
change will help-I mean, clearly, our method wasn't working much now, was it?"

"I'm fine!" Lisa exclaimed, glaring at the doubtful faces around her. "Okay, I admit, maybe there
was mental tension, whatever-but the point is physically I'm okay, I don't need breaks! I can handle
it all!" She gazed at Jennie pleadingly. "Look, I just need to work more on technique and start
taking my game more seriously, that's all! I don't need to...to power walk and all that sissy stuff!"

"You really talk like a macho guy," Somi sighed. "Lis, we're all just trying to help you."

"Well, find a way to help me without cutting down on my boxing training!" Lisa said petulantly.
"Because I can't go without that!"
"Alright, alright, we'll discuss that another time," Jennie said pacifyingly. "Did she say anything
about the sessions? Frequency perhaps? Or anything about future sessions?"

"Oh, yeah. She said it would be good to keep them up regularly, like twenty minutes each day
something, and an hour something else..." Lisa scratched her head. "Oh seems like I forgot. Welp,
better go work out on my punching a bit."

Jennie pursed her lips. "Don't make me call her to find out exactly what she said.."

"You wouldn't."

"Watch me."

"You don't even have credit on the phone."

"I might have topped it when you weren't around."

"You're bluffing."

"Shall we find out?"

"Go right ahead."

"Maybe I will."

"Fine."

"Fine." Jennie took out her phone as Lisa looked on impassively.

Somi, Chaeyoung and Dahyun watched the fiery exchange with interest, their heads flicking left,
right, left, right, left, right as though they were in a tennis match.

Jennie raised her phone to her ear and pressed down a button, eyeing Lisa who stared back in
challenge.

"You're bluffing," Lisa said again but this time her voice turned hesitant once they heard the
dialling tone.

"You still think so?" Jennie smirked. "Let me turn the volume right up."

"Oh jeez this is so tense, pass the popcorn," Somi said excitedly as Lisa scowled.

"Oh whatever, do what the heck you want!" Lisa sulked and went to the nearest punching bag to
start on a set of punching and jabbing in rapid succession.

"Stubborn mule..." Jennie sighed before she perked up as soon as a soft "Hello?" reverberated in
her ear.

"Ms Park? Lisa Kim's sister here, hello," Jennie said pleasantly, suppressing the growing smirk as
Lisa started punching harder.

"Oh, Ms Kim, hi, hello. Anything I can help you with?"

"As a matter of fact yes. If it's not too much trouble, and also because my little sister seems to have
the memory of a goldfish, would you mind repeating the information regarding the frequency and
intensity of the sessions?"
"Oh of course no problem! So I suggested light core exercises on the mat-with time, she can
even start doing them by herself without my help. The routines should last approximately
twenty minutes to allow for general tension release. Then and additional two pilates
equipment class per week lasting around an hour."

"And that would be the ideal workout?"

"To keep the body healthy and bones strong as well as maintain body alignment, yes," Rosé
replied.

"Thank you very much for your time Ms Park, I hope you have a good evening."

"No trouble at all Ms Kim. Have a good evening as well. Bye!"

"Bye," Jennie replied in English as well and the line went dead.

Dahyun and Chaeyoung looked at Jennie curiously.

"You speak English?" they asked in unison.

"Apparently so does Rosie." Lisa's mouth was hanging. "How didn't I notice...Mimi, you never
said anything!"

"Jeez, was I supposed to report her bra size too?" Somi retorted. "Yeah she speaks English, because
she's an Aussie. I don't know when she moved here."

"I didn't know you know English," Dahyun said to Jennie, who shrugged.

"I lived in New Zealand for five years," she said nonchalantly by way of explanation.

"English is my second language too," Lisa put in, making Dahyun and Chaeyoung turn to her with
gawking faces. "What?"

"And how come I never heard you speaking it?" Chaeyoung asked curiously. Lisa rubbed the back
of her neck, shy.

"Oh well I don't like to brag uhm...but you did hear me and Somi quote those vines and
references."

"Anyone can learn them! It's just bits and pieces of English," Chaeyoung said dismissively, "so,
you and Jennie been to New Zealand, how cool! Are there really lots of sheep?"

"Er...I haven't been actually," Lisa mumbled. "I just...knew English...um..."

"You didn't go with your sister?" Dahyun looked from Jennie to Lisa, brow furrowed. "Wait, then
how did you learn it? And your parents? What happened-"

"I knew English all my life because I lived in Canada before Dad and I moved here," Somi said
loudly, "you know, after the funeral. So yeah, anybody wants an English tutor, I volunteer! I
brought Lisa up to speed too because she was a little rusty."

"And may the odds be ever in your favour if you do have the misfortune to be taught by Miss
Umbridge here," Lisa said in impeccable English, slapping her thigh in the process as she cackled.
"Now that's what I call a double wham combo, Mimi!"
Somi groaned. "Fine. Five chicken buckets. I'll get my payback soon, you'll see," she promised as
the others laughed.

"It's karma for tricking me," Lisa winked, "run along now, poor Matt has been honking out there
for a while now."

And indeed it had grown quite late- they had barely noticed the blaring car horn outside.

Jennie cursed under her breath and scrambled to gather her belongings in terrible haste. Somi
grabbed her bag and rushed out, gabbling a goodbye. Chaeyoung started packing up in haste,
muttering incoherently. Dahyun followed suit but her attention was mostly focused on Jennie who
was speaking some final words with Lisa.

Jennie joined them as they left the Vault with Chaeyoung insisting on driving her to the diner.
Jennie eventually gave in after some weak protesting. She sat shotgun, arm trailing in the breeze
out of the rolled-down window.

Dahyun watched the brunette closely in the side-mirror, wondering and wondering.

She had so many questions about Jennie and Lisa now that she was growing closer to them.
Although Chaeyoung had been a longer member of the Vault, she knew precious little about them
as well.

Dahyun's sharp eyes had noticed the change in demeanour in the Kim siblings when pressed for
answers until Somi stepped in. Dahyun's appetite for knowledge was whetted; her interest in Jennie
and Lisa and their unorthodox lifestyle grew day by day.

She watched as Chaeyoung drew up to the diner and Jennie stepped out, bidding them thanks and
goodnight.

"You okay back there Dubu?" Chaeyoung asked, glancing in the overhead mirror as they drove
away. "You're quiet.

"Mmm. Thinking."

"About Jennie?"

Dahyun chuckled. "It's that obvious?"

Chaeyoung shrugged, tapping on the wheel. "You're majoring in journalism, I think it goes without
saying that they'd pique your interest. They got the kind of vibe about them that attracts the likes of
you."

"Don't they make you the least bit curious? Didn't you see how they reacted when-"

"Jennie and Lisa are nice people," Chaeyoung said quietly, "so I hope your snooping and sniffing
won't scare them away."

"I don't mean any harm," Dahyun defended, "Momo is a jerk but yeah, Jennie and Lisa are
different from her. I'm just...curious. I can't help myself is all. Don't you wonder just a little bit
about their past? About who they really are and how they came to be living in that?"

Chaeyoung gave a little grunt but didn't comment again, knowing well enough there was no
stopping her friend when she set her mind to an investigation. Dahyun sat back in her seat and lost
herself in thought as they cruised through the dark deserted streets.
"How are you and Momo by the way?" Chaeyoung said at length. Dahyun merely released a quiet
sigh and Chaeyoung understood.
 Irene

"I do wonder if Momo and Dahyun ended things already?" Irene sighed as she poured coffee from
the thermos. "They were together for what, a month and a couple weeks? It's not like I was
expecting Momo to settle down at all but...when will she ever get tired of going through girls like
hot cakes? People these days...it astounds me."

"Sssssh," Jennie said delicately, "she'll hear us."

She eyed Dahyun skipping the rope next to Lisa, who had devoured her bagel and was back on her
routine immediately. Jennie had never seen her sister wolf her breakfast down so quickly. She was
pushing as hard as ever to make up for the past days absent from training. Somi meanwhile was
practising her dance routine in front of the mirror with earbuds, nodding her head to the music.

"I was just wondering," Irene shrugged, "but Momo's girl seems to have grown fond of this place."

"I'm just happy she didn't go running away like the others...well, yet. I'm not sure if she and Momo
have broken up but they haven't Face timed again since two days ago..." Jennie was thoughtful.
"How about you unnie?"

Irene spluttered and stared at her, aghast.

"Jennie, are you insinuating that I should get involved with Dahyun? First things first I'm straight,
second I'm old enough to be her mother, and third: the sheer immoral—"

Jennie chuckled. "No! Unnie stop!" She composed herself, her eyes still twinkling. "I never meant
to imply that!"

"Oh..." Irene bit her lip foolishly. "Then...?"

Jennie grinned. "I was just asking about you, how are you doing in life? Dating anyone? You once
said that Junmyeon guy from work was giving you the eye..."

"What's with the sudden interest in my love life?" Irene raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, we met up a
couple times with other colleagues. Nothing major."

"Oh, sweet! I'm happy for you! Now I wanna know the details!" Jennie said delighted. "You
deserve someone who can take care of you and he sounds nice—"

"What? You're dating a guy?!"

Somi was suddenly standing next to them, her mouth hanging open. Her earbuds were clenched
tightly in her hand. "But...but what about Seulgi? I...I shipped you guys."

Irene shook her head gently at the younger girl. "Not every interaction with another woman has to
necessarily mean we'll end up together. Seulgi is merely a good neighbour of mine, a friend at
most. I don't even know her that well. And I'm afraid I'm straight. Sorry."

Somi nodded, her face downcast. "It's okay, I understand. I mean, I'm straight too. I just thought..."
She nodded again and left them to join her father who was packing up. Jennie chuckled fondly.

"She really wanted you to be with this Seulgi..."

"Just because I cooked her dinner once," Irene sighed. "Kids these days are starving for romance it
seems."

"Well, life certainly isn't some fairy-tale for her. Think about it, she never even got the chance to
see her parents be happy together and doing normal couple things so I guess it's only natural she
transfers those desires on the next best substitutes—us."

Irene chuckled. "Yeah, but why pair me up with a woman she has never even seen? Seulgi is very
reserved, her socials have all landscape photos as profile pictures."

"Well, maybe that made it all the more interesting. And I don't believe you spoke about Junmyeon
openly in front of her before so....she jumped on the first ship."

Irene laughed again as Jennie smiled and turned to wave at the departing girl and her father.

"See you next week Mimi! Good day Matt!"

"Bye kid!"

"See ya unnie!"

"Don't forget you still owe me that chicken Mimi! Oh and send my regards to Daehwi oppa!" Lisa
hollered from the other end of the gym, snickering when Somi threw her a dirty glare as Matthew
looked on, non-plussed.

"Daehwi? Who is—"

Somi propelled her father through the door before he could finish the sentence, leaving a giggling
Dahyun and Lisa exchanging fist-bumps.

"Well, she'll get over Seulgi...now tell me about Junmyeon. Come on spill!" Jennie demanded as
she turned back to the older woman. "I'm offended you never told me anything about meeting up!"

Irene smirked. "You were always too busy and preoccupied with Lisa, which is understandable—"

"Well, I'm not right now," Jennie pouted, making Irene laugh.

"Oh, it's been a while since you showed me those puppy eyes of yours. You're thirsty for some
gossip?"

"I don't have anyone to gossip with," Jennie quipped. "Lisa isn't interested in hetero relationships
so..."

"Well, Lisa has apparently taken well to Pilates," Irene pointed out in satisfaction. "You said Ms
Park advised more sessions to keep healthy, so you'll have more time on your hands. We should
find you a boyfriend to keep you busy."

Jennie's mouth quirked at the corners. "Trying to change the subject are we? You really don't want
me nosing around huh?"

"Because there's nothing," Irene laughed. "Junmyeon has been giving me the eye, yes, but then, so
do all the men in our department but they keep their distance. The minute one of them makes some
move, I'll choke slam them so hard—"

"I'd love to see that. You're scared just by any loud noise."

"Well at least it keeps me vigilant and aware. Now tell me about Ms Park's advice, I want to know
more," Irene said hastily.

Jennie sighed. "More sessions like I said, although she also suggested Lisa should take longer
breaks from boxing—"

"Like we've been telling you for the last four years!" Irene said pointedly. "Lisa is just...just
existing. Training, eating, getting her brains bashed out, sleeping, wake up, repeat."

"How else would she have gotten to the top of the game?"Jennie said helplessly. "You wouldn't
understand. PFB is more intense and draining then regular boxing matches, she has to be physically
fit and meet high health standards to withstand the constant toll on her body."

Jennie turned to look back at her sister, who was now working on squats with weights hefted over
shoulder, her breath coming out in even, regular gusts.

"She was grumbling so much last night, because she's on edge from not going in for a fight in a
while. It's her addiction in a sense. She misses the ring, even if mentally, she had grown tired of
fighting. But her body still craves that endorphin high of going all out against an opponent."

"Well, at least this way we'll see if Pilates will indeed have some impact on her and improve her
performance."

"Oh it has, it already has," Jennie said thoughtfully. "You should have been here yesterday, she
was all riled up from her class with Rosie. There were Chaeyoung and Dahyun laughing so much. I
hadn't seen Lisa be in such a bright mood in a long while. I'm sure it will help boost her, mentally."

"Rosie?" Irene was amused. "You're still on board with her calling her instructor a nickname?"

"What can I do? You know how she is."

"Oh I do," Irene said, disgruntled. "Believe me I do. Who else taught Somi to call me Grandma?"

"Roseanne has an eight-year old kid too, Ella's her name. Lisa met her and seems to be quite taken
by both daughter and mother now."

"An eight-year old? But I thought Ms Park wasn't that old, you said."

"Yeah. Apparently it was some teen pregnancy. Somi said she's most likely a single mom too."

"Teen pregnancy?" Irene's brows shot up. "What kind of irresponsible—"

"Now, now Irene," Jennie said silkily, her eyes hard. "You don't know her story. For all we know,
she was forced into it, or even raped. Can we move past this?"

Irene muttered something that sounded suspiciously like'kids these days' before sighing and sitting
back on the bench. "So, Lisa tried making advances on her instructor already? Small wonder she
seems to be in a brighter mood."

"She's decided she'll just be friends with Roseanne, now that turns out she has a kid. But they did
reconcile and start from square one, given their rocky first session."

"Good to hear," Irene rubbed her hands in satisfaction. "That sets the tone nicely for future
sessions."

"Irene...I...I don't want you to pay...for everything." Jennie said hesitantly. "I'm eternally grateful
for this opportunity but you know, Lisa might not even have to go to many sessions per se."
"What do you mean?" Irene frowned. "You said—"

"Ms Park did suggest future sessions, after these three finish. She said it's important to regularly
practise pilates once you start, so as to maintain the body's alignment." Jennie nodded, "but what
she emphasised most was a break from boxing. Like even taking a walk, instead of working out
here all the time. Being out and about. Have fun, like...like when Hwangssabu was alive, to some
extent."

Irene narrowed her eyes. "And...what do you think?"

"Lisa should go for couple more sessions, yes," Jennie began slowly, "but Roseanne also suggested
daily light core exercises lasting some twenty minutes each to relieve tension. I believe Lisa can do
these on her own, once she learns the moves. She has a good memory for such movements—she
easily remembers Somi's dance routines, so that shouldn't be a problem. And then, Roseanne also
suggested working out on those heavy pilates equipment they have, for at least a couple times a
week for an hour. For that, Lisa will definitely have to go to Roseanne's."

"Given that I monitor Lisa closely and make sure she doesn't fall into overworking again," Jennie
continued, "I think that plan should be reasonable enough while drastically cutting on the cost of
your expenses. I was thinking the afternoon-evening workout session would be replaced by going
out or hanging out at some park—the days are getting longer and warmer anyway so for summer,
it's ideal. What do you think?"

Jennie turned to the side. "I'm hoping that this time, she'll make it through the Purge. We have a
better, more focused game-plan than ever before. If she does manage to get on track, she'll have a
place in the Grand Slam, guaranteed."

"Sounds like a plan," Irene nodded in approval, "I think we can work with that, if Ms Park allows
for Lisa to carry out the routine by herself. And I'm happy you're finally adjusting your sister's
brutal training, I mean, you both haven't been on a proper break or outing with any of us for four
years....well, bar the time Lisa won that Silver Royalty thing and you went to the spa."

Jennie smiled dreamily. "If she gets through the Purge, they'll pay a handsome sum too, enough to
last us a month. We just have to get through right now. Just a little more effort..."

"They start soon, don't they?"

"Very close." Jennie took out her organiser to consult the dates. "Like...two more matches."

"And how are you holding up right now? Lisa will be skipping this week's match..." Irene
observed. "It sounds so weird to say to those words...skipping. You girls never missed one single
fight."

"We're okay, we'll be okay," Jennie said determinedly. "I'm gonna put in a couple extra shifts at the
diner—Matt has already got it fixed with Jeongyeon."

She glanced up at Irene, smile widening. "We're truly lucky to have you and Matt, unnie. I can
never thank you enough, the both of you."

Irene patted Jennie's arm affectionately. "Oh you! You're like my daughter. Who couldn't resist to
help this cute little marshmallow?" she teased as Jennie whined and batted her hand away from her
cheeks.

"I would have adopted you had I met you earlier as well..." Irene said quietly, "and then, you
wouldn't be...here..." she trailed off, biting her lip but Jennie understood. She drained the last of her
coffee and gave the thermos cup back to Irene.

"I don't regret what I am now," Jennie said at last. "Sure, it would have definitely been nicer living
in an actual home...going to school....have food on the table three times a day and not worry about
getting evicted every other day. But I'm more than okay with being taken in by Hwangssabu and
then meeting Lisa. It's tough but...they're my family."

She noticed Irene had turned rigid, eyes narrowing in on a target behind Jennie.

Jennie whipped around sharply and noticed Dahyun standing close by, nonchalantly texting on her
phone as she smiled at the screen with her sports bag hanging from her shoulder and her hair still
tied up in a bun.

Dahyun sensed their heavy gazes on her and glanced up, giving a wave. "I'll be off unnies! Jen,
maybe I'll drop by later?"

"Of course," Jennie said warmly. "Take care!"

"I bet she was eavesdropping," Irene said darkly the moment Dahyun left.

"So? It's not like we were discussing national state secrets," Jennie shrugged.

"Yes, but she might spread gossip. How do you know she wasn't facebooking or twittering right
this moment?" Irene's voice betrayed her anxiety. "Pah! People these days..."

Jennie chuckled. "It's tweeting, unnie, not twittering, even I know that. And I think Dahyun's a nice
girl. Besides, it's not like I have some big secret to hide, or some reputation to maintain. I'm an
orphan, so is Lisa. Twice now. Big deal." She shrugged again.

Irene sighed. "It's not about maintaining reputations, it's about respect and decorum, minding your
own business and leaving people to do their thing. She has no right to sneak and snoop around on
people's private matters."

"It's natural for her to be curious," Jennie countered, "she's only just now getting to know us. Lisa
and I don't exactly preach about our backgrounds from the rooftops so that's a contributing factor to
her curiosity."

Irene's shoulders sagged. "Jennie, you're too lenient. When it was us talking about her, you were
afraid she'd hear us. Yet, when it came to your affairs, she's welcome to do so?"

"You can't control people's actions or judgements, unnie," Jennie said softly. Irene averted her
eyes, swallowing harshly.

That last statement was directed her, Irene had little doubt— Jennie's bright, piercing gaze bore into
Irene as the woman shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm trying, Jen," Irene murmured. "I'm trying to get over my judgement every day. Why do you
think I come here?"

"Because you want to be fit and healthy and I'm an awesome trainer?"

Irene laughed and the uneasy tension between them disappeared as she batted Jennie's arm. "Get
over yourself! Look, I better go, parking's gonna be a pain in the neck now, ugghh. I can't even stay
and have a proper chat! Thanks, traffic."
"Why don't you ask Junmyeon to reserve a spot for you?" Jennie asked sweetly. "I'm sure he won't
mind, especially if you reward him. I'm sure you'd think of some way."

"You're getting way too lippy with me, madam, I'm regretting telling a twelve-year old about him."

"I turned twenty-three last January!"

"Could have fooled me," Irene retorted as she packed up. "Well, I suppose I'll see you next week
then?"

Jennie nodded, determinedly. "Don't worry, we'll still be here for sure!" she chirped but her mouth
didn't stretch open the way Irene remembered, with the gummy smile that lit up her eyes. She
hadn't heard the younger girl laugh in a long time either—she smiled and chuckled and giggled,
certainly, but Jennie never outright guffawed unlike her boisterous younger sister.

Irene nodded again and bid her goodbye, pausing to observe Lisa on her way out.

Lisa was still going about the sets tirelessly—now she was in plank position, with her legs
stretched out behind her. She was situated in the middle of four tyres, puffing her cheeks as she
pushed herself clean off the ground and landed on the tires, sprawled like a turtle, before pushing
off and landing on the ground, then pushing off and landing on the tyres once more—it was in
essence a set of push-ups with added difficulty, since she had to raise herself above the ground
repeatedly on the basis of her strength alone.

The gym was, as usual, empty after Somi and Matthew departed. Irene wondered if the posters
would actually attract new members—she had hung up several on the department noticeboards at
the company she worked at too, but it didn't seem like anyone was interested.

Jennie had acknowledged Irene's scepticism and admitted she wasn't expecting any resounding
success from Somi's plan. Yet, she asked Irene not to belittle Somi's effort—Jennie appreciated
every little help.

"And you never know," Jennie said in an uncharacteristically upbeat tone, "we might be flooded by
new clients soon, it's been only two days. Give it a chance."

Yet, Irene knew Jennie well enough to notice the dull gleam in the younger girl's eyes.

Still, seeing Jennie being determined about her and Lisa's chances was encouraging, and Irene
could only hope that this time, things would be different—maybe even better—than ever before.

>

Stuck in traffic drumming her fingers on the wheel, Irene turned on the radio to full blast to kill the
time, with static sometimes interfering.

"....so it's looking to be quite a hot day for an April morning here in Seoul, folks! Hang in
there tight to those drivers stuck in the morning commute but you know what? It's TGIF, so
let's get pumped up for the weekend!" The deejay was upbeat and cheerful, gleefully
announcing that the next song was his current favourite.

"Are you ready for this? Zimzalabim!"

Irene hummed along to the song as the vehicles in front of her crawled forward at a snail's pace.
She bopped her head in time to the beat drop, ignoring any other people staring through the
windows in the cars next to her as she jammed to the song.
Irene was accustomed to getting stares, particularly lecherous and lingering gazes from men, but
ever since high school, she had cultivated her facial expression to frighten them away with a mere
raise of an eyebrow. It seemed as though it worked too well though, because people in general
tended to avoid her, misjudging her cold, stern face.

After her home, the Vault was her safe haven, the place she could relax and be the carefree Irene
who sighs and rolls her eyes when the younger ones tease her. But she's fond of all of them, much
like a mother with her rowdy children.

At the Vault, she could express herself and be received openly, no matter her rather traditionalist
views. In turn, Irene tried to be more open minded and updated with the ever-changing
technological world—it was Somi who had helped her navigate Facebook and Instagram. They had
been in talks to open a Twitter account for Irene too, since all the company workers had one.

Another song started but traffic finally looked to be moving and dispersing. Relieved, Irene
concentrated on the road ahead as she put in speed, wondering if she should call in to inform them
of her late arrival. She pursed her lips when she glanced the clock on the dashboard.

She'd have to really gas it down to make it on time.

Irene was not fond of speeding but just this once called for an exception. She was thankful the
traffic was now moving breezily but since she did care about her attendance record, she decided to
phone in, albeit reluctantly. Irene hated not being punctual—it was one of the values she cherished
most since it showed civility and respect.

Resigned to the inevitable, Irene lowered the radio's volume and phoned in with the supervisor to
inform of her tardiness. Although the phone was propped up in its stand, with speaker mode on,
Irene was still having a hard time communicating her details and focusing on the road at the same
time.

"No no, not that department! What? No, no, listen, I'm driving and I don't have much time—"

She didn't notice the traffic light turning red, but she did notice the woman with long ebony hair
hurrying across the zebra-crossing.

Irene screamed and slammed the brakes down hard, jolting forward with the movement.

The car skidded to a halt mere inches from the woman who had frozen in the middle of the road
like a deer caught in headlights, eyes wide.

For a brief moment, Irene's senses dimmed—the buzz of her phone, the noise of the city and traffic
around her, the loud jumble of thoughts—they all faded away. Her vision tunnelled towards her
victim. She was faintly aware of her mouth falling open in a soundless scream. The heady rush of
adrenaline as her body reacted to the near-crash brought her back with a jolt when a brisk knock on
the window broke across the bubble she was trapped in.

Irene locked gazes with the ebony-haired woman who seconds ago had been about to meet her
Maker. She was peering in at Irene with a concerned gaze, making Irene gasp upon recognising
her.

"Seulgi?"

She had almost run over her neighbour.

>
"Irene are you absolutely sure?" Seulgi asked uncertainly. "It's going to be further away—"

"The least I can do after nearly mowing you down," Irene said with pursed lips as she maneuovred
in between lanes. "The GPS says we'll make it in ten minutes, don't worry."

Irene had recovered enough composure after the near-accident to quickly offer Seulgi to get in the
car because they were holding up traffic. The impatient honks faded away as Irene gunned the
engine and inquired on where Seulgi needed to go. The younger woman gave in after much protest
and gave an address which Irene assumed was her workplace.

"Irene, you really didn't have to—"

"Save it," Irene replied as she sucked in a breath and overtook the car in front of them. "Do you
expect me to leave you behind like that? Were you going to catch the bus?"

Seulgi nodded, delicately touching her jaw. "Dentist appointment and my car's at the mechanic's
too. I got leave so it's fine really, I would have made it on time—"

"Your car's at the mechanic?" Irene gave the other woman an incredulous side-glance. "Why didn't
you ask me to give you a lift?"

Seulgi fidgeted and blushed, lowering her head. Her long silky locks hid her face from view. Her
voice was soft when she next spoke.

"I...I didn't want to impose..." she said uncertainly, her voice endearingly small. "You're...you're
only my neighbour so...I couldn't possibly..."

Irene pursed her lips. That last statement didn't sit well with her. It didn't sit well at all.

"Well then, let's change that shall we?" Irene said briskly, without glancing sideways to see the
bashful woman's reaction. "Starting as of now, you can call upon me anytime."

Seulgi gave a small giggle, the sound making Irene's furrowed brows soften.

"Like a guardian angel, 24/7?" Seulgi said at last.

Guardian angel.

An all-too familiar voice flashed in her head, too sudden to banish away, momentarily surprising
her. But Irene was made of sterner stuff and her grip on the wheel didn't falter. The clarity of this
particular memory always surprised her. She had long accepted the fact that she would never forget
such an incident— the fateful night was branded in her brain and it popped up unexpectedly and
unbidden, leaving her reeling.

"I don't know what I'd do without you unnie. You're like a guardian angel right now..."

Irene gripped the wheel tighter and turned to smile at an oblivious Seulgi. "I guess so? But I'll
trust you won't wake me up at two in the morning to hide any dead bodies."

She spied Seulgi's smile widen from the corner of her eye.

"You have my word...unnie."

Irene nodded in satisfaction, her mood brightening. "There we go, was that so hard? You've
already been living next to my place for months yet this is the first time I hear you address me as
'unnie'. I should have you eat over more often, so we get to know each other. That is, if you like, of
course."

Irene paused, momentarily surprised by her initiative. Since when did she invite people over to her
house? She liked being alone in her space—entertaining guests was a hassle.

But Seulgi had been so nice that one time that Irene had her over. It felt nice to talk to someone
who was on her level, even though the conversation had been rather one-sided, on account of
Seulgi's reserved disposition.

But maybe this time, things could be different...

"I'd love to," Seulgi said warmly. The eagerness in her voice didn't go unnoticed by Irene and the
other woman herself hastily continued to say: "umm...I liked the ramen you made last time, uhm..."

"I'll keep that in mind," Irene returned, beaming. She glanced at the ebony-haired woman, happy to
know that their relationship was on the road to being something more solid than mere neighbours
that greeted each other now and then.

Irene wondered why her heart squeezed tightly when Seulgi's eyes crinkled as she gave another shy
smile.

>

After dropping Seulgi at her workplace, Irene sped off in haste. She was already bracing herself
for a sharp rebuke.

But she didn't mind as much as before—in fact she didn't bother trying to call in her supervisor
again to explain her tardiness.

She had made progress with befriending Seulgi, even learning that she was a junior teacher
working at an elementary school—to Irene, learning such a fact about her neighbour strangely
seemed to be a far bigger accomplishment than punctuality at the moment.

Seulgi's endearing eye-smile made it worthwhile.

Nonetheless, Irene chewed on her lip and mentally calculated how much would be deducted from
her salary.

Gosh, she was turning into Jennie!

Irene gave a little chuckle, remembering the girl's fixation with money.

It was not like she was continuously on the verge of bankruptcy like Jennie and Lisa were
anyway...

Irene sobered up immediately, guilt heating up her cheeks. No, that went too far. They didn't
deserve that, they went through too much...

"Sorry Jen," Irene mumbled repentantly under her breath as her head filled with images.

And this time, Irene let the memories break out of their cages, allowing herself to indulge in the
past as she drove onward.

She mustn't forget. It was important not to forget....

*
Irene was roused by the sound of her landline ringing. She shivered as she climbed out of bed and
slipped her feet into slippers, hastily throwing on a bathrobe before picking up.

Now who would be calling at this hour? The clock barely struck three...

"Hello? Who is this?"

"U...Unnie!"

Irene's blood turned to ice. She was fully awake now. "Jennie?"

"Unnie!" Jennie sobbed. "Unnie, come quick!"

Dread gripped Irene's heart in its vice-like claws. "Jennie, talk to me, what is it? What happened?"

"I...it's..." Jennie hiccuped in between sobs, barely able to get a word in.

She heard a deep groan in the background, sending chills down Irene's spine and leaving her
dumbstruck.

The sound was feral and rough, completely lacking in any humanity. It sounded like a wounded
beast.

"Jennie, I'm here. I'm here, I'm getting ready. I need to know where you are right now, are you at
home?"

"No..no...we...in an alley...I think...like on the other side of the river...I...we ran so fast...I
couldn't see....so dark..."

The animalistic sound came again, and Irene heard Jennie murmur low reassurances, her voice
laced with anguish.

"Unnie please...I don't know what to do, I...we're somewhere near the east side of the
precinct..."

"That's it, keep telling me," Irene encouraged, wracking her brains. "I know! Why don't you try
pinpoint the nearest bar? My GPS will find it."

"Uhm...I think there was one bar two blocks away... Kivabo something."

"Okay, hang in there, I'm on my way," Irene said grimly. "I gotta go get the car started alright?
But call me again on my mobile. I'm coming Jen, I'm coming, just hang in there..."

>

By a stroke of luck, she had located the bar and then a few blocks away, she found Jennie and Lisa.

She had expected something bad, something terrible. Rape and assault blared in her head like
alarm bells. Irene braced herself as she stepped out of the car.

The moment she entered the alley, a short figure detached itself from the shadows. Irene had
raised a crowbar in defence but quickly lowered it when her phone's torchlight revealed a shaking,
tear-streaked Jennie with dishevelled clothes.

Irene scanned the teen. Nothing seemed out of place, and they were normal clothes too—pants,
sneakers, shirt and jacket. Nothing that suggested she had been assaulted.

"Jen..."

Jennie shook her head, gesturing for Irene to follow her as she led the older woman behind some
crates, presumably where she had been hiding. A strange coppery stench seemed to be emanating
from behind the crates, overpowering the stink of garbage strewn carelessly in the dirty alley.

"We have to get her home," Jennie said simply. Irene tilted her phone to the ground and covered
her mouth in horror, gagging at the sight.

Words deserted her.

There before them lay Lisa curled up into a ball with eyes shut, and she was a bloody mess.

Irene cowered away, allowing for a few seconds to pass before steeling herself to approach the girl
passed out before her.

Lisa's face, her hands, her torso, her legs, even her hair—every inch of Lisa was caked in blood ,
as though she just walked off the set of a gory slasher movie, or else jumped into a tub of red paint.

"What...what....?" Irene whispered, bewildered.

She felt the strength leave her limbs as nausea assailed her senses. The stench, the sight—she could
even almost taste it as the foul coppery odour covered her tongue— and the gravity of their
predicament was getting to her as her mind skipped and creaked and shuddered to a halt.

Irene would have probably passed out were it not for a cold hand latching on to her wrist that
brought her to her senses. Jennie was gazing at her beseechingly, making Irene swallow and
swiftly take control. She crouched down next to Lisa, already taking her phone out.

"So, where...where was she hurt? We better call an ambulance..."

"N...no, she's okay, she's fine...a...a little tired..." Jennie trailed off.

Irene whipped her head back incredulously.

"It's not her blood. She's not hurt." Jennie said quietly, and it was as though the night itself held its
breath.

"Then...?" Irene couldn't bear to ask the inevitable. She was starting to tremble too—the confusing
events were getting too much to handle as horror welled up within her.

What had Lisa done?

A sudden brainwave had her climbing to her feet in a blink. "Hwangssabu! Does he know? Is he—"

She froze when Lisa wailed out of nowhere, raising goosebumps all over Irene's skin. The bloody
girl moaned with her eyes closed, rolling back and forth in agony, her tone laced with deep
visceral pain that struck Irene deep and tore at her heart. She watched transfixed as Lisa
whimpered and held her head, bawling as helplessly as a newborn.

In a cold flash of clarity, Irene understood—the trigger was Hwangssabu.

Something had happened to him.

She turned to confirm with Jennie only to be met with fresh tears spilling from the brunette's eyes.

"Hwangssabu?" Irene croaked before her throat closed up completely.

"Oh unnie," Jennie wept. "He's dead."

>

Irene never dreamed she'd be driving around the seedy areas of the city at nearly four in the
morning with a trembling girl riding shot gun and another girl passed out in the back with bloody
hands.

They had managed to put a whimpering Lisa into the backseat after first removing her blood
drenched clothes and discarding them in the bins in the alley. Jennie wrapped her sister in a
blanket Irene had in the car before they drove off.

Irene and Jennie hadn't spoken a word, although Irene shot worried glances at the trembling
teenager next to her, heart aching for Jennie.

What would Irene give to whisk the girl away to her home, bundle her up in blankets and make her
hot chocolate to comfort her and distract her from her cruel predicament.

But it wasn't to be—Jennie had Lisa to take care of. She had expressly refused Irene's offer.

Irene drove on in silence, the tinge of city lights gradually fading away from the garish bright
colours to the more gloomy white of their familiar neighbourhood.

"Irene?"

"Yes?"

A pause as Irene counted to five before Jennie spoke again.

" I don't know what I'd do without you unnie. You're like a guardian angel right now..."

Jennie's voice wavered. "And...and if someone found us...Lisa couldn't...she wouldn't have been
able to..."

Irene patted Jennie's thigh. "It's alright Jennie. You're safe. You're safe..."

Jennie wrapped her arms around herself and closed her eyes. "Safe," she muttered. Her eyebrows
creased. "We're safe...everyone's safe."

Behind them, Lisa hiccuped and whimpered. "Dad..."

"Irene?"

"Hmm?" Irene raised her head. He co-worker was giving her a strange look.

"Are you feeling alright? You've been out of it ever since this morning."

Irene sighed, playing with the pencil as she doodled mindlessly on a scrap of paper. "Yeah I'm
good. Just a little thrown off because I came in tardy."
"Oh don't mind the supervisor scolding you, he knows you're a great worker."

"Yeah, I suppose," Irene said nonchalantly—she had barely been aware of being scolded, too busy
ruminating on the events dating back some four years.

"Someone in particular on your mind, perhaps? You have that dreamy look," her co-worker
chuckled.

"You could say that," Irene replied thoughtfully.

 Visitors

"Ya think Momo's gonna chicken out of the Purge this year? Did she say anything?" Lisa asked
between pauses as she punched hard. "I wish she'd go in..."

Jennie backed up, dodging and feinting with the boxing pads to make it harder for Lisa to hit. "I
don't know. Haven't checked the list yet. Besides they'll still be adding people during this time, she
still might go in."

"Or she might give it a break," Lisa puffed, "until whatever's going on with Dahyun settles down—
OY!"

"Keep your eyes open," Jennie warned as she lashed out with her foot again but this time Lisa
avoided it easily.

At intervals Jennie stuck her foot out to keep her sister alert and nimble on her feet. Lisa had fully
recovered from the humiliating first pilates session and she was raved up and ready to go in for her
third tomorrow on Monday.

As with every Sunday afternoon, the Vault was drearily empty.

"I was really banking on Somi's plan working at least a little bit," Lisa grunted at length.
"Weekends without matches to look forward to are so boring too..."

"So you mentioned at least five times in the last half hour alone," Jennie replied, unblinking as Lisa
pressed forward, her gloves a blur flying through the air. Lisa didn't reply again as she focused on
her work-out instead. Jennie had suggested easing up already, but Lisa insisted she would ease up
later.

When that 'later' was supposed to happen, Jennie wasn't sure, but for now she relented—there was
nothing to entertain themselves with anyway until Jennie left for her double shift, so she reasoned
they might as well get in some work done.

"—thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two—" Jennie counted. The loud slap and thuds of the glove hitting the
pad's material echoed all around them. Sweat dripped off their bodies, more so Lisa who was going
at it hard.

"Switch!" Jennie called, having Lisa change her punching technique every ten minutes. "Now
dodge! And again! And again! Again! Again!" Jennie punctuated every word with a swipe at Lisa's
head while Lisa either bent or dodged to avoid the attack.

"Press-ups, jump to it! Time starts now!"

Lisa obediently fell into position and started pumping up and down, breathing quick but deep with
rapid snorts as she exhaled in bursts. Jennie kept an eye on the timer.

"Okay, keep up that tempo, good, good. I'm gonna slip into the bathroom real quick, I'll be back.
You got this?"

Lisa grunted in answer and continued pushing up and down on the ground as Jennie left. She
trusted Lisa to keep count in her head—if her sister slacked off, the only person who would suffer
the consequences of laziness would be Lisa herself.
Lisa was too absorbed in her workout to notice that the door to the Vault had been pushed open
until a blaring voice shouting her name had her face-planting in shock.

"Lisa!"

The boxer raised her face, barely able to believe her eyes as she watched the three visitors
approach, with the one who called waving energetically.

"Long time no see Lis! Oh wait did we interrupt your workout crap is this a bad time to be here
we'll just head out and come back—"

"No no not at all!" Lisa stood up in haste. "It's the perfect time I just wasn't expecting anyone and
I'm...kinda sweaty, heh..."

"Eh don't sweat it, we all been there," Jisoo chuckled as she thumped her back enthusiastically,
"and that's what we're here for after all!" She flexed in her tracksuit, her immaculate raven hair tied
up in a high ponytail.

Lisa gawked at her then at the bashful red-haired woman behind Jisoo scuffing her toes as she held
on to her daughter's hand.

"Rosé?" Lisa said in awe. "You came here? Wait, was it the posters?"

"Jisoo unnie saw them and thought about checking the place out," Rosé murmured, raising her face
briefly to give Lisa a bashful smile, "and Ella was excited to meet her older twin, so to speak.
So....here we are."

"Where is she, Lisa unnie?" Ella asked now, glancing all around them as though Jennie would
magically appear in a puff of smoke.

Lisa's heart melted when Ella addressed her as unnie. None of the younger girl called her unnie so
this was a new experience but it felt very nice.

"She'll be out soon, she'll be thrilled to meet you, kiddo," Lisa chuckled as she crouched down level
with the girl. She held out her fist. "Now gimme a fist bump—there, that's how a boxer greets a
fellow boxer here at the Vault."

"I'm not a boxer," Ella said innocently.

"Yet," Lisa winked, "but you could be. You can be anything you like in here."

"Ain't that inspiring," Jisoo laughed at Ella's wide eyes, "so, you and Rosie hit off huh?"

"Unnie," Rosé flushed.

"Nah tell her the truth," Lisa winked, "she just fell for me—love at first sight you know?"

"Like in fairytales!" Ella interjected, tugging on her mother's hand. She looked at her mother then
at Lisa, mouth puckered up in a pout. "But how can Mommy tell that you love her if you haven't
kissed yet?"

Jisoo burst into peals of laughter as Lisa stuttered and Rosé blushed deeper.

"Lisa was only kidding, sweetie," Rosé said hastily, "it's....her way of joking, don't take her too
seriously..."
"She shouldn't joke about loving you Mommy," Ella replied solemnly, "or I'll hit her."

Jisoo was bent over slapping her knees. "Ohhhh watch out Lisa, you're in for it now! Ella is a
protective momma bear!"

Ella curled her hands into claws and contorted her face into a snarl. "Rawr! I'm a bear! And I'll eat
you if you hurt my Mom!"

Lisa cowered away, covering her head with her hands. "No no don't eat me Ella bear! I promise I
won't hurt your mommy! Jisoo unnie save me! Help! Help!" She started crawling backwards away
from Ella who advanced on her, stomping her feet heavily and roaring as Rosé looked on in
amusement.

"Save yourself!" Jisoo snorted, finally straightening and wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Fat lot of good you do! I thought I could trust you! Unicorn buddies!"

"I'm only your unicorn buddy when you're wearing the shirt!" Jisoo retorted. Lisa held her heart.

"Betrayal! I'm dying of a broken heart! Little bear, don't eat me!"

"I'm not a little bear, I'm a big bear!" Ella protested.

"Sweetie, give it a rest," Rosé chided gently before turning helplessly to Jisoo. "Unnie, please,
we're visitors..."

"Come on Rosie lighten up, me and Lisa are unicorn buddies, we good. Right partner?"

Lisa grinned. "Definitely! It's really alright Rosie, I'm glad you guys stopped by. It was awfully
dull and empty anyway."

"Yeah, well we were just at home and then I called up Rosé like, let's go check out the place and
—" Jisoo froze mid-sentence as her gaze widened momentarily before narrowing with mischievous
intent. Her mouth curved into a smirk. "Well well well, hey there..."

Lisa dropped her scaredy-cat act to check what Jisoo had seen and watched as her sister emerged
from the bathroom. "Oh that's her, my sister, Jennie—"

"Very interesting," Jisoo purred as she licked her bottom lip. She touched her ponytail, eyes glued
to Jennie. "Excuse me for a moment, would you?"

And to Lisa's astonishment, Jisoo made a beeline for Jennie, stopping square in front of the
brunette whose eyes turned round once she took in the gorgeous girl in tracksuit standing in front of
her.

"Jisoo unnie likes girls," Ella whispered as an explanation to a befuddled Lisa.

"Ella!" Rosé scolded, her gaze flickering up uncertainly. "Unnie..."

But Jisoo never heard—she was too busy smiling at the petite brunette who was blinking non-
plussed.

"Hi, is your name wi-fi?" Jisoo asked confidently. "Cos' I was feeling a connection."

Lisa and Rosé's mouth dropped open at the same time that Jennie's brows furrowed.
"Um...no it's not..." Jennie said slowly. "Did you seriously just try a pick-up line on me? Who are
you anyway?"

Jisoo's mega-watt smile never faded. "Yes I did and the name's Jisoo, I'm neighbours with
Roseanne. And you must be Jennie? It's an absolute pleasure to meet you." She held out her hand.

Jennie tilted her head but didn't take Jisoo's hand. "Hmm. Okay Jisoo, let me try something too..."

Jisoo looked thrilled, judging by her eager nod as she withdrew her hand. "Take it away!"

Jennie eyed her intently. "Would you happen to know the address of the nearest police station?"

"Unfortunately I don't. I could find it for you though, if you like," Jisoo offered. "But why would
you need it, if I may ask? Is it to arrest me because I have stolen your heart?" she added with a
smirk.

Jennie shook her head. "No, it's to summon the SWAT to escort you back to the asylum you clearly
escaped from."

"OOOOOOHHH," Lisa whooped as Jennie moved past a slack-jawed Jisoo and made her way to
her sister. "JENNNAAAAYYYYY YOU GOT GAME GURL! I'm proud of ya! Wait till Momo
hears—"

"Hey, you got me there but trust me I ain't a stalker or some creep!" Jisoo called as she scrambled
after Jennie. "I was only trying to gauge you."

Jennie turned on the other woman with a raised eyebrow. "Gauge me? For your information, I'm
straight."

"Really? Interesting," Jisoo said but hastily pushed on before Jennie opened her mouth to retort.
"Somi talked to me about you. You know Somi right? Jeon Somi? She's a member here, she said.
She mentioned you'd like to swap places with me given our...circumstances. So I was interested to
see what kind of person you are. I'm still curious to find out more in fact, if you'd allow me the
pleasure of getting to know you, that is."

Lisa was watching the exchange eagerly, grinning when Jennie's usual unruffled exterior turned
suddenly agitated.

"She...she didn't seriously do that?" Jennie gasped in horror. "Mimi, she...I didn't mean it....she...it
was a joke...I..."

This time even Rosé joined in with Lisa's giggles before sobering. "Jisoo unnie, you're scaring her.
Lay off for now and let me handle the introductions, okay?"

She pushed forward. "Jennie, it's a pleasure to meet you. I apologise on unnie's behalf, she can
come off a little strong." She held out her hand which Jennie took with a relieved smile. "I'm Rosé,
we spoke on the phone the other day. This is my daughter Ella, she wanted to meet her 'other sister'
since Lisa claimed you two look similar."

Jennie crouched down next to Ella who had suddenly turned bashful. She clung to her mother,
shooting Jennie a small smile that Jennie returned in full.

"You're very pretty, unnie," Ella blurted, taking everyone by surprise.

Jennie recovered very quickly. "Well then, so are you, since you look like me."
She turned to the others as she put her face close to Ella. "Well, what's your verdict? Was Lisa
correct?"

"The resemblance is uncanny," Rosé said in amazement. "If I hadn't birthed Ella, I might have
believed you were her real mother."

"Sisters from different misters!" Jisoo put in.

"I told you!" Lisa crowed loudly.

"You wouldn't be interested in swapping, by any chance?" Jennie asked Rosé casually. "This little
one thinks I'm pretty and looks like an angel, just saying. I'm sure we'd get along fine. And
Lisa....well you stick her with a punching bag and feed her chicken, she'll entertain herself for
hours no problem."

"Hey!" Lisa said indignantly making the other girls laugh. "I can be an angel too!"

Jennie shrugged. "You don't look like me."

"OOOOOHHH!" Jisoo whooped, immediately taking the opportunity for revenge. She stuck her
tongue out at Lisa when the boxer glared at her.

"What do you think Ella? Would you like to live with the pretty Jennie unnie?" Rosé smiled.

Ella did a quick sweep of her surroundings, brows scrunching. "Unnie lives here?"

"Sort of," Jennie nodded, inwardly cooing at the solemn girl carefully considering the proposal.

"But isn't it only boxers who live in gyms?" Ella said with brows furrowed.

"Nah. You don't have to live here, you can come and go. Only Lisa and I stay here because this
place is ours," Jennie explained patiently. "Anyone who wants to learn boxing or to keep healthy
doesn't have to stay here forever. That includes your mother and...her," she added with a wary side-
glance in Jisoo's direction.

"I have a name!" Jisoo called.

"Doubtless," Lisa said cheekily.

Jisoo's nostrils flared as she raised her fists. "Oh you wanna go?"

"Try me bi—eetroot!" Lisa amended hastily at a frown from Jennie and Rosé. "Yeah, try me,
beetroot!"

Jisoo scoffed. "Beetroot? That the best you can do?"

"Unnie!" Rosé chided earnestly as Ella looked on with interest, "please, we're guests here,
visitors..."

Meanwhile, Jennie had brought out the boxing pads Lisa had been using and crouched down again
to Ella's level. "These are part of the equipment we use to train. Would you like to try out?"

At Ella's eager nod, Jennie flicked her gaze up for Rosé's approval who had her brow furrowed and
chewing her lip uncertainly.

"Umm...you'll get hurt, sweetie..." Rosé said tersely. "Better not. We're not going to be here long
anyway."

"Huh?" Jisoo looked away from her intense glaring session with Lisa, her face registering
confusion. "But you said we could—"

She fell silent at Rosé's pained expression.

Ella's shoulders dropped in disappointment and she lowered her fists. "Oh...okay Mom."

"Hang on a hot minute!" Lisa waved her arms and took Rosé by the shoulder to turn her away from
the group. "Gimme a second, okay? Thank you!"

Lisa made sure to release Rosé the moment they turned away after she sensed the red-haired stiffen
beneath her touch, most likely disgusted by Lisa's sweaty appearance. But Lisa couldn't be
bothered right now.

"Rosie, I promise, there's no way the kid will be hurt, she'll just be punching at a bunch of soft
packs. We can wrap her hands in tape too, for extra protection."

She paused, expecting Rosé to counter her argument but when she didn't, Lisa continued.

"You came all the way here to see us, and now you won't let Ella satisfy her curiosity? She's just a
kid, and Jennie will be monitoring her closely. She won't be fighting anyone in the ring or use any
equipment that might hurt her. You can even try something out yourself while you're at it! Jisoo
did say you came to sweat out, didn't she?"

"That's just her words, not mine," Rosé fretted. "And the fact the Ella's a kid is precisely why I
can't let her—what if she enjoys boxing and...and wants to pursue it further? What then?"

Lisa frowned, watching the young mother closely. "Is it such a crime to enjoy boxing, Rosie?"

The red-head sighed. "It never leads to anything good," was her quiet answer. She wrapped her
arms around herself, mouth clamped shut.

It never leads to anything good other than death and violence—

She was startled to feel Lisa's calloused hands on her arm. Rosé's conflicted gaze collided with
Lisa's doe-eyes and entranced, she found herself unable to tear her eyes away.

"Will you let me show you?" Lisa asked softly. "Will you give me a chance? One chance to prove
that boxing is so much more than violence?"

Her voice was quiet and gently pleading, nothing like the loud brash tone Rosé had gotten used to.
It was disarming how such a change in voice could be so affecting, but it was working and Rosé
found herself wavering.

Lisa held out her hand to Rosé, who gazed at it for an age. Her eyes flicked rapidly back and forth
between Lisa's face and Lisa's hand as the blonde boxer waited patiently, never huffing or pushing.

"There's nothing to fear," Lisa said quietly, making Rosé snap her head up. Lisa's hand hovered
invitingly.

Maybe Lisa saw my fears, Rosé thought desperately. Maybe Lisa somehow understands...

There was no other explanation Rosé could give for the reason Lisa's voice had turned soft and
gentle, promising to hold Rosé's trepidation at bay, promising to help, promising to be there.
She can't possibly know the past...

Rosé could see Lisa had almost given up on her accepting the offer—it was clear in the blonde's
tense jaw and her other hand gripping her pant leg. Yet Lisa's hand was still hanging in the space
between them.

"Trust me," Lisa said gently. It wasn't a question nor a command but a request, and a highly
significant one for Rosé.

Rosé swallowed. Do you even know what you're asking of me, Lisa?

There was no trace of the cocky boxer that swaggered and talked like a macho—in her place stood
a girl that somehow understood Rosé inanely, without even knowing what exactly troubled her.

Rosé could see it in the way the boxer watched and waited for her to decide.

Lisa had given Pilates a chance. Now it was her turn, just this one time. She could do it.

Without further ado, Rosé latched on to Lisa's hand with a firm grip, ignoring her clammy palm.

"I trust you."

The relieved smile that broke across the blonde's face set Rosé's heart pounding to a rapid beat that
had her almost breathless.

She mirrored Lisa's smile as they turned to face Jisoo and Jennie again, unable to stop herself.

Although it had been only days, Lisa already had infiltrated deeper than most other people that
passed her by and never troubled themselves to delve deeper and scratch the surface.

Not that she allowed them too anyway, but Lisa had barged in too unexpectedly and took the wind
right out of her sails without permission , leaving behind trails of sunshine.

Jisoo was grinning and gave her a subtle thumbs up while Jennie and Ella eyed them with a
mixture of suspicion and curiosity.

"Okay kiddo, your mom says it's okay to try out just this once, alright?" Lisa announced cheerfully
as Ella clapped and ran forward to hug her mother's leg.

"We won't be long anyway," Jennie added to reassure Rosé further, "I will have to leave pretty
soon, like half an hour... for uh...other work."

"That's more than enough. Thank you for going to all this trouble," Rosé replied sincerely but
Jennie dismissed her right away.

"No trouble at all. Now, shall we, Ella?"

The little girl nodded excitedly, eyes bright with excitement as Jennie got the tape and started
carefully wrapping her fists in it.

"I'll be showing Rosie the ropes myself," Lisa put in, "and you're welcome to join, Jisoo."

"Am I though?" Jisoo smirked, indicating Lisa and Rosé's joined hands, "you seem to have hit off
more than I thought. Maybe it's better if I leave you two to yourselves, hmm?"

It was like a bolt of lightning struck the pair as they stared down at their fingers still wrapped
comfortably round each others'.

Rosé hurriedly let go, flustered and blushing to the roots of her fiery hair as Jisoo chuckled. Lisa
appeared likewise bashful as she tried to play it off by casually putting her hands in her pockets.

Jisoo wiggled her eyebrows but didn't tease further.

"Anyway, I think I'll spend some time with Lelly pelly and getting to know Jendeukie here. You do
your thing, Pasta," Jisoo said before turning to Jennie, beaming like the sun. "Shall we?"

"Jendeukie?" Jennie said frostily.

The temperature of the room suddenly dropped several degrees.

"Oh yes, my nickname for you, why?" Jisoo nodded, oblivious. Meanwhile, Lisa's eyes bulged in
her head as she glanced at a visibly vexed Rosé.

"Pasta?" she giggled. Rosé sighed, long and loud.

"Jisoo unnie likes giving people nicknames," Ella giggled conspiratorially, "she calls her dog
ahjussi, but his name is Dalgom."

"Your nickname for me?" Jennie echoed, as though something was not adding up and she was
presented with an anomaly, an inconsistency in the script.

Jisoo nodded. "Jendeukie, because you were so clingy to me from the moment we met, clearly,"
she explained with a laugh, unfazed by the metaphorical blizzard that was on the verge of causing
Lisa's teeth to break out in a chatter.

"Unnie, no," Rosé groaned. "Not the nicknames, we've only just met..." At this rate she was going
to die by embarrassment alone.

"I honestly don't know if I should be offended or confused," Jennie remarked dryly, "seems like
she's on your wavelength Lis, congratulations for finding each other."

"I know right?" Lisa said, thrilled. "We finally have someone who loves nicknames as much as I
do!"

"You bet!" Jisoo said airily. "I'm the supreme nickname giver."

"Oh yeah? Have you thought up a nickname for me too?"

Jisoo looked at her for precisely five seconds. "Nallalisa."

This time even Jennie snorted as Lisa gawked in disbelief.

"Top that," Jisoo snickered and waved at her before fully focusing on Jennie who had finished
preparing Ella. "Come on Jendeuk, show me your moves."

Jennie exhaled. "Would you please stop that?"

"Stop what?"

"Stop calling me Jendeukie." Jennie's face was stern. "We've only just met, have you no filter at
all?"
"Not really," Jisoo shrugged. "Sorry, I'll try to tone it down. But can I still watch you and Ella?"

"You can have a go or two as well when Ella tires," Jennie said. Jisoo turned to Lisa with a bright
smile and thumbs-up, making Lisa chuckle and Rosé shake her head.

"Come on then Rosie, let's get this show on the road!" Lisa said excitedly as she pulled Rosé to the
row of punching bags.

"Now, I want you to be relaxed and comfortable okay? We'll be starting out with basic punching
stuff, like how to punch safely so you won't hurt yourself in the process," Lisa explained, "but first,
I'd like to introduce you to Punchy."

Rosé peered at her, brows furrowed as Lisa grinned and patted the punching bag in front of them.

"Rosie, I'd like you to meet my favourite punching bag, Punchy. Punchy, this is Rosé, or Rosie, my
friend and pilates instructor. Punchy, Rosie."

Despite her nerves, Rosé found herself giggling at the introductions. "Umm...did you really name
it? How do I greet it? Should I just punch it?"

Lisa tipped her head back in a good-natured chuckle that had Rosé feeling pleasantly warm in the
face, as though sje were bathed in sunlight.

"Nah, I made up that name just now to make the thing less intimidating for ya. Familiarity ya
know?"

"Good thinking," Rosé said, impressed. She had used such methods herself with a younger Ella but
had never thought she'd be on the receiving end of such a methodology.

"Okay, so first things first, show me how you make a fist."

Rosé duly formed a fist, her heart almost jumping out of her chest when Lisa took it in her hands.

Why the reaction? She had touched Lisa's skin plenty times last time.

"See, now this is a mistake a lot of people make, sometimes even in the heat of a fight," Lisa
explained. Her face was focused and serious, no trace of buffoonery in her voice: this was Lisa in
her element.

Rosé watched the transformation with fascination, remembering Lisa's attentive eyes during their
pilates class.

"People tend to tuck their thumb into the fist. You should keep it out when you form the fist," Lisa
instructed as she demonstrated by arranging Rosé's fingers. "That's very important—keeping your
thumb tucked in when you punch something could break it."

She chuckled when Rosé's eyes widened. "Well, yeah, you'd be punching pretty hard and probably
hit hard surfaceslike cheek or jawbones, so it happens."

She stepped aside and held up her fists. "Now when fighting, there's a number of guards to use in
boxing. For now, this is the basic guard. I want you to hold up your arms like this, just level with
your chin, yep. Keep your chin down, eyes looking forward at your opponent. Whatever you do,
keep your chin down, especially if you're very close to your opponent. Getting hit in the throat is
painful. I speak from experience by the way!"
This isn't so bad, Rosé thought idly as she copied Lisa. Okay, fists up, chin down, and throat
protected.

Once again, she was startled by Lisa's hand sliding across the small of her back and the blonde
immediately withdrew her hand.

"Sorry," Lisa said sheepishly, "I was going to ask you to put your dominant leg forward."

She demonstrated, leaning forward over her leg. "You wanna make sure it's nice and secure on the
ground, cos' you'll be leaning your whole weight into it to add more power to your punch when you
lunge. It will help the momentum of your fist. Try it with me."

They spent several moments of lunging and trying out the move without hitting the punching bag,
with Lisa patiently directing Rosé and aligning her legs to achieve more power and balance.

Rosé found herself admiring Lisa's knowledge and passion—she was no meat-head as Rosé
mistakenly thought.

Every action had an explanation, a reason, a method to it. She would have never guessed boxing
had such nuances—to Rosé, it was all a mere volley of punches and fists, a competition on who
knocks the opponent out first, but clearly not for Lisa.

She also found herself admiring the blonde's form—the younger had discarded her jacket and now
her biceps rippled and flexed beneath the fluorescent lights as she lunged repeatedly to demonstrate
the move. Not to mention her toned abs looked--

"Now a very important thing is to follow through with the strike," Lisa was saying when Rosé
brought herself back to the present, "it's another very easy way to hurt yourself."

She held up her hand and twisted her wrist, which made a clicking sound. "Hear that?"

Rosé winced. "You do that when you're fidgeting."

Lisa smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I know it irks people. But anyway, this is what happened to me in
the beginning, when I had just started out fighting. I went in for a punch and wasn't punching
properly. And I ended up with a...well, it wasn't broken or sprained exactly. But it's been clicking
ever since."

"You never got it checked?" Rosé gasped. Lisa shrugged.

"It doesn't hurt me, not even when I punch hard, been that way for years. But it's a good reminder."

She stood next to Rosé again. "Okay, hold out your fist of the dominant hand. Now we got a few
things to keep in mind so that you don't hurt yourself. In the heat of battle, it's easy to forget it but
you need to have these ingrained in your head, it takes focus to rein yourself in."

Lisa gave Rosé a faint smile. "One of the beautiful things about boxing is how much attention you
actually have to pay to technique until you're able to master it such that it comes naturally to ya.
Now, here's what you need to remember."

She held out her hand to count. "Make contact with your first two knuckles as the thumb holds the
two fingers tight. Don't roll your wrist, keep it in line with the arm. And keep your elbow tucked in.
It's important not to let it straighten to the point that you might break it, because with the force of
hitting something, it might break backwards from the joint."
 Rosé's mind was spinning as she attempted to take mental note of everything Lisa was saying.
"This is harder than I thought..."

"That's where training comes in," Lisa said cheerfully. "Now, show me what you got."

Rosé steeled herself and threw her first punch.

 Progress

Hitting Punchy with a dull flump, Rosé immediately withdrew her arm, her knuckles stinging.

"It might hurt," Lisa said next to her. " Punchy's made of tough stuff. I can always get you some
protective tape—"

"You don't wear any," Rosé observed.

Lisa gave a chuckle and showed her scabbed knuckles. "I'm desensitised now, been doing this for
years, Rosie. You still got some time to get to that level. It's perfectly okay to wear protection—"

"No," Rosé said stubbornly, "I'm fine, I'm okay."

Lisa held up her hands in surrender and stepped back. "Okay, remember the first point of contact
has to be the first two knuckles, then follow through with the wrist."

I can do that, Rosé thought as she squared up to the punching bag.

She raised her fists, half-curious about the whole aspect of punching the sack. Wouldn't it get
boring doing the same thing over and over?

Would it feel the same way as punching a person?

Unbidden, the question surfaced in her mind and she drew a sharp breath. No, this was different,
this had to be different, right?

Fat lot of good would it do to be different, jeered the voice in her head, it's still punching, isn't it?
It's still what he did and look where that got him—

"Shut up shut up," Rosé muttered as she swung her fist, knuckles thudding and bashing the
punching bag violently as she punched in rapid frenzy to silence the voice. Punchy swung crazily
from the aggressive force of impact. Rosé's jaw clenched tight as she ignored the pain in her
knuckles while the voice laughed and laughed along with the infuriating snickers taunting her.

She punched frantically, her fist connecting with fabric repeatedly as she sought to drown out the
awful memories.

Maybe you'll end up like him, the voice suggested, how about that? Would you like to follow
in his footsteps Roseanne? The rotten apple doesn't fall far from the tree you know.

"Shut up!" Rosé gasped as she threw another wild punch. She miscalculated the timing and her
lunge went wide, completely missing the swinging punching bag. She ended up tottering and
falling forward, hitting the mat with a jolt. She gasped and heaved in lungfuls of air but the voice in
her head had finally fallen silent.

She had all but forgotten Lisa was next to her until the boxer stepped up and wordlessly held out
her hand to pull her up. Rosé accepted, biting her lip foolishly as she climbed to her feet. She
avoided Lisa's gaze, embarrassed by her aggressive show.

"Lis, I can explain—"

But Lisa held up her hand. "There's nothing to explain," she said softly, "personal issues are
personal issues. I would understand if boxing brought out...some of those issues to the surface."

Rosé bowed her head in shame. "I...I can't stand aggression, yet I got caught up in it too, in the heat
of the moment..."

"Punching always feels good to relieve stress or anger," Lisa nodded. She still hadn't let go of
Rosé's hand. The red-head found herself wishing Lisa didn't let go so soon.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Rosé said quietly. "What if boxing encourages those violent
tendencies? What if it nourishes that urge and impulsion to hit and lash out?"

Lisa shook her head. "On the contrary, boxing helps with that. Like I mentioned, it teaches you to
redirect your anger into perfecting the punching technique and working out to rein in your anger.
You can't punch properly if you just punch out of anger. Boxing requires a level of concentration
which you can't achieve if your mind is clouded with anger."

Lisa tapped her foot, tilting her head at Rosé with an understanding smile gracing her face.
"Personally, I had some...anger management issues in the past. But Hwangssabu helped me master
it with boxing. We...well, let's say we couldn't afford therapy, so it was really lucky that I had
boxing to help."

"Hwangssabu...the owner?"

"Jennie and I's old trainer." Lisa paused, face sombre. "He was like a father to both of us."

A strange expression crossed Lisa's face just then which intrigued Rosé, moreover with how Lisa
kept referring to him in the past tense.

"He's not around anymore," Lisa said quietly, noticing Rosé's quizzical expression. "He passed
away in...unfortunate circumstances."

"Oh...I'm sorry. I didn't know..."

"Don't sweat about it," Lisa smiled, "I ain't gonna break down just because we mention him you
know? No need to walk on tiptoes around me."

Rosé wanted to ask more because this Hwangssabu guy seemed to be an important piece of the
puzzle that made up Lisa. She filed the information away for later, resolving to ask more once they
had perhaps gotten a little closer. It was still much too early to unpack their backgrounds and Rosé
was definitely not ready to divulge much about hers.

Lisa tapped Rosé's hand. "Rosie, starting out strongly and aggressively can only hurt you in the
long run." She rubbed her thumb over the sore red knuckles in emphasis, making Rosé hiss and
Lisa immediately dropped her hand as though it were a hot pan.

"Sorry," Lisa said quickly before turning to halt the swinging punching bag and bring it back to a
standstill.

Rosé wondered why she felt disappointment welling up in her gut at the loss of Lisa's hand—the
blonde's touch felt strangely soothing.

"Hwangssabu used to tell me that the ideal focal point for your optimal state of mind should be to
find the point between rage and serenity," Lisa said now as they stood in front of Punchy again.
"That's the place your mind has to be to have full control over your emotions and in turn, your
actions."
Rosé stared at her, mouth dropping open. "Did you just quote Professor X at me?"

Lisa tilted her head curiously. "Uh...no? It's what Hwangssabu used to say. Who's Professor X?"

"You mean you don't know who Professor Charles Xavier is?" Rosé squealed. "You don't know X-
men?"

Lisa scrunched her brows. "I do know some Disney that Somi showed me," she said slowly but
Rosé shook her head violently.

"X-men is a comic series. So you don't know about the mutants and their awesome super powers?
Wolverine and Magneto and Emma Frost and Jean Grey and Kitty Pryde and...?"

Lisa shook her head. "You're talking gibberish to me."

"You gotta get into them, they're really cool! My favourite mutants gotta be X-23, she's a clone of
Wolverine and Blink, she can create dimension-warping portals, I like her best in The Gifted and
she's played by my TV mom Jamie Cheung. She's had such a traumatic past....not like X-23 hasn't
but yeah both of them had their hard times. But then my favourite movie is X-men: First Class. I
may or may not have had a small crush on Michael Fassbender in that movie even though he
eventually turned out to be the bad guy. And oh there's so many mutants really I hardly know
where to begin it's one sprawling universe and they're all basically fan fictions of each other
according to the era of the writers that take over which so frustrating but also incredible at the
same time. Oh I'm just remembering, another favourite mutant has to be Wolverine because well,
Hugh Jackman plays him before Wolverine died, and Jackman's an Aussie and well, an Aussie
gotta stick up for your pals, you know?" Rosé gushed before catching herself, gnawing on her lip.

"Ah, sorry, that was a bit...geeky of me," she blushed. "It's...it's been a while since I kept up with
them...got carried away...."

Lisa shook her head. "It's cute," she grinned, "I never pegged you for the geek type though. Also,
Aussie huh? That explains your English I heard over the phone the other day...makes sense, I did
think your Korean accent sounded a little bit like a foreigner's..."

"There's a lot you don't know about me," Rosé quipped playfully. "And there's a lot I don't know
about you."

"Well then, I hope we'll have the opportunity to find out more," Lisa said, "maybe we can get to
know each other better..."

Rosé merely smiled and winked. "Come on Professor X, show me how to find the optimal point of
focus then."

"Was this Professor X guy like some kung-fu fighter?"

"Nope: he was confined to a wheelchair..."

>

"Your sister and Rosé hit off pretty well, you know? I'm impressed," Jisoo remarked, avidly
watching the two younger girls from afar as she dug into her sports bag and pulled out a handful of
chips.

She munched and crunched noisily, eyes glued to the pair as if she were watching the most
fascinating documentary on TV. She had barely finished her mouthful before she was sticking her
chip-dusted fingers inside the nachos bag and pulling out another handful.

"Why impressed?" Jennie said, looking unimpressed.

"See that?" Jisoo pointed at Lisa and Rosé chuckling about something while Lisa held Rosé's
hand, "our Roseanne doesn't just let anyone hold her hand and look at them like the light is shining
out of them. Very interesting indeed."

"I don't see anything," Jennie shrugged and turned back to Ella.

"Clearly. It can be hard to notice little things like that if you don't go around randomly shipping
people together like I do," Jisoo said casually, "like when you read books? Or movies? Don't you
say 'oh this couple, I like'. Or 'this couple is a no-no'. Hmm, don't you do that?"

"I can see why Somi likes you, she enjoys shipping people in real life too," Jennie said drily over
her shoulder then turned to the Ella. "Okay sweetie, you're doing amazing with the pads, feel up for
another round?"

"Yes please!" Ella nodded vigorously, her eyes shining. "I wanna do Kung Fu. Hi-yah!"

Jennie chuckled. "Slow down El, I'm afraid you have to find a Kung fu master for that, I only go as
far as punching."

"A master like Po the Panda!" Ella nodded vigorously. "He's the Dragon Warrior!"

"And you'll need your mother's permission for sure," Jisoo added helpfully. She blinked at Jennie's
pursed lips. "What? It's true!"

Jennie rolled her eyes and crouched back to face the eight year-old bouncing on the balls of her feet
with energy. It brought a smile back to Jennie's face as she focused on the enthusiastic girl.

"We're gonna dial up the difficulty level now. Every punch I'm gonna swipe at your head, like so,
to keep you constantly thinking and moving okay?"

"Aye Aye!"

Unbeknown to the brunette trainer, Jisoo was watching their interactions with a fond gaze. She
unconsciously smiled whenever Jennie chuckled or praised Ella or stopped to correct and explain a
move. Something about Jennie's voice as she explained the moves had Jisoo feeling warm by the
full attention she was giving Rosé's daughter, when most people would only try to humour a kid
half-heartedly.

She hastily turned her face away whenever Jennie glanced in her direction, feeling an inexplicable
guilty tug at her heart each time, like it was her conscience being guilty for sneaking looks.

Jisoo couldn't help herself—Jennie was very pretty even without make up. Sure, her lips could do
with some lip balm—they looked chapped, and her hair could do with a little more extra attention,
as did her skin, but all Jisoo saw was a raw, natural beauty. Make-up would only accentuate
Jennie's features and make her a flawless goddess, Jisoo could just picture it.

Those intense eyes for starters, were beautiful enough as they were, naked and elegantly feline—
Jisoo had to thank whatever god sculpted those eyes because they did a heck of a good job. Now
pair those eyes with eyeliner and mascara and Jennie would be deadly. The girl didn't even to seem
to be aware of her own appearance's potential which only intrigued Jisoo more—all the women
she knew wore layers of foundation (she had to admit to being guilty on certain counts as well) and
while yes they looked pretty, they also looked rather fake too.

Additionally, Jennie was sharp and she had a fit body (which Jisoo was totally ignoring) but she
also seemed to be like the practical, hard-working, passionate type aside from being a patient
teacher and a sister that Lisa seemed to look up to a lot.

There was also that particular detail about them not being well-off, to put it kindly. The overall
shabby state of the gym and the dearth of equipment explained it all, although Jisoo wasn't put off
in the least. The place was spic and span, if rather stuffy (she had spotted the AC and assumed it
was out of order, it looked rusted in places) but from the fond way Somi spoke about the Vault, it
was obvious this place meant everything to the sisters,and they ran it to the best of their abilities.

Jisoo's curiosity had grown to the point that she wanted to check out the place and meet this Jennie
Kim that asked to switch places with Jisoo. It was obviously a joke the way Somi framed it, but if
anything, it made Jisoo more intrigued to find out just who was this girl that spoke so boldly.

"Hey! Hey Kim! HEY!"

Jisoo blinked to find Jennie peevishly waving a hand in front of her eyes.

"I'm leaving. Rosé wanted to ask if you're gonna be staying here with Lisa? Cos' she's heading back
too," Jennie said.

She nodded in Rosé's direction who seemed to have already showered and had changed into a new
clean pair of sweats. The Pilates instructor was exchanging words with Lisa as she held Ella's
hand; Lisa was nodding and chuckling before crouching down to pat Ella on the head and fist
bumping the girl.

"Jisoo!" Jennie called exasperatedly.

Jisoo roused herself quickly. "Uh yeah yeah, I'll be leaving soon, uhm, I'll just pack up, yeah..." she
said absently. She figured she didn't even need to wash—the most exercise she had gotten was
lifting chips out of the jumbo bag hidden in her sports bag.

"I'll be heading off then. Thanks for dropping by," Jennie informed briskly and she strode away
into the bathrooms.

Jisoo gave herself a little shake. Just how long had she been sitting there, staring gormless into
space? Gawd, was there drool on her chin too?

"No there isn't unnie," Rosé replied as she and Lisa and Ella walked up. She laughed when Jisoo's
eyes widened. "Yeah, you said it aloud. Are you coming along or should I catch the bus? It's okay
if you want to hang with Lisa but I want to get back and cook and have an early night, tomorrow
it's school for Ella."

"You won't have much trouble, she'll go out like a light," Lisa winked, "battery flat. I guarantee
she'll fall asleep in the car."

"You two seemed to have hit off," Jisoo said suddenly, "why don't you invite her back to your place
Rosé? Or even mine Lis, do you wanna? It's only me and Dalgomie there."

She ignored the sympathy in Rosé's eyes and waited eagerly for Lisa's response.

"Ahh...maybe another time, unnie?" Lisa said, rubbing her neck awkwardly. "Don't get me wrong,
I appreciate the offer a lot, more than you know in fact! But...I just really need to be working out
right now. Can't let Jennie's sacrif—I mean, her work go to waste."

"You said you'll cut back and ease up," Rosé said anxiously.

"Mommy, can we go now?" Ella piped up. Her eyes were heavily-lidded and she kept yawning.
"I'm bored."

"Soon sweetie, in a bit," Rosé assured, stroking her head before looking back up at the blonde.
"Lisa..."

"I promise I will Rosie, but I gotta just get through these last few days. Then after I get my place in
the qualifiers, I have all the time in the world to take it easy. I'll cut back, you'll see."

"That's what people all say, and then they just push themselves hard as usual. After the Qualifiers,
won't you have to train to stay in shape to prepare for the rest of the tournament?" Rosé chewed on
her lip incessantly. Jisoo tapped her hand to remind her to stop.

"I'll cut back. I'll go out more and I'll do my pilates. I'll be super mega relaxed, but fit," Lisa said
confidently, "trust me on this one Rosie. I got a good feeling for this year."

"But—"

"Moooooooommmmmmmy, I wanna gooooooo," Ella whined and tugged on Rosé's hand more
insistently. Rosé sighed before slinging her bag over her shoulder and crouching down level with
her daughter.

"Just a little while longer baby, please? Mommy's going to be done real soon. Just a little more,
you've been such a good girl..."

"We can talk another time, Rosie, go. The kid's cranky and tired," Lisa said softly. "But what I said
still stands."

Rosé pursed her lip one more time before nodding. "Okay, see you at our next session."

"Sure thing!"

Rosé turned to Jisoo. "I'll be waiting in the car okay, unnie?"

"Yeah yeah go ahead..."

Rosé nodded and turned away before glancing back over her shoulder. "You can always drop by
my place, you know?"

Jisoo didn't say anything and Rosé disappeared out of the vault with Ella.

"I really can't make it today Jisoo unnie," Lisa said, rubbing the nape of her neck. "I know Rosie
said I should relax ad hang out with pals and I will, I promise, but just...things are a little tight—"

"Hey, chill," Jisoo chuckled, "it was just an invite. We only met like what, two times now? I just
thought it would be a good way to get to know more about each other but hey, there will be plenty
of opportunities in the future, I'm sure of it. Don't worry, Lis. And thanks for having us."

Lisa's face brightened. "Sure thing! And I should be the one thanking you guys, you saved me from
boredom. And from my sister," she added in a covert whisper.

Jisoo frowned. "What about Jennie?"

"Oooooohhh first name basis, are we?" Lisa wiggled her eyebrows. "You never told me you like
girls too, unnie."

"Well, it's not something you just blare out the first time you bump into someone, is it now?" Jisoo
winked.

"I guess not," Lisa giggled. "But anyway, gotta warn you, my sister's straight. And she's strict with
me I can't slack off—"

"Which is exactly what you're doing right now," came Jennie's unamused voice from behind her.

"Welp laters!" Lisa mock-whispered before running back to the kettlebell station and started lifting
weights.

Jisoo laughed as Jennie shook her head with a small smile playing about her lip, which
immediately vanished when she took in Jisoo still standing in the middle of the Vault.

"I...thought you were leaving?" Jennie frowned.

"Yep," Jisoo nodded, "but you're heading to your workplace soooo....I was wondering if you
wanna catch a ride maybe? Rosé's with me, in case you're scared I'll abduct you."

"Like aliens do!" Lisa called.

"Aliens don't use cars, dummy," Jisoo retorted.

"How would you know? Maybe there are people who are aliens living amongst us and we wouldn't
even know!"

"Well, you know, maybe you have point there" Jisoo mused as she stroked an imaginary goatee,
"there's always strange disappearances..."

"Yeah I mean who's to know right? And what about unicorns, maybe they're like hiding in—"

"Please stop," Jennie said tiredly, "I'll take up on your offer ...just this once. No funny business
okay? I...just want to get to work."

Jisoo's smile widened and she nodded eagerly. "Great! Let me take your bag for you then..."

"I'm good." Jennie gave a tiny yawn. "You know what, lemme go grab an energy drink real quick,
be right back."

Jisoo watched the younger girl disappear to the back of the gym, frowning slightly.

"How long's her shift?" she asked Lisa. "She already looks tired, I hope it's not too long...."

"Look at you, all concerned," Lisa teased, "I'm aware my sister's attractive but hey, she got you
whipped on the first day—"

"Isn't it normal to be concerned? She's working double jobs and long hours to try and make money
for you, Lisa." Jisoo's stern voice had Lisa's mouth dropping in surprise before she recovered.

"Uh, yeah, yeah...I know that...but...she can handle herself, she's told me a lot of times..."

"When does her shift end?" Jisoo asked again.

Lisa paused with her weightlifting. "Like...hmmm, tonight I think she's working a longer shift."

"You think? You don't know? How will you pick her up?" Jisoo said in bemusement.

"Oh I don't. She walks back," Lisa replied nonchalantly.

Jisoo's eyes bulged in her head. "What?"

"I think she will finish like....three am? Three thirty-ish?" Lisa went on thoughtfully.

"She finishes at three-thirty in the morning," Jisoo said slowly, "and she walks back home...in the
dark...all by herself?"

Lisa scuffed her toes. "It sounds bad when you say it like that but I assure you, she can more than
handle herself and she's got her phone, and this neighbourhood's quiet and—"

She fell silent at Jisoo's uncharacteristically hard expression, a face Lisa had no idea the older girl
could pull off for all her goofy antics. She lowered her eyes to avoid the accusatory gaze.

"What about you, what would you be doing at that time?"

"Uhm...sleeping?" Lisa said sheepishly, without looking up. "I do wait up for her when she comes
around at one, usually," she added. "And I did ask to go wait for her but she won't let me...."

Jisoo's light exhale had Lisa glancing up hesitantly to see Jennie walking back into the Vault.

"Everything okay?" Jennie asked. She raised an eyebrow at the two girls standing awkwardly next
to each other.

"Peachy," Jisoo and Lisa chorused.

Jennie nodded slowly. "Okay... Lis, make sure to lock up okay? I found a noodle pot, it's still not
expired yet. You can have it if you want."

Lisa gave a thumbs-up. "You're the best. Say hi to the gals for me."

>

It wasn't her business.

She was 200% sure of that. It wasn't her business. For heaven's sake, they only just met!

She tossed and turned, unable to get rid of the image of a petite brunette hobbling along a dark
street and then out of a shadowy alley, a skeletal hand emerged and snatched her into the shadows,
dragging her away before she could scream. And nobody would know, nobody would come to her
rescue, nobody would hear her cries for help—

Jisoo sat up and turned on the nightlight next to her bed. She sighed in its soft glow, running a hand
through tousled hair.

The alarm clock read 03:00.

Her white maltese dog raised his head then climbed out of his box and immediately padded over to
his mistress who leaned over the edge and lifted him up on her lap.

"I don't know Dalgom," Jisoo sighed as she stroked his back absently. "I can't stop...well, thinking?
I'm just...sure, she may know how to throw a punch. But what if she's overpowered? No matter
what, she's still a girl walking all alone, out there..."

Jisoo scrunched her brow, watching the numbers flip on the digital clock.

03:05.

She sighed again, toes curling as she wrestled with her conscience.

On the one hand, it wasn't her business. Jennie made it clear she wasn't comfortable around Jisoo;
but the latter didn't take it personally. She was aware her personality made people uneasy because
she always started out too strong and familiar. Lisa was the first girl in a while that hadn't been
fazed by her brash introduction. The memory made Jisoo smile and warmth bloomed across her
cheeks.

Focus.

On the other hand, Jisoo couldn't sleep thinking about Jennie walking back home at such a
godforsaken hour. She had driven her there without speaking a word and Jennie didn't say anything
either. Rosé and Ella were both passed out in the back seat. Jennie politely thanked Jisoo upon
arriving and disappeared into the establishment. The route wasn't that long, but it wasn't merely one
block away either.

Why would a diner be open for so long anyway?

Jisoo's mind was relentless, the cogs and gears turning and grinding without rest.

Maybe there was a reason Jennie wanted to walk home unaccompanied by her sister. Maybe she
was meeting someone. Was it really Jisoo's business to know?

Why should she care anyway? To be brutally frank, Jennie didn't even like her.

Yet, Jennie's face was stamped in her head, coupled with her low voice that just wouldn't quieten
down. Instead, her voice kept replaying snatches of their conversations and replaying snapshots of
Jennie teaching Ella. Jennie looked good with Ella, smiling with bright eyes.

Jennie, Jennie, Jennie.

Jisoo roused herself and glanced at the clock one more time before making her decision.

>

"Three broken glasses it is, pay up," Jeongyeon yawned as the male waiter propelled their last
slurring and swearing customer through the door. Joy was industriously mopping the floor as
Jennie swept away the broken glass.

"You know, I'm starting to wonder if you're a psychic," Joy sighed as she fished in her pocket and
dropped a few quarters into Jeongyeon's waiting hand. "Keep the change, ya filthy animal," she
added, mimicking the guy from the Home Alone movie in a pitifully comic snarl.

They chuckled at her awful impersonation with Jeongyeon playfully swatting her arm. "Hey, you
agreed to the bet in the first place missy. Jennie, she's smart, she knows I always win, so she
doesn't play."

"You're the night manager, of course you'd know the average glass that breaks over the course of
one night," Jennie nodded, "isn't it always the same people, the regulars?"

"See?" Jeongyeon said to Joy and tapped her temple, "smart."

"Lay off, she works nights just like you, you're only picking on me because I'm still the newbie,"
Joy laughed.

"Too right," Jeongyeon smirked.

"Hey ladies, any one of you got a ride to catch?" said the waiter guy as he took off his barista
apron. He was a giant—standing next to him Jennie felt as tiny as an ant.

"Lucas honey, I thought I told you already, we're all gay here," Jeongyeon rolled her eyes.

"We're so gay, Matt should re-name this place The Gay Bar!" Joy declared on sudden inspiration.

"But boss—" Lucas tried again.

"Not the most subtle of names considering we're in Korea, nor the most creative, but thank you
Joy, yes, that's my point. You're wasting your breath Luc."

"Well to be honest, there's Jennie but I don't suppose she's into dating younger guys?" Joy mused.

"Boss I didn't—"

"Nor giant-sized either, to be honest," Jennie said solemnly. She arched an eyebrow. "And I'm
talking in both departments."

The girls burst into peals of laughter as she tilted her head up with an apologetic face. "Sorry
Lucas."

"Boss, I was just saying, there's a girl out there, waiting next to a car. Maybe somebody came to
pick you up?"

Jeongyeon and Joy stopped laughing abruptly, eyes widening with interest.

"Ooohhh a girl!" they chorused. Joy was the first to scramble to the window, abandoning her mop
in the process.

"Why didn't you say so?"

"Is she hot?"

"What is she driving? Maserati? BMW? Kia? So cool!"

"Maybe she's that guy's wife, should we make her pay for the glasses—"

"Move over, lemme have a look at her!"

"Get back to mopping I can see a huge stain right there!"

"Just one peek!"

"Dang, you see boobs and you lose control! Whatever will Yeri say?"

"That's rich coming from you, look who's all hot under the collar! I should tell Nayeon!"
"Oh yeah?"

"Watch me! Now outta my way, where's the hot chick?"

"Sheesh, you got Yeri!"

"Well dayum, you got Nayeon!"

As Joy and Jeongyeon bickered at the window, Jennie quietly mopped up the rest of the spillage as
Lucas helped her sweep the remaining broken glass pieces into the dustpan.

"Thanks, I guess I'll be heading off cos' they seem a little preoccupied," Jennie told him as she
failed to stifle a yawn. Lucas nodded good-naturedly and waved.

"Don't worry, I got this."

He was one of the younger employees that Matthew had recruited recently, mostly working night
shifts since he was a university student. Most of the guys worked night shifts because the diner at
night transitioned to a bar and stayed open until around three-thirty am. Matt wanted the guys as
precautionary security, in case things got rowdy. Jennie was glad Matt had improved the security
after Yeri's harassment incident that nearly cost Lisa jail time.

She bid her co-workers goodbye (Jeongyeon and Joy were still bickering) and sauntered out into
the night, breathing in the rather chilly air. It was still early spring after all.

As usual, she shoved her hands into her pockets, keeping a good grip on her phone before stepping
out on the sidewalk to start on her journey home.

"Hey, hey Jen! Jennie!"

Jennie stopped and raised her eyes, her mouth falling slack.

Leaning back against a familiar sleek, jet-black SUV was Jisoo, waiting with arms folded.

Vaguely, Jennie saw shadows flit across the diner's windows and guessed it was the girls watching
them. She took a deep breath, trying to still her palpitating heart which was still trying to catch up
after the shock of hearing Kim Jisoo calling her name out of nowhere.

"What are you doing here?"

Jisoo tilted her head, her eyes glittering beneath the streetlight. "What does it look like? Hop in and
let's get you home."

Jennie stood frozen and blinking and her mind momentarily blanked.

"A-are you serious?" she croaked out. Jisoo's smile dropped.

"Why?" she questioned, a frown marring her porcelain features.

Jennie shook her head in disbelief. "Why would you....I mean, you....why...how..."

"Why would I even go to all the trouble of picking up a girl I only just met a few hours ago at this
time of the morning?" Jisoo asked calmly. She spread her arms. "Simple: the girl code."

She raised an eyebrow when Jennie didn't react. "You know, decorum and respect and being civil.
Girls looking out for girls."
This time it was Jennie's turn to raise a sceptical eyebrow. "Uh-huh."

"Look," Jisoo sighed, "I know you're suspicious of me. That's okay. But my conscience couldn't
stomach you walking all the way back to your place, in the dark, all by yourself. That's dangerous
Jennie, you can never be too cocky and expect it will be fine, even if you've been doing it for
years."

"Who told you I walk back?" Jennie asked. She suddenly sighed. "Lisa, wasn't it? Was she the one
who told you to pick me up too"

"I asked," Jisoo said, surprising her, "and no. I came of my own volition."

She straightened and opened the car door. Seeing Jennie still not responding or showing any sign
of following, Jisoo gestured to the interior.

"Straight back home. I promise. On my honour."

Jennie watched her doubtfully before giving a shake of her head. "Fine, on one condition: if you
make just one move on me, you're dead meat."

Jisoo nodded giddily, thrilled to the point of almost breaking out in victory dance.

"Good enough for me, let's go Jendeuk!"

"And don't call me Jendeuk."

"Let's go Jen!" Jisoo amended, giggling under her breath when Jennie sighed.

>

They had been driving with faint strains of music from the car radio filling the otherwise silent
atmosphere between them.

True to her word, Jisoo never attempted any move on Jennie, who on her part sat on the furthest
edge of her seat as much as possible, scooting up against the car door. Jisoo's heart gave a twinge
of hurt at Jennie's lack of trust but she didn't comment about it.

They drove in silence and Jisoo thought the other girl had fallen asleep.

"You're a yoga teacher, right?" Jennie asked suddenly.

Jisoo lowered the radio's volume. "That's right. I have my studio back at my apartment, like Rosé
has her pilates studio at her own apartment."

Several minutes passed as Jennie drummed a soft rhythm with her fingers on the car seat.

"For a yoga teacher, I thought you'd like to exercise more..."

Jisoo waited, eyes on the road.

"Earlier you just....sat and ate nachos," Jennie said slowly.

"That's yoga," Jisoo replied. She suppressed the smile creeping on her face as she watched Jennie's
face whip around sharply from her peripheral vision.

"I'm pretty sure that's not..."

"I have my way of doing yoga— the Jisoo way," Jisoo replied serenely.

"Uh huh," Jennie was sceptical. "And do your clients follow your teachings, Guru Kim?"

"Guru Kim, I like that," Jisoo said in delight, "and no, I teach people the ordinary type of yoga. For
myself, it has to be different and unique. Like myself."

"Mind sharing a few nuggets of wisdom then?" Jennie's voice dripped sarcasm.

Jisoo grinned. "Maybe you could come by some day and I'd show you. It's more understandable if
it's, you know...hands-on rather than just explaining."

She was puzzled when Jennie sighed and slumped back in her seat. "What? What did I do?"

"I was trying to make an innocent conversation," Jennie muttered, "but of course you had turn it
around and flirt with me."

Jisoo couldn't help snort in amusement. "Oh that's not flirting. That was a simple invite."

"With an innuendo," Jennie said accusingly, "don't play coy with me."

The raven-haired woman chuckled. "Fine, perhaps I could have chosen better words to frame it,
however, it is still an invite. Or even if you'd like ordinary yoga, I could do that. But it's not half as
much fun as Jisoo Yoga. I recommend Jisoo Yoga more than anything. And here's the big deal
about it," she whispered as she drew up in front of the Vault entrance. "You're one of the select few
that know about Jisoo Yoga. I would even say, the first to know."

"Aren't I special," Jennie said dismissively as she opened the door and alighted. "Goodnight Kim
Jisoo, and thank you."

Jisoo raised her hands. "See? Came here in one piece, wasn't so bad was it—"

The door slammed in her face but unperturbed, Jisoo lowered the window pane and called out to
Jennie's departing back.

"Tomorrow same time then? I'll wait for you!"

Jennie rounded on her with a glare. "What's wrong with you? Can't you tell when people have had
enough? You have to stop being so forward. I...I....I don't like it, we've only just met. Don't you
have any notion of boundaries?"

Jisoo bit her bottom lip, realising she had pushed too far. "Oh..."

A brittle silence enveloped them as Jisoo sat dumbly, fiddling with the keys in her hand, mentally
berating herself.

What is wrong with you? Why are you like this? This why people leave you! You're such a weirdo!
Weirdo weirdo weirdo weirdo—

"Hey!"

Jisoo blinked and raised her face, disconcerted to find Jennie up close against the car door. She was
watching Jisoo intently, her expression softening.

"I...I'm sorry. That wasn't nice of me back there, I just snapped."

"It's, it's okay. You're probably tired and I was keeping you..."

"Still, not cool of me when you just gave me a ride in the middle of the night just because you were
worried about me..." Jennie chewed on her lip as she cast about her, seemingly searching for
words. "It's just....this is all new for me, you know? To be picked up like that so unexpectedly by
an almost stranger, and you're different than most people I met, I'm still trying to understand you.
And then you kinda flirted with me too, which was a bit uncomfortable and now you want to keep
chasing after me—"

"Wait," Jisoo said, "wait. Who said anything about chasing you?"

"Why else do you want to come pick me at three in the morning for me?" Jennie said wearily.
When she moved her head, shadows splashed across her face but Jisoo still glimpsed the bags
under her eyes.

"I want to come pick you up because it's not safe for a woman to be walking around all by herself
in the dark, no matter if she were a Kung Fu black belt. It's preposterous, how can your sister even
stay in her bed completely fine with it? I just can't take it, I won't have peace of mind," Jisoo said
simply. "So unless you find some other designated driver, or rent a taxi, I will see you tomorrow
again." She folded her arms, her expression serious. "I mean it."

Their gazes locked in a mutual stare down; Jennie was the first to break away.

"You're wasting your time, Jisoo. I'm straight," she said softly.

Jisoo shook her head. "I'm not trying to court you, Jen. Can't two girls be friends anymore, even
when one's apparently a raging lesbian and the other's a stuffy straight?"

She must have been imagining things, but Jisoo could have sworn she saw the corners of Jennie's
mouth quirk upwards.

"I'm not a stuffy straight," Jennie said righteously. "But okay, fine. If you want to, yeah, if it helps
you sleep better at night I guess....no harm in that."

Jisoo suppressed the urge to punch the air in delight. "See you then. Good night."

Jennie nodded. "Good night." She was about to turn away when she stopped, glancing back with a
thoughtful look on her face in the semi-darkness. "Text me when you get back."

Jisoo almost swallowed her tongue. "Wh-what?"

"Not to talk," Jennie said hastily. "Just a quick I'm home text or something. To make sure you
made it back safe. Girl code, you know?" She scuffed her toes. "Actually, forget about it, it's not
even—"

"I don't have your number," Jisoo interrupted hurriedly. She was practically vibrating on the spot
with excitement.

"Write it down and give me a missed call," Jennie said before she recited her phone number as
Jisoo hastily keyed it in and pressed call.

Jennie pressed a button as the phone in her hand buzzed. "Got it. Good night."

"Thanks Jen," Jisoo cheered, "goodnight!"

After Jennie had disappeared inside, Jisoo punched the air and hit the roof over her head which had
her shaking her hand out in pain. After she calmed down, she stayed for a few moments beaming
down at her phone displaying Jennie's number.

Progress. This was progress.

>

She hummed contentedly as she made her way out of the elevator. She was lost in her thoughts
such that she almost didn't notice the figures sprawled next to the elevator door as she walked out
of the cabin.

Almost.

"Well well well, if it isn't the resident alien weirdo herself," slurred a scathing voice.

Jisoo paused mid-step and swung around, teeth gritted as a group of girls sitting on the ground
tittered. They seemed to be back from a wild night out, with sweaty trails down their faces, tousled
hair, smudged lip gloss and more skin on display than Jisoo would have liked to see.

Sure, she liked girls, but not these girls.

Especially not their leader, who had gotten to her feet and was swiftly bearing down on the frozen
girl, like a vulture descending on a corpse. Beady, glittering eyes with long eyelashes peered down
at Jisoo with a cruel smirk adorning the terribly gorgeous face caked with foundation.

"Kim Jisoo," snickered the girl. She tossed her head, long midnight black hair cascading past her
shoulders in perfect glossy waves. Even in her messy after-party state, she looked pretty.

Jisoo swallowed. "Hong Soojoo," she greeted as neutrally as she could.

"Never thought I'd see you out and about at this time," Soojoo grinned, "what were you out doing?
Alien hunting?"

The other girls, four of them, snickered and snorted amongst themselves.

"Or unicorn hunting!" piped up another girl Jisoo didn't know but recognised. All five of them
lived in the same building but thankfully rarely crossed paths, because thanks to Soojoo, they knew
about her unique interests.

"None of your business," Jisoo said firmly. Her lips pursed when the sour smell of alcohol on
Soojoo's breath hit her nose. "I'll be going now, goodnight."

"Now now, Soo-ya..."

Soojoo grabbed her by the wrist and swung her around. Her grip was vice-like, her smile crooked.
"Where are you running off to, little girl? Scared I'll spill some secrets?"

"Yah tell us more Joo, tell us!" clamoured her malicious group. Jisoo's heart seized in her chest.

"Soojoo, let me go. I'm done with you." She tried to inject confidence back in her voice but it
wavered near the end.

Soojoo flashed a row of pearly white teeth. "Oh but I miss playing with you baby girl. Don't you
miss me? Don't you miss our little fun times? You were always such a weirdo, even in bed."
Jisoo finally pried the other girl off her as the rest jeered and guffawed as though Soojoo had
uttered the world's best joke. She walked away with shoulders hunched as they hurled taunts at her
back, deriding her.

"Yah you gonna hump your alien plush toy?

"Or better yet sit on a unicorn horn!"

"I bet she went looking for that!"

"Shame she's such a weirdo, I'd bang her..."

"She's too freaky to even have friends!"

"Yeah, all her friends are aliens probably...."

"That still means she doesn't have any!"

Jisoo closed the door on their mocking voices and rested her forehead against it for a moment,
breathing in deeply in the darkness. She gave herself a little shake and switched on the lights,
immediately cheering up and crouching to greet Dalgome who scampered out of the bedroom to
welcome her back.

"At least I got you buddy," Jisoo said ruefully as she buried her face in his fur.

Growing up a loner, making friends seemed to be a daunting task especially when the first things
she usually told people, in her fortright manner, was that she believed unicorns and aliens exist. It
was considered endearing while she was still a child, and frowned upon as she grew up.

Jisoo, she was happy in her world of speculation and conspiracy theories, but she quickly learned
the real world had no time for such nonsensical drivel.

Being an adult who freely admitted her interest in such things others deemed strange or bizarre had
its downsides, like co-workers calling her weirdo behind her back, or spiteful ex-girlfriends like
Hong Soojoo that used it as ammunition, just for amusement's sake.

She hadn't really meant to even date the girl—her bratty, snooty, party animal personality was a
diametrical opposite to Jisoo. Their brief time of dating went back a good few years, and usually
consisted of hasty hook-ups or messy make-out sessions.

Sometimes, Jisoo just wanted to get rid of the empty hole gnawing away in her chest and Soojoo
had briefly provided that illusion of comfort to keep loneliness at bay. Jisoo regretted giving in to
the delusion of temporary relief—finding friends, as Roseanne told her, would be harder, but worth
it, because they would be genuine friends who love you.

"Just be yourself with them unnie," Rosé had encouraged. "If they're genuine, they'll love the real
you. And you're pretty lovable, if I do say so myself. People like Soojoo only care to use you for
their own needs. I don't like her. You deserve better."

"You're practically family now, you don't count cos' you're biased," Jisoo chuckled before hugging
her tightly. "But thanks."

"What's 'practically family' for?" Rosé grinned and hugged her back. "I got your back unnie so just
go out there and be the awesome Kim Jisoo I know. You'll find someone suited nust for you, I
promise."
Jisoo broke off with Soojoo. Unfortunately, they would still occasionally cross paths in public and
Soojoo would take such opportunities to humiliate her ex. Jisoo had ultimately grown a thick skin,
something that came in useful considering her own brand of of approaching people in hopes of
befriending them....or pouring coffee on them. Thankfully, Roseanne would be there as an
intermediary but Jisoo had as yet to find friends in her age-group.

But now, there was hope again. Lisa. Jennie.

After Jisoo settled in bed in her bedclothes, she opened her phone and spent several seconds
admiring Jennie's number.

Literally, sitting and admiring Jennie's number and marvelling at its presence in her phone.

Judging by the unexpected turn of events, Jisoo would have never guessed she'd have a girl's
number by the end of the day.

Jennie would have probably fallen asleep by now, she had taken too long to reply but Jisoo still
typed out a message, which she erased and re-typed then edited and shortened several times until
she settled on a simple: Hey, made it back late, sorry. Sleep tight Jen!

Fatigue was quickly catching up. Jisoo set her phone aside and closed her eyes....

Only to snap them wide open and scramble for her phone once she heard the buzzing notification.

Jendeukieeeeee: u2, gudnite jisoo (dont send again just sleep ok)

Jisoo went to sleep with a happy smile pasted on her face and a warm, fuzzy feeling in her chest.

Progress. She was making progress.

 Monday

"Dubu! Over here!"

Dahyun jostled through the crowd of college students thronging the canteen floor until she finally
made her way to Somi and Chaeyoung who were waving her over to their table.

Thanks to Dahyun frequenting the Vault, she had grown closer to these girls and hung out with
them during empty periods where all three of them didn't have classes.

"Somi, your professor didn't show up again?" Dahyun asked as she took a seat and dug into her
lunch.

"What professor?" Somi scoffed and rolled her eyes. "He's barely shown up all semester. Probably
jetting off to tropical beaches and chasing after girls, the pervert!"

"I wouldn't mind going along, but just for the beaches and the girls."

"Son Chaeyoung, not helping!"

Dahyun chuckled. "He's better off than us for sure."

"Well I need his credit and I'm gonna fail it at this rate," Somi grumbled, grouchily slurping on her
orange juice. "What you reading anyway? What's up with everyone reading today, is it some
National Book Day or something?"

"What do you mean everyone?" Dahyun arched an eyebrow. "It's just Chaeyoung."

"I don't think I ever saw a book in her hands ever since I got to know her," Somi declared, earning
an indignant 'hey!' from the said girl.

"Tests coming up. This is extra reading," Chaeyoung muttered afterwards and sank back in her seat.
"I'm gonna be leaving to meet Mina soon-ish."

"Well, I only stopped by here for some pick-me-up rice break," Somi replied, "so anyway, I was
just thinking...it's funny. Not funny ha-ha but funny in a bizarre way. You two should have been at
the Vault this morning, it was so...unusual?" She turned to her friends. " You wanna know the first
thing Lisa said to me after I gave them the bagels?"

"What?" The other girls glanced at each other curiously. Dahyun had skipped going in the morning
today because of an extra class that was scheduled to start earlier than her usual nine o'clock one,
much to her chagrin.

"She asked me to look up stuff on X-Men later on my phone. I'm supposed to search out best sites
to read synopses of major arcs and stuff so she could brush up," Somi explained, looking unsettled.
"Where did she even hear about X-men? I mean okay, maybe in passing, like they do get
mentioned in Stranger Things, but this is the first time she seems to be taking serious interest in it."

Dahyun shrugged and bit into her sandwich, chewing thoughtfully. "So? She's branching out and
joining the geekdom aside from fantasising about her pilates instructor and getting laid. Is it such a
bad thing?"

"But it was weird, like last week all she was into was boxing boxing boxing, no time for leisure
stuff, bla bla bla and now over the weekend...she suddenly develops an interest in X-men?"

"Did you ask her why?"

Somi shook her head. "She didn't give me much of an answer. And it gets weirder. Jennie unnie
then took me aside at one point, like she didn't want anyone else to know what we were talking
about, and she asked me if she could sometimes borrow my phone to watch—get this—yoga
videos." Somi threw her hands up to the ceiling. "That's so random I can't even..."

This time Chaeyoung spoke up. "So? What's the big deal? Seems they're finally deciding to get a
life outside of boxing. Maybe since Lisa is doing pilates now, Jennie wants to try stuff too. That's a
good thing."

Somi wrung her head. "That's not my point! What I'm saying is...what happened for them to do a
complete one-eighty like that? I'm just...at a loss. It's bamboozling, okay? I knew them for the
longest time and sure we used to rag around together but this...it's like they're taking it to another
level of dedication. Lisa wasn't even joking around, she was so serious when she asked me, like she
needed the material to study it for some test for heaven's sake, that's the vibe I got from her."

"You're too caught up with tests, Mimi, they've messed up your head," Chaeyoung laughed.

Somi glared. "Oh yeah? I'm not done yet. Explain to me why Irene unnie is suddenly so interested
on reading scientific journals on pedagogy after her workout instead of taking us to the café or
even talking with Jennie." She nodded to herself. "It wasn't just one, I saw a couple more magazines
shoved in her sports bag. They all looked science-y and boring."

"Irene? That office worker that's sponsoring Lisa's lessons?" Chaeyoung frowned. "Wait, what's
pedagogy?"

"About teachers and education. Now why would that grandma be suddenly interested in anything
other than fabric softener? And the education system, of all things?" Somi wrung her hair. "Ugh,
adults."

"You're one yourself, you know."

"Oh shut up, Chae."

"Most mysterious," Dahyun said slowly, chewing and musing as she wracked her head for
possibilities. Frustrated to come up with none, she glanced up at Somi to say so only to catch a
familiar face stealthily sneaking up behind Somi. "Mimi, behind you."

Somi turned just as the figure shouted 'Boo!'

Somi screamed and swatted at the laughing boy. "Daehwi oppa!"

He chuckled again and nodded at the other girls. "Hey ladies. Just passing by, tryna show my new
dormate around before next class—"

He blanched when he glanced at his watch and turned to the taller silent boy behind him. "Aww
shiz! Hyung, my class—"

"Chill bro," the guy reassured, "I think I got the general idea of the campus. Thanks for showing
me around so far. Go on ahead, don't worry about me. I'm not a kid."

Dahyun observed the handsome stranger, taking note of his height, mischievous eyes and charming
grin. He wore a baseball cap and dark, casual clothes: black shirt, dark cargo pants and sneakers.
Blonde hair, closely cropped to his head, peeked out from the cap's sides.

"Lemme at least introduce you," Daehwi said quickly, "ladies, this is Jackson, Wang Jackson. He
just moved here. Jackson, this is Somi, Chaeyoung and Dahyun. Go easy on him, okay guys?"

"What do you mean? We're friendly, we wouldn't hurt a fly!" Somi protested.

"Unless that fly was being annoyingly irritating—"

"Not helping, Chaeyoung!"

Daehwi laughed and waved, giving one last lingering glance at Somi as he mouthed 'text me'
before hurrying away.

"Earth to Mimi, Dae's gone," Chaeyoung announced, waving her hand in front of her her friends'
face, "and you're gonna start drooling."

Somi's absent smile was quickly wiped off as she returned to the present, blushing slight under
Jackson amused smile.

"You guys are a thing?" he asked straight off the bat. "He's been mentioning you a lot. since
yesterday."

He winked when Somi turned a fetching shade of pink. "Ooops. Maybe it wasn't my place to say
but I gotta admit, I was curious to meet you."

"Have a seat," Somi said hastily in lieu of answering. "When's your class? What are you studying?
Which university did you go to before?"

Dahyun cringed, irked by the way Somi asked so bluntly. That was not the way to extract
information from people and beside, they might be cagey and it would only serve to make them
clam up—

"My class isn't until three more hours, I'm studying Business and Commerce with a side interest in
pharmaceutical biochemistry, and I studied in Harvard," Jackson said nonchalantly. He tipped his
head at Somi's rice carton. "Say that looks good, is it from the canteen? I'm famished."

He chuckled at all three girls' stumped faces. "What? Can't a guy be hungry?"

"You....studied in Harvard?" Somi all but squealed, "I knew it, your Korean sounds foreign—"

She was confused when he grinned. "Nah, that was a joke. Dad wanted me to go to the States but
there's some kind of complication going on there, the embassy in Hong Kong couldn't process my
passport. That's where I studied by the way—Hong Kong National University."

Jackson winked at them. "And my accent is different because I attended the American
International School back in Hong Kong, but I was going back and forth between here and there, so
I picked up Korean along the way too. I can speak a Chinese as well."

"Whoa," Somi said in awe. Chaeyoung had completely abandoned her book, listening with rapt
attention along with Dahyun. Jackson stretched like a cat, basking in the attention he was
receiving.

"You guys from these parts? I only just moved in with Daehwi. He's a great roommate, been
showing me around a lot." He nodded at Somi. "Your Korean accent sounds foreign too,
sometimes. I detect hints of...American?"

"Oh gaad, here we go," Chaeyoung sighed as Somi straightened up in her chair. "Mimi, I'll take my
leave right now before you start your patriotic spiel—" and she left with a quick nod at Jackson.

"It's because I hail from Canada," Somi said proudly, " and before you ask, no I don't like maple
syrup that much; no, I've never seen a beaver; yes I'm all in for gay rights, and Trudeau is the
coolest president ever. Also I'm planning on going back to visit one day, we emigrated here when I
was like eight? My dad is Canadian and my mom was Korean."

"Was?" Jackson asked. Dahyun inhaled sharply but Somi was unfazed.

"Yeah, she passed away, her and my baby sister. Car collision. After the funeral, Dad and I came
here. Fresh start and all."

"I'm...I had no idea. I'm so sorry—" Jackson said, distraught. Somi shrugged.

"Don't worry, it's no big deal honestly. I have to really strain to remember certain memories of
mom. And no use dwelling on the past, am I right?"

"Quite so," Jacskon nodded, his easy smile returning. "What about you Dahyun? What are you
studying?"

"Oh uh, media and journalism, special interest in political journalism."

"Oooh so the investigative kind, huh?" Jackson said, sounding impressed. "Do you have to go out
in the field for assignments or—"

"I'm so terribly sorry to be leaving you guys like this but I really have to go as well," Somi
interjected as she finished gulping down the rice. "Dubu, why don't you show Jackson around? I'm
sure you won't mind. Toodles!"

She scampered away, but not before sending Dahyun a double thumbs-up and a wink, which left
Dahyun staring after her in confusion.

"Oh wait, hey, you don't have to go to such trouble!" Jackson said, stricken. "I can..."

He faltered when Dahyun directed her shy smile at him. "You...you're okay with that?" he said,
suddenly hopeful. "It...I do have quite some time until the class. It gets boring after a while...just
watching cat videos."

Dahyun nodded, feeling a warm blush crawling up her face when his bright, eager eyes rested on
her. "Sure, I can keep you company, till then. But fair warning I'm...not that talkative, at least not at
first."

Jackson shrugged, grinning as he held out his hand to shake and formally greet her. "I'll talk
enough for the both of us then."

>

"I...not unnerstand," Dahyun said in broken English. She motioned at the empty plate with a few
stray chips remaining on it. "You want chips?"

"Close! It's 'I don't understand' and 'do you want chips.' But you're getting the hang of it, good
job!" Jackson cheered, "soon, you'll be able to hold your own against your friend."

"Somi doesn't know what's coming. I look forward to surprising her," Dahyun grinned, "but I hope
you haven't been teaching me bad English words!"

"I swear on my honour," Jackson rushed to assure and both laughed heartily, forgetting for a
moment they were in public.

He was teaching her phrases in English as they sat comfortably chatting and swapping stories like
old friends. Jackson was that easy and open to talk to, putting Dahyun at ease which was made him
quite the exception.

After hearing Jackson's stomach rumble almost immediately after Somi left, Dahyun thought it
would be sensible to stop and eat at the best place she knew that could make a mean lunch.

"It's a little pricier than canteen food but trust me, it's worth it," Dahyun promised. Jackson didn't
seem particularly worried about prices— by the time he was finished paying, he was balancing
several cartons and bowls in his hands, unperturbed by the curious gazes he garnered. The café,
although popular with students, was fortunately not so busy at the moment so Dahyun easily found
them an empty booth. Jackson flopped down in his seat with a relieved exhale and immediately
dug into his food, munching appreciatively.

"You're righf, 'is goof," he said thickly. It made Dahyun smile.

Her new companion offered her bite of his food many times, no doubt feeling embarrassed he was
wolfing down food while she sat opposite with nothing. But Dahyun declined again and again,
reassuring him she was full. This provided her with ample opportunity to talk and get to know
Jackson better.

He was good company—Dahyun quickly learned he was a prankster, witty and loved to challenge
his old professors at the previous university he attended. He whet her curiosity and answered all
sorts of questions she had regarding living out of Korea, and he regaled her with tales of his
childhood jetting between Hong Kong, Korea and visiting his grandparents in China. He was a
fencing champion and won a medal in some championship back in Hong Kong. He liked
basketball. His uncle owned a pharmaceutical company in Korea and this was where his interest in
biochemistry was nurtured. He talked a lot about his studies and his dream to be like his uncle but
he also made sure to let Dahyun speak too instead of just passively listening.

Dahyun shyly expressed her desire to be more fluent in English, since she dreamed of travelling all
over the world and be able to interact and communicate better with people she met, as well as
reaching wider audiences when she uploaded blogs or accounts chronicling her travels.

"So you're into travel journalism? Vlogging and photos, that sort of thing? Hey what's your social
media, lemme check it up."

"Oh I don't have anything on public domain, yet. It's just...a side-interest," Dahyun confided, happy
that he didn't judge her in the least bit or try to bring her down, like many people around her who
considered her dream as an unfeasible job. "Not sure if I have the capabilities to go for it
though...I'm not always ready to put myself out there. And travelling all by myself, in foreign
lands....sounds a bit daunting."

"Why not? You can do anything! Sure, time and experience will be the best teachers and I can't say
it won't be easy, but at the end of the day, you'll be seeing the world and anyone that follows you
can see it through your eyes. I think that's a very rewarding job, although yes, requires
resourcefulness and pluck at first. It's until you find your feet, I believe. You have to go for it. And
if you don't like it, you can always come back. Nothing to lose."

She beamed at him. "Thank you. It's just a little side dream of mine, in case I find out investigative
journalism isn't my thing. Or maybe it's something I would do if I take a gap year."

"Oh I think you have the right attitude for investigative journalism," Jackson told her thoughtfully,
"you ask the right questions and you make a person feel at ease enough to open up to you. Those
are always useful skills to have," he added and winked at her, making the girl fight to stifle the
pleased blush creeping up her face.

"Hey, we still got plenty of time, how about I teach you some English phrases?" Jackson proposed
to which she enthusiastically agreed.

Which brought them to this moment as they sat back lazily in their seats, warm and full and content
in the quiet silence that fell after their boisterous non-stop conversation. Dahyun couldn't deny the
small pinch in her stomach when Jackson flashed her a toothy grin.

He glanced at his watch then looked back at her, his eyes taking on a different light.

"Hey, so..." he began.

"Mhmm?" She could listen to him telling stories for a long time, he had a pleasant voice.

"Uh...I had a really great time but it looks like I have to go..."

"Oh, yeah...me too," Dahyun sighed and stood up to collect her bag. Jackson stood up likewise and
put out his hand, withdrawing it abruptly before he touched her as he fidgeted. She waited for him
to speak again and was rewarded a few moments later when he raised his face. She followed the
movement of his tongue as he licked his lower lip.

"Hey uh...would...would it be too forward of me to...to um...ask for your number?" he murmured.

"Yes it would," said a sharp voice.

They swivelled around immediately to behold a smartly-dressed woman in heels, jet-black hair cut
in a bob, hands on hips, mouth pursed and blazing eyes that could kill.

Dahyun swallowed. "Momo."

>

"There's my crack-dealer!" Lisa cheered when Somi walked into the Vault.

Her brow furrowed when Somi merely offered her a slight smile and handed over the bag of milk
powder for Lisa's protein shake.

"Mimi? What is it?"

Somi looked around her. "Where's Jennie?" she asked instead.

Lisa tipped her head up at the ceiling. "I let her rest. She's gonna need it for her shift later. I can
handle this place and my exercise by myself anyway." She looked hopefully at the younger girl.
"So? Did you find time to check up on X-Men?"

Somi gnawed her lip. "Lisa listen, I have to tell you something..."
The blonde rubbed the back of her neck. "Uh sure, go ahead?"

"Momo came by the campus today. And she met Dahyun. It was...it was..."

She shook her head wanly, bottom lip trembling and looked up when Lisa placed a hand on her
shoulder. The older girl's face was unreadable.

"What happened exactly?"

Somi sniffled. "She...Dahyun was just talking with this guy...and Momo, she was livid, she
humiliated her in front of a whole café of people. They were shouting at each other, people were
talking about it afterwards, that's how I heard. I hadn't been there. Chaeyoung told me about it too,
because she drove Dahyun back to her dorm. She said Jackson tried to stand up to Momo and even
shield Dahyun and pretend he was her boyfriend or something but...yeah. You know what Momo's
like."

Lisa exhaled and held her head. "Oh Kamikaze you idiot..."

"She's probably heading here at some point and now you know what happened," Somi said simply.
"Please, you have to do something Lis. What Momo did was rude and super humiliating.
Chaeyoung said Dubu was crying all the way back home. From what I got, Momo was accusing
her of cheating, which is rich coming from Momo, the international playgirl. She expected for
Dahyun to fall back into her arms just because she showed up again? Dubu isn't stupid."

"Momo's back in town then?" croaked a new voice behind them.

Lisa turned to find her sister shuffling towards them with a can in her hand as she covered her
mouth to yawn.

"Jen, I left you to sleep extra, you had a long shift, and tonight—"

Jennie merely waved a hand. "My internal alarm clock didn't let me sleep. Now, what's this about
Momo? I just caught the last part. Did Dahyun really cheat on her?"

"No!" Somi cried vehemently, "she was just talking to this guy who's Daehwi's new roommate and
Momo took it the wrong way. She immediately jumped to conclusions and threw a fit."

To their surprise, Jennie flashed a grin.

"Unnie? Why are you smiling?"

"Momo's getting a taste of her own medicine," Jennie said smugly. "I always warned her. So she
thinks she can sleep around and have affairs but then is surprised when someone does exactly that
and she's on the receiving end? Good for Dahyun!"

She took a long obnoxious sip with slurping noises that had Lisa and Somi cringing.

"I'll expect you to handle her when she shows up, Lisa," Jennie said calmly, "I don't think Dahyun
and Chaeyoung will be coming over after the pussy fit that must have gone down."

"Me?" Lisa said stricken. "How? Why me?"

"You're the Thai Tornado, she's Kamikaze. You're like two peas in a pod. Talk it out together."

"We don't talk about those kind of things!" Lisa panicked and started pacing, clicking her wrist
with agitation. "What am I even supposed to tell her? What if she gets angry at me? You want us to
duke it out right here? I don't wanna fight Kamikaze like that! We're...we're...sisters in the ring!"

"Who said it would end up in a brawl?" Jennie said mildly.

"Because there's no way Momo's gonna listen to me!" Lisa insisted. "If anything, she'll listen to
you!"

"Well I, unlike you, I did try to warn her many times before. And I think she deserves a wake-up
call. She doesn't get to treat people like that, least of all Dahyun."

"Exactly! Then you talk to her!" Lisa scuttled over to the pull-up bars and began her workout. "I'll
be over here but you can handle it fine, I'm sure!"

Jennie sighed, sipping some more from her can before turning to a perfectly still Somi. "Mimi hey,
you good?"

Somi shook her head. "I'm sorry I think...I don't think I can stay here long...if she comes here, I'm
gonna...stay out of it or...just get out..."

She looked up at Jennie, sniffing defiantly. "I like Momo, but if she treats my friends like trash,
then she's a jerk."

"Sweetie, I know she's a jerk. I told her so before, she knows it herself. In fact, she revels in the
title," Jennie said, "or at least, she enjoyed the idea of being a jerk. But I think it's coming back to
bite her in the butt now. Hypocrite."

"You're talking about me?" Momo said from the doorway.

The air stilled, with both Lisa and Somi freezing in place before Lisa continued on her pull-ups and
Somi backed away into her corner without greeting the Japanese boxer.

Jennie took another swig from her can. "Yeah, I was," she said replied calmly.

Momo was decked out in her usual workout gear, her hair tied into a knot at the back and her hand
already wrapped up, ready to punch. She approached Jennie, her mouth pressed into a thin line as
she strutted forward and came to a stop a safe distance away from the petite trainer.

Momo's gaze fell on Somi sitting quietly in the corner on her beanbag with earphones stuck in her
ears. She gave a snort coupled with an eye-roll. "I assume she told you?"

"She did."

"And lemme guess," Momo said sarcastically, "you're gonna lecture me now?"

"You know, that's very tempting," Jennie mused. Her voice was hard. "Very, very tempting. But
what's more tempting is revoking your membership here and kicking you out."

"Jennie!" Lisa yelped in horror, giving herself away that she had been eavesdropping. She dropped
to the ground and ran up to the two women who were eyeing each other like bulls about to butt
heads. She pulled them apart from their shoulders. "Guys guys, please, talk things through, this is
just about a girl, no need for drastic—"

"Oh Lisa, you have a few words to say to Momo, yes?" Jennie said as she pulled Lisa to switch
positions with her and put her in front of Momo. "Go ahead, tell her what's on your mind." She
patted the blonde on the back, a little harder than Lisa thought was necessary.
Lisa turned speechless in front of Momo. The other girl's eye was twitching, an evidence of her
simmering rage bubbling beneath the surface and ready to burst forth.

"Well?" Momo said testily with her arms folded. "You have something to say to me, go ahead."

Lisa swallowed. "I..I...Momo, I know you like having fun and all with girls but...you...it doesn't...I
mean," she faltered when the other girl threw her a withering glance.

"I don't know what happened exactly, but from what I heard...you kinda uh...messed up?"

"Oh really?" Momo's voice dripped sarcasm, "and who are you to lecture me, Miss Child Molester
Extraordinaire? Pretending you're high and mighty—"

Lisa inhaled, aware of Jennie's gaze on them. This was her fight—Jennie wasn't going to interfere.
Not yet.

"Mo, I'm no saint but I'm no child molester either, what the hell! Neither are you for that matter,
but that's not the point! The point is, don't you think humiliating your ex-girlfriend in public just
because she's hanging around someone is taking it too far? Listen to reason."

"That's the whole point!" Momo burst out, eyes flying wide.

"The child molest—"

"No you buffoon—Dahyun. She's still my girlfriend," Momo seethed as she flung her arms out
exasperatedly. "We haven't broken up, yet she has the audacity to cheat on me with a guy? I was
watching them for hours! I came back just to surprise her and I come back to that? The sheer nerve
of her! "

"She wasn't cheating!" Somi yelled, standing up. She pushed forward next to Lisa, her face livid.
"You're so effing selfish Momo! Dahyun told me you're the one cheating on her, and don't lie about
it, I know that's what you do! But Dubu never said anything about breaking up with you, not yet!
And then just because she's being nice and showing Jackson around, that's categorised as cheating?
You're the most insensitive, selfish hypocrite I've ever met! You disgust me!"

"Stay out of this, little girl," Momo sneered, "she's your friend so of course you're gonna believe
whatever she told you. I know what I saw and it looked an awful lot like flirting and cheating and
kissing up if ask me!"

"He just came here!" Somi bellowed. "Jackson Wang just moved here and I know for a fact Dubu
wouldn't move so fast on a guy, on anyone for that matter! He's nice and fun to be around so
obviously who wouldn't mind spending time with him? Plus, they were in a café as you yourself
saw, so I hardly think she'd be cheating on you in such a public place! She's not part of the slut
horde you surround yourself with!"

Somi took a deep breath after her outburst and uttered the forbidden words. "You're just jealous,
Momo."

Momo blinked. "What did you say?"

"You're jealous," Somi said recklessly, "you like Dubu more than you let on. And you don't want
to let go of her. Simple as that. You're scared, admit it."

Behind her, Lisa's jaw was slack while Jennie was smiling and nodding silently to herself, sipping
from her can.
Momo stared at the three of them before busting out a mirthless laugh. "Oh, so that's what you all
think huh? That I'm jealous? That this is all some classic jealous girlfriend shenanigans? You
couldn't have been more wrong. I don't get jealous!"

She advanced towards Somi but Lisa was quicker and slipped in between them, shielding Somi.

"Momo, stop—"

"Chillax, I just have a few words to tell little Miss Canada here," Momo retorted and she bent down
level with Somi who didn't break eye-contact.

"Listen here, and listen well, brat," Momo spat venomously. There was no humour or warmth in
her tone. "I couldn't care less about Dahyun! She's just a fling to pass the time! But, I call the shots
in the relationship. And she is still in the relationship with me. I didn't break up with her, so that
gives her no right to flirt with someone else, or break up with me. If she's with me, she is exclusive
only to me. Moreover, I am the one to leave someone, not them. If I say it's over, then it's over! But
not the other way around, they can't break up with me first." Her eyes narrowed. "I'm the one to
walk away from the relationship first, not the other way round."

Somi and Lisa gaped at her, speechless. Jennie merely sighed.

"Selfish brat," she said quietly. Momo turned on her.

"You're insecure and afraid," Jennie began, "you're scared because you like Dahyun and at this
rate, you're gonna lose her, because of your canoodling. Even though you cheated on her with that
secretary or whoever she is, you still like her. You didn't come all the way back here to break up
and then instead, stalk her for hours, as you said. You came here to see her..."

Jennie spoke over Momo's splutters. "You're a horrible person for thinking people are possessions,
Mo. They're not. I'm tired of covering for you. Dahyun is a nice girl and she definitely doesn't
deserve a jackass like you. So break up with her and let her go, move on. You'll find your next girl
soon enough, don't worry. Just spend a night in a brothel, like normal people do."

"Oh ho," Momo laughed, "wow, you got a nerve Jennie, considering I'm a member here. I pay in
part for you to be able to run this miserable shack! Don't you want my money anymore? Has Lis
struck gold or something? That will be the day!" She burst into peals of laughter, cold and high and
humourless. Jennie didn't say anything but the can crackled as her grip tightened around the metal.

"No, no way! You don't get to boss me around, Jennie Kim," Momo her voice shaking with fury
when she stopped laughing, "Dahyun is my girlfriend. We'll end this on my own terms, when I feel
like it. And that is, not yet."

"You think Dubu will go back to you, after the way you humiliated her?" Somi snarled. "I'm sorry
for ever supporting my friend dating you. You're an arrogant piece of—"

"Fine!" Momo said flatly as she gathered up her sports bag. "I get it, I'll be going."

She turned to Lisa who had been silent throughout the conversation, her face softening. "Lis?
You're my best bud. You know it's all just a little harmless fun right? I'm just not in the mood to
switch girlfriends so soon. You gotta protect what's yours, like a momma bear and her cubs. You
get me, right?"

She held up a fist, motioning for Lisa to do the same. "Tornado and Kamikaze, the dream team,
yeah?"
Lisa stared uncertainly, her gaze flicking back and forth between Jennie's blank eyes and Somi's
downcast face then back to Momo who was trying to maintain her charismatic grin.

"I...I don't know Mo," Lisa said in a small voice. "I...don't want to hurt anyone...we're all friends
here, right? And...but you hurt Dahyun and...without even talking it out to find out what exactly is
going on...so um...that wasn't okay, at all...and uh...maybe you should apologise to her. About
everything...so you can start over?"

Momo lowered her fist slowly, her jaw tightening. "Huh...I see..." she said darkly.

Lisa's eyes flew open wide. "Mo what—"

The other boxer held up a hand. "I see how it is. Well then, go ahead. Make me the bad guy."

"You stubborn prick." Jennie rolled her eyes. "We're asking you to get off your high-horse. We
don't want crucify you."

"Oh but it's too late for that, ain't it? You made it clear nobody's listening to what I want," Momo
retorted petulantly. "I'm not here looking for a fight. I just want what's mine back."

"People. Aren't. Toys." Jennie growled, "and it's high time you got that into that thick head of
yours. End of the conversation."

Momo gritted her teeth, nostrils flaring as she scanned a subdued Lisa fidgeting behind Jennie's
back. Somi on the other hand, met her gaze head-on, hard and unflinching. It was enough for
Momo to take the hint that she was no longer welcome.

"Okay saint Jennie, I get it. I get it. Clearly, we can't see eye to eye on this." Momo dug into her
bag and came up with a small piece of paper, balled it up and threw it at Jennie, hitting her in the
chest.

Jennie didn't blink.

"That's your crappy membership. I don't want to have anything to do with ya," Momo scoffed, "I'll
bet you'll come running to me when the money runs out eh? I'll be waiting for you, just to send you
packing and watch this whole dump be wiped out of existence, just like that." She snapped her
fingers, grinning spitefully. "Just you wait, Jen."

She pointed a finger at Lisa, who flinched at the motion.

"You can't seem to take sides, can you, coward?" Momo asked, eyes flashing. "Well, let me make
it easier for you. As from now on, I'm fighting you for real in the ring. No more holding back. You
have made yourself a new enemy, Lis. Think about that next time you want to take sides."

Her mouth curved up into a disdainful sneer. "And given your recent run, I think I'll be able to
thump you one good and proper quite soon. So be ready for the Purge. Maybe I'll be the one to
kick you out of it. That will be a laugh."

She spat on the ground, bitter and resentful. "So long, losers."

The black-haired boxer turned on her heel and stalked out of the Vault, her furious stomping
echoing in the tense silence that enveloped them.

Lisa snapped out of her daze and ran after her friend. "Kami wait no—"
Jennie caught her wrist with her free hand. "Let her go. She needs to cool off."

"But...Momo...she's... she's..." Lisa glanced back one last time as the other girl disappeared out of
the gym and slammed the door shut behind her. "Gone."

"Good riddance," Somi said bitterly. "If she's not going to even apologise for what she's done, I
don't want to have anything to do with her."

"I'm with Mimi," Jennie put in, "I should have done this a long time ago. I put up with all her
excuses just because she's your friend, Lis."

"She's our friend," Lisa protested, "I can't just...give up on her like that. She's just having a
tantrum, she'll come around." She wasn't sure if she was reassuring the ones around her or herself.
"She'll come back," Lisa said again, trying to sound firmer.

"Well, clearly she has given up on you. For heaven's sake, she had murder in her eyes, you need to
watch out for her in the ring. Wake the hell up and stop being a doormat for people!" Somi lashed
out, still upset. She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder, immediately wrapping her
arms around herself for comfort. "I'm going home guys. I can't stay here today. I just... I can't."

"But Mimi—"

Jennie held her sister back before nodding at Somi. "Maybe it would be best, for today," Jennie
said softly. "But see you tomorrow? Please tell Dahyun we're sorry and tell her we'll understand if
she doesn't want to visit... and that we'll miss her, a lot."

"Uh...yeah...yeah, we will," Lisa added absently after a hard nudge in the ribs from Jennie.

The blonde was still looking at the entrance door with a sorrowful glint in her eyes.

>

"I'm just saying that I have a good feeling about tonight," Joy said brightly.

"Keep telling yourself that. Time's a-ticking and we've only had two spillages," Jeongyeon stuck
her tongue out. "Better get the money ready, babe. I don't see anyone else here and you know if we
spill it doesn't count."

"Why do you even do these bets?" Jennie asked over Joy's complaining.

"Saving up to buy Nayeon a prezzie. Or maybe something that the both of us that we can use,"
Jeongyeon said, breaking off into mischievous giggles as Joy joined in with her.

Jennie shook her head and carried on with her task of wiping the counter. She yawned
intermittently, sometimes tuning in to Joy and Jeongyeon's chatter as she shifted from one foot to
the other and shaking out each of her leg in turn. They were killing her—she was glad she didn't
have to wear heels on the job. Her eyes drooped lower and lower but she managed to rouse herself
just in time whenever she was on the verge of keeling over.

"Hey Jen, your hot chick is here!"

Jennie's eyes snapped open. "Huh wha—"

"Wow did you see how fast she woke up?" Lucas grinned. Jennie glared daggers at him.

"I swear, one of these days—"

"Why don't you invite her in Jen? You said Jisoo's her name? Come on, we're all for meeting your
friends," Jeongyeon said and Joy nodded vigorously.

"Yeah besides, she's waiting out there, it's still chilly—"

"There's no need," Jennie rushed in swiftly, her heart beating erratically at thought of the possible
embarrassment Jisoo would cause her, "really. She's the shy type, you guys would scare her
away."

More like the other way round but they need not know.

"Awwww look at Jennie, so protective of her gal pal," Joy teased, "hey, we don't bite you know?
And we ain't gonna steal her, don't worry."

"Yeah, we can just snag a few drinks and talk a bit. God knows it's Monday and I'm already just
about done—"

"Guys, really, there's no need. Besides, she has to drive," Jennie said weakly, desperately hoping
they would give up on their objective yet knowing full well there's no stopping the two girls when
they take to an idea.

"It'll help take your mind off Momo," Joy added beseechingly as she drifted towards the door. "I'll
just go invite her—"

"No!" Jennie blurted out in panic. She inhaled and resigned herself to any possible embarrassment
that would follow. "I'll go get her myself, it's okay—"

"OI! JENNIE'S FRIEND! COME IN HERE, WE WANNA MEET YA!" Joy yelled out of the door
and Jennie turned into a statue.

That mothertrucking traitor—

"You guys just want to embarrass me, don't you?" Jennie hissed and Jeongyeon grinned at her.

"Well partly, and I'm partly curious to know where you picked up your new friend. She looks fine.
as hell."

"Nayeon will be glad to hear that," Jennie snorted and turned anxiously to behold Jisoo shuffling in
after Joy, who was already nattering nineteen to a dozen. Jennie sighed and gave a small wave.

"Hey Jisoo."

Jisoo perked up immediately upon seeing her, making Jennie's heart flutter when the other girl's
lips turned up in a full smile.

The fluttering immediately transformed into a sickening lurch in her stomach when Jisoo opened
her mouth and said: "Hey Jendeukie!"

A small silence stretched out in between them and Jennie wished for the whole place to come
crashing down on her head.

"Jendeukie?" Jeongyeon and Joy chorused, sharing wicked smirks. Lucas looked dumbfounded.

"My nickname for her," Jisoo explained and Jennie was outraged to hear the small note of pride in
her tone.
How dare she—

"How cute, you're already at the nickname stage of friendship?" Joy cooed. "Oh wow, were are my
manners? I haven't introduced myself yet—I'm Joy, this is our night manager Jeongyeon and this
here is our waiter-slash-security Lucas. We're happy Jennie's finding friends of her own, she's
always the shy reserved type you know? Hey would you like a drink? Just say the word, we have
plenty liquors in stock, name it and we got it..."

Joy prattled on, giving Jennie time to observe Jisoo as the older girl sat at the counter on the bar
stool, elegant and sporting a bashful smile.

She had to admit Jisoo looked more put-together tonight than the other night— her hair was neater,
light make up accentuated her striking face, and her heart-shaped lips were tinted a fetching shade
of coral pink.

Wait what? When had she ever noticed Jisoo's lips were heart-shaped?

"Earth to Jennie," she heard Jeongyeon chuckle, "this girl's about to fall asleep on us standing up."

Jennie reverted back to the present just in time to find Jisoo's concerned gaze on her. She ignored
the raven-haired girl and focused on her manager instead.

"I'm fine," Jennie answered, "shift's ending soon anyway. Beats me how I down energy drinks and
yet you three are the ones still bouncing around like yo-yos."

She stifled a yawn. "So, what did I miss?"

"Get your girl a drink," Lucas said and Jennie nearly leaned over and slapped his smirk off his
face, weren't for the fact her reaction time was delayed at the moment and she knew he'd be too
quick to dodge her open palm.

"Would you like anything, Jisoo?" Jennie said through gritted teeth.

"Water," Jisoo replied. Jennie duly filled her a glass and passed it to her.

So far, Jennie had to admit that aside from the nickname slip-up, Jisoo had been quiet and listening
and nodding along, answering with short, polite answers. Jennie didn't mind—she just wanted them
to be out of there before Jisoo warmed up to her friends and started spouting crazy weird stuff like
unicorns and—

"OH WHOA WHOA!"

Jennie's head jerked back up. Her mouth dropped in horror when she saw a drenched Joy standing
and blinking next to Jisoo and the upturned glass.

"Oh, oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Jisoo exclaimed, pulling out napkins from the dispenser as
Jeongyeon grabbed Jennie's cloth to wipe up the spillage. "Here, let me dab—oh wait no, better
not, I mean, here you take these, um—"

To everyone's enormous surprise, Joy's face broke out into a dazzling smile. Jisoo watched her
fearfully, uncertain of her reaction. The answer came seconds later when Joy launched herself upon
Jisoo, throttling her in a tight bear hug and squashing her wet chest against Jisoo's.

"You're my new favourite person!" Joy cried, "you won me the bet! You're the best! I broke Yeon's
streak YOOOOOOOOO! Everyone's gonna know about this! I broke her streak! Pay up!"
Jennie and the others could only stare as Joy cackled long and loud while Jisoo gasped for breath.

>

"You did it on purpose, didn't you?" Jennie asked later in the SUV as she snapped the seat belt on.
"Spilling that glass."

Jisoo chuckled, her first for the evening. "How do you know?"

"Lisa said you poured coffee on her the first day. It seems it's not uncommon for you to pour stuff
on people when you bump into them...."

She motioned at the thermos flask sitting in between the seats. "Should I be worried?"

Jisoo's smile was wide on her face as she turned the key in the ignition and drove off. "Nah, that
was for you to keep warm, just in case you felt like a drink. And just so you know, it's hot milk, not
coffee..."

"I feel so much better knowing it's milk, not coffee," Jennie dead-panned. She settled more
comfortably in her seat, her eyelids inexorably drooping. Jisoo's SUV had a nice air-freshener smell
and it was cosy. "Is this how you woo your girlfriends? Picking them up in the dead of night and
offering them hot milk?"

"Well, I figured you'd want to sleep so coffee wouldn't really help in that department now, would
it?" Jisoo reasoned, cheerfully parrying Jennie's barb. "And for your information, none of my exes
ever got the honour of driving with me at nearly four in the morning."

"I'm so special," Jennie mumbled.

Jisoo spared the tired girl a glance, frowning to see her so exhausted. She turned her attention back
on the road, resolving to let the brunette sleep.

But soon enough, Jennie's voice spoke up again. "Why do you do that?"

"Spill stuff?" Jisoo asked shrewdly. Jennie hummed in the affirmative.

"Well...let's just say...growing up, I was not always great with social cues. I learned people say
something, and mean something totally different. Some people smile in your face, then when you
do something that angers them, they show you their true colours..."

Jisoo gave a sad smile. "I developed that habit whenever I'm in a new environment, around
strangers I want to gauge to see if I can fit in. It's either that, the spilling stuff I mean, or rushing in
strongly and openly....with statements...or pick-up lines....that will throw them off. Right away, I
can see what kind of people they are. Well, most of the time..."

She sighed, past caring whether Jennie was listening or not. But in the silence that followed, Jisoo
was prompted to elaborate further. "Sometimes, I ignore the signals they give me. I ignore them
and go in it anyway, even if it will end up...bad."

In her mind's eye, the previous night's events flashed in her head again—the insults, the jeering and
the taunting, her time dating her ex-girlfriend...

She regretted being involved with such people, but there wasn't much she could do about it, except
bear it all with her head raised high.
"Don't you think it's a little unfair though?"

Jisoo started, swerving a little in surprise before she straightened the wheel again. Her cheeks
coloured upon realising Jennie had been listening. Even with her eyes closed, she sounded pretty
alert.

Jisoo's mouth ran dry. "Unfair?"

"You just go and approach them like that...first off it's understandable they'd be upset for you
ruining their clothes. And don't you think it sets the tone for them to immediately form a strong
often unpleasant opinion of you? Maybe if you had spilled something later on after you get to
know them, they would react differently and be more understanding..."

Jennie paused. "I think you're missing out on genuine opportunities just because of...your ideas of
interactions...are not on the same wavelength as other people's."

Jisoo pondered over Jennie's words. "Don't you think it weeds out the insincere people from the
sincere ones?"

"I just think you're not giving them a fair chance," Jennie countered.

Jisoo remained quiet some time as she manoeuvred through the gloomy streets, counting out the
street lamps with their artificial snowy white light that cast shadows on walls of houses and
buildings.

"I get it you have difficulty approaching people. So you put on...a persona," Jennie said at length,
"but...you don't have to. Not always."

"Don't I?" Jisoo retorted, harsher than she intended. "We do it without thinking Jennie. And it's
what I seek to do when I approach them in that way—unmasking people, get them to reveal their
unpleasant sides first so I will know what I'm getting myself into. People reveal their true selves
when frustrated or angry."

"By doing that little act, you're putting on a mask too," Jennie pointed out, "you're showing people
a fake side too."

Jisoo was rendered speechless but Jennie wasn't finished.

"You're too far absorbed in gauging what people are like, to show them who you are. Don't you
think that's unfair?"

"Oh? What mask am I wearing then?" Jisoo couldn't help the bitter tone in her voice because
Jennie was right, she was so right, down to every last word.

Jennie had seen right through her in such a short time. It unnerved and excited Jisoo all at once—
few people had ever come close to Jennie's observations.

"I'm not sure...but I've seen glimpses of the real Jisoo. She's quiet, she's awkward but she's
observant. She's witty and smart and caring...and she loves unicorns and aliens..." Jisoo thought she
heard the beginning of a smile in Jennie's voice. "She puts on a front to hide all this, letting only
bits and pieces filter through, according to the different people she's with. I just wonder
why....because look at you, you're doing just fine right now."

"I told you. Not everyone is a people person and clearly by society's standards, I'm not." Jisoo
insisted. I'm just an awkward weirdo who thinks talking to people means provoking or upsetting
them upon meeting.

"Then I'm not a people person either. That makes two of us," Jennie answered with a yawn. "But
you learn. I'm sure you can too. In fact, I'm still learning every day, especially when I get to meet
new people." She flashed a lopsided, sleepy smile. "You have to have a thick skin is all."

Jisoo wished she could stare at Jennie in that moment. She wished she could take a good look at
her and stare right into those chocolate brown eyes to ask why she was getting goosebumps all over
her body.

But Jisoo couldn't, because she was driving.

Only yesterday, Jennie Kim was vowing she didn't want anything to do with Jisoo...and now,
twenty-four hours later, she was calmly dissecting the very essence of what made Jisoo, Jisoo. The
girl in question was feeling disoriented by this one-eighty degree turn but she wasn't complaining
very much.

She marvelled at this petite woman' deduction skills that were still incredibly lucid at four in the
morning, and Jisoo grew even more intrigued.

The remainder of the drive passed in silence, allowing for Jisoo to fully digest Jennie's words.

"How did you figure that out?" Jisoo asked at length once they arrived at the Vault. She stuck her
tongue out as she skilfully guided the vehicle to a stop in an empty parking space.

"Maybe it's all those energy drinks. I'm tired, but my brain's buzzing right now," Jennie returned.

Jisoo tutted disapprovingly. "They're really not doing you any good, Jendeuk. All that sugar and
whatever they toss into it..."

"Yeah well, it's been a long day. I needed them," Jennie said wearily. Something in Jennie's voice
spoke of a deeper reason for binging on energy drinks than mere exhaustion—there was a glum
undertone to her words.

"Wanna talk about it? I'm in no hurry," Jisoo asked delicately. "I'm...I'm not much for advice...but I
can listen."

Jennie sighed and turned her head to look at Jisoo in the gloomy interior. "We lost another gym
member today. Well, I sort oF kicked her out....and we might potentially lose one or more as well,
if they boycott us because of the former..."

She closed her eyes and exhaled. "I told Lisa we'll be okay but...I'm not sure. We...need the money.
She has to win her next fight for sure."

Jisoo searched for the proper words to say. Should she make it light or try to reassure Jennie? She
opted for the latter—Jennie's pout and hunched shoulders didn't seem like indicators for light-
hearted banter.

"I'm sure Lisa's hard work will pay off," Jisoo began cautiously, "Roseanne is happy with her
progress and Lisa's only been there two times but Ro says she's already doing tremendous
improvements to her body without even realising. Ro can't wait to see her tomorrow." She clapped
a hand to her mouth and scrambled to explain herself. "Oh wait, don't tell Lisa I said that, Rosé will
kill me!"

Jennie chuckled. "Your secret's safe with me."

"It better be," Jisoo wiggled a finger, "I have a good feeling about those two, I can't have you
ruining it. They got something going on and with time...I think it can turn out into something
beautiful."

She ignored Jennie's derisive snort to lift up the thermos and shake it to hear the milk swishing
inside. "You sure you don't want some?"

She smiled to see Jennie waver—although her face was hidden in shadows, Jisoo still saw the way
the younger girl licked her bottom lip in contemplation.

"I should really get going..." Jennie said instead, but she didn't budge. She hadn't even removed the
seat-belt.

Jisoo shrugged and poured a cupful of steaming milk. "Suit yourself. I'll see you tomorrow then?"

She smiled when Jennie didn't respond and decided against teasing her for longer. She held out the
cup in between them, keeping it a safe distance away from the younger girl. "Go ahead and take it
Jendeuk. It's just a hot drink. You'll feel much better with something warming you up."

When Jennie's fingers hesitantly brushed against her own and timidly accepted the cup, raising it to
her lips, Jisoo felt just as thrilled as when you have a wild bird pecking seed out of your hand.

Jisoo leaned back in her seat with a wide grin on her face, internally squealing as she fought to
suppress her glee and instead savour the comfortable, cosy silence filling the space between them
as Jennie sipped on her drink.

The night was peaceful and quiet and Jisoo wouldn't swap this moment for her comfy if cold and
lonely bed back home. Sitting next to the intriguing petite brunette that was gradually opening up
to her brought Jisoo a sense of serenity she didn't know she was capable of feeling.

It was nice.

"Do you wake up early to teach yoga? Starting morning classes I mean?" Jennie asked soberly. "I
feel...bad...for you having to come here twice already—"

"And I'm not stopping," Jisoo said promptly.

"—and having to sleep at ungodly hours. Doesn't it affect you?"

Jisoo sighed. "I have a day job. It's not thrilling but it helps stave off boredom...and loneliness, I
guess. Not much time left for yoga afterwards." She shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't have any
clients in fact this year. The studio's pretty much unused. Why, you're interested?" she asked
eagerly. "You're considering my proposal from the other night?"

She giggled at Jennie's snort but soon turned serious. "Jendeukie, I really haven't taught yoga in a
long time even if the studio and equipment is there. It was...just something I tried out but...me
being the way that I am with people...didn't quite, uh...work out."

"So you were lying about teaching ordinary yoga?" Jennie's tone was accusatory.

"No. I did have people attending before, and I did show them ordinary yoga," Jisoo countered, "it's
just that...the numbers dwindled until...there's no one."

"You scared them away, huh?"

Jisoo laughed and drummed on the wheel, unperturbed. "That, or they were lazy. But why the
sudden interest? Surely, not out of concern for my beauty sleep?"

"What else then?" Jennie retorted, too quickly. Jisoo shook her head.

"Jendeuk, you ain't slick," she laughed.

"You're too blunt sometimes," Jennie muttered peevishly as she screwed the cup back on the
thermos flask. "Well...goodnight, or good morning. Thanks for the ride...and the chat."

"Of course," Jisoo said sincerely, "and thank you too. For talking with me. It's...nice."

Jennie glanced back at her before nodding and walking up to the door.

"Jen?" Jisoo said hopefully through the rolled-down window. The other girl turned abruptly at the
call.

"What?"

"Come by my place tomorrow." Jisoo's face was serious, her eyes shining earnestly the way they
were the night before when she had been adamant on fetching Jennie. "I can show you how to do
some yoga."

"The Jisoo kind or the ordinary kind?" came the sceptical question.

Jisoo's eyes crinkled in amusement. "Maybe we'd better start out with the ordinary yoga so you'd
know I have only good intentions when I invite you over. It's better to relieve stress than binging on
energy drinks anyway. It will be fun."

Jennie chewed on her lip and fiddled with the keys.

Jisoo pushed on quickly. "You can come with Lisa. She'll be at Rosé, you'll be at mine at the same
time. If you still don't trust me, Lisa won't be far, okay?" She eyed the brunette standing stock still
beneath the streetlight, heart brimming with hope. "Upon my word Jendeuk. I mean absolutely no
harm. I'ts just me and my dog at home..."

"It's not that, actually," Jennie fretted. "Or maybe part of it was but..."

"But?" Jisoo encouraged, almost too soft for Jennie to hear. She felt excitement bubble in her chest
because a) Jennie wasn't minding the nickname and b) Jennie was starting to trust her.

"How am I going to pay for the session?" Jennie said quietly.

Jisoo shook her head with a fond laugh as she turned on the ignition. "You'll be spending time with
me. That alone is worth more than money, Jendeuk."
 Still Me

"Somi's still upset with Lisa," Jennie sighed as Irene poured her coffee. She turned her eyes to the
lonesome two figures working out next to each other: both Matthew and Lisa were working on
barbells today.

Somi had barely spoken with Lisa other than wordlessly handing her the bagels and immediately
going in front of the mirror to practise her dancing. Lisa looked forlorn but didn't try to pressure the
girl into talking.

"She'll come around," Lisa had said but she sounded doubtful. In Jennie's memory, they had never
quarrelled to this extent (the only last serious squabble was about some bet) so seeing them being
stiff around each other was unnatural, when usually the place would reverberate with their
combined voices.

Jennie was dejected she never got to check out those yoga videos but she didn't feel asking about
them right now would be sensitive of her. Lisa thankfully must have come to the same conclusion
because she didn't bring up X-Men again and looked pretty down about it.

Her sister had never revealed why she suddenly grew interested in comic book heroes, but Jennie
had a strong suspicion a certain pilates instructor—that indeed had a very fit body and smelled of
strawberries as Lisa reported—had something to do with it.

"I take it Dahyun's still upset too....have you heard from her at all?" Irene asked delicately. Jennie
gave a wry smile.

"The next time we hear from her is when she walks in here to give back her membership. And I
wouldn't be surprised if Chaeyoung does the same. Momo already did, like I said... so it's a
situation." She exhaled, sipping intermittently. "I...was growing quite fond of those girls. Somi was
more docile around Dahyun and Chae and I was glad she's hanging around people her age. Lisa
too, she had more people to laugh with."

Jennie closed her eyes and tried not to think of the bills piling up in her desk's drawer. "Can we talk
about something else please, unnie? I...it's only morning..."

"Of course, of course," Irene said soothingly, "how about....something completely mundane? Like,
the recent educational overhaul they're doing in the system? It's complete madness, I tell you. In
my time, things were far more sensible."

"I'm listening," Jennie nodded. Anything was better than her predicament of constantly watching
her money sources dwindle. "How come you're suddenly interested in that topic though?"

"Oh, I got to know Seulgi's actually a teacher! You know, my neighbour, Seulgi? Yeah, I gave a
her a lift to work last week and then last Sunday I invited her over to my place for a light dinner.
Nothing big, just some ramen but she said she liked it the first time she ate it. I do hope she liked it.
And she's living all by herself, poor girl, her parents live in Ansan. She can only really visit them
on holidays. But at least she has some cats for company, they're the sweetest darlings. They kept
twirling around my leg when I went to fetch her...."

She caught Jennie staring at her fixedly. "What?"

Jennie quirked an eyebrow. "You went to fetch her when she was supposed to come over to your
place?"
"I admit I was, perhaps, a little...eager," Irene conceded, "but she didn't seem to mind at all so, no
harm done, right?"

Irene arched a brow when Jennie didn't answer. "What? Did I do...something wrong?"

"Oh no no," Jennie said quickly, " just...thinking. Well, glad you're making friends then. So, the
educational system?"

Irene immediately launched into an enthusiastic and lengthy in-depth discussion (even hauling out
several journals with highlighted texts out of her sports bag) and Jennie couldn't help the wide
smile stealing over her face as she watched the elder woman talk and gesticulate animatedly.

>

It was pathetic, and she really shouldn't be so beat up about it—the signs had been there. And
maybe deep down, she had known they weren't meant to be.

Can you blame her? She was lonely for affection and having some attention felt good for a while.

Dahyun hadn't budged from her bed even when the alarm went off, wrapped up in blankets and
buried in the comforter like a burrito. She texted Chaeyoung, Somi and some coursemates that she
wasn't going to school today. She slept until ten, when her growling stomach forced her to migrate
to the kitchen, mix some cornflakes and milk in a bowl and wolf it down before snacking on toast
and peanut butter. She was on her fifth slice when her roommate peeked in, sympathy reflecting in
her eyes.

"Need anything? I'm heading to the convenience store."

Dahyun shook her head and the girl left, leaving Dahyun to her own devices for the rest of the day
as she usually did. Dahyun didn't even know her name properly, and she couldn't care less.

She passed the rest of the morning cocooned on her bed watching Youtube travel vlogs, and
successfully ignoring the multitude of notifications flooding her phone. She had checked one or
two of them—they were mostly from that snake of an ex, Momo. She had briefly replied to Somi
and Chaeyoung but didn't dare check up on her socials—her spat with Momo the day before was
sure to be all over her dash and she just didn't feel ready to walk through her humiliation again.

Dahyun shook her head and tried to refocus on the screen in front of her. Momo cheating on her
was a lot to take in, but then for the woman to arrogantly walk in and accuse her of cheating was
the final straw. Dahyun wasn't the vocal type but once Momo started hurling insults, she stunned
herself by flinging back harsh words with just as much venom.

Jackson had been the one to separate them—he tugged on Dahyun's arm and pulled her out of there
wordlessly, leaving a furious Momo screaming abuse after their departing backs. He took Dahyun
behind the bleachers on campus and stood back to give her space, studying her as she stood with
her face down, tears streaming.

"I'm not sure what happened back there but I hope I haven't made things worse," he said in a low
voice, contrasting entirely with his earlier cheerful bubbly tone. "Am I bothering you now? Would
you like me to walk you back to your dorm?"

Dahyun sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand, past caring what Jackson thought.

She must have looked a sight, but he didn't once comment.

"Tissue?" he asked at length when the tears just wouldn't stop. Dahyun shook her head.

"I'll....I'll be okay. Thanks and...I'll be going now..."

She hadn't heard from him since then, and she wasn't expecting to, after yesterday's fiasco.

He was probably thinking she's a two-timer freak, not to mention a lesbian. And people would
always be judgemental. He probably thought it was a wrong move to be involved or associated
with her, given yesterday's events. Maybe he thought she was troublesome to be around.

The video came to an end but Dahyun had barely comprehended what she had just seen.
Nevertheless, she automatically pressed the button for the next vlog to load up on screen.

Her phone, which had finally fallen silent, buzzed to life once again as the screen lit up.

By reflex she checked the screen, frowning when the name of the sender didn't show up. But the
message displayed explained it all.

Unknown: hey, it's jackson. i just got your number from chaeyoung. i hope that's ok? i'm
sorry about yesterday and if you need anything, let me know. take care :)

Dahyun broke out into a small smile but she was doubtful about replying. On the one hand, she felt
mortification colouring her face at the thought of talking with him again—he had been there, had
seen her shout at Momo, had witnessed the ugly crying...

Yet, he had still stuck around to send a comforting message. Did he do it out of guilt, to clear his
conscience? Or was he genuinely not fazed by it all?

And why was she reading so much into this anyway? It was just a guy she met yesterday, she
barely knew him.

But she was touched he had gone through the trouble of finding her friend and getting her number
—the least she could do for now was thank him for checking up on her.

Dahyun: thank u, i'll b ok :) just wasn't in d mood for school. Cu around

He replied almost immediately.

Unknown: ok cu :)

After a few moments, the phone buzzed again.

Unknown: just 1 last thing...fries were great btw :D

Unknown: kk over and out fo good now. cya! ^^

Dahyun's smile broadened. She didn't reply, but she saved the contact number with Jackson's
number before getting a bag of nachos and settling to watch more videos in decidedly better spirits.

>

"Well, this is me," Lisa said as they approached the door to Rosé's studio. "Jisoo unnie's door is
down there."

Jennie modded mutely and Lisa had to admit seeing her sister on edge was rather amusing, if
disconcerting. Her sister was wearing sweatpants and a crop top beneath her jacket and holding a
small plastic grocer bag with a towel and spare change of clothes. Lisa had wanted to give her
Somi's knapsack for her first time at Jisoo's, knowing her sister would be sure to feel intimidated
and self-conscious of her shabby attire. Jennie had been too lost in thought to care, which only
served to heighten Lisa's apprehension.

Jennie was always the one alert and aware of their next moves, always in charge, always the one
leading and deciding, always the one with answers. Jennie was Lisa's tether to normality.

Seeing her the slightest bit uncertain served to increase Lisa's anxiety as she was very sensitively-
attuned to Jennie's mood.

Which was why Jennie reached out now and touched her wrist to stop Lisa twisting it, grounding
her sister back to the present before she started breathing too hard.

"I'm fine Lisa, I'm okay. It's nothing serious. First-time jitters. It's normal," Jennie explained. "I
never tried yoga before, so yeah."

"Okay."

Jennie looked at her closely. "Sorry if I worried you, but I assure you, it's normal to feel like this
when you're doing something for the first time."

"Even you?" Lisa asked.

"Yep," Jennie smiled gently, "I'm not some fearless superhuman you know."

Lisa grinned and flexed her biceps. "That would be me."

She laughed and ducked when Jennie swatted her head.

"Go get her sis," Lisa winked as she rang Rosé's doorbell, "or do you want to greet Rosie?"

"Nah, I'll get going, she'll be expecting me. I'll greet Roseanne later when I pick you up," Jennie
said and marched towards Jisoo's door. Lisa had said very little when Jennie announced she was
going along with her to meet Jisoo for a yoga session.

She had quirked her eyebrows up and teased her about the night meetings having won her over, but
otherwise, she was pleased Jennie was warming up to her new friend and getting out of the Vault
too. Heaven knows, they needed the distraction right now—Jennie had deemed it a safe bet to lock
up and just go with Lisa, since nobody turned up, not even Somi.

"Don't do anything I would do!" Lisa called teasingly after Jennie, "and definitely don't do things I
wouldn't do."

She chuckled when Jennie whipped around to flip her off but Rosie's door opened right about then
and Lisa barged in to escape her sister's indignant yell.

But Lisa had underestimated one thing as she bulldozed in through the door—Rosie hadn't
expected her to enter so forcefully. Her body wasn't ready for the force of impact.

Lisa powered into Rosie, who stumbled back with a stunned squeak. Her arms flailed and grabbed
on to Lisa's jacket as she lost her balance and she fell, pulling Lisa down with her.

They tumbled to the ground, noses inches away from touching as they both yelped in shock. Lisa
had managed to brace herself with her hands on the floor on either side of Rosé's head. Her ponytail
dangled over her shoulder and it took a few seconds to register Rosé's hand was pushing up against
her chest. Their stunned gazes met, pupils blown wide with shock at the proximity—Lisa could
practically taste Rosie's lip balm against her lips: strawberries, like her scent.

Her cheeks ignited at the same time that a dull flush coloured Rosie's face.

The rush of adrenaline from the shock gave them only split-seconds before Lisa was springing
back up in horror, accidentally hitting the woman beneath her in the crotch.

Rosé groaned and rolled up into fetal position with her face contorted as Lisa stood back, pale in
the face.

"I-I didn't mean to—" Lisa stammered. Rosé was still hunched up, her eyes scrunched tight in pain.

"Mommy?" Ella came out into the hallway right at that moment. Her eyes snapped open at the
sight of her mother curled up at Lisa's feet. "Mom!"

She rushed to them and dropped to her knees in panic. "Mom! Mommy! What happened?"

"Ughh..." Rosé responded. Ella whipped around to face a frozen Lisa with fury in her eyes.

Without warning, the little girl launched herself at Lisa, hitting out with her puny fists. "You hurt
Mom! You killed her! You killed her!"

"N-n-no, no—" Lisa said frantically as she crouched down to inspect Rosé, "I didn't, I swear—
OOF!"

A stray fist from Ella caught her full in the face and Lisa blinked as she fell back with a burst of
stars exploding in front of her eyes. Ella was upon her like a rabid cat, flailing and thrashing as Lisa
quickly trapped the girls's legs between her knees and Ella's wrists with her own hands.

"Ella, wait please I—"

"Leggo! Leggo of me!" Ella was turning borderline hysterical, in turn scaring Lisa.

"H-hey, wait—"

"Ella Park!"

Lisa and Ella both stopped struggling as Rosé got to her feet and stood over them, hands akimbo.

"Where are your manners? Is this any way to behave with my clients?" Rosé said sternly as Ella
tottered out of Lisa's grasp and stood to face her mother.

"Mommy you're okay," Ella breathed out in relief and hurtled forward to hug her middle. "I
thought she killed you."

Rosé didn't return the hug. "Ella, I want you to apologise to Lisa right now. Your behaviour is
uncalled for, young lady."

"Whoa whoa hey, she was just defending you, she thought you were hurt," Lisa protested as she
climbed to her feet. "Rosie, it's all just a misunderstanding, don't blame the kid. If anything, it's my
fault and I'm sorry for hurting you."

"She should learn that lashing out like that is not on, especially based on unfounded assumptions,"
Rosé said stubbornly. Her face had none of its usual warmth, reminding Lisa of their first meeting,
when Rosé was cold and distant.

Ella stood between them, tears pricking her eyes. Lisa couldn't bear to look at her so she focused on
Rosé's steely gaze instead, even though inside, she wilted just a bit more the longer she gazed into
those orbs.

"Rosie, it was an accident. She's just a kid. She...was trying to protect you."

"I don't know what kind of upbringing you had, Lisa," Rosé's voice was stiff and final, "but in my
house, my child will learn that violence is not the answer. It is never the answer. Violence is for
savages and uneducated, ignorant louts of the streets. What do you think will happen if she learns
to use violence as a solution to disputes? What if she grows up violent and gets into fights and gets
expelled out of school? What about her relationships with people at large?"

Lisa bit her lip and looked away, trying very hard to brush aside the niggling voice saying Rosie
was directing every word at Lisa.

"Remember what I said about violence yesterday, at the gym?" Rosé said quietly and Lisa nodded.
"Well, here is your proof."

She turned to her daughter. "Ella, apologise to Lisa. Now."

Ella scuffed the edges of her shoes, hands interlocked behind her back as she mustered the words to
speak, squirming beneath the two adults' gazes.

Lisa couldn't take it and crouched down level with her, smiling kindly.

"It's okay. All you gotta do say is one simple, little word. I know you meant well. And I'm sure
you'll learn not to let your emotions get ahead of you next time, right?"

Ella nodded dumbly before inhaling and opening her mouth. "Sorry..."

"There's a good girl!" Lisa cheered but Rosé immediately took Ella from the shoulders and steered
her away down the hall, presumably to take the girl back to her room.

"I'll be along in a minute!" Rosé called over her shoulder, "go ahead and make yourself
comfortable."

Still shaken, Lisa quickly hung up her jacket and took off her shoes, foregoing a quick scrub of her
feet because she deemed them to be non-smelly. She tiptoed into the pilates studio and tapped her
foot impatiently, rather upset with how Rosé dealt with the situation.

Ella had only been trying to be protective, yet her mother acted like she committed some crime.
Lisa wasn't very well versed in parenting, but for sure Rosé had over-reacted. Ella was just a kid
and she was over-protective of her mother, clearly. Such a deep bond ought to be reciprocated
better....

She was growing uneasy about Rosé taking so long as she gazed at the clock again. Deep in the
recess of her mind, Lisa feared Rosé was punishing Ella somehow. She pushed those awful
thoughts away—Rosie would never do that. She was the sweetest, chubby-cheeked chipmunk once
you got to know her.

No way she would spank or lock up her child over a simple action like that....right?
Curiosity proved stronger and so Lisa found her self tiptoeing out into the adjacent apartment,
listening closely for sounds of slaps or cries. Greatly relieved to hear none yet still inquisitive, she
inched closer to the tantalisingly closed doors hoping to catch on to why Rosie was taking so long.
She peered through keyholes until finally she heard Rosie's low voice rumbling from behind one of
the doors. Lisa peered in through the keyhole.

She was rewarded with the scene of Rosie and Ella on a small bed, with Ella fidgeting with a
cuddly rabbit as Rosé sat cross-legged across from her. It must be Ella's room—there was an
assortment of colorful stick-figure drawings hung up on the wall above the headboard.

"...and I get you were scared and surprised. But sweetie, I want you to know the difference
between accidents and actual bad, mean people that hurt you. There's a difference okay? Hitting out
on instinct isn't a good thing, unless you're in danger of course, but you have to stand back and
think about the situation first. Do you think Lisa is mean and bad?"

"No."

"Did you ask what happened before you started hitting her?"

"I did," Ella said hastily. Rosé shook her head, a small smile playing about her lips.

"Now what did we say about lying? Baby, I was hearing everything, you know. I wasn't exactly
unconscious."

Lisa couldn't stifle the chortle that escaped her, immediately causing her to inwardly curse when
Rosé lifted her gaze to the door.

"Oh holy mother of bagels—"

In her haste to back away, Lisa tripped over her feet and sprawled in front of the door at the same
time as Rosé opened it and loomed over her with an arched eyebrow. Lisa gulped.

"Ah...oops?" she said weakly. "I was just uhm... admiring the uh...the door's woodwork, yeah.
Excellent craftsmanship, you know? Just...chef's kiss," she added, accompanying it with a kiss to
her fingers.

Incredibly, Rosé didn't appear mad at all—she even giggled as she shook her head.

"You're such a kid, Lisa." She held out her hand. "Come on in."

"Wha-what?" Lisa was bewildered. "But—"

"I'm sure you want to hear what we've been saying and well, what's the harm?" Rosé shrugged
nonchalantly and tugged her hand.

Lisa allowed herself to be pulled inside, cautiously stepping into Ella's room with hands clasped
behind her back once Rosé left to sit back in front of her daughter.

"We were just wrapping up but I hope she's gotten the gist of it," Rosé said. Ella played with the
rabbit's floppy ears, her eyes not as teary as before.

"Hey kiddo," Lisa called softly. Ella nodded in greeting but looked away. Her mother brushed her
hair with light strokes.

"El, Lisa doesn't hate you. Nobody does," Rosé said gently. She rested her hand on Ella's shoulder
and rubbed comforting circles with her thumb. "I just want to make sure you understand that in
certain cases, you need to stop and think before flinging yourself mindlessly into a fight. It's not
nice to beat other people up."

"Except boxing."

"Except boxing, I suppose. But even so, they don't go at it too hard either," Rosé amended, making
Lisa's smile grow.

The blonde circled the bed until she had reached Ella's side, opposite from Rosé. She kneeled on
the floor next to the bed and rested her elbows on the springy mattress.

"Your Mom's right about being careful before hitting people," Lisa began, "but can I just add that
you had me amazed back there! You were like a little tiger springing up at me! I could barely even
keep up with you!"

Ella's eyes sparkled and the corners of her lips twitched up. "Really? I was like Tigress in Kung Fu
Panda?"

"I don't know who that is but she sounds awesome too."

Rosé on the other hand, looked a bit uncertain of where Lisa was headed. "Um, Lisa..."

But the boxer ploughed on. "I really admired the way you immediately defended your Mom,
without thinking about yourself. You really love her, huh?"

"I do!" the girl affirmed.

"Huh, even more than this little guy here?" Lisa mused, gesturing at the floppy bunny in Ella's lap.

"It's a girl, her name's Flora," Ella said primly, making Lisa laugh.

"Mind I have a look at her? Please?" she tagged on hastily, after noticing Rosé's raised eyebrow.

Ella gave up the toy without any fuss and Lisa immediately took hold of it and made it stand up on
its legs.

"So, Ella, you're saying you love Mommy more than me?" Lisa asked in a high-pitched voice as
she moved the bunny's arms around. "But I thought we were friends."

"We're best friends, Flo," Ella corrected, "and I know it's you talking, Lisa unnie."

"Ah, you're not answering my question, Ella!" Flora accused. The puppeteer glanced at Rosé,
pleased to see the instructor smiling again.

"Do you love her this big, Ella?" Lisa held up her thumb and index finger pinched close together.

"More than that!"

"This big?" Lisa widened the gap between her fingers but Ella shook her head.

"Then maybe this big?"

"No, no no!" Ella chanted. She spread her arms out wide. "I love Mommy more than anything!"

"Very good," Lisa said cheerfully, "that's very good. You keep that in mind, because I was very
surprised by the way you went all out to protect your mother. So keep it up kiddo, BUT do listen to
your mother's words too, okay?"

She grinned up at Rosé who was looking at the both of them with the fondest expression in her
eyes that made Lisa feel incredibly warm and fuzzy inside.

Lisa wrenched her gaze away to face Ella again. "There are other ways to protect the people you
love, it doesn't always have to be through violence."

"What about you unnie?" Ella asked as she took back Flora and made her 'speak'. "How much do
you love your Mom?"

Lisa's grin faded. "Oh. A lot. A good lot, I think...."

Ella's face creased. "You think?"

Rosé rushed to the rescue when she noticed Lisa's discomfort. " Ella baby, it's time for you—"

"It's okay." Lisa cleared her throat. "I didn't get to see them—my parents I mean— that much as a
kid because...they...they...well uh...went away."

"Oh," Ella said soberly. "Mom says my dad went away too. Maybe they met each other..." She
looked thoughtful. "Do you think they talk about us?"

Lisa's eyes flickered quickly to meet Rosé's tense posture and pursed lips, but she didn't comment
about it.

"Maybe... but this is why I'm telling you to cherish your time with your Mom, okay? She loves you
very, very much, I can tell," Lisa added. "Promise me that."

Ella nodded vigorously. "Pinky-promise."

They both stuck their little fingers out, with Rosé internally cooing as the blonde locked fingers
with her daughter.

They had clicked together so well, Rosé could hardly believe she had only gotten to know Lisa last
week. It was almost as if Lisa had been coming over to play with Ella since forever, that's how
familiar and comfortable it was to see Lisa messing around with her daughter.

"But if your Mom and Dad were here, you'd protect them from anything, right?" Ella asked,
determined to have her answer.

Rosé couldn't help but notice the too-wide smile fixed on Lisa's face, and how her bright, doe-eyes
had immediately shuttered and turned blank at Ella's question. The redhead bit her lip in concern,
scolding herself for not stopping her daughter from asking insensitive questions but it was too late
now.

Lisa averted her gaze away from the mother and daughter waiting for her reply.

"Sure I would...maybe," she said quietly.

>

"I'm sorry back there," Rosé said apologetically as she helped Lisa rest her legs on the bars. "I
should have stopped Ella from asking nosy questions."
"It's all good Rosie. I'm not mad or anything. She's just a kid too. It's okay, really." Lisa reassured
as she stretched.

"Still...she has to learn."

"Rosie, I'm no parent and I don't mean to intrude...but go easy on the kid. She was really scared
when she saw you on the ground like that." Lisa paused, blushing. "Which I'm still so sorry about
by the way. I just...had been trying to get away from Jennie cos' I might have pissed her off a bit."

"Oh yeah, she's at Jisoo unnie's place, right? Unnie was so excited, she called me three times from
her job. I'm happy for her...it looks like they're on their way to being good friends."

"Yeah. Jennie's a softie once you get past her tough-as-nails exterior," Lisa chuckled.

Rosé laughed too but then she turned serious once again. "You know, I'm a little...sensitive. Down
there I mean, after I had Ella. They had to stitch me up because I tore. That's why I took a hard
blow on the spot when you hit me. And stop looking like that, it was just an accident."

She paused as she assisted Lisa in raising her legs up on the leg spring. "Doing amazing Lis, like
that yeah, slow and steady..."

Her eyes roved over Lisa's abdomen, noticing the tension in her abs. "Keep breathing Lis, you need
to keep breathing and everything goes slow okay? There's no hurry. Yes, like that, good, good.
Easy, easy..."

It was silly—Rosé had of course seen abs before, so why was she so mesmerised by Lisa's toned
stomach, glistening and on display seemingly just for her?

"Liking what you see?" Lisa's teasing tone made Rosé raise her face, expression unchanging.

Of course she liked what she saw, but she wasn't about to admit that to the cockiest brat she had
ever met.

"Could do with a little more work, they're starting to look flabby," Rosé shrugged poker-faced, and
then dissolved into giggles when Lisa's jaw dropped in horror as she scrambled to raise her head to
check her torso.

"No, you cant move yet," Rosé pressed the boxer down from her shoulders forcefully, grunting
with effort, "stay still."

"But my abs!" Lisa said, genuinely agitated, "they can't have possibly gone yet, I have to check—"

"They're still there, silly. Where do you want them to go if you're always working out? You're easy
to tease, you know?" Rosé sang, echoing Lisa's comment from their previous session. She smirked
when Lisa pouted. "Payback."

"Real mature of you." Lisa's mouth curled up into a smile as she obeyed and laid back. "You don't
joke about those things. It's a matter of pride and dignity to someone like me."

"Vanity does not become you, Lisa," Rosé quipped.

"Who cares? I wear it like a crown," Lisa bantered and they burst into giggles at their silly
conversation.

"Thank you for overlooking Ella's behaviour by the way," Rosé said once they calmed down and
Lisa sat up properly. "I had no idea she can go that far."

Lisa tilted her head. "Rosie, we just said Ella's a kid. Give it a rest."

"I know but..." the pilates instructor sighed, fidgeting with her hands. "It's just...well...let's say
she's...protective of me for a good reason, although thankfully, it doesn't show up so often as it did
today," she said quietly. Her voice wavered. "Let just say...Ella's dad...wasn't always nice to me..."

Lisa's heart suddenly plunged into ice, taking away her ability to breathe for a few seconds as she
struggled to comprehend the gravity behind Rosé's words. A strange sorrow settled on Lisa when
Rosé bit her lip and looked away, as though ashamed of what she just confessed.

So Ella's dad had been violent? He must have abused Rosé, hit her very badly...Ella must have
witnessed this and associated the image of her mother curled up on the floor with similar terrible
scenarios that she had lived through... and without even thinking twice, she attacked to protect her
mother...

Was this why Rosé disliked anything associated with punching? It had to be.

"Rosie," Lisa said, at a loss. The other woman still wasn't looking at her.

"I'm okay," Rosé said softly, "but...now you know."

There was an underlying note of pain in her voice. "Seeing Ella act like that just now... she was so
scared she resorted to basic instinct. I would do anything to erase her fears and I pray to God she
will be able to over come those memories without any...issues. She was still very young so I'm
hoping she'd forget. I'm scared of what it might turn into...anxiety, PTSD, nightmares.... she had
some bad dreams, but kids can be quite resilient and tough sometimes, even from a young age."

She looked up with a sad smile. "But no kid should have to go through that, you know?"

"Yeah," Lisa said shakily. She firmly quashed faint whispers rustling in her head and pushed them
back into the dark recess of her mind where they belonged. Her mouth had turned dry. "No kid."

More than anything right now, she wanted to hug the woman next to her, to whisper soothing
words and stroke her fiery mane, to express just how much admiration she deserved for standing
strong after such a harrowing part of her past that clearly still lived in the present—evident in the
haunted glaze in her eyes, evident in her fear for her daughter's future.

"No, don't look at me like that," Rosé pleaded, "I don't need pity, I don't need sympathy. It's simply
a part of my past that I wish never existed...nothing else. I'm still me, I'm still Rosé."

Without even thinking, Lisa's hand landed on Rosé's in-between them, in what she hoped would be
a comforting gesture.

"It's not pity," Lisa said gently, "I get why you don't like boxing much better now." She bowed her
head. "I wish I had known...I wouldn't have pushed you and I wouldn't have tried to—"

"Look at me Lisa. Please."

Reluctantly, Lisa obeyed.

She felt her face heat up under Rosé's intense gaze but she held eye-contact, very much aware of
their close proximity and the odd tension in the air between them. The room felt warmer than
before. Was Rosé feeling it too?
Lisa tried hard not to focus on the red-haired girl's lips moving as she spoke.

"It wouldn't have changed anything," Rosé said softly. "Your passion is boxing, and as your friend,
I want to hear all about it. Maybe...maybe even pick it up a little more, get invested in it. You gave
pilates a chance...maybe boxing could help me too."

Lisa perked up, but not because of Rosé's apparent acceptance of the sport.

"We're friends?" she asked shyly. "For real?"

"We aren't?" Rosé teased back. "I thought we established that last time? You even gave me a
nickname."

Just like that, the tension broke and they were chuckling again. Making the chubby-cheeked
woman smile or laughing with Rosé had quickly made it to the top favourite things Lisa enjoyed,
eclipsing even the formidable hobby of seeing how many punches she could hammer into Punchy
under thirty seconds.

"You know, I was gonna try checking up more on X-Men," Lisa said at length, "but we had a bit of
a fallout with Mimi and well...I won't be able to check it up for now."

"I can always lend you stuff to watch, or read," Rosé offered eagerly.

"We don't have a TV or smartphone Rosie," Lisa reminded, "and you're gonna loan me stuff to
read? Isn't it some unspoken rule you don't let people borrow books unless you're a librarian?"

"Well smarty, I guess I can't do much about the technology problem but the comics I had in mind
are pretty old volumes. Also I guess I'm kinda desperate to have a buddy to geek over things with?"

"You don't have friends?" Lisa gawked at her.

Rosé shook her head in amusement. "Parenting takes up a lot of time Lis, you'll see one day."

"Pffftttt babies wouldn't survive a minute with me," Lisa snorted. "I'm not exactly a nurturing
person. I'm more like...like some monstrous creature. Babies are fragile little things, I'd be scared
out of my mind to even hold them."

"But you were really sweet with Ella back there," Rosé pointed out, idly swinging legs. She
suddenly jumped off the Cadillac with a cry. "Gosh, wow, I've wasted so much of your time right
now! I should give this to you as a free session. Come on, let's start on something else."

Lisa chuckled. "Rosie, you ain't slick," she drawled, imitating the instructor words from earlier,
"do you want to see me again that much?"

"You're so full of yourself," Rosé sighed allowing herself to speak her thoughts openly. She smiled
when Lisa only smirked and flexed her biceps in return.

Now that she had revealed a part of her past, Rosé felt even more comfortable around the boxer.
Lisa was right when Rosé had mistakenly called her out for pitying her and Ella—Lisa hadn't been
pitying, she had been understanding.

And Rosé wondered just how Lisa had acquired such compassion—such a unique empathy—for a
situation that would usually bring about horrified gasps and pitying looks, shaking heads and
treacherous whispers.
A boxer with brains, a heart and an enigmatic past. Lisa was indeed a girl of many surprises.

She hadn't yet discovered much about the boxer that could possibly be of any use to her at
large. But they were getting there, they were opening up to each other. Rosé had taken the first
step, now she would wait for Lisa's turn.

Even so, Rosé found herself not minding very much—Lisa could be so much more than a mere
target—she was gradually winning a place in Rosé's heart and the red-haired woman was more
interested to know what exactly made the blonde tick. Maybe learning about Lisa's background
could offer clues as to why the boxer's eyes held a different, deeper mutual understanding of what
Rosé went through.

"Hey by the way, when's your match?" Rosé asked, remembering about the big day coming up
later in the week. Lisa had been too busy examining the straps hanging from the frames of the
Cadillac to notice she was being spoken to, making Rosé smile again.

Jeez, she was smiling too much around her. But really, Lisa was adorable when she was seeing
something new, inspecting everything with child-like curiosity and focusing all her attention on the
object she was investigating.

"Uh Lis? Have you forgotten I'm here already?"

"Hmm?" Lisa blinked. "Oh, oh no! Just looking at this strap thing—"

"That would be the trapeze, but that's not for today yet. When's your fight? This week right?" Rosé
asked again. Lisa brightened and nodded excitedly.

"Yeah, like in two days! Say, why don't you come over and watch?" She asked, failing to stifle her
disappointment at the dark cloud that crossed Rosé's face immediately.

"I um...I don't think I could...um, who would babysit Ella?" Rosé mumbled contritely. "Sorry,
Lis..."

"Don't sweat it," Lisa shrugged, "of course you shouldn't leave the kid all alone at night, she's only
eight! It's completely fine, I swear." She smiled at the other girl. "I understand Rosie, don't beat
yourself up over it. Maybe another time."

"Yeah..." Rosé said again, summoning a new smile to hide her guilt. She couldn't help the tight
squirming in her gut at being reminded of the dreaded day of the week that was fast approaching.

>

"Did you know that a nursing sperm whale's milk comes out in the consistency of cottage cheese?"
Jisoo said as she easily lifted her feet off the ground and settled into the Bakasana, commonly
referred to as the Crow pose in yoga. "It's so the calf can 'eat it' in the water. Pretty cool, right?"

"Okay, first of all, why the hell do you know that, Jisoo?" Jennie grunted as she unsuccessfully
attempted to copy the older's position, "second of all, do you really think right now is the
appropriate time to tell me such things? I feel stupid right now...I'm glad I'm the only one here."

Jisoo giggled. "I got it off Reddit."

"I honestly don't want to know what else you search up in your spare time," Jennie muttered.
"Also, a little help here, guru?"
Jisoo smiled winningly as she turned to the younger girl struggling on her mat. "It's fun. Isn't it fun
learning stuff?"

"Fascinating," Jennie dead-panned. Unperturbed, Jisoo scooted closer to Jennie and patiently
explained the steps again. Jennie simply was not trusting herself to stay balanced, afraid she would
would keel over and hit the mat head-first.

"I can hold you," Jisoo offered.

"Don't try funny stuff," Jennie warned and Jisoo shook her head with a sigh.

"Jennie, I thought we've been over this? I wouldn't touch anyone without their explicit permission."

They had started out well enough, considering both were rather jittery upon Jisoo flinging the door
back wide for Jennie to tiptoe in, unusually timid. Jisoo thought she could get used to this adorable,
shy side of Jennie Kim, which didn't last long before Jennie was back to her usual taciturn
demeanour.

"This is my dog Dalgom. I hope you're okay with dogs? Like, no allergies or anything?" Jisoo said
anxiously when Dalgom raised his head from his basket. He was quite an old dog who had gotten
used to Jisoo's odd mannerisms and nothing much fazed him anymore. In fact, he looked quite
bored to see Jennie but Jennie's face brightened at the sight of him.

"Oh, he's handsome," Jennie cooed as she knelt to pet him and Jisoo knew she meant it. Her heart
swelled with pride and she beamed.

"Yeah. He can be a grumpy ahjussi, but he's my boy. I don't know what I'd do without him. He can
make a great cuddle buddy too!"

"I've always loved dogs," Jennie smiled as she patted Dalgom and rubbed behind his ears. "But
well, we don't have anywhere to keep a dog...or you know, money to buy him stuff. Lisa doesn't
do very well with dogs either. She's more of a cat person."

"Well, you're always welcome to play with Dalgomie," Jisoo said on the spur of the moment. "If
he's feeling like it, that is, of course."

"That's assuming I'll come back, Jisoo."

"Oh, you will," Jisoo said confidently and Jennie sighed.

"You and my sister make quite a pair. A pair of smooth talkers."

"And you sound like a train with all your sighing. Does Lisa make you sigh this much too?" Jisoo
quipped.

Jennie was about to sigh again but she caught herself in time, settling for a pout which didn't help
in the slightest because Jisoo simply started cooing at her instead.

"Let's just get started on the yoga thing," Jisoo said at last when she had her fill of pouting Jennie
and her baby face.

"This is where you say sike, isn't it?" Jennie snarked. She still sounded sceptical, even when they
stepped into the yoga studio and passed by the certificates hanging on the wall, testament to Jisoo's
license.
"Anyone could duplicate those," Jennie pointed out. Jisoo shrugged, not even perturbed in the
slightest.

"Well then, prepare to have your mind blown away."

"Surprise me," Jennie dead-panned, raising an eyebrow in challenge. Jisoo was more than ready to
accept the challenge and immediately started showing off the most advanced positions after a
quick warm up that Jennie consented to do alongside her.

"Ever heard of flying yoga?" Jisoo said casually as she reached over to an overhanging trapeze sash
dangling from the ceiling. Jennie's eyes widened when Jisoo hoisted herself up and started twirling
and turning, elegant and poised as a ballerina.

"Oh," was all Jennie could say in awe as she watched the lithe body practically dancing in slow-
motion in mid-air. "You're good."

Jisoo had planned on being smug when Jennie inevitably saw that she wasn't bluffing, but hearing
the sincere compliment, void of doubt or scepticism, caused Jisoo to blush instead.

"Thank you." Her voice came out rather higher than she intended and she quickly descended back
to the ground next to Jennie. "So, still think I'm a scammer?"

Jennie lifted her shoulders. "Maybe it's part of your cover."

"Oh for heaven's sake, Jendeuk," Jisoo said exasperatedly. Jennie merely grinned.

Her grin gradually transformed into a perpetual frown when they actually got to the part of
performing the mat exercises, frustration levels mounting as she watched Jisoo effortlessly carry
out the more complex poses with a perplexed look on her face.

She couldn't understand why she was finding it difficult to focus, and no, she would never admit
that Jisoo's body in those tight-fit yoga pants and shirt had anything to do with her lack of
concentration—she was straight after all.

It didn't help that Jisoo kept peppering her explanations with random weird facts—the consistency
of whale milk was one of many.

As Jennie reasoned (internally, because she didn't want to hurt Jisoo's feelings), who the hell cared
that bank robberies mostly occurred on Fridays? Or that holding severed heads in movies with one
hand was unrealistic unless you're grabbing them from the hair because the shape was not
homogeneous like a bowling ball's so they would fall or whatever she said?

"Maybe I should get you started with beginner level, like how to stretch maybe," Jisoo teased at
one point. She was responded with a weary sigh.

"Just help me stand on my hands without breaking my neck, thanks."

"Jendeuk, you're not trusting yourself enough. That fear is holding you back," Jisoo said briskly as
she moved in front of Jennie. "Try again. Take your feet off the ground slowly and lean forward.
Lock your knees on your elbows." She positioned her hands hovering just above Jennie's shoulders.
"I'm here to catch you, I'll push you back if you fall forward too much."

Jennie see-sawed back and forth each time she kicked off and Jisoo tutted, her ponytail dancing
behind her back.
"Slow Jendeuk. Nice and slow. No need to kick off so strongly."

"Can't we try something else?" Jennie whined, immediately scowling when Jisoo chittered like a
chimpanzee.

"How are you going to do more complicated stuff if you can't handle the basics, you big baby?"
she said playfully.

"Wow, no wonder you don't have any clients if this is the way you talk down to them," Jennie
huffed, hot and bothered. Immediately she knew she said the wrong thing—the silence that fell was
heavy and stifling even though Jisoo broke it with a uneasy laugh.

"Ah well...not really...I didn't actually..." she said uncertainly then cleared her throat. "Never mind,
let's go at it again."

They were quieter after that. Jisoo still pointed out and encouraged Jennie but without injecting any
extra dollop of quirkiness in her speech. And although Jennie managed to follow the instructions
and finally get into the Crow position, her success was strangely muted. It didn't help that her guilt
over the way she put down the other girl wouldn't go away, although Jennie struggled to admit she
was at fault.

"So...hope I changed your perspective of my yoga skills," Jisoo said later at the door after Jennie
had showered and changed. Jisoo was smiling but to Jennie, it seemed different from the other
smiles—this one did not quite reach Jisoo's eyes. The guilt deepened when she noticed Jisoo didn't
look her directly in the eye as before.

"Oh I'm convinced now, for sure," Jennie replied lightly, "though I'm still curious if you were
bluffing about the Jisoo yoga you mentioned."

"Nope, that's exclusive only to me and to my followers," Jisoo winked, "which means me and
Dalgom."

"But you said I'm the first to know."

"Did I? Kinda forgot now..."

Jennie needed to pick up Lisa so they could catch the bus back home and time was ticking as she
dithered in the hallway, desperately trying to work up the courage to clear the stiff, awkward air
between them.

"Jisoo..."

"Yeah?"

"I...we're still on? Af-after my shift?"

She thought she saw Jisoo's shoulders lift a tiny bit and then slump again when Jennie finished her
question.

"Yeah, sure. I'll pick you up, Jen," Jisoo said softly. "Three-thirty, right? I'll be there."

Jennie knew she was being a callous specimen of the human race (on par with a certain Japanese
boxer in fact) to ask anything of Jisoo after she had just put the older girl down like that.

And yet Jisoo simply said she'll be there, as she had done the past two nights. Jennie felt her heart
give a pang at her words. She wouldn't be surprised if Jisoo stood her up to pay her back. Honestly,
she'd be deserving of it.

A simple apology would do but of course, pride stood in the way. Why apologise for something
that was quite true anyway? Jisoo shouldn't have pushed her like that.

"See you later then—"

"Well, well, well and who do we have here?" came a scathing voice from behind Jennie. Jisoo's
eyes hovered over Jennie's shoulders, eyes narrowing and turning hard.

"Soojoo," she said. Jennie had never heard Jisoo's voice so arctic cold.

The brunette turned to behold an attractive tall woman with long, glossy black hair leaning against
the wall, arms folded and a cruel smile playing about her mouth. She was looking directly at them.

"Why Chu, I had no idea you're having girls over," the woman called Soojoo said as she
straightened and sauntered closer to them. "You found another little hobbit to keep you company
while chatting about aliens? How endearing. Do tell me where you found her, I'm in short supply
of company at the moment."

"You know her?" Jennie whispered to Jisoo.

"Intimately," Soojoo replied sweetly before Jisoo could answer. She stopped just in front of Jennie
and caged her in with a hand pressing into the wall near Jennie's ear. "Soo-ya is a real weirdo, has
she shown you her plushy collection yet? She has whole families of them—"

"Soojoo, leave her out of this. She's just a client," Jisoo growled.

"Ohh a client. Or are you the client and she's servicing you?" Soojoo sneered, making an obscene
gesture that had Jisoo blushing to the roots of her hair. "Remember the good times Soo-ya? You
were always so weird in bed—"

"Soojoo, I'm warning you," Jisoo growled. Jennie's eyes flitted back and forth, wracking her mind
to figure out an escape.

"Make me," Soojoo snickered before she turned back to Jennie. "Say, she's kinda cute although
short. Seems like quite the catch."

"Uhm, excuse me but could you stand back? You're in my space." Jennie said curtly. She stiffened
when Soojoo only leaned in closer, leering at her. Jennie senses were overpowered by her scent,
suffocating her.

"Soojoo, last warning," Jisoo barked, clenching her fist. Jennie shot her a look, subtly asking her to
stay put. Or at least that's how Jisoo took to interpret it. She hovered uncertainly on the balls of her
feet as Soojoo practically pinned Jennie against the wall.

"Ooooooh are you scared I'll seduce her and take your new toy away? You gotta share toys you
know, old time fuckbuddies and all," Soojoo giggled before she switched her attention back to
Jennie. "So, tell me shorty, on a scale one to ten, how good is she at screwing your brains out? I'm
sure I could do you better—OOF!"

Soojoo stumbled back, the wind knocked out of her lungs when Jennie flung her foot out, hitting
her in the liver with a powerful kick. Jisoo stared, jaw slack.
"There's an advantage to being short: I don't need much space to lash out," Jennie informed the
wheezing Soojoo. "I don't know what your history with Jisoo is, but I do know that you need to
stay the hell away from the both of us. You're not nice at all, and I don't like people who aren't nice
to my friends."

At this, the other woman laughed. "Friends? She's just waiting on the right opportunity to jump
you! Sweetheart, are you that innocent? Or perhaps a closeted lesbian? She gets the hots for those,
just waiting on the right moment to seduce them! Don't fall for her charms little girl!"

"Soojoo, enough!" Jisoo snapped and surged forward in front of Jennie, pushing the other girl
behind her back. "Go take your crap some place else! We're done here."

Soojoo's eyes glittered evilly as she held up her hands in surrender and backed away. "Was just
passing by Chu, just passing by. Nice meeting you Shorty number two. And Chu, always a
pleasure seeing you of course, weirdo." She smirked in Jennie's direction. "Let's see how long she
lasts, hmm? Does she know about the alien dildos, Chu?"

She burst into peals of mocking laughter, disappearing down the hall when she turned a corner.
Her fading footsteps echoed in time with Jennie's thudding heartbeat. She slowly turned to look at
Jisoo at the exact moment that Jisoo turned to look at her.

"An ex?" Jennie asked lamely.

Jisoo grimaced. "Old time hook-up. She lives in the same building unfortunately. I'm not sure if she
either hates me or she's not over me yet. Ohh and she's lying, I swear! I don't have any of
those...dirty stuff," she added hastily, pink in the face. "It's just rumours Soojoo spreads
around...she's spiteful like that." She sighed. "People tend to believe her and well...I guess it weirds
them out."

Incredibly, Jennie smiled.

Her mouth peeled back, stretching wide and broad, showing her gummy smile and leaving Jisoo
rooted to the spot.

Her smile... hot damn, Jennie's smile was beautiful. Why didn't she ever smile this wide? Wait why
was she smiling right now? Oh God, she was going to laugh at her, wasn't she? Jennie Kim was
going to laugh at her.

"A woman with a few screws loose harasses you and hits on me, but the only thing you're worried
about is what I think of you having alien sex toys?"

"I don't! I'm tired of hearing that!" Jisoo stomped her foot like a little kid.

"Jisoo, I couldn't care less. That's your business." Jennie covered her mouth in effort to stifle her
giggles. "I'm sorry but— your ex—that's so lame. She's so lame."

Jisoo was at a loss on how to react—too much had happened in a short time and her brain wasn't
keeping up. Somewhere along the way it had given up on her and drawn a blank, except for one
thing: Jennie was smiling at her, really smiling at her.

Well thank you Soojoo you did something right for once, but next time, it would be all her
doing, Jisoo was determined, just you wait.

"Well I...I'm used to her bothering me and, and you handled her fine, sure. But I don't want you to
think I'm weirder than you already do. I just...I don't want you to be frightened away," Jisoo
ventured when she collected her thoughts into a more coherent structure.

Jennie scoffed. "You think I would listen to that stupid slut over you? Even if you do have odd
hobbies, you're still way nicer than she is. Jisoo, you're worth twelve of her." Her lips quirked up at
the corners. "Is it true you have a huge plushy collection?"

Unaware to the younger girl, Jisoo was internally screaming but she managed to hold it all down
without exploding. Yet she couldn't help the pleased smile crossing her face and Jennie noticed it
too.

"What? It's true? Yah, why are you looking at me like that?"

"You defended me. And you said...I'm your friend," Jisoo added hopefully. She tried to suppress
her disappointment when Jennie looked at the ground. "Oh of course, I guess you said it in the heat
of the moment, I get it—"

Jennie shook her head, feeling the tension from the unexpected encounter with Jisoo's ex dissipate
the distance that had sprung up between her and Jisoo. "I meant it," she admitted, just as bashful as
the girl next to her.

"Oh..." Jisoo's eyes were as round as saucers.

"You're my friend and...I owe you an apology, for earlier." Jennie took a deep breath. "I'm sorry
I...I mean that wasn't nice of me to...to insinuate anything about..."

She trailed off when she raised her eyes and spotted Jisoo beaming. It was as though sunlight filled
the cold corridor they were currently in and Jennie found herself basking in Jisoo's warm aura.

How come she hadn't noticed it before?

"It's all good Jendeuk. I'm sorry if I was pushing you as well. I'll try to be more careful in the
future," Jisoo said simply. "And now....are you still on time with the bus? Or do you want a lift
back?"

Jennie rubbed her neck sheepishly, embarrassment dusting her cheeks pink as she glanced at her
phone. "Ah..."

Jisoo grinned in understanding. "Let's go get your sister and get you to work then. Oh and
Jendeuk?"

"Yeah?"

Jisoo smiled dopily. "I think I'm in love with your gummy smile."
 Test

Moments after her daughter returned home, Rosé was chasing Ella around the apartment, both of
them giggling and laughing. Rosé hadn't even bothered with telling Ella to put her shoes away
neatly or take off her uniform—she was in a surprisingly playful mood and immediately after
welcoming Ella home with a kiss, she started tickling her daughter, which started the madcap
chase. Bori fled into Ella's room to avoid the annoyingly loud humans disturbing her nap.

"I'm gonna catch you!" Rosé called, red hair streaming behind her as she skidded to a halt in front
of Ella's bedroom.

Ella squealed as she jumped on to her bed with her mother following close behind, eyes glittering.

"Aha! The tickle monster sees its prey and it's very hungry!" Rosé declared before she pounced on
the girl burrowing underneath the blankets. "Gotcha!"

Ella came up screaming and thrashing. "No no mommy I can't I can't—"

"I'm not mommy I'm the tickle monster! Rawwr!" Rosé replied as she scrambled to trap Ella and
tickle her armpits. "After I tickle you I'm gonna gobble you all up OM NOM NOM!" she added
pretending to munch on Ella's shoulder.

After some more squealing and laughter, Rosé finally relented and sat back, grinning at her
daughter who was red in the face trying to catch her breath.

"That was fun. We should do it more often," Ella giggled. "Can we do it again?"

"Sure you're not getting too old for me huh? I thought that's what you said last time?" Rosé winked.
"You said you're too old to be playing tickle monster with me?"

"Never! Not me! Nuh-uh!" Ella protested. "We can go at it again and do it all night long!"

Rosé laughed. "And who's gonna cook? Bori?"

"Well yeah. Maybe she will cook if we pretend to not see. I think she can. In Ratatouille, they said
anyone can cook. If a rat can, why not a cat?" Ella confided in a whisper.

They both glanced at the cat who quietly washing her face in the corner on Ella's beanbag before
Rosé snorted.

"Well, I'd rather much not have cat hair in my food tonight, so I'm in charge of the cooking, okay?"
She leaned down and kissed Ella's forehead, humming contentedly as she made her way out of the
room.

"Mommy?"

"Yes baby?"

"Did Lisa unnie come over today?"

Rosé stopped and looked at her daughter curiously. "No. Why do you ask?"

Ella shrugged. "It's that day when you're quiet today, but you're laughing and smiling a lot."
"Don't I usually smile and laugh a lot when you're here?" Rosé humoured her.

Ella looked thoughtful. "It feels...different? We never played on days like this. But you're smiling
like when Lisa unnie was here, or at the Vault. So I thought maybe she came here to cheer you
up?"

Rosé blinked, shaking herself. "N-no she didn't come at all."

But that didn't mean she wasn't thinking of the blonde—she didn't quite know when they would be
seeing each other again, Jennie had still been a little unsure. Not to mention Lisa had that match
later on today. She had spent all day during and in between classes wondering and reminiscing on
the moments they shared together, her heart warming at the memories that also quirked her lips
into a smile.

"I...I'm just in a good mood before I go out today, I guess. The fact you were right on time is bonus
too, baby," Rosé added smiling fondly, "I'm glad you didn't linger on the street too much."

"Well, Bori wasn't there so I didn't have to look for her," Ella shrugged.

Of course not, Rosé thought. She had learned from her scare last time and had gone down to hunt
for the cat out on its daily wanderings before her daughter returned. Ella didn't need to linger
outside in the alleys more than necessary. It had been a one-off true, because Bori usually slunk
back from her wanderings to greet Ella, but Rosé decided she'd rather get the cat herself than have
Ella loitering outside.

"I didn't even ask you because the tickle monster wanted to play... so, how was the lesson today?
Did you have any problems playing?" Rosé asked as she moved into the kitchen and put on her
apron to start cooking. Ella followed close behind.

Rosé smiled to see her daughter's eyes sparkling as she pushed a chair close by to help with the
food preparation. The girl launched into an enthusiastic narrative. "Oh I wanted to tell you! Hana
today was sick so it was just me, Chaka and Bumin so Mister Lee could pay us more attention and
guess what, I played all the pieces perfectly and learned another arpeggio!"

"That's great baby!"

"Wait, there's more! Mister Lee is really happy with me and he said he want to have me play either
a solo or duet at the end of year concert in June! He said he'll have to pick between the four of us
on who will represent the Juniors."

"Ella!" Rosé squeaked in excitement, "no way!"

"Yes way!" Ella said pleased with her mother's reaction as she took up the small peeler and started
peeling potatoes. Her eyebrows scrunched adorably as she concentrated hard.

"My baby's gonna play in front of the whole school," Rosé said in delight, "who would have
thought? We need to tell Aunty Jisoo!"

"Nothing's been decided yet Mom," Ella said, slightly bashful. "Mister Lee still hasn't confirmed."

"Well then he better confirm! Hmm, maybe it's high time I bought you a little synthesizer to
practise more often eh? You'd like that, eh? Having your very own piano to come home too. Walls
are moderately thick so I think we should be okay. And besides, you play very nice either way, I'm
sure people won't mind."
Rosé hummed cheerfully even dropping the vegetables she was chopping up and getting Ella to
dance and sway with her on the floor.

"Mommy what are you doing?" Ella giggled as her mother twirled them around.

"Dancing," Rosé laughed. She couldn't really tell why she was acting all goofy and idiotic when in
a few hours she would have to venture out of her cosy apartment and leave her daughter all alone.

"Why?"

"Just feeling like it. It's a good day today. Let's dance! You could be the one getting to play in front
of everybody and I know my baby will blow everyone's minds with her talent."

"Mom!" Ella whined, blushing pink.

"You gotta dance with me if you want me to stop talking," Rosé sang and started dancing wildly.
She didn't stop to wonder where the tense, anxious, on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown Rosé
from a week ago had gone.

But for once Life seemed to be smiling down at her.

She still had to be cautious of course—she still couldn't let her guard down, no matter how
benevolent people might appear...but she couldn't help be taken up with Lisa's cheerful and spunky
charisma. The blonde and her sister made do with the little they had, and Lisa —although crude
and crass at times—made Rosé smile.

Lisa had obviously been through a lot, but despite the hardships, she still had that sunshine aura.
Her infectious bubbly personality was perhaps leaving a mark on Rosé. The instructor found
herself smiling whenever she thought of the clumsy blonde boxer awkwardly trying to cover up a
faux pas; or else concentrating hard on the task at hand, or else listening intently when Rosé was
explaining something; or else the way she spoke so passionately and knowledgeably about boxing;
or the way she had comforted Rosé after she found out about a dark piece of the instructor's past....

"Would you have to go out more often at night to get money and buy the synth-sizer?" Ella asked
soberly.

"Syn-the-sizer," Rosé corrected. "I don't think so. I think have enough money stashed up for that,"
she reassured, hating the way the mood had quickly lowered at the mention of her other job. Ella
slowed her dancing until she came to a stop, avoiding her mother's quizzical gaze.

"Mom?"

"Yes sweetie?"

Ella looked down at her feet. "If... if I'm chosen to play at the concert... would you come see me?"

"Of course baby! I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Her mother exclaimed, planting a sweet kiss on
Ella's forehead. "I do hope he chooses you, I can't wait for everybody to see—"

"Even if it's on a day like today?"

Rosé paused and bit her lip, words sticking in her throat. She should have seen this coming.

"Well, I mean...h-hopefully it wouldn't be b-but I'll do my best to work around it if that's the case,
I-I promise."
Ella was quiet for a few more moments then—

"I thought...maybe if I tried hard enough and was good all the time...then maybe..."

"'Maybe'?" Rosé encouraged. Ella took a deep breath.

"Maybe you wouldn't have to go out every week..." she said quietly.

Distraught, Rosé crouched down level with her daughter and cupped her face. "Oh honey... where
did you get such an idea? It isn't about you being good or bad, okay? It's just...a better paying job
than pilates. So we can have nice things, you know?"

"But...what if I was really extra good," Ella persisted, "we can make a deal. I'll be top of class, and
you won't have to go for...for a year!"

"Sweetheart..."

"Or summer! Just this summer? You won't have to go all summer if I get top marks," Ella
practically steamrollered over Rosé's feeble protest. She was looking up with a hopeful gaze.
"Please? So we can... we can go to the park with Aunty Jisoo and Dalgom...or visit Lisa unnie and
Jennie unnie more often! You like Lisa unnie. And she likes you lots too, I can tell! It would be
fun."

Rosé's heart sank lower. "Baby, you know I can't stop working, least of all in summer..."

"Why though?"

Rosé dithered helplessly as she cast about for inspiration before she fell back on the old excuse.

"Um...bad things could...happen..."

"But what kind of bad things? You always say that..."

Her mother sighed. "Ella, baby, why all the questions tonight?"

And Ella sighed, curling up in on herself. "It's just...just...it gets a little boring and...and scary, all
by myself. But mostly boring," she added hastily.

Translation: I miss you Mom. I'm scared being alone.

Rosé had turn away for a long moment, pinching the bridge of her nose hard. No no no no she was
NOT going to cry right there in front of her eight-year old daughter.

"Baby me too, but I get to spend the rest of the week with you and nobody will ever take that
away," she said finally when she regained control.

"You promise? Even for summer?"

"You know I have to work more in summer, El." Rosé was practically pleading now—she was
always weak for when her baby was upset....but not weak enough.

Ella's shoulder slumped. "I thought... see, Juhyun said his family is gonna go to Busan for summer
to swim in the sea and I thought...we could take a train and go there too...."

If only it were as simple as catching a train.

"Come here baby," Rosé called softly as crouched down and cupped her face. "I'm very very sorry
we can't go to the sea. Not yet. Right now, we can't leave Seoul."

"Because bad things will happen? Like, if I don't come back here quick after piano, bad things
could happen, that sort of thing?" Ella looked sceptical. "I don't even know what the bad things are.
What are they exactly, Mom?"

"Quickly not quick, Ella, speak properly," Rosé said, sidestepping the questions and running her
fingers through her daughter's mousy brown hair distractedly.

There was a reason she was always on edge on this particular day, when Ella stayed late at school
for piano lessons and then later was dropped off by the school minivan at the end of the street.

On other school days, Ella would catch a lift with a classmate of hers whose mother dropped her
off right in front of the building, so there was no worry involved—Ella was safe once she stepped
inside the reception area, since the apartment complex was agreed to be strictly off-limits to the
likes of them.

So why not go pick up her daughter from the end of the street if she was so concerned?

Well, therein lay the dilemma: leaving Ella to walk the reminder of the way home—even in the
rain—was a test.

A wicked, taunting test set to prove Rosé's obedience by tying an invisible noose around her neck
and giving it a light tug to remind her where she stood in the game.

It was a test that her daughter (and everyone else around Rosé), were completely oblivious about.
Ella would be safe once inside the building, but all alone in the streets...

So once a week, Rosé would wait— nerves falling apart—hoping and hoping she had
passed their test. Performed her duties correctly without alerting the authorities. Being a dutiful
and loyal minion. Seeking out useful information from her unsuspecting pilates clients. Waiting for
instructions, if there were any.

The test was a mocking reminder that they held Rosé firmly in their grasp, like an obedient dog.

Besides, should she ever get ideas of breaking out...

Rosé shivered, hearing the silky soft voice from her nightmares whispering the warning in her ear
once again:"Who knows what could be lurking in the shadows, waiting to kidnap an innocent child
even in broad daylight?"

"...om? Mom, are you listening to me?" Ella was saying, bringing Rosé back to the present.

"Yes, yes. Sorry, got a little distracted. You were saying?"

"Is it the money?" Ella looked downcast. "Is that why we can't go? Juhyun did mention the beach
house his dad bought cost hundreds and hundreds and hundreds. We can't have a holiday because
we don't have money, is that it?"

Money was the least of their problems, truth be told.

But she forgone explaining in favour of maintaining the white lie. "Yes money, and finding a place
to stay, and arranging dates and tickets. All need a lot of money that I'd rather not spend right now.
But someday, we'll go."
"Pinky-promise?" Ella said solemnly as she held up her little finger. Rosé was immediately visited
by a sense of deja-vu—she saw her daughter making a pinky-promise with Lisa, both of them all
smiles as they hooked their individual small fingers together, Lisa looking particularly delighted
and glancing up at Rosé for approval with a beaming face.

Ignoring the sinking feeling in her heart, Rosé intertwined her finger with Ella's pinky finger and
summoned a smile. "That's a promise, baby. Just...not this year."

Ella still looked disappointed but thankfully, she seemed to have accepted the situation without
inquiring further. They returned to cooking and chopping the vegetables. The mood in the kitchen
was a lot more subdued, despite Ella's chattering and narration of the day's events at school. Rosé
hummed and responded at intervals, but she wasn't really listening anymore. Her previous good
mood had faded like smoke, to be replaced with the usual dread as the clock hands crawled faster
towards her time of departure.

She gritted her teeth as her fingers clenched around the handle of the knife she was holding.

She hated it. They were trapped and although she tried to remain optimistic of ever finding a way
to be free...her hope was steadily fizzling out with every year that passed.

Rosé glanced at her daughter cooing and trying to feed Bori some red pepper. The cat turned its
nose up and stalked out of the kitchen, followed by a whining Ella who was determined to get the
cat to eat her greens.

Rosé bent her head, fiery tresses hiding her face from view as a single tear rolled down her cheek.
"I'm sorry, baby," she breathed, almost choking on guilt.

I'm sorry for being a terrible mother.

>

"No no no, but hear me out," Jisoo said loudly as they drove towards their destination. The passing
streetlights splashed across her face, lighting her gleaming eyes. "Get this. What if the stars in the
sky are the holes poked into the container that allows us to breathe? And so that's why they appear
white...we're looking up at the lid from the inside."

Lisa's pupils dilated. "Holy mother of bagels.... but who owns the container?"

"Ain't that the million-dollar question?" Jisoo retorted. "But it sure beats Lion King's fireflies-
stuck-in-the-sky theory, if you ask me."

There came a loud groan from the backseat behind them. "Are you being serious right now?"

"Totally serious," Jisoo said seriously.

"You mean seriously bonkers," Jennie fired back, "I'm beginning to wonder if it's wise to put my
life in the hands of a five-year old who believes such nonsense. I won't even comment, it's a waste
of brainpower."

"You kinda did though?" Lisa grinned. "A non-comment is a comment in itself."

"Whatever," Jennie grumbled low in her throat but unbeknown to the goofy duo giggling and
exchanging high-fives in front of her, Jennie was also eyeing them fondly in between drooping
eyelids.
Seeing Jisoo happily talking with no fear of being judged or ridiculed (even if it was nonsense)
also had Jennie feeling quietly happy for her new friend. Even if Jisoo was an eccentric through
and through, she had been nothing but kind; she didn't deserve to be humiliated and bullied.

Not to mention watching her sister get along with someone outside of their usual friend circle—
even though Jisoo happened to be quite the oddball—made her proud that Lisa was stepping out of
her comfort zone.

Not many knew of Lisa's past and her efforts to integrate and communicate with other people on a
normal level. It was nice seeing how that had changed so much, with Lisa blossoming into quite
the extrovert. Jennie used to remember a time when Lisa was a wholly different person. Credits for
the transformation were due to Hwangssabu: his infinite patience and firm tutelage, and of course,
boxing.

Boxing.

Jennie stiffened as she remembered just where she was: in Jisoo's SUV, heading towards the
Slammer for Lisa's first PFB match in nearly a fortnight. Tonight, they would find out whether the
little pilates Lisa had done would be enough to shake her out of her slump.

Lisa was fizzing with excitement, a sentiment Jennie wished she shared but she was too tense. Too
much was at stake for this comeback. They needed a solid win to get the money. She wondered if
Lisa's supporters had dwindled or abandoned them altogether, or whether her sister's name had
fallen from the top seeds ranking.

She hoped and hoped Lisa's slump was well and truly over. She had lit up an extra incense stick
(but the very last) in front of Hwangssabu's photo for good luck.

Jisoo had offered to give them the ride when she found out they usually walked—the sisters didn't
mind walking, it was warm-up in a way—but Jisoo had been so eager to attend and watch Lisa that
Jennie couldn't find it in her heart to say no. Seeing Lisa's delighted face at having an extra
supporter also helped in the decision, especially since Somi, Dahyun and Chaeyoung still hadn't
shown up at the Vault.

"Gotta warn you, it can be a bit too much for first-timers," Jennie had warned but Jisoo dismissed
her with an airy: "I can take it."

She then had proceeded to ask all manner of questions to quench her curiosity, a nearly endless list
that Jennie answered as patiently as she could, given her strained mood:

Why aren't you competing too?

Not good at fighting as Lisa is. ("good at yelling and putting people in shape though," "shut up
Lisa.")

Have you ever fought before?

Once. It was bad. Next.

What is it like? Is it fake like WWE?

Brutal and fast, but drawn-out for entertainment purposes. And it's real.

Do you get to punch their teeth out?

Not great sportsmanship but there's no rules to stop it so yeah, if you want to.

How long is each round?

Like ten minutes, there's three of them.

Will there be blood?

Possibly...

What about....And oh is there.....Can't they do that....Can they do this...

Jennie reckoned she could have done without snarling and being unpleasantly condescending
about some answers to the point that even her sister called her out at times, but Jisoo would only
look in the rear view mirror and wink at the disgruntled trainer, unruffled by Jennie's behaviour.
Whenever Jennie gave a short one-word answer, Lisa would immediately jump in to embellish the
answer with extra information.

Something told Jennie that the elder girl knew she wasn't in the mood to be answering questions,
yet Jisoo always fielded her questions to Jennie first before turning to Lisa for more details.

Maybe she did that so I don't feel left out, Jennie reflected. That's nice of her...

Jennie shook her head and stifled a yawn, fatigue and and anxiety being key ingredients for her
irritable mood. She had been sleeping less and less, what with her longer shifts and the rising
anxiety of Lisa's return to the ring both combining to make her restless. Consuming energy drinks
also didn't help in the sleeping department. Jisoo gently tried to offer buying something more
nutritious and filling than energy drinks, but Jennie flatly refused.

"Jendeuk? Hey, is she asleep?"

"What?" Jennie whined. She had been on the verge of nodding off. "We're nowhere near yet—"

"I know."

There came soft rustles and crackles of what sounded like paper bags, accompanied by the sweet
smell of sugar that had Jennie's eyes snapping open immediately.

"I got you guys sweet bagels before I picked you up but I thought maybe it's not good to eat before
a match so I didn't give them out...but then again they'll be too cold later so I guess...pre-match
energy boost?" Jisoo said sheepishly. She glanced at Jennie in the mirror again, flashing a warm
smile.

"I don't want to get bloated right now. I'm good with eating them cold later after the match," Lisa
shrugged. "Jennie won't be fighting so she can eat."

"Here, hand this to her then, I'm sure she's hungry."

Before Jennie could protest, Lisa took the paper bag and turned in her seat. "Here you go unnie, eat
up. And don't say no, you haven't been eating anything. I heard your stomach growling earlier."
She waved the tantalising bagel beneath Jennie's nose. "Mmm, smells really good. Maybe I should
take a bite—"

Wordlessly, Jennie took the paper bag out of her sister's hand, savouring the lingering warmth
emanating from it. She indulged in the aroma of the warm bagel dusted with cinnamon sugar as she
bit into it. A rich, sweet flavour burst in her mouth and covered her tongue; she almost moaned
with pleasure.

"Is it okay?" Jisoo called, sounding hesitant. "I know it's not healthy, and I didn't know if you like
cinnamon sugar but it was the first thing I saw, they were fresh out of the oven and the shop lady
said—"

"It's delicious," Jennie said quietly, stifling another moan that bubbled up her throat. Her eyes
closed in appreciation as she swallowed and bit off another chunk once the first morsel had slipped
down her gullet, filling her with gratitude. "Thank you Chu."

The car swerved slightly before they were driving straight again, but Jennie noticed and smiled.

>

Jisoo sat on the bench, front-row seat and closest to the pit where the ring was located in the centre
of the hall, courtesy of Jennie and Lisa's request to the organisers. Jennie gave her a rare wink from
her post beneath the elevated platform as Jisoo was ushered to her seat by a buff security guard.
She only realised it was a prime seat when she glimpsed the curious stares from her seat
neighbours.

After facing down their stares with a blank one of her own until they turned away, Jisoo settled
back to observe her surroundings as more people filed in, the hubbub increasing in the rather stuffy
air circulating in the arena.

It was a high, high hall with dazzling white floodlights shining from above. The seats consisted of
rows ascending in concentric circles around the boxing ring in the centre—Jisoo counted at least
forty rows. Every fifth row divided by barriers, but she got distracted by all the people that were
settling in their seats, crowding and jostling around her. She calculated it wouldn't be a packed
house but the turn-out was still way more than she had initially thought these events attracted and
that was impressive. She hadn't realised how big of a thing PFB was. Jisoo resolved to catch on to
more live matches on TV in the future.

There were four passageways leading into the arena from the cardinal directions: north, south, east
and west. A man in white and orange vest with First-Aid box stood by idly, close to the ring,
talking to another man in a black-and-white striped shirt and black pants—the medic and the
referee.

Jisoo also noticed the buff men in black stationed at strategic points dotted around the arena—
security guards to control the crowd in case they got violent and rowdy. She had to admit to being a
little apprehensive as she noticed the majority of spectators were men and quite raucuous ones at
that. The barriers dividing the sections weren't very high either—people could easily climb over
them and reach the ring.

Jennie had assured her that in all her time at the Slammer, riots and invasion of the ring by the
audience were very, very rare— the organisers at the Slammer had a very strict policy regarding
safety and violation of rules with high penalties and downright refusal of entry involved. Alcohol
was not allowed on the premises, so usually, any instigators of violence would be those intoxicated
persons coming after visiting bars or clubs. The security at the door would take note of such
persons to keep an eye out for them during matches and so far, the method seemed to have worked.

"First time here?"

Jisoo turned to the stranger next to her, quickly chalking him up as just a mere bored onlooker
picking a conversation to while away the time before the show started—his eyes held simple
curiosity rather than carnal lust, or at least that's what she gauged it to be. She wished she had a
drink with her to spill on him—it had worked out fine with Lisa and Jennie's workmates.

On closer observation, he seemed to stick out as much as she did—while the majority of the
audience was comprised of brawny, oily, loud men and fierce-looking women, this man was tall
and rather reserved, with a wistful air about him. He seemed to be alone too, but he was relaxed in
contrast with Jisoo's tense posture.

"Yeah, I came with a friend," Jisoo shrugged, eyeing the man intently, "usually I go stargazing and
UFO hunting but well, it seemed like the universe decided to change course all of a sudden so here
I am. I hope they don't sight UFO's tonight or I'll be quite miffed I missed it."

"Well, hope you enjoy the show. I would say it's rather different than looking up at the sky," he
said, surprising her with his nonchalance. He held out his hand. "Jinyoung. Park Jinyoung."

Interesting.

Jisoo considered, before she shook hands with him too. "Jisoo," she said, "Kim Jisoo."

"Pleasure. If you have any questions, I think it wold be best to ask right now because once in the
thick of it, I'd doubt we'd be able to understand each other much," he explained. "I mean, the place
can turn deafening once the fight gets underway. We have some fifteen minutes left for sure."

He pointed at the large display screen hanging above the ring and showing the time, which was
one of four screens facing opposite directions that would be also transmitting live footage to
whoever wanted to watch it from the comfort of their home.

Jisoo immediately jumped on the opportunity to delve into the more technical fine points that she
wasn't able to get out of Lisa and Jennie because she ran out of time.

"What's the Undertaker like? I only know the Thai Tornado," Jisoo said, thinking that Jinyoung
would be more familiar with using Lisa's alias rather than the blonde's real name. Jennie had
mentioned The Undertaker as being Lisa's opponent for the night. But even so, there had been a
huge billboard hanging just above the door to the Slammer, framed with neon lights and with the
words Thai Tornado VS The Undertaker emblazoned on it. Nobody heading into the Slmmaer
could possibly miss it, unless you were stoned out of your mind.

"She's a former top seed," Jinyoung immediately launched into his explanation, his eyes coming
alive. "She's tough and has a brutal uppercut—many the time she's knocked out her opponents by
the second round if she's savage enough. I would say she's a solid opponent, she did get into the
Purge the last couple years while Tornado didn't, but Tornado has ranked consistently higher
because of more match wins. Tornado is faster and smarter and in PFB, sometimes speed wins over
brute strength.

Unless you manage to get in a powerful first punch that disorientates your opponent, then maybe
brute strength would win in that scenario. But Tornado was good at avoiding those knockout
punches usually—she tends to tire out her opponents before busting out her moves. It's her asset
really—being light on her toes. She's technically lightweight when compared to more heavy-set
thumpers, but she can keep up well on average due to her hit-fast-and-retreat approach. It's in her
name after all: Tornado."

"You sure know a lot about their fighting techniques," Jisoo said impressed.
He flashed a small toothy smile. "Well...I would have to say I'm rather biased towards Tornado.
I've been following her for a while and I'm happy she's back. Wait, have you heard about the
Purge? I was just rambling ahead..."

Jisoo nodded. "I know some stuff, my friend explained a bit. She's the trainer for the Tornado."

"Oh I see, I see, good." He pointed to a cluster of men next to them who seemed to be arguing back
and forth. "They're placing bets on the outcome. Like who will win how many rounds or the
overall winner. And by the sounds of it, they can't decide, it's a gamble more than anything else."

"Don't you gamble then?"

Jinyoung shrugged. "I find it to be a trivial pursuit, truth be told. I paid money to watch the match
and reserve a good seat...I'd rather keep the rest to spend on a night out with friends or a pretty lady
like yourself, Jinsoo-ssi."

"I'm Jisoo, I'm gay."

He blinked. "Oh, apologies for mispronouncing your name, Jisoo-ssi." He didn't comment on the
gay part, which Jisoo found intriguing.

Maybe he doesn't want to show his disappointment at being rejected?

They lapsed into silence and observed the men some more, listening in on to snatches of
conversation as the men huffed and argued back and forth, all the while clinking cash and waving
money bills.

"—Tornado's making a comeback, I'm tellin' ya—"

"Undertaker's been a on a really great run this last month!"

"Tornado hasn't been looking too good..."

"I say it's fifty-fifty. That's how it always is when they face-off anyway—"

"Bet you Tornado will lose—"

"I say Undertaker loses the first round—"

"Tornado goes down with the second round—"

"Hey, if they're both running good, we should consider a Cop-out in the equation—"

"No, no, that's not happening..."

"Cop-out?" Jisoo said out loud as she leaned back in her seat and frowned. "What's that?"

"If the three rounds end with no definite winner, the match could be extended or end in a draw.
You could have either a rematch at some other fixed date—that is, an extra fight— but if the crowd
really pushes for it, or if the two boxers agree to it, they have a Cop-out after a fifteen minute-
break. A fourth round," Jinyoung explained, seeing Jisoo's quizzical face, "the decider round. It's
not very common though. Now if a Cop-out also ends as a draw—which is even rarer—the whole
fight is declared null and they will have to fight again at some other point in the distant future—the
match doesn't count towards establishing the fighters' ranks, since it's declared null, meaning it
never happened. But the Cop-out option is only really used for defining matches, like in the Purge,
for high-profile face-offs. I doubt they will have a Cop-out here and now."
"Oh I see...thanks." she said gratefully.

"No problem, Jisoo-ssi," he smiled.

She had expected him to lose interest once he learned she wasn't the slightest bit interested in
engaging with him in that manner, but this Jinyoung seemed to be different than most males she
encountered. Sure, there were most likely people who were accepting and chill regarding gay
people, but this guy's indifference seemed to go beyond that and for some reason, it nagged Jisoo.

Maybe he really just doesn't care, leave it be weirdo. You should be thankful.

Whereas usually she'd breathe out in relief if some male harassing her at a bar left her alone after
sending a few insults in her direction when she told him just why she wasn't interested, this time
round she felt distantly intrigued by Jinyoung's reaction, or lack thereof.

She should really stop poking her nose into people's business, and investigating every single
conspiracy her mind cooked up, and making mountains out of molehills.

His attire in particular caught her eye—a dinner suit, casually unbuttoned cuffs pulled back, and
shiny shoes. Too immaculate, too sharp an outfit for a boxing match—he looked as if he were on
his way to a fancy restaurant. Even the way he spoke—polite, courteous, formal—was a contrast to
the coarse and crude words ringing all around her.

"Are you gay?" Jisoo blurted.

He looked taken aback, his eyes widening. "Uh—no?"

"Oh. Because you're dressed different and you look different then other people," Jisoo said,
watching him closely and fully expecting him to blow up on her for meddling in what clearly
wasn't her business.

He took her remark in stride. "I do? What about those gentlemen over there?"

He pointed to two men sitting across from them at the same level, also in first row seats and
dressed similarly to Jinyoung. Jisoo suddenly felt foolish, biting down on the inside of her cheek.

"Jisoo-ssi, much like in soju bars, you'll find people of all class and background here watching for
entertainment purposes. There has been the odd celebrity in attendance as well for events like the
Grand Slam. And there are hierarchies here too, as you can see depending on the seats."

He indicated their section and at the two men he had pointed out earlier sitting opposite them.

"Those gentlemen over there are probably some high-end businessmen, here to spend their money
as they see fit for entertainment, before heading to some bar, as I will do myself."

Was he some high-end businessman too then? He looked quite young, unlike those other men; they
looked to be in their fifties.

Jinyoung turned to her with a wry smile. "Since we have...ah, different preferences in company, I
assumed you wouldn't be interested in accompanying me for a drink later. That's why I didn't
pursue the matter further."

Jisoo simply shook her head, thinking hard on a suitable way out of her latest gaffe. She had
jumped to conclusions too quickly, when usually she fancied she could get a better reading on
people than most others and it caused her to second-guess her instincts.
But despite his perfectly reasonable answer, her gut kept nagging her.

She was being unreasonable. Jennie would definitely say that. In fact, her whole conversation had
been unreasonable from the start, right when she started blundering and asking about his sexual
orientation.

Once a weirdo, always a weirdo.

Times like this Jisoo wished she could act more normally around other people.

Before she could come up with an answer the spotlights dimmed, except the ones blazing down on
the ring. Two figures climbed inside the ring from underneath the rope surrounding the perimeter
along with the referee, as the crowd around her rose in a roar with one voice. Jisoo spotted Jennie's
petite figure standing beneath Lisa's corner, speaking with her sister.

Lisa thumped her gloved fists together a few times once she finished talking with Jennie, basking
in the crowd's cheers as she flexed her arms and grinned. She waved excitedly like kid in a school
play when they see their parents, her cocky grin lighting up her face when she heard the audience
responding with a chorus of yells and chants. Another section of the spectators were hyping up The
Undertaker, who was also waving to her fans.

Jisoo glanced to the side, noting Jinyoung hadn't moved out of his seat or risen to his feet like the
rest of the crowd. In fact, she and Jinyoung had been the only ones to remain seated.

She almost didn't hear his words hadn't she noticed his mouth moving and quirking up into a
curious smile, his eyes gleaming.

"Tornado...let's see how you fare tonight," Jinyoung whispered.

 Fight

"Lisa what the hell's going on? Pull yourself together!" Jennie hissed as Lisa hobbled to her corner
for her sister to sponge her face amidst loud hollering from the crowd after Lisa was sent flying
into the opposite side of the ring by a powerful punch to the face.

Lisa looked in bad shape, already sporting a swollen jaw and wincing as she clutched her side. Her
ponytail was matted with sweat and a trickle of blood had dried into a crusty trail just underneath
her nose.

"I dunno..." Lisa slurred.

Jennie grabbed her from her front and tapped (more like slapped) her cheek. "Wake up! Wake up!
What are you playing around at? I know you can be better! You were doing fine in the first five
minutes!"

"She still beat me like a rug," Lisa croaked as Jennie released her. Her eyes slowly slid open,
glancing furtively at the Undertaker in her corner before she tugged Jennie closer from her shirt.

"Jen, did you see anything different?" Lisa whispered urgently. Her eyes had lost their dazed glaze,
reverting to their usual sharp glint whenever she was assessing her opponents.

"You're acting," Jennie said in realisation. Her sister often duped her opponents by pretending to be
more injured than she actually was, tricking her rivals into complacency and then striking out when
they least expected it.

"Yes and no," Lisa grimaced, "she really gave me a good ol' knock back there, I think it bruised my
liver... but it's not because I've been going easy on her. I've been trying to figure it out but she's not
giving me a chance...." Lisa trailed off, lips pursed. "Unnie, something's different about
Undertaker. Something's...off. I don't know how to explain it but I can tell. She's
fighting...different. Dirtier."

Jennie glanced over her shoulder at the thickset woman who was chugging back a bottle of water,
scrunching up the plastic in her fist as her trainer pressed on her sore shoulder muscle.

The few times Jennie heard her speak with her trainer, Lisa's opponent had never been the most
eloquent talker, always stingy with words and her comments amounting to no more than short,
barked answers. Her only striking feature would have to be a mole just beneath her left eye along
her prominent cheekbone. She had big hands, thick bulky muscle wrapped around her body (even
Jennie who wasn't very fussy about female bodybuilders thought it was a little too excessive) and
was duck-footed.

And tonight in merely the first round, the Undertaker had rushed out like a veritable stampeding
rhino, gnashing her teeth, her eyes spitting fire.

The referee made the signal for the second round to start. Jennie frowned and patted Lisa as the
latter stood up.

"Go get her okay?"

She didn't like the furrowed look on her sister's face and guessed what she was going to ask before
Lisa opened her mouth.
"Unnie..." Lisa said slowly, "if worst comes to worst...do you want me to..." she trailed off, her
eyes finishing the question for her. But Jennie's response was final.

"No," she said, gritting her teeth, "this isn't important enough. Nothing ever warrants you losing
control. You are more important, Lisa. Hwangssabu was clear."

Jennie licked her lips and tried not to think of pending bills or their almost non-existent food
supplies, or her debt to Irene (she still intended to pay it in full).

"Just...do your best."

Lisa nodded. "Keep an eye out on Undertaker when she moves in on me. Tell me what you see."

Jennie ducked down back under the ropes and stood with arms folded as the bell clanged and the
two fighters rushed upon each other immediately.

PFB matches were exciting because the fights always varied in fighting dynamics and styles.

For Lisa and Undertaker's fight, it was an unstoppable frantic rush of adrenaline as they threw
furious punches and opted to forego defence in favour of relentless attacks.

When Lisa was up against another strong opponent of hers, Él Huracan—a nimble, olive-skinned
woman who was actually a cheerful talkative person outside the ring and got on well with other
fighters— the fight was stormy and blustery, all fire and brimstone: it was like watching a clash
between two similar forces of nature: electrifying and wonderful.

A fight between Kamikaze and Lisa could be either an all-out goof show or some good-natured
ragging around until one of them would concede defeat.

A fight between the taciturn Bear and Lisa was filled with calculated moves, lingering tension and
fraught with simmering tempers.

Jennie watched carefully, gaze locked on the Undertaker as she analysed her moves like Lisa
asked. They had always worked thus to figure out and exploit an opponent's weak points.

To Jennie's knowledge, the Undertaker was too heavy to retreat fast enough after a hard lunge,
something she advised Lisa to use to her advantage. The Undertaker was also slow to to react at
times, while Lisa could be more fluid and reactive. Jennie was pleased to see that her sister's
reflexes had already improved considerably after her last dismal showing and made a mental note
to thank both Irene and Rosé.

But the more she watched, the more Jennie grew disturbed when she noted a pattern: Undertaker
was moving easily, one would say too easily--her reaction time was overwhelmingly sharp and her
punching had grown faster than her usual throw, more savage. Her arms pumped back and forth
like a machine, merciless.

The audience howled their approval, shouting UN-DER-TAK-ER! UN-DER-TAK-ER! as the said
woman grunted and gnashed her teeth, bearing down on Lisa with the roar of a wild animal. Lisa
was forced to play defensive and block all the time, hardly getting a punch in.

Jennie frowned. Had Undertaker perhaps trained and improved? She glanced at Undertaker's
trainer, a short swarthy man who was rubbing his hands gleefully and egging her on.

Jennie turned back to observe the one-sided sparring match as Lisa ran around the ring's perimeter,
dodging and dancing out of reach.
But there was something unusual in Undertaker's technique and fist throw. To a casual observer's
eye, the boxer simply seemed to have brushed up on her weaknesses and improved.

Jennie knew better—the whole style of fighting was marginally different from Undertaker's usual
mode of boxing—it was better, sharper, faster. There were still a couple of Undertaker's signature
moves, but the whole approach had a different feel from the last time she faced Lisa.

And what bothered Jennie was how sinisterly familiar Undertaker's new form of fighting was.

Lisa was trying to show her this as she skipped dangerously close to Jennie's side, luring the
Undertaker ever closer so her sister could observe better.

And Jennie was nearly there, she nearly had the answer at the tip of her tongue—

A collective loud gasp echoed around the hall as Undertaker lifted her knee, smashing it directly
into Lisa's crotch with such brute force Lisa groaned and dropped to her knees. The furious shouts
of FOUL! FOUL! joined by furious clanging of the bell rang out.

Jennie watched, stunned.

The Undertaker had just broken one of the few cardinal rules of the game, an unheard occurrence
since it was introduced a couple years back to ensure fair play.

On the whole, PFB boxers were considered to be sticklers for rules and examples of good
sportswomen that kept the game clean. Although PFB was definitely more lax about places to hit
(case in point, teeth had often been knocked out but nobody batted an eyelid), using legs to kick out
or hit in any area was considered a foul of the highest degree and every player adhered to that rule.

It had been so long since someone committed such a foul, and it was no accident or self-defence—
Jennie had caught the Undertaker's sneer as she raised her knee.

The medic knelt next to Lisa as she sat up, pale in the face while Undertaker sulked as the referee
scolded her soundly. Lisa's supporters were baying in the stands but Jennie didn't pay them much
attention.

She quickly climbed into the ring and made her way to Lisa. "You okay?"

"Peachy," Lisa grimaced. She clutched the ice-pack to her crotch and rocked back and forth to
alleviate the pain. Jennie didn't have the heart to swat her hand away, despite the cameras recording
them and transmitting the life feed on to the Slammer's own media channels.

"So...did you see what I mean?" Lisa said hoarsely. Her cheek was swollen so some words came
out sounding funny. "Something's not right. Undertaker's...it's like she lost all sense, like she's some
rabid animal... I know her, she always sticks to rules. So why break the code now?"

Jennie swallowed and nodded. "Think you can hang in there for a little while longer? I think they'll
start a new round soon."

"I'll try," Lisa said with a ragged breath. Her gaze shifted to the other boxer as she seemed to be
arguing heatedly with her trainer.

"You thinking what I'm thinking, unnie?" Lisa said thoughtfully.

Jennie shook her head but her tight grip on Lisa's arm didn't relax.
"I'm not sure what you're thinking Lis," Jennie said drily. "It could be a number of things, starting
from the firmness of Roseanne's butt, so I hope to goodness you're not and you'll actually focus
now. Make it count."

She pulled Lisa up before darting under the ropes again. She had been lying, and she was sure Lisa
knew so too.

Jennie knew perfectly well what Lisa was thinking, but she couldn't bring herself to consider the
possibility, not without having to open a whole Pandora's box along with it.

>

Rosé leaned back in her seat, utterly frazzled. She removed her face mask and fanned herself with
the beanie even though she had her hair up in a bun. Perspiration cooled on her forehead as she
welcomed the cool night breeze after the heat and fug from the sweaty club. The suitcase next to
her legs prevented her from sliding down in her seat comfortably since it was obstructing her leg
room but she couldn't care less right now: the hardest part of the night was over. Job carried out,
money paid up, everyone happy.

Except for the small fact that she objected to being treated like a token trophy girl when she was
actually doing the dirty work while her bodyguard had been chatting up whores at the bar while
she was all by herself fending off yet another disgusting man's advances, even when all she wore
were sweats and a hoodie.

But those sleazy bored perverts would probably flirt with a mop if there was no one else owning a
vagina in the room.

"Well, could've been worse ya know," she heard a man's irritatingly cheerful voice say as he closed
the door after him and settled into the driver's seat. "You pulled off the deal just fine, boss will be
happy."

"Yeah yeah just get out of here, we don't need to linger in case those triad boys get second thoughts
and try to get their precious suitcase back," Rosé said distractedly. "Not that I'd care very much."

"The boss would."

"Yeah. So let's get out of here before we end up with bullets in our heads—I saw one of them
looking shifty and way too playful with his gun. So move it, I have a kid to get back to."

She slipped out her phone and squinted in the harsh glare as she opened her selfie-camera to check
on her appearance. She sighed to see her dishevelled state reflected back at her on the screen—
slightly smudged make-up owing to the heat and perspiration and nerves that accompanied her
fidgeting; dark circles, and hair sticking up as though electrified.

She looked like a hot mess.

The man's infuriating chuckles brought her back to the present.

"Alrighty, love, let's get you home—"

"And stop calling me that, jerk, I have a name—"

"So do I, it's La—"

"All you drivers are called Jay, stick to that while on the job please, we don't need any trouble right
now. Just drive, will you?" Rosé said exasperatedly. He chuckled again as he put away his gun in
the glove compartment in front of her and turned on the ignition.

"I thought we'd be at nickname stage by now. You've been working with us for what, years now.
They ought to do a movie about us! Picture it: Rosé, the Lady of the Night and me, Lay, your
charismatic getaway driver-slash-bodyguard! Good name for a thriller right? And then—"

"I knew you were drinking while you were supposed to back me up, you jerk," Rosé hissed and
slapped the talkative man on his wrist. "Get driving or I'll tell boss you've been drinking on the
job."

The man, Lay, loved his liquor a little too much and he liked to sneak away to the bar whenever he
was on duty with Rosé, which thankfully wasn't a common occurrence since he usually had other
duties. She prayed he wouldn't have drunken too much because she didn't know how to drive, and
he was her only option to get back home safe and sound.

So far whenever she had to work with him, she had been lucky, but she could never truly relax until
she stepped out of the damn car again—her fear was dying in a car crash without seeing Ella again.
It's not like she could complain to the boss either—she didn't want to ask more favours of him. He
always liked to put a price, the calculating little money-sniffer that he was.

Stupid decisions on top of stupid decisions, that summed up her life.

"Jay, don't you dare speed up," she gritted out when she heard the familiar revving of the car
engine. After a difficult night, the last thing she needed was chaperoning a tipsy man-child as he
drove.

"Hey now, let's not be all grumpy, ya know?" protested the man next to her as he waved his arms
around, "can't we loosen up once in a while instead of being all bad guy broody—"

"Just drive or I swear, I'll record you fooling about and send it to the boss. We'll see who's laughing
in the end," Rosé said flatly. "I have a kid to get back to, she's all alone."

"Right away. How about we stop at some store and buy her candy?"

"No Jay."

"Alright love."

She didn't comment on the nickname again, figuring he was too intoxicated to shut up anyway so
she let him prattle away. She should have known she was going to have her head buzzing by the
time she reached home, which was why she preferred one of the other Jays driving her—Jimin or
Jaehyun were usually silent and could handle their alcohol well, but she needed Lay for interpreter
duties tonight while she dealt with a Chinese customer, since Lay was the only other person she
worked with who spoke Mandarin conversationally.

And it seemed to be a thing for the three Jays to call her 'love', which made her positively ill when
they said it with clearly lecherous intentions, but it was merely just another annoyance to put up
with. The boss kept his word when he said nobody would touch her, and so far, they had adhered
to those rules and limited themselves to verbal flirting.

They knew better than to cross the boss for if you did—no matter how valued or high your rank is
— the consequences could be....fatal.

Rosé briefly remembered how a previous Jay, by the name of Kim Soekjin, used to tease and flirt
a lot with her, even venturing to be quite handsy, so to speak. She had been a lot more skittish back
then, recoiling at the presence of a man's mere shadow, and reported Soekjin's playful actions to
the boss.

Seokjin disappeared from the headquarters the very next day and was never seen again. Rosé had
no doubt he had been disposed of in some alley somewhere, and tried not to feel too guilty about
his demise, although sometimes the image of a body lying in a dark alley with its brains blown out
would flit into her mind whenever she let herself wonder about the man's fate.

The incident worked wonders and she wasn't blatantly harassed ever again. Now that she was
older, she could handle the men's subtle flirting and fend of the more blatant advances from clients.

The Jays worked with her on a rotation system and did their jobs well, doubling up as bodyguards
when she was on the scene in clubs and bars to negotiate, carry out transactions and strike deals.

The crackling of the radio console on the dashboard brought Rosé back from her musings.

"Jay-Z, do you copy? This is Jay-J. Over." said a voice, followed by a burst of static.

Zhang fiddled with it. "Yo Jaehyun. This is Jay-Z, reporting in with Beyoncé—"

"That's not my name," Rosé sighed but Lay didn't hear as he went on: "Negotiation was successful
and we have the case, man. Over."

"Roger. Although Jay-Z, I'm afraid I'll have to report your slip-up to the boss, you can't
keep slipping each time you step out with Thorn. She's not there to babysit you. Anything
else to report?" said the other man, Jaehyun, with a strained voice.

Rosé could just imagine him face-palming just as she did when Lay let slip Jay-J's real name.
There was a reason they used code names—anybody could be listening in. Although the boss's
engineers had set up their own closed communication system, they could not afford to
underestimate the cops' resources and reach. There had been breaches in the past so they had to be
on the watch out at all times. Lay seemed to forget this when he was in his drunken, playful state.

Lay motioned her to reply and Rosé pressed the button, licking her lips before she spoke.

"This is Thorn speaking. Tell the boss that our client sent his regards. He said he was very pleased
with the results the product gave, and would like to broker more deals in the future and possibly
meet to set up a trade business with us. Over."

"Roger. But I don't think that will be likely, boss is already in trade business with other
people. Over."

"Copy that. I told him as much but he was stubborn. So just let the boss know, he'll handle it.
Over."

"Roger. Alright then, see you in a week, love—"

"See you too, love!" Lay trilled and blew a kiss. Rosé suppressed a smile when she heard Jaehyun
curse on the other end.

"Wasn't talking to you, arse. Over and out," Jaehyun said, sounding quite pissed and the line
went dead. Lay burst into tuneless whistling and Rosé slumped into her seat, exhausted. Second
part of the job—report—was done too. They only needed to drop off the suitcase with other relays
and Rosé would be done for the week, her part of the deal kept up with perfunctory

And now it would be a week to wait and make sure the authorities hadn't been tipped off, or caught
on to their trail, or suspected their movements. She had to be alert all the time, her vigilance
venturing on to paranoia to the point she rarely went outside except to buy groceries, too scared the
authorities would somehow be able to tell just how deeply mired in filth she was.

It was the reason she changed hair colour now and then, as she lamely tried to explain to the boss.
He watched her, stony and silent, one eye twitching in irritation.

A pathetic excuse to misdirect watchful eyes, he stated after a long minute of making her squirm
beneath his piercing gaze.The boss wasn't happy just as she predicted, but there wasn't much he
could do about it and as long as she didn't attract attention, then there would be no repercussions.

So far, nobody had cottoned on to the fact that she, Roseanne Park—an apparently unassuming
twenty-something single mother who taught pilates—worked and handled business transactions for
one of Seoul's most ruthless and elusive drug lords.

"You know, ever wondered why the boss calls all the drivers Jay? Well, I finally cracked it! It's
because the other two guys have their names starting with a J. So we're all Jays, get it? But where
do I fit in the equation, huh? Maybe it's because I'm a part-timer? I suppose it's by convenience all
drivers are J. Code names and whatnot," Lay said out loud. He glanced at the motionless woman
dozing next to him. "Love? Chaeyoungie? Chaeyoung? You asleep?"

Chaeyoung...Chaeyoung...

It crashed upon her unexpectedly with the force of a thunderstorm that ripped open the old wound
and she bled everywhere: pain and sorrow painting the canvas she tried so hard to keep blank.

Chaeyoung, the boss whispered softly in her ear, that name does not belong to you anymore....

Electrified, Rosé jolted in her seat and glared furiously at Lay who kept on grinning, unaware of
just how much pain he had unwittingly inflicted on her.

"Shut your damn mouth and just drive!" she screamed, surprising him so much the car swerved and
narrowly missed hitting the kerb.

"I'm driving, I'm driving," he returned feebly, indicating the steering wheel. He looked at her more
closely, brows scrunching in confusion. "You okay?"

She couldn't even stop the lone tear from rolling down her face as she turned away, clenching her
jaw tightly before she replied: "I'm fine. Just drive. Take me back home."

She wasn't expecting the assault of emotions tonight, not when she tried so extra hard walling up
the dam to prevent the flood from drowning her in guilt....

It had been years since she heard her old name; the name of a child that she had long buried deep
within her. Where the hell did Lay come up with it again?

They were all supposed to forget about past lives and move on, take up new names and identities if
they have to, if it meant severing the connection with their weaker past selves to emerge stronger.
For example, Lay's real name was Zhang Yixing—he was a former Chinese convict working for a
triad whose whole gang was murdered one day and only he made it out alive in the bloody
shootout. He moved to Seoul, dropped his name and started afresh.
Chaeyoung was the past, her innocence: dead and burnt to ashes, but it was the past that had given
her this hellish present that she had to live with, and Rosé would never forgive the weak, naive girl
that she had been before. At the time, she willingly shed her name in favour of forging a new
identity, believing that a change would give her the motivation to carry on. She thought a change
would help her reinvent herself and inspire her to be stronger.

How very wrong she was.

No matter how much she bluffed, she was still very much Chaeyoung at heart: weak, unable to
protect Ella, unable to trust her Jisoo unnie, unable to even share her loneliness and pain.

She was a lamb masquerading in a wolf's skin—pathetic and laughable. Because once the real wolf
shows up, she'd run away bleating, or be ripped to shreds just like the rest of the flock.

How could she be tough enough to break free of the chains dragging her to the bottom of a deep,
dark ocean when she couldn't even break away from her past self that haunted her waking days?

Rosé closed her eyes, shivering in the chill that settled on her as the car trundled on towards the
drop-off point.

>

With the case safely handed over at the dead drop, she had truly washed her hands of what
happened to the case from there on—their part of the job was done for the week.

Now the case would be secretly moved around the underbelly of Seoul and with luck, handed back
to the boss by morning, if all went to plan. The boss was meticulous, probably the reason for his
successful rise to the top of the pyramid, and he planned extensively for back-ups in case of
ambushes or sting operations, so Rosé wasn't particularly worried. It wasn't her job anyway, she
had carried out what was requested of her obediently as always.

If cops were to stop them now, Rosé and Lay were simply a young couple out on a romantic night
drive, although she hoped it wouldn't come to that point. The last thing she or the whole
organisation needed was for both her and Lay to get noticed by the authorities and put on the radar
if cops stopped them for DUI.

But nothing of the sort happened—the relays back at wherever the organisation's headquarters
were did their job and informed Lay of the best routes to avoid patrolling cop cars, road blocks and
road works.

"Huh, looks like we'll be taking a detour right about here then," the man next to her muttered,
pushing back his fringe. He had thankfully piped as the alcohol slowly cleared out of his system,
returning to his taciturn disposition as they clattered down the road.

Rosé was idly staring out the window when she grabbed Lay's arm, startling him.

"Jay, stop!"

"What the—"

He braked hard, jolting them forward. The tires screeched as the car creaked and shuddered to a
halt in front of a high square building, like a school gymnasium. On the front was a large billboard
framed by garish neon lights. Thai Tornado vs The Undertaker, screamed the billboard,
hypnotising Rosé.
She stared up at the sign with her mouth ajar, her eyes gleaming in the harsh glare of the lights as
she took in the building, noticing the the slightly smaller plain board beneath the billboard just
above the doorway, entitled simply 'Slammer Arena.'

Was this a sign that she was meant to be here? Was this fate?

It was never in their plan to stop—so many things could go wrong if Rosé didn't go straight back
home.

But curiosity and a foreign sensation in her chest rose up and filled her to the brim like an
overflowing cup. She had to go in there, she had to see Lisa on the off-chance the fight was still
ongoing.

Lisa Lisa Lisa, her mind chanted.

Ignoring Lay's perplexed calls, Rosé unbuckled her seat belt and climbed out of the car, making a
beeline for the Slammer's door. She knew she was going to have to answer his questions, and
possibly even the boss if he reports her unusual behaviour. The boss was always on the alert when
anomalies like reckless behaviour were reported to him so he watched over Rosé like a hawk.

But Rosé couldn't bring herself to care about consequences right now—her brain pushed it all
away, selfish as it was, to focus only on the possibility of seeing her blonde friend in action.

Fate or not, she wasn't going to waste the opportunity.

She didn't heed her driver's voice and simply slipped inside through the door as distant enthusiastic
yells and shouts filled her ears, making her heart leap. She pushed forward in elation—the match
was still ongoing; she was still in time; she was going to make it.

Without even knowing why, her lips quirked up, excitement taking place of her despondent spirits
as she jogged through the dark passageway. Powerful light was streaming through at the end of the
tunnel, and Rosé sprinted towards it with all her might even as her breathing turned ragged.

I'm coming, Lisa, I'm coming.

>

Lisa fell back on her butt for the third time, wincing when a wave of disappointed voices made
their displeasure known. She was literally having her ass handed to her and it wasn't for lack of
trying—she knew she had improved, she felt it. She wasn't slumping. Or at least, she hadn't
slumped in the first two rounds.

But she was growing tired.

It was disheartening to note that Undertaker barely had a mark on her. Stranger still, she seemed to
have plenty of energy to spare, despite the savage thumping she was giving Lisa.

Lisa glared at her now, wincing as her face tightened and her swollen jaw ached in protest. Great,
now she wasn't even allowed to intimidate an enemy with her intimidating death-glare?

She gingerly stood up as her hips gave a twinge of protest, swaying slightly as her opponent
pounded and stamped the ground, roaming restlessly as they circled each other around the ring. She
could feel the bruises already forming

Okay focus, it's not over yet, Lisa coached herself as she trained her eyes back on her target.
Did this beast of a woman not know what taking it easy meant? She huffed and puffed like a bull,
eyes glazed over with what Lisa could only describe as battle-lust.

Sweat had pruned Lisa's fingers, she could feel them in her gloves. Her toes squelched in her
sweat-drenched socks as blisters formed. But she ignored all that as she raised her arms on guard
and bent into a stance, searching for an opening as Undertaker copied her. Spittle dripped out of
Undertaker's mouth who didn't even make a move to wipe it off, making Lisa's nose wrinkle.

"Damn Undie, you're really out for the kill tonight, huh?" she called out, smiling when she elicited
a few snickers from amongst their audience. She knew Jennie would be shaking her head at her
from the side, and the thought spurred her to say something else while still riding out on some of
her trademark cockiness while she could.

"Hey Undie, wanna hear a 'yo mama' joke?" Lisa said brightly upon sudden inspiration. "Yo
mama's so fat she—"

Undertaker snarled and lunged, cutting Lisa off with a sharp hook that Lisa blocked and returned
with a jab of her own. But Undertaker knocked her fist away with a scoff. Lisa staggered back with
the force but didn't fall. She threw her arms up in indignation.

"Ah come on! You ruined the punchline, that's the funniest part!" she whined.

She yelped and leapt out of the way when Undertaker's two fists whistled through the air, missing
Lisa's head by a fraction as she dropped to the ground and rolled. She felt the ground tremble
beneath her fingertips upon impact and quickly climbed to her feet, aiming to to box the woman's
ears from behind while her opponent was still bent down with her back to her.

But to Lisa's frustration, Undertaker whirled around and blocked her attempts with a wolfish grin.
She pushed harder into Lisa's space, who hastily backed away—she didn't want to be trampled to a
pulp, dear me no, that would be so humiliating.

"Tornado," Undertaker said gruffly. Her voice was brittle and stilted, as though she hadn't spoken
in a long time. "Joke."

Lisa perked up. "Oh you wanna tell me a joke? Undie's still got her sense of humour y'all, I thought
you were a lost cause! Go ahead then."

"Punch. Line."

Lisa frowned, puzzled. "Huh?"

Undertaker's eyes glinted.

Her arm moved too fast—one minute it hung by her side, the next it collided with Lisa's jaw,
throwing her back against the rope. Lisa gasped and spat blood as the scene phased in and out of
her line of vision. The roar of the crowd echoed, strangely faint, as the pounding in her head
reached a bursting point and she fell face-forward with a tremendous slap.

"Wait! Oh, I get it now," Lisa raised her face from the ground, smiling as she tapped her temple in
realisation. "Punch...line...she punched me to the line. Witty. Mimi's gonna love it."

Her arm dropped at the same time that her eyes rolled back in her head and her temple hit the
ground with a hard thunk.

A chorus of alternately unhappy and gleeful voices rose up from the stands, mixing together into a
cacophony and reaching a crescendo as the referee started a countdown.

Lisa's eyes cracked open slightly, meeting with Jennie's resigned gaze. She heard people calling
her name from the benches, the sound rising and falling in waves.

"You did good," Jennie's eyes said, devoid of rage or anger, devoid of any emotion for that matter.
To her horror, Lisa realised why: her sister had given up.

All her sacrifices and long nights gone up in smoke, a waste. Irene's sponsoring the pilates classes.
Rosie...

Lisa clenched her teeth and held up an arm as she staggered to her feet, earning a stunned silence
followed by hushed whispers from the spectators as the countdown abruptly stopped.

Lisa's head felt heavy, her arms hung from her shoulders like dead weights. She turned behind her
and gripped on to the rope tightly, head bowed and panting as she hyperventilated to clear her
head.

"Five minutes left of the last round!" warned the referee as Lisa struggled to maintain her clarity.
"We can't stop, or else if we do, it will be a draw or a null."

"COP-OUT! COP-OUT!" roared the crowd, as though of one mind. "COP-OUT!"

"Cop-out," agreed the brute behind Lisa, cracking her neck cartilage.

Lisa shook her head, immediately regretting the jarring motion.

No, a Cop-out would be suicide—she'd be beaten to a pulp, she was sure. No matter how much she
tried to fake her confidence, Lisa knew she wasn't strong enough to hold out against this bizarrely
overpowered Undertaker.

The least she could do was try to end it with a draw and salvage her dignity for the next fight, even
if it won't earn her money.

Just as she was about to turn to face her doom, Lisa caught sight of a dark blob standing in the exit
passageway between the stands. She squinted harder, wishing there was more light. As she
watched, the hazy blob morphed into a feminine, curvy figure in a hoodie and—was she untying
her hair?

Lisa watched, transfixed and unable to tear her eyes away, as fiery waves—dark as blood in the
gloom—tumbled past the girl's shoulders.

Recognition slammed into Lisa like a freight train: Rosé.

Rosie is here.

Rosie came.

Rosie came to see me.

I can't let her down.

The effect was electric—a rush of energy surged through Lisa's tired limbs, her mind coming alive
as sparks and gears whirred in her skull. The throbbing aches faded, replaced by a single-minded
resolute goal: win for Rosie.
Lisa smiled to herself as she felt her body reacting to the mere view of her friend, indulging in the
inhuman strength the Pilates instructor was unknowingly lending her.

Lisa had heard the Undertaker creeping up on her from the side and now, the blonde was ready,
feet planted solidly, eyes closed as she waited and listened, tuning out the background noise of the
audience until....

"YAAAAAARRRGHHHH!" Undertaker sprinted the last few steps, lips peeled back in a banshee
scream and arm drawn back. She let her fist fly like a cannonball straight for Lisa's side-profile.

THUNKKK!

The explosively loud sound reverberated around the arena and people sat motionless in their seats,
stupefied at the scene in front of them:

Lisa had blocked the Undertaker's tremendous punch with her palm, absorbing the full force of
impact and standing stock still with her head hanging, as though she had merely raised her hand up
for a listless high-five.

Undertaker was similarly motionless, frozen in position with her mouth open in silent disbelief, her
fist held by her puny opponent's mere open palm. Her eyes stretched so wide the whites of her
eyeballs reflected the blazing spotlight.

Perfect silence in the arena, so quiet Jennie heard, rather than felt, her heart pattering quick like
summer rain. And everyone—from the audience, the medic, the referee and down to the two
trainers themselves—they all held their breath and waited.

Lisa's hand clamped shut on the fist she was blocking, the audible noise of popping knuckles
drawing grimaces from the more squeamish members of the audience. Lisa finally raised her head,
showcasing a crooked grin.

Then Lisa moved.

She was a sight to behold, as though an outside force had suddenly entered her, charging her up to
her full potential. Jennie couldn't even breathe as she watched the fluid motions play out in front of
her, her eyes whizzing left, right, left, right, left, right like in a tennis game.

Lisa tugged harshly, pulling Undertaker forward and unbalancing the boxer. At the same time,
Lisa's arm pulled back and burst forward in a blur. Undertaker could only watch open-mouthed as
Lisa's fist smashed into her face once, twice, thrice, four times and she went down like a sack of
potatoes, blood streaming from her nose.

Of course Undertaker wasn't going to stay down after a couple of punches from Lisa but even the
audience could tell now—Tornado was back and she was going to finish the fight one way or
another. They were now evenly matched.

Undertaker climbed to her feet, her face twisted in a snarl, and charged. Lisa dodged and jabbed,
skipped and bashed. Undertaker gasped and bent over her knees to catch her breath-Lisa had
emptied her lungs of air with a blur of quick successive punches.

Lisa didn't hesitate—time was running out. She went in for the final blow while her opponent was
still recovering, but Undertaker leapt back just in time before Lisa swung her arm. She snarled and
brought her two hands together, clapping the sides of Lisa's head with a terrific boom.

Or that was what she aimed for but Lisa wasn't there.
"Right here, Lumpy-face."

Undertaker turned just in time to be socked good and proper in the face, her bloody nose split open
with glistening cartilage gleaming. Some people screamed.

The hefty woman swayed in place as her limp arms punched the air in front of her dazedly, not
even reaching Lisa.

"Fight her!" screeched Undertaker's trainer. "You goddamn useless woman, after all the money I
wasted on you!"

Undertaker uttered a guttural moan and lunged but again, Lisa merely stepped to the side. Her hand
came up and chopped on her opponent's shoulders, effectively dispatching of the burly woman who
finally keeled over and didn't stand back up.

"Goodnight, Undie." Lisa muttered as the referee rang the bell. The arena erupted in explosive
cheers and roars as people swarmed the surrounding area of the ring, shouting and bawling at the
top of their lungs.

Lisa grinned and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, quietly happy. She tapped her foot
impatiently as she waited for the referee to hand over the prize money so that she could go and
celebrate with her supporters.

Usually she'd be cavorting around the ring and probably beating her chest to show-off but tonight,
she glanced back eagerly in the direction of Rosé in hopes of seeing her face again. Lisa wanted to
thank the pilates instructor—she owed this victory to her friend.

It was like seeing Rosie pulled out hidden reserves of energy until she was at Undertaker's level
again.

There were too many people crowding the passages and jostling and yelling as the security tried to
control them but as usual, they were quite helpless to quell the enthusiastic supporters.

But Lisa's smile dropped when she couldn't find the red-head anywhere. Well, she could always
talk to her tomorrow or something, she decided glumly, or maybe ask Jennie to call her.

Speaking of which...

Lisa finally turned to her sister, hesitant to see the expression on Jennie's face. Over the
background noise of the hundreds of moving people, the Undertaker's incoherent mumbles and her
trainer's furious expletives, Lisa locked eyes with Jennie. She hadn't been aware of Jennie joining
her in the ring. They stood face-to-face in silence.

Compared to the previous more tense moment they had shared earlier, her sister now looked
conflicted, torn between smiling at Lisa for winning and eyeing her with a steely gaze.

"You did it, well done. And thank you," Jennie said at last, standing still with arms folded. She
broke out in her usual small, pleased smile that she had on after Lisa's victories.

But tonight, it did not quite reach her eyes and Lisa knew perfectly well why her sister's gaze was a
mix of suspicious and wary. It did not look good.

Lisa swallowed.

>
"What a comeback!" Jisoo exclaimed as she danced on top of her seat. "Yes Tornadooooooo I love
youuuuuuuu! Did you enjoy the match Jinyoung-ssi?"

No answer.

Jisoo glanced down in bemusement to see Jinyoung still sitting pretty much motionless as he had
done throughout the game. He had leaned forward at one point, elbows on thighs, and formed a
tent with his hands upon which he rested his chin as he watched intently.

Jisoo climbed down from her seat and sat again as people around them started standing up and
moving and rushing out as the floodlights blazed back on.

"I enjoyed it very much indeed, Jisoo-ssi," he said at last and turned to her with a smile. "Thank
you for your company tonight, it has been a pleasure. Perhaps we may meet again in the future?"

She shrugged. "For a match...yeah, maybe..."

His smile was making her vaguely uneasy for some reason, the way he held the smile perfectly
fixed on his face with the corners slightly quirked up. She replied with a smile of her own.

Jinyoung sat up and glanced across the hall before he was smiling back down at Jisoo. "I'm afraid I
will take my leave here Jisoo-ssi, I cannot afford to dawdle. Have a goodnight," he said curtly
before he slipped away amongst the crowd, while Jisoo was left with the uncanniest sensation in
her gut.

She shrugged it away and instead turned her focus on the petite trainer who was wading towards
her in the sea of people that were shouting and calling for Lisa.

"Jendeuk!" Jisoo reached out with the intention of pulling Jennie out but it turned out the other way
round—Jennie grabbed her hand and jerked her down from her seat.

Before Jisoo could even congratulate her or register that Jennie was holding her grubby hands, the
trainer spoke first. She seemed to be quite pissed for some reason.

"Were you talking to him?" Jennie had to yell to be heard.

"Yes I was," Jisoo shouted back. Now that the lights were on, she could easily see the dismissive
scoff the petite trainer let out, along with the toss of her head.

"Let's get out of here."

And so saying, they weaved in and out of the forest of grimy bodies rubbing against each other. It
was hot, stuffy, claustrophobic and reeked of sweat as everyone tried to reach Lisa who was
laughing and greeting her supporters, even taking selfies.

Finally, Jennie and Jisoo popped out at the back of the Slammer, having slipped out through the
back exit from where they had entered before. They stood panting and regaining their breath,
gasping at the chill still prevalent in the spring evening.

"So...Lisa, back there....first that other bully was like KAPOW! and BABBOOM! And Lisa was
like uuuhhhhhh, but then suddenly she's fighting back and the way she blocked that punch like
that? Like she's some cool OP who is just getting started on fighting, so cool! What is her arm
made of? Is it ok? She doesn't need the hospital does she? And she had that swollen jaw too, do
people get dislocated jaws? What about medical insurance, how do you—"
"Jisoo," Jennie said tiredly but she was smiling by the orange glow of the streetlight overhead.
"You really enjoyed yourself huh?"

"It was the coolest!" Jisoo gushed. "I was really scared for Lisa but she got back on top. Jinyoung-
ssi was also really helpful, he explained a lot of stuff too, it was interesting."

Jennie's smile dropped as Jisoo, oblivious, clapped and danced and sang You got the money on a
loop.

"Yes it was...an eventful night," Jennie agreed. "Well, thanks for the ride but...we can walk home
now. Lisa might take a while to greet people. You must have work in the morning and—"

The dancing girl stopped abruptly and stared at her friend in confusion.

"Jendeuk I'm offended," Jisoo said, crossing her arms. "Is this because you saw me talking to
Jinyoung? Of course I'm waiting and driving you two back! Girl code remember?"

"What? Jinyoung? What do I care about that dude anyway? Just another rich prick," Jennie spat,
"one of them bored elite socialites that sometimes pop by to make sure all the toys in his precious
toy box are in order."

"Oh? Interesting," Jisoo mused. "He told me he actually often dropped by to watch Lisa. He's an
avid supporter, or so he said."

"Hmph. Whatever, he ain't all that," Jennie snorted. "He's a spoiled brat if you ask me, leeching off
his dad's company—they're in the pharma business I think. I don't think Mister Jinyoung ever
worked a day in his life, he just inherited the whole thing and life is automatically cushy. Going out
and spending money on drinks and watching girls fight to get off....lucky him."

A mischievous smile crept on Jisoo's face and she sidled up to Jennie.

"Why Jendeuk," she began innocently, "is that...? Could it possibly be...? No way..."

"What?" Jennie fell for the bait hook, line and sinker. Jisoo almost cooed at her.

"Why, if I didn't know better, I'd say you sound...rather jealous of this Park Jinyoung, all because
he spoke a few words with me?"

"He has no business to be chatting you up the moment he claps eyes on you, he's just a playboy,
they all are. He may be one of the main sponsors of the Slammer but that doesn't mean I have to
like him. He gives me the heebie-jeebies, the way he...the way he watches, like he's scrutinising
and analysing you," Jennie blurted, firing words like bullets, "and I could see him making a move
on you and you just sat there, talking to him and—"

Her eyes widened when Jisoo chuckled.

"You really are jealous of me talking with him? Jennie, I'm gay, remember?" Gay for you
especially, she wanted to add.

"Girl code!" Jennie spluttered. "I'm just looking out for you, he could have bad intentions and
invite you back to his place and I don't know what you'd say, probably yes knowing you act so
weird and all but—"

"He did invite me to accompany him for a drink," Jisoo said nonchalantly, inwardly enjoying
herself a little too much at the way Jennie's eyes popped.
"Oh no no no, you're coming with me and Lisa and drink with us! Girls only got it? Who needs
guys?"

Jisoo giggled again, unable to suppress her mirth. "You're cute when you're all worked up and
trying to emphasises a point."

"You're not taking me seriously," Jennie grumbled.

"Oh, believe me I am." Jisoo voice turned sober. "I did think he wasn't telling me the whole truth
about himself...but I suppose it was just a first meeting, you don't go spilling all your secrets..."

"And uh, what did you talk about exactly?" Jennie said as neutrally as possible, with a tiny hint of
curiosity.

Jisoo wanted to comment about the disgruntled expression the younger girl wore but decided she'd
stop playing around for tonight—Jennie was genuinely looking out for her, and the thought made
Jisoo incredibly happy. A few nights ago, Jennie had been downright dismissive of her but now she
was showing her true colours and Jisoo appreciated that Jennie could be a kind person behind her
tough love facade.

"Well, just regular chit-chat you know....how you do's and what not..." Jisoo said vaguely, but
Jennie gave her a hard stare.

"Jisoo."

"I asked him if he's gay right after I told him that I'm one," Jisoo admitted. She smiled when Jennie
first stared at her, then burst into giggles and explosive snorts.

"Chu, that was....how do you even....I can't even..."

"I know, I just leave people speechless, don't I?" Jisoo said airily, "must be my wittiness."

Jennie shook her head. "Hey, I was serious when I said about the drinking. Would you like to hang
out? We go to this bar usually when Lisa wins, but she said we shouldn't go there tonight
because...well, her friend Momo isn't here so we were gonna go at my workplace? They should
still be open, it's only half past one. Joy's on tonight too, I think. You're officially her favourite
person (after her girlfriend of course) after you won her that bet last time."

Jennie looked suddenly bashful. "So...wanna?"

Jisoo smiled widely. "Absolutely."

>

"—then she said punch. Line. And she punched me to the line. You gotta admit that was witty!"
Lisa exclaimed as she waved her shot glass in the air. Jeongyeon quickly swept the line of shot
glasses away before they ended up on the floor—for once, she wasn't betting on any accidents
because they were fast running out of glassware.

"Yeah, and Undertaker was going BOOM BOOM BA YAH!" Jisoo concurred and gesticulated
wildly for emphasis. "KA POW! KER-SLAM!"

"Yeah, and I was like...holy bagels, I'm toast!" Lisa chuckled, wincing slightly when she stretched
her side. "Get it? Bagels? Toast?" They dissolved into hilarious laughter.
"Well, that's Tornado being herself...she doesn't seem like she needs medical attention...much,"
Yeri remarked, "but what about your friend Jisoo? You sure she's okay? She seems a bit..." Yeri
had met Jisoo for the first time and suffice to say she was perhaps a little concerned about the older
woman's eccentric behaviour.

Turning away from Jisoo who was now doing an impression of a strangled chicken as Lisa used
her to demonstrate how she demolished her opponent, Jennie gave the barmaid a sheepish smile.

"She's good, Yerim, just...a little odd is all."

The bar had a few customers tonight, but it was still nice and chill. In between taking their shots,
Lisa and Jisoo were regaling Jeongyeon, Lucas and Joy with a dramatic (and oftentimes downright
ridiculous) play-by-play re-enactment of the match while Jennie watched them from her safe spot,
perched atop a bar stool several feet away and sipping on her beer. It had been a while since she
enjoyed some alcohol—she found it a welcome change from her usual binge of energy drinks or
plain water.

"Yeri come hang out with us, Jisoo's a perfect scream," Joy chuckled as she ambled up to her
girlfriend and wrapped her arms around her. "Things are quiet anyway. People can always call for
us if they need a refill."

Yeri swatted her face away half-heartedly when Joy tried to sneak a kiss, unable to resist her
girlfriend for long before they soon locked lips. They both laughed when Jennie turned away with
a discreet cough.

"Awww, Jennie unnie's shy."

"Technically, I don't want to be an accomplice if you're caught kissing on the job. If Jeongyeon
sees you, she'll whoop both your asses," Jennie pointed out, "no PDA on the job and stuff. Job rule
number 1."

"Oooof, relax, will you?" Joy snorted. "It's not like she's watching us right now."

"As a matter of fact, yes she is."

Joy and Yeri immediately sprang part in alarm only to see that their night manager was laughing
with her back to them. They glared as Jennie placidly sipped on her beer, a smirk curved around
her lips.

"That was mean," Yeri said bluntly. "Stop picking on us because you're a salty single pringle."

"Once you stop shoving your PDA in my face, I'll reconsider."

"Aiiish, we need to find her a boyfriend ASAP," Joy sighed. "Or more friends like Jisoo, to keep
you busy."

"More gay friends like Jisoo you mean," Yeri winked, "honestly, you're a magnet for gay chicks
unnie. Jisoo unnie is quite the catch though, where did you guys meet?"

"I never said she's gay," Jennie frowned. It wasn't her business to disclose something private about
her friend, even though Jisoo didn't seem particularly coy about it.

"It's our gaydar," Joy said wisely, "we can sense our kind, and I know for sure your new friend is as
gay as rainbows."
"And unicorns," Yeri added. "Gay as rainbows and unicorns."

"And unicorns," Joy amended with a smirk as she smacked Yeri's butt.

Jennie stiffened when she noticed Jisoo and Lisa had paused and were glancing in their direction.
"Oh no... please tell me they didn't hear—"

"DID SOMEONE SAY UNICORNS?" Jisoo and Lisa chorused. Jennie face-palmed.

"Shoot, here we go again—"

"Okay hear me out! Anyone who says unicorns aren't real can fight me with my ring of justice and
then go dumpster dive and live there till the day they die! Unicorn are relevant creatures, they
deserve animal rights!" Jisoo said vociferously as she thumped her glass on the table. Lisa
immediately backed her up with a hearty Hear! Hear! that blared all round the diner.

Jennie groaned in defeat and held her head, bracing for the oncoming headache that was forming.

"You just had to mention unicorns," Jennie sighed as her sister and Jisoo started loudly announcing
the reasons why unicorns should be protected and given the respect and dignity they deserve,
bickering and squabbling when they disagreed.

"Hey, let them let off steam, it's just harmless fun. Better than chatting up minors and flaky daddy's
girls, hmm?" Joy reasoned. "I mean, I don't think Momo was such a great influence on her in that
department. Jisoo is...weird, but nicer, if you get my drift."

Jennie had to agree. In fact, she wasn't minding the ruckus as much as when Lisa and Momo were
swarmed by girls. Seeing her sister and the raven-haired girl laughing together over such innocent
stupid things like unicorns was infectious, bringing a small smile to her face despite their
obnoxious yakking.

"And besides, it's not like these people here care, they're too sleepy drunk to notice the hullabaloo,"
Joy said, motioning to the handful of other patrons scattered around the diner.

"Yeah and I'm glad she has Jisoo right now, otherwise the win would be dampened because of
Momo's absence," Yeri added. "Still no sign of her, huh?"

Jennie gulped down more beer. "After the way I basically turfed her out and the way she stormed
out on us? It would be a miracle if she ever spoke civilly to us again. She intends to thump Lisa in
the ring when they meet again."

"I hate to say this but... Joy's right. And I'm not saying it just because she's my girlfriend; Momo
really was sort of a jerk," Yeri said.

"Yeah well, it was kinda given. She had her good points though, truth be told—"

"JENNIE!" Lisa suddenly slumped on Jennie's shoulder and yelled in her ear. "DO YOU
BELIEVE IN UNICORNS?"

"Uh...uh sure?" Jennie winced, feeling her eardrums throb. She decided to play it safe—there was
no telling what Lisa would do in her tipsy, excitable state.

"ARE YOU SURE?"

"Stop yelling, I'm right next to you," Jennie grimaced, "and yes I'm sure."
Joy and Yeri giggled at the spectacle unfolding in front of their eyes while Jeongyeon, Lucas and
Jisoo moved closer, bringing the whole group's attention squarely to Jennie and Lisa. Jennie
squirmed under all the new gazes fixed on her.

"WHY ARE THEY ALL HIDING THEN?" Lisa complained.

"I don't know, maybe they're scared of annoying brats like you—"

"DO YOU THINK ROSIE KNOWS? CAN I CALL HER ON YOUR PHONE?" Lisa said eagerly.

"What? Are you crazy? You'll be waking her up at this hour and for what?" Jennie shook her head
firmly. "That's a no. And quieten down will you? You're disturbing people."

"But she was there unnie! She has to be awake," Lisa smiled dopily. "She's a great friend, she
promised she'd come see me, and she did!"

This was news to Jennie—she hadn't gotten the chance to properly discuss what happened during
the match because Lisa was almost immediately tugged away to greet the clamouring supporters.

"Is Rosie that pilates girl?" Jeongyeon asked. "Lisa said she passed by the Slammer tonight.
Apparently gave her the strength to fight or something."

"She did? Interesting..." Jennie's eyes hardened at the memory of Lisa fighting back like a maniac.
She trained her steely gaze on Lisa who seemed to sense Jennie's change of mood even through
the alcoholic fog.

"Unnnnnnieeeeee," Lisa whined, slobbering over her shoulder with little pecks. "You know I love
you lots and lots, right?"

Jennie shoved her off, nostrils flaring. "No, Lisa, I'm not phoning Roseanne. We need to talk—"

"I phoned her!" Jisoo said triumphantly and Lisa immediately sprang to Jisoo's side, leaving Jennie
aghast.

"Someone stop them—"

"Wow, you sure seem to have spiced up your life huh, Jen?" Joy chortled when nobody reached out
to stop Jisoo as she graciously handed the phone to Lisa. Jennie wrung her head.

"They're gonna be the death of me. Poor Roseanne...she just...stop her, someone grab that thing
from her!"

But Jennie's order didn't go unnoticed by Lisa who immediately rushed to the bathroom with
Jennie hot on heels.

"Come back here idiot, leave that poor girl in peace!"

Lisa flung herself into the restroom and closed the door, leaning against it for leverage as she held
up the phone to her ear. Rosé still hadn't picked up. A quick sweep of the restroom had lISA
sagging in relief—there was nobody in the cubicles.

"Lisa, I know you're in there!" Jennie's faint yell came from outside as she jiggled the doorknob
and Lisa giggled like a naughty kid hiding from her mother after causing mischief.

"Hello?" said that particular husky, sleepy voice Lisa adored. "Jisoo unnie?"
Lisa perked up. "Rosie, you're here!" she said happily.

"Huh? Lisa? But this is Jisoo unnie's phone—"

"Rosie, do you believe in unicorns?" Lisa said seriously, ignoring the pounding on the door. She
held on steadfastly as she went on with a pout on her face, "Because everybody laughs at me and
Jisoo unnie. They're all big meanies!"

A soft chuckle came over the line. "Are you drunk, Lisa?"

"No I'm not drunk Lisa, I'm very very very happy Lisa! Very happy!"

"Sssshh, Ella's sleeping next to me."

"AWWWWWWWWW—"

"Lisa. Ssssh, remember?" Rosé said softly.

"Ohhhhhhh right right. Sssssshhh," Lisa said quickly pressing a finger to her lips. She grinned
when she heard Rosé's giggles down the line.

"So, why are you 'very happy Lisa' then?"

"Because you came!" Lisa said contentedly. "You came and I saw you!"

"Oh."

"You saw me take down that oaf right? I won Rosie, I really did it!" Lisa said joyously. "And it's
because of you."

"Pilates is not so bad now, huh?" Rosé laughed. "Yes, I did see you. You were...amazing."

"You mean it?" Lisa hummed, pleased. "Wasn't I dashing and handsome?"

"Yes you were. You scared me though," Rosé admitted.

Lisa frowned, tilting her head. She forgot Rosé couldn't see her.

"There was blood, and you were hurt. Didn't...didn't it hurt?" Rosé whispered. Lisa's heart
drummed, unfamiliar with the warmth swelling within her at Rosé's apparent concern for her.

"You were worried about me?" Lisa asked, just to be sure.

"Of course. You were small beside the other boxer, and it was clear she had the upper hand.
But you made a comeback..."

"I saw you."

"Hmm?"

"I saw you," Lisa said again, nodding. "I saw you and I was happy and I remembered...I had to
make this work. And so I did, I beat her!" She finished with a proud smirk. "Are you proud?"

"Very proud, Lisa. I'm glad I came by," Rosé said in a low voice and even through the haze, the
sincerity in her voice rang loud and clear in Lisa's ear. "But where are you now? Did you get
checked by a doctor? You had blood and you looked banged up...what if you get a
concussion?"

Her worried tone was disregarded entirely by the blonde as she burst into giggles. "I'm hiding from
Jennie unnie in the bathroom. She's pissed at me for phoning you."

She smiled when Rosé's low chuckles rumbled over the phone.

"Well then, better get going hmm? I still have to catch up my beauty sleep. And so do you."

"Okay Rosie. Goodnight. Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite."

"Go sleep okay?" Rosé told her.

"I will, I will. Sweet dreams. Make sure to dream of me!" Lisa instructed.

"And why would I want to do that?"

Lisa could just imagine the girl's brow furrowed in bemusement.

"Because I'm dashing and handsome and the winner, of course!" Lisa said matter-of-factly, "dream
of me riding a unicorn over a rainbow, okay? 'Cos I'm Super Gay, here to save the day!"

She could never get enough of Rosé's giggles—they filled her with warmth and pride, knowing she
was the source of such a delightful sound from the gorgeous redhead.

"You're cute," Rosé said at last, the grin clear in her voice as Lisa squealed. "Fine, I'll dream of
you. Maybe. No promises."

"Okay," Lisa said, smiling dopily. "Cool. Yeah. Totally. Okay."

Rosé chuckled for the last time. "Goodnight, Lisa. Hopefully see you soon."

"In your dreams yeah," Lisa said dreamily. "'Night..."

"Actually, I meant for next pilates class perhaps," Rosé said softly."Goodnight."

The line disconnected with a click and Lisa slid down the door to sit on the ground, smiling to
herself. Her daydreaming was rudely interrupted by a sudden violent thumping on the wood
behind her, jolting Lisa out of her stupor.

"Now that you two are finally done flirting, can you let me in?" Jennie demanded, voice grim. "We
have to talk."

>

"Jennie's sure taking her time. You don't think she and Lisa fell down the toilet bowl and flushed
themselves, do you?" Jisoo said worriedly.

"I think that's highly unlikely, Jisoo," Joy said, trying to keep a straight face.

"It happened in Nemo, though," Jisoo said earnestly, "Jendeukie's tiny too..."

"It happened to a fish, not a human," Yeri pointed out. "But hey, go check on them by all means,
Lisa's got your phone after all. The bathroom's that way."
Jisoo had gotten bored without Lisa's company and gladly took up on the idea to retrieve her
phone.

When she neared the restrooms, she perked up upon hearing two familiar voices speaking in
hushed tones.

Just before Jisoo burst in on Jennie and Lisa, her curiosity took over making her pause to eavesdrop
at the door. It was wrong, she knew as much, but Jennie's sharp, tense voice had the cogs and gears
in Jisoo's mind whizzing at top speed as she tried to make sense of the fragments she was given.

"—and I'm supposed to believe you didn't do it on purpose?" Jennie asked, sounding sceptical.

"Jen—"

"After I explicitly told you not to—"

"It wasn't intentional, unnie, I swear. I...I...my body...it was like...when I saw Rosie..." Lisa trailed
off uncertainly.

"Hmph. So Rosé...was a trigger?" Jennie seemed to be thinking deeply, given the pregnant pause
that followed.

"I need you to be more careful in the future," Jennie said at last. "You can't just...just...what if
people find out?"

"I know. I'm sorry. I've been doing so well...it was just out of nowhere," Lisa said repentantly.
"And Jen?"

"Yeah?"

"I know you know what I meant about Undertaker's improved form. She was fighting way too
good, not sloppy at all. She didn't fail a single time until the end, when I matched her."

Jisoo leaned forward, practically flattened to the door as another lengthy pause ensued. She held
her breath in anticipation as questions popped up in her head.

What was going on? Why all the secrecy?

"We shouldn't be talking here," Jennie said abruptly and footsteps made their way to the door.
"There are cameras everywhere—"

"You can't keep running away unnie," Lisa's uncharacteristically soft voice cut through Jennie's
words and the footsteps halted just before the door. "You can't keep me in a bubble forever. You're
too deep in this to walk away and hope that nobody finds out. There's...there's a chance...the signs
are too similar, don't you agree?"

"I don't know," Jennie said gruffly. "Let's just get out of here, okay? Chu's waiting for us."

Jisoo would have been flattered by the usage of her newly-assigned nickname but Jennie's
vehemence surprised her too much to notice.

Just what was it that had Jennie so nervous? Jisoo thought Jennie was the most fearless person she
had ever known, with her calm logical reasoning and rationalising.

"Stop burying your head in the sand, you stupid kiwi!" Lisa said exasperatedly. There was no
slurring and she didn't sound dazed— Jisoo realised the boxer was fully sober as she called after
her sister again. "If they're back, we gotta be ready for them."

Lisa's voice then turned harsher and meaner—a tone of voice that had none of Lisa's happy-go-
lucky warmth at all. "I'm not gonna sit around and be some docile lab rat for them to play with,"
she said coldly, "never again."

Jisoo stood still, her heart battering against her ribs after Lisa's declaration. She forgot Jennie was
standing just behind the door and squealed in shock when the knob turned. She could only blink
stupidly in Jennie's bemused face as she came face to face with the brunette.

"Jisoo? What are you doing?" Jennie asked blankly.

"Uh...get my phone?" Jisoo said, inwardly cringing at her meek voice. Lisa appeared behind
Jennie, sporting a sheepish grin as she moved forward to hand the phone back.

"Here. Sorry, I don't know how long the call took, I hope I didn't use up all the credit."

"That would be likely, seeing as you sucked mine dry the last time you called Miss Rosie Posie,"
Jennie teased.

"It's okay," Jisoo whispered.

She watched the sisters walk past her, with Jennie teasing Lisa about Rosé and the latter whining as
though they hadn't just been practically barking at each other merely moments ago.

Maybe this was a normal thing for siblings to do? Fight and then make up right away?

But whatever they were fighting about sounded...foreboding.

The uneasy feeling in her gut bloomed.

Jisoo stood uncertainly with her phone in her hands, her mind whirring ceaselessly as she tried to
make sense of all the bits and pieces her brain was presenting her. Their change in demeanour felt
off—they were trying to be normal, trying to play off whatever happened in the bathroom just now.

Did they really buy into her lame excuse? Or were they going to pretend that nothing happened to
keep the status quo?

The theories and hypotheses that came to mind didn't make sense, there was too much scant
information to go by.

Could they be...secret agents? Spies? Assassins? Terrorists? Aliens in disguise?

"Chu, hey. You coming?"

"You okay back there?"

The two girls were waiting for her to join them, mild concern etched on their faces, and it made
Jisoo wonder...they were the same girls who a few moments ago were discussing some classified
type of secret stuff, the stuff of possible conspiracy theories.

But now look at them—nobody would have guessed that the two girls standing before her were
remotely different from other regular people on the street.

Yet the memory of their raised voices was firmly stamped in Jisoo's mind; she hadn't dreamt any of
it—they were one and the same.
Just who were her friends?

Jisoo felt foolish for underestimating Jennie and Lisa. Clearly, there was more to them than meets
the eye. And now that she was aware, she doubted she'd get peace of mind until she got to the
bottom of the conundrum somehow.

If she asked outright, would they answer her? She could trust them, right? They were her friends
after all...right?

"Hey. Jisoo!"

Jisoo roused herself at Jennie's touch who smiled kindly and shook her head, unaware of the
turmoil she had caused.

"You don't look good...you must have drunken a lot. We should take a cab back. Lisa and I can pay
this time round," Jennie winked as she held her wrist.

"We got the money, money, money," Lisa sang and took Jisoo's other arm, grinning at the older
girl with her usual cocky grin.

"Yeah," Jisoo said wanly as she allowed them to drag her away, "must have drunken too much..."

For the first time in a long time, Jisoo had nothing else to say.
 Proposition

Jisoo tossed and turned in bed for well into the night after dropping Jennie and Lisa at their place
with her SUV (she had managed to convince Jennie she was fine enough to drive.)

The siblings' hushed conversation in the bathroom nagged her; something about its secretive nature
troubled Jisoo, such that at one point she sat up, grabbed her phone and was in the process of
composing a message for Jennie when she stopped herself.

She was being irrational. She was being inquisitive and prying into people's business. She
shouldn't be poking her nose in Jennie's business-Jennie was her friend, her new friend who was
gradually learning to accept all of Jisoo, all of her quirks and eccentricities. And Jisoo was slowly,
painstakingly getting to know the real Jennie behind the taciturn, stoic girl.

If she ruined this, it would be all her fault, nobody's else. But from what she understood...Jennie
and Lisa could be in trouble.

Somebody out there was after them.

They needed to be protected and they needed friends-they were only two girls, all alone in the
world. Surely they could use some help?

So...she should know what was going on, right? But maybe...not right now?

Maybe she should let Jennie sleep. People are usually asleep at three in the morning, unlike weird
people like herself that stay awake churning over conspiracy theories and hypotheses in their heads
because they overheard a conversation that was not meant for their ears. Maybe she could ask
tomorrow....

Which is exactly what Jisoo found herself doing when she drove to the Vault and arrived at seven
on the dot just as Jennie was opening the door for a new day.

"Chu?" Jennie said blankly. "What are you doing here?"

"I took the day off because I have something to ask you," Jisoo said without any preamble. She
hadn't even bothered with prettying up, too anxious to talk with Jennie to care. Dark circles lined
her eyes and her hair was still rather mussed from tossing and turning.

Jennie's eyes widened. "Must be something serious to skip a whole day. In any case, good morning
and I'm sorry I don't have anything to offer—"

"I couldn't sleep last night," Jisoo jumped in again impatiently, "I couldn't sleep because I need to
ask you something."

"Okay, okay. Calm down," Jennie said pacifyingly, seeing the older girl grow agitated. "Go ahead
then. Ask me."

Jisoo took a deep breath, taking in the early morning din of the city as it woke up before she
mustered up to the courage to blurt out: "I eavesdropped on you and Lisa by accident yesterday. I
don't know what you were talking about but...Jendeukie, are you in some kind of trouble?"

She rushed on when Jennie's face remained impassive. "I know it's not my business but I couldn't
help myself and I kept thinking a lot about you two being alone against whoever is out there, and
I...I don't want you to be alone. I can help you, I'm sure there's some way I can...I mean, I'm your
friend right? Friends help each other...right?" She added uncertainly, painfully aware of how out of
depth she was when it came to what friend requirements were.

Living in her own bubble and shunned by people most of the time didn't help in preparing her for
such a situation.

Jennie had been standing very still all throughout Jisoo's rapid spiel. She roused herself when Jisoo
fell silent and observed her in apprehension.

"Let's talk inside shall we? Lisa's still asleep," Jennie said softly and opened the door for Jisoo,
gently pressing a hand to the small of Jisoo's back and smiling reassuringly at the older girl.

Once inside, Jennie didn't waste time either. "So...I forgot if I mentioned that Lisa and I aren't,
well, blood-related? We're not even...step-sisters or anything. And we—"

Jisoo's mouth hung open. "Wha-you're not sisters?" she said crest-fallen.

Jennie smiled. "That's upsetting to you?"

"Well yeah. You don't have a sister," Jisoo pointed out. Jennie just had to chuckle at that comment.
This mid-twenties woman in front of her was acting just like a kid who was told that Santa Claus
didn't exist.

Well, maybe Jisoo did believe in Santa Claus. Jennie didn't know, but she was half-tempted to find
out just to see Jisoo's adorable pout again.

"She's still essentially my sister, Jisoo. We share everything and we look out for each other. It's just
that we're not related by blood."

"Okay..."

Jennie watched the older girl fidget, amused with Jisoo's disappointment over the revelation of her
relationship with Lisa.

She expected Jisoo to say something else but Jisoo merely stood silently, scuffing her shoes. Jennie
waited patiently, aware that the other girl was nervously trying to decide on the best way to broach
the topic without making her angry.

"Chu, it's okay. I'm not mad," Jennie said softly. "You don't have to be scared. Just tell me what's
on your mind, okay? I won't be cross or tell you off, I promise."

The sounds of traffic outside was increasing as the sun rose higher, officially heralding the
beginning to a new day. Despite the tense situation, Jennie couldn't help but smile at Jisoo's
dishevelled appearance—the older girl looked very much like a kid who slept in and had dressed
hurriedly to rush to school. She must have been either eaten up by curiosity or deathly worried, to
rush over here in such a state. This made Jennie's brows crease.

Was Jisoo being a basic busybody or was she truly concerned?

"Jendeuk... are you really in trouble?" Jisoo said at last.

Jennie looked thoughtful. "I wouldn't say so...at least, not yet. See, so Lisa came from Thailand
like I said and...well, let's say she might have made some enemies back there. She gets paranoid
quickly. She jumped to the conclusion that those...people...could be back in town."
She turned to Jisoo with a serious expression. "Chu, I appreciate you for being upfront with me but
it's best you don't get involved, and don't tell anyone else either."

"I—"

"Please." Jennie pressed on, "Lisa and I will deal with this, if it's real at all. This is just something
between us and the less people are involved, the better. We can handle it. Besides, there's no real
confirmation of anything either. Lisa was just suspicious so.... she jumped to conclusions."

She eyed Jisoo closely. "No need to go searching for trouble, okay? Rein in that impulse."

Jisoo dithered uncertainly. "But...I don't want...you sounded..."

Jennie sighed. "I just want to keep a low profile and not get in trouble with the authorities is all. A
few years back, Lisa almost went to jail because a guy harassed Yeri. You know Yeri? The short
blonde girl you talked to last night? Joy's girlfriend? And anyway, Lisa knocked out the guy pretty
bad. She was let off, thankfully, but she's on thin ice if ever anything like that happens again."

"Morning ladies! Oh pardon me, I thought you were Irene, ma'am," Matthew said hastily as he
stepped around Jennie and Jisoo. "I'll get started Jen, sorry for interrupting. Somi's popping in
later..."

"Irene?" Jisoo asked.

"Friend of mine who comes here. She really does look a bit like you." Jennie grinned before she
turned around. "Morning Matt, can't wait to see Mimi! And don't sweat it, I'm almost done here
too."

As the man started preparing and stretching, Jisoo took Jennie's wrist and looked into the younger's
eyes with a determined expression.

"Jendeuk, I'm gonna trust you," Jisoo said, "but I want you to know that if you need anything at all,
I'm here to listen and help. I'm your friend okay? You can trust me, I won't say anything, unless
you're in very real danger. I want to be there for you and Lisa...I don't want anything to happen to
you guys."

She drew a sharp inaudible breath when Jennie rested her free hand on Jisoo's fingers still wrapped
around her wrist.

"Thank you," Jennie said softly, "it's all I could ever ask for really, so thank you for worrying
about us. I'll keep your offer in mind but honestly, you can set your mind at rest. Lisa and I can
handle it."

"You'll tell me if you need help?" Jisoo persisted.

Jennie hesitated for a split second and turned away. "Chu, not many people know about...this." she
said vaguely gesturing in the air to indicate the topic of discussion. "I always figured stuff out by
myself most of the time. If I involved people, it could mean danger for me and Lisa, but also for
the people involved. We've been on our own for a long time so involving people is...harder than
you think."

"But that was before," Jisoo said quietly, "you have me now."

"We met days ago."

"There's a probationary period for how much a friend can do?" Jisoo frowned. "I'm really not
familiar with these things, sorry."

Jennie chuckled. "No but...you already want to go in off the deep end. That usually takes years.
And in our case...let's say it's a bit complicated..." She raised her eyes. "Maybe one day I'll be able
to tell you about it in full. But right now...trust me when I say we got it under control, Lisa and I. If
I feel truly lost, I'll tell you. I'll come to you."

"Promise?"

Jennie tilted her head. "This means that much to you?"

"You're my friend," Jisoo said in frustration, "is it such a big deal I want to make sure you're not in
danger?" She held out her hand. "Shake on it Jendeuk. I'm doing this because I know you'll do the
same for me if I ever was in trouble of some kind. I just know it."

Jennie eyed the proffered hand before glancing back up. "I just...don't think you should make
promises you might not be able to keep. You don't know us much. Maybe you'll be biting off more
than you can chew," she warned.

"I'll shoulder the consequences of my decisions and I'll keep the promises I make. I'm not some
kid," Jisoo said loftily. "No matter if you're spies, or secret agents or even aliens in disguise or
heck, even some double agents—I want to help you."

Jennie chuckled. " Aliens in disguise? You've certainly given this a lot of thought—"

"I didn't catch a wink of sleep. I nearly called you in the middle of the night."

"—and despite all the scenarios and theories you've cooked up, you still want to stick by us?
Why?" Jennie asked curiously.

Jisoo smiled at her. "Well, you and Lisa are one of the few people that I met that...well, that
decided to not be mean, after a while at least. Jennie, you defended me and put up with my
weirdness the past few days and called me your friend. That's more than what I can say for most
other people I have met or encounter on a daily basis at work for example. So...yeah." She
indicated her hand. "Shake."

Jennie returned the smile, touched. "I've earned your trust just like that?"

"There are other requirements? Oh well," Jisoo shrugged, "I judged you to be an overall good
person. I'm going with that instinct and I want to be a good friend to you and Lisa, is all."

Jennie finally took Jisoo's hand, drawing a sharp breath. "Chu, your hand's cold!"

"I have been holding it out here between us for a while and it's chilly in here," Jisoo laughed as she
shook Jennie's hand, savouring the warmth. "So...promise?"

"I promise." Jennie's eyes gleamed. "If I ever find myself lost, I'll come to you."

"Great," Jisoo said cheerfully, "now I gotta work on making you trust me more. Do you have a
checklist for things I have to do? I don't really have the memory to keep those things in mind so a
list I can use to cross off items would be helpful."

Jennie's giggle was cut short by someone politely clearing their throat. The two women turned in
unison, startled.
"Oh, Irene unnie! Good morning!" Jennie called. Jisoo's gaze landed on the pretty woman that
Jennie addressed, an odd emotion she didn't recognise clogging up her throat when Jennie stepped
away and clung on to Irene's arm, chattering excitedly.

"Unnie, guess what? Lisa won! She beat her up and won, the pilates worked! I was gonna pay off
some bills today, after I pass by the laundromat, and I'll pay you back too of course!"

"That's fantastic news Jennie!" Irene cheered, "but I told you, you don't have to pay me anything. I
did it because I wanted to help." She turned to Jisoo with a smile. "So, who's your new friend?
Aren't you going to introduce us?"

Jisoo immediately felt better when Jennie turned and smiled at her. "This is Kim Jisoo, a new
friend. I go to yoga with her and she lives next to Roseanne's. Matthew thought she was you when
he passed us and I have to say, at some angles, I guess you two do look alike."

"Pleasure to meet you Jisoo. I'm Irene," Irene smiled warmly and held out her hand expectantly.
Jisoo stared, mentally berating herself. She was forever forgetting to have a flask or beverage with
her to use on people.

But this was Jennie's friend, the one who paid for Lisa's pilates sessions. So she could trust Jennie's
friends, right?

"She's okay Jisoo. I trust Irene unnie with my life," Jennie piped up, cottoning on to Jisoo's internal
conflict. "She's good."

It was all the incentive Jisoo needed to immediately take up Irene's hand in a hearty handshake.
"I'm Kim Jisoo," she chirped with a wide smile then gestured at herself wryly. "Sorry about my
appearance, I didn't get much sleep because I spent all night thinking about Jendeukie."

Irene's eyes widened at the same time that Jennie face-palmed.

>

After quickly hustling a bemused Irene away, Jennie got back to Jisoo, who opted to stay and train
("Well I'm gonna make sure you're actually doing something this time round," Jennie had vowed)
and after putting on boxing gloves, Jisoo was off punching and swinging, just enjoying herself in
her own manner. Jennie stayed a while watching to make sure the elder girl didn't hurt herself. She
tried and failed to stifle her smiles at Jisoo's antics, even though she was still rather disgruntled by
Jisoo's embarrassing remark in front of Irene.

Irene might think something was going on between them when in fact there wasn't, Jennie thought
grumpily.

"Morning Jennie unnie I got you—huh?" Somi stood and stared, eyes bulging in her head. "Jisoo
unnie?"

Jisoo whipped around and beamed. She waved a glove at the gawking girl standing in the entrance.
"Hey Somi!"

Jennie rushed to the rescue before the box with the bagels fell out of Somi's hand. "Good to see you
again Mimi," she greeted. "Lisa will be along in a minute. And yes, it's Jisoo. She's trying out
boxing here."

"Because I showed Jennie yoga, so it's my turn!" Jisoo said happily, with her ponytail swinging
around wildly as she nodded. "Boxing is harder than I thought, though."
Somi looked back and forth between them, her face splitting into a delighted grin. "You...know
each other?"

"Oh yes. Jisoo gave me and Lisa a lift to the Slammer last night and she also kindly dropped me
home from work these past few nights."

"Wow..." Somi shook her head before her mouth stretched wide. "Jisoo unnie, you really talked to
her after I mentioned Jennie? This is great! I'm happy for you both!"

"She even came to my place and tried yoga!" Jisoo added, oblivious of the death-glare Jennie was
shooting her.

"Really? That's nice," Somi smirked and nudged Jennie as she spoke. Jennie glared, fearful Jisoo
would catch on to Somi's dancing eyebrows and the suggestive tone she was using but the elder
had turned back to punching wildly, with the punching bag swinging haphazardly.

Although she wasn't wearing the right gear for sweating it out, Jisoo was doing surprisingly okay in
jeans, albeit sweating buckets and giving Jennie a glimpse of her drenched shirt that clung to her
sweaty back.

Somi noticed Jennie staring and opened her mouth, her eyes glittering wickedly.

"No Mimi, don't you dare start shipping us or some nonsense," Jennie hissed before Somi spoke.
"I'm straight as a ruler. Run along now, go get started on your workout."

"Okay I will I will! But just so you know, rulers can be bent," Somi winked and skipped away.

Jennie shook her head again and went to put the bagels on her desk.

"I SMELL BREAKFAST!"

A whirlwind came hurtling down the stairs and rushed past Jennie at top speed, coming to a halt in
front of a startled Somi.

"You're back!" Lisa puffed. She was distracted by Jisoo hitting the punching bag and gasped in
delight. "Wow, so many people here today, I brought us so much luck just by winning. Hey,
Jisoo!"

Jisoo stopped momentarily to wave and shout a greeting before she was at it again, exclaiming
incoherently with each punch. Irene and Mattew had each given Jennie amused looks which she
steadfastly ignored.

Lisa shook her head and turned back to Somi with a wide smile. "Okay, if you're still mad at us,
just hear this out first and I'll leave you alone but it's good I swear, you might wanna hear this! So
yesterday there I was, fighting that bloody oaf Undertaker and I tried telling her a yo mama joke
but she wasn't listening. Which is such a shame, yo mama jokes are classics, ya get me? and then
guess what, she told me a joke!"

"Huh? No way! Undertaker did?" Somi gawked, eyes wide. "I didn't catch that part..."

She lowered her voice after a quick glance in her father's direction. "I watched the live stream. She
was really giving you a right old knock."

"You watched me?" Lisa said thrilled even as Somi hissed at her to lower her voice. "Wow, daddy's
girl isn't a pussy anymore. Glad you grew a pair. Rebellion tastes sweet doesn't it?"
"Yeah well, figured the least I could do was watch you online after not seeing you in the morning,"
Somi admitted, "even at the cost of my dad catching me." She held out her fist with a hopeful
smile. "We good?"

Lisa readily knocked fists, breaking down into more laughter. "Good to have you back, Mimi. And
how's Dubu? And Chaeyoung?"

"I'll tell you in a second but weren't you telling me some joke?"

"Oh yeah!" Lisa said enthusiastically. "So as I was saying Undertaker didn't want to hear the yo
mama joke, but then she goes hey tornado. And I said what. And get this, she said joke."

"That's it? She just said joke?"

"Hang on hang on! Then obviously I was like, that's amazing, let's hear the joke. And then she
goes Punch. Line. And I was like huh? And then she punched me so hard I hit the rope line." Lisa
finished, holding her side as she chortled. Her swollen jaw was still puffy and she couldn't laugh
too much without feeling the bruise on the side.

"Punch and line?" Somi asked now with a quizzical expression.

"Yeah. Punch line is the climax of the joke and like, she punched me to the line. I'm the joke,
Mimi, geddit?"

"Lame but passable," Somi declared.

"You know, it's not as funny when you explain it," Jennie put in drily as she passed them again
after checking up on Irene, Matthew and Jisoo. "Now, wouldn't it be better if you two started out, I
dunno, actually doing something?"

"We were only catching up!"

"Yeah, we were only catching up!"

"And I was gonna tell her about Dahyun and Chaeyoung!"

"Yeah she was gonna tell me about Dahyun and Chaeyoung!"

"Stop repeating me!"

"No you stop repeating me!"

"I'm the original, you're just a rip-off!"

"Excuse me? You're calling this snack a rip-off? The sheer audacity—"

"Alright alright knock it off, we get it," Jennie sighed but she was smiling. "It's been too quiet
without you Mimi. Glad you're back. So...Dahyun and Chaeyoung?"

Somi sobered up. "Chaeyoung might come in later today....said she shouldn't really be blaming you
guys for being friends with Momo, she just wanted to stand with Dahyun for a while. And Dubu's
on the mend too, I think she kinda knew it wasn't gonna last. So...maybe later she'll visit, or
tomorrow."

She glanced at Jennie and rushed to reassure her. "She doesn't blame any of you for what
happened, trust me... she just wanted some space. She missed you too, because she told me so."
"The more the merrier!" Lisa chimed in, clapping Somi on the back. "Say...about those X-Men..."

"You have," Jennie told Lisa, "absolutely zero shame." She paused thoughtfully. "But if Lisa gets
on those X-Men, can I borrow some time to watch a yoga video?"

"Who's with the zero shame now?" Lisa teased as they laughed.

"What's with you two? What am I missing here?" Somi asked suspiciously. "Jisoo is suddenly here,
training—"

"She saw your poster," Jennie said quickly, "and she got curious."

"—and Lisa wants to watch X-men, while you, Jennie, want to watch videos because you've been
doing yoga with Jisoo? What is going on around here?"

"Nothing!" Jennie and Lisa chorused.

>

Lisa let loose with a loud caveman yowl as she stretched sleepily—she was already restless with
nobody popping around in the afternoon and she made for poor company when by herself and not
training. Jennie had stepped out to the laundromat with Jisoo accompanying.

As part of the new regimen, Jennie had insisted for Lisa to take it easy the day after a match so she
wasn't allowed to work out as hard as usual.

"Besides, Roseanne wants you to get ample rest and relaxation," Jennie had lectured, "so don't push
yourself."

With nothing else to do, Lisa had even showered already, although it was way too early. She had
gotten dressed up in sports gear again (it was really the only abundant pieces of garments she
owned) and mooched around in circles by herself, bored out of her mind. Lisa came upon the
weights and idly lifted up a dumbbell, wincing as her side gave a twinge of protest with each lift,
making her glare down at her ribs.

"Come now, you're gonna keep reminding me of last night's near epic fail?" Lisa said belligerently.
"Well yah boo, sucks to be you, I actually won and gave Undertaker a good ol' thumping, so
there!"

"Are you usually this passive aggressive towards your own body?" called an amused voice from
the doorway.

Lisa whirled around to behold Rosé grinning with arms folded as she leaned against the Vault's
entrance.

"Rosie!" Lisa squeaked in delight.

"Hey," Rosé chuckled, "is it a bad time to be here? Thought I'd nip over and check on you before
Ella gets back from school."

"No no, you're perfect, I mean it's perfect but yeah, you're prefect too and oh wow I should stop
talking before I embarrass myself even more..."

She grinned when Rosé giggled.

"Are you sure you don't have a concussion?" Rosé said as she strutted into the Vault. Without
meaning to, Lisa's eyes were drawn to Rosé's torso. Those curvy hips were simply begging for
attention.

And who was Lisa to not give it?

"Uh...eyes up here, Kim."

Lisa glanced up quickly, mentally scolding herself for making Rosé uncomfortable but to her
surprise, Rosé was smirking widely.

"Like what you see?" the pilates instructor asked in jest, echoing Lisa's comment from their last
session when the boxer asked Rosé the same thing regarding her abs. Rosé raised an eyebrow for
effect as well.

"Yes," Lisa blurted and immediately bit her tongue at the way Rosé's eyes widened.

Way to go Tornado, way to go, now you'll end up freaking her out you just because you can't keep
it in your pants, can you?

"I uh...never mind, I wasn't thinking," Lisa muttered, clicking her wrist distractedly. "Uh, so you
wanna...punch stuff? Um... Jennie isn't here, she went to the laundromat to collect our stuff...but
Jisoo was here this morning uhm, yeah and....yeah..."

"Unnie was here?" Rosé said in surprise. "She didn't go to work?"

"Yeah. Weird huh? She gave us a ride yesterday too, she came to watch me..." Lisa trailed off
when Rosé's brows shot up. "Oh, you didn't know?"

"No...." Rosé hummed and then her lips quirked up at the corners. "Hmm, your sister must really
have left an impact on Jisoo, for Jisoo to go out of her way and give you two a ride."

"Oh actually she's been giving rides to Jennie all this week," Lisa said nonchalantly. "She fetches
her every night after Jennie unnie's shift finishes at like three in the morning or so. I think she's still
gonna be doing it even when unnnie's shift finishes at one because Jisoo doesn't want Jennie to
walk in the dark alone."

Rosé stared. "What? That's...Jisoo unnie gets up at that time...for her?"

"Yeah. Girl code, or whatever Jennie says."

"Right..." Rosé said slowly. Her eyes met Lisa's as a flash of mutual understanding flitted between
them. Next second, they both dissolved into explosive snorts and giggles.

"I'm not really one for bets," Rosé gasped at last, out of breath, "but I bet you Jisoo will make
Jennie fall for her."

"Jennie won't ever admit it but I do think Jisoo's efforts are working," Lisa grinned, relieved that
the stiff atmosphere between them had cleared out so easily and they were back to laughing
together. She was dying to reach out and pinch Rosé's squishy rosy cheeks—the older girl's eyes
turned into half crescents, and her nose scrunched up adorably when she giggled.

But Lisa resisted the urge. Maybe one day, she'd have the confidence and Rosé's permission to do
so. After all, a girl can dream.

"So, you wanna have a go at Punchy while you're here?" Lisa asked again and rubbed her neck. "I
can stay with you...it's really quiet right now, and I'm not sure if some other regulars will be
coming in today because...well that fallout I mentioned. Well Somi said they might or...I dunno."
She was mildly bemused by the way she was acting all flustered and uncertain in Rosé's presence,
her cockiness evaporating the moment they locked gazes.

"I see. That's too bad," Rosé said sympathetically. " I think I'll stick around but not necessarily to
box. This place...has its charms."

Lisa snorted. "It's a dump, you can go ahead and say it."

"Well of course, I'm sure it could do with a little uh...renovation," Rosé conceded. "But I don't
mind it...like I said, it has its charms."

"Really?" Now Lisa grew curious. "Like what charms then?"

Rosé dithered, seeming suddenly shy. "Well... for one thing, the people here who run it make quite
the difference...."

Lisa perked up. Had she heard right? Rosie thought she was charming? She turned giddy with glee
as Rosé suddenly seemed to find a particular spot on the wall very fascinating.

"So...you think I'm charming?" Lisa said teasingly.

Rosé grimaced. "I take it back. You're too cocky and conceited."

"Hey hey no take backs, you didn't say anything about take backs! No fair!" Lisa declared.

"What, are you eight?" Rosé chuckled as she walked over to the mats. She was about to lower
herself down when Lisa caught her wrist.

"Wait don't, it's too dirty!"

Rosé raised an eyebrow. "You were just sitting there before you got up to stretch—"

"It's too dirty for you to sit on! and uh...uh...germs! Right, you could have loads of germs on you
and, and then Ella would catch them and be sick!" Lisa gabbled. "So...So..."

She cast about her for a solution, unwilling to let Rosé sit on the floor like some low-class peasant
such as herself did. Rosé deserved a throne in Lisa's books, but since those were in short supply,
she had to look for something else.

"Don't sit. Gimme a second, lemme get you a chair," Lisa said at last.

Rosé mused thoughtfully. "Well, I just wanted some place flat to sit down so we can check you out
for any tender areas." She reached into her purse and pulled out a bottle. "I have some salve for
sore muscles that maybe you could use? Since you didn't go to a doctor and I want to make sure
you don't reverse the progress we made so far. You can keep it for your next matches too. Your
next one's pretty soon, right? And then there's that delightful Purge thing..."

She glanced at Lisa, frowning at the boxer whose mouth was curving up into a wide grin.

"What?"

"Do you usually check up on your clients like this and hand them bottles of lotion to soothe their
sore muscles? Or am I a favourite of yours so I get extra attention outside of sessions?" Lisa
winked and flexed, tossing her ponytail smugly. "Must be my good looks, they make me
irresistible."

"None of my clients participate in hard contact sports like boxing," Rosé shrugged but her cheeks
were tinted a fetching shade of pink that made Lisa smile slyly. The boxer decided to drop it and
move on.

"Okay, and why do you want to lie on the mat then?"

Rosé stopped short. "Uh, not lie down...and not me, you, um...so I could, um..." she trailed off, her
cheeks flushing a full strawberry red as Lisa smirked.

Wordlessly, Rosé turned on the blonde boxer and walked to a bench before stiffly taking a seat.

"I just thought sitting on the floor would help with examining you better," Rosé muttered, "but
here is fine too. Or you can just have the salve and apply it yourself."

Lisa immediately sat down next to Rosé. "Nope nope I'm down for this examination, even though
you sound like a dodgy doc, Doctor Park."

Rosé shook her head but Lisa was pleased to see her smiling again.

"You know, I kinda wanted to be a doctor once," Rosé said wistfully.

Lisa looked up at her nostalgic tone, sensing they were venturing towards the treacherous waters
of the past. She watched her friend play with the bottle absentmindedly, lost in thought, and she
decided to make a move.

"A doctor huh? Gimme a fact then."

"A fact? Jisoo unnie is good with those. What kind of facts are we talking here?"

Lisa shrugged. "I dunno, something medical I suppose. You must have watched all those fancy
medical dramas like Grey's Anatomy or read some medical book I'm assuming. You're quite the
smarty pants."

"Should I be insulted?" Rosé laughed before sitting back to think. "A medical fact...hmm..."

"Don't say 'the mithochondria is the powerhouse of the cell'. Even I know that." Lisa said with a
roll of her eyes. "It's like, the most basic piece of science, it's all over the vines and memes."

Rosé laughed again. "Well, it's true I was always interested in the human body although I didn't
watch Grey's Anatomy. It's fascinating how we're all just basically tiny components come together
to build up cells and then tissue and then organs that function all together in this streamlined
machine, with all sorts of reactions and electrical impulses and information from the outside
coming in. We're really an amazing species, Lisa, and we have so much power within us...it's sad to
see that we're only really good at destroying and inflicting pain and harm on others..."

She noticed Lisa staring at her and hanging on to her every word with narrowed, focused eyes. The
sight made Rosé shake her head with a chuckle. "Jeez, I keep rambling on and on when I'm around
you!"

"It's alright, I enjoy hearing you talk," Lisa said sincerely. "You can talk as much as you like Rosie.
I lo—I like your voice. You might even be good at singing ballads, your voice is so soothing."

"Used to play the guitar and sing a bit," Rosé smiled, nodding at Lisa when the younger girl
brightened, "now I'm pushing Ella to go into music because she seems to be into it. I don't want her
to pass up such an opportunity."

There was a beat of silence until Lisa spoke again. "Why didn't you pursue medicine...or singing?"
she said quietly. Deep down, she knew the reason-having Ella must have derailed all plans Rosé
had. The thought of teenage Rosie giving up her dreams to raise her kid had Lisa feeling strangely
melancholic, imagining all that brimming passion and potential going up in smoke.

"Well....let's say my early years were...not the best of times," Rosé said softly. "And then...well,
Ella happened. I...I didn't plan for her at all. I wasn't...well, I wasn't even properly in a relationship
at the time but my ex hung around when he got to know I was pregnant."

"That's...good?" Lisa said uncertainly, remembering Rosé mentioning the abuse Ella's father
inflicted on her back then.

"Yes and no." Rosé shrugged. "I had distanced myself from my father at the time because
of...reasons. I never knew my Mom, I don't even remember her. So I didn't have anyone else to turn
to, except for my ex and thankfully, he let me stay with him. But...well, I told you what he was
like."

A brute. A monster. A bastard who hurt Rosie and terrorised Ella.

Lisa's hand clenched as terrible scenarios of a shadowy figure that loomed over Rosé's pitifully
small body and beat her mercilessly darted through her mind, mixing with her own batch of
memories that she always pushed to the far, far back of her head.

Distant memories of blood, pain, dust, and screaming. Lots and lots of screaming.

"Sssh, sssh, relax," Rosé said soothingly. "It was a long time ago."

Lisa's face contorted, heart aching with pain for the older girl.

"It's in the past. A part of me, but I've moved on from it." Rosé clasped their hands together and
Lisa's heart somersaulted at the sudden contact. "Lisa, breathe."

"Wha—"

"You were scowling and turning red in the face from not breathing. Breathe."

Rosé was right—Lisa suddenly grew aware of her shallow breathing and realised she had been
unconsciously growing angry.

"Oh uh...sorry..." Lisa muttered in embarrassment. She hoped Rosé wouldn't ask anything about
Lisa acting this way and being so affected by the trauma her friend had gone through, because Lisa
couldn't really explain it either.

She wasn't in the habit of being so affected when hearing sob stories from past visitors to the Vault
and there were many of those—everyone had their personal baggage after all, and Momo got the
scoop on lots of gossip and heartbreaking narratives as well.

With Rosé, it was different. Too different.

She felt things that she wasn't sure she was allowed to feel.

She remembered things she was sure she had successfully repressed yet there they were but
thankfully, the memories were muted and blurred. Nevertheless, if Jennie got to know about these
changes, she'd be worried, just as she was worried when Lisa told her what happened during her
match with Undertaker.

And Lisa would be lying if she said she wasn't a teeny weeny bit scared herself.

This was different than flirting with teenagers in bars and joking around next to Momo to get girls'
attention. This was far more...intimate.

Lisa didn't let go of Rosé's hand, admiring how her long slim fingers nestled so perfectly in Rosé's
soft hand.

"Well, we didn't have much financial support to get by at first," Rosé picked up again, still casually
holding on to Lisa's hand as Lisa concentrated on not sweating and making her palm grubby and
gross. "Raising a kid is tough work. But I managed to enrol for a diploma when we eventually got
some financial help and once I graduated, I also got help to set up a name for myself as a pilates
instructor. I took Ella and left my ex and moved around until I settled in the apartment I have
today."

She looked up at Lisa with a faint smile. "It took a lot of sacrifices and working side-jobs too, but
now...now we're okay. Although I didn't get to be a doctor or musician, I don't regret hanging on to
Ella. She's...the light of my life, and I'm not exaggerating. She made me push through on days
when I felt like...like..."

Lisa squeezed Rosé's hand, hoping the gesture was enough to convey her empathy. She badly
wanted to wrap the other girl in a hug right now, to stroke her hair out of her eyes and tell her she
was so, so, so proud. But Lisa held back, fearful of upsetting the redhead with unwarranted
affection and skin ship.

Since when had she grown so cautious? So considerate and mindful?

It was....unusual, to say the least. Momo would have teased her for being a pussy. And a few weeks
ago, Lisa wouldn't have thought twice to act on her impulses but it was different now. Rosé was so
more than just some attractive hot girl.

"You're amazing you know?" Lisa said admiringly. "Having a kid, and keeping her instead of
giving her up or even aborting her...and putting up with a horrible guy just to have a roof over your
head and a place to stay for you and her...and then having to give up on your dreams too, just to
raise her. I would never do that. You're tough and resilient. You're an inspiration Rosie. Ella is so
lucky to have you as her Mom."

To her surprise, the instructor turned away.

"No not really. She isn't." Rosé said quietly, and she didn't elaborate further. She sat with her head
bowed and Lisa sat in silence with her, holding her hand. It was all she could do in that moment—
Lisa had no idea of how to comfort Rosé, but she badly wanted to soothe the older girl, to tuck her
up against her chest and hug her tightly.

"Remember Ella said her father went away like your parents, last time when you were over?" Rosé
said abruptly.

Lisa nodded.

The other girl smiled sadly. "That's kind of what I want Ella to think. It's...it's way easier than
trying to explain the truth, at least right now. She's smart, but still so young..." Rosé swallowed and
closed her eyes. "He was locked up...in a mental asylum. He lost all control when I left him but
thankfully he never came after us. He was charged with rape and assault but pleaded insane and
avoided doing time, I guess..."

She fell silent for the longest time, lost in thought. Timidly, Lisa squeezed her hand, a small
inquiring gesture to check if she was okay. Rosé turned back to her with a faint smile and nodded,
squeezing her hand back in reassurance before abruptly pulling her palm away. Lisa immediately
missed the comforting warmth clasped around her fingers.

"Ah, I always end up dumping on you when you're around," Rosé said sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I
only came to check on you. You had me rather concerned the other night."

"Oh...yeah," Lisa sighed, "I was...tipsy and super happy."

"Super gay, too. Here to save the day," Rosé quipped with a mischievous quirk of her lips.

Lisa covered her face and groaned, secretly glad she was the cause for Rosé's smile to appear
again. "I said that? Why do I keep embarrassing myself..."

Rosé giggled and held out the salve. "Let's check you out then, I've taken up enough of your time."

Check me out?

Lis swallowed, trying her best to stifle her snicker in the face of Rosé's innocence. How could this
girl be so naive and simultaneously cause Lisa's dirty imagination to perk up and take interest? It
didn't help that Lisa was just in a sports bra—she was suddenly hyper aware of Rosé's presence
next to her.

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea taking up Rosie's offer. Wait, was Rosie going to be...touching
too? Hell, stay calm! Stay cool! Focus.

Shaking her head to get rid of the intrusive thoughts, Lisa tapped just below her uncovered ribs.
"So here is where I got a good kick to the liver and—"

She sucked in a breathe when Rosé, having finished tying her hair back in a ponytail, slipped to her
knees on the floor in front of Lisa in one fluid motion. She leaned closer to Lisa's abdomen,
hovering over the boxer's knees to examine the bruise. Her chest brushed against Lisa's leg and
Lisa automatically opened her legs, allowing for Rosé to slip in between her thighs comfortably.
Rosé flashed her a quick smile and went back to assessing the skin, unaware of the tumultuous
chaos she had just unleashed in Lisa's head.

Lisa was desperately trying to quash the multitude of lewd snapshots her brain was gleefully
conjuring as her imagination ran wild. She cursed herself for acting without thinking.

Why did she have to open her legs like that?

She was asking for trouble, this was the end, keep it in your pants you idiot, can't you just go for
two seconds without lusting over a girl you depraved piece of—

"Is it okay if I touch?"

"Wha-what?"

Lisa glanced down, hoping that Rosé was too oblivious to notice just how affected she was. The
red-head had her fingers hovering a short distance away from Lisa's tense stomach as she waited
for permission.

"To see if it's tender, or sore," Rosé clarified patiently, taking Lisa's hesitation for confusion.

Looking down at the girl kneeling in front of her was not helping Lisa to cool down—Rosé was
the picture of purity and sin blended together into one tempting canvas. Soft, gentle eyes with long
lashes peered up at Lisa, paired with delicious plump lips that were slightly parted, as though she
was about to plunge her face in between—

Stop stop stop stop STOP.

Lisa's poor heart was twanging like an elastic band. Any minute it would snap, and Lisa would
probably do something she'd regret for the rest of her life.

Was Rosé feeling this too? The uncomfortable stuffy heat building up in the room? Amidst her
efforts to stay cool, Lisa made a mental note to get Jennie to fix the AC because really, all this heat
was ridiculous. And it wasn't even summer yet!

Lisa finally nodded when she noticed Rosé was still waiting for her, thanking herself for showering
earlier as Rosé nudged her hand forward and her fingers scraped against Lisa's skin. Lisa's face
burned, the heat rushing south to collect underneath Rosé's touch and even further south to pool
just above her groin, spikes of pleasure causing Lisa to bite down her gasps.

"Lisa, this area is so warm, it's not some internal infection, is it?" Rosé asked in concern, frowning
as she explored the area around the bruise further. The sensation of being touched had Lisa stifling
a groan and not just because the bruise still hurt, but Rosé didn't have to know that.

Her hand rested on the crown of Rosé's head before she could realise and Lisa withdrew it back in
horror as Rosé blinked up at her, non-plussed.

"Uh...sorry, reflex, uh," Lisa said lamely.

"Was I pressing too hard? Tell me if I hurt you," Rosé instructed and Lisa nodded vigorously,
closing her eyes to calm herself.

Holy bagels, since when had she turned this whipped around Rosé? For heaven's sake, they had
bodily contact during pilates sessions before!

Maybe it was the redhead's overpowering strawberry scent that Lisa found so delightful; maybe it
was Rosé's heavenly voice and her fit body that she had grown to appreciate so much; maybe it
was the way Rosé showed so much concern that it had Lisa feeling warm in a comforting manner;
maybe it was the way Rosé trusted and confided in her, maybe it was—

"Uh, are we interrupting something?"

Lisa's eyes flew open; she yelped as she tumbled backwards over the bench in shock. Rosé fell
back on her butt with a squeak.

"Uh, hey," Rosé said breathlessly as she scrambled to her feet, dusting herself and flashing a
sheepish smile.

Lisa sat up. In her befuddled daze, she registered Jisoo standing next to a dumbstruck Jennie
holding the bulging laundry bag, together with Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Somi. These three had
wide, knowing smirks pasted on their faces.
"Fancy seeing you here, unnie," Somi drawled, addressing Rosé. "Sorry for startling you. Oh and
don't mind us: please do carry on. We'll...just be doing our thing, over here. We won't bother you."
She winked at Lisa. "Don't get too loud," she said in a loud whisper, which earned her a cuff on the
side of her head from Chaeyoung.

"It's not like that," Lisa groaned as she stood up. "Honestly, guys, just..."

"Uhm, I should...go..." Rosé said, biting her lips and glancing uncertainly at their audience. She
didn't look at Lisa as she pushed the bottle into her hands. "Keep it. I'll see you around," she
mumbled. "Ella's finishing soon, I gotta go..."

"I'll take you back," Jisoo piped up. Her eyes were glittering with clear mischief and she flashed
Lisa a roguish wink before waving goodbye at Jennie and practically hustling Rosé out of the
Vault.

Lisa stood in the middle of the gym, blinking foolishly with the salve in her hand as she stared after
Rosé's departing back. "Bye..."

"So, why are we choking on sexual tension right now?" Somi asked when the door slammed shut
after the two girls left.

"Shut up, you little brat."

"Whoa easy there, I know you were dying to get some amazing head but—"

"Shut up, you little brat." Lisa held her head. "Rosie is just a friend, okay?! She's just a straight,
single mom whom I'm just friends with. Nothing more, nothing less!"

"Just friends huh? And Abraham Lincoln is my grandpa," Somi scoffed. "Get over yourself Lis,
anyone can see you're whipped for her from a mile away."

"We weren't doing anything, you've totally misread the situation! She's not even remotely
interested in me. She has Ella. And besides, I'm not gonna force her into doing anything!" Lisa
insisted, "not unless she decides she wants to! So please, please, stop it. You make her
uncomfortable, look at the way she rushed out of here without even saying goodbye!"

"Well, whatever she was doing—and it certainly didn't look innocent to me—mustn't have been as
innocent as she made it out to be," Somi reasoned, "otherwise, why act all flustered? Why run?
Why blush like that? You were too preoccupied to notice but she was definitely blushing on her
way out."

"You embarrassed her, that's why! You were clearly implying stupid stuff!"

"Wow, you really care about her, huh?" Chaeyoung commented. "I've never seen you so serious
before."

"Not helping, Chaeyoung," Dahyun said but she was hiding a grin behind her hand.

"Okay okay, calm down, the pair of you," Jennie said finally as she stepped in between Somi and
Lisa. "Get on with your workouts people, I'll be along in a moment. Lisa, a word?"

The three girls knuckled down to their respective stations and soon the Vault was humming with
activity and noise. Lisa followed her sister into a quiet corner with a sullen expression.

"Jen, we really weren't doing anything—"

"I know you weren't," Jennie said calmly. Her brows furrowed. "But Lis...please be careful if you
intend to fool around with her."

"She's straight—"

"I said if."

This time it was Lisa's turn to frown. "You never complained when I was fooling around with other
girls at the bar before," she pointed out.

"I know," Jennie sighed. "But...this is different, somehow. You weren't serious about those other
girls and it was clearly harmless fun but now...now you're clearly growing...uh, attached to
Roseanne. Don't even deny—we all saw you with her. You may not have been doing anything but I
don't think I ever saw you look so...so intimate and close with anyone, not even with Mimi."

A beat of silence passed between the two girls and Lisa swallowed, summoning the words stuck in
her throat.

"That's a bad thing?" she said meekly. "Being close with Rosie?"

Jennie shook her head, at a loss. "I don't know. I honestly don't know....but I'm worried about the
implications and what it could mean for you..."

"Nothing has to change," Lisa pleaded, "I'm doing really good Jen, you've seen me, I've been so, so
good." Her eyes beseeched her sister. "I have been good, haven't I?"

Jennie turned her impassive eyes upon Lisa. "Have you?"

The question hit her like a brick to the face and Lisa turned speechless, her heart sinking when she
realised where they were headed with that question: Jennie was doubtful of Lisa's control over
herself.

"Last night...and these few days with Roseanne...they've brought on...certain changes. And that's
okay, really. It might be a good change but..." Jennie had her thinking face on. "Something tells me
it's too risky on banking that it will be a good kind of change, Lis. And you know me. I don't like
risky, especially when I have no idea what the results are. What if someone ends up hurt in the
process?"

Lisa bowed her head like a scolded puppy. "But last night...it was just one slip-up. A minor one-
off, you know?" she pleaded. "I'll be more careful, like I said. It won't happen again, I swear on my
life."

"All it takes is one mistake, one big blow-up," Jennie said quietly, "and it's over. Especially if
you're right about those people being back. They'll be keeping a lookout, biding their time."

Lisa heaved a sigh. "Unnie, this is really all a load of hot air. There's nothing going on between me
and Rosie."

"Maybe not from her side....yet." Lisa was relieved to see the faint smile make its way across
Jennie's mouth. "But Somi was right. The tension in the room when we walked in was quite
something, even if it was one-sided. And seeing you all hot and sweaty with a woman on her knees
in front of you...." She shrugged. "Doesn't take much to concoct a porno scenario."

"Jennie!"
"Kidding aside," Jennie said, returning to business, "I just want you to be on your guard, even from
your own self. Feeling...you can't afford deep feelings. You're not capable of doing that, not quite
yet. You're not in control enough. It's plain as day, even in your body language. And don't forget
last night." She patted Lisa's arm. "Until you master more control and rein in your focus, remember
that you cannot afford to develop feelings."

"Yeah..." Lisa sighed.

They had had this talk before, and with Hwangssabu too. It had been at the time when Lisa
discovered she had a liking for girls. Hwangssabu sat both Jennie and Lisa down to discuss
something very serious: the question of how far Lisa was allowed to feel. They set ground rules
together and Lisa never had problems adhering to them—it helped keep her and the people around
her safe. Hwangssabu and Jennie were very protective of Lisa and she appreciated them looking
out for her so much.

But that was before Rosie...

That was before the girl that smelled of strawberries, the girl with the kindest pair of eyes and a
mane of fiery red hair had gazed upon her and smiled.

"Yo Lis!" Somi hollered from in front of the mirror. "Come help me dance if you wanna see X-
men!"

Lisa blinked, realising she had spaced out and in that time, Jennie had taken her cue to slip away,
silent as a cat, as she usually did when she wanted to avoid talking further.

Lisa sighed inwardly, disconcerted that her sister had already figured out what was going on with
her. Leaving her by herself to settle her thoughts was Jennie's way of giving her sister space after
such a heavy discussion. Lisa pondered over the situation as she rolled the small bottle in her
hands.

Was she that easy to read?

What did it mean for herself and her control?

What did it mean for her relationship with Rosé?

She wasn't sure what she was feeling anyway—this wasn't some casual flirting case, or at least
Jennie thought as much, and Lisa was inclined to agree.

Rosé—no, Rosie— meant a lot more.

All this thinking was going to make her head explode. Lisa shook her head one more time and set
the bottle aside. She joined Somi in front of the mirror whereupon she soon lost herself in the
rhythm and beat of music.

Yet a certain redheaded girl still lingered at the back of her mind.

>

"Dubu, you're staring."

Dahyun turned away quickly. "No I'm not," she fibbed but she could feel Chaeyoung's eyes drilling
a hole into her back.
"You were staring for ten minutes."

Dahyun sighed, unable to deny her friend's shrewd observation. "So you were staring at me for ten
minutes too," she said in jest.

Chaeyoung's brows furrowed as she ran a hand through her hair. "You're being curious again, aren't
you?"

"Huh? No I'm not." Dahyun protested. Both girls fell silent when Somi called Lisa as the sisters
seemed to have finished their private conversation and separated, with Jennie slinking away to to
grab a can of energy drink, probably. Dahyun had never seen anyone hooked on energy drinks like
Jennie was.

"Well, admit that they make you curious too," Dahyun said at last once Lisa and Somi had gotten
well immersed into the dance routine. "I mean, don't they?"

Chaeyoung shrugged. "I control my curiosity. I don't have to know every single thing that happens
to people. Everyone's got their own stuff to deal with, no? If they wanted us to know, they'd
involve us."

She held up a hand when Dahyun opened her mouth. "I know it's that investigative bug in you that
pushes you. It's your journalist nose that sniffs around for titbits and information, especially with
them being so mysterious to you because you don't know them that well. But trust me, aside from
them living just above the poverty line and Lisa being a semi-professional fighter, there's nothing
out of the ordinary with them."

"Mmmm," Dahyun hummed sceptically and Chaeyoung rolled her eyes.

"Look, all I'm saying is curb your curiosity. They're nice people and Jennie actually missed you,
Somi said so. It wouldn't do to hurt them by poking and prying. Curiosity killed the cat after all. So
just....keep it lowkey, you know?"

Lowkey, Momo said, tapping the side of her nose, we have to keep this between us. Lowkey....

Dahyun blinked and nodded quickly, watching as a satisfied Chaeyoung took up her stance and
started her punching set again. Dahyun however was deep in thought, her gaze vacant even though
half of her body was facing her friend.

"Satisfaction brought the cat back, though..." Dahyun said quietly. Her mind ran over the events of
earlier that morning back at the campus as she shrugged and started punching again.

She was waiting, just as she said she would in her brief text.

Meet me by the bleachers. I have a proposition for you.

It was interesting—this was a different attempt at communication compared to the previous

expletive-laced commands demanding for a meeting. Against her better judgement, Dahyun had set
her jaw and decided to go. She was going to end things for good between her and Momo.

She was going to get closure, because they both needed it to move on from each other.

She didn't tell anyone about meeting her ex, but the moment Momo pushed herself to stand straight
once Dahyun approached, Dahyun jumped in without waiting.
"If you try to abduct me or something, I have my friends on speed dial. I'm not taking any bull from
you, so let's end things amicably and keep the hell away from each other," Dahyun wanred,
holding up her phone.

Momo frowned and folded her arms. Gradually, her lips quirked up into a lopsided smile.

"Keep the hell away from each other, hmm? How unfortunate, I had quite an interesting suggestion
to make you but it would require us keeping close contact with each other."

"Enough with your mind games and manipulation!" Dahyun snarled. "I gave you the benefit of the
doubt all that time we were dating. Now that I know what you are, I realise I was only wasting my
time. You're no good, for me or for anyone. You're just good at getting it on with girls as easily as
you pull on socks."

Dahyun turned to leave, slightly relieved that Momo didn't seem to be in the mood to pursue her—
maybe she had tired of trying after all. But she was sorely mistaken when Momo called after her.

"I could be good to you in other areas, provided you help me...with a little something."

Dahyun stopped short, clenching her fists, but she didn't turn around.

"And how exactly do you plan on being good to me now?" she said, letting all the sarcasm and
bitterness ooze from her voice. "You humiliated me, not just when you shouted at me a few days
ago but also during our time together. I don't even want to think how many side-chicks you had
during that time you were supposedly going out with me!"

Silence lasted for only a few moments before Momo cleared her throat.

"Yes, well. Maybe I should have yelled at you privately," she admitted, causing Dahyun to whirl
around incredulously. "What? I'm still positively furious you hooked up with that guy the moment
I was out—"

"I haven't hooked up and he has a name!" Dahyun spat. "What the hell do you want? Out with it! I
don't have all day. What are you up to now?"

Momo clapped her hands gleefully. "Ahh, now we're talking business! So, first things first, you
asked how I could possibly help you. Well, I have two words: Your resumé."

She crossed her arms and grinned, very pleased with herself. Dahyun on the other hand looked
puzzled.

"You dream of being a travel vlogger, a travel photojournalist," Momo began. She started pacing in
a line back and forth as she explained to Dahyun. "I know that's your real dream, even though
you're in investigative journalism right now."

She gave a smug smile when Dahyun's eyes widened. "Yes, I was actually listening when you told
me, why are you looking so surprised? So here's the deal. I am a CEO—guess the secret's out now.
And I happen to be buddies with some of the top head honchos who work in the travel industry. So
all it would take is a good recommendation from me, as well some extra credentials and boom!—
there's your dream job. Pretty straightforward, if you ask me."

Dahyun hated herself for growing interested. It sounded perfect, the kind of break she needed to
take a leap from investigative journalism into travel journalism.

But...
"What's the catch? What do you want from me?" Dahyun said suspiciously.

Momo paused but she was still smirking. "Ah, now here's where things get interesting. So, your
new friend's name is Wang isn't it?"

"Yes...?"

Momo nodded. "Tell me, what do you know about his family?"

"Nothing that concerns you," Dahyun responded petulantly.

"Oh but there is babe, far more than you think."

"Don't call me babe," Dahyun barked. "I'm done with you, remember that. You don't get to babe
me, not anymore."

Momo actually had the audacity to whistle in amusement, but she quickly pulled on a straight face
when Dahyun's eyes turned flinty.

"More than his immediate family, what interests me is Wang's uncle who is involved in the pharma
industry, up there with the hotshots," Momo started. She reached into her pocket and brought out a
crumpled piece of paper with a picture of a man on it. "JYP Pharmaceuticals. He's the king of the
food chain right now. He holds the monopoly over the pharma manufacture industry in Korea, and
he has exclusive trading rights with China. And for a while now, he's been setting his sights on
Japan as well."

Dahyun took the blown-up picture to inspect more closely despite herself, committing the man's
face to memory. "So....is he putting pressure on your business then, for you to be so concerned
about his movements? What do you deal with anyway?"

Momo grinned. "Importation and exportation of goods, hazardous waste and whatnot. I own
several of the quays used by oil tankers for bunkering and loading here in Incheon, and in
Yokohama, in Japan. But now this guy is trying to muscle in on my party and that just ain't it,
chief."

Dahyun sighed, folded the picture neatly and handed it back to Momo. "And where do I come in
exactly in this blossoming rivalry?"

Momo frowned darkly. "Oh, it's more than a rivalry, I'll tell you that..." She glanced over her
shoulder then turned back to Dahyun with a lower voice. "There's something funny going on with
that company. My people have found out some shady history about them, and some recent contract
deals they won smack of backdoor deals and secret agreements with big shots in the government.
It's not the first time JYP's won a huge privatisation deal for some important strategic quays for his
pharmaceutical trade ventures...."

She stopped short when a gaggle of students passed close by, waiting until their loud voices had
faded before she picked up again. "He never engages any other company to take care of the trading
aspect of the business—he likes to keep it all under the umbrella of JYP and takes care of
importation and exportation himself. And sure, it's okay to expand the business and aside from the
pharma industry you branch out into other types of commerce ventures. But having an eminent
pharmaceutical company that develops drugs and medicines expanding into overseas shipping is
rather...unfeasible and unusual. Pharma companies tend to focus solely on drug development. So
what's different with JYP?"

Dahyun watched the woman pace up and down as she spoke. She had never seen her ex acting even
remotely serious or talking with complex business lingo at any given time—Momo had gone to
great lengths to hide her identity and blend. Dahyun had always thought the Japanese boxer was
rather crude and coarse so suffice to say she was slightly impressed to see the CEO side of Momo
reveal itself right now.

"It almost seems like he wants to keep everything cagey and close," Momo mused. "Like he wants
to discourage potential snooping by keeping everything close to his chest. Now what really irritates
me is that he's got a nose for the best strategic shipping docks. He's already stolen some of the best
quays in Incheon from right under our noses and the process has been repeated for Busan. He keeps
winning the tenders even when I know for sure my company offers the government the best deal."

"Maybe the government knows what kind of character you are, and doesn't think you'll handle
it," Dahyun said nonchalantly, secretly already buzzing with the prospect of unearthing some
corruption ring. But she needed more information before she jumped to conclusions—this could all
be some paranoid delusion Momo harboured, or else it could be an elaborate deception setup to
trap her.

"No," Momo said determinedly. "I know when my offer is declined because of sexist misogynistic
morons. With JYP, it never is the case. There would be other competing companies but very few
others have won out against JYP. That company almost like a hungry hoover, sucking up all the
good titbits and leaving us with scraps."

"Hmmm," Dahyun frowned, well and truly intrigued by now. "And what's the shady history?
Where do I come in all this?"

Momo smiled. "Let's leave the details for another time, m'kay? I do so enjoy your presence, Dubu
sooooo....dinner? My treat, to make up—"

She narrowly dodged Dahyun's furious punch and backed away, holding up her hands in
surrender.

"Okay. Okay okay okay! That might have been a little too much—"

"You're lucky I'm in a mellow mood you obnoxious, arrogant prick!" Dahyun seethed, "the
audacity—"

"I said okay!" Momo protested, before she sobered again. "Here's the deal. My team have reached
the legal and ethical limit of the amount of snooping around they can do. Simply put, they can't
risk hacking and doing illegal sniffing around JYP anymore—they did what they could. You don't
mess with someone like JYP. So...it falls to me, as the CEO, to do something about it. And I've
decided I'll take the responsibility of doing the work and knuckle down to do the dirty." She
nodded as Dahyun's mouth fell open. "I'm hiring you to help me privately investigate JYP. And
your friendship with that Wang boy could prove useful for information. I know they're close."

"No," Dahyun said flatly. "I'm not taking part in some delusion project that could smear my name
and land me jail time. Do you think I'm that shallow? Did you honestly think I'd be falling at your
feet? You're on your own, Hirai."

She turned on her heel, intent to forget everything but Momo wasn't finished.

"I'll buy you that camera you really wanted. The Canon DSLR with 1.2 aperture, 1/80000 shutter
speed? And the prime lenses too. I don't care how expensive it is. You'll be needing it for the job,
but you can keep it for when you get in as Junior Reporter at The Eye-Wander."
Dahyun froze and turned around. "You're joking," she whispered. She was being offered the most
expensive compact camera alongside a stint at one of the most famous travel journalism agencies
in the West. "How do you even know about The Eye-Wander?"

"Did my research, bought a few shares, met their top people," Momo shrugged as she folded her
arms. "I wasn't lying when I said I know some top head honchos in the travel industry. I'm a CEO. I
was doing my job."

"Making sure you had all the tools you needed to lure me in," Dahyun finished, shaking slightly.
She couldn't tell if it was from anger or disbelief. Momo was dangling the carrot right in front of
her eyes and Dahyun loathed that she was seriously considering the offer. Throwing herself at
Momo's feet had never been her intention but all those promises...her dreams of escaping her hum-
drum reality...

Would it be bad to take such an opportunity?

"It's business," Momo said simply, as though she read the other girl's conflicted mind. "So, have
we got a deal?"

Her face turned uncharacteristically soft. "I know you want to, Dahyun. This is an opportunity to
prove yourself. I promise you, at the first sign of danger, I will have my people ready on standby to
haul you out first."

"You've broken promises before."

"Well, this will be the first that I'm making it with the sincere intent of keeping," Momo said
quietly, "but this time, I mean it for the simple fact that you will be under my protection. This is a
grave matter to me." She lifted her hands up. "Your call."

Weak.

Dahyun was fickle and she knew it.

She was actually entertaining the idea of working with her ex on the promise that she'd achieve her
goal of skipping the line and getting to work her dream job.

Was it unethical, immoral and wrong? Definitely so.

Yet...

Dahyun hated herself for being so curious and intrigued by the potential mystery they had on their
hands.

I need your help Dubu," Momo said quietly, "no one else has the skills for this. I can confide in you
because you wont tell anyone."

Dahyun exhaled and closed her eyes. "I have to think about this. Give me a week."

"I'm afraid I don't have the luxury. Tomorrow is all I can give you."

"Fine. Tomorrow then. We'll meet, and you're gonna give me more details about this guy's so-
called shady history, and then I'll consider. I need more convincing that what we're gonna
investigate has actual evidence of something shady going on, and not some delusion of yours. What
you're propositioning to do is...illegal. I need to know it's gonna be worth the shot."
Momo sucked in a breath, her taut jaw relaxing in relief. "Fair enough. I'll give you the full run-
down tomorrow and wait for your reply. And thank you for accepting to do this. I have nobody
else to turn to."

"I still haven't decided," Dahyun said grimly, "and even if I do, I'm doing it for myself, not you."

Momo's mouth quirked up. "One last thing: don't tell anyone about this. Nobody can know." She
tapped the side of her nose. "Lowkey. We have to keep this between us. Lowkey..."
 Rosé's Meeting

Once a month, instead of being dispatched to broker deals between her boss and some other party,
Rosé had a Meeting.

And though she dreaded them as much as her nightly job every week, the Meeting was important
because it acted like an audit: it was the time the boss used to gauge her performance and review
client deals with her, and then give Rosé her monthly budget handout.

He did this with other runners like herself, but it didn't mean that the thought of being left alone
with the man who owned her made her more at ease, though she had been doing this for a good
couple years now.

"Come in."

Rosé closed her eyes at the sharp, reedy drawl that answered her knock. Her Jay for the night, Jay-
P, or Jimin, opened the door for her.

"Good luck, love," he cooed.

She pressed her lips into a thin line and slipped inside—she didn't care about Jay's flirting right
now, not when she was about to face a far bigger menace.

The familiar spacious and well-lit office room welcomed her with the lingering foul smoke from
his cigarettes that made her cough, even though he had left a window ajar—the cool breeze made
her shiver and she inadvertently found herself wishing for summer already. At least the nights
wouldn't be so cold.

"Hello Rosé. Sit."

He had been waiting by the window as he puffed on the death stick, heavy curtains drawn so that
nobody could see his silhouette. Heaven knows, he might be riddled by bullets already if he so
much as stood out in the open.

The black-hearted man played and gambled with the lives of others; he had provoked the ire of
many. Monsters and men alike would jump at the chance to murder him but so far, he had always
managed to stay ahead of them; he was simply too clever to be caught.

He was the devil: calm, collected, calculating.

But by God, Heaven have mercy on your soul should you incur the devil's wrath.

Rosé had witnessed his cold, clinical rage manifest in front of her eyes: she had watched as he
seized the unfortunate source of his annoyance like a lion snatching up its prey in its deadly jaws.
She watched with numb horror as her boss snapped back the arm from the elbow, twisted the
sinews and ripped out the lackey's limb for failing to carry out an order.

The peeking elbow-joint had glistened so white and pearly, with strange white threads dangling
from the flesh as the man screamed and screamed. His rubbery, floppy arm lay next to his face in a
big big pool of blood, until he stopped screaming. Rosé had forgotten how to breathe for a few
moments, but she never forget the sight of her boss's impassive face as he looked down on the
corpse.
Her boss didn't have a single drop of blood on him.

She sat down opposite him, aware of his hooded eyes piercing her skin as he also mirrored her
actions and sat down behind his desk.

"So, what have you got for me?"

And so the Meeting went, with the thick silence weighing down on Rosé like a boulder as she
waited for his verdict, like a pupil anxiously awaiting a teacher's grading. The ironic mental
comparison had Rosé smiling wryly.

She had compiled the information about her deals of the past month with other relevant figures
and numbers, and presented them on a paper written by hand in neat print, so as to avoid leaving
tracks on her PC. All the while he read she kept her head bowed, eyes on the table as he skimmed
through the report which he soon finished.

The good thing about Meetings was that usually they didn't last long—she'd give the report, get her
money and book it out of the room.

"Not bad..."

The bad thing about Meetings was that if he wasn't satisfied, he would keep her longer, play
around and taunt her plus subtract from the monetary handout she was given.

Rosé's stomach flipped, her nerves jangled as he dropped the report on the desk. "S-sir?" she
squeaked.

He sat back, his imposing frame filling the chair as he folded his arms. He cocked his head, his
eyes pinning her in her seat with his intent stare.

"How long have you been working for me Rosé?"

She fidgeted. "Years..."

"Mhm. Yet you still make it a habit to disappoint me now and then..." he raised his eyebrows when
she looked confused. "Two deals went poorly in just one month, sweetheart. That is not a very
good turnout. Although the other deals partially make up for the losses, you could have done
better." He leaned forward, his stale breath invading her nose as she stiffened in fright.

"I'm only looking out for you, sweetheart," the devil whispered next to her ear. "You do know that
ultimately, it means it will take you longer to pay your debt, right?"

"But...but I finally got a hold of Mr Song's and Mrs Cha's social security numbers," Rosé protested.
"It..it wasn't easy either. I've been waiting for months and now I got them both."

He sat back with dismissive snort. "Nine year-olds rob candy stores in broad daylight, Rosé, and
you're too chicken to riffle through someone's bank history under a week?"

"I...I had to wait until they were in the bathroom," she said in a small voice, "I had to be careful not
to violate their trust in me. Bugging their phones in a matter of minutes isn't as easy as you think,
and then snooping around their accounts—"

"Small wonder Youngbae threw you out, really," he cut her off with a snide remark that had the
words shrivelling up in her throat, "I would throw out any daughter of mine that is nothing but a
snivelling cowardly leech licking at my boots. And I would have gotten rid of you long ago,
sweetheart," he added, his lip curling, "or at least, I would have had my way with you beforehand,
because it would be a waste not to get a taste of that."

His appraising eyes stripped the clothes off her frame as he sucked in a breath, the air between
them thick with tension. Rosé closed her eyes to avoid seeing the lust that coloured his inflamed
pupils, failing to stifle her trembling because she was shivering violently as she anticipated heavy,
sweaty and repulsive hands resting on her skin.

But thankfully, they never came—he never touched her, he was just preying on her vulnerability,
but oh how she hated that she reacted so instantly to dreadful memories that surfaced from the
depths. She was an open book, unable to pretend or hide her weaknesses, and he exploited them
gleefully.

His leery words always filled her with disgust and hopelessness at the realisation of just how
helpless and alone she was.

"After that, it's out in the streets with you," she heard him say, "I wouldn't care what happened even
if you went to them cops. I'd like to see them try and stop me."

Rosé opened her eyes, immediately regretting the action when she came face to face with his bared
teeth stained yellow, and the long ugly gash that snaked from the side of his face down his throat.

"Thank your stars that I still want my money and your debt is a long way away from being paid. I
suppose we both have your father and your own questionable life choices to thank for that."

Rosé could only nod dumbly, her thudding heartbeat receding in her chest as the escalating tension
relented when her boss picked up the report again, his focus returning to the numbers.

This wouldn't be the first time he reminded her just how dire her situation was, reminding her that
she was only still living comfortably through his grace and infinite generosity for letting her work
to pay back her debts. Whenever she displeased him, his cutting remarks about mistakes and the
past never failed to hit and pierce deep, once more tearing open the wound in her spirit.

"Alright then. What's your list for this month?"

Wordlessly, Rosé produced the list of expenses she forecast to be needing or buying in the future,
down to the last piece of fruit and vegetable. Her boss was always strict with the handouts,
demanding to know just where exactly his money was being spent.

Usually she had no trouble listing her and Ella's requirements and he always generously acquiesced
to her requests.

Depending on the man for her financial needs was a double-edged sword: she was perpetuating her
debts and he knew it, given the little smirk he always gave Rosé when he passed her the monthly
wad of cash across the table. She couldn't do much other than meekly accepting the money and
leaving—her life was in his hands, for now and for a long time.

"What do we have here....a synthesizer?" He quirked an eyebrow. Rosé tried hard not to focus on
his scarred face when she maintained eye contact and nodded timidly.

"And this...a guitar?" He sounded amused. "Are you going to start a band?"

She bit her lip and shook her head, pushing through the embarrassment to make her case.
"Ella...likes playing the piano so I was wondering if I could...have a little extra this month to...buy
her one," she muttered.
He didn't seem to make a big deal out of it. Maybe if she played her cards right, she might be
successful...

"And the guitar? Is it for her too?"

"No," Rosé said, her mouth very dry. "It's for me."

As expected, his face registered surprise.

"Getting interested in music are we? What gives?"

Rosé shrugged. "I just...felt like it." In her head, a blonde girl's admiring face flashed momentarily,
filling her with courage. "I just want to have something to pass the time with and...I used to like
playing when I was younger. And seeing as Ella is also getting interested in music...I want to
support her. I want to be her example and role model. So...please?"

The clock on the wall ticked as he tapped his finger in thought, observing the red-headed girl in
front of him. Rosé gazed back, bracing herself for whatever came next.

"How old is Ella now?"

"Eight. She'll be turning nine soon."

"How is she doing? I haven't seen the kid in a while."

"Pretty okay I guess." Rosé's answers were short—he wasn't fooling her with the questions. The
man probably knew Ella's time of birth down to the second—he was just messing around, playing
with his food before he devoured it, just because he could.

"You do realise those are some pretty hefty expenses, Rosé, on top of your apartment lease and the
usual list of day-to-day expenses?"

Yes she was aware, and she nodded.

"Considering the rather hefty price you're still paying on behalf of your past self's quite poor
decisions in my opinion—although they are profitable to me—I do hope this isn't another of those
times where you'll only be increasing the bill."

"It isn't. It will be worth the money, I just know it will."

"Nonetheless, I'm not allowing you to buy either item—"

Rosé's heart sank.

"—for the simple reason that you can do without them." He stood up from the table, towering
above Rosé. "Sweetheart, what if I give in to your demands? What will you ask of me next? A
Lamborghini? An SUV for your daughter? An all-expenses paid trip to the Bahamas? I must keep
things fair between my workers. People would revolt if they find out about favouritism, or even
come after you to get the extra money."

He turned away from the desk and strode to the window, leaving a stunned Rosé reeling as her
plans shattered and rained down at her feet while he calmly lit a cigarette.

"But...but...I thought...I did my job..."

"Irrelevant. Unless they're within your usual budget, you know I don't allow such excessive
spending. You know I don't allow extensions beyond that limit, unless it's for a valid reason or an
emergency so why even bother to ask?"

Yes she had known all that but speaking with Lisa had given Rosé the push to request something
for herself, for once. But sadly, her plan backfired horribly.

Rosé could practically see the smug grin etched on his face, though he still had his back facing her
—he was entertaining himself by putting her down. "Music certainly does not qualify for any
emergency handout. It's quite refreshing of you to try and take advantage of me in this way. You're
growing rather brave lately, aren't you?"

Rosé didn't trust herself to speak—even if she did, she didn't have any words left. She waited to be
dismissed, wanting nothing more than to slink away in defeat.

"Jay-Z reported something interesting a while ago," her boss said as he blew rings of smoke, "he
mentioned you seemed to be unusually eager to watch a PFB match at that place on the other side
of town when you took a detour one time."

Rosé had been expecting for this occurrence to crop up sooner or later and she had prepared her
excuse. "A client had been participating. I never saw a match so...I thought it would be an
opportunity to see them."

"Hmm...and who is this client of yours?"

"Lisa Kim, the boxer. She and her sister haven't got much to go by, though. Certainly nothing that
would be of interest to you." she rushed to assure.

"I think I can be the judge of that, Rosé."

She closed her mouth at his sharp tone, scared she had aggravated him. But he merely continued
smoking for some more time as she waited for dismissal, desperately hoping she hadn't
inadvertently attracted his attention to Lisa and Jennie's situation. That was the last thing she
wanted.

Knowing the kind of man he was with his malicious manipulation tactics, he'd find ways to coerce
them to do his dirty work somehow and she didn't wish for such a fate on anyone, let alone Lisa
and Jennie, two people of whom one had grown to have a special place reserved in Rosé's heart.

"You are dismissed. Jay-P will give you the money you need when he drops you off."

She bowed to his back and turned away.

"Oh and Rosé?"

She paused, waiting.

A few beats of silence passed, then—

"Try not to disappoint me again or I will have to increase the number of jobs to make up for your
shortcomings. And as for your friend...I wouldn't get too attached. Friends are the worst kind of
distractions, you know?"

Rosé swallowed. "Yes sir I...I understand. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."
>

She entered her apartment silent as a cat. Peeking in Ella's room, she was comforted by the sight of
her sleeping daughter's form beneath the covers with Bori curled up next to her.

Rosé headed to the kitchen and sat down at the table with her wad of money bills which as usual,
she started counting and dividing into neat piles.

Reflecting on the limp pieces of money-paper in her hands, Rosé wondered just how many hands
had exchanged the money. Money that had helped crime lords amass great wealth with their
control of the corruption and greed that simmered within Seoul's underbelly, money that was made
off drug trafficking, murder hits, human trafficking, sex slavery, pimps, and numerous other illicit
activities, child kidnapping...

Dirty money.

Chaeyoung gritted her teeth. "I'm a monster," she said out loud. "Kids no bigger than Ella were
probably used so that I have this money right now..." She gave a wry chuckle. "And here I am
beating myself up because I can't buy Ella the promised synthesizer or a guitar for myself."

It's just that she had been eyeing this beautiful Spanish guitar for a while but that dream was all
up in smoke now. She had to go and run her mouth, losing her the chance on Ella's piano too, all
because a few words from Lisa had fired her up for a little while, inspiring her to take firmer
stand.

Rosé felt a headache coming on.

Now Ella would trust her less for not delivering on her promise, straining their relationship even
further.

She had told Ella that getting the synthesizer would be no problem, because money was no
problem.

Money no problem? Rather, it was the root of all evil in her life—right after the murder of her
father and the crippling debt Rosé found herself inheriting from him.

Her boss was simply too careful—he made sure Rosé didn't stray far from needing him by keeping
her on a tight leash and not giving her too much money that would give her ideas about leaving. He
made sure to keep her dependant on him, despite her having a job to earn her keep.

Rosé finished counting the money and sat staring at the rows of money bills spread out on the
table. Despite being disgusted by the origin of the said money, Rosé couldn't help but think about
how despite having quite some money, it still wasn't enough to give her daughter or herself the gift
of music. She was not free to do something that made her spirits soar.

Rosé thought of herself as a bird, sitting in a cage with her wings being plucked again and again on
each attempt to escape and fly away. One might say that she had at least tried to do something
about her situation, but the end result still resulted in Rosé being empty-handed. She was useless
and powerless.

Without warning, her eyes prickled.

You're amazing, you know? Lisa said, voice full of admiration. You're an inspiration Rosie. Ella is
so lucky to have you as her Mom.
Rosé shook her head and covered her eyes as the tears fell.

"I'm not, Lisa," she said bitterly, alone in the silent kitchen, "I'm not amazing. I'm nothing at all."
 Change

"You're really a good driver Irene," Seulgi gushed as Irene parked in front of Seulgi's school. "You
always know how to avoid traffic."

"Oh it's just that we're early anyway," Irene said airily. "If you think ahead, you'll get to places
quicker."

"Speaking of which, I should go. You need to get to gym as well," the teacher smiled as she
gathered her bags.

"I honestly feel like skipping gym today. I think I'm still digesting last night's dinner. It was so
good, if I do say so myself." Irene made a show of groaning and patting her stomach and sliding
down in her seat, smiling when she heard Seulgi giggle.

She found herself stepping out of her comfort zone and behaving more openly around the young
teacher, relishing Seulgi's laughter and feeling quite pleased that she had managed to provoke such
a reaction. Irene was not renowned for her sense of humour—Somi and Lisa calling her Grandma
and poking fun at her conservative ways was proof enough that she was too old for them to view
her as more than a mentor. Jennie was closer to her but again, the younger girl looked up to her as a
role model and Irene felt responsible for her.

With Seulgi, Irene finally felt she had found an equal, or at least someone who stood on level with
her. It might be one of the reasons they clicked so quickly after they acquainted themselves with
each other—Seulgi seemed to be a little in awe of her, following the woman with an attentive
dopey expression while Irene was busy making sure Seulgi was coping okay after learning she had
never really cooked more than pot noodles. But other than that, the two women bonded well,
sharing stories from their life and offering each other a listening ear or bantering and trading
playful comments when they grouched about their individual jobs.

"My family are very well-to do people, so I could afford to buy take-out food every day while at
college, or else travel back home and have someone cook something for me," Seulgi had explained
shyly, "but I decided I have to be independent and get in touch with the real world and fend for
myself. It was...exhilarating but a bit frightening too. I had...I had to keep asking my old maid how
to work some stuff..."

Irene was impressed. For someone like Seulgi who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and
had been waited upon hand and foot all her life, moving out and fending for herself must have
indeed been a hard decision, especially when it came to learning house skills and chores. But it was
a brave and good choice too, to venture out of comfort and experience life.

Seulgi seemed to have been surviving till now, but Irene had offered herself up to teach her how to
do laundry, iron and cook properly, to which Seulgi had enthusiastically agreed. Irene felt flattered
by the praise Seulgi heaped on her because never in her life had she ever felt more appreciated than
by her new friend.

They had eased into a routine, with Irene insisting on driving Seulgi to work with the excuse of
cutting on pollution (Irene just enjoyed seeing Seulgi's adorable small yawns and lopsided smiles
early in the morning as she tottered into Irene's car). Then after work, Irene would pass around the
gym Seulgi worked out at daily. Irene would pick her up and drive home, perhaps stopping at some
café for a quick coffee and chat. If they weren't too tired, Irene would invite Seulgi over for dinner
under the pretext of showing her some new dish, or to have Seulgi practise her homemaker skills.
In reality, Irene sincerely enjoyed having the younger woman around—her house lit up with their
laughter, falling deafeningly silent when Seulgi left. The silence that was so comforting before was
now starting to suffocate Irene, much to her surprise.

"Joohyun, your phone. Someone's calling you," Seulgi said, referring to Irene's actual name. Irene
didn't know what flustered her more: hearing her Korean name being spoken so nonchalantly by
her friend, or else Seulgi's husky timbre ringing out in the cramped car interior.

Why was she flustered anyway?

Irene picked up her phone, wondering why Jennie was calling her when she was still perfectly on
time to head to the gym. It wasn't like Jennie to check up on whether she'd be going or not.

"Oh, Jennie! Good morning. Is everything okay?" Irene asked with concern.

"Morning unnie! It's more than fine actually!" Jennie chirruped. "I just had some good news and I
couldn't wait till you came here. Lisa won her second match last night, it was basically a walkover!
We're back in the game and we're winning!"

"That's great Jen, that's just wonderful!" Irene cheered, "I'm glad things are starting to look up!"

"Yeah, thanks to you," Jennie said happily. Irene heard her yawn down the line and chuckled.

"Another late night celebrating, I assume?"

"We didn't drink. Much," Jennie added as a sheepish afterthought, "we just went to Matt's diner
again, it's really nice to chill there. Chu drove, don't worry. She doesn't really drink. So, see you
later? Or are you still stuck in traffic?"

"I'll be there soon," Irene affirmed. "Just gonna drop off Seulgi at school and I'm heading there."

"Great! See ya unnie!" Jennie said, distinctly chirpy for a weekday morning, and Irene smiled
before dropping the call with a sigh.

"That was Jennie," she explained to Seulgi, who had been patiently waiting for Irene to get off the
phone before heading out. The other woman tilted her head—Irene had mentioned Jennie in
passing before.

"Good news? "

"Mhm..." Irene's smile seemed a little fixed to Seulgi. Although they had only known each other
for a short time, Seulgi had already attuned herself to the older woman's mannerisms; she could tell
quite early into a conversation whether Irene was upset, happy or grumpy. And right now, Seulgi
could only pick up mixed signals, which left her feeling unsettled.

"You okay?" Seulgi asked, frowning a little in concern.

Irene didn't reply right away, sitting quietly as they watched some early bird parents kissing their
children goodbye as they hustled them into the school building. The children's shrill laughter and
squeaking filled the air.

"Kids are adorable," Irene smiled wistfully. Seulgi nodded in silent agreement.

Then out of nowhere, Irene said: "I feel old, Seulgi."

The teacher remained quiet, waiting expectantly as Irene sighed.

"Sometimes I feel like the world has changed too much. I feel like it is changing too fast, for me to
catch up. All the young ones... there's always new fads and fashions coming out and I feel like I'm
in a race to keep up with them. I get the feeling that I'm missing out and the gap between me and
my friends keeps widening as they grow and move on too..."

She sighed again, tapping on the steering wheel. "I feel...like I'm lagging behind you know?
And...I don't know how to take it. Some days I'm okay with it and some days...time is ticking, we
won't stay young forever."

"Hyun, what is it? What's bugging you?" Seulgi said softly. She noted the puckered brow in the
older woman's forehead and nudged her. "Hey, you can tell me, if you like. What's bothering you?"

Irene shook her head. "It's nothing really. I'm sorry for rambling like this. You go and have a good
day."

But Seulgi was adamant. "Something's eating at you and it's not good to bottle stuff up like that.
So...if you need, I'm here. I'm your friend."

Friend. For some reason Irene couldn't fathom, that simple word sounded so sweet and nice to her
ear when Seulgi said it. Irene let out a chuckle.

"Fine, yes. Maybe you're right. But it's petty, really." She kept looking straight ahead without
meeting Seulgi's eyes. "I'm nearing thirty years old Seulgi, and I've never really been in love for
once in my life. There were plenty of boys interested in me but in the end they were always scared
off. I'm just...wondering if I'll end up alone, you know? It's...well, I most likely won't get to have
kids. I'm too old for them. I'll probably end up as an old maid just moping around the house with no
one to grow old together with. I'm all by myself. It scares me a little, even though I like my
independence."

She raised her eyes, stealing a quick glance at the teacher. "Ever thought about that? Ending up
alone?"

"A little," Seulgi said carefully. None of the women paid attention to the clock on the dashboard,
none of them paid attention to time passing them by— right now they were locked in a place where
time did not exist.

"But you're not that old anyway," Seulgi comforted. "Having kids might be a little difficult indeed,
especially the older you get, the harder it is. But...well there's always adoption...and as for having a
partner, what about that Junmyeon? I thought you said he was interested? You mentioned he's
nice."

Irene shrugged. "He is nice, a gentleman even. But I personally don't feel any connection with him.
My co-workers egg him on to pursue me, saying we're a match made in heaven, but I'm not too
convinced. I don't get the butterflies with him."

Seulgi laughed. "That only happens in movies, Hyun!"

Only in movies? Irene mused. Then what was that funny fluttery feeling in her stomach that
multiplied when Seulgi smiled or giggled?

She couldn't understand why she felt disappointed with Seulgi's statement and proceeded to voice
her dejection. "So you don't believe in love at all?"

"I didn't say that," Seulgi defended, "I'm just saying love is more than just fireworks and butterflies
and fleeting feelings. It's....it's in the little things that show you care about the other person, those
things stay with you for way longer. They have more impact."

"Little things, huh... sounds like you're quite the expert, Miss Kang."

"Not that much," Seulgi blushed pink at Irene's teasing, "but yeah, I dated here and there..."

"Hmm, enlighten me on the little things then."

"Well like...going the extra mile for them..." Seulgi elaborated, "I adored when my partner would
go the extra mile for me and I always made it a point to do the same back. Little things they'd
appreciate that go a long way to cheer them up and make their day better. Learning to do things
together, or helping each other to grow and be better people. Appreciating their whole self,
spending time with them, enjoying each other's company and just... being there for them. I think
that's an important step for planting the seed for respect and love."

"Going the extra mile...interesting."

"In any case," Seulgi added boldly, "the way I see it, you don't always have to have a romantic
love. Sometimes platonic love between friends is just as fulfilling as romantic love, provided
they're friends that stand by you. And I'm willing to be there for you Hyun."

Her eyes shimmered earnestly and for a moment, Irene lost herself in the teacher's pupils that shone
black as ink.

"Willing to be there for me?" Irene had a split-second image of Seulgi's arms encircling her from
the waist, soft and tender. She jolted in her seat, blinking rapidly in time to hear Seulgi hastily say:
"I mean platonically, of course. As a friend. You've got a friend in me Hyun. Whether you get
hitched or not," she finished with a grin.

"Ah....yeah sure uh, thanks...."

Irene meanwhile was still trying to rid herself of the image of Seulgi hugging her (they hadn't had
much body contact beyond grazing of hands and accidental brushes of the shoulder) so she was
quite puzzled by the picture her brain had conjured out of nowhere.

"I'll be going now then. Have a good day and take care Irene!"

The sound of her name awoke Irene from her trance. "Yeah, uhm, you too. See you later..."

She waved until Seulgi disappeared from view then started the car engine and rolled away down
the road in a daze, wondering why the strange fluttery feeling in her stomach had not yet
disappeared.

>

Irene walked in through the door just in time to hear Lisa's voice.

"So there I was. Cornered. Nowhere to go. Totally trapped. Staring—into the eye—of the Great,
White, Beast." The blonde boxer said in hushed tones as she squared up to an imaginary foe.

She had Somi, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and even Jisoo seated in front of her on the mats in a circle,
like kindergarten children as they listened to her describing the previous night's match against her
opponent, a woman going by the name Solar, who was nicknamed after the notorious marine
predator for her deadly silent attacks when she sneaked up on her quarry. Jennie and Matthew were
also at a standstill as they watched Lisa.
Irene didn't remember such a time when the Vault was so quiet, the very air holding its breath.

"It was down to the final round and the situation was dire. I was running out of time. With no way
out, I had to think fast before the Shark got me for good."

Irene sneaked closer to Jennie who glanced her way and beckoned her over as though asking her to
join a campfire circle.

"Anyone wanna guess what I did to get out of the corner?" Lisa asked her audience, like a professor
addressing class.

"ME ME ME!"

"No not you Jisoo, that's cheating! You were there!" Lisa admonished. Jisoo lowered her hand,
pouting in disappointment.

Lisa rounded on the other girls, hands on hips. "Wake up ya lazy asses! Mimi? Dahyun? Any ideas
Chae?"

"Tell us already you drama-queen, your bagel's gonna get cold," Somi drawled.

Lisa smirked. "I pulled out my latest power-move on her and she never, EVER stood a chance."

"That power move being..."

"Start a drum roll people!" Chaeyoung called as she started thumping her thighs with her fists. The
other girls copied her and Lisa paced around, spinning her arm like a windmill as though warming
up for a punch. Jennie rolled her eyes but Irene noticed the small quirk of her mouth as she
suppressed her amusement.

"So picture the scene: people were yelling in the stands, the lights blinding you like God Almighty
himself or herself or whatever had suddenly decided to pop in and check up on you. And all of a
sudden it hit me! I pulled my arm back just as the Shark came charging," Lisa pulled her arm back
to illustrate, "and then I yelled: VIBE CHECK!" Her arm shot forward violently, nearly tearing out
of its socket.

"And I socked her one right in the kisser! KA-POW!" Lisa punched the air and jumped in victory.
"K.O! She was down for the count! Thai Tornado is the WINNER!"

Jisoo, Dahyun and Chaeyoung clapped and cheered as Lisa ran around collecting high-fives and
screeching rapturously.

"She's fast, she's furious, she's the THAI TORNADO!" Lisa bellowed and flexed her arms as she
basked in her moment of glory.

Irene shook her head at the blonde's antics, smiling when she saw Matthew and Jennie were also
clapping with small smiles adorning their faces.

"What a drama queen!" Somi laughed through the hullabaloo.

"Oh come on, wasn't it cool though?" Lisa demanded. "Jisoo was there, right? Wasn't it cool? It
was, right? Tell her!"

"Oooohhhh and did Miss Rosie think it was cool too?"

Dahyun and Chaeyoung tittered when Lisa's cheeks turned pink.

"Yah, cut it out, you brat, it was just one time. Now get me my bagel—"

"Get it yourself!"

Jisoo looked on with mounting interest. "What, so Pasta did check in on your match last time? She
never let on anything when I asked...I could have given her a lift at least."

"Why is she calling Ms Park 'Pasta'?" Irene said perplexed.

"In case you haven't noticed she likes nicknames," Jennie explained, "she has one for me as you
know, and she has one for Lisa—"

"This isn't about me!" Lisa yelped.

"Quite so," Jennie nodded, "now about Roseanne—I'm sure she didn't want to stay around long.
Ella would be all by herself and I'm not sure it's legal to leave a kid under the age of ten alone at
home," Jennie mused.

"She left her kid alone just to visit Lisa? At the Slammer?" Irene said indignantly, unable to
contain herself. She shook her head in disbelief. "That's irresponsible, what if something happened?
Seriously...people and their priorities these days..."

Lisa rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Uh yeah...anyway Rosie came by just that one
time...I doubt she'll come see me again." Her usual grin broke out over her face. "I'm making sure
she won't miss me too much by keeping her entertained with my charms during the pilates sessions.
She pouts so cutely and looks like a chipmunk." Lisa broke off, giggling. "She's such a meme."

"Someone should tell Rosé this. She needs to know you're crushing that hard on her," Somi giggled
as Lisa's eyes widened. Next second Somi was squealing as she ran around the gym with Lisa in hot
pursuit, Dahyun and Chaeyoung whooping and cheering.

"I can let her know," Jisoo said brightly, even though Somi and Lisa were nowhere close enough to
hear. She winced when Jennie, who had sneaked up next to her, nudged her sharply. "Ow, what?
Just...tryna help is all."

"Okay folks, story time's over, everyone get to work," Jennie called loudly over the ruckus.

When people dispersed she pulled Jisoo aside to have a word. "And just what exactly are you
trying to help with, hmm?" Jennie asked, referring to her comment.

"Come on Jendeuk, haven't you seen the way they were all over each other last week, in here,
while we were out? They're into each other! I shipped them from day one! I know chemistry when
I see it and our Rosé and Lisa have it."

"Jisoo, don't meddle with other people's lives. Someone could end up hurt," Jennie cautioned.
"Leave your fantasies...just fantasies. Roseanne isn't even gay."

"Well no. She's bi."

Jisoo raised an eyebrow when Jennie's eyes bulged in her head. "What? You don't like bisexual
people or something?"

"Not so loud!" Jennie hushed and glanced over her shoulder. But she needn't have worried—
everyone was too preoccupied with their respective workouts to pay them attention.
Lisa had gulped down her bagel and was currently doing the first set of the Berserker workout—
she wasn't skipping on exercising, claiming that last night's match had been rather light anyway.

Dahyun and Chaeyoung were sparring (the latter had freed up some morning classes and was now
able to come in during the morning too and be around her friends).

Somi was lifting dumbells; Matthew was doing crunches and Irene was doing her aerobic
exercises.

"I don't mind bi people I was just...surprised is all..." Jennie's brow creased. "How do you even
know anyway? Are you and Roseanne related? You seem to know her well."

"Oh, we hooked up a couple times in the past," Jisoo said casually, oblivious to Jennie's double
take. "Pasta was in kind of a bad place at the time. We met when she moved into the complex
where I live and got to know each other, since we're both instructors and I advised her and helped
with setting up her place. And well...we were both lonely and craving affection so.....so it was
kinda natural for attraction and comfort to blossom into something more. Plus she's curvy, you
gotta admit she got that going on for her."

Jisoo smiled wistfully, her face coloured with nostalgia.

Something acrid and sharp writhed in Jennie's gut when she spotted the fondness in Jisoo's eyes.
She quickly rushed to ask something else, unnerved by the apparent history the yoga and pilates
instructor shared yet curious to know more.

"What happened then?"

Jisoo sighed, returning to earth. "In the end, the whole encounter was short-lived. We both agreed
it was fun while it lasted, but it wasn't healthy, whatever we had. We only used each other to satisfy
our needs, not because we wanted to be there for each other in the wholesome relationship sense.

"Pasta just clearly wasn't ready for that step, emotionally and mentally. And as for me, well...she
wasn't sure I could take care of her the way she needed..." Jisoo bowed her head. "What she
essentially meant was that I...failed to make her happy, I guess. I couldn't love her enough."

Jennie's heart squeezed tightly seeing the older girl's downcast face. She was compelled to reach
out and pat Jisoo's shoulder, who raised her face questioningly. Jennie scrambled to say something
intelligent, something to convey her sympathy because clearly, that brief period in her life had a
profound effect on Jisoo with strong emotions that still lingered.

Seeing the raven-haired woman unusually despondent affected Jennie more than she cared to
admit. Jennie had learned that seeing Jisoo without her goofy grin and that pretty eye-smile either
meant Jisoo was in serious-mode or else something bad had happened.

"Oh..Chu..." Jennie said. She mentally kicked herself.

Jisoo smiled nonetheless, accepting Jennie's painful attempt at consolation with open arms. Jennie
gave herself a pat on the back for bringing back Jisoo's smile.

Wait, since when had she started to care whether Jisoo smiled or not?

"It's alright," Jisoo said sagely, "it's alright because Pasta was right. I didn't love her like...like the
love they paint in books and movies. I didn't give it my all because I never intended to get invested
in that way with her. We were just friends with benefits you could say...."
She put a finger to her chin as she mused. "But I think Pasta was right to call it off before she fell in
too deep, you know? I was fond of her of course, but feelings tend to get messy if you're not
committed and that's when World War Three starts. And she had Ella to take care of as well, so we
parted on mutual terms..."

Jisoo smiled brighter now, contentedly even. "We're still good friends though, as you can see! Just
without the benefits! And this is why I just know Lisa is good for our Rosé Pasta. I know what
Rosé needs. They'll be so good together, you just wait. Rosé needs just a little bit more
encouragement. She's still very much in the closet, but a little more prodding and she'll be shining
her bright gay light proudly like the rest of us!"

Jisoo chuckled and tipped her fingers under Jennie's chin. "Jendeuk, your mouth's fallen so wide a
fly's gonna zoom in."

Jennie snapped her jaw shut, head reeling from the revelation. Jisoo's casual analysis of her past
relationship also caught her by surprise—she had no idea Jisoo could think so profoundly about
such a delicate topic.

"Okay that was just...whoa...just..."

"Is the idea of Rosé and me together in one bed just too wild for your imagination? Or maybe, it's
tempting?" Jisoo teased. "I'm always up to help you explore and get in touch with your gay side, of
course."

"Shut up!" Jennie groaned. "Stop being greasy, uggghhh!"

Why did she even think Jisoo could handle being mature for more than five minutes?

Jisoo only chuckled. "Or maybe you're jealous, hmm? Don't worry, I only have eyes for you now,
Jendeuk, I promise."

"Go do some lunges you pest," Jennie hissed, shooing Jisoo away in an attempt to hide the blush
she could feel creeping up her face.

"Will you come around for yoga later?" Jisoo called, loud enough for the whole Vault to hear. It
earned her wolf whistles and cat calls from Lisa and the younger girls.

"I'll think about it," Jennie responded primly in an attempt to assert her control of the situation. She
couldn't understand just why the girls made such a big fuss—Jisoo asked whether she was dropping
around her place for yoga every time, and every time, Jennie tried not to show how eager she
actually was to be attending.

What? Yoga was quite relaxing and were a much better alternative than chugging down energy
drinks.

It had nothing to do with being in Jisoo's presence whatsoever, all toned-body-parts with-tight-
leggings and her adorable dog. Not at all: Jennie went to yoga because Jisoo was kind enough to let
her have a very discounted rate (Jennie had adamantly refused to go without paying something) and
she was merely enjoying the relaxing break in the company of her friend, nothing more.

But she clearly wasn't convincing anyone with her curt responses because as usual, Lisa and Somi
immediately exchanged snickers and patted Jisoo on the back, loudly egging her on with chirpy
words of encouragement.

"Yah, as the sister, I approve of you as sister-in-law!"

"It's like you're asking her to prom!"

"Whoa there Mimi, good one!"

Jennie grunted, exasperated. "I'm right here you brats."

"One day, unnie, one day maybe you'll get there. I ship you two!" Somi said, ploughing over
Jennie's indignant noise of protest.

"I ship us too," Jisoo returned in delight, "but of course, Jendeuk has to have the final say on this
before anything progresses."

Jennie flushed pink even as she fought the heat blooming across her cheeks. "You're awfully
confident about us getting together."

"Who knows? The universe works in mysterious ways. I believe in aliens, so us together shouldn't
be such a far-fetched notion now, should it?"

"So that gives you free rein to publicly announce that you 'ship' us, to anyone in the vicinity? Way
to be slick and let me have a final say over the matter," Jennie dead-panned.

"Well, at least now you know for certain that I ship us then," Jisoo beamed. "I even have a ship
name, if you care to hear."

Jennie face-palmed as the rest of the Vault erupted in laughter.

Jennie couldn't help the secret smile quirking the corners of her mouth when Jisoo shot her a
playful grin.

Jisoo had inserted herself in the sisters' daily routine by visiting the gym every morning, taking
Jennie to do yoga every other day and giving Jennie rides back home from the diner. She had
claimed she was able to move her shifts around since she was flexible (Jennie wasn't sure if that
had been an innuendo but she let it pass).

Suffice to say everyone at the Vault was aware of Jisoo's efforts to win Jennie over and how she
was literally going the extra mile to stay in the brunette's presence, like a puppy following its
master around. Jennie ignored the knowing looks and wiggling eyebrows from her sister, calmly
standing her ground and stating Jisoo was merely a friend.

But Jennie would be lying if she said she wasn't warmed by Jisoo's single-minded goal to make
sure she got home safe after her stint at the diner, without ever taking advantage of her exhausted
state. She would be lying if she said Jisoo's antics didn't make her smile. She would be lying if she
said she wasn't touched by Jisoo caring about her and Lisa in her own manner.

Jisoo may joke and tease and flirt and act weird, but she toed the line and gave Jennie her space,
always.

Jennie never felt uncomfortable being alone with Jisoo—she knew the older girl wouldn't lay a
hand on her without permission. And therefore, the unconventional arrangement seemed to be
working thus far.

Jennie wondered how long it would take until Jisoo saw sense and gave up pursuing her: the yoga
instructor was determined and unwavering in her quest. Jennie was flattered someone was going to
such great lengths to have her attention.
"Yah, careful with the punches you punk!"

"I could say the same to you Nallalisa!"

"Yaaaaahhhhhh!"

Laughter broke Jennie out of her reverie: Jisoo and Lisa were playfully wrestling, their voices a
symphonic cacophony of squawks and yells.

She saw Matthew laughing heartily while Irene looked rather concerned, clearly struggling with
herself not to march up and prise the two boisterous girls apart. Somi, Chaeyoung and Dahyun
were having the time of their lives shouting encouragements, the walls echoing with their bright
voices.

It was just like old times, when Hwangssabu was still alive, Jennie thought suddenly, when the
Vault had many more people visiting, and things were alright.

So much had been going on these days that the emptiness Hwangssabu left behind hadn't actually
ached as much as usual, not when Jennie's mind was full with Lisa and her resurgence as well as
gearing up for the Purge. Add to that the usual preoccupation of keeping up with the bills and daily
bare necessities to buy, Lisa's pilates lessons, yoga, and now Jisoo's constant presence, and Jennie
wasn't really left with much time to dwell on the past.

The brunette took this to be a hopeful sign for the future, a future where old wounds finally heal
and only a superficial scar was left, a future where she was surrounded only by laughter and
warmth.

Maybe just like she had told Irene earlier, their fortunes were indeed changing.

>

Dahyun hurried across campus, clutching on to her bag in one hand and her phone in the other.

"Chaeyoung I really gotta go! I need to find Jackson."

"—kay. BTW what's up with you and him? You're hanging around him an awful lot lately."

"Oh, he's just a nice guy," Dahyun said distractedly. "He's funny and makes for good company to
hang out with. Catch you later okay? Bye!"

She put her phone in her pocket and ran the last few metres to the Bio labs.

Chaeyoung didn't need to know that she was also hanging around Jackson to dig deeper on his
family's business and unearth the truth—her friend would surely call her out and try to stop her
reckless streak.

Dahyun was playing a dangerous game, she knew as much when she had agreed to work with her
ex. She might be in over her head and biting off more than she can chew with the agreement she set
with Momo.

But the tantalising offer Momo offered was too good to pass up—it was Dahyun's key to a world of
opportunity, if all went to plan and they managed to expose whatever shady business was going
down at JYP.

Did that make her selfish and immoral—getting closer to Jackson just for her benefit? At first,
Dahyun had been reluctant to betray Jackson's trust just to snoop around.

"I bet Jackson's not as innocent as he looks. I'd be careful of him if I were you. Don't let
appearances deceive you," the Japanese CEO had warned when Dahyun protested the involvement
of the young Wang in the JYP affair they were investigating.

Dahyun entered the empty labs, the strong smell of bleach and cold air hitting her the moment she
stepped inside. She went to the Biochemistry labs and called out Jackson's name.

"Down here!"

Dahyun followed his voice and found him fiddling with a Bunsen burner, holding a dancing test
tube in the flame. The test tube contained a bubbling, clear lemon yellow liquid.

"Another experiment, Einstein?" Dahyun grinned as she took a seat on a bench and picked up a
pair of safety goggles to put them on. He laughed and nodded. His lab-coat had faint green stains in
places.

Jackson was a studious person who practically took up residence in the labs ever since he came to
her university: Dahyun always found him there during empty periods, trying out some experiment
or other.

She watched him work in comfortable silence as he jotted down notes, added a beaker of purple
liquid to a volumetric flask with transparent liquid and the purple colour disappeared. He grinned
proudly when she gasped.

Sometimes he explained whatever he was doing, sometimes he was too focused to talk. On days
when he seemed absorbed in his work, Dahyun would settle at a bench with a book open before her
to keep him company in silence. She was thankful that he still let her stay around at such times.

It seemed to be one of those quiet days today, because after the initial few moments, he didn't pay
her much attention again. Nonetheless, Dahyun didn't get bored—she observed him carefully,
watching his movements and wondering.

Was he aware of his uncle's suspicious movements? Should he know that she was only tailing him
to get information? Would he be angry? Would he help? Would he do the honourable thing and
help expose any corruption they find?

No matter which way you looked at it, Dahyun and Momo were risking more than just their
reputation and integrity—it could well be that the two of them were risking their very lives in their
mission to uncover the secrets of JYP's pharma empire.

After seeing the file Momo had gathered on JYP, it only cemented Dahyun's resolve: the CEO was
definitely on to something sinister, she was not messing around. Dahyun's journalistic nose
twitched with excitement—she was finally going to prove herself.

She was going to show her parents that meek girls could be headstrong and determined. She was
going to show her parents that being a journalist wasn't merely a man's job. She was going to show
them and be free of eking out a living in the same boring suburban neighbourhood reporting on
traffic accidents. Dahyun had bigger dreams than that, but the pinnacle would be to travel the world
and report on the wonders of all the countries she visited.

And to do that, Dahyun was going to have to get dirty because by hook or by crook, she was going
to have the coveted spot at the Eye-Wander that Momo promised.
"—what's that? You mean you want me to pick it up this weekend? Again?"

Dahyun's eyes flew open at Jackson's annoyed voice but she didn't move when she registered her
face was within inches of the counter's surface: she must have dozed off and rested her head on her
arms.

Jackson was speaking in hushed tones a little way behind her but she thanked her lucky stars for
her sharp hearing—she could hear him perfectly fine. It was frustrating that she couldn't make out
what the crackling voice on the other end was saying though.

"You want me to come alone? That's a bit unsafe, uncle. Who knows who could be lurking
around? I don't want trouble—last time was a close shave. Them goons nearly blew our cover."

Dahyun's heart rate picked up, excitement flooding her system.

Was he talking to JYP?

This was it, the breakthrough they needed! Dahyun was ecstatic—for more than a week now she
had shadowed Jackson, hoping to obtain scraps of information he might inadvertently let drop
without realising. But frustratingly enough, there had been nothing out of the ordinary: he hung out
with her group, made new friends and played basketball in his spare time. He stuck by Dahyun and
talked to her the most out of her group of friends—Dahyun supposed she had to thank the
humiliation Momo had caused her which made him hang around her, possibly out of sympathy.

Dahyun remained silent, focusing on feigning sleep by keeping her breathing regular as Jackson
paced around while the phone buzzed.

"Saturday. Ok. Mhm mhm yeah. Same club, same time? Oh..."

Dahyun was dying to turn her face and look at Jackson, her mind churning.

Was he actively taking part in his uncle's business? Was it some drug trafficking ring? Or mafia?
What could he possibly be picking up? A package of money? Bombs? Forged documents? Illegal
chemicals?

"Mmm. Okay. Jarkive, eleven on the dot. Tell your goons to be more careful too." Jackson's voice
turned icy, setting off goosebumps on Dahyun's skin. "I'm not risking my neck out to have my ass
hauled down to the depot, thank you very much. If the coppers come at us, I can't guarantee your
men will make it out alive, if it comes down to it."

The voice on the other end buzzed something angrily and Jackson gave a low, mean chuckle.

"Well, it's a fish eat fish world out there, isn't that what you always tell me, uncle? I'm only looking
out for myself. Not my problem if people get killed."

He finished the call and for a moment there was silence as the girl with her head on the desk sat
very still, wondering if Jackson had noticed her eavesdropping.

Jarkive, eleven, next Saturday. She had gotten the rendezvous details down, imprinted in her brain
like a hot iron rod. But she had no idea where Jarkive would be located, with the faint suspicion
that such a drop-off point like that might be inconspicuous to the masses and need more careful
searching to uncover its location. Maybe Momo could pull in some resources and find out.

She sensed Jackson approaching softly from behind and a feather-light cloth dropped on her
shoulder, making Dahyun jolt in surprise.
"Oh my goodness, I'm sorry!" Jackson picked up his jacket again. "You were sleeping so
peacefully and it's a little draughty in here with the AC. I didn't meant to wake you up, sorry." He
said regretfully. He had changed out of his lab coat and taken off his goggles as well, which let
Dahyun know that he had stopped working quite some time ago.

She looked at him, trying hard to reconcile the cold voice she had heard moments before with the
smiling thoughtful boy in front of her.

"You okay?" Jackson asked, brows creased. Dahyun realised she had never replied to his apology
and quickly scrambled to answer.

"Yeah. And it's okay uhm, it's time I got going anyway. Sorry for sleeping on you. Have you been
done long?"

"Been like half an hour..." His mouth quirked up into a sheepish smile. "You uh....you have a
little...on your cheek..." He gestured close to his mouth and Dahyun flushed.

"Yahhhhhhhhh!"

She wiped her cheek furiously as he chuckled. He had watched her sleep while she drooled? How
embarrassing! She really couldn't catch a break from humiliating herself around him.

"It's just a little drool. You actually look kinda cute sleeping—"

"Just a little drool!" she exclaimed. He laughed harder which made her smile until she remembered
his phone call with his uncle and she sobered up.

Appearances can be deceiving.

Momo's warning rang in her head as Dahyun left the building with Jackson's arm slung
comfortably around her shoulder, heavy just like her heart in her chest.
 White Lie

Time was ticking and Rosé—previously sitting and eagerly watching the clock like a kid waiting
for class to end—started to frown.

A quarter past four.

Maybe it was just the bus, Rosé decided, that's why Lisa's late. Maybe there's a lot of traffic.

Ella was writing in her textbooks at the kitchen table with Bori curled up at her feet when her
mother walked in from the pilates studio.

"Hey sweetie. How's homework?" Rosé asked as she went over to hug her daughter, chuckling as
Ella squirmed in her grasp when she dropped a sweet kiss on top of her head.

"Mmm," Ella mumbled. Rosé tilted her head.

"What is it baby? What's bugging my little flower?"

"Moooom!" Ella whined. "Stop babying me!"

"Oh?" her mother laughed, "grown up all of a sudden, have we? Well then if you're not a baby,
you'll tell me what's bothering you without me having to guess, how about that?"

Ella pouted some more but relented. "I...I can't stop thinking about the kittens," she mumbled at
last.

They had heard the helpless mewling in the alley next to their condo earlier that morning, when
they had been waiting out on the kerb for Ella's friend to ride to school. Ella had been all but ready
to ditch school and hunt for the source of the piteous cries but Rosé had to reluctantly send her
away, with promises of finding them in her stead.

Her search proved to be unsuccessful as she combed the area in vain whilst doing her best not to
barf up her breakfast. The smelly alley was a dumping ground for all kinds of refuse from the big
buildings towering above her—black garbage bags bursting with trash were stacked up on each
other next to overflowing skips filled with rotting produce.

"It's gonna get dark soon...and their Mom isn't there for them. Maybe she...she got squashed on the
road and they'll be all alone, waiting for her...hungry and cold..." Ella trailed off.

"Oh sweetie, ssh ssh, no," Rosé crouched down in front of her upset daughter and cupped her face.
"Listen to me. They're street cats. They probably were a bit naughty, like a certain someone," she
added with a quick raise of the eyebrows, eliciting a little giggle from Ella.

"I'm not naughty!"

"Okay, you're not," Rosé smiled. "Anyway, they were probably playing, and they wanted to
explore out of their territory, and they strayed away from their home and got lost. But they'll find
their way back, or their Mom will. Moms always know how to find their kids."

"But what if they're hungry and cold? They sounded like babies Mom, little tiny kittens! They can't
possibly know the way back home...by the time the mommy cat finds them, it might be too late!"

"Street cats are strong and plucky cats from the moment they're born," Rosé comforted, "not
useless and lazy like our Bori here."

As though she had understood, Bori gave a rather indignant miaow from beneath Ella's chair,
bringing a smile to her owners' faces.

"Bori didn't like that," Ella giggled.

"Well but it's true though," Rosé grinned back. She booped her daughter's nose. "I'm sure that we'll
soon be seeing a bunch of cats roam around like they own the place, probably being a nuisance and
searching for scraps. You'll see. It's spring anyway, we have nice weather right now. They'll be
okay."

"Mmm. And you sure you searched everywhere for them?"

"Positive. I even took another look after Ms Shin finished here, before you came back," Rosé
nodded. "I found Bori alright but...no sign of them."

"And they had stopped crying?"

"Yes. They've probably been found by their Mom like I said. She'll give them a proper scolding so
they don't wander off again."

"Promise?"

"Promise..."

Rosé's heart ached seeing her daughter nod, believing and trusting her unquestionably. She had to
turn away, focusing back on the clock. Twenty-five past four.

Ella reminded her so much of her younger self: of the gullible little Chaeyoung that believed her
papa hit her because he told her she was a bad girl who deserved the beatings for her own good.
She believed her Papa when he told little Chaeyoung he loved her as the belt cracked through the
air, breaking purple bruised skin upon impact.

Rosé smiled wryly at the recollection. When she shed her older name and the childhood innocence
that clung to it, she also lost her naivete as she was thrust headlong into a world of crimes and
greed

This new name and new lifestyle also brought with it its own set of consequences.

She spewed lies as easily as she walked, even for the littlest thing. It was all that she knew to do
after all, and it disgusted her down to the bone.

She couldn't bear telling Ella what actually might have happened to the kittens: that most likely,
they either died, or had been found and killed by some other feral cat or mongrel Judging by their
mewls, they had sounded too young, practically newborns. Too weak, too vulnerable to fend for
themselves.

Ella was too young; Rosé wanted to protect her baby from the cruelties and horrors of the world as
long as she could.

A white lie, she thought miserably. Just a little white lie dissolving in an inky black sea of rot and
lies that accompanied their lives.

"Mommy, is Lisa unnie coming today?"

"She was supposed to," Rosé frowned, "but well, maybe she got stuck in traffic."

"I thought she might be. Coming, I mean. You're always washing up and changing clothes before
her session. You don't do that for anyone else," Ella observed. "And you changed hair colour
again."

Rosé shrugged nonchalantly, a rush of heat warming her face and neck.

Ella may be naive, but she was quite sharp. Rosé had indeed changed her hair colour back to
blonde recently, but that was purely to pacify her boss and avoid displeasing him again.

But as Ella had also noted, she had also taken a quick shower after finishing the session prior to
Lisa's—she didn't want to smell sweaty when the blonde girl came around. The pilates instructor
generously dabbed on her usual perfume around her neck and on her wrists— the fruity scented one
that Lisa seemed to have taken a liking to.

Rosé had caught the blonde boxer sniffing the air around her, but she hadn't told Lisa off again
after that first time. although in the beginning she had felt uncomfortable, it was clear now that
Lisa wasn't like the sleazy men in bars that tried to have their way with her. It was actually
flattering to have such a lasting effect on someone, particularly because it had been a while since
she had actively sought to attract attention of the genuine kind.

And having someone's attention like Lisa's—who admired her and seemed to genuinely empathise
with her—made Rosé feel confident and good about herself. Being around Lisa always left that
lingering sense of accomplishment that she tried to hold on to, long after the girl's chirpy voice
faded from the apartment.

So yes, putting in a little extra effort and paying a little extra attention to presentation mattered to
Rosé when Lisa was involved.

Tingles of anticipation coursed through Rosé's veins like tiny bursts of electricity all throughout the
day as the hour grew closer. Even her clients commented on her more exuberant outlook, some
even expressing their delight on how her mood had lifted recently. She always nodded and thanked
them politely, silently praying for forgiveness when she remembered that most of them had their
personal data at the mercy of a drug lord's nefarious money-making schemes.

Rosé had even picked up the habit of spending a good ten minutes deciding on what tank top to
wear each time, which was stupid—she didn't usually change in between sessions to minimise the
amount of laundry. Yet, whenever it was time for Lisa's session, she always felt like wearing
something clean and fresh.

Did Lisa notice? Hopefully yes. And hopefully she appreciated the effort—

Rosé gave herself a little shake, tossing her ponytail behind her shoulder.

Why was she even worrying about such a thing? She should be worrying about what was taking
Lisa so long, not whether Lisa would acknowledge her change in attire!

Rosé glanced at the clock. Half past four.

The line in her forehead deepened. She unconsciously started pacing back and forth with her phone
clutched tightly in her hand as her thoughts whirled like a storm in her head.

Should she call, just to check? Maybe Lisa wasn't going to come after all. Maybe she decided to
skip. Maybe she ditched at the eleventh hour without telling anyone, that jerk-face!
But no Rosé, come on, be rational, she urged herself. Lisa was always eager to come see you. She's
enjoying pilates now. Surely, if she was going to skip, she would have the decency to inform
beforehand?

Maybe call and check? What if some emergency cropped up at the Vault? What if someone got
hurt, one of the other people that went there? What if they needed help?

But what if she phoned and panicked Jennie when she informed her of Lisa's tardiness? She didn't
want to worry Jennie for nothing.

Should she wait a little more?

Maybe she should go out and take a look in the street. Maybe she could ask passers-by if there had
been some accident?

Rosé's blood ran cold as the words of her boss crossed her mind: friends are the worst kinds of
distraction.

God, what if they targeted Lisa to punish me? Rosé thought. The mere idea had her trembling. It
was a very real, terrible possibility. There was no predicting how their volatile minds worked.

They virtually held Ella hostage already to keep Rosé in line, and she hadn't dared get close to any
outsider—Lisa and Jennie (but in particular Lisa) were the first people she was slowly letting in a
long time. Jisoo didn't really count because the affair they had happened behind closed doors, and
nobody got to know.

Rosé held her head, gnashing her teeth in distress.

She shouldn't have given in to her impulses. She shouldn't have let Lisa in. She shouldn't have
laughed with Lisa. She shouldn't have enjoyed the way Lisa treated her and empathised with her.
She shouldn't have indulged in the blonde's warm aura. She shouldn't have let herself get curious
about Lisa's background. And she especially shouldn't have gone in to watch Lisa fight at the
Slammer.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. STUPID.

Yet, the lingering image of Lisa rising to her feet as soon as their eyes locked remained imprinted
in Rosé's head. In that moment, with her puffy, swollen face shining with sweat beneath the
spotlights, Lisa held a spell over Rosé who was unable to tear her eyes away. In that moment when
time seemed to slow down, Lisa's eyes came alive.

Rosé had seen it all through the gloom and the crescendo of shouting surrounding them, and she
was mesmerised.

God, what if they threatened her? Tortured her? Or worse...what if they told Lisa all about Rosé's
crimes and then killed her?

And then Lisa would die, broken-hearted and betrayed, knowing that Rosé was nothing but a dirty,
lying piece of—

"Mom!"

Rosé choked and let out a strangled gasp; she looked down and found Ella was hugging her waist
tightly. Only now did Rosé notice she was breathing heavily, her chest heaving as though she
surfaced from deep underwater.
"Wh-what—"

"You were scary! You were breathing very fast," Ella sniffled. She looked up with glassy eyes.
"Mommy, are you okay now? Dad...Dad's not here. You don't have to be scared."

Rosé inhaled, her momentary panic ebbing away as she wrapped her hands around Ella's small
back. "I'm sorry baby, I'm okay now. I...was over-thinking a bit, worrying about Lisa. It won't
happen again."

She dropped a kiss on Ella's head for reassurance and rubbed her back soothingly, relaxing when
she felt Ella loosen up as well.

Rosé shook her head at herself.

She knew better than to show her true emotions in front of Ella. The girl had already been through
so much trauma. Seeing the only adult in her life losing herself to fear and panic must be
terrifying.

Rosé had vowed she wouldn't ever let Ella feel vulnerable or scared. She was determined to keep
her safe and protected at all costs. And to do that, Rosé couldn't afford to lose herself to her
emotions—her baby deserved safety and peace of mind.

Well, as much peace of mind as she could offer with all the secrets and shame and guilt she had to
hide from her own daughter.

She sighed now, fiddling with Ella's silky strands. "So...seems like Lisa's not coming. How about
an early dinner—"

Rosé was interrupted by a series of soft, almost timid knocks on the door. She practically flew to
answer it.

"Lisa!"

Lisa stood slouching against the doorway, kitted out in workout gear and her usual vintage jacket.
She gave Rosé the smoulder, smiling winningly as her eyes flickered upwards.

"Why hey there...Blondie," Lisa purred. "Love the new hair colour, we can twin now. Long legs,
hot bods and killer wigs." She winked. "Welcome to the Barbie club, Chipmunk."

Rosé was tempted to roll her eyes and comment something biting but instead opted to fold her
arms, trying to ignore the way her stomach was flip-flopping in her chest. "So..."

"I can explain," Lisa rushed, dropping her cocky facade, "look, I'm really, really sorry for being
tardy and you're probably pissed that I'm late and don't want to have a session now so I'm just
passing by to let you know I'm late because I don't have a phone and it would be too late by the
time I got back and I don't want you panicking so I'll just be heading out and leave you and the kid
in peace. Toodles!"

Lisa turned on her heel and was about to run away as Rosé stood blinking dumbfounded, weren't it
for a high-pitched squeal from next to Rosé's. Ella had finally joined them with Bori cradled in her
arms.

"Lisa unnie you're finally here!" She beamed.

Lisa turned around slowly, her mouth widening into an uncertain smile. She waved like a puppet
being controlled, her movements jerky. "Uh, hey kiddo. How's it going?"

"Mommy's been waiting for you forever to show up! She was really scared too," Ella added.
"Weren't you, Mom?"

Lisa's mouth stretched into a full smile. "Aww, you were scared for me?"

"Don't let it get to your head," Rosé warned and gestured behind her. "Well, come on in."

Lisa didn't move, her brows creased in contemplation. Both mother and daughter were puzzled by
the long pause.

"Doesn't she want to come in Mom?"

Rosé smirked, eyes on the flustered blonde when she replied: "Well, that depends on Lisa herself,
baby. Since she seems so eager to run away from here..."

"But...why would she?"

"Why indeed?" Rosé mused.

"I...I didn't want to be in your way...I was late..." Lisa mumbled. Her eyes were stuck resolutely to
the ground as she shifted from foot to foot.

Rosé watched her carefully. Something about Lisa felt different, foreign. She was too restless, too
cagey. She clicked her wrist in agitation and her eyes shifted uneasily.

"You won't be in the way Lisa," Rosé assured as she stood the side and invited the blonde boxer in.
"If you do really need to be elsewhere, by all means don't let me keep you," she added, ignoring the
twinge of disappointment at the prospect of Lisa leaving already, "we can always reschedule, but I
don't think you can afford to push back dates much. The Purge is starting soon, right? We can't
afford to reverse the progress we achieved so far."

"Unnie, you okay?" Ella asked softly when Lisa didn't budge.

Lisa seemed to arrive to a decision as she sighed, shoulders sagging. "Yeah. Yeah I'm good.
Just...sorry for bothering you guys this late. I feel kinda bad is all."

"Won't be a bother at all, come in," Rosé insisted as Lisa darted past her and took off her backpack.
Rosé's brow raised quizzically as she watched Lisa gently lower the bag off her shoulder instead of
tossing it off like she usually does.

"So...traffic. Was it that bad?" Rosé asked casually to strike up conversation.

Lisa blinked.

Rosé nearly cooed at her endearing confused expression. "I mean, that's why you were late, I
presume?" she added. "Or you missed the bus?"

"Oh, ah, yeah, yeah, mhm, very bad..."

Rosé's eyes narrowed—Lisa had never been this distracted and vague with her answers before. She
always gave the pilates instructor her full attention. What was bothering her?

Immediately, Rosé's mind jumped to worst possible scenario. Oh God, what if one of the lackeys
approached her and that's what's making Lisa act weird?
She started to panic, going weak at the knees.

What if she knows everything? What if she's in danger now? What if she's being threatened?

No, be logical. She'd have run far far away if that's what happened. Get a grip, Park.

"Ella, baby, go finish your homework. Lisa, take your time. I'll go wait in the studio..." Rosé said
faintly and turned away, the voice in her head tormenting her.

She needed a moment alone to collect her thoughts before she faced Lisa again without letting the
guilt show plain as day on her face—her paranoia always lurked just beneath the surface, ready to
pounce and make her second-guess the people around her. She'd need some time to suppress it and
push it back to the furthest corner of her head, just to focus on the present and the reality.

Be reasonable, Rosé told herself as she walked away from Lisa and Ella. They have no grounds to
target Lisa, yet. Just keep things low-key. It will be fine. Fine as rain. Lisa...she's nice to have
around. For the support.

Rosé clenched her fist. Her fears, issues and her involvement with the criminal underworld kept her
isolated from other people in fear of them ending up hurt. But she was also cut-off from everyone
else as a result, probably just exactly how her boss intended it to be: to have her fully dependent on
him and stop her getting ideas of escaping somehow.

But for some strange reason Rosé couldn't fathom, Lisa might just be the person she wasn't so
ready to let go of.

"ee!...ee! ee!...ee!..."

Rosé turned sharply, thinking it was Lisa acting weird but paused when she saw the both of them
frozen in place. The strange sound shattered the tense silence again; shrill and loud, it sounded just
like a tiny baby crying.

"What's that? Did you hear that?" Ella asked, tilting her head. "It...sounds like..."

"Huh? Oh must have been my phone's ringtone," Lisa said hastily.

"But you said you don't have a phone, unnie?" Ella frowned. Her mother grinned, secretly proud of
her daughter's sharp observations that put Lisa on the spot.

Lisa pressed her mouth into a thin line. "Maybe I have one now."

Rosé inched closer again. "Lisa, what did you—"

Meow.

Rosé glanced down at Bori who was circling the blonde boxer still squatting next to her knapsack.
Lisa watched silently as Bori padded closer, nosing curiously at her bag which wriggled and
quivered—

Wait.

Rosé blinked. "Lisa, what's in—"

Mew! Mew! Mew!

The piercing cries were stronger and more defined now. Lisa sank to the floor in defeat.
"Kittens. I...I got...kittens," she said lamely, gesturing to the wriggling bag.

Ella squealed. "Let them out, they're gonna die in there! Oh please, can I see them?"

"I can't take them out here kiddo, they're dirty and smelly! I was gonna take them home—"

Ella didn't give Lisa a chance to explain before she was leaping for the bag and opening it,
laughing happily as she peered inside and spotted two balls of fur squirming and squeaking.

"Mommy look, look. Kittens!"

"No don't touch, they're dirty!" Lisa yelped and pulled Ella's hand back. "Stop Bori, don't let her
get too close!" she added urgently, pushing the inquisitive cat away. Bori raised her nose in the air
and stalked off but Lisa didn't notice—her attention was wholly on keeping the kittens away from
Rosé and Ella.

"They're dirty and probably have tons of germs. I need to wash my hands too and..."

She looked up helplessly as the older blonde crouched down next to them to get a better look.

"Is this why you were late?" Rosé asked with a gentle smile.

Lisa grimaced. "Yeah um...yeah. I'll...I'll get going now, lemme just take this..."

Rosé's hand on her arm stopped her.

"Where are you taking them?"

"Uh...some animal shelter?" Lisa bit her lip. "I just hope they don't...die on the way there."

"No, they can't die!" Ella said shrilly. She clung to her mother's arm. "Mom, we can't let them die.
They have to stay here! We have plenty of cat food, and you did say Bori has to cut down because
she's getting fat!"

"Ella—"

"Please, Mom." Ella was nearly in tears. "They're so thin, look at them!"

"Baby, I was only gonna say, they're too young to eat Bori's food but we'll make sure to give them
plenty of warm milk."

Both Ella and Lisa gawked at Rosé, making her chuckle. "What? I'm not some evil stepmother,
you know. Now Ella, I want you to get some old towels and a cardboard box from the closet. Lisa,
I want you to get the bucket behind the bathroom door and fill it with some water. Make it
lukewarm. And I'm going to heat some milk and try to find some teat suitable for them." She
turned to Ella with a serious expression. "Don't touch the kittens until I tell you to—Lisa's right,
they could be sick."

"Yes Mom!" Ella said briskly, bouncing impatiently on her feet until Rosé nodded at her and she
scampered away.

Rosé glanced at Lisa who was still staring at her, agog. She snapped her mouth shut in
embarrassment when Rosé giggled. Her brain couldn't form the words properly, all the gears and
cogs in her brain slowing down as though it was grinding through sticky molasses. Rosé never
ceased to surprise her.
"Uh...uhm so uh, why do we need the warm water exactly?" Lisa asked at last.

Rosé grinned. "We're going to give them their first bath. Now, what's your glove size?"

>

"What should we call them?" Ella whispered in awe as they gazed down on the small, sweet-
smelling bundles swaddled in the towels lining the cardboard box. "I have a list already, I've been
thinking...Oliver and Tiger!"

Rosé glanced in Lisa's direction.

Only now did she notice how late it had gotten— they were sitting in the wide spacious pilates
studio, with passing cars' headlights filtering in through the window and splashing across Lisa's
face. In the soft, dim light that shone from the ceiling, Rosé could admire Lisa's features: she had
soft cheeks and a round nose coupled with a sharp jaw that came together to make for a very
attractive side-profile.

The whole washing and cleaning process had taken much longer than she thought since they had to
look up the proper way to go about sanitising and cleaning the kittens. But it had been fun washing
off the sticky grime and stains with Lisa, albeit rather noisy with Ella chattering excitedly until the
two balls of fur were wriggling in their towels, peering up with half-lidded unfocused eyes. Rosé
had watched Lisa as the latter handled the gray and white kitten she had taken charge of with
exceeding gentleness.

Then came the feeding part—it made Rosé smile to hear them suckle hungrily just like babies,
reminding her of the time long ago when she breastfed her own baby, Ella. It hadn't taken long for
the kittens to fall asleep soon after. Rosé had taken the box and placed it in the pilates studio since
it was the warmest room.

"Well, you can always call them...Gray and White?" Lisa said. When her suggestion was met with
silence and sceptical looks, she added, "I mean, as temporary names, uh...until you take them to the
animal shelter—"

"No!" Ella said righteously, standing up and stomping her foot. "They're staying right here. This is
their home now!"

She looked pleadingly at her mother. "Mom, we have plenty of space, I'm sure Bori won't mind
sharing, right?"

"Ella, kittens are a handful to deal with. Having two roaming around...not to mention having to pay
for their food and their toilet stuff...it costs lots and lots of money. Right Rosie?"

Hearing the nickname made Rosé smile—it was the first time today that Lisa called her that today.
She had been very subdued and quiet all through the washing, cleaning and feeding process, letting
Rosé take the lead and carrying out whatever the pilates instructor asked without so much as a
cocky remark.

"Lisa's right baby, it might be a little too much to take care of both. However," she added, "it's
getting late. You were really helpful today so until I decide what to do with them in the coming
days, they'll be staying here. But you have to help me with feeding them whenever you're here,
okay? They're still much too young—OOF!"

Lisa's chuckles were music to Rosé's ears as Ella tackled her mother in a bear-hug, making them
fall over in the process.
"I love you! I love you! Thank you!" Ella squealed happily, peppering her mother's face with kisses
to which Rosé responded with a loving peck of her own on Ella's forehead.

"I love you too. Now can you be a good girl for a little while longer and go finish your
homework?"

"But...I want to stay here with them!" Ella pouted. "They might wake up."

"How about I cook your favourite dish as a reward for finishing your homework?" Rosé
compromised. "Deal? I'll even let you watch an extra thirty minutes of TV if you go finish your
schoolwork."

This seemed to be a deal-breaker because Ella immediately scrambled to her feet.

"If the kittens wake up, let me know!" Ella instructed before she waved at Lisa and scurried away,
skipping and singing to herself.

Rosé straightened up, her face softening when she noticed Lisa was quietly stroking the sleeping
white and grey kitten. She scooted closer, both of them sitting cross-legged. Lisa raised her eyes
when Rosé nudged her knee.

"So...Gray and White huh? Very...original."

"You're not gonna let it go, are you?" Lisa grimaced but it quickly transformed into a grin when
Rosé giggled.

"Never. I just...didn't think you'd go for something so plain. Not even some generic basic name like
Fluffy."

"Oh yeah? You pegged me as someone...more flamboyant and creative?" Lisa answered, playfully
returning Rosé's nudge. "You sure I'm not just a meathead?"

Rosé rolled her eyes. "And are you never gonna drop that? I told you, first impressions. I was
wrong."

"Just checking."

"Of course you were."

"Stop shoving!"

"You started it!"

They laughed and giggled as they batted each other back and forth like a couple of children, until
Rosé misjudged her aim and keeled forward with the momentum, hitting her face smack on Lisa's
shoulder.

"Whoa, careful there blondie," Lisa chuckled as she gripped Rosé's shoulders to hold her up. She
waved a hand in front of Rosé. "How many figures have I got?"

"Hmm... like six?"

Lisa peered at her, then at the three fingers she was holding up. She huffed and pushed Rosé away
who burst out laughing.

"Lay off, I thought you seriously banged up your head!"

"Lighten up Lisa, it's a joke!" Rosé continued to laugh until she noticed Lisa wasn't laughing with
her. Concerned by Lisa's unusually sombre mood, she edged closer to her again, tentatively
reaching out to touch her arm. "Hey...hey, you okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

Rosé didn't press further for the time being, simply basking in the silence that stretched out and
enveloped the cosy room. Ella's quiet singing in the background mixed with the faint humming of
the fridge and the soft noises of the sleeping furry creatures in their box. It was pleasant, almost
lulling Rosé to sleep.

"I was calling them Leo and Luca in my head," Lisa said abruptly. Her eyes stayed resolutely on
the kittens. "But I didn't want to give them names because...it would be harder to let go of them
eventually. It would be harder for Ella too."

She looked up. "So, when are you taking them in? Tomorrow?"

"Maybe..." Rosé shrugged. She reached out to stroke the white one, her hands brushing with Lisa's.
She ignored the pleasurable jolt of warmth that rushed to her face upon contact. "I had been
searching for them for a long time today. How did you find them?"

"They were at the very back of the alley, lodged behind a skip." Lisa's nose scrunched up in
disgust. "It was filthy. I still can't forget the stink."

"Well, thank you for finding them. Ella had been very upset earlier so...this was a welcome
surprise." She stroked the knobby backbone, smiling when the kitten shivered beneath her touch.
"Is this one Leo or Luca?"

"Luca."

There was a beat of silence as Rosé waited while brushing sleeping Luca's threadbare fur until Lisa
broke it again.

"There was a third kitten actually....and a tabby cat," she said quietly, "the mother probably." She
lowered her head. "I...didn't want to mention it around Ella."

Rosé braced herself. "Were they...dead?" She appreciated Lisa's sensitivity towards her daughter;
Lisa could be so considerate at times that it made Rosé feel warm all over.

"The mother yes. Had some nasty gashes on her stomach. The kitten...it was a grey one and it
hadn't died yet but...I sort of sensed it. It was too weak. I...I held it in my arms." Lisa raised her
hands and cradled them against her chest in gesture. "I held it in my hands and...waited for it...to
sleep."

Rosé's heart plummeted in her stomach at the crack in Lisa's voice. "Oh Lisa..."

"The other little ones were crying and huddling against their dead mother. Everything stank and
reeked of garbage, everything was slimy and rotten. But I couldn't leave it to die alone. I didn't
know what to do and where to take it. I couldn't leave it. I didn't have a phone. It's...it was all tiny
and defenceless and so, so cold, shivering non-stop. It barely had the strength to cry. I-I couldn't
leave it. It was s-so sad—"

Rosé acted on instinct: her arms moved of their own accord to wrap around Lisa in a tight hug.
Lisa stiffened in surprise before Rosé felt her sag gratefully, as though tired from a long journey.
"My shirt's dirty," Lisa whispered.

"I don't care," Rosé whispered back.

She didn't want to let go—Lisa's lean body was strong and delicious beneath her touch. She was
faintly aware of Lisa's hands skimming the small of her back but through the haze of it all, Rosé
maintained enough clarity to say: "Do you want to talk about it more or...?"

"I feel weak," Lisa mumbled. "Being like this over a kitten..."

"That's not weakness. I swear it's not," Rosé assured, pulling back to look the boxer right in the
eyes. "Lisa. You have a kind and sensitive soul. Staying with someone or something like that kitten
until the very end isn't easy. It means you aren't numb and cold. It means you have emotions. And
that's more than okay. We're meant to feel. It's okay to let it all out and cry. It doesn't mean you're
weak at all."

She was dying to cup Lisa's face, to wipe away the tears she could see threatening to spill. It hurt to
see Lisa—ever so strong and proud and cocky— reduced to a raw and vulnerable state.

"In this day and age, with all the cruelty and horrors the world throws at us to the point that we
have to numb ourselves to not succumb to the despair and devastation...we're numb to even spare a
second glance. Through all the mess this world is in, I find that level of compassion you have
beautiful, Lisa," Rosé said softly. "I would say it means you're...human."

Lisa seemed to perk up at that. "I'm...human enough? You think so?" she asked eagerly, just like a
hopeful child promised candy. It made Rosé chuckle.

"Of course. You're one of the most understanding and compassionate human beings I ever met. An
experience like that will definitely impact you. So, if you want to talk about it....I'm here."

Lisa didn't reply immediately.

"Cats mean a lot to you, huh?" Rosé said softly.

"It's not about the cat exactly," Lisa answered, catching the other girl by surprise. "It's just...nobody
should die alone, all lonely and by themselves. That's...that's too sad for me to bear."

She sighed, casting about her for the right words to say. "I just...I was scared that the other two
would be too weak and eventually die too but for little Louis—that's what I called him—I had to
stay, even if it meant being late to pilates...and then I had to leave him there when he died..."

She patted her chest. "It hurts...here."

Rosé engulfed her in another hug and this time Lisa didn't hold back, sinking into her embrace right
away as she sniffled against Rosé's shoulder.

"I'm crying," Lisa mumbled, "I'm crying over a stupid kitten..."

"It's okay," Rosé comforted, "it's okay..."

She didn't comment again, simply giving Lisa the privacy of grieving and holding on to her as the
boxer's shoulders trembled in her grip.

She ended up rocking the both of them, back and forth, humming softly. Everything felt so right
and serene in that moment that Rosé almost didn't want it to end.
Almost, because seeing Lisa in pain wasn't right at all and if she could, Rosé would take away all
her pain and lock it away where it would never hurt Lisa again. Because underneath the arrogant
facade was a little kid with a heart of gold who deserved all the good things in the world.

Rosé had glimpsed this side of Lisa but only fully got a taste of it today, thanks to the kittens that
were snuffling and turning in their sleep. It had been quite an eventful evening but she wouldn't
change anything if she were to do the day over again.

"My...my Mom and Dad..." Lisa swallowed audibly. "They died when I was a kid and then
Hwangssabu and Jennie took me in..." Her face was still hidden in the crook of Rosé's neck.
"They...died right in front of me. I...I guess that's why it affects me so much..."

"Lisa," Rosé said horrified; her arms tightened even further around Lisa, as if the blonde was
going to fall out of her embrace. "I had no idea...I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay. Happened a long time ago..." Lisa sat up properly now, her arms coming undone from
around Rosé's waist. Rosé missed the warmth already but quickly banished the thought to focus on
Lisa fidgeting before her.

"Lis—"

"Don't tell anyone, okay? Not even Jisoo," Lisa said anxiously, chewing on her lip. "Jennie doesn't
like it when I talk about the past...or about feelings. She says I can't focus on the past because it's
over and done with. The past should stay in the past. And I'm not very good with handling feelings
either so I shouldn't talk about them."

"But...sometimes it helps to open up about past traumas. And besides, you're your own person.
Your sister doesn't have to dictate every move you make. You're an adult and smart enough to
decide what you tell other people. As for feelings and emotions, she can't control that either."

Rosé frowned, disturbed by the way Lisa framed Jennie in her explanation. "Does Jennie treat you
okay, Lisa?" she asked carefully, wary of jumping to conclusions. Jennie had seemed nice enough
and Jisoo liked her, which said something because her unnie was usually a good judge of character
with her unconventional way of finding out.

Yet, she just had to ask because the way Lisa spoke sounded very much like...emotional
manipulation. And if there was one thing Rosé knew when she saw it, it was emotional
manipulation.

Lisa shook her head gently. "It's nothing like what you're thinking. I need her to be strict with me
Rosie. A bit complicated to explain...but you'll understand one day."

She got to her feet, her smile still tinged with sadness as Rosé stood up level with her.

"It's late. I should...head back. I've taken too much of your time. Thank you for...the talk."

"Lisa, it's no bother at all, I promise," Rosé protested. "It's me who's taken too much of your time!
We were supposed to do pilates and I got too caught up with these little ones..."

She trailed off when Lisa took her hand. Electricity sparked upon contact and Rosé gave a silent
gasp. She wasn't sure if Lisa felt the momentary jolt because she hadn't let go—if anything, she
was still holding on.

"No. You didn't. I enjoyed it. I...I got to see another side to you today."
The fond look on Lisa's face made her feel flattered and uncomfortable simultaneously.

"You...you're kind and sweet and a great, loving gal with a big heart. You're just... you're amazing,
you know, Rosie?"

"You told me that before," Rosé said, shyly tucking strands of hair behind her ear.

"Well, I'll keep saying it until you listen to me and believe it, then."

Rosé's breath caught in her throat. She didn't relax until Lisa's gaze dropped back to the kittens.
Having Lisa look at her with such a tender expression wasn't good for her heart: the traitorous
muscle in her chest started pumping too fast, leaving her breathless as though she ran a marathon.

"I should still be heading out though. It's getting late, and there would be nobody at the Vault."

"I could call Jennie for you."

Rosé frowned when Lisa shrugged. "It doesn't matter, I just don't want to leave the gym empty for
too long. Sure the neighbourhood is quiet but we haven't really got any security tech in place so
you never know what some louts might get in their heads and vandalise the place."

"But...don't you want to let Jennie know you're okay—"

"She knows I can handle myself fine all by myself. It's fine."

Rosé pursed her lips but didn't say anything again. Another thing she found odd was how confident
Jennie and Lisa were in Lisa's capability to take care of herself out on the streets.

"Well but still, wandering around late...you're a girl."

Lisa cocked her head. "So...?"

"What do you mean 'so'?" Rosé said testily. "Anything could happen to you. It's so late, the street
lights are on. And yeah you may be a boxer and buff, and you may be able to floor a random
mugger, but what if a whole gang attacks you?"

The boxer didn't seem the least bit perturbed; she cracked her knuckles with a smirk. "They'd think
twice about approaching me a second time."

"But—"

"You worry too much, Rosie," Lisa chuckled, and patted her arm affectionately, "but the thought is
appreciated."

She walked out towards the door and started pulling on her shoes. Rosé padded after her, at a loss.

"You know, I should be paying you for keeping the kittens for me. Sort of like, rent? Or
even...alimony?" Lisa said thoughtfully when she straightened up. She grinned, her trademark
playful smile returning, to Rosé's delight.

"What? Lisa don't be ridiculous!" Rosé giggled. "I had been searching for them beforehand. You
just happened to be the one to find them. If I found them earlier, they'd still be here most likely.
Ella would kill me if I gave them up so soon..."

"Speaking of Ella, you might want to go get cracking on that dinner you told her about," Lisa
winked before turning serious. "I'm serious about helping out with the money. Especially if they
stay here until some shelter takes them in. Think of it this way: you're like the mommy keeping the
kids after a separation, and I'm like the daddy...I mean, Dad, the absent parent sending you money
to support my family."

"Oh so does that mean you'll take charge of Ella as well?" Rosé said daringly. "Or aren't you going
to take responsibility for my daughter just because she's not yours?"

A split second later, she mentally cursed herself. What the hell was that? Was she flirting? With
Lisa? What. The. Hell?!

But Lisa's response nearly floored her hadn't she been resting against the door.

"I would treat her like my own," Lisa said simply, softly, clearly.

Looking right into her eyes, Rosé was terrified to see that she meant it.

>

"Mom?"

"Yes baby?"

Ella tilted her head back to look up at her mother sitting next to her as they watched TV, like Rosé
had promised.

"You were crying by the door earlier. On the ground, when Lisa unnie left. Did she hurt you
again?"

"Hmm? Oh no baby. Mommy was tired. Just tired...."

 Confessions: Part 1

"So...how did it go?" Jennie asked Lisa as she settled on the mattress after another tiring day.

"The usual," Lisa shrugged as she raised herself on her arm to face her sister. "You? Learned some
new yoga pose?"

"Mmm," her sister replied. They were both quiet for a while, lost in their thoughts as they listened
to their combined gentle breathing.

"Unnie?"

"Mhmm?"

Lisa seemed to be weighing her words carefully when she spoke next. "How mad will you be if I
tell you that I think...I have feelings for Rosie?"

Jennie sighed-she always seemed to be sighing around Lisa.

You sound like a train, Jisoo had commented once. The quick memory made her smile briefly
before she shook her head. She couldn't think about Jisoo right now; she had more pressing issues
to deal with.

"What else is new, you've been crushing on her since the moment you clapped eyes on her," Jennie
said, "you catch feelings for every girl that walks by." Her voice was light, yet the tension in the
cramped attic was anything but light-Jennie's words were a warning, a sharp reminder for Lisa to
toe the line or else suffer the consequences.

Know your place. Don't step over the line if you know what's good for you.

It seemed that Lisa however was determined to test Jennie, just like a dog testing its owner's
patience.

"This is different...being with her...is different," Lisa insisted. "She's-she's sweet and kind and,
and honest. She trusts me and opens up to what happened to her, she doesn't hold back on mincing
words. She had quite a rough past."

"I'll bet it was. She's just like every self-entitled rich-"

"You wanna tell Jisoo that?" Lisa scoffed, "And besides, she's not self-entitled, not at all, you don't
even know half of it Jen. Her ex, Ella's father....well I won't disrespect her and break her trust like
that, she confided in me so it's gonna stay that way. But anyway, we talk a lot and I like her.
She's... so amazing, putting up with everything to raise her kid." Lisa broke off, sounding wistful. "I
feel like despite all that she can still... she can relate to me, in a way. I don't know how to explain it
but I feel it."

"You feel it?" Jennie said sceptically. "And what exactly is it that you feel, Lisa?"

Jennie's disbelief did nothing to dampen Lisa's determination. "I know Rosie isn't like all the other
girls I flirt with. I want...I want to be honest and right with her. I want to be genuine around her, no
pretending. She's so...so amazing Jen, I could never be as strong as she is. I feel like I could tell her
anything, she makes me feel understood and less alone."
"Without even knowing what you are?" Jennie sneered. "Lisa, she's just a rich privileged girl whom
you know nothing about. So she told you about her ex, big deal. That's nothing. And she
knows nothing about you."

Pure venom rolled off Jennie's tongue as she spat out the last word, years of stifled resentment
rising up, nearly choking her with fury. "Do you even hear yourself right now? Snap out of it. This
isn't some movie. This is real life. You want all our careful work to go down the drain? What do I
always tell you? What did Hwangssabu always tell you?"

Silence.

"I warned you," Jennie picked up again. "I warned you about growing close to that girl.
I trusted you would be sensible enough to keep yourself in check. I asked you to be careful the day
she visited the Vault. I thought we were of the same mind about this. What happened Lisa? What
changed? So she said a few sweet words and you fell for that hot air, is that it? Pathetic."

Just as she expected, silence reigned after her tirade-she needed Lisa to understand what a bad idea
it was to indulge in her fairy tale fantasies. She had a bottomless list of reasons why the notion of
Lisa getting together with Rosé was not a good idea at all.

"Even so," Lisa said quietly, surprising Jennie with her persistence, "Rosie has been nothing but
sweet and understanding to me after we got to know each other better, unnie. And today I...I..."

"You...?" Jennie whispered, dread squirming in her gut. "What happened? What did you do?"

Why was she being so outspoken tonight? Jennie wondered, faintly uneasy. Why couldn't her sister
just shut up and sleep?

"Well...let's just say that today...I kinda realised some stuff. I think I feel something for her," Lisa
said slowly. "Serious feelings. I...I want to be closer to her. I want to help her and Ella from the
little we got. So...that's what I wanted to tell you," she finished, voice strained. "And...and I wanna
know how mad you are right now."

"You want me to answer that honestly?"

"Yes."

"Then you know what I think about it," was Jennie's curt response. Her nightmare-one of her
primary fears aside from being kicked out in the streets-was manifesting, and she was helpless to
stop the oncoming tsunami rushing towards her to swallow her whole.

She had done this. She had stood by, watching from the sidelines as Lisa carved their death
sentence into stone and she had done nothing concrete to stop her.

How could she have let this happen? She expected the ghost of Hwangssabu to appear and scold
her.

"How do you know the feelings are genuine? How do you know it's not some infatuation? How
can you know it's the real deal?" she said, desperately trying to sow doubt. "Lisa, how can you
speak so certainly of feelings when all this time we've been trying so hard to curb them? Besides,
Roseanne and you are worlds apart, it wouldn't even work out to begin with."

"I know. We think differently about some things. But I know that what I'm feeling for her is real,"
Lisa said, sounding very sure of herself. "And it's been long coming, even if I have only known her
for a short time. I just kept pushing those feelings away because she's a straight single Mom-"
"Actually she's bi, but continue," Jennie said, closing her eyes. Might as well lay all the cards on
the table while they were at it, even if it would only serve to encourage her sister.

"What!"

"Yeah. Chu told me. They hooked up a few times before."

"Hang on a second! So...so this means I have a chance?" Lisa exclaimed right next to Jennie's ear.
"Why didn't Mimi ever say anything? I'm gonna skin that brat alive-"

Jennie winced in the darkness, pushing Lisa away none too gently. "Not so loud, please..."

Lisa settled back on her mattress, the grin in her voice evident. "Holy bagels...Jisoo sure got taste.
First Rosie, and now, she's gunning for you."

"There's nothing between us-"

"Mhm."

"I swear," Jennie said wearily. There was no real fight in her voice; she felt too drained to argue
with both her sister and the snickering voice in her head who feasted on the ever-growing doubt
about her friendship with the eccentric raven-haired girl.

"You sound like a stuck record."

"I'm tired Lisa. I'm tired and I just want to sleep because we have a long day tomorrow and we
have to prepare for the Purge." Sleep was a heavy weight on Jennie's eyelids and she simply closed
her eyes, resting them even as her mind whirred and whizzed tirelessly.

Ironic, her being unable to keep her eyes open yet her mind buzzed with worry.

She tried to accommodate the idea of her little sister Lisa, the goofy loud annoying Lisa, being in
love.

Which meant Lisa having feelings.

Which meant Lisa being open and vulnerable.

She hadn't thought the status quo would ever change. She had thought things would remain the
same, that Roseanne would be just another crush that Lisa lost interest in after a few days, that Lisa
would listen.

But she was so terribly, horribly wrong.

"Well...what do you think about....Rosie and me then?" Lisa asked, determined to have an answer.
The floorboards creaked beneath her weight as she shifted to hover over Jennie's face from over her
mattress. "Unnie?" she asked again, hope seeping through her voice like water flowing from a
sieve.

Jennie considered the question again, always running up against the same negative affirmation: No.
She cannot approve. She must not approve.

The cardinal rule Hwangssabu had set and warned them about...was Lisa really ready to go beyond
it?

She was very glad for the darkness-she wasn't sure she would be able to handle her sister's pleading
expression when she was trying hard to work on damage control.

"I don't know Lisa. I'm not happy for sure, you know that."

"I know..."

"Don't you remember what Hwangssabu said? You're going to throw all that away because of the
remote possibility you'd get it on with your pilates instructor?"

When Lisa didn't speak, Jennie took the opportunity to let her memory run back to that fateful day
when Hwangssabu sat them down in this very attic after they had shut down the Vault for the day.

It was a memory Jennie knew would be stamped forever in her mind's eye- she could even
remember Lisa strutting around and checking herself out in Hwangssabu's jacket (she always liked
putting it on when he wasn't wearing it) before she hastily put it away when the burly trainer came
up the ladder and pulled the trapdoor shut behind him.

"Now listen closely, the both of you," Hwangssabu told them as he turned around. His eyes weren't
twinkling behind his spectacles, the light being replaced with something akin to a dull sad gleam.
Both girls turned to look at each other before focusing on the man in front of them, knowing that
whatever he was about to say was Deadly Serious.

"I have been meaning to talk to you when you grew up a little more and I think today is the day.
You seem to like Ms Lee a lot, huh, Lisa?"

"Sunmi kissed her!" Jennie revealed gleefully.

"I saw-"

"On the cheek!" Lisa shot back, her cheeks aflame. "Mind your business!"

"Sunmi and Lisa sitting in a tree," Jennie sang, "No wait I have a better one! Sunmi has Lisa on
her knees, L-I-C-K-I-N-G-OWW!"

"Girls, please."

Hwangssabu's grave voice made them pause mid-scuffle and turn their anxious gazes upon him.

"Are...are you mad?" Lisa said sheepishly.

Hwangssabu chuckled softly. "I wouldn't say that. So, you like girls? What about boys?"

"Girls yeah. Boys I don't think so," Lisa scratched her head. "Boys are icky and sweaty and
smelly."

"Noted," Hwangssabu said in amusement. "Well, there's no way she'll ever be pregnant if she's
into girls," he added to himself.

"So girls aren't icky and smelly to you when they're sweaty?" Jennie asked with interest.

"Sunmi isn't. She looks all glowy and pretty after a workout, and when she smiles at me-like this-I
get this funny feeling in my chest. Like everything is going to burst into confetti and unicorns are
gonna fly around me."

"Sounds awfully like a crush to me," Hwangssabu grinned as Jennie's face scrunched up.
"Ewww but Sunmi is so old! You're crushing on a grandma, yuck!"

"She can still kick ass though!" Lisa retorted. "I wanna be just like her when I grow up a little
more, I wanna fight at the Slammer! I bet she'll even let me get in now, if I ask nicely. She fights
there, you know."

"Why don't you ask her without melting once she looks at you, then!" Jennie challenged.

"Maybe I will!"

"I bet you'll chicken out!"

"Oh yeah? Bet!"

"Girls," Hwangssabu called over the bickering sisters, "I want to talk to you about the future."

"Is he gonna give us the Talk?" Jennie whispered loudly. "Because I already know how the birds
and bees work."

"No it's a much more serious talk, Jennie," Hwangssabu said, his mouth curling at the corners in
amusement since he could hear her clearly.

He took a deep breath. " We can't trust anyone out there to protect us if anything happens, if the
bad guys come looking in these parts. It's us three against the world. We have to look out for
ourselves and each other but mostly, we have to look out for you, kiddo. We gotta train hard to
make sure you and other people around you don't get hurt."

"How?"

Hwangssabu turned his grave expression on the quaking girl. "You must learn to control your
emotions until you're strong enough. The crush you have on Sunmi is alright, it will pass-"

"No it won't! I love her from the bottom of my heart and one day I'm gonna marry her in Las
Vegas, just you wait!" Lisa said shrilly.

Jennie snickered. "She has a girlfriend, you goof."

Lisa's bottom lip jutted out. "I'll win her over then! I'll steal her if I have to!"

"With what, your greasy pick-up lines? They're stupid!"

"No they're not, Sunmi laughs a lot! She likes them and she likes me."

"That's because she's trying to be nice!"

"Well in any case if it's love, then we must stamp it out," Hwangssabu told Lisa, "though I'm not
too concerned about your crush-"

"Not a crush, I swear!"

"Alright," Hwangssabu chuckled although it was clear he didn't believe her. "In any case, here's
what I want to tell you. Kid, crushes will come and go. But you must be careful of bigger, stronger
emotions. You must stop yourself from feeling those kinds of emotions. That's the most important
rule, starting today."

"What's that word? You keep saying it: emotions?"

"Feelings," Jennie explained. "You know like happiness, love, anger."

"Oh...why?"

"Because they make you vulnerable. Sensitive." Hwangssabu told the wide-eyed girl, "and when
you're vulnerable and sensitive...let's just say you have the potential to be hurt. And when you're
hurt, I think you're liable to hurt many many people."

"But...what about Jennie?" Lisa asked, confused. "Can't she hurt people too? And you?"

Hwangssabu sighed and pinched his nose beneath his spectacles. "It's just...you're a bit special,
right? We went over this. You have to be more careful because of your condition."

"Because you're a freak," Jennie blurted.

She squealed when the burly trainer jumped to his feet, making her cower away from his furious
glare. "What hey it's a joke, it's a joke! A joke, I swear."

"Well it's in very poor taste," Hwangssabu told her quietly. "Apologise to your sister, Jennie.
Now."

Jennie turned to Lisa. "I'm sorry," she muttered. But Lisa didn't seem to hear-she looked dazed, her
bottom lip trembling.

Hwangssabu crouched in front of the blonde teen, studying her reaction. "Kiddo? Are we clear on
this? I know this is a shock to you but it's very, very important. Jennie and I will help you all we
can. Soon, you'll start noticing girls and wanting to be with them. We have to draw boundaries and
lines as to how much you can do when that happens. An odd kiss here and there shouldn't do much
harm, provided it's a no strings attached affair...but relationships are strictly off-limits, at least
until you're stronger."

"So...I can't...feel?"

He nodded. "You must rein them in. The moment you start catching feelings for someone...well,
that isn't very good news for anybody."

"But...but I don't want to hurt anyone," Lisa said miserably. "I don't wanna hurt anybody..."

"I know you don't," Hwangssabu reassured her. "You're the sweetest kid. We'll make sure it stays
that way, okay? But if you ever feel too much, the trigger could happen and then...things change.
So we have to be careful."

Lisa's eyes gleamed bright as they pooled with tears. Jennie was at a loss, her eyes flickering
uncertainly between Hwangssabu and her frightened little sister curled up tightly in a ball on the
floor with her legs drawn to her chest.

She felt the urge to hug the girl yet at the same time held back, a faint instinct warning her against
the impulse. Realisation dawned on her-m aybe this was why Hwangssabu limited Lisa's hugging
moments to those when snuggling together with her sister in the same sleeping bag.

He had been conditioning their behaviour, subtly blocking intimate gestures like cheek kisses nd
tight hugs she saw other people giving out in preparation for this moment-he had been purposely
stopping them from getting too affectionate with their interactions.

Jennie had always wondered why he frowned at her whenever they hugged and now she had the
answer-he was trying to prevent Lisa from growing too attached to either of them.

Keeping her at arm's length, like a dog. Not too close, not too spoilt, just giving the minimum dose
of affection required to ensure Lisa wouldn't grow up more stunted than she already was,
considering her background.

"I'm sorry kiddo," Hwangssabu told Lisa. He sounded pained, sad even. "But...it's for your own
safety, and other people's safety as well...."

"Unnie? You still awake?"

Jennie opened her eyes back in the present and bit back a curse-she had almost dropped off to
sleep.

"I thought we talked about this? About the danger you could potentially be putting us all in when
you leave yourself exposed and vulnerable? Remember?" Jennie said.

"We...we have..." Lisa's voice was uncharacteristically timid, "but...I thought...we could move past
that. I mean....don't I get to love someone, like anyone else?

"That's the thing," Jennie said frustratedly, "you're not exactly like anyone else, dammit! Get that
into that thick head of yours."

"But Jen, it's been years since I...well since I-"

"Four years actually," Jennie snapped, knowing quite well what her sister was referring to.

Lisa fell back startled when her sister sat up, unable to keep the fury out of her voice.

"It's been just four years since Hwangssabu's death," Jennie reminded, "forgotten so quickly, have
we?"

"No! Of course not! How could I?" Lisa cried but Jennie ploughed on.

"And now you think you're ready? You think you're strong enough to try love, of all things?
Fooling around is one thing but love, the real thing, that's disastrous! It could end you, me,
everything!"

"You don't know that...I haven't even had any real trigger anyway since then-"

"Liar," Jennie hissed.

There was no stopping her now-this issue had her worked up and agitated far more than money and
debt. Ever since taking charge of Lisa after Hwangssabu's demise, it had been a niggling thought at
the back of her head but she quashed it, reasoning that crushes were harmless and helped Lisa be
distracted from the bigger issue at hand.

But now, having seen Roseanne's effect on Lisa at the PFB match, Jennie knew the impending
doom could be upon them sooner rather than later unless she did something to open Lisa's eyes.

"Liar," Jennie said again, more calmly, "have you started forgetting like old people do? What
about your match with Undertaker? Didn't we say that your little Rosie posie was a possible
trigger? It makes so much sense now-you have feelings for her. How would you have won
otherwise unless you went full berserk mode?"

Lisa's sharp intake of breath signalled Jennie had hit the bull's eye. "See? Your feelings for her
were already there, they were already strong enough. You probably imprinted on her too, for you to
get triggered by her mere presence alone...it would explain why you reacted the way you did after
only such a short time of knowing her."

She flopped back on the mattress with a groan. "Amazing, really. Of all things to happen just when
things seemed to be improving...but I blame myself. I brought this down on the both of us. I
shouldn't have listened to Irene and insisted with you to go to pilates."

"Okay yeah, I did think something like that happened at the match. But you were a bit mad at the
time too, so that's why I didn't press on the matter," Lisa admitted at last, "but did you see? I
controlled the situation perfectly fine. I was good and I won. You were there, you saw. Nothing
else happened and there has been no trigger ever since, even if Rosie and I have grown closer, I
swear. Please Jen," Lisa begged, "I'm not saying Rosie and I are going to start dating. I just....want
you to evaluate my progress in keeping myself in check. I've been real good. I don't want to stay
scared of feeling too much anymore so maybe...it's time I get to...get to be free to, you know, love
freely?"

It was true that nothing catastrophic had happened at the PFB match when Lisa had her surprise
comeback. On top of that, nobody had come chasing after them. Nobody had come to stalk her at
the diner in the dead of night -except for Jisoo-and Jennie was thankful for the girl because despite
no sign of trouble, she still couldn't shake off a nasty foreboding sensation at the very back of her
head, like an ominous storm brewing. She was unable to brush away the cold shivers that crept up
her spine whenever she was walking in the street out in the open.

Hwangssabu had warned Jennie about the past catching up to Lisa one day.

"You're her sister. She only has you in the whole wide world. People won't hesitate to take her
away if they find out about her. If I'm not here, you must protect her anyway you can. She's family."

Family.

The word left an acrid taste in her mouth. Her own biological family was wiped out in a blink and
she could barely remember their faces now. Then Hwangssabu stepped in, but he hadn't lasted long
either.

Twice orphaned, as she had told Irene.

And now only Lisa remained of her found family.

She remembered telling Irene she didn't regret who she was right now and how her life turned out.
She had told Irene she was okay about being taken in by Hwangssabu, about meeting Lisa, about
ending up being the breadwinner sweating blood and tears on the daily just to get them by.

She had lied: she resented-loathed even-living so wretchedly.

The ugly envy would rear its head in her chest when she overheard Somi chattering about her latest
clothes brand or latest Airpod set she bought because she lost the previous pair, or overhearing
Chaeyoung talking about the fancy restaurant she treated her date Mina to, or when Irene casually
asked for her opinion on the colour of paint she wanted to use to redecorate her house, or even now
when Jisoo showed her around the cavernous apartment and yoga studio.

And Jennie hated the jealous part of herself. Bitterness at other people's decidedly better lives often
had Jennie cursing her luck, wondering why she couldn't get to have nice things like other people.

Why her?
Responsibilities were always piling up. Nobody was around to appreciate her thankless work.
Nobody was around to see the sacrifices and incredible effort she put in to survive the daily grind.
Nobody spared a thought for the pride and dignity she grimly gave up in order to accept help from
Matt and Irene, even though time and again she tried weaning herself off their generosity.

The damning questions that buzzed in her head like bees came thick and furious: why did it have to
be her to take care of Lisa, of all people? Why did her parents have to die? Why did Hwangssabu
have to pick up Lisa that night? Why couldn't he have just kept walking instead of investigating the
sounds coming from the dark alley?

In the death of night, when her spirits dropped to their lowest point, Jennie would sometimes turn
her tired eyes on the sleeping girl next to her and silently wish for the unspeakable.

But immediately after she always remembered Hwangssabu's photo sitting right across from them
on the floor and a stab of guilt and shame would pierce her heart, banishing the dark thoughts from
the corners of her mind.

"Hwangssabu didn't say it has to be forever, you know," Lisa spoke up again when Jennie still
hadn't responded, "he said until I grow strong enough. How much stronger can I get? I proved to
you I can handle it."

Jennie sighed. "Well....you've certainly been doing good," she admitted grudgingly, ignoring Lisa
perking up next to her like an eager puppy. "I just want to be careful. Hwangssabu told us to be
careful, remember? And if...well if you're right about Undertaker, then we have to be doubly
careful in case those rotten lot show up for real. They might be hiding, biding their time and
waiting for you to slip up. You gotta be extra careful who you hang out with and who you're
vulnerable with, you hear me?"

"I know unnie. Just...trust me? I just know Rosie wouldn't hurt me," Lisa reassured. "I have a good
feeling about her."

Jennie didn't say anything. Instead, her hand crossed the space between them and clutched on to
Lisa's icy fingers. Lisa understood her immediately. Wordlessly, she shuffled closer until she was
on top of Jennie, resting her ear against her sister's chest to hear the troubled beating of her heart. It
had been up to Lisa to learn to read her sister and react accordingly, because Jennie rarely asked for
affection, courtesy of Hwangssabu's upbringing. Lisa closed her eyes as Jennie's heartbeat
quietened, both of them settling and loosing some of the tension in their bodies.

"I'm scared Lisa," Jennie admitted. Her fingers stroked the crown of Lisa's head.

Lisa sighed. "Yeah...having all these new feelings scares me a bit too... you remember how I used
to crush on Sunmi?"

Jennie cracked a smile. "Yeah. And that epic marriage proposal would be a bit hard to forget."

"Yeah," Lisa chuckled, "but what I mean is....now it's different to what I felt before. Now when I'm
around Rosie I feel...warm?"

"Of course you do," Jennie muttered.

"Not the horny kind! There's this warmth in my chest that I don't think I have felt many times
before, and it only grows bigger and bigger every time I think of her. And she makes me feel safe
too."

"So you do't feel safe with me then?"

"No it's just...it's different. I don't know how to explain," Lisa said, frustrated, "but I can't help it.
When I see her, it's like everything will be okay. I wonder why it didn't happen before..."

"What you had for Sunmi was largely lust, probably," Jennie said. "Hormones and all that jazz. But
this time...I guess there's a deeper connection."

"Hwangssabu would be mad wouldn't he?" Lisa said in a small voice. "But it's just...I really really
really like her Jennie. I just...I want to protect her from everything cruel in this world. Her and Ella.
I want to make Rosie laugh all the time and never be sad. Sometimes she gets this little frown
about something, I see her when she thinks I'm not looking. Or when she sees Ella, she always
looks a bit sad. I want to hug her so much Jen, maybe then she would smile a bit more at least, but
I'm scared she wouldn't like it and I was scared you would be mad too so that's why I had to tell
you about all this first before I did something I could not undo..."

For all her bitterness and resentment bubbling just beneath the surface, Jennie couldn't help but
soften hearing her little sister speak so tenderly about another person, something she had never
heard her do when it came to the bar groupies that used to hang around them. Come to think of it,
she had never heard Lisa speak this way about anyone before. The closest would be Somi, but Lisa
always saw her as their little sister.

Lisa deserved to love and be loved, her prickling conscience said. She's not at fault for being the
way she is, and she has maintained her control for a long time. She's been well-behaved.

One mistake, the voice of reason argued back. Jennie knew exactly what it was going to say
because it was a mantra she always repeated: One careless mistake and everything would crash
and burn.

She hummed, caressing Lisa's hair as she thought about her answer. "You don't think you could do
that as just a friend, at least? What if she doesn't return your feelings?"

"I don't think my feelings will go away so easily. And leaving Rosie aside... can't I get to feel more
now? Can't I get to...love someone for real?"

"Careful you don't bite off more than you can chew," was Jennie's ominous reply.

Lisa was quiet for a few more moments before she spoke again. "Do you think...do you think D-
Hwangssabu would want me to wait a little longer? But how much longer?"

Her sister sighed. "Hwangssabu thought it would be easy to tell you to just shut out feelings. But
it's not as straightforward or simple as that. It never is-he just tried to make it easy for you, make it
easy for us to deal with. But nobody can control when love happens. Nobody can control what
happens afterwards either," Jennie said sagely, "which is why it's so troubling to think about love
when paired with you in particular. It's like you have an unstoppable volatile force paired with...an
unstoppable volatile force."

"Volatile?"

"Unpredictable. Dangerous."

Lisa lifted her head. "Are you afraid of me, Jennie?"

Her sister didn't reply, but Lisa still got her answer in the way Jennie's fingers that were stroking
her head stopped abruptly and didn't move again.

>
"Okay listen up losers!" Somi announced as she entered the Vault with bagels in hand, "not you
Jisoo unnie, you're a darling. And not you Dad, you already know." Her father gave her the thumbs
up, eyes twinkling like always as he concentrated on his jumping jacks. His shaved head glistened
with sweat, evidence of his hard workout. Lisa eagerly snatched the box from Somi's hands and
stuffed her mouth with a bagel, grunting in delight.

"Can't I be part of the losers club too? People at school used to call me the Alien Loser so I reserve
the right by default," Jisoo said brightly, making the other girls scattered around the Vault pause,
blinking uncertainly at her.

Jennie gazed at Jisoo as well, unconsciously balling her fist.

How could she say that so lightly, as if it were a mere joke? Was bullying so commonplace to Jisoo
that it merely became just another of Life's annoyances to deal with on the daily?

Her heart clenched thinking of young Jisoo trying hard to make friends only for her blunt advances
to backfire.

Jisoo had been popping up in her thoughts more often recently. She had been paying more attention
to Jisoo as well, observing the girl from a distance whenever Jisoo came by the Vault or when
Jisoo gave her and Lisa rides, or when Jisoo took her to do yoga at her studio. Jennie was
supremely thankful they didn't bump into Jisoo's ex again. She wasn't sure she could guarantee
Soojoo's face would remain intact if she dared taunt Jisoo again in her presence.

For all her aloofness and one-track mind set on training Lisa to be ready in time for the Purge,
Jennie had now found herself a new occupation beside paying bills and deciding what needed to be
bought with their meagre funds (shampoo or period pads? toothpaste or razors?): unravelling the
enigma that was Kim Jisoo.

It had been around a month since their fateful meeting, give or take, and still, there was so much
Jennie found herself wanting to know about that eccentric girl now that Jisoo had established
herself in their lives.

She couldn't help but grow intrigued by this outsider who had somehow stuck by them for this long
for apparently no other reason except her insistence to take care of Lisa and Jennie. She was also
the only person to know that trouble could be afoot for Jennie and her sister, although Jennie didn't
want to think about the said root of the trouble. After last night's talk with Lisa, the sisters hadn't
brought up the elephant in the room again. Jennie deemed their discussion over: it was now all in
Lisa's hands.

And by God Jennie hoped she was making the right decision to loosen her grip on Lisa's leash, or
else it could be the ruin of them all. And there would be no one to blame but herself.

She watched now as Lisa slung an arm around Jisoo's shoulder, cackling loudly at what the latter
said.

"Well, sure you can be part of the club! We're the best kind of losers so them other hoes ain't got
nothing on us. Mmm whatcha say?" she winked, laughing when Jisoo tackled her to the ground.

"MMMM WHATCHA SAAYYY-" sang Somi, eyes glittering.

"Oh boohoohoohoooo," said Lisa sarcastically, sitting up, "a bucket of chicken to you! You still
have your debt to pay. Chaeyoung, a quick reminder if you please?" She snapped her fingers and
the short boxer stood to attention.
"The tally as of this month stands with Lisa, 4 vine references and Somi, 2 vine references," she
intoned. "Additionally, Somi also has an outstanding debt of two chicken buckets from the
previous month."

"Ya heard that, brat? Not one, not two. Four. You owe me four chicken buckets, plus an extra
two," Lisa said smugly, "now that's how things are played in the big leagues."

"Whatever," Somi rolled her eyes, "I'm here to ask you losers to come to my party. I think I'm
gonna have it when exams finish. A Holy-Frick-We-Made-It-Out-Alive end-of-term bash. It will
be cool, so save the date!"

"What if I have a match? I think the Purge will either end or still be ongoing by the time you guys
break up for summer."

"Not my problem, " Somi sassed with a flip of her ponytail. "Swap around dates. I wanna see your
ass there or we're gonna have a problem."

"Aha! I knew it!" Lisa shouted triumphantly. "You finally admitted it, you just have to have a piece
of this smoking hot bod of mine!"

"That's not even remotely what I meant-"

"And I get it, okay, maybe my poor butt ain't on Rosie's level of sexy bootiness, but it's still
spankin' is what I'm saying! Or good for spanking, whichever you prefer, I'm not judging."

"I'm...just gonna pretend I didn't hear that," Chaeyoung winced, with Dahyun nodding vehemently
in agreement. Jennie was just glad Matt always had his music blasting in his ears (after caving in to
Somi and investing in AirPods) so he never fully realised how his precious daughter was
potentially being corrupted.

Somi wheeled around and spotted Irene working out by herself. "Hey! You too Irene, you're invited
to my party!"

Irene was so startled she stumbled in her routine and fell flat on her face, making Jennie wince.

"I...I...a party?" Irene said uncertainly as she sat up, red in the face. Her hands flew to twirl strands
of hair as she spokes in jerks and starts. "Oh Somi that's lovely...and I appreciate it...so much! No,
really! But I'm sure you'd have plenty more fun with young people your age-"

"Nah unnie, the only young people are gonna be us girls: me, Dubu and Chaeyoung basically, if
they wanna come that is. Then it's you guys and the rest of the gals at the diner," Somi explained,
"my Dad's place. That's where we gonna have it. Oh and you can bring like one or two guests too!
It will be a fun, absolutely exclusive girls' night out."

"Hmm, so a certain Daehwi oppar won't be around then, huh?" Lisa said wickedly.

"I said," Somi gritted, "a fun absolutely exclusive girls' night out."

Lisa, Dahyun and Chaeyoung shared knowing smirks before turning to Irene again.

"Oh," the older woman said when she saw everyone waiting expectantly for her answer, "oh. I see.
Well...it's just...just..."

"Hey, if you don't want to come, it's okay, no pressure, I won't take offence," Somi reassured, "but
seeing as it's our group from here, and it's nothing too wild like the clubs you hate, I thought you'd
like to join. It's just gonna be a low-key thing. We'll have karaoke and happy hour-"

"Karaoke?! I call dibs!" Jisoo yelled.

"Well I call double dibs!" Lisa retorted.

"Make that triple dibs!"

"Oh yeah? How about...infinity dibs!" Lisa said smugly.

"Multiplied by black holes!" Jisoo shot back. She smirked victoriously, mimicking a mic drop in
front of Lisa's slack-jawed face as Somi, Dahyun and Chaeyoung howled and hollered in
amusement.

"Bunch of hyenas," Jennie shook her head, quietly sidling to Irene's side as the rest of the girls
whooped and thumped Jisoo on the back. "Hey, you know, this party kinda sounds like fun,
especially if the girls from the diner are there. Joy and Yeri are always saying they miss seeing
you, ever since they switched up shifts."

"I guess..."

"And I'll be there too," Jennie coaxed. "Don't worry, I'm only going just for the drinks. And it'd be
a laugh, seeing those idiots trying to sing while punch-drunk."

Irene still didn't look convinced as she bit her lip uncertainly. Jennie prodded further.

"You think it's not your scene, right?"

Irene gave an almost imperceptible nod of her head. "I'm not the type to party..."

"Have you ever been to a party?"

A small shake of the head. Irene avoided Jennie's gaze.

"Well it's a good chance to venture out, catch up with people somewhere chill," Jennie encouraged.
"We've been having fun going there these days after Lisa's matches. This party shouldn't be too
different. And you know, you could dress up a bit for the occasion, have some drinks, laugh at
silly clowns like Lisa...and hey, why not invite Junmyeon? I'm sure Somi could make at least an
exception-"

"Stop mentioning him all the time!" Irene snapped out of nowhere and then covered her mouth,
mortified. "I'm...I'm sorry...but just...I don't click with him and we've agreed we're gonna stay
friends. He respects my decision so...could you do that too?"

Stunned into silence, Jennie could only nod. "I uh I had no idea," she backtracked, brow furrowed.
"But...when did this happen? I thought...you were going to give him a chance and...and..."

"You've been a little too occupied to catch up, recently," Irene said lightly, but despite the airy tone
Jennie could have sworn she sensed melancholy in Irene's voice. "It's alright, really. You have your
life to live, you don't have to be so invested in mine."

"That doesn't mean I don't get to know what's up," Jennie argued. "I'm sorry if I annoyed you. I
won't mention him again."

"Water under the bridge," Irene smiled, "you face up to my opinions about your lifestyle plenty of
times and you take it well. So, this party...is a big deal huh? She didn't throw one last year."
"I guess she's feeling the college crunch and wants to take any opportunity to party," Jennie
chuckled. "Do you think you'll come then?"

"Why do you want me to go so much?" Irene wondered. "It's not like you'll be utterly alone if Jisoo
decides to stick with Lisa the entire evening. The other girls will be there."

Jennie shrugged. "I just...want to see you have some fun, hang out with people in a chill place.
You're not too old for that kind of fun right?"

Irene's mouth twitched at the corners. "That's sweet of you but are you sure you're not using me to
hide from being embarrassed by Jisoo?"

"Unnie! My intentions are nothing but pure!" Jennie pouted as Irene chuckled, "you're always
grouching about being old but you're not that old."

"Thank you?" Irene said in amusement.

"So...hang out with us." Jennie gazed at her pleadingly. "Please? You'll have fun, we all will."

Irene's grin broadened. "What if Jisoo says she's not going after all?"

Jennie flushed scarlet. "Stop changing the subject, there's nothing going on between me and her! I
don't have to be everywhere she is."

"Jennie, sweetie. I never implied anything," Irene pointed out, grinning when Jennie's mouth
pressed into a thin line. The older woman took a deep breath. "Alright, I guess. I'm in."

Satisfied, Jennie hit her shoulder lightly. "There we go. Somi, Irene's in," she called then turned to
Irene with a bright smile. "It's a date!"

"Don't let Jisoo hear that," Irene chuckled. She shook her head at Jennie's bemused face. "Oh
Jennie, you silly silly girl. I have no idea what is going on between you two, but anyone can see
that girl is crushing hard on you, and that crush is only growing day by day. What are you doing to
her?"

"What? Me? I'm not doing anything!" Jennie protested, her ears burning. "Who's the one pestering
me about other people now?"

"She gives you rides practically every day in the small hours of the morning for heaven's sake!
And she tries spending every waking moment with you. Honestly, does that girl even work at all?
Where does she get her money? She must be loaded." Irene looked at her, concern etched in her
knitted brows. "Jen, I don't know where you want to take this, but if it's a game to you, remember
there could be feelings involved from Jisoo's side. Don't lead her on just because you think you're
fine. Better cut things off before it gets messy."

"We're just...friends," Jennie said lamely. She glanced over her shoulder and sure enough, as
though she sensed Jennie watching, Jisoo soon turned from her spot next to Lisa and flashed her
that beautiful smile, where her eyes crinkled into half-moon crescents. Jennie couldn't help but give
her a tiny smile back in return which had Jisoo thrilled, judging by the way her eyes popped open
and her mouth stretched wider.

"What friend wakes up at three in the morning to ferry you back home from work on the daily?"
Irene wondered when Jennie managed to wrench her gaze away.

"It's not always at three and hey, girl code! Girls watch out for girls!" Jennie said defensively. "I
mean, you came for us once...remember?" Although she didn't like remembering the night they lost
Hwangssabu even though the sting had faded over time, Jennie didn't back down from pressing her
point.

"Once," Irene emphasised before she stood up. "And sure, I would do it again, but I don't think I
could do it multiple times a week and I certainly wouldn't be so upbeat about losing my sleep and
messing up my schedule the way Jisoo is. But anyway, whatever you say. I better finish up my
routine."

Once Irene returned to her aerobics Jennie slowly walked back to Lisa and the rest of the girls who
were giggling and squealing about something (Jennie heard titters of oh kiss me, daehwi
oppa! followed by a sharp smack and a yowl that sounded distinctly like Lisa). Jennie made short
work of dispersing the girls and shooing them away to continue their respective workouts while
she took up her post on a bench to keep an eye on them.

Her thoughts were, as usual, a million miles away.

"Hey Jendeuk, you okay?" Jisoo dropped next to her on the bench. "Mind if I sit here?"

She mimed wiping off sweat from her forehead and leaning back in her seat. "Whew, I can't keep
with your beast of a sister, she's too much," she added, fanning herself.

Of course it would be Jisoo to notice her brooding mood-much like a faithful dog, Jisoo seemed to
have attuned herself to Jennie's shift in moods, paying even closer attention than Lisa.

Always under some excuse or other, she would find ways to be close to Jennie when she sensed
Jennie's dip in mood and even attempted at eliciting smiles or giggles from her. One time when
Jennie was particularly irritable because she had run out of energy drinks and refused to buy more
because she was saving the money to pay for Lisa's sessions, Jisoo had slipped out and wordlessly
sauntered back in with a pack of energy drinks, setting them down at Jennie's feet with only a
satisfied smile. After the initial shock, Jennie protested but Jisoo wouldn't hear about payment of
any kind.

"I'm fine," Jennie responded curtly. Yet she couldn't help the warmth that filled her chest at Jisoo's
efforts to keep her company and distract her, especially when she launched into another story about
the baby (her dog Dalgom or as she liked to call him, ahjussi) and his antics.

Jisoo had dragged the dog out of her room once to play with him when Jennie had been over for
yoga because his owner fancied he looked a tad depressed.

"Dogs are sociable and thrive on people's presence. They need to be in someone's company, just
like humans do, so we're gonna play with him today and cheer him up instead of yoga," Jisoo
explained, lovingly squishing Dalgom's face against her cheek while Jennie could only send a
sympathetic glance in the dog's direction as he struggled and wriggled in Jisoo's arms.

Jennie had been going over frequently these days, her visits having increased directly
proportionally to Lisa visiting Rosé in the belief it will help her keep up the winning streak.

"So you wanna keep going instead of doing the exercises here at the Vault like Roseanne said, and
spending more of our money-"

"I feel like I'll maintain my form better with her close guidance," Lisa had said airily, a total shift in
attitude from the previous talks they had had about the subject. "And besides, Rosie has discounted
the sessions AND I won us good money to last us until the Purge right? You can pay Irene back for
the sessions easy peasy."

There was little room to argue. And when she thought about it, having Lisa go to the actual studio
instead of doing the suggested exercises at the Vault sounded like a win-win situation- Lisa was
taking a break from boxing and having a change of environment as per the pilates instructor's
advice, while Jennie got to have some down time of her own.

Around this time of the year, Jennie and Lisa usually ended up alone at the Vault since exams
season was fast approaching and the college girls' attendance dwindled. Dahyun, Somi and
Chaeyoung collectively opted to skip out on afternoon sessions entirely in favour of cramming.

Bored and unable to sleep more than the usual two hours-her body's rigid timer and her
consumption of energy drinks didn't allow for longer slumber periods- Jennie ended up caving in
to Jisoo's request for more yoga sessions (still discounted and not entirely free, on Jennie's grim
insistence.)

"It's to help me relax," Jennie felt the necessity to emphasise when Jisoo picked her up on her way
home from work. Jisoo's eyes always crinkled into crescents when she happily greeted Jennie as
the brunette hopped in. And the yoga sessions seemed to be actually paying off : she always felt a
tiny bit more relaxed by the end of the session.

But that sense of serenity could be Jisoo's effect. Her non-stop chattering used to be a source of
irritation to Jennie considering the plethora of weird observations that came thick and fast and
unyielding throughout the duration of the car-ride.

Yet it didn't irritate Jennie, not anymore, once she got used to being around the older girl.

She simply sat back in the seat, listening and humming or shaking her head intermittently as an
answer to Jisoo's chatter, sometimes zoning out. One time she had actually dozed off and then was
roused when the SUV came to a halt a few moments later, the machine idling. She kept her eyes
shut, knowing that there was still some distance left to cover to reach their destination; perhaps
Jisoo had parked to buy them some food-she sometimes did that, which Jennie appreciated but also
had her feeling guilty for free-loading for the umpteenth time.

Instead of hearing the click of the car-door opening, the brunette felt something light and
wonderfully soft being draped over her. Unable to help herself, she blinked her eyes open.

"Whaa-" she began, groggy and confused.

"Sssh, it's okay," Jisoo told her softly as she laid a blanket over the sleepy brunette, tucking it under
her chin with utmost care,"sleep, Jendeuk."

She hesitated when their gazes locked, her eyes widening as she realised how close she was
hovering over Jennie. But she didn't move away, and Jennie didn't snap at Jisoo for invading her
space.

For one long moment, nobody said anything but the air in the car grew stuffy and warm, their
combined little exhales sounding deafening to Jennie. Jennie's mouth ran dry, her limbs and body
rendered immobile as though under a spell cast by Jisoo's magnetic stare. Then her eyes dipped
down to Jisoo's heart-shaped lips, which she had to say she admired a lot, they always looked so
puckered and attractive.

Jennie wondered why her heart suddenly burst into a stuttering rhythm. She should really cut back
on energy drinks.
The spell broke after an hour or mere seconds-Jennie couldn't tell-when Jisoo gave a little nod,
straightened up in her seat, put the SUV in gear and drove off. Neither spoke another word. Jisoo
started humming softly instead which soon lulled Jennie back to sleep again.

Neither noticed the tiny identical smile etched on both their faces and the faint pink blush dusting
their cheeks.

Sometimes Jisoo would cease talking to turn up the radio's volume and sing along to songs that
blasted from the speakers. She always beamed whenever Jennie shyly joined in and mumbled some
verses, in contrast to Jisoo's powerful husky voice belting out lyrics as if she were giving an actual
performance.

Despite her throbbing eardrums, Jennie didn't mind all that much.

Strangely enough, Jisoo's presence transported her to a place where, whilst still riding in the SUV,
Jennie could feel a semblance of normality. She could pretend they were two friends jamming
together after a day at work, with Jisoo giving her a lift home since they lived in the same
apartment block. It was a nice fantasy, the closest thing to normal Jennie could get, and she hoped
the novelty wouldn't ever wear off.

"Jendeuk?"

Jennie snapped out of her daydreaming. "Yeah?"

"You're going to Somi's party right?"

"I guess so. It's a big thing for Somi so I guess we'll go along..."

Jisoo nodded, satisfied. "Good. It wouldn't be fun otherwise."

"Don't you have Lisa?" Jennie pointed out. "You guys have really hit off, I even dreamt about
unicorns the other day because of you two-"

"DID SOMEONE SAY UNICORNS?"

"NO, LISA, I MOST CERTAINLY DID NOT. YOU MUST BE HEARING THINGS."

Jisoo laughed, eyes crinkling. "See? Things are more fun with you around. Who else will be there
to roll their eyes and answer me with dry, sarcastic one-liners?" Her gaze turned softer. "Only you,
Jendeukie."

Jennie felt her neck grow warm and quickly came up with an excuse to stand up and move away,
madly fanning herself.

She had given up on making Jisoo refrain from addressing her by that nickname: actually, Jennie
had to admit it gave her a nice, fluffy tingly feeling that travelled from the top of her spine down to
the tips of her toes. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it but Jisoo had a kind of sunshine aura
that stemmed from her carefree attitude-even on the days when the weather was overcast, any
space Jisoo was present in always seemed to be bathed in perpetual sunshine that Jennie basked in
like a content cat sunning on a wall.

Silly silly girl, Irene had chided.

Jennie gave a shake of her head. No, Irene was wrong: she wasn't silly-no matter how many times
Jennie had insisted that she was straight, she knew Jisoo was still subtly hanging around in hopes
of Jennie changing her mind and returning her feelings.

And yet, Jennie had given up on pushing her away, seeing as her attempts were futile: the raven-
haired girl simply hung around in Jennie's orbit, circling her, so close yet so far, never asking for
more than her company.

Given up pushing her away....or stopped voluntarily because you enjoy her attention and you want
more? sneered the voice in her head.

Jennie thought back to the shy look on Jisoo's face when the latter plucked up the courage to
finally show Jennie her cherished plushy collection after Jennie swore up and down she wouldn't
laugh. She had to take her shoes and socks off and wear special slippers for inside too-Jisoo took
the whole matter seriously, almost like a ritual. Jennie gamely went along because it was clearly
important to her friend.

There was a whole room reserved for the soft toys, packed from floor to ceiling with characters of
every shape, size and colour. The only clear space was a tiny path from the door to the centre of
the room, where plushies piled higgledy-piggledy into a rather unsteady-looking column looked on
the verge of collapsing and creating an earthquake or a tidal wave of rainbow-coloured fur. Jennie
had entered a secret wonderland of toys, an aladdin's cave for any plushy collector. A whole room
of eyes-glassy, beaded, button or fabric- gazed back at her as she turned around and around until
she felt dizzy. Everywhere she looked there were soft, fluffy bodies waiting with open arms and
lopsided smiles.

Jennie was left literally speechless at the colossal collection. All those dead eyes watching her
creeped her out a bit, but the sight of Jisoo whooping like an excited kid as she took a run and dived
into the nearest mass of plushies dispelled her initial apprehension, replacing it with a grin as Jisoo
surfaced from amongst the mass of bodies.

"Do you like it? Do you like it? It's amazing huh? I've been collecting them all my life!" Jisoo
exclaimed eagerly and grabbed the nearest plushy, a Pikachu. "This one's here my fav. I love
pokemon plushies most, then Care Bears and then....ahhhh I don't know, I love them all!"

"I can tell," Jennie chuckled.

Jisoo suddenly sat up, her face turning mischievous. Jennie stared back uncertainly.

"Uh, Chu, what are you-"

"1 2 3 4 I declare a plushy war!" Jisoo bellowed as she launched Pikachu straight at Jennie, who
dodged.

"Jisoo what the f-OOOF!" A second Pikachu hit her in the face, downing Jennie as she fell back on
the soft bed of plushies beneath her.

"sCOre!" Jisoo laughed maniacally as she jumped in celebration but not before a fluffy missile hit
her in the back of her head. She turned around in surprise to find Jennie hefting an armful of soft
toys.

"You were saying?" Jennie asked, smirking. Jisoo's Pikachu meme face quickly dissolved into a
dazzling smile.

"It's on!"

For a few moments Jennie forgot she was a twenty-something adult and instead transformed into a
pre-school kid as she giggled and chased Jisoo, hiding behind makeshift walls and lobbing the
floppy bodies over no man's land. Or else she charged out into the open and bulldozed straight into
Jisoo's defences as the latter squealed and yelped in a madcap attempt to escape Jennie. She nearly
laughed out loud numerous times-Jisoo flailing like a headless chicken or getting stuck underneath
plushies with only her lower body wiggling frantically almost had Jennie bursting into a hearty
belly laugh.

After a few more intense rounds of tossing and hurling toys, they sank back on to the plushies,
puffing and panting with identical grins on their faces.

"That was the best fun I had with them in a long time," Jisoo gushed.

"I had fun too," Jennie admitted, ignoring Jisoo ecstatic gasp. "But we should probably get back to
yoga now." she added firmly, returning to reality. She sighed seeing the mess they had made.

"Oh don't worry Jendeuk. The cleaning lady will arrange them again when she cleans them out, I'll
just pay her extra or hire her some help," Jisoo said nonchalantly, cottoning on to Jennie's
thoughts.

Jennie goggled at her. "You have someone clean them out for you? But there's hundreds or
thousands!"

"I never have time to dust them properly," Jisoo sighed dolefully, "so I had to hire a cleaner to
come in here and dust them periodically. You wouldn't believe the amount of dust they collect. I
also have to leave the AC on at all times, to avoid mold from setting in."

Must be nice to be so rich, Jennie remembered thinking, quelling the envy that stirred in her chest
with interest.

Jennie thought back on how Jisoo's penchant for bizarre facts actually revealed her beautiful depth
of mind and her undying fascination with the world around her. Jisoo's enthusiasm for the weird
and wacky was slowly winning over Jennie, who at least started listening better and actually asking
questions (much to Jisoo's delight) instead of shutting Jisoo down all the time.

She thought back on Jisoo's unwavering persistence to ferry Jennie back home, be it from her shift
at the diner or when they finished yoga (they'd also pick up Lisa). Jisoo also made it a point to
cheerfully greet Jennie's workmates when she walked in to collect the brunette.

And Jisoo came to both PFB matches Lisa had had. On both occasions, she had some treat for Lisa
and Jennie waiting for them to eat on the way to the Slammer, like the cinnamon sugar bagel she
had brought Jennie that first time. Although Jennie felt rather guilty for free-wheeling, her hungry
and grateful stomach would usually soften the pang of shame. She heard Jisoo yelling and
hollering the loudest in the stands behind her as Lisa punched and struck down her opponent.

All these moments-and more-brought a smile back to Jennie's face, replacing her tensed jaw.

She thought back on the way Jisoo watched her from afar, silently concerned, when Jennie would
start drinking too many consecutive energy drinks or skip on eating to let Lisa have what pot
noodles were left in their meagre pantry. Jennie noticed her watching, because in some roundabout
kind of way, she could tell just when Jisoo was staring. The same way Jisoo seemed to sense when
Jennie was gazing at her.

When was the last time anyone looked at you the way she does? The voice in Jennie's head
wondered. When was the last time anyone actually cared about you?
"Friends," Jennie said stubbornly, "we're only friends."

It was getting harder and harder to remind herself these days, though.

>

"Purge starts this week right?" Somi asked, her hair still dripping water from her shower after she
finished her routine. Dahyun and Chaeyoung were also packing up. They tended to stay over for an
extra hour nowadays to make up for skipping afternoons. Lecture schedules were all hay wire and a
mess of tutorials and reviews, so class punctuality wasn't really a priority or so they claimed.

"Gimme a second," Lisa grunted as she squatted with weights across her shoulders but Jisoo
quickly interjected.

"Two days to be precise." She whipped out her phone, eagerly scrolling until she found what she
was looking for with a satisfied smile. "Here we are. She's fighting someone called Shadow this
week for the opener? Alias for Jeon Soyeon, like you Somi. Then a week after her there's someone
called....Sunmi?" Jisoo's smile was replaced with a quizzical expression. "Is that her stage name?
Sounds...pretty tame."

"Do you have their time-table or something?" Somi asked incredulously and Jisoo nodded.

"She's really gotten into this thing. A pity they don't sell merch, I'm sure she'd clear out their Lisa
plushy section," Jennie teased, abruptly clearing her throat when Somi arched an eyebrow at her.
She turned to Jisoo once again, blatantly avoiding Somi's smirk.

"Yep. Sunmi. And she's Lisa's first crush," Jennie revealed. "Also, she's the woman to induce
Lisa's gay epiphany-"

"Hey!" Lisa yelped, "stop exposing me!"

"Wait what hol'up! Time out!" Somi demanded and rounded on Lisa. "You had the hots for
Sunmi? That tall woman with a mole on her cheek that used to come here? How come I don't know
this?"

"Because you were this little tween squirt interested in My Little Pony and Barbies when it
happened," Lisa retorted. "It was a long time ago anyway," she added, joining the three sitting girls.
"You wouldn't have understood anything about crushes and wet dreams."

"Okay boomer." Somi rolled her eyes.

"I'm not even a boomer! Irene is!"

"I am most definitely NOT," Irene said indignantly. "If there's any teen slang I know, it's for sure
that I'm not a boomer! I doubt you even know what that word means, Lisa."

"How would a granny like you know what a boomer is anyway? Have you actually gone on
Twitter? I thought you forgot the password," Somi said suspiciously. Then her face cleared. "Oh of
course! How silly of me to forget Ms Kang," she said, eyes glittering.

"Ooooh what about her?" Lisa asked, smirking as Irene shrugged and appeared immensely
interested in her shoes. "Wait you said she's a teacher right? Hmm hmm I see the connection...
staying young and updated about the current slang terms because she surrounds herself with kids
and then she relays the info back to our Irene...."
"They be getting along very well indeed, don't you think?" Somi asked her blonde partner in crime.

"Quite, quite." Lisa mused, pretending to stroke a long flowing beard.

"Okay give her a break you two," Jennie came to the rescue. "Anyway, Sunmi used to come train
here when Hwangssabu was still around."

"She's a senior boxer at the Slammer, a veteran. She helps show the rookies around and she helped
show me the ropes. She's really nice," Lisa reminisced. "Even when we fight, I try not to knock her
out cold each time. I punch just enough to make her stay down. I have nothing but respect for that
woman. She gave me my job there."

"Did you ever confess to her?" Dahyun asked curiously. She ignored Chaeyoung's warning nudge,
throwing caution to the wind. She had been down in the dumps since Momo kicked her off the
JYP investigation and Dahyun desperately needed something else to distract her.

"Oh she did," Jennie chuckled. "Lisa used to drool whenever that woman was around-"

"I did not!"

"-so imagine her excitement when once, we casually overheard her talking about how she wished
men wouldn't harass her because she wasn't remotely interested in them cos' she's lesbian. And she
kissed Lisa."

"Stop saying that, it was just a friendly kiss on the cheek!" Lisa yelped, pink in the face.

"Ooooooooooooooh a friendly kiss on the cheek," Somi tittered and dodged Lisa's flying fist.

"So you confessed?" Dahyun asked, hanging on to every word.

"She totally did. It was a disaster," Jennie snickered, "which is fitting, considering Lisa's such a
gay disaster."

Lisa rolled her eyes. "I was like fifteen, give it a rest, jeez."

"What happened? How did it happen?" Dahyun pressed.

"Sunmi was punching something in that corner-I think Matt remembers this, do you?" Jennie called
and interrupting herself, knowing full well she was making her audience go wild with impatience.
She smiled sweetly at Lisa who was glaring daggers.

"I do. It was adorable actually. And Sunmi was very kind too,"Somi's father said, joining the circle
and ruffling Lisa's hair. "Always in over her head, this one. Thinking she gonna make a girl fall at
her feet with a few declarations of love."

"What did you do?" Dahyun asked, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

Lisa shrugged. "Nothing much. I just... went over to her, got down on one knee and said she's the
most beautiful woman in the whole universe and would she marry me if I bought her a candy ring,
because I didn't have money to buy her a proper ring." She rubbed the nape of her neck, sighing. "I
was dead serious, but nobody believed me. I promised I would work hard for her every day to
make her happy, and I promised I would stay out of trouble and I said age is just a number, I look
old enough to be eighteen anyway-"

"She didn't look eighteen, she looked like a scrawny scarecrow," Jennie scoffed.
"- and I promised to take her to the USA so we could get married in style in Las Vegas, like they
do in movies-I saw on Somi's phone."

"Don't you pin this on me-"

"I said we would rent out a limo, cover ourselves in glitter, get piss-ass drunk with champagne and
just ride around and then go skinny dipping because it sounds like fun and it's all about the
memories, right? And I told her we could make love all day and all night because she was so damn
sexy and irresistible, how could I just turn her down? And we could have kids too, not a lot, maybe
like one or two. And maybe a cat or two as well..."

"You had it all planned out, huh," Jisoo smirked as Somi held her stomach and threw her head
back, guffawing along with Dahyun and Chaeyoung. Those two were leaning against each other
for support with tears streaming down their faces.

"I did," Lisa sighed. "But Sunmi let me down kindly, saying she was sorry and that she already had
a girlfriend. She promised that if she ever turned single again, she'd consider my proposal."

"That was nice of her," Irene smiled. "I would have been utterly put off by a hormonal perverted
teenager crushing on me in that manner."

"And her rejection didn't turn you into some jealous obsessive stalker then?" Dahyun asked. Again,
Chaeyoung nudged her with a frown. "Leave that Hirai jerk out of this," she whispered, shrewdly
guessing that Dahyun had been subtly comparing Lisa and Momo.

"Nah. I gave up. Sunmi sounded very serious about her girlfriend," Lisa explained. "I couldn't get
in between that."

"Also Lisa grew some brain cells and realised she was crushing on a granny," Jennie put in.

"Jennie!"

"What? I mean, you finally saw sense, that was welcome news."

"She's not a granny, I just realised I was wasting my time chasing after the wrong gal and got over
her. I was sixteen okay?" Lisa huffed.

"You said you were fifteen just minutes ago!"

"Whatever. Anyway, Sunmi eventually got married to the said girlfriend too."

"No way!"

"For real?"

"Who's the lucky girl?"

"She goes by the stage name Hyuna," Jennie said. "She's Sunmi's trainer and in fact she's one of
the reasons Sunmi doesn't come here anymore. They got their own gym set up. Hyuna's nice too."

"I think you mentioned fighting this Sunmi sometimes before," Chaeyoung said thoughtfully.

"She was the one to give us both our practice runs, to see if we're up for the game and eligible to
enter for probationary periods until we get permanent slots. And clearly I wasn't eligible," Jennie
grimaced.
"Jennie was on the ground before she could blink when she went up against her," Lisa recounted
gleefully. "It was so funny."

"That's surprising. I mean, you're the trainer." Jisoo frowned. "How could you be so....uh,
ineffective? You train Lisa."

"I don't have what it takes to fight against professionals, Chu. It's simply not in me. I don't have the
reflexes and brute strength, or the cunning. I'm just the coach sitting on the side, strategizing,"
Jennie explained. "Sure I can hold myself out somewhat if I'm up against some bimbo like Soojoo-
"

"Who's Soojoo?" Lisa asked immediately.

"Never you mind!" Jisoo said.

"-but yeah otherwise, I'm not much use at all. I'm just Lisa's whip," Jennie continued.

"Not the kinky kind, if ya get my drift," Lisa wiggled her eyebrows, making the people around her
slap their foreheads except for Jisoo who laughed instead.

"When are you going to ever grow up, Lisa?" Irene sighed.

"I gave up a long time ago," Matt called over his shoulder as he went back to his spot to continue
his workout.

"When hell freezes over," Lisa answered brightly, grinning when the older woman shook her head.

"By the way have you heard from Momo at all?" Irene's voice was laced with wariness, uncertain
of delving deeper.

Dahyun stiffened at the sound of her name. Chaeyoung calmly put an arm around her to soothe her
but it only caused Dahyun's guilt to lodge in her throat like a rock she was unable to swallow.
Everyone thought she was still getting over Momo, but how could she tell them that she was in fact
sort of helping her former girlfriend with an investigation? Momo had sworn her to secrecy
anyway, to ensure the investigation was not tampered or stopped by well-meaning people.

Well, until she put a stop to it herself, Dahyun thought darkly.

"We haven't," Jennie said, "total radio silence."

Lisa nodded along, looking wistful. "I know you guys don't like her...and she messed up real bad
too...but she was my friend..."

"Clearly, she doesn't think the same," Somi spat viciously, "last time I heard her talk, she
threatened to basically kill you in the ring next time you meet."

"Kill is a strong word Mimi-"

"It is what it is! I'm sure she meant it. She hates you now so deal with it."

"We're not sure she's even gonna be in the Purge this year. Her name's not in the slots anywhere,"
Jennie said pacifyingly, with a concurring nod from Jisoo as the latter scrolled up her phone to
check.

"Good riddance!" Somi said, "you don't have to worry about that jerk then. Just focus on getting
through and making it till the end of the knockout stages, okay? The Purge is just the beginning."
Lisa's smile returned and she saluted. "Ay Ay cap'n!"

"I can't hear you!"

"Ay Ay cap'n!"

"Ooooh who lives in a pineapple under the sea?"

"SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!"

"Well thanks to Roseanne's help, I'm more positive than ever that this year, she'll make it," Jennie
reassured as the younger girls dissolved into laughter around her, "Lisa's fighting form has never
been better. Thanks to you and Somi, unnie," she added, directing her answer at Irene. "And that
reminds me, I still have to pay you back for her past two sessions. Don't say no!"

The woman waved dismissively. "Fine fine. In your own time. I'm heading out, see you tomorrow
girls. Good day Matt."

"Think about the party unnie!" Somi hollered after her departing back. "Hey, you could bring
Seulgi as your plus one too!"

Irene ducked her head and didn't reply.

 Confessions: Part 2

"Stress eating, huh?"

Dahyun lifted her head up from the burger she was gulping down. "Oh hey Chae. Going to
Mina's?"

"She still got half an hour to go before she's free. Mimi?"

"Cramming in dance practice."

Chaeyoung dropped into the diner seat in front of Dahyun and stuck her hand out to sneak a fry
from Dahyun's tray. She wiggled her eyebrows mockingly when the other girl made a disgruntled
noise of protest at the action.

"Get your own food! The cashier is just behind you!"

"I gotta run back to class soon, it's just one measly fry—"

They chatted back and forth for a good while, mostly complaining about their workload or
laughing about Lisa and Somi's antics.

"Hey, Dub, I know we're not hanging out much lately, what with school and stuff—"

"By stuff, do you mean banging Mina at her apartment on a regular basis?" Dahyun winked, "cos' I
gotta say, you two have one hell of a libido and one hell of a stamina too, or so I heard."

Chaeyoung's face flushed red. "What—no, no! I mean....who told you anyway?"

"I have my sources, like all good journalists do," Dahyun smirked as she settled back in her seat.
"Maybe if you tone it down with the bedroom gymnastics, we wouldn't be here right
now and you'd look slightly more alive. Mina must be quite a handful. They always say the quiet
ones are the wildest in bed."

"Whatever, I'm not here to talk about me right now," Chaeyoung said hastily, "I'm here to talk
about you because we haven't checked up with each other lately. How are you holding up over that
Hirai jerk?"

Chaeyoung hadn't known her until they both discovered they enjoyed boxing and struck up an
unlikely friendship—with the quieter, thoughtful Dahyun a contrast to blunt, easy-going
Chaeyoung—but since then, the stocky boxer had been there for her through her ups and downs
with Momo. She checked up on Dahyun regularly in her casual nonchalant manner. She had
comforted Dahyun and organised a girls pyjama party with Somi where they all scoffed ice cream,
played games and watched movies. And when Dahyun got sniffly at one point, Somi and
Chaeyoung encouraged her to cry it out, sandwiching her between their hugs.

"I'm good," Dahyun assured as she sipped on her cola. "Really Chae, you worry about me a little
too much. You should be worrying about grades right now."

Chaeyoung fidgeted with her nails. "It's just...I don't mean to pry but I wonder if it's wise to jump
into a relationship with Wang so soon..."

Dahyun sipped her drink too quick and spluttered, coughing harshly. "Wha—I didn't—I told you
we're not together—"

"Oh. You hang around him so much these days I thought you had started seeing each other by
now."

If only you knew, Dahyun thought inwardly. She cleared her throat. "He's nice, he doesn't treat me
any differently even though he was right there that day...he's just fun to be around with. I like him
but not like that."

"Alright then," Chaeyoung nodded and stood up, "I gotta go pick up Mina. Just take care okay?
You'll get through this. Call me if you need something."

Dahyun gave her a wan smile. "Yeah...for sure..."

She settled to brood in relative silence once her friend left the café still teeming with students
craving a quick caffeine fix or junk food. Although her laptop was open in front of her, she couldn't
bring herself to start on work—she was too busy contemplating her peculiar position.

Her friends were firmly anti-Momo but meanwhile Dahyun was (had been, she reminded herself
bitterly) working with her ex to dig out dirt on JYP and snap up a coveted spot at her dream job but
then there was Jackson who was JYP's nephew who also happened to be Dahyun's friend but
apparently he was also a shady person hiding some secrets of his own that quite possibly meant he
was in cahoots with JYP as well.

And now, after the failed Jarkive bust, Dahyun had been shown the door by Momo, although that
was putting it mildly, considering the way Momo was practically frothing at the mouth when she
kicked Dahyun out of her apartment (which also doubled as their base from where they carried out
investigation and looked up on JYP's history.)

Momo had assembled a sting operation consisting of her own personnel that were planned to
swoop in at the right time on the day and catch the culprits red-handed during the transaction.
Momo couldn't contain her excitement, patting Dahyun's head and praising her to high heavens.
She even tried to kiss Dahyun's cheek but Dahyun brushed her off, keeping Momo at arm's length.

But then the crew (updating them with their status in real-time as they advanced towards their
target) hit on a crucial problem.

"Uh boss... there's no Jarkive anywhere..."

"What do you mean there's no Jarkive?" Momo gritted as she glared at Dahyun, her mood nose-
diving in seconds.

"It...it doesn't exist ma'am. Maybe your source got a little confused and misheard the name?"

Dahyun bit her lip. True, she had been asleep moments earlier, maybe she had been too groggy
and misheard. But despite the realisation, she sat on the couch with her arms folded. Even if she
were wrong, she wasn't going to stand down. She simply arched an eyebrow at Mom's double-
barrelled glare.

"We can look into other establishments but then we'll be spread thin and there's no guarantee we'll
catch them out in the end...there's not enough time..." the voice on the other end of the phone
crackled.

"Do what you can," Momo said harshly and threw her phone to the other side of the room,
startling Dahyun when the device crashed and shattered to pieces.
"Get out," Momo gritted. When Dahyun didn't react, she rounded on the catatonic girl, eyes
turning flinty. "I said, get out!"

"Momo calm down—"

"Calm down? You incompetent useless turd!" Momo screeched.

She paced around the apartment frantically, hitting the theory noticeboard buried under photos
and papers and ribbons every time she marched past. The board rattled but didn't fall. Cursing
and raging, Momo violently lashed out at the furniture, kicking over a table without even flinching.
Papers rained down on them like giant snow flakes.

Dahyun watched from her spot on the couch as Momo mumbled and muttered to herself in
increasingly faster and faster Japanese. She gnashed her teeth, she tugged on her hair, she snarled
and snapped at thin air as she circled the room—Momo looked on the verge of a breakdown.

"It's the first breakthrough and you had to botch that up!" Momo screamed. "How could you?! You
embarrass me! The place doesn't even exist! You couldn't even get the name down right, are you
deaf or something?"

She stalked to her cabinet, always stocked full of liquor. She quickly poured herself some amber
liquid in a glass and gulped it down, anger oozing from her pores. "Months I've been waiting for
this kind of opening to turn that filthy rat in, months! And now you go and ruin it all. I thought I
could trust you to do the job properly but no, you're just a stupid college girl! All you're good at is
to take your little pictures and dream about your precious magazine job! What was I thinking,
trusting you and involving you?"

"Because you thought you could still win me over."

Momo went rigid, her spine stiffening. Her grip slipped and the glass tumbled to the ground,
shattering to dust.

But Dahyun wasn't finished.

"That was your ulterior motive, wasn't it?" she said recklessly. "You thought by giving me what I
wanted I'd come running back to you. You thought you'd make fall for your glib lies and fake
promises of fidelity. Buying me the camera? Promising me a job? Hiring tutors to help me keep up
with deadlines? Buying me food? Giving me money? Gifting me with clothes? It's pathetic. You
thought I wouldn't notice your little game? You're wrong. I'm done with you, for good."

Her lips curled into a sneer as Momo's hand trembled at her side. "After all, it's just business, isn't
it, Hirai?" she echoed Momo's statement from the day she had asked Dahyun to help with the
investigation.

"Get out," Momo barked. "Out. Now."

Her fist was clenching and opening but she still didn't turn to face the other girl.

"With pleasure," Dahyun muttered numbly and she hurried out, her ears still ringing.

Even though she was proud for having gotten the load off her chest and called Momo out on her
game, now she felt empty and aimless. Investigating had been fun but now Momo had officially
kicked her out.

They hadn't talked again. It was a bitter pill for Dahyun to swallow, knowing she was on the verge
of closing the gap between her and her dream job only for the window of opportunity to fade away
so fast. All she had left now were broken dreams and restlessness to keep investigating JYP.

In the brief time she was involved in the case, Dahyun had learned all about the dirt Momo had
been able to dig out (the tip of the iceberg, according to her).

She had learned about JYP's tenuous connections to child trafficking rings in SEA countries,
connections to local mafia, connections to underground drug lords and illegal ring fights,
connections to militias...it made Dahyun's head spin at the idea of unearthing further and
connecting all the disparate threads they had in their hands.

With the right evidence, Momo would be able to convince the world that corruption had reached
the upper echelons of government who allowed JYP to carry on with his business and looking the
other way, ignoring the many felonies tainting his name lying just below the glitzy benevolent
facade he presented to the world.

All they had managed to collate were theories and hypotheses assembled with the help of
newspaper articles speculations: they could only point fingers and puzzle over the connections that
led to dead ends. Momo had been right: JYP was a sneaky cunning rat who hid his tracks very well
but he was definitely hiding something. There were too many coincidences for it all to be merely
circumstance.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Jackson Wang dropped into the seat in front of Dahyun, flashing her his toothy smile. "Chaeyoung
told me you're here. You seemed to be in a really deep brain dive there, I got a little tired of waiting
for you to notice me."

"Sorry," Dahyun sighed apologetically.

"Hey now I was kidding! I should be the one to apologise for interrupting you," Jackson said
amiably as he settled to devour his food. He gestured at his generous over-loaded portions. "You
can have some if you like."

When Dahyun shook her head, he shrugged. "Suit yourself."

She watched him discreetly from behind her screen as she pretended to type half-heartedly, her
mind split between focusing on Jackson and focusing on what she was actually writing.

How could he have such diametrically opposite personalities and balance them out so well, never
slipping and showing his other side? Dahyun wondered.

"By the way, I saw you finally uploaded the pics you showed me. They look great and they're
already getting loads of likes! I told you you'd make a splash, you have a keen eye for detail."

Dahyun blushed, shyly mumbling her thanks.

After learning about her interest in street photography, Jackson had pestered her to share her photos
with the world despite her misgivings. She was grateful for his encouragement—he seemed to be
genuinely supportive of her actions, flooding her comments and reposting her photos to earn more
exposure. It was sweet of him, the only dark shadow marring Dahyun's happiness over her small
success being the not-so-small issue of him being an accomplice in JYP's schemes.

"Assignment blues?" she heard him ask at length as he chomped on a chicken wing.
"Hmm?"

"You were huffing and puffing. And you look a bit blue. Blue for sad that is."

She hummed. "You could say that...and everyone's kinda busy now as well. We don't hang out as
much and I miss them, I guess. It feels like everyone is drifting away you know...or it could be me
being dramatic."

She couldn't help but feel guilty—keeping her work with Momo a secret from her friends had been
gradually driving a wedge and erecting an invisible wall between them as she gave endless excuses
to miss out on hangouts to do research on JYP in her spare time, instead. There was no one to
blame but herself. Yet, denial was a conveniently valid excuse to fall back upon.

"Yeah. That's life, as Sinatra said."

"Sinatra?" Dahyun frowned.

"You don't know Frank Sinatra?" Jackson's eyes bulged in his head. "Lemme send you my fav
playlist of his. He's like, an old king in the music world! You gotta give him a listen, I'm sure you
heard his music in movie soundtracks before."

He busied himself with his phone as Dahyun looked on, smiling in amusement—his enthusiasm
was endearing.

His duality impressed her—how such a bright person could hide a sinister side so naturally was
beyond her. But then again, she had fallen for Momo's trap although the signals had been
everywhere—she had been too lonely to care, truth be told; craving a connection, a distraction from
her dull, humdrum reality and Momo readily provided it for a while.

"Done. Tell me what you think of him later. Now, where were we?" He put his phone away and
returned to the topic of conversation as though he hadn't interrupted himself, unaware of the
conflict raging in her head. He popped a fry in his mouth. "But you know, new people will come
along and fill the gaps," he added optimistically, "although I'm sure it wouldn't feel the same as
with old friends."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Dahyun mused.

"Back home, I was close with my cousin Jinyoung but then he started working for his dad and got
too busy to hang out," Jackson reminisced.

"Jinyoung....you mean, Jinyoung Park, the son of JYP? The pharmacy mogul?"

"Informed are we?" Jackson chuckled. "Yep, that's him, the one and only. He was too busy to
spend time to come to Hong Kong like he used to do in summer and well....you drift apart you
know? It didn't help that we had different interests. He's more serious and nerdy and into the
business side of things. You know, like economics, statistics, " he said, listing off his fingers,
"accounting. Gambling and betting, all that stuff to do with numbers."

Dahyun leaned forward with interest, her self-pity evaporating.

Maybe this could prove useful to learn about JYP's enigmatic son from a close source like his
cousin. The young Park heir was just as much of a mystery as his father but Momo didn't consider
him to be very much useful, especially since not much information was unearthed about him.

But would it be worth going back to Momo if she found information?

Or else, she could continue the investigation herself, working off what she knew and building up
from there on. The thought sparked a hopeful fire in Dahyun, already warming up to the idea of
testing her investigation skills in the field.

Yeah, why shouldn't she? She had a copy of all the documents Momo procured. She had her
camera. She could put it to good use and snoop around.

"What is he like?" She asked Jackson. "He sounds like the polar opposite of you. I'm sure you must
give him a headache."

Jackson laughed. "You could say that! But believe it or not, cousin Jin could be something of a bad
boy like anyone else! When he came to Hong Kong, we would sneak out and ride out to the back
areas and suburbs in the death of night, looking for..." He winked and stuffed more fries in his
mouth without finishing his sentence.

"Looking for....women? Bars? Clubs?" Dahyun tried to guess, imagining two mischievous teens
sneaking into strip clubs.

"Even more thrilling," he smirked and glanced over his shoulder before leaning forward, gesturing
for her to inch closer. "Rooster and dog fights!"

"Poor things!" Dahyun exclaimed. "That's cruel!"

"Yeah, I guess they were," Jackson conceded, "but it was thrilling nonetheless. Cousin Jinyoung,
the nerd he was, he liked to go there and learn about betting and gambling. And he dragged me
along. I liked going there for the fights. They could get really violent and bloody. The dogs would
be starving and rip each other's throats out," he recounted gleefully, "but we were protected
because they fought in a pit so nobody could get hurt."

He caught sight of Dahyun's wrinkled nose and hastily added, "I know it's not the most sensitive
thing to partake in. And it was some time ago... just boys being boys looking for some fun, you
know? I'm past it. I'm a man of science now, mostly. I stick to my chemicals and bio specimen. I
intend to put myself to the humble service of others in the pharmaceutical field, just like my uncle."

His eyes took on a bright glaze at the mention of his uncle, his chest puffing up proudly. "One day,
I intend to find the way to make people able to become the strongest they can ever be, the best
version of themselves, just like he does. With the help of medicine, the capabilities to how much
we can achieve are virtually limitless. It's a question of finding what works right to enhance the
human anatomy's abilities..."

"Ambitious," Dahyun said, filing the information away for later. "So...do you still meet up with
Jinyoung here though?"

Jackson shook his head no. " Sometimes. Both of us are busy, busy, busy. But it's nice to look back
on the good ol' days isn't it?"

Dahyun had to agree.

"We did meet like a couple times, though," Jackson said thoughtfully, "he mentioned he got into
this new sports things that's all the rage here now. Apparently there's big money to be had if you
invest in the betting aspect."

"Oh and what's that?"

"Ever heard of PFB? Pro Fem Boxing?" Jackson winked. "Cousin Jin is a sponsor at one of the
city's most popular fighting rings. Can't say I'm really surprised, he always had a fascination with
fighting matches. It didn't matter if dogs or people were involved, he'd be there."

"Heard of it yeah," Dahyun said casually. Inside, she was vibrating with excitement. This could be
another clue, another thread leading to answers. Momo's files had indeed mentioned he was a
sponsor at the Slammer but didn't delve too much into the nature of his work there. It would merit
checking up.

The possibility of a new direction to rejuvenate the case seemed within reach. Dahyun leaned
forward in her seat.

"He sounds like he enjoys the excitement. Maybe I should get in touch with him and ask him to get
you out of your lab."

Jackson laughed. "Oh he tries! But I just can't leave my experiments alone! You know, I'm
thinking of dropping my business studies and just focus on biochemistry for good. That will give
me all the time in the world to work with chemicals all day."

"You really love it, huh?" Dahyun smiled.

"Yep! And lemme tell you a secret," he added, making a show of looking around to make sure
nobody was eavesdropping on them, "uncle got me to work on some drugs he's going to bring out
into the market in a few years. It's so exciting!" He concluded, beaming from ear to ear.

"Wow. Your uncle must really trust you! I mean, don't they have teams of chemists and
pharmacists to test out stuff? And I hope you won't blow up the campus in the process, the labs
aren't exactly very safe."

Jackson winked at her. "He always lets me try out on ideas he has for drugs, before passing them
on to the R&D team. Perks of being the favourite nephew. If things go smoothly, the product has a
much bigger guarantee of being picked up for manufacture. I'm basically the one to approve his
ideas before giving the go-ahead. It's time-consuming but so gratifying."

"Fascinating," Dahyun hummed, wondering how she was going to steer the conversation back to
Jinyoung. "Your cousin must be pretty chuffed that you're related to him."

"Oh ay, he's a serious one. Getting a compliment from him is like hitting the jackpot! I'm still
working on impressing him but one day I'm gonna blow his mind!" Jackson vowed.

"He does sound very serious and proper. Like a manager in an office, all ironed shirts and starched
suits. I can't imagine him hanging out with you," Dahyun probed further.

"Nah, he's a good sport when he wants to be," Jackson countered, "matter of fact we even hung out
recently and he said he had fun, although Archive might not really be his scene. At least, he said he
did, you can never really tell what's on his mind."

Dahyun frowned. "Archive? Is that a library?"

Jackson threw his head back with a laugh. "Oh goodness me no! I may be a chemistry nerd, and
he's a numbers nerd, but we're not that nerdy! No, no it's a bar run by a friend of mine. R-K-I-V-E.
This pal of mine is of a literary bent, that's where the name comes from I suppose..."

Jarkive....Rkive....could it be they were one and the same bar where Jackson had supposedly
carried out a transaction of some kind with his uncle?
"So no chance of ever meeting your intriguing partner in crime? I'm sure he'd have amazing stories
to tell about your wild times," Dahyun grinned as her mind went into overdrive, piecing together a
plan.

She needed to find out Rkive's location and investigate it, maybe even visit, if possible. Maybe even
get a hold of and talk to this Jinyoung, somehow. But how? What would she say? She'd need a
solid back up story....damn the exams, she would have gotten a head start on her planning.

Excitement coursed through her veins, making her feel more alive than she had been feeling in
recent days.

"Noooooooo I can't let you meet him, you'd die of boredom actually! You'd never forgive me!"
Jackson yelped, making them both burst out into fits of giggles.

She caught him tilting his head and smiling at her, making her feel self-conscious.

"What?"

"You're extra pretty when you laugh," he said softly, "don't forget to laugh sometimes, D."

Appearances can be deceiving, Momo's warning rang in her head even as she grinned back at him,
her face warm.

Deep down, Dahyun wished she hadn't overheard Jackson's phone call.

Because then she could pretend that Jackson was just an ordinary boy who made her feel a little
less lonely and a little more appreciated.

>

The spring afternoon found Irene gripped the steering wheel tightly while she waited to pick up
Seulgi after she finished work. Her fingers drummed an impatient rhythm, faltering when she
spotted Seulgi exiting the gym.

Seulgi exiting the gym with her loose, wet black hair and her glowing skin and those sharp abs and
those muscular arms—

and that annoying stocky blonde walking infuriatingly close to her, practically plastered to her
side.

Irene's eyes narrowed. That woman was walking too close to Seulgi for her liking, she need to back
off and wipe that smarmy smug smirk off her face.

Irene didn't like her face or her silly affected laugh or the way she snuggled up to Seulgi. Didn't
that tart know that Seulgi liked her space because anxiety could sometimes get the better of her?

Irene worked her jaw, teeth clenching as she scowled at the blissfully unaware pair. She braced
herself for the upcoming show as they walked along the kerb until they reached the blonde's car.

Irene watched as the irritating shorter woman looped her arms around Seulgi's neck and brought
their mouths together in what looked like a passionate kiss.

Tssh, did she really have to slobber into Seulgi's mouth like a dish brush scrubbing a jam jar?

She couldn't look away, although her demure upbringing always nagged her to give the pair some
privacy. But she couldn't look away— a cross between curiosity, disgust and fascination always
prevailed, keeping her eyes glued on Seulgi and her beau, Seungwan.

They were a relatively new couple, but Seulgi had mentioned that Seungwan had been going to the
same gym for a while. One thing led to the other and finally they had gotten together.

"I hope you don't mind that I'm...I'm...gay?" Seulgi had said meekly that first time Irene had caught
their little kissing show.

The teacher had curled up in her seat, mortified for being caught in the act although she and her
girlfriend had been anything but discreet. When Irene had seen them that first time, she couldn't
decide if she wanted to vomit or strangle Seungwan on the spot. Both responses vexed her greatly:
she had seen many people from all across the spectrum kiss and make out but none provoked such
a visceral reaction as Seulgi and that trollop engaged in a hot lip-lock.

What was different now? Was she that desperate for some action that she had turned, as Lisa and
Somi loved to remind, into a salty single pringle?

A part of Irene thought that Seungwan kissed Seulgi outside on purpose, to send out a clear
message to any girls (there were many who openly ogled the young teacher and loitered at the
entrance to speak with her) that Seulgi was hers and hers only, which for some reason irritated
Irene even more.

"Of course not, Seulgi. This isn't the Middle Ages, love is love and all that. I couldn't care less
what you are and who you are with as long as you're happy," Irene had responded with the widest
smile pasted on her face. "I'm happy for you."

Seulgi looked visibly relieved, straightening further up in her seat as she spoke more confidently.

"Good. I like you Hyun, I don't want to lose you. I told you you have a friend in me. And me being
with Seungwan-ah won't change that, I promise."

"Are you saying that because you don't want to miss out on my cooking or my driving services?"
Irene said, with more bite than she intended.

"No no no! I like hanging out with you and talking with you," Seulgi protested, eyes widening, "and
besides hey I'm learning to cook now too, thank to you. It's not just about your food Joohyun. Trust
me."

I did, Irene almost yelled but swallowed her words.

Why was she being so unreasonable? It's not like Seulgi had signed a contract to not ever date.

What had she expected? To carry on being friends with Seulgi till the day she died? To carry on
with their comfortable routine, getting to know each other deeper and deeper, and always expect
the status quo to remain the same? Did she expect Seulgi to remain single forever? Did she expect
that it would always be the two of them in their own little world?

Since when had she started dreaming up such foolish fantasies?

Irene quietly sighed and summoned her last shreds of integrity. "I do trust you Seul so don't worry.
I'm sorry if I sounded a bit...harsh, just now. I just...I guess you caught me by surprise. But do
know that I support you a 100 and 1 percent. If you need more time to hang out with your...
girlfriend, then please, don't let me stop you."

The word girlfriend left her with a bitter aftertaste, but Seulgi's face lighting up like the sun was
worth it.

"You're the best, Joohyun! I couldn't ask for a better friend," Seulgi said happily.

Irene smiled back fondly at the beaming teacher as her heart splintered into long, sharp and
bloody pieces.

The hurt was still relatively new and intriguing, even though by now Irene had gotten used to the
idea of Seulgi having 'someone' (she couldn't bring herself to say girlfriend) but she was still
investigating and questioning her unusual reaction to the whole affair.

She hadn't discussed anything with Jennie—the younger girl was busy working her ass off and also
getting friendly with Jisoo, which Irene heartily approved despite Jisoo's zaniness. But Jennie
always seemed a tad more alert around the raven-haired beauty so Irene welcomed the chance of
new friendships in Jennie's life. She wouldn't have time to listen to a spinster's ramblings and
dilemmas.

She would definitely not confide in her workmates—gossip would reach all of the building by the
afternoon regarding her crisis and she definitely didn't need busybodies jumping on her case. They
already talked enough behind her back, she didn't need to provide them with more fodder.

Therefore she was all alone in analysing and puzzling out her feelings about the situation. Every
time she closed her eyes, the images floated up in her mind unbidden: Seulgi's eyes fluttering close,
her small smile as she leaned into the kiss, her hands roaming Seungwan's back, her lips moving on
the other woman's lips.

Seulgi....Seulgi.....Seulgi....

"All set?" Irene asked when Seulgi hopped into the car after her kissing session finished.

"Yep I'm starving." Seulgi still sounded breathless, her cheeks glowing a rosy pink. The only small
comfort Irene had about the whole situation was that at the end of the day, until Seulgi's car was
fixed, she would always be the one Seulgi went to for a ride back home. It was a small victory but
Irene revelled in it, regardless.

"Got time to have an early snack with me then?" Irene said hopefully

"Yeah. I was gonna meet with Seungwannie later as well, if that's okay—"

"Seul I told you. Cut it out. No need to take permission, I'm not your mom," Irene chuckled,
wincing because she fancied her voice had gone too squeaky. But she had heard Seungwan's rather
screechy voice enough times to unconsciously imitate it around Seulgi.

She had thought that maybe the young teacher would appreciate her more if her voice was thinner
and high-pitched like that dreadful woman's...

Irene shook her head. What was getting into her lately? She sounded just like a pining teen with an
unrequited crush!

"I hope you have fun," she said to dispel the tense silence, sounding just about as excited as a limp
leaf of lettuce.

"Yeah, just a quiet night in...we'll eat and watch a movie or something like that....yeah, netflix and
chill."
Netflix and chill huh, Irene thought darkly, remembering the hungry look in the blonde's eyes
practically stripping Seulgi right in front of Irene's disgusted gaze.

If she had to bet, it would be more than netflix and chill. Their hands were everywhere during their
brief tongue exchange outside the gym entrance. Seulgi has such strong-looking arms too ughh.

"And you know, I was thinking of...cooking her something," Seulgi said shyly. "And umm...well
uh...I was wondering if you could come over and uh..uhm..."

"Help you prepare?" Irene said numbly. Delightful images of herself gleefully dumping a sack of
salt into Seungwan's plate of food ran through her mind like rats.

But no, that won't do. Seulgi was too nice, she wanted to this for her date. She couldn't let her
irritation ruin Seulgi's chance to impress her date. Seulgi trusted her to be a good friend and help,
so that was what she was going to do.

"Yeah uhm...if you...if it's okay...just to supervise, I'm gonna be doing all the cooking, you don't
have to lift a single finger."

"Of course," Irene cut her off, "you don't even have to ask. I don't have anything to do anyway. I'll
come over."

"Great," Seulgi cheered, "my cats miss you too, they'll be happy to see you! Thanks for doing this
Hyun, you're the best."

Irene smiled in silent devastation, listening to the sound of her heart cracking down the middle for
the umpteenth time.

>

Jennie woke up from her nap and fumbled around on the mattress to reach her buzzing phone. Lisa
was still knocked out asleep next to her, dead to the world.

"Chu? What is it?" Jennie mumbled, her vision bleary.

"I don't think I can come pick you up for our session today," Jisoo said. She sounded
distressed, making the fog in Jennie's head clear and she sat up.

"Jisoo? Is everything okay?"

"No," Jisoo said in anguish. "The cleaning lady went in today and she phoned a while ago,
said the AC broke down. I've been trying to contact the condo's repair men but they're not
replying so I'm trying to find a substitute and have them come in ASAP." Jisoo gave a
frustrated huff. "Of all days that I can't reach them..."

"Did the cleaning lady say why it broke down?"

"Jendeuk, she knows about these machines about as much as I do, which is zilch. I still have
to go home and check it out myself...the longer it takes to fix... and my plushies..." Jisoo's
voice trembled.

Check it out myself...

A light bulb lit up inside Jennie's head. "Hey, how about I check it out for you? Sometimes I repair
our AC at the Vault...although it's an ancient model so I'm not sure I'm very updated with the latest
tech—"

"Oh would you?" Jisoo screamed in delight. "Oh yes yes please! Jennie you're a lifesaver! I'm
desperate right now, you can't possibly break it anymore than it already is! By all means
come see it, I'm coming over there right now to pick you up! Wait for me!"

"Chu wait, aren't you at work—" The call cut off.

Jennie pulled the phone from her ear, shaking her head. "I really have to ask her what kind of job
she works one of these days, the hours are incredible..."

>

A few moments breezed by and Jisoo had meanwhile arrived at her doorstep. She whisked Jennie
and her trusty toolbox to her condo, up the elevator and into her apartment, leaving Jennie gasping
at the speed of it all. She had barely gotten the chance to tell Lisa she was heading to Jisoo's place.
But no matter, Lisa would soon be coming over to Rosé's for her pilates session anyway.

"Jisoo whoa it's not going anywhere, the plushies will be okay without a few hours of the AC
running—"

"Just please do what you can as soon as you can," Jisoo pleaded, "if I need to buy any parts tell me
and I'll buy it, money no object. Just...fix it... please..."

Jennie caught hold of Jisoo's fidgeting fingers. "Hey, Chu. Look at me. Look at me."

Jisoo's distraught gaze settled on Jennie.

"I need you to go and sit down and distract yourself with something while I work okay? I don't
know how long it will take me but I'll definitely see what I can do for it."

She leaned down and picked up Dalgom, who had been scrambling around their legs, begging for
attention.

"Play with Dalgom for a bit. He missed his mommy and he's happy you're here early, aren't you,
Dalgomie? Eomma will play with you now."

Jisoo's lips quirked up into a weak smile as she took him in her arms and kissed his head softly,
making Dalgom wag his stubby tail.

"There we go," Jennie said in satisfaction. "Now...if you can show me where the ladder is, I can
get started."

>

Hours of tedious poking and and painstaking work (owing to her not being exactly professional and
she only had rudimentary knowledge to work with) Jennie managed to diagnose the problem and
was thankfully able to fix it.

Jisoo was over the moon. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you—"

"Chu please—"

"You're incredible! You're a genius! You're a lifesaver! You're a hero! You're my hero! You're the
best!"
"Chu I just patched up the cooling tube and drained the water, it's nothing. A professional would
have done that under fifteen minutes," Jennie said modestly, red in the face from embarrassment.
She could only pat Jisoo's back as the girl in question squeezed the breath out of her. "Um
Jisoo...you can...let go now..."

"No no no no no!" Jisoo declared adamantly. Her voice came out muffled since her face was
currently squashed up against Jennie's neck. Her breath tickled Jennie as she spoke. "I want you to
feel my gratitude! And the plushies as well, they're very very very grateful! You saved them! This
hug is on their behalf!"

Jennie gasped when Jisoo squeezed impossibly tighter. Dark spots dotted her vision as she choked
out: "Well the plushies might just end up coming to life for real and kill you for murdering their
hero. Jisoo I can't breathe!"

Jisoo let go, watching her with concern as Jennie bent over her knees and heaved in lungfuls of air.
"I'm sorry...I got carried away...I'm just...."

"Grateful. Yep, got it." Jennie straightened up, smiling bashfully. "Leaving your suffocating
attempt aside...thank you. It's...nice. Nobody ever thought my fixing skills were that awesome," she
chuckled.

"Really? That sucks," Jisoo frowned. "I honestly could kiss you right now, you don't know how
much hassle and trouble you saved me. You're amazing."

"Ahhh erm...it's okay," Jennie said awkwardly. She ducked her head to avoid Jisoo's gaze and
picked up her toolbox instead, wiping her greasy hands down her front to get the remaining dirt off,
hoping her cheeks weren't splotched pink. "So, I'll be heading back then."

"Jendeuk wait, I gotta pay you and get you a ride back—"

Jennie darted away in a blink.

"Not so fast! Get her Dalgom! Dalgom? Dalgomieeeee!" Jisoo whined as the little Maltese simply
looked up at his mistress from his spot on the floor. "Aissh this ahjussi!"

She dashed after Jennie, catching the brunette right before she ran out of the door.

"Jen please, it's the least I can do! Why won't you accept anything for your services?"

"Because you're my friend and it's what friends do! They do things...just because. No need for
payment." Jennie protested. "So please, just...let it go? I'm happy I could help and that's it. No need
to drive me back either, I got money for it."

Jisoo stood back, unsatisfied. "Well then. Maybe if I play this another way...." She winked. "Would
you perhaps still be interested in....Jisoo Yoga?"

Jennie's breath caught in her throat, curiosity welling up within her. "What about it?" she asked
nonchalantly.

Jisoo laughed. "Ahh don't try to play it off now, I recall you being extremely curious about it
initially. Well now, perhaps the time has come to show you." Her eyes twinkled. "Would that be
acceptable payment, Jendeuk? I could maybe....show you after the Purge is over so you'd be more
in the mood?"

Her inner voice was telling her not to be so weak but Jisoo's hypnotic stare and her curiosity won.
"You have yourself a deal."

>

Jennie couldn't explain the fluttering in her gut when she exited Jisoo's apartment. But it was
definitely a good feeling that gave her a spring in her step. She had insisted for Jisoo not to give her
a ride back home—it would be just too troublesome in Jennie's eyes. Jisoo did a lot for her and
after such a distressing afternoon, asking for a lift back sounded rude and bothering. A bus ride
home wasn't going to kill her, as Jennie reasoned.

"My my, someone's feeling rather euphoric after a good shag, huh?"

Jennie's heart sank as she turned to the owner of the snarky voice. "Soojoo," she muttered.

"Shorty, what a pleasure," Soojoo greeted smoothly. Her wide smile didn't fool Jennie in the least.
"What you got there? A toolbox full of naughty stuff? Is that weirdo trying to get you into role
playing or something?"

Jennie's mouth clamped shut at Soojoo's contemptuous laugh. Quickly, she weighed her options to
avoid a confrontation.

She couldn't go back to Jisoo's partly because she didn't want to appear weak and partly because
Soojoo was blocking the way. Talking to her was bottom on Jennie's list of options and thus Jennie
turned her back on Soojoo and started to walk away without another word, silently praying that the
cruel woman would tire of trying to torment her and leave her alone.

"Not so fast!"

Soojoo caught up to her and grabbed her wrist, violently turning her around in one quick move.
"Now now, what's the hurry? I'd love for you to stick around and play, hmm? We didn't start off on
the right foot the last time so how about we try again?"

"Thanks but no thanks," Jennie replied curtly, "I'm not interested."

Soojoo's face morphed into a frightful scowl. "Oh? You think you can just walk away from me like
that? Who do you think you are, tramp?"

"Soojoo, what do you want?" Jennie gritted out.

"What's your relationship with Jisoo?" Soojoo fired immediately.

Jennie paused to observe the woman before her trying her utmost to intimidate her. She caught the
dull blush colouring her features, her sullen frown, the angry glint in her eyes. The answer was so
obvious, right up in Jennie's face. Without meaning too, amusement bubbled up in her throat and
Jennie let out a chuckle.

Soojoo's suspicious glare intensified. "You dare laugh in my face? My patience is running thin
Shorty so I suggest you answer me right now unless you want a stamp on your face."

"You're all so stupid," Jennie muttered, not the slightest bit afraid now that she knew the woman's
secret. On the contrary, she smirked at Soojoo, feeling taller and superior despite the stark size
difference.

Soojoo's nostrils flared. "What did you say?"

She advanced on Jennie, cornering her until the brunette was pressed up against the wall.

"Say that again, Shorty, if you dare," Soojoo growled. Her voice was low and menacing but Jennie
stood her ground.

"You're just like a friend of mine, Soojoo. That's why I can see it clearly," Jennie said calmly,
staring back unflinchingly at the pair of furious orbs. "You're jealous."

The cycle of emotions that flickered across the canvas as Soojoo's face contorted was a sight to
behold—Jennie had struck deep.

"How dare you," Soojoo snarled, "me? Jealous of that weirdo? She can do the hell she wants! What
would you know? You're just some slut she's got her eyes on—"

"Who are you kidding Soojoo?" It was Jennie's turn, her eyes flashing. "If you think I'm lying, say
that to my face. Right now. Say it," she challenged. She didn't know where her courage to talk back
came from but her blood was boiling, rushing and pounding in her veins aided by a shot of
adrenaline as her heart rate spiked.

This was going to end either in a catfight or tears but Jennie wasn't going to back away from such a
golden opportunity to take the arrogant woman down a few pegs. Irritation writhed in her gut at the
idea of Soojoo still chasing after Jisoo and expecting her to fall back at her feet, like what Momo
had tried to do with Dahyun.

"You're lying—"

"You can't even look at me when you say it," Jennie mocked. "You're deluding yourself Soojoo.
Give it up. You know it's true. You think I'm taking your place next to Jisoo."

Soojoo blinked at her like she got slapped and then laughed maniacally. "What would she see in
you? You're nothing! You don't know her like I do! You're just a low-life peasant, grateful for
scraps Jisoo throws you. She has you licking out of her hand like a dog—"

"If anything, the opposite is true," Jennie said calmly, unable to suppress the glee in her voice at
the way Soojoo's mouth fell open, "I have Jisoo eating out of the palm of my hand if I want to.
Because she likes me." She eyed Soojoo sternly. "But I don't do that. I don't treat her like dirt. I
don't expect her to wait on me hand and foot. I don't let her pretend and hide her true self just to
please me, or because I'm embarrassed of her. Wanna know why? Because I respect her as a
human being, Soojoo, with all her eccentricities and behaviours."

"Say one more word, you vile slut—"

"Oh I got more than one word to tell you," Jennie interrupted. "People like you Soojoo, you're
pitiful and pathetic. You're like headless chickens, running around, not even knowing what you
want. You don't know what's going on."

She kept on talking, her gaze hard and unflinching. "I had a friend who's just like you. She thought
fooling around was all fun and games until she fell for one of her toys. Then she lost her. She went
about trying to win her back the wrong way and is making the whole situation even worse, for
herself. She's hurting herself without knowing."

She eyed the ashen-faced woman before her, not even showing an ounce of pity as she spat out her
words. "You're both so pathetic, thinking you can force someone into loving you back by
degrading them and humiliating them. Newsflash: it doesn't work like that, ever. You treated Jisoo
like trash, trying to punish her by insulting her and bullying her after she broke up with you. Well
guess what, you're the trash and she did the cleaning and got rid of you. She tossed you out of her
life."

Jennie smirked as she dealt the final blow. "Face it Soojoo: you lost a long time ago, before I even
came into the picture. Now...you're just wasting everyone's time, including mine. Jisoo has moved
on. Live with that."

She elbowed her way out of the corner, flattening Soojoo's confidence beneath her stride.

"Oh...and one more thing..." she said, turning back to the shell of the woman who had spitefully
called out to her. "Jisoo is worth twelve of you. Good day."

Maybe Jennie had let her confidence get ahead of her; maybe she thought she had dealt the killing
blow and Soojoo would be too dumbstruck to react.

But in any case, Soojoo did react.

She snapped out of her stupor and launched herself at Jennie with a snarl, her hand raking the air as
she brought it down over her head. Jennie barely escaped Soojoo's wickedly long nails slashed
right by her ear, missing the skin by a fraction

"You vile fuc—"

"Oh Ms Kim, there you are, I've been waiting for you!" called an airy voice from behind Jennie.

Soojoo and Jennie froze mid-stance, their arms both raised just before they landed blows. Their
eyes darted towards the owner of the voice.

Roseanne stood some distance away in the hallway, smiling serenely, oblivious to what had just
been going down right outside her door. Jennie tried to warn her but the younger woman interjected
again.

"I'm really glad you came, the fridge just won't start up, won't you take a look at it please? I'll just
borrow her for a moment Ms Hong, we won't be long."

So saying, Rosé grabbed Jennie's wrist and hauled her inside her apartment, slamming the door
shut behind her. Jennie stood dazed, still stupidly clutching her toolbox as Rosé finally
straightened and grinned at her with a conspiratorial wink.

"I just nipped out to the corner store for some groceries and I heard the commotion."

"You...wha..."

"I heard everything," Rosé affirmed, gathering the grocery bag Jennie only now noticed hung from
her arm. "That was amazing, unnie. I don't think anyone ever stood up to her like that. Her face! It
deflated like a popped balloon!"

Rosé dissolved into giggles, which Jennie couldn't help but return.

"Ahh, I don't know what came over me," Jennie said wryly, her more rational side reappearing, "it's
not in my place to meddle, I shouldn't have told her that."

"She deserved worse," Rosé snorted. "She made Jisoo unnie's life hell. I think she guessed we had
hooked up for a while and doubled her taunting efforts. Jisoo wouldn't hear a word about me
talking to her to make her stop. She feared Soojoo would try and hurt Ella, she's that kind of
vindictive hag."

"No way," Jennie gasped, "that's a low blow, even for her! Getting back at Jisoo by hurting an
innocent kid?"

"Ella had said Soojoo always seemed to be loitering down by the entrance door when she returned
from school, at the time Jisoo and I were seeing each other. She stopped when we broke off. It
can't have been coincidence."

Jennie shook her head in disbelief. "That's just...now I wish I really hit her!"

"You did more than enough. You stood up for Jisoo." The pilates instructor's gaze was warm.
"Thank you for being such a good friend to unnie. She struggles a lot around people, but she trusts
you. And I can see she made the right choice."

Jennie blushed. Twice in one day. She shouldn't get used to this warm feeling in her chest but it felt
so nice for other people to appreciate her.

"Thank you," Jennie said bashfully. "I...it's just the truth. Nobody deserves to be treated less just
because they act a little bit weird." She bowed her head. "Thanks for saving me back there
Roseanne."

"Oh please, it's Rosé or Rosie," Rosé chuckled, "might as well include Lisa's nickname, it's all I
hear these days." She nodded at the door. "You're welcome to stay as long as you like and join us
too. Lisa and Ella are—"

"Oh I can't impose—" Jennie began before she paused, her eyes widening. "Wait, where's Lisa?"

Rosé blinked. "Umm, with Ella? I left them playing—"

Jennie slowly set down her toolbox and took off her shoes before straightening up.

"May I see my sister please?" she gritted out through a clenched jaw. Rosé blinked non-plussed and
nodded, walking ahead of Jennie as the brunette plodded behind her with a face suddenly dark as
thunder.

Roseanne....so this was her idea of...pilates? Jennie seethed. And Lisa went along with her? What
were they playing at? Squandering MY money....blowing off MY cash...pretending to be working on
exercise when they were both just neglecting their obligations? What kind of lazy, inconsiderate,
selfish—

Bursts of laughter snapped Jennie out of the wrath building in her head as Rosé stepped aside.

It was quite apparently the pilates studio, judging from the equipment neatly lined up around the
walls. The centre was occupied by the frame Jennie recalled as being the Cadillac, going by Jisoo's
description (she and Jisoo had discussed various other disciplines outside of yoga, swapping
knowledge).

But what had her eyes bulging in her head was the sight of Lisa giggling next to Ella, with two tiny
kittens chasing their hands as they plodded along and tried to bite the tantalising fingers wiggling
just out of reach.

"This one's a biter," Lisa chuckled, grabbing the grey and white kitten in a tight hug. She planted a
big kiss on its nose as it mewled and whined in her grip.
"He's fat too, he eats too much," Ella snickered. "He's only been here a day, but already I can tell
he's gonna be sooooo fat."

"Leo's not fat!" Lisa gasped. "He's slim, come on!"

"Our teacher read us a story not so long ago. The story said that love is blind. I didn't believe it
because we all have eyes right? But I think I understand now, love makes you need a pair of
glasses," Ella concluded. "Unnie, it's time you got your eyes checked."

Lisa goggled at her in dismay. "Oh no, you're turning into a Somi clone—"

"Hey guys, look who I found," Rosé interrupted the busy girls who both looked up with bright
smiles.

"Mommy!

"Rosie!"

Lisa's smile faltered when Jennie walked out from behind Rosé. "Oh....Jennie? What are you doing
here?"

"Unnie's here too?" Ella said thrilled, unaware of the tense electricity fizzing and sparking in the
air between the sisters. "Mom, is Jisoo coming over as well? We still have to show her the kittens
Lisa saved!"

"The kittens Lisa saved?" Jennie repeated as she arched an eyebrow. Lisa turned away.

"No baby, we'll show her another time," Rosé said absently. Her gaze flickered between Lisa and
Jennie, frowning at the change in atmosphere. A moment ago, Lisa couldn't have looked happier
but now all of a sudden, her face lost all the light and she hunched over. She looked like a scolded
dog waiting for a beating with its tail between its legs.

And Jennie's face had lost all traces of good humour—she was barely concealing a scowl.

"Ella, may I borrow Lisa for a moment please? I'll give her back as soon as I can," Jennie said
abruptly. She attempted a smile that came out looking all wrong.

Ella nodded, taking the wriggling kitten from Lisa's limp hold.

"Sure unnie."

Jennie nodded and turned to her sister. "Lisa, a word?"

Lisa silently got up and followed Jennie to the corridor that led to the outside door, out of sight of
Rosé's watchful gaze. They couldn't hear them either, their muttering voices carefully guarded and
low.

>

"Jen, it's not what it looks like..." Lisa muttered.

"Really?" Jennie all but yelled. "Well let me tell you what it looks like and we'll compare, hmm?"

Lisa braced herself, knowing full well what Jennie was going to say.

"It looks like," Jennie began, pacing back and forth, eyes shooting daggers, "to me, it looks
like you haven't even taken off your jacket to do pilates."

Lisa bit her lip—she had forgotten she was still wearing Hwangssabu's jacket.

"It looks to me," Jennie growled, "like you weren't doing pilates. It looks to me like you and your
little Rosie are just blowing off my money, pretending to be doing pilates when you're just messing
around, fooling around, playing happy families with Ella and kittens. Kittens. What kind of joke is
this for god's sake?"

"Jen, I can explain—"

"Spare me the puppy eyes, I'm not done yet!" Jennie shot back. She heaved a breath and rubbed her
temple. "It looks to me like you've forgotten you actually come here because I make sacrifices for
you to be able to win and bring us money so that we don't starve. It looks to me like you only come
here to flirt and smile prettily at your little Rosie and her kid. It looks to me like you two are a
bunch of deceitful, selfish, inconsiderate brats who don't give a flying fudge whatsoever about the
world outside your combined fantasies. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU PLAYING AT YOU
FOOLS?"

"Jennie, stop. Please," Lisa begged. "It was just this one time—"

She wilted beneath Jennie's stony face.

"I'm so disappointed right now Lisa," Jennie said quietly.

Those words were more than enough to shatter Lisa—she could take slaps, kicks, punches, yells
and screaming— yet Jennie never gave out any of those. She merely had to voice out her
disappointment and Lisa would feel the extent of her sister's emotion in the pits of her stomach—
cold and heavy as a sinking stone.

"Jen I'll make it up, I promise, I'll work hard and I'll get through the Purge—"

"Play another tune Lis." Jennie suddenly looked years older, the bags under eyes standing out in
sharp contrast to her pale skin. "I'm tired. I'm tired of trying to make you see that everything has a
price. You came here with the promise of doing something to get back to winning. I don't see how
playing with kittens is going to help. You can't afford to relax just now—"

"But Rosie did say I need relaxation, didn't she?" Lisa said.

"Now you're siding with her huh? I thought you didn't need any break from boxing?" Jennie hissed.
To her surprise, Lisa pulled herself up to her full height, towering over her sister.

"Maybe I was wrong, unnie," Lisa said firmly, "maybe I needed this more than I thought. Rosie is
good to me. Seeing her is good for me. I told you that last night."

Jennie reeled in shock. "Oh? Seems like you're turning this into quite a habit huh? Talking back
like that. Getting all high and mighty now, huh? Think you know what's up."

"I'm an adult, Jen. I can decide for myself on certain things. I know what I'm doing."

"Do you?" Jennie asked stubbornly. She wasn't about to let the issue go. "Well sounds to me more
like Rosie is influencing you a little too much. Speaking out of turn and trying to make it seem like
I'm the one at fault here? Lis, you were supposed to be doing pilates!"

"I was going to start—"

"When?! You were supposed to have started close to an hour ago!"

"Rosé has cut back on her intake of clients. She has more time now," Lisa said calmly. "I started to
stay longer than an hour usually too. You wouldn't be home anyway when I got back."

More revelations. Jennie pinched the bridge of her nose. No wonder they had grown close. It was
all her fault. All her fault.

"So that gives you right to what, stay here and get cosy with Rosie?"

"I don't get cosy with her," Lisa said testily. "I know my limits. I know what I'm doing, I told you
so last night."

Well, since we're on the topic of last night, how about a quick refresh? What did we say about
spending bonding time with your little Rosie, huh?"

"To be careful—"

"Exactly! To not encourage it too much! And you're doing the exact opposite. You've been doing
the exact opposite behind my back all this time. You're playing with fire Lisa," Jennie insisted. She
held up her hand. "Don't come running to me when everything crashes. Oh wait, you won't have to
—who else is gonna clean up after your messes? Right. Me." she finished bitterly.

Lisa watched her sadly, conflict reflecting clearly in her eyes. "Jen..."

"Don't," Jennie choked. "Just...since you don't look like you'll be giving up on her any time
soon...just be careful. That's all. I wash my hands of this."

"I will be okay. I know you're scared for me, for the both of us. But I know what I'm doing. I want
to give this a try." She took Jennie's hand, squeezing tightly. "Trust me?" she added beseechingly.
"I'm not the little girl from...from before. Just...trust me?"

Jennie's eyes locked with hers for one long moment before she turned away, her fingers sliding out
of Lisa's grasp.

"I wish I could."

>

Rosé ran a frustrated hand through her hair and knelt down next to Ella to wait, distracting herself
with the mewling creatures that had already settled themselves in her heart after merely a day.

Because now every time she looks at the two balls of fur, she is reminded of Lisa's vulnerability;
she is reminded of the way Lisa looked up at her with awe; she is reminded of Lisa's sober and
sincere words at the door that unleashed a storm in her head, catching her by surprise. It's a
memory that she is certain will be branded in her mind and having these kittens will forever remind
her of the night her heart was thrown into turmoil.

They hadn't talked about it again when Lisa came over earlier and Rosé was okay with that, for
now.

She needed time to think, time to process and understand if Lisa had truly meant what Rosé
understood, what deep deep down Rosé maybe wanted her to convey.

"Mom? Why was Jennie unnie mad with Lisa? Did she...do something wrong?"
"I don't know baby. It's best we don't interfere, hmm? They'll sort it out..."

They raised their heads when Jennie's voice rose slightly, sharp incoherent words reaching their
ears. When Ella's questioning eyes met her mother's, Rosé could only shrug helplessly.

I'm sorry Lisa....

Rosé had tried catching Lisa's eye, suspecting the reason behind Jennie's switch in mood and
wanting to stop her and apologise in Lisa's place: it was her idea to stop the session for a break,
Lisa wasn't responsible. They weren't wasting time it was a legitimate break....albeit a break that
had started almost an hour ago.

Their fingers even brushed as Lisa walked passed her, sending that delicious jolt of shivers down
Rosé's back. She only wanted to check that Lisa would indeed be alright, the sight of the blonde's
hunched posture alarming her a little. Lisa's eyes stayed resolutely on the ground.

She knew she shouldn't relish such innocent careless touches the way she did but Rosé had to admit
that her attraction to Lisa at this point was undeniable. Lately, their hands lingered more than what
would be considered normal, ghosting over expanses of warm skin as they carried out the
exercises, just enjoying each other's touch without the need to label it, giving each other small
smiles.

Lisa's response to her the previous night echoed in Rosé's mind for hours, keeping her up tossing
and turning. The implication of Lisa's answer was all too clear, simple as it was. Rosé found she
couldn't ignore the painful tug of her heart at the idea of being with her—

No, no.

She couldn't do that to Lisa. Lisa was beautiful and young and innocent and undeserving of being
burdened with all of her dirty baggage. Her demons would only drag Lisa down. Lisa shouldn't be
tainted.

If she ever found out the truth, Lisa would hate her.

If her boss ever found out about the person Rosé had lately taken to daydream about, Lisa would
end up dead.

No matter which way she looked at the situation, Lisa was unreachable, untouchable.

And it should remain that way so that nobody would get hurt, her conscience pointed out.

How come she never worried about these issues when it was Jisoo? Rosé wondered. How come it
had never crossed her mind that Jisoo could get hurt being close to her?

The answer would be selfishness: with Jisoo, she only cared about drowning out the screams and
nightmares with any way possible. Jisoo was available and convenient and comfortable but not
sufficient, both treading shallow water, neither pulling the other deeper. Both wanted to swim, but
neither knew how.

Now there was Lisa, and Rosé discovered a new type of selfishness— the kind that kept Lisa at
bay so that there was no chance of Rosé hurting her by getting too close; the kind of selfishness that
feared for the blonde's life before it thought of the consequences that would befall Rosé if she
rebelled; the kind of selfishness that had already committed Lisa's laugh to memory and diligently
collected each bright sound, because that's all it would allow Rosé to have as a recollection of Lisa.
The risks were (and would always be) too great.

But her traitorous heart beat just a little faster when Lisa smiled at her; her soul soared just a little
higher when Lisa laughed or joked with Ella; her days turned just a little bit more bearable when
Lisa barged into her life.

When the blonde was around, Rosé forgot all her worries, cliché as that sounded—she was too
focused on recording the memories of the blonde girl to take them out again at another time and
borrow their light when her spirits dipped.

Lisa...

How could she have fallen this fast for someone she barely knew? Was it lust?

Or was it something far more powerful, something beyondmere carnal attraction, an unattainable
state of serenity that Rosé could barely dare to even dream about?

"Ow!"

Her attention was diverted to the more mischievous kitten of the duo, Leo as he had taken to his
head to play with her palm.

He had recovered remarkably well and scampered about unsteadily, using his teeth to chomp on
any fleshy moving object in sight, usually fingers and hands. He was clearly Lisa's favourite and
Rosé had kept his name for that reason. Luca, the more snugglier kitten currently asleep in Ella's
arms, had become Oliver to appease her daughter.

"Unnie!"

"Hey kiddo..."

Rosé's head snapped up, watching Lisa walking into the pilates area all by herself. "Where's
Jennie?"

"She's leaving. She has her shift soon."

Lisa reached for Leo and tucked him in her arms, stroking his head as he squirmed.

"Lisa...are you okay?"

"I will be." Lisa smiled at the mother and daughter but Rosé knew by now when Lisa's smile was
real and when it wasn't. Her heart clenched.

She needed to talk to Jennie.

Rosé stood up abruptly, pausing only to give her daughter and Lisa a reassuring smile before she
scurried out of the room to catch the brunette trainer.

>

Jennie had finished putting on her shoes, picked up her toolbox and had her hand on the doorknob
before pattering footsteps sounded behind her and someone tugged her shoulder.

"Please don't blame Lisa."

Jennie stiffened underneath her touch.

Rosé noticed and lowered her hand before continuing. "It was my fault for getting distracted and
playing with the cats. Lisa saved them yesterday, as I'm sure you know, that's why we're rather
focused on them at the moment before I'll have them be placed in a good home. But I promise you,
it will not divert from Lisa' focus for the tournament. So, please...don't go too hard on her. Blame
me if you like. I understand I wasn't very professional and I will maintain a stricter divide between
my profession and my personal life."

All through Rosé's heart-felt speech, Jennie stood still with her back to the woman that had her
sister crushing hard.

Standing up for her huh? Interesting, Jennie thought. But she's...honest.

When silence fell after Rosé stopped speaking, Jennie sighed and turned to face her.

"I'm not blaming anyone," Jennie said tiredly. "I just had some words with Lisa about...choices and
decisions. You don't have to worry."

"Oh...oh okay then. Uh...see you around?"

"Rosé, can I ask you a question? What is Lisa to you?"

Rosé stopped mid-ramble, her eyes widening. Jennie watched her closely as she swallowed and
pondered.

"A friend." Rosé said at last. "A dear friend," she added, wincing.

"Hmm," was all that Jennie said.

>

"You didn't have to do that, Rosie," Lisa said later when Rosé came back. Ella had gone to
continue her homework since the kittens had finally fallen asleep, tired out from playing. Bori also
reappeared, prowling around after being forced to flee from the terrorising little kittens.

Lisa watched the girl's face closely, longing to cup her cheeks and maybe pinch them in
reassurance.

"It was okay, she understood my side of things, I hope," Rosé told her. She didn't ask what Jennie
had talked about with her and they sat back in relatIve

Something between them had been disrupted, their interactions jerky and stiff, a gulf opening up
between them as they remained lost in their own thoughts. Both girls were sitting on the mats, with
neither seemingly very eager to start on actual exercises despite the echo of Jennie's presence
hanging over them like a ghost.

Until Rosé snapped her finger on sudden inspiration.

"I almost forgot—I wanted to show you something!"

She congratulated herself for remembering, her smile returning as she climbed to her feet and
chuckled at Lisa's quizzical face.

"Just one minute okay? I'll be back," she promised and scurried away, reappearing moments later
with a cardboard box in her arm.

"I have a lot of my stuff that I never got around to unpacking and putting away, mostly because it's
packed neatly in boxes and doesn't require dusting that way," Rosé explained as she settled next to
Lisa again, who scooted closer. "But now that an opportunity came up, I started searching and I
found this just this morning..."

"What's in it?" Lisa asked, eyes shining with curiosity. Rosé smiled wider—Lisa reminded her so
much of a child with her innocent questions.

"Guess."

"Uh... books? Clothes? Toys? Toys for Ella? Bedroom toys?"

"Lisa!" Rosé yelped as Lisa giggled. "Don't be naughty!"

"Well then what could you possibly be hiding in this mysterious box?"

"Why don't you see for yourself?" Rosé invited, sliding the box next to her. The tape had already
been sliced open. She waited with bated breath as Lisa opened the flaps and stared down into the
contents, her face unreadable.

"You don't have to, you know, read them if you don't want to anymore," Rosé said, uncertain of
how to interpret Lisa's reaction. "But I did promise you can have my X-Men comics and now I
found them and well....here."

She leaned across to take out a handful of comic books, their arms brushing slightly.

"Rosie..." Lisa whispered. Her voice quavered with emotion. "You really brought these out...for
me?"

"Well yeah. I haven't touched them in a while and I'm afraid they're all old annuals, I used to sneak
out and spend my pocket money on them when I had some to spare. Ella isn't really interested in
them," Rosé pouted, "so...I'm glad they'll have someone new to appreciate them."

"You mean, you're glad you'll have someone new to geek over them with," Lisa teased and Rosé
laughed, pleased that her idea helped dissipate the tense awkwardness coating them ever since
Jennie had walked in. Lisa had lost her glum, droopy face and her mouth now stretched wide, eyes
sparkling with renewed excitement as she scooped out comic books, scattering the neat piles as she
flipped through them animatedly.

"Gosh, Rosie where do I even start? There's so many! Who knew you were such a hoarder!"

"Honestly, you can pretty much start wherever. There's so many mini-series and intersecting story
lines and ret-cons. But here, X-23, that's where my girl Laura shows up and her father's Logan, I
mean Wolverine but you should read like, some of the actual X-Men stuff before branching out to
the characters themselves so maybe X-Men First Class, it's not that old and there's even the movie!
Oh you gotta watch the movie someday! And then my other fave, Blink, she appears in Uncanny
X-Men but her story's been changed around so I think the best one is New Mutants so you could
start from there. There's the show The Gifted, it's quite recent, she's awesome in it."

All while she had been talking, Rosé had been sifting through the pile of comic books, picking
them up and dropping them as she searched for the specific comic she was after and smiling widely
after she finds it and dumps it in Lisa's lap.

She stopped when she noticed Lisa wasn't saying anything and turned around just in time to see
Lisa pressing her mouth in a thin line to stifle a laugh.
Rosé pouted. "What? Don't judge me okay, I haven't read these in ages!"

"Oh I'm not judging, you little geek," Lisa grinned.

"Yes you were, you have that stupid smirk!"

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do!"

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do!"

"Rosieeeee!"

"Lisaaaaaa!"

They ended up laughing again.

"I swear I was not judging," Lisa said finally when they recovered. "I was just thinking how cute
you look when you're pouting and trying to find the comic. Your cheeks bunch up, like this. They
look so squishy and cute, like a chipmunk!"

"I'm never gonna hear the end of that huh?" Rosé groaned, secretly happy. Even if she wasn't
exactly thrilled with the chipmunk moniker, Lisa had called her cute and it made her feel tingly all
over.

"Nope," Lisa said, picking up a comic. "So, X-Men First Class, hmm? I guess I'll ask Somi to
watch the movie some time. She'll be busy now, maybe I could ask her after exams. I'll be more
free too."

"You can always watch it...here?" Rosé said tentatively. She had no idea where the initiative came
from but now that Lisa seemed serious about starting on her journey to discover more about this
world, Rosé felt it was her place to guide her and show her just how amazing and wonderful it was.

Having her close by and watching the blonde boxer enjoy it would be a perk, that was all, no other
motive, as she reasoned with her conscience.

She tried to rein in the swell of disappointment when Lisa shook her head shyly. "I don't want to
get you in trouble Rosie. When I'm here for pilates, let's just focus on pilates, yeah?"

" Oh. I...I suppose you're right," Rosé admitted, downcast. She started when Lisa's hand landed
softly on her own, making her look up questioningly.

"Of course, that doesn't mean that if we spent time together outside of pilates sessions we couldn't
watch it," Lisa pointed out, "we could that, if you want to, of course."

She couldn't quite explain the tender look in Lisa's eyes but she found herself mesmerised by the
sincere orbs gazing at her steadily.

"Yeah....yeah I'd want to. I'd like that," Rosé whispered.

Watching a movie together some time wouldn't hurt.

Right?
"Speaking of Somi," she heard Lisa say, "she's having a party at her Dad's diner place after her
exams finish and I'm invited to bring a guest. So I was wondering if you would wanna you
know...go with me?" Lisa finished, hope clear in her voice.

Rosé's stomach did back flips, her mind only now registering that Lisa's hand was still resting on
hers. "Lisa I..."

"I know it might not be your thing and you have Ella as well," Lisa rushed in, "but I was asking,
just in case. I don't really have many other friends. Jisoo unnie's going too. I thought it would be
fun to hang out...you know have a drink....and oh there's gonna be karaoke! You could sing!"

"Lisa that all sounds lovely..." Rosé began, torn.

Indeed, she had Ella—although she left her all by herself when she out on her nightly job, it was
out of necessity, not because she went out to party. Leaving Ella all by herself just to go out and
have fun was crossing all lines—she would never do that.

"But?" Lisa asked, bracing herself.

"I don't know...with Ella...I can't leave her alone."

"No, of course not," Lisa agreed. She squeezed her hand. "Rosie it's okay. I just wanted you
to...hang out with us and....and have a little fun, maybe. But you're right, leaving Ella all by herself
is wrong. I understand."

"There...there might be a way," Rosé muttered, her skilful negotiation abilities coming to the fore
as she sought out a loophole. It came easily to her—out on her errands for her boss, being able to
stay ahead of clients by offering solutions and counter-choices helped her stay on top of the game.

She had never dreamed such experience would help her figure out how to attend a party without
piling on the guilt weighing down on her soul.

"Ella's always mentioning how her friends have sleepovers," Rosé explained. "I don't really like the
idea, because having a room full of kids...anything can happen and go wrong. But I suppose...if I
were to allow her to sleep over at someone's just for one night...and check in with her frequently
throughout the night....maybe it's do-able...."

"You'll let me go to a sleep-over?!" Ella squeaked in delight as she pounced on her mother and
overturned them over. "Yes yes yes please! I'll be good!"

"Whoa kiddo!" Lisa laughed. "Where did you come from? You scared me!"

"How...how long have you been listening to us?" Rosé gasped as Ella finally stopped her
affectionate attack. The small girl mused thoughtfully.

"I heard you laughing and I came to peek in. I think it was when you two started holding hands?
Yeah."

Rosé blushed furiously at the memory. A glance at Lisa told her the boxer wasn't faring any better
at hiding her embarrassment: her cheeks were splotched red.

"Mom Mom am I really going to a sleep-over? When? When?!" Ella couldn't contain her
excitement; she stood up to dance a little victory jig, making Lisa chuckle and clap in amusement.

"Slow down baby, it's still a long way away," Rosé sighed. She pinched her nose. "Nothing's been
decided yet. And I'd have to talk it out with the other mothers too, to figure out who would have
the sleep-over. Sleep-overs aren't as easy as you think."

"But you can go to Somi's party with Lisa unnie if I go!" Ella said as though that made all the
difference in the argument.

"She's right," Lisa winked, earning a playful nudge from Rosé.

"You try organising a sleep-over then!"

"Hey, it's not like you're having them over to sleep here," Lisa reasoned.

"Touché, smarty," Rosé chuckled before turning to her eager daughter. "Very well. If someone
from your friends is willing to have a sleep-over a few weeks from now, you can go. You have my
word."

Ella launched herself at her mother to smother her in a hug. "Thank you thank you! I'll be good!"

Then to everyone's surprise, Ella undid her arms from around Rosé and leaned over to hug Lisa,
pulling her in close from her neck without shifting from her mother's lap. Stunned, Lisa locked
gazes with Rosé's own confounded expression.

Lisa's eyes softened as she brought her arms around Ella to return the hug, making Rosé's heart
melt at the scene before her.

"Thanks for inviting my Mom, unnie. Please take care of her," Ella said as she squeezed Lisa's
shoulder.

Lisa nodded solemnly without looking away from the pilates instructor sitting right in front of her.
"Of course. I'll do my best to make sure she's happy."

Rosé had a feeling she wasn't talking about Somi's party anymore. Her tender gaze and her firm
words sparked the dying embers in her heart and Rosé knew: being selfish to protect Lisa wasn't
going to work anymore—she had lost. She was too weak.

"Thank you," she whispered faintly.

With those two words, Rosé gave in and let herself fall.
 Understanding

"...three two one—CHANGE!"

Lisa dropped the weights and moved to the next station: battle ropes.

She moved her arms rapidly in sync as she snapped the ropes like whips, the Vault echoing with
the deafening thumps when they hit the floor. She gritted her teeth, sweat dripping from her brow
as she worked her arms harder. Her muscles gave a delicious sting with each movement and her
front was soaked in sweat.

Jennie prowled behind her, scrutinising Lisa's form and barking out random words that Jisoo
couldn't decipher from her post on a bench.

It was the day of the opening night for the Purge and tension was running high for the sisters—
neither Jennie nor Lisa showed signs of slowing down as time wore on.

Jisoo popped in the morning as usual to find the Vault a hive of activity consisting of Lisa running
around the gym as she jumped from one station to the next in rapid succession, with Jennie barking
orders.

"They're preparing for tonight," Irene had filled in.

Jisoo stood and stared, frowning at the spectacle before her. "But shouldn't Lisa take it easy? Pasta
said so. Besides, she could hurt herself, and she'll be tired out."

"You think I didn't try telling them?" Irene sighed and waved in Jennie's direction. "If you wanna
give it a go, maybe Jennie will listen to you." They both turned to look back at the sisters.

Both trainer and boxer were in tank-tops, grey globes forming underneath their armpits letting
Jisoo know they had been going at the relentless exercises for some time.

The Vault was otherwise empty except for Matthew—Jisoo knew that the other girls that usually
came in were due to start exams today as well. Their presence would have been helpful right now
as Jisoo gulped and timidly approached the brunette trainer.

"Keep at it! If I see you slacking that will be another three sets of weights, ya hear me?" Jennie
bellowed before she turned to Jisoo with a tight smile. "Morning Chu. Sorry, I'm a bit busy today,
you can go get started and I'll pass around some time soon."

"Jendeuk, it's okay. But don't you think you should—"

"Hold that thought." Jennie whipped her head back to yell at Lisa. "Skip higher! Lift your leg
higher come on, work those thighs, you lazy slug! I want them rock hard and ready for tonight!"

The she turned back to Jisoo with a slight cough. "Ughh, sore throat. I'm sorry, you were saying?"

"Uh, you sound like my P.E teacher," Jisoo laughed nervously, voice high and squeaky. "Hey, so
here's an idea—Lisa is going to be all tired out for tonight so how about a break—"

"No."

"A teeny tiny weeny break—"

"No."

"....not even a weeny tiny teeny break?"

"Nothing Jisoo. The Purge is tonight and she's facing Shadow. She gotta be ready, Shadow isn't an
easy adversary. I want her prepared," Jennie barked back, making Irene flinch in her corner.

But Jisoo was used to Jennie barking and snapping so she didn't even flinch. "Oh but won't this tire
her out? And she's up against Shadow....is this Shadow fast around the ring, like her namesake
then? Lisa should conserve her energy—"

"Lisa can take it, Chu," Jennie said, her voice brittle. "Now if you'll excuse me."

Jisoo was left to look on, torn and conflicted. She noticed the usual box of bagels was still sitting
on Jennie's desk.

It stayed there for well into the morning, well after Irene and Matthew had left but the siblings
showed no sign of stopping, except for brief water breaks at intervals.

Should I ask them to break up for lunch? Jisoo thought after a glance at her phone, I can't go to
work like this. I won't be able to concentrate about anything else. Oh well, the people at work will
manage without me anyway, it's not like I do much.

"Chu? Aren't you going to work?"

Jennie stood before Jisoo in all her drenched glory, the dazzling shaft of sunlight entering from the
windows lending Jennie's skin a golden glow. With her hair swept back in a ponytail and her soft
abs on display, Jennie was the vision of raw and powerful femininity and Jisoo felt all her senses
devolve into chaos as she tried to rein in her ogling instincts.

"Uh I uh...I...I wasn't...I wasn't going in today," Jisoo stammered, swallowing when Jennie set her
hands on her hips and gazed at her sternly. Beads of perspiration ran down her temple.

Such a hot look when she does that, Jisoo thought through the haze of hormones flooding her
mind, sweaty jock turn-on, is that what they call it? Is that what this is?

"Jisoo!"

Jisoo blinked. "Huh?"

Jennie sighed. "I said, I'm going back to work with Lisa, will you be staying around?"

"Yeah for sure. Moral support and everything," Jisoo said eagerly. Totally not to check you out, she
added in her head.

Jennie shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"Jendeuk wait. Why don't you...stop for a quick break and have something to eat? I'm sure you
must be starving—"

"Lisa has to stay as light as possible in preparation for the match," Jennie said shortly, "and I don't
have time to eat either." She shook her hands out, closing and opening her fists as she talked.
"We've....we've never come this close before. Getting through the Purge is our only shot to win the
Grand Slam and win the money. I can't afford to make mistakes, we have to be prepared."

"Jendeuk but...I think you're going to extremes here," Jisoo said slowly. She took Jennie's hand,
rubbing the knuckles comfortingly. "Have a break. Rest. Eat. You both need it. Then pick up again
in the afternoon, you'll be more refreshed and focused too."

Taking Jennie's silence as encouragement, Jisoo went on. "And you know, have a toilet break. I
swear, you guys must have a bladder the size of a giant squid's eyeball!"

"A giant squid's eyeball?" Jennie said, arching an eyebrow. "Why a giant squid's eyeball, of all
things?"

"Because it's as big as a basketball!" Jisoo explained, exaggerating the circumference with a
spherical illustration of her arms. "It's ginormous!"

"Dork," Jennie said under her breath, a tiny smile breaking across her face. "Hmm...maybe you're
right, we could have a quick break..."

"Yes," Jisoo said, pleased, "and after all, isn't that what Rosé Pasta has been telling you all this
time? A break is healthy for the mind and body...."

Jisoo trailed off, confused at the sudden change in Jennie's expression: where before there had been
the beginnings of a smile, it was now replaced with an ugly scowl etched deeply on her face.

"On second thoughts," Jennie said coldly, "maybe Lisa shouldn't stop after all."

And she flounced off with a huff, leaving Jisoo bemused.

>

"Hey Jen, want some cheetos?" Jisoo asked hopefully, waving the bag right under Jennie's nose.

"No Jisoo." Jennie said absently without taking her eyes off Lisa.

She had come to a standstill to observe her sister while Lisa hadn't relented one bit, surprisingly
keeping up her rapid rhythm well with no complaint.

Her grunts and growls of exertion rumbled all around the Vault as she worked her limbs harder,
pushing herself to the maximum. She was like an efficient well-oiled machine, pistoning up and
down, left and right. Her ponytail swung crazily as Jisoo watched, whipping back and forth with
the movement of her head.

Lisa hadn't spoken a word to Jisoo or Matthew or Irene or even Jennie, focusing solely on her
endless routine. It made Jisoo's head spin watching her completing the circuit over and over again.

>

"Don't you think global warming is like the earth having a fever and trying to kill the virus that's
making it ill, that is, us humans?"

"No Jisoo."

"'No Jisoo' seems to fit everything I say. You're a genius, Jendeuk."

"No Jisoo."

>

"Do you suppose bats ever tried sleeping standing up instead of hanging down? How don't they
faint anyway? I should check on Reddit."

"No Jisoo."

>

"Jendeuk, just a little snack." Jisoo wheedled, opening her third snack packet. "You know you want
some, come on. It's your fave, pretzels!"

"No Jisoo."

>

After much thought and bored with watching Lisa skipping rope for the umpteenth time while
Jennie stood stiff as a statue, Jisoo pouted and crossed her arms.

"I'm thinking of getting my dog a girlfriend so they can have babies," she announced. "That ahjussi
needs some excitement in his life. And we could be grandmas together Jendeuk."

"No Jisoo."

>

"Jendeuk, don't you think you're taking this too far?" Jisoo said boldly, not caring if she was going
to have her head chewed off but she swore she'd scream if she saw Lisa hit the punching bag one
more time. "Lisa is so done, look at her."

"No Jisoo."

>

"Maybe I should go buy a ton of lottery tickets. You can have them and win some money."

"No Jisoo."

>

"Okay, you know what? I won't say another word," Jisoo declared grumpily after all her attempts to
make Jennie stop her incessant drive proved futile.

"No Jisoo."

"Oh so you do want me to talk to you then?"

"No Jisoo."

"There's no winning with you!" Jisoo said in exasperation.

"No Jisoo."

Jisoo sprawled on the bench in defeat.

>

She watched the shadows grow longer, slanting across the sparse gym equipment. Jisoo lay on her
back on a bench, just staring up at the mesh of stripped pipes and wires criss-crossing the ceiling
and listening to the noises of exertion from Lisa.
"Harder! Punch it come on!" Jennie's voice was hoarse as she urged Lisa to hit the punching bag
harder, leaning against it for support from the other side as the boxer hurled her fists.

Jisoo closed her eyes. How much longer? Were they seriously going to keep it up until the evening?

She needed a miracle, a divine intervention that would break down the doors and command Jennie
and Lisa to stop their single-minded training frenzy with authority.

She huffed at herself. And just who would be fit to order Jennie and Lisa around, huh? mocked her
inner voice. Give it up.

"Uhm....hello?" called a soft, airy voice out of nowhere. Jisoo had no idea how she heard the call
over the hectic activity going on around her but she did and she immediately shot bolt upright,
electrified.

Of course. Of course.

Why hadn't she thought of that? Heaven had heard her prayers after all.

"MY DIVINE INTERVENTION IS HERE!" Jisoo screeched as she flung herself at a startled Rosé
who buckled beneath the older girl's weight. "PASTA, TELL THEM TO STOP, IT'S DRIVING
ME CRAZY! I SWEAR, LISA SOUNDS LIKE SHE'S BANGING SOMEONE! OR
WRESTLING WITH A BULL!

"Unnie, wha—"

"TELL THEM TO HAVE A BREAK," Jisoo wailed, "I COULDN'T STOP THEM! THEY'VE
BEEN GOING AT IT FOR HOURS."

"Rosie! Hey, you're here!" Lisa called out cheerily as she started to walk to Rosé but Jennie pulled
her back.

"Nuh-uh, no chit-chat, we gotta get through this set!"

"But Rosie's here—"

"So you drop everything because Rosie's here?" Jennie scoffed. She frowned in Rosé direction.
"Say hi and let's get back to work."

"Jen, you've been going at it for hours, this is madness. Please stop. You've trained enough," Jisoo
pleaded. She held out a water bottle to Jennie. "I know you want Lisa to be ready but trust me,
pushing her hard like this will only hurt her. So....take a break now?"

"How long have they been going at it then?" Rosé inquired.

"Hours!" Jisoo exclaimed, with a silent curt nod from Jennie, "they've been working out since
morning, I was here all the time! They haven't stopped to eat or drink or anything—the bagels are
still there on the desk! Look for yourself if you don't believe me."

"But Jisoo, I needed this workout," Lisa came to Jennie's rescue when she saw the deep lines
etched in Rosé's forehead. She was panting and gasping in between words, as was Jennie herself.
"Jen and I, we can handle this, don't worry. I'm used to this. It's all perfectly okay."

"No it's not all perfectly okay at all," Rosé said sharply.

All eyes turned on her as she pursed her lips, her gaze stern as she eyed the sisters.
"The match is in a few hours. And you're telling me you haven't eaten anything for energy either?
You should be resting and relaxing, not working out like a mad fiend and possibly incurring an
injury—uh, yes Lisa?" Rosé asked, distracted by the blonde's arm shooting up into the air.

"What's 'incurring' mean?" Lisa asked with interest.

Jennie's frown softened into a fond smile at her sister's innocence. Even in the middle of a tense
conversation, Lisa always managed to unconsciously diffuse the situation with her child-like
curiosity that couldn't wait to be sated, no matter how serious the topic was.

She was about to answer Lisa herself when Rosé beat her to it. "In this context, it means sustaining
an injury."

"Oohhh okay. Thanks Rosie!" Lisa chirped, happy with the new word she learned.

Something about the soft smile Rosé gave her sister and the way Lisa only had eyes for the pilates
instructor had Jennie's gut twisting into knots, a bitter taste coating her tongue. She was very much
tempted to toss her hair in irritation.

So, she was that easy to replace, huh? Lisa forgot her that quickly, huh?

"Yes well, as I was saying," Rosé continued, "please, conserve your energy for tonight. I
can't...well, rather we can't have you get battered just before your big night now, can we?"

Lisa rubbed the back of her neck, gazing uncertainly in Jennie's direction who made no effort to
hide her scowl.

"She wasn't going to get hurt. That's why I was with her, to keep an eye out and pace her," Jennie
said sullenly. She stepped up to Rosé, even standing on the tips of her toes to intimidate.

"You don't have to worry. Everything is under control. Lisa can handle all the physical exercise."
Jennie gnashed through her teeth. "She's no weak daisy."

"Of course I worry." Rosé didn't back down—her voice lost its mellow timbre, going down an
octave and sounding harsher. "Isn't that why she came to me to do pilates in the first place?
Because she was overworking and burning herself out? I don't want you to undo Lisa's progress in
one day, Jennie. Too much is too much. Lisa is only human, you can't drive her like she's some
machine."

"Are you sure that's only why you're worrying?" Jennie said sarcastically. " That poor Lisa will get
hurt? Are you sure there's no other reason why you're worrying about her?"

"Isn't that enough cause for concern, working out for an inhumane amount of hours?" Rosé
challenged. "What other reason should there be?"

"You tell me, Rosie," Jennie spat. Rosé didn't blink.

Lisa and Jisoo stared back and forth between the two women eyeing each other balefully, like two
lionesses before they rip each other's throats out.

"Got nothing to say? You don't know what boxing entails so kindly don't butt in." Jennie gritted. "I
know Lisa, I know how much she can take."

"Lisa is my client. I need to make sure she doesn't regress back to her original state." Rosé retorted
before they were once again silent, glaring ferociously as they willed each other to stand down
first.

The silence blanketing them was deafening, the room emptying of air the longer Rosé and Jennie
stood facing one another with identical grim expressions.

Lisa shifted from one foot to the other between them anxiously. An urgent glance at Jisoo proved
useless—the older girl merely shrugged, at a loss as well.

Well, someone's gotta be the adult, Lisa thought as Rosé and Jennie squared up, tssh, Irene should
be proud of me. This is the first and last time I'm adulting...

"Hey uh...maybe a break will be good Jen..." Lisa began nervously, all the words drying up in her
mouth when Jennie shot her an incredulous look. For a good few seconds, they blinked at each
other with Lisa forcing herself to stay put and ignore the guilt swelling in her chest as she locked
eyes with Jennie's livid ones.

"Listen. What Rosie said....well, er, Jisoo unnie was speaking sense. We've been going at it for
quite some time and I have been practising all day too, and yesterday and the day before I trained
hard. I'm sure I'm more than prepared to take on Shadow tonight. So....yeah?"

Lisa clasped her hands tightly, waiting for Jennie's decision. She could only offer her sister a
hopeful smile before Jennie deflated, the scowl wiped clean off her face as she huffed and wheeled
away.

"Fine. If you want a break, have your break then," Jennie grunted. "I'm going to shower."

She stalked away, savagely hitting the punching bag in the process and disappearing into the
bathrooms.

"Well...that went well," Jisoo remarked lightly as they watched the punching bag swing crazily
back and forth before it gradually slowed down until it settled in its original position. She grabbed
her bag and sauntered after Jennie. "I think I'm gonna go shower too, it's been a long day. Lisa,
make sure you eat."

Once Jisoo disappeared Lisa exhaled, suddenly breathing more freely as she dropped to the ground
and spread her arms and legs wide like a starfish. "Wheeeeeeewwww, that was intense man! For a
second there, I thought you were gonna jump at each other's throat."

"We might as well have," Rosé sighed as she brought the box of bagels and sat down next to Lisa.
She wrinkled her nose as she peered into the contents of the box. "This has...egg in it?"

"Yep. I told you, the best food in the world. If I weren't so hungry, I'd let you have a bite. Pass it
over, I'm starving—"

"Are you nuts? It's been sitting out here all day, it could give you stomach-ache!" Rosé pressed her
mouth into a thin line as she pushed the carton aside, ignoring Lisa's disappointed pout. "Do you
have some other snack you can eat?"

"I think there's some pot noodles. I'll heat one up later."

"I suppose that will have to do," Rosé sighed. "But next time, I will personally feed you a proper
salad if this happens again," she added sternly. Lisa's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. She
waved her arms frantically.

"No no not salad! Jennie unnie eats salad, I eat chicken! I don't want salad! You can feed me
chicken nuggets!"

"Salad."

"Chicken wings then?"

"Salad."

"How about chicken kebabs? They're tasty."

"Salad," Rosé said firmly, "you need your vitamins."

"Nooooooooooo! Only white gym hoes eat those lame-ass rabbit leaves!" Lisa rolled on her back
and kicked her feet like a kid throwing a tantrum. "No salad! No salad! No salad!"

"I'm a white gym hoe then?"

"No but you know....they're just...you know....oh you know what I mean Rosie, come on! Anything
but salad!" Lisa pulled a face.

"You really can't stand salad."

"Euurrrgggh!" Lisa gagged.

"Well then, you better not end up in this situation again, hmm?" Rosé asked, her voice betraying
her amusement at the end as she fought to stifle her laughter. She broke down in giggles when Lisa
nodded her head enthusiastically. "You're such a kid, Lis."

"And you love that," Lisa stuck her tongue out and sat up, missing the quiet 'yes' from her friend.
"So now what are we going to do?"

Rosé fidgeted with her fingers. "Well, I only stopped by to....to wish you luck tonight. I gotta head
back home, Ella will be coming back soon."

"Oh....thank you..." Lisa said shyly, "that was...really nice of you to remember."

"Of course! It's important to you so....yeah, of course I remembered..."

Their eyes locked for a brief moment before they both flashed a quick smile and looked away,
searching for words to describe the warm tingly feeling taking over their bodies and making them
shiver.

"I...I don't know what came over me when I was talking to Jennie," Rosé began soberly, "maybe I
should apologise." She clasped her hands together to stop her fidgeting. "I shouldn't have said those
things like that but she...she's... it's not right the way she's doing this...you can't just take it like
you're some machine..."

"Hey hey. Rosie," Lisa called. She propped herself on her elbows before continuing. "It's okay.
She'll get over it."

"I don't know Lisa. Only days ago, we confronted each other at my place, and now we did it here
again. If she didn't hate me before, she will now," Rosé fretted. "I should apologise to her—"

"No. Don't," Lisa said, making the other blonde stop in her tracks.

"Thanks for...for standing up for me," Lisa said quietly, "unnie's just stressed right now but I
promise, we both know my limit. I'm a mean muscle machine after all, ya know?" She flexed her
biceps and winked.

"That's just it!" Rosé's shrill exclamation startled her. "You're not just some machine, you're not
meant to be working out 24/7. You're only human! Your body has limits. And you'll get hurt if you
work out too much! Remember what happened first day of pilates?"

"How could I forget?" Lisa grinned before she turned serious. "But I promise, this is different. I'm
used to working out for long stretches of time."

"You shouldn't be normalising it!" Rosé said indignantly. "It's...you should take many breaks. Your
body is capable of a lot of work, certainly, but it needs its breaks too." She combed her hair in
frustration. "I know gym junkies but you and Jennie surpass that definition—you go overboard."

"That's us," Lisa chuckled. Her laughter abruptly died when a shadow fell over her.

Rosé loomed over Lisa, her face upside down and her brows knitted.

"Well, now you know. Start standing up to her if she pressures you, just like you did now. You
were so cool."

"I was?"

"Yes. I was proud you were trying to make her see sense. Know your body's limits, even if you
don't want to stop. You're only human after all and....well....you could get hurt," she finished in a
small voice.

"I won't," Lisa replied reassuringly. "I promise I won't."

"You keep saying that but you can't promise it won't happen, Lis," Rosé said quietly, "nobody can.
Accidents happen all the time, even when you're careful."

Rosé sat back up allowing for Lisa to sit upright.

She longed to to squeeze Rosé's hand and offer words of reassurance. She wished she could tell the
blonde that she wasn't as fragile as Rosé thought. She wished she could tell Rosé that she was far
more capable than many other people. She wished she could tell Rosé that she could take hit after
hit; she could take and take and take and then take some more before she ultimately broke down.

But Lisa merely gave Rosé her most comforting smile and changed the subject. "Hey, how come
you're here anyway?"

The other girl smiled. "Have a guess."

"I dunno. You missed me?"

"Besides that," Rosé blushed and Lisa stifled a squeal.

"Awwww Rosie missed me, my cute little baby chipmunk—"

"Don't," Rosé groaned, regretting answering on impulse.

"My goo-goo little baby awwwwwwwww look at those cheeks!"

"Stop it."
"Stop it." Lisa imitated in perfect English, nailing Rosé's accent. She snickered when Rosé pursed
her lips.

"Very funny."

"Very funny."

"Real mature of you."

"Real mature of you," Lisa echoed in a high-pitched voice.

"I did not whine like that!"

"I did not whine like that!"

"Stop repeating me!"

"Stop repeating me!"

"Lisa I swear."

"Rosie I swear."

"Lisaaaaaaaa!"

"Rosieeeeeeee!"

"This is becoming our thing now," Rosé chuckled after they stopped laughing. "Come on, have you
given up on guessing already?"

"Uhm..." Lisa cast about her for inspiration, her attention suddenly landing on a plain pet carrier
box sitting some feet away that she hadn't noticed before. "Wait, is that...? No way! You didn't!"

"Did what?" Rosé grinned as she brought the carrier next to them and settled down cross-legged.
Quietly, she opened the door and peered in. "Say peek-a-boo to Mommy Lisa, Leo!"

"Oh!" Lisa gasped in delight as the grey and white kitten tumbled out of the carrier into her waiting
arms. "Oh hello baby I missed you too!" she squealed.

She wrapped him up in a tight hug, squashing his face against her cheek as she cuddled him close
and peppered kisses all over his face. Her eyes sparkled when she looked up again, warming Rosé's
heart.

"I thought I'd visit and check up on you...figured you could do with a little distraction to take your
nerves off tonight. And Leo just wouldn't go to sleep so I thought...why not bring him along?"

"Rosie you really, really didn't have to!" Lisa gushed, "I could hug you right now!"

"Well, I'd take it," Rosé said boldly and spread her arms, causing Lisa's eyes to widen. Rosé merely
tilted her head, smiling sweetly. "What?"

She knew perfectly well what: since she came to her decision to not shy away from Lisa anymore
just days ago, it was fascinating how she quickly grew to be more daring around the blonde boxer,
seeking all opportunities to have body contact. The transformation intrigued Rosé but it wasn't
entirely surprising—being around Lisa either gave her a surge of confidence, left her confused or
turned her into a blushing mess.
Rosé's face fell when Lisa shook her head, declining the hug.

"I'm sorry, I'm holding Leo right now, he wins over you." She burst into giggles at Rosé's slack jaw
and the way she pretended to huff and cross her arms.

"Also I'm sweaty and I smell," Lisa added, curling up away from Rosé and sniffing her armpits.
"Eurrgh! Gosh I stink so bad, I'll take a shower once Jen's done."

"I practically work in sweat all day, you ain't special," Rosé sassed, making them both laugh.

"Still, I don't want you to hug me when I'm all sweaty, I wanna be smelling like peaches and
vanilla so you'll have to wait for it." Lisa winked.

Lisa wants to hug again. She likes it when we hug. She wants to hug again.

Rosé couldn't explain the happiness she felt swelling up in her with that mere thought. Their first
hug hadn't been under pleasant circumstances but it had been a very cathartic experience
nonetheless, a small intimate moment they shared which had Rosé reminiscing about it afterwards.

"You really really didn't have to go to all this trouble, Rosie," Lisa said as she played with Leo,
"but I appreciate it so much. How's Luca—wait, he's Oliver now. How's Oliver doing?"

"Okay too I guess. These two bad boys are driving Bori up the wall," Rosé chuckled fondly.

"When are you taking them in? It's been some days. Ella will only grow more attached the longer
they stay."

"And you? Aren't you attached?" Rosé grinned. "But in any case...I was actually going to keep
them after all."

"You are?!" Lisa gasped.

"I have to take them to the vet soon, get them their injections and stuff." Rosé mused, smiling as
Lisa cheered and raised Leo above their head.

The sight was enough to convince the pilates instructor that she was making the right choice—she
just had to be more careful with budgeting Bori's canned tuna intake when the kittens grew a little
older. If her boss got to know, she wasn't entirely sure he'd be happy with the two new family
members but Rosé quickly pushed away the mental image of the long jagged scar running down
his face and focused back on the present.

"Hear that, Leo? We're gonna be seeing each other for a long long long time! Rosie said so!" Lisa
lowered him and pushed the mewling kitten up close to Rosé. "Give her a kiss as thank you!"

She brushed Leo's face against Rosé's cheek. "Mwa! Thank you for adopting us Momma Rosie!"
Lisa made the cat say as she waved his paws around.

"You're welcome, Leo. And you're welcome Lisa. I know you like him the most," Rosé winked.

"Welp, busted!" Lisa crossed her eyes comically, making the Vault echo with the sound of their
laughter again.

>

Unbeknownst to them, Jennie was watching from afar, ignoring the trail of water running down her
back from her wet hair after the shower. Her skin still tingled from the hot water practically
scalding her skin. She had turned the heat to nearly full blast and endured it, gritting her teeth as
she pictured the jets of water blasting her skin and scrubbing it clean of all the negativity and
malevolent feelings she seemed to be harbouring these days.

It left her skin feeling rubbery and extra sensitive like a newborn baby's—giving her the sense of
being stripped of the old skin and handed a fresh new start to the page, a new chance to be a better
person and a better sister.

But all intentions of improvement went down the drain once her view was assaulted by the eyesore
that was the sight of her sister frolicking.

She stifled her irritated snort whenever the two girls shifted too close, and she only relaxed when
they moved away from each other again. The cycle repeated: Lisa and Rosé chatted, moving close
and brushing arms and legs and shifting back and giggling as they played with the kitten while
Jennie looked on, fuming.

"I'm so glad magic doesn't exist right now, even though it's a shame it doesn't. Going to Hogwarts
would be a dream come true, eh?"

Jennie closed her eyes at the presence that crept up behind her. "Chu. Please, not now."

She sensed the other girl come to a stop next to her in the bathroom doorway. "I didn't think you
had the makings of a peeping tom in you, Jendeuk."

"I'm not peeping. I'm just....observing."

"That's usually on the requirement list for peeping-toms but okay."

Jisoo sounded amused but thankfully, she kept her voice low. "They look like they're enjoying
themselves," she said, gesturing to the two girls on the mats, blissfully unaware they were being
watched.

"One would say they're enjoying themselves a little too much," Jennie returned grimly.

She winced when Lisa's hand landed on Rosé's knee and in turn, Rosé lightly covered Lisa's
bruised knuckles with her own perfectly flawless hand. They even smiled at each other: small
fleeting smiles that came and went in the blink of an eye, but held far more weight and meaning
than any of their usual grins.

With those small fleeting smiles, Jennie could see the two of them were smiling not just with their
mouths but with their eyes as well: shy and hesitant yet hopeful. They seemed to be in their own
little bubble, basking in the dying rays of the afternoon sunlight. It almost looked like some
cinematic scene straight out of a movie.

The sight sickened Jennie as the fears swirling around in her head plummeted down to her gut,
making it writhe like a nest of vipers.

Don't look at each other like that

don't look at each other like that

don't look at each other like that—

"Is that why you're stabbing Rosé over and over in your head, then? Because she and Lisa are
enjoying themselves...a little too much, according to you?"
Startled, Jennie rounded on Jisoo. "What the hell? No I'm not!"

"That's why I said I'm glad magic doesn't exist, because you sure are throwing invisible daggers at
the poor girl from your eyes. She'd be dead right now."

Ignoring Jisoo's eccentric manner of uttering proverbs, Jennie persisted in proving her point. "I do
not wish her any ill at all. I just....just...."

She glanced back at the duo, her heart squeezing seeing Lisa's wide smile, alert and attentive as she
listened to Rosé speaking.

She never smiles that wide around me anymore.

"She's growing up Jendeuk. Maybe that's why she doesn't smile so much around you anymore."

Jennie raised an eyebrow, realising Jisoo was answering her thoughts that she spoke out loud.
"Well obviously she's growing up. Aren't we all?" she deadpanned. "What does that have to do with
not smiling around me?

Jisoo wore a sober expression. "She's simply doing what children do. Nallalisa is growing out of
your influence. She's striking out on her own, trying to find where she fits with people outside of
the family, that is, yourself. She's making new friends and trying to find where she belongs, where
she feels more comfortable expressing herself and being herself. It's what teens do when they start
hanging out with their peers more."

The two of them noticed Rosé standing up and immediately fell silent, huddling together in the
bathroom's doorway as they watched Lisa stand up as well and hand over the kitten. Rosé put Leo
inside his carrier with utmost care before she lowered it down. Jennie held her breath when Rosé
took Lisa's hands in her. She leaned forward to try and hear the two blondes more clearly.

"Good luck tonight," Rosé was saying to Lisa.

"Thanks. And thank you for coming, I had so much fun," Lisa answered happily. "Do you
think...well do you think you could come see me? Tonight? At the Slammer," she added eagerly.

Rosé shook her head. "I'm sorry Lis. You know...Ella."

"Yeah..."

"But you said it's live streamed right?" Rosé pointed out brightly. "They put up clips on their
channel? I'll try to watch those, so break a leg!"

"That's not necessary, I need my leg," Lisa grinned. Then she winked and tapped her cheek.
"Say...how about a kiss? For luck, hmm?"

Jennie's blood turned to ice. Did she hear right? Lisa just asked to be kissed? What was
happening?

She stood petrified while Rosé tilted her head, pondering Lisa's request.

"Why not?" she smiled.

Unable to tear her eyes away, Jennie watched with horrified fascination as Rosé's blonde ponytail
cascaded down her shoulder when she leaned forward to peck Lisa's cheek, lips puckered and eyes
fluttering close on contact.
Time stretched out into infinity as the two girls stood silhouetted against the backdrop of the
golden aura filling the Vault, their faces close, nearly melding into one.

"Hmm, you're indeed a bit smelly," Rosé noted when she pulled back.

"Rosieeeeeeeeee!" Lisa groaned and they both laughed, breaking the stillness that had descended
in the absence of their lively voices.

The innocent peck on the cheek had lasted mere seconds but to Jennie it was days, it was weeks, it
was months—the moment replayed in her head like a stuck record, branding itself into her minds'
eye, it was endless: Rosé kissed Lisa.

A friend, Rosé had said about Lisa mere days ago, a dear friend.

Jennie snorted. Inside her head, the conflict thickened as the voices clamoured loudly, shouting
over each other.

They shouldn't! screeched one voice. This was the strict side of Jennie speaking, the one that
demanded control and obedience and order. We should stop them. We need to talk to Lisa again!

But we said we're gonna be cool with it and wash our hands of the situation and let Lisa deal with
it, argued the softer voice, belonging to a side Jennie buried deep within her, we have to trust her.

What if it ends up ruining everything? What if people get hurt? It would be blood on our hands, the
other voice argued fearfully. Remember Hwangssabu? Remember the guy that harassed Yeri?
Remember Undertaker?

It doesn't have to ruin anything. Lisa has been doing good, great even. This is different
from....Hwangssabu.

But the risk! reminded the strict voice. Consider the risk! You're willing to risk letting her run
loose? It's like letting a tiger out of the cage!

It was just a harmless kiss anyway. Friends kiss each other on the cheek all the time. We're just not
used to it, the softer voice argued but the doubt was clear and the stricter side of Jennie
immediately pounced on that uncertainty.

Ha! Wait a bit more. They'll do more than just kissing on the cheek!

Sunmi kissed Lisa. So many other girls kissed Lisa, even on the mouth, those thotty sluts....

But Jennie knew that this time, her irritation didn't stem from her disgust by the amount of
slobbering and spit-swapping happening right in front of her face as what usually happened with
Lisa and her groupies.

This time it was different.

This time, she had been an intruder, spying on something intimate and special: the blossoming of a
yet unlabelled threat that Jennie was powerless to fight. All she could do was watch from the
darkness as her sister followed Rosé into the light without even looking over her shoulder, leaving
Jennie behind in the dust.

"....and anyway, now I'm definitely pumped up to win!" Lisa declared, thumping her chest like a
gorilla, making Rosé chuckle and shake her head one more time.
After exchanging goodbyes, Lisa flopped back on the mats, smiling hugely and touching her cheek
as she squealed and rolled back and forth. She kicked her legs and giggled uncontrollably,
completely unaware of her audience of two still watching from a distance. Eventually she quietened
down, her energetic movements ceasing as she gave a caveman yowl and shifted on her side,
tucking her hands beneath her face and curling up on the mats to sleep.

The older two girls waited until quiet snores reached their ears before they spoke again.

"Now that kiss," Jisoo remarked, "is what I meant about growing up."

"What that has got to do with me then?" Jennie challenged. The cursed loop of Rosé kissing Lisa's
cheek played and replayed in her head

"You're going through what any parent goes through seeing their kid grow up," Jisoo said simply.
"Ever heard of the empty nest syndrome? The loneliness parents feel when their kids leave the
house after they go to college and form their own families? Parents will often feel a degree of
resentment and bitterness towards the offspring's friends and lovers that take them away—"

"Lisa and Rosé aren't lovers!"

"—give it time," Jisoo said sagely. "Now you, that's where your resentment at Rosé is rooted.
You're scared she will take Lisa away because she makes Lisa happy and comfortable to be herself.
That's why Lisa smiles more when she's with Rosé."

"Or more likely because her Rosie can give her anything she ever wanted. Like those stupid comic
books she goes on about, or maybe even loads of clothes and make-up palettes, or money," Jennie
said bitterly. She gripped the hem of her shirt tightly. "I slave away day and night to keep us
afloat. I try to keep her safe. Why can't she see that?"

"I think she does."

"Of course you do," Jennie sneered. "You think you know everything Jisoo. Well you don't: you
barely know me."

"You're right. I barely know you. But I'm doing my best to change that. It's up to you how much
you allow me to know, Jendeuk," Jisoo said quietly.

When Jennie didn't answer, Jisoo spoke up again. "Lisa does appreciate what you do for her.
Otherwise, why would she put up with all the hard training without grumbling and whining and
moaning? Why does she still co-operate with you day in day out even when you are harsh with her?
Maybe she's not one for words but one thing I noticed, Lisa mostly shows her appreciation with
action, rather than words."

Jennie bit her lip, at a loss for words.

What Jisoo said made sense: although verbally, Lisa didn't often thank Jennie and when she did,
Jennie would brush it off because neither was well versed in the emotional communication
department—Lisa had been easy to train and mould into the athlete that fit Hwangssabu's image for
her. He'd definitely be pleased by their seamless teamwork and the way Jennie had managed to
carry his legacy on her back. Although Lisa might occasionally grumble and groan, it would be in
jest. Lisa's complaints never contained any real bite. Perhaps the closest Lisa had come to
questioning her sister was when she got to know about attending pilates without Jennie having first
consulted with her.

And look where that got us, Jennie thought grimly, maybe I should have listened. But she's winning
right now, her form's better than ever...

Jennie sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Maybe Jisoo was right, maybe she feared losing Lisa. Because if Lisa were to leave, what would
happen then? Lisa was her only remaining family member as well as her sole reason of living. Her
whole life revolved around Lisa in an absolutely unromantic way: Jennie lived, worked and
breathed to ensure Lisa stayed in top form to bring in the real money from the Slammer.

What would a world without Lisa be like? Jennie wondered. What would she do with all the empty
time? She didn't even have any hobbies. She didn't know anything other than training Lisa and
working day in day out at the diner. Would she still be able to scrap by? Would she miss the loud
goofy girl that made her shake her head and smile and worry so much?

Maybe she really was scared of letting go of Lisa.

"It's her life Jendeuk. She has got to find her place; her way; with her own set of mistakes—by
herself. All you can do is support her. And be happy for her," Jisoo said softly, seeing Jennie
wrestle with herself.

"But...what about me?" Jennie said in a small voice. "I'll be left behind."

"You'll have me."

Jennie's head shot up, eyes widening at Jisoo's decisive statement. "Chu..."

"You think you're going to end up alone because Lisa will leave you. Well that's unlikely. She'll
always come back to you at the end of the day, even if she has Rosie. And if she doesn't, then you
have me," Jisoo chuckled. "I'm right in front of you Jennie." She gave the frozen brunette a gentle
smile. "I know you don't consider me in the equation but for what's it worth, I'm here. I'l be here
for you, always."

"Why?" Jennie croaked.

"I like you, Jennie Kim," Jisoo confessed. Her gaze was steady, her voice firm and certain. "You
know I do. I've said time and again but...I want to say it properly, without any jokes or ticks. It's
alright if you don't have the same feelings for me but I hope you will at least continue to let me
taking care of you, as much as I can."

"Why?"

Jisoo threw her head back with a laugh. "Isn't 'I like you' enough of a reason? Why does there have
to be more?"

"People don't just do things for someone just because they like them. There has to be a price, some
ulterior motive!" Jennie retorted. "And besides, what's so different about me from the other girls
you've been with? Jisoo, I barely know anything about you and your family and where you work
and stuff like that! We've only met weeks ago! You're just a rich, bored playgirl who found a toy to
entertain you because I haven't jumped in bed with you! You'll grow tired of me before long, I'm
straight if anything!"

Silence fell after Jennie's tirade—Jennie herself panted out of breath as Jisoo looked on, blinking
like a startled rabbit.

"I...you haven't told me about your family either?" Jisoo said weakly. "Just that you and Lisa aren't
real sisters."

Jennie laughed mirthlessly. "Yeah? That's your excuse? Fine, I will tell you all about my real
family then!"

She gave an angry toss of her head. "My dear family were a bunch of greedy, selfish nincompoops
who only cared about their effing money, like I do. I used to watch them. They were obsessed with
it. Always counting how much they have and flaunting it with neighbours they invited over for
dinner parties, showing off the furniture and chandeliers and whatever. They wanted more and
more and more and more," she spat angrily. "More than they could afford to have. They didn't care
about my safety and future—they got a hold of money by any means necessary, borrowing money
and gambling and investing in property and racking up tens of thousands in debt."

Jisoo looked uncertain, reaching out to Jennie. "Jen—"

"No, you wanted to know about them. Fair is fair," Jennie sniffed before she continued.
"Something went wrong with their investments and long story short, they ended up owing the bank
and a lot of people a ton of money. Lots and lots of it. I don't exactly know how much because I
was young at the time, Hwangssabu was the one to piece things together with me to find out
afterwards. My god, I was only, what, eight. I was no older than Ella when we had to run away to
New Zealand. You know why Chu? Because my dear parents got involved with loan sharks who
thought nothing of blasting down our apartment door and threatening to shoot us, point blank."

Jisoo paled, covering her mouth. "Jennie..."

"My father had been expecting them to come," Jennie said grimly. "He'd hired protection. While
everyone was fighting, we escaped with the clothes on our back and some bags and our one way
ticket to Auckland."

Jennie closed her eyes. "We started over from scratch there. It was going okay for a while. We
weren't very well-off, my mother and father had to work up from scratch again but I hoped...I
hoped things had changed for the better now, that they learned their lesson. We met Hwangssabu,
our neighbour who lived with his elderly ailing mother. He used to work in the military but was
retired now, just taking care of her. He made friends with us and I used to stay with him much of
the time while my parents worked around the clock to make ends meet. I went to a nice school
there...that's where I learned English."

Jennie smiled wryly at the memories she dredged up from the depths. "Of course, the past always
catches up sooner or later. And after five years, the past caught up to me and my parents."

She swallowed. "It was a car bomb. The...the pieces they found after the blast were buried in a box
the size of a cake carton."

She ignored Jisoo's gasp and barged on. "The only reason I'm still standing here today is because I
hadn't felt well that day so I skipped out on spending family time at McDonald's to stay with
Hwangssabu. And then we got the phone call from the police like an hour after they dropped me
off at Hwangssabu's...the cops suspected it was from the same gang of people my parents ran away
from and...and..."

When she sensed Jisoo moving in with arms ready to engulf her, Jennie clenched her fists and
shook her head. "I don't need your pity. I'm past it." She raised her head, her eyes gleaming with
angry tears. "It was their selfish and greedy, stupid selves that got them killed. They got involved
with those heartless leeches! How stupid can you be?"
"They...maybe they wanted you to be comfortable, to not be wanting of anything so...they
indulged. Maybe it was to keep you comfortable," Jisoo ventured timidly.

Jennie gave a strangled laugh. "Oh sure we were comfortable. Despite drowning in debts that piled
higher and higher than the Empire State Building, I had all the toys I could wish for when we still
lived in Cheongdam-dong. I even had the latest iPhone! I wore brand clothes from head to toe, like
some stupid princess. My parents were deluded and irresponsible that's all, Chu. They wanted to be
wealthy, to hell with the consequences! I hate them so much. I hate them...they left me."

Her face contorted as she fought to stop the tears from leaking. "Sometimes, I think that ending up
living so wretchedly like this is karma. I had no idea how much they hid from me: the dirty deals
they made and the money they owed. I'm lucky nobody came after me....but maybe it would have
been just as well they bumped me off. I hate that I was so complacent. And now...well look at me,"
she said in disgust, "money is the only thing I strive for. I'm just like them. My parents' rotten
blood runs in my veins after all."

She looked away and finally exited the bathroom, walking over to wake up a snoring Lisa but not
before Jisoo caught her arm.

"What?" Jennie snarled.

"You're not like your parents Jennie," Jisoo said urgently. "You were just a kid, what could you
have done? Tell them to stop? They wouldn't have listened to you. And you don't care about
money the same way they did. You care about money because you're trying to make ends meet.
That's different. And even though you're hard up, you're still cautious about borrowing money from
friends. When you do, you always make it a point to pay up as soon as possible. And you never,
ever went to loan sharks like they did. You're not deluded and you're not selfish nor greedy, nor
stupid."

Jisoo's eyes disappeared as she smiled widely. "Jendeukie, even though I tried to give you free yoga
lessons, your righteousness didn't try to take advantage. You never tried taking advantage of our
friendship and my feelings for you. You're honest and principled and so, so different from your
parents. If you can't see it....well, I know for a fact that everyone else can."

Jennie opened and closed her mouth in shock, her heart fluttering at Jisoo's words.

She's right! She's right, chanted the voices in her head triumphantly.

"Chu...I..." Jennie said brokenly. She couldn't push the words of gratitude past her throat but Jisoo
seemed to understand. She gave Jennie's arm a quick squeeze before withdrawing her hand.

"I may have been a playgirl before, I admit that," Jisoo said out of nowhere. Her eyes were sombre.
"I'm not proud of my past. But with you it's different. It's even more different then what I had with
Rosé."

"How?" Jennie asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I don't even know how to explain it. But hanging out with you and getting to know you...my
previous relationships never lasted this long, nor did they ever get to this level. It was always
mostly hook-ups." Jisoo fiddled with her fingers as she spoke. "I struggle to connect with people so
before...I thought physical intimacy was my only solution. I thought it would help with the
loneliness, you know? But of course...things don't work out that way..."

She paused, thinking. "I don't know why but I've always been the odd one out at home. Always
having weird flights of fancy and spouting bizarre stuff instead of focusing on the normal things
my parents put importance to. They were quite exasperated with me," she chuckled but Jennie
caught on to the slight tinge of sadness coating her words, "they didn't have any hope of me being
even remotely successful at carrying their legacy or getting some top job. Sometimes, I think Mom
must have dropped me on my head by accident when I was a baby or something. That would
explain my weirdness..."

Jennie's heart tightened at Jisoo's story until it physically hurt. She did her best to brush it aside and
focus on Jisoo, eager to know more now that the older raven-haired girl was finally opening up to
her. Having revealed her own past was a relief and Jennie already felt some of the weight of
carrying so many secrets around lifting.

Maybe opening up wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"You said how would I know about empty nest syndrome and why I care about you and Lisa when
we've only met weeks ago," Jisoo went on. "Well, I can easily answer the first one. I saw it
firsthand with my parents when my brother and sister left the house to go to college."

"You have a brother and sister?" Jennie said in astonishment.

"Yep!" Jisoo said blithely. "But they don't believe in unicorns, so they're not as cool as I am!"

"How come you never mentioned them? Aren't you...close?" Jennie added hesitantly. Jisoo gave
her a rueful smile.

"You could say that...."

Now Jennie felt uncomfortable bringing up the topic—seeing Jisoo clam up was unusual. Shame
coloured her face when she noticed Jisoo fidgeting with her shoes, just like a reluctant kid being
forced to confess to petty crime.

"I'm sorry, you don't have to go into it if you don't want to," Jennie sighed, "it wasn't fair of me to
burst out in your face like that. I didn't mean to blame you when you have been so nice to me and
Lis...I just..." She rubbed her temples, feeling the impending headache throbbing in between her
ears. "I'm trying to understand why..."

She paused when Jisoo laid a reassuring hand on her arm. "Jendeuk, it's okay. I'm sorry if I came
across a little shady. I'll...I'll clear that up." She took a deep breath. "I don't talk about my family
much because...well they don't like to be associated much with me so...I was told it should go both
ways, you know? They weren't cruel or anything like that, far from it," she rushed in hastily, seeing
Jennie's frown, "once I came of age, they helped me settle in my apartment that they bought for me
and they even gave me a job as a supervisor or something in the family business... I'm not even
sure what's the official title though."

She tapped her chin in thought. "Something tells me they didn't really go through the empty nest
syndrome after my departure as much as they did for my sister and brother."

"Wait wait wait. You're not even sure what it is you're doing and you still have the job?" Jennie
asked incredulously. "What do you do then?"

Jisoo reddened and looked down at her feet. "Um, my parents didn't think I was very bright.
They're rather ashamed about me and don't like talking about me much. I'm a different case than
my siblings so they just gave me an office in one of their buildings and as long as I show up for a
number of hours, I get an allowance. I just....play computer games most of the time. I got a proper
gamer set up, with the chair and screens and everything! They don't really need me there to be
honest, there's like three other people that are actually doing the job. I'm just...there."

"Jisoo..." Jennie said shakily. "That's...how could you let them just demean you? You're not some
dunce! You're smart, you can work stuff out, you're not handicapped or anything!"

Jisoo scuffed her toes, head bowed. "I was home-schooled for a good number of years and my
tutors always thought I had some learning disability, mostly because I couldn't be bothered to do
their boring work and just dream up stuff instead. So...when I did get in public school, they just put
me with the slow learners. It was very tedious, let me tell you that. But the damage was done
and...well people never expected much out of me. So...I kinda stopped trying to show them as
well?"

"But...you got your yoga certificates... and the car license!" Jennie couldn't take the idea of a
starry-eyed Jisoo being turned down by all the adult figures in her life and eventually resigning
herself to a life of ridicule and dependency when everybody cast her aside.

Jisoo brightened. "Yep. The only thing I got done properly. I followed some online classes because
I got into yoga a few years back. Mom and Dad were kind enough to discreetly fund a small
advertising campaign to help me start out and find clients, so that was nice. And the car, I started
learning how to drive once I moved out and got the place to myself because my Dad's chauffeur
was kind enough to help me learn. I think he did it to avoid driving me everywhere around town, it
must have been tiresome doing it every day. Mom and Dad bought me the SUV as a present. So it's
not all bad Jendeuk, wipe that frown off your face," Jisoo chuckled.

"You're not fooling anyone Chu."

Jisoo's grin fell. "Hmm?"

Jennie stepped up to her, eyes hard. "Your parents are no better than my parents. They didn't care
about helping you be an independent, useful person. They didn't want to get to know you, the real
you. They expected you to be like everyone else. This is all some sick kind of emotional blackmail,
can't you see that?!"

"Jendeuk, I told you. It's okay. I'm over it." Jisoo said softly.

"No. They hurt you and they hurt you real bad, even if it's not physically," Jennie insisted, seething
in anger on her friend's behalf at the useless adults in her life. "They all played hot potato with you.
They never cared about teaching you and caring for you. They took the easy way out, kept you
sweet and loaded instead of going through the harder part of finding out what would suit you and
helping you."

She took a long ragged breath, clearly far from over. "If I meet them one day, I'll give them a piece
of my mind. I'll tell them to take their stupid, goddamn ignorant heads out of their asses and take a
good look at you because you are not some thick, slow dunce Jisoo. You're smart and witty and
weird in a funny way. You're beautiful and kind. Their abuse makes you hanker for some kind of
human connection and because of it, you turn to reckless and unhealthy diversions and that's not
cool, at all."

She stopped short of spitting on the ground in disgust. "Pathetic." she said bitterly.

Jisoo hung her head. "Well, there's your answer. I like you especially because...well, you're the
only one who knows about me properly now. You're the one to be interested in getting to
understand me and even defending me. No even Pasta got that deep, she just knew a few details but
she didn't try to dig too much..."

Jennie was taken aback. "I'm the only one...?"

"Yes," Jisoo confirmed and she smiled widely. "I got a good vibe the moment I saw you. I wasn't
wrong."

"Well...for what's it worth...you're the first to know about my family too, outside of Lisa," Jennie
revealed. "Irene and Matt know some sketchy details...but you know all about my crappy
childhood."

Jisoo beamed. "Does that mean we're good now, Jendeuk? Are we done with the whole ' I can't
trust you because you don't know me and I don't know you' shebang?"

"It's not so easy to start unpacking stuff like that. You only know a small part of the story now."

A momentary silence followed as Jennie's words settled on them, the implication heavy on their
shoulders.

"There's Lisa's story too, isn't there?" Jisoo asked softly. When Jennie gave an almost
imperceptible nod of the head, Jisoo merely gave her a patient smile. "I can wait. But can you at
least promise me one thing, for now?"

"What?" Jennie said warily. She was suddenly aware of Jisoo's close proximity, aware of the clear
gleam in her eyes, aware of the small vein bounding underneath the pale skin of her throat, aware
of her delectable fragrance.

Aware of every tiny detail assaulting her senses all at once.

"Even if you don't return my feelings, it's alright," Jisoo said. "But will you at least give Lisa and
Rosé a chance without murdering Pasta in your head every single time you see her?"

She lasted for approximately a split second before she burst into giggles, leaving Jennie to arch an
eyebrow, thoroughly bemused.

"Okay, I guess that means Serious Talk Time is over then...." Jennie observed.

"No wait wait, I didn't mean to! But it came out sounding funny!" Jisoo bit her lip, trying to regain
composure. "Murdering pasta, that sounded funny, like you're killing spaghetti!"

She dissolved into chuckles again while Jennie's mouth threatened to turn up at the corners.

"Well aside from your...witticism...I suppose I should...try," Jennie said grudgingly. "Rosé did
nothing to offend me as such. Although I can't promise it will be easy."

"That's all I can ask: for you to try. I'm satisfied with just that," Jisoo said and held out her hand.
"Shake on it?"

And finally, finally Jennie cracked a smile as she grasped Jisoo's fingers and shook the hand,
sealing their newest promise.

"Great, we're all friends again but can you guys kiss and make up quicker, I really wanna pee but I
don't want to miss out," Lisa whined suddenly from behind Jennie.

Jennie sprang back in shock and nearly stomped on Lisa's face.

"Watch it woman!" Lisa shouted as she rolled out of the way. Jennie tripped and landed on her butt
with a hard thud, making Jisoo and Lisa wince.

"What the hell are you doing you idiot!" Jennie yelled, madly scrambling to her feet in record time.
"How long have you been awake?" A warm blush took over her face, remembering the intimate
details of the conversation she and Jisoo just shared.

"The question is, what were you doing?" Lisa retorted as she sat up. She glanced between the two
girls suspiciously then shrugged and yawned, stretching like a cat. "Well anyway, whatever. If you
two quarrelled and wanna have some hot, angry makeup sex, I suppose I can give up my mattress
—OWWW!"

"Serves you right," Jennie scolded as she shook out her hand after the hard smack she gave Lisa
upside the head, while Jisoo looked on, chuckling underneath her breath. "Jisoo and I were merely
discussing stuff and I hope you weren't eavesdropping because it was private. Now go have a
shower stinky-head, playtime is over. Rosie posie is gone. Let's eat and then, I wanna go over some
final strategies for tonight. Jump to it."

"Ay ay cap'n!"Lisa cheered.

She quickly got to her feet and disappeared into the bathroom, rubbing the ear Jennie had hit. "I
hope you didn't use up all the hot water again!"

"It's all yours," Jennie called sweetly, winking at Jisoo who smirked back, deducing what was
going to happen next.

Something about the new arrangement and understanding of each other had Jennie's heart fluttering
pleasantly, feeling more connected and in sync to Jisoo than she had ever felt with a person. And
Jisoo probably felt something similar, judging by her flushed cheeks and the new glint in her eyes
when she grinned at Jennie.

Maybe sometimes, taking the leap of faith and trusting that the other person would be there to
support you and raise you up wasn't so bad after all.

Jennie held up her fingers, her smile widening as she listened to the sound of a shower blast.

"She's gonna scream, wait for it. In 3...2...1—"

"HOLY BAGELS!" Lisa screamed. "JENNIEEEEEE!"

>

She suspected something was different tonight the moment she spotted the luxurious Maserati
waiting for her instead of the usual beat-up vehicle that helped her and the Jay of the night to travel
under the radar.

For a moment, she even thought it was waiting for someone else but then the window rolled down
and Jay-J aka Jaehyun peered through.

"Evening, Thorn."

That was the second thing that struck her different about tonight: all the Jays usually addressed her
as love unless they were communicating on the radio and they always greeted her greasily. They
certainly never addressed her by her alias unless they were in their boss's presence.
"Good evening Rosé," said her boss's voice from the backseat once she snapped on the seat belt.

Rosé almost screamed, clutching her thudding heart. He was always so silent, like a predator
waiting for the perfect time to pounce. "You...I...you scared me."

He chuckled and tapped Jay-J's headrest, signalling him to start driving. "You're always so jumpy
around me. Your face in the mirror was priceless just now."

Can you blame me? Rosé was tempted to retort but kept silent, wondering why he had joined them
for the mission tonight, and in one of his fancy cars no less.

She glanced surreptitiously in the rear view mirror, squinting to observe him in the gloomy interior
as he rustled and fumbled in the back. A click, and a small flame lit up in front of his face as he
brought his lighter close to the cigarette between his lips.

"Anyone want a light? Jay-J? Rosé?"

Rosé shook her head, lips pursing as she pointedly rolled down the window to let the smoky fug
escape. She detested the smell—it clung to her clothes and she didn't even want to imagine all the
nasty poisons she was inhaling.

"One for me boss," Jay-J said as he rummaged in his pockets and brought up a stick to be lit. Once
done, he slipped it in between his lips, eyes never leaving the road.

Rosé now noticed that they were taking an unusual route, heading towards the outskirts of Seoul.
They were definitely not heading towards their usual bar and club haunts.

"I suppose you're wondering where we're headed tonight, and why I'm here," spoke the man behind
her.

"Yes sir," Rosé replied guardedly. One hand rested on the door handle, just in case.

Breaking every bone in her body was infinitely preferable over the many terrible scenarios running
through her head as she stifled the rising panic in her throat.

Had he finally grown tired of her? Was he going to dispose of her like he did with Seokjin? Was he
going to snap her limbs off in some forsaken alley like he did with that other man? Was he going to
rape her? Kill her? Sell her off to some pimp like a cheap street whore?

"Rosé Rosé Rosé," he chided, voice silky, "sweetheart, why so nervous? I can practically smell the
fear oozing off you. I'm not going to bite, you know."

Maybe because I'm scared. Maybe because you terrify me. Maybe because I know I'm disobeying
you and I have no intention of going back now. Maybe because I know that if you ever to catch on
to what's happening with me and Lisa, you'll punish me and break me for good. Maybe because
you're monster.

Rosé didn't say anything, she didn't trust herself to speak right now. She sat numb, waiting for him
to fill in the silence.

"Rosé, how long have you been working for me?"

"Y-years sir," she answered, unable to think clearly.

He hummed. "I always call you by your name, yet I don't think I ever heard you mention my name
once." Incredibly, he sounded like he was pouting.

"Out of courtesy, sir," she stuttered, "you are my superior."

"Is that so?"

"Y-yes sir," she squeaked, sitting ramrod straight. She stiffened even further when his foul breath
caressed her ear as he leaned forward in his seat, whispering next to her cheek.

"Humour this bored old man and say my name will you, sweetheart? Just this once? We have a
long way to go."

The hairs at the back of her neck stood on end as her breath caught in her throat. What kind of
torture was this?

"We...we're in the car sir." Her mouth had run dry, the words feeling like brittle rocks scraping her
throat. It hurt when she tried to swallow.

"I'm sure Jay-J won't mind us addressing each other informally, do you Jay?"

"Not at all sir," Jay-J said as neutrally as he could through a clenched jaw.

Their boss chuckled, fully aware of Jay-J's jealousy. "See?"

"We...we could be monitored sir," Rosé said faintly. She nearly whimpered when she felt his heavy
hand brush by her ear but he had simply leaned forward to switch off the GPS.

"Always so cautious and thoughtful," he remarked with a deep exhale, making Rosé's nose wrinkle
in disgust by the fresh cloud of smoke that blew in her face. "There, we're off the grid for sure.
Nobody will be listening in. I have this car checked for bugs practically on the daily. I'm sure Jay-J
won't mind going without GPS for a few moments right? We're on the highway anyway."

And indeed, Rosé suddenly noticed that they were speeding on the long road stretching into
distance, towards the west coast.

Why were they heading towards Incheon?

"Well sweetheart? We don't have all night. Don't you like my name, perhaps?" the devil chuckled,
a menacing tone colouring his words.

Rosé closed her eyes. Just do it, get it over and done with.

"Yang."

"My full name," he commanded, "I want to hear you say my full name, Rosé."

"Yang Hyun-suk," Rosé said quietly. The words tasted like poison on her tongue but she relaxed
once she heard him chuckle, satisfied.

"It's so pleasing to hear my name in your voice, sweetheart. You need to start saying it more often.
We should be past the shyness and polite niceties, hmm?"

"As you wish...sir."

Yang clicked his tongue. "As you wish Yang. You can at least say that, right sweetheart?"
"Yes sir...I mean, yes Yang, sir."

Rosé glanced in Jay-J's direction, briefly wondering if this was a show of dominance between
Yang and the men she worked with, to show them that Rosé was his property and discourage them
from flirting with her.

Or maybe now Yang would try his advances on her.

Maybe he would try to be more direct and forward and expect her to reciprocate. What if he made
good on his threats to sex her up?

What if he had been waiting all this time and stepped up his little game? What if he suspected
something about her and her involvement with Jennie and Lisa and was moving to ensure he had
the upper hand?

"You can turn the GPS back on Jay," Yang said as he settled in the backseat. "And now, to answer
your questions, I am visiting a colleague of mine on some important business that might even
concern you, Rosé. You won't be going on any errands because tonight, you're accompanying me
to Rkive."

"Archive?" Rosé asked puzzled. "What's that? And who are we meeting? And last time, they were
expecting a second delivery, those triad guys said they were flying out of the country this week,
how am I going to face them—

"It's all been taken care off, don't worry. I sent another runner," Yang drawled, "as to who we're
meeting...well, you'll see. I don't think you've ever met him before, but I know him and his father
well. His father and I are old friends. The place is called Rkive—R-K-I-V-E. It's just a club near
the docks, exclusive for...certain patrons."

Rosé glanced down at her outfit dubiously. "Uhm...I don't think I'm fit for such a place...I could
wait for you in the car—"

"No you won't," Yang said immediately. His voice brimmed with warning. "You are coming as my
guest—I have prepared a suitable change of dress for you in the trunk."

When she didn't reply as she sat silent in contemplation, he added, "Consider this all in a night's
work. I'm feeling generous so if you behave yourself, I'll even throw in a bonus. I'm sure you could
think of ways to spend all that dough hmm? Like perhaps...buying something nice for Ella, eh?"

Rosé gritted her teeth.

She should have known he'd try to bait her and trap her in a corner. She could just imagine the
smirk plastered over her face, knowing full well she'd have to accept or else there would be harsh
consequences, like cutting down on her budget the following month—it had happened before when
he hadn't been pleased with her performance.

For Ella, she told herself, do it for her.

She just hoped she wouldn't regret her decision by the time the night was over.

"And besides sweetheart, I think you'd want to be there to meet my colleague," Yang was saying,
his soft voice coaxing. "He might have potentially interesting information for the both of us."

"For me?" Rosé blurted without thinking. Curiosity got the better of her and she threw caution to
the wind. "What kind of information?"
Yang's gaze collided with hers in the rear view mirror. He took out his cigarette and puffed out a
plume of smoke, placid as a panther lazing in the sun, but his voice was as dangerous as a snake
hiding in the grass.

"Information about our friend Tiger King."

>

The club was nondescript and didn't stand out—it looked just about like any bar. Rkive didn't seem
to offer top luxury lounge fare, but it didn't descend to the level of a cheap strip club either—it sat
comfortably in the middle. There was a strong seaweed scent hanging in the air as they approached
the club, indicating its location—just as Yang had said, Rkive was located close to the docks.
Distant mast lights and stern lights belonging to tankers and various other nautical vessels winked
at her from across the immense blackness coating the expanse of the ocean and night sky as they
merged into one.

The inside of Rkive was quite air. Strobe lights pointed at a stage with a gyrating dance in tasteful
choice of clothes that weren't as skimpy as some of the costumes Rosé had glimpsed in seedier
establishments. The air was heavy with the smell of cigarette smoke and alcohol. Soft music
played in the background, which Rosé was thankful for—she wasn't sure she could handle an
increased tempo. Her heart was already thrashing around in her rib cage out of nervousness.

On the outside, she kept a stiff upper lip, staring straight ahead with her nose raised proudly in the
air as she followed her boss closely, fearful of irritating him as they weaved through the crowd of
tables and people. At intervals he'd glance back and give her a semblance of a reassuring smile. It
only served to increase her anxiety further, but she managed a small nod in return each time.

"Maybe I should have chosen a more modest outfit," Yang chuckled at one point when they
reached a quieter corner, "you're making quite the splash and turning heads."

Far from being irked, he sounded smug. Of course he would be—she was his prize trophy and he
was parading her in front of people to show off. It must be a good boost to his ego, seeing the men
lusting after her and unable to touch her, seeing the women turn green with envy.

She was wearing a simple black dress that came down to her mid-thigh. The quality of the material
left no room for doubts that it was some high-end fashion piece probably worth hundreds but Rosé
wasn't in the mood to care about fashion at the moment. Her hair was out of its ponytail and she
couldn't decide whether to hide her collarbones or her exposed back, continuously fixing it as she
fidgeted.

"Yang. And this is my plus-one. He's expecting me."

She returned from her thoughts to notice her boss had come to a halt in front of a curtained entrance
and stood speaking to two mean-looking guys.

Nausea seized her when Yang grasped her hand with his grubby fingers and dragged her after him
as he pushed aside the heavy drapes.

Oh god he's going to rape me! How do I escape? How do I fight? Think! Think! What did Lisa say?
Make a fist, untuck your thumb? Yes!

But before she took a swing at her boss's head, Yang pulled her into an opening behind the curtains
and she blinked, trying to adjust her eyes to the change of lighting.

She immediately regretted the action—Rosé was met by several pair of eyes trained on them as
they made their entrance into the cramped room.

Every single one of them belonged to a male and she could visibly see their curiosity transform into
lust as smirks crawled across their faces and their gazes darkened, hungrily tracing the bare creamy
skin of her legs. They reminded her of starved dogs presented with a hunk of meat.

She tried to hide behind Yang, mortification colouring her face as she lowered her face, desperately
trying to avoid their greedy eyes as she pulled frantically at the hem of her dress, all thoughts of
pretence and faking serenity flying out of the window. Their ogling was abruptly interrupted when
someone spoke up.

"Why Yang-ssi, I didn't know you were bringing your girlfriend along. You have outdone
yourself."

Rosé nearly burst into hysterical laughter weren't she doing her damndest not to vomit at the
statement.

Yang chuckled and rested a hand around her back, tugging her close to his side. His overpowering
cologne and cigarette fug overwhelmed Rosé. She didn't dare lift her eyes, stiff as a board as he
rubbed circles with his thumb on her bare shoulder.

"Although I admit we'd make an attractive pair, I'm afraid I'm too old for her. Rosé here," Yang
explained, "is my guest. She's also interested in Tiger King."

Whispers broke out. Rosé felt semi-relieved that Yang cleared up the situation, but at the same time
her hands turned clammy at the mention of that fateful name.

Tiger King...was she going to finally have the closure she craved?

The man who had spoken when they entered the room seemed to be the leader of the lackeys kitted
in black that were spread around him on chairs, stools and cushions. He himself wore a dinner suit
with a bow tie and was seated on a central chair with armrests, his very own throne. Contrary to his
minions, he was poised and graceful even with his posture, relaxed yet eyeing her intently as he
studied her.

His eyes felt more invading than the rest of the other men. Because where the others ogled her, his
gaze pierced deeper, trying to unravel the layers until he touched the core of who she was.

"My apologies for being forward. She is quite pretty," he said finally after a moment of hushed
silence had fallen. He motioned for her to step forward and after a hesitant glance in Yang's
direction, she stumbled forward on her heels (because her boss had even gotten her a change in
footwear.)

The man looked to be tall and wiry, black hair parted neatly on his head. He was quite handsome
and he didn't look to be past his thirties, sparking her curiosity as to who he was. A mafia gang
leader? A drug cartel ruler? A small time criminal starting out? When Yang had spoken of a
colleague, she had expected a hardened mafioso, not some fresh-faced college boy.

She stood now in front of him as he extended his hand and she took it. He leaned forward and
brushed a light kiss on her knuckles, surprising her with the gesture.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance Rosé. My name is Jinyoung Park. If I only had been
notified of your company, I would have asked for more suitable quarters to welcome you." he
added almost apologetically.
He let go of her hand, leaving her standing in the middle of the circular room and feeling very
much exposed, as though she was standing beneath a spotlight.

"I am aware of Yang-ssi's connection with Tiger King. But what concern does our person of
interest have with you, Rosé?" Jinyoung mused, resting his chin in his hand, which was in turn
propped up on an elbow on the armrest. He reclined languidly in his chair, regal and relaxed, but
his sharp gaze belied his laid-back attitude. He was fully in control of the whole room, like a
conductor that was liable to jump and start waving his baton, expecting for every one of his
ensemble to follow.

Rosé shivered—Jinyoung possessed an unsettling presence. The silence after his words, the
pondering nature of his questions, the gentle tapping of his fingers on wood as he waited...

Before she could answer, Yang spoke up for her.

"He killed her father."

Rosé closed her eyes as new hushed whispers and gasps broke out all around them from their
audience. She wished she could make them all disappear until all that was left was a black empty
void.

"Ah, I see. So it's...personal," Jinyoung said levelly. He gave a small smile. "I'm afraid I cannot
grant you closure as of yet because we still do not have his identity. However...I have my
suspicions and trails I'm following. I would say I'm on the right path and homing in on him. He
can't run away forever."

"W-what will you do with him when you find him?" Rosé had to know.

Jinyoung looked thoughtful. "Interesting question. What would you have me do with him?"

"Kill him." Yang gritted as he joined her before Jinyoung. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his
hand stray up the scar that deformed his face. "I can do it with my bare hands if you hand him over
to me. The bastard deserves to die slowly and painfully to pay for what he's done."

Jinyoung smiled, seemingly amused before turning to Rosé. "Well? Do you agree, Rosé?"

She hesitated, torn.

For years, she had tried to make sense of the senseless, had tried piecing together the terrible night
her life had truly crumbled to pieces, causing her to basically sell her life to the devil in a moment
of blind panic and desperation.

Knowing the identity of the killer wouldn't change anything. It wouldn't undo the past. It wouldn't
undo her mistakes. It wouldn't bring her father back, not that she wanted to—he hadn't exactly been
a kind guardian to her but he had been a safe haven if you overlooked the storm of punches and
kicks he inflicted regularly. He had provided her with food and shelter. When he was killed, she
discovered his unpaid debts which ran into thousands. Unable to fend for herself and with Ella on
the way, Rosé was backed into a corner and took the first way out offered by the devil himself, her
father's old employer: Yang Hyun-suk.

She had known her father was involved with criminals but she didn't dare stop him or talk him out
of it, fearing he'd fly into a fit of rage and maim her for good. But never in her life had she expected
to plunge headfirst into the same filthy muck that her father drowned in.

Killing Tiger King as retribution?

She'd be no better than he was. Maybe if she had been presented with the question before, her bitter
and desperate younger self would have agreed without hesitation.

But she was older, wiser and more compassionate now. Her thirst for revenge had dimmed,
replaced instead with a determination to constantly push herself towards all that was light and
good.

She wanted to be the inspiring role model Lisa saw in her.

She involuntarily smiled and lifted her eyes. "Killing him won't do anything. Revenge... it would
only feel good for a while. But if I agree to his death...I'd be no better than he is. For me, it would
be enough to speak with him and...and understand why he did what he did. Afterwards... maybe he
can be handed over to the authorities?"

She didn't know where her momentary surge of courage came from.

Actually that was not true—she did know.

Lisa.

"Not bad," Jinyoung remarked, breaking the stunned silence, "I'm sure we could arrange for a
situation where any questions can be answered, provided we catch him alive."

"I still say he should die," Yang muttered, cracking his knuckles. "He doesn't deserve that." He
snorted derisively in Rosé's direction. "Women are always so weak and easy. What, are you
thinking of forgiving him, perhaps?"

Rosé didn't dare look at him, fearful of the threatening expression he was bound to show her. For
the first time, she had voiced out her opinion even when it directly clashed with his. She was
probably going to pay dearly for speaking so bluntly out of turn.

"That might not always be a bad thing," Jinyoung pointed out, stunning everyone in the room.

"Wh-what?" Yang spluttered, completely thrown off. Rosé stifled the smile that was threatening to
erupt on her face. Seeing the man that held her in thrall suddenly deflate like a balloon was very
satisfying and she wanted to imprint the moment in her mind.

She smiled gratefully at Jinyoung, a tiny quirk of the lips to show him her appreciation for standing
up for her. He returned her smile with a sly smirk.

"I said, when women are weak and easy, it's not always a bad thing," Jinyoung repeated slowly.
His gaze peered deep into her soul, making her shiver. "In fact it can be used to an advantage. That
makes it easier to play them and do whatever you want, however you want, with them."

Now the room burst into titters and jeers of amusement as a flurry of degrading comments did the
rounds. Their demeaning taunts slapped her in the face and added more salt to her wounded pride.
Wretchedly, she resigned herself to the humiliation and bore it all silently, willing for time to move
faster.

Fear took root and flourished in her gut as Jinyoung's measured, calculating words sank in—he had
never been on her side. He was already scheming on how to include her in his manipulative plans,
already laying his pawns on the table to start a game without her notice. His treacherous smile now
resembled a shark's grin, luring her in and lulling her into complacency.

Rosé could have screamed at herself right there and then. How naive of her to believe such a
conniving and devious person could be benevolent: Jinyoung was as much of a terrifying monster
as the man standing next to her.

What have I done? Laid myself out bare for everyone to see...

"Ah now there, I like how you're thinking Jinyoung," Yang praised, his smug confidence restored.
He thumped Rosé's shoulder, almost throwing the girl to the floor with the force. "Well, with Rosé
here, I can vouch she'd be easy. She was dumb enough to sell herself to me until her debts are paid
off, which is essentially, until she's dead." He guffawed, unable to keep his laughter in. "If that isn't
plain stupid, I don't know what is. You gotta be plenty stupid to trust the big bad wolf, ay?"

Hands clasped tightly behind her back, Rosé bowed her head in shame as howls of laughter rang
out, mocking and deriding her. She felt the pinpricks of tears stinging her eyes but she didn't cry—
she stubbornly bit down hard on her tongue and prayed for the night to be over.

>

"So tell me Yang-ssi," Jinyoung said as he sat back in the luxurious car seat, "what do you know
about PFB?"

Yang Hyun-suk and Jinyoung were riding in Jinyoung's Hyundai, after Yang sent Rosé back home
with Jay-J since Jinyoung asked for a little more time alone with him.

Yang scratched his chin, smoke drifting from his lips. "I don't follow it. It's not my thing, I dabbled
but some of my men gamble on some fighters on the regular. I heard it's quite profitable."

"I am a sponsor at one of the larger arenas. And indeed it has yielded me quite a lot
financially....and in other areas too."

Yang glanced at the younger man with interest. "Oh?"

"Yes." Jinyoung gazed out of the window. "I wondered if I should have invited Ms Rosé along but
I don't think she'd be able to stomach anything too violent like boxing matches. She seemed such a
fragile flower. I thought she was going to burst into tears at the end too."

"She's quite tough. One of my most reliable runners," Yang said, "meek and eager-to-please. But
you can tell she has that streak of stubbornness bubbling beneath the surface, so you have to be on
your guard and hold tight the reins, because she's always searching for the right moment to break
out."

"Ah. Oh well, no matter. You're the main person I'm dealing with anyway." Jinyoung said
dismissively. He smiled to himself in the dark. "I hope you won't mind joining me to watch a PFB
match? It's the opening night for knockout matches, it should be exciting. I'm looking forward to
it."

Yang was watching him closely. "There's a reason you brought me all the way here, isn't there
Jinyoung? This isn't any ordinary PFB match."

Jinyoung's teeth gleamed in the dark. "Oh trust me Yang-ssi, it's very ordinary. But...there might be
one or two interesting things to look out for. You'll see."

"Has this got to do with Tiger King, yes or no?" Yang said impatiently. "Stop with your cryptic
nonsense, boy. It's been a long night. If it doesn't have to do with him...then we have no more to
discuss."
Jinyoung sat quiet for a few moments. "It might....or it might not. You be the judge."

Yang smiled grimly, taking a long drag of the cigarette before speaking. "I can roll with that."
 The First Match

Exhausted by her unexpected nightly excursion, Rosé finally made it back to her apartment and
shut the door, leaning against it with eyes closed as she took a deep breath. The familiar scent of
her surroundings welcomed her.

"Mom?" Ella appeared in the corridor clutching Flora, rubbing her eyes with the other hand.
"You're back early."

"Yes baby." Rosé crouched to her knees, opening her arms for a hug and lovingly kissing Ella's
temple once her daughter moved into her embrace. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Leo keeps crying." Ella wrinkled her nose. "You smell awful again Mommy."

"Darn cigarettes, I know," Rosé said wearily and yawned. "I'll check on Leo after I wash up,
okay?"

She noticed Ella fidgeting. "What is it El?"

"Um...are you going to sleep in my room again?" Ella asked shyly. "It's...nice."

"You heard me sneak in your bed last time?"

"I hear you every time."

Rosé smiled. Tender moments like these was when all the shame and pain and humiliation she
suffered melted away, her daughter's voice like a soothing balm on her wounded spirit. Ella made
her keep fighting to endure—she hadn't exaggerated when she told Lisa that Ella was the one thing
that kept her going through difficult times.

"You sure you're not too old for that, then? Sure you wouldn't be embarrassed?"

She chuckled when Ella shook her head vigorously. "Then wait for me, I'll be back soon."

After a hot cleansing shower, she went to Ella's room with a comb and a towel draped over her
shoulder to find the girl stroking the distressed kitten in her lap, her stuffed bunny Flora sitting next
to her.

"He keeps rootling around and crying in the box and waking Oliver up," Ella sighed as she scooted
to make space for Rosé. "I didn't know what to do."

"Give him to me. Now, would you like to comb my hair?"

Ella's eyes sparkled. "Yes please! Can I plait it again?"

"I think it's a bit too late for that sweetie. Next time okay?" Rosé compromised. She didn't feel like
untangling knots late into the night and missing out on more sleep.

They swapped the comb for the kitten, with Rosé comfortably sitting cross-legged stroking the
mewling kitten as Ella sat up on her knees to brush her mother's long blonde hair. The pleasant
soothing sensation of the comb's teeth scraping her scalp almost put Rosé to sleep weren't it for
Leo's restless attempts to roam. At least, his despondent miaowing had decreased but he clearly still
had energy to spare.
She finally gave up and let him travel across the expanse of the bed, smiling as he stumbled and
regained his balance whilst plodding over the soft bedding as though in search of something, or
more specifically, someone.

"I think he misses Lisa," Rosé concluded. "He's grown attached to her. So he keeps looking for
her."

"What are we going to do?"

"Try and get him to sleep anyway. There's not much we can do right now."

"Don't let him fall off Mom," Ella warned when Leo strayed dangerously close to the edge.

"Don't worry, I got him," her mother reassured, bringing Leo closer from the scruff of his neck.
They were quiet for a few moments, basking in the peace of the semi-darkness. The only source of
light in the room was Ella's The Little Mermaid lamplight.

"You did make sure the water bowl was full, right?" Rosé spoke up at length.

"Yep! And I changed all their litter boxes too!"

"Good girl," Rosé praised. On inspiration, she cradled Leo closer in her arms, stroking and
whispering softly to him like she had seen Lisa do. Thankfully his snuffles grew quieter and quieter
as he relaxed in her hands, finally somewhat placated.

"You're really good at making him sleep," Ella said enviously as she peered over her mother's
shoulder. Rosé chuckled fondly.

"I had practice with you baby. It's a skill all mothers learn when they have their own children."

"Will I be able to do that as well one day then?"

"Why not?" Rosé smiled. "When you have your own baby, you'll learn naturally. And you're gonna
have to learn fast if you want to sleep, especially at night. Speaking from experience. "

"But would you help me?"

"Of course. Always." Rosé brought Ella into a one-armed hug and kissed her forehead tenderly.
"Mommies always help their daughters take care of their babies."

"Grandma wasn't around to help though, was she?" Ella said, suddenly downcast. Rosé glanced
down at her in consternation.

"Sweetie, grandma went away remember? She's in a cloud palace, flying with white wings and
beautiful white horses in a cloud garden, I told you all about it before. She didn't go there because
she wanted to, but God chose her to help him. He wanted her as His helper in the cloud garden."

"I know but..." Ella fidgeted with her doll, a clear sign that something was bothering her and
instantly making Rosé switch on high alert. She quietly slipped her hands from beneath Leo's body
and cupped Ella's face instead.

"Ella, what is it baby? You can always tell me. I promise, I won't be cross or mad."

She was startled to glimpse tears in the girl's eyes and her heartbeat started up a dizzying tempo
almost immediately. "Baby, what is it?" she asked softly, trying her best to remain calm as she
wiped away the stray tears with her thumbs.
"Nothing." Ella sniffed but made no move to turn away. "I'm just...it's scary to think that when I
grow up you won't be there if... if you don't come back one day, when you go out at night."

Her mother sat stunned like a bullet tore through her body and rendered her lifeless.

"What if you're not here, like grandma wasn't for you?" Ella went on, her voice trembling. "What if
bad things happen, like you always say? Bad things always happen at night in movies."

Guilt stabbed Rosé and ripped her heart to shreds. She scooped up the girl in a tight hug, burying
her own wet face in the crook of Ella's neck.

"No, no don't think like that. I'm never going to leave you! I promise," Rosé wept, "I love you, you
hear me? You're my little baby. Nobody can take me away from you, I'll always come back. I'm
your mom."

Two small arms wrapped around her neck as Ella hugged Rosé back tightly. Mother and daughter
clung to each other as though cut of the same stone, so fierce was their hug that there was nothing
that could separate them right now. Rosé grasped onto her daughter's fragile body, wishing and
wishing she could take away the fear and terror plaguing Ella.

An eight year-old shouldn't be worrying about her mother being taken away.

Rosé kissed her continuously, peppering Ella's face with little pecks. She nuzzled their noses
together and squished Ella's cheeks. Although the tender gestures brought back a weak smile to
Ella's face, it did nothing to remove the torment gnawing at Rosé's conscience.

This is all my stupid stupid fault.

She hummed a little song as she held on to Ella, rocking them back and forth soothingly like a boat
bobbing out at sea. Her heart cracked a little more with each hiccup that Ella tried to stifle. When
she felt her own tears had dried up on her cheeks, she tilted Ella's face up again.

"I'm sorry baby," Rosé began, remorse making her voice waver. "I know you get scared being
alone and wondering where I'm out...but I want you to know that..."

She wanted to say I'm doing this for us.

But in all honesty, she wasn't working for Yang for any monetary gain—she was only reaping the
results of stupid impulsive choices her younger self took. The grave impact of consequences that
came down the line were something she had never remotely dreamt or considered in her teenage
years and now, Ella was paying the price for her mother's irresponsibility.

"You won't understand now, but I want you to be better than I am, my little princess," Rosé said at
last, using an old pet name, "I want you to be a good person. I want you to be an even better mother
to your kids than I am to you right now."

"But you're the best Mom!"

Rosé shook her head. "No, I'm not very good. I leave you here alone, and I didn't take you away
from your father soon enough. One day you'll understand what I'm saying."

"No you're definitely the best!" Ella protested. "You never shout at me like Bumin's parents do if I
don't get top marks and you always help me with homework! Hana is always asking me for
answers because her nanny sucks at math and her mom and dad are always working and can't help
her. And anyway, I'm big enough to stay at home! I'm not alone, there's Bori and now there's Leo
and Oliver." She paused before picking up again. "I just...get scared. What if something like what
happened when Lisa unnie kicked you by accident happened for real...again?"

Rosé's heart clenched with regret. On top of causing Ella distress on a regular basis due to her night
excursions, there was also the ghost of the trauma inflicted by her ex that also tormented her
daughter's memory.

She'd give anything to wipe her daughter's memory and have a blank slate to start over.

"Ella, do you want to know a secret?" Rosé whispered confidentially, even making a show of
covering sleeping Flora's ears with her hands and glancing around the room as though checking for
anyone eavesdropping on them.

Ella's eyes grew round. "What?" she whispered back.

"Lisa is going to teach me how to fight bad guys so if I ever am in danger, I can fight back," Rosé
winked, "so I promise, no matter what happens, I'm gonna punch and fight. Like that tiger in Kung
Fu Panda, Tigress, right? I'll beat them all." She sliced the air in front of her. "Hi-yah!"

"Ooohhh!" Ella gasped in delight. "Can I learn too?"

"This is a bit of an advanced version for adults so maybe we can ask her to teach you when you
grow up a bit more."

"But I thought Jennie unnie said they don't teach karate?" Ella frowned. "When we went to the
Vault, that's what unnie said."

"Ah but this is a special type of self-defence fighting," Rosé invented to further embellish her lie.
"In any case, you don't have to worry. Once I master the art of fighting properly, I can protect the
both of us!"

"Like a superhero!" Ella said in awe.

"Exactly!" Rosé winked. "And you know something? I already have the perfect superhero name
down as well so people will cower in fear whe they hear my name!"

Ella giggled and made Flora clap when Rosé stood up on the bed, whipped the towel off her
shoulders with dramatic flair and tied a knot round her neck with it. She struck a hero pose with one
arm pointing to the ceiling and another resting on her waist.

"I am Super Gay, here to save the day!" Rosé intoned before she fell back on the mattress, giggling
helplessly with Ella. "Oh gosh, I'm turning into Lisa!"

The words soon died in her throat to be replaced with a look of dismay. Ella watched the rapid
transformation warily.

"Mom? Are you oka—"

"Lisa! The match! The Purge! The tournament! I promised I'd watch!"

Rosé sprang off the bed, nearly throwing Ella and Leo off as well. "I'll be back, just a sec!"

She was soon running back into the room with her laptop, booting up with great haste.

"Oh Lisa unnie's big match right?" Ella said excitedly as she burrowed into Rosé's side with Leo.
"Can I watch please please please? We can cheer for her, Leo! Yah, wake up! I wonder if he
recognises her when he sees her on the screen? C+an cats do that Mom?"

"Not sure baby," Rosé said absently as she typed, her eyes scanning the links that were loading on
the page. "Ah! Here we are! Thai Tornado vs. Shadow, Reaping Opener: Round 3. Oh that
must be the final round! We're still in time to watch it!"

She could barely contain her excitement as she clicked on the live stream video and prayed there
was no lag. Ella was right beside her, briefly bringing Rosé out of her pre-match hype.

From the extent of bruises Lisa had often sported, she knew PFB matches could get violent but she
also decided it would perhaps be a good distraction for Ella to cheer for Lisa.

If things turned triggering or too violent, she decided she'd shut down the video or cover Ella's
eyes.

Rosé gave a wry smile. It sounded hypocritical to her ears: when the real danger had been present,
she had been powerless to shield Ella from the horrors of violence and yet now, she thought
covering Ella's eyes and ears would help to protect her from violence that didn't even come close to
what they had both been through.

>

Yang yawned obnoxiously loud, loud enough for the men sitting a few seats away to glance his
way with annoyed faces but quickly turning away once they made eye contact. Yang Hyun-suk's
cold glare coupled with his jagged scar made for good deterrents to intimidate people.

"I've watched chicken fights that were more interesting than this sorry excuse of a prissy sissy
fight," he snorted. He crossed his arms across his chest as the crowd around him cheered and
shouted for the ongoing match in the ring.

Next to him Jinyoung merely smiled serenely. "Oh? I thought it's plenty interesting."

"The game clearly belongs to the blonde one." Yang grunted as he pointed a stubby finger, "she's
in top form. It's boring just watching her dance around. That other girl is too slow for her. I could
have been using my time better, Jinyoung." He scanned the crowd around him, searching for the
way leading to the exit. "As soon as the third round begins I'm out."

"Oh, but I wouldn't leave just yet, if I were you," Jinyoung said slyly. "Not right before
the actual show starts."

Yang whipped around sharply, the meaning behind Jinyoung's words slowly sinking in.

"What do you mean? There's only the final round left."

"Exactly. The stakes will be higher for Shadow if she wants to place for the Grand Slam. More
excitement."

Yang huffed. "Well whatever. When exactly are you planning to show me whatever you were
going to show me about Tiger King?"

"Patience, patience. All in good time," soothed Jinyoung, grinning at the testy expression the older
man wore.

"I have been patient. You know I don't appreciate having my time wasted. I'm a busy man, so out
with it," Yang barked, turning hostile in a blink. "What does all this have to do with him? What
should I be seeing? What are you doing there?"

Unperturbed, Jinyoung held up his phone and dialled a number as the smirk on his face widened.
"Oh this? Nothing much. Just...making things more interesting for you."

He ended the call without speaking once the person on the other end picked up, then put his phone
away and settled more comfortably in his seat. "I guarantee you'll find this
round infinitely more engaging than the previous ones, Yang-ssi. It will be worth your time, you'll
thank me later. I would suggest to keep your eyes peeled."

Yang snorted but didn't grumble again.

>

"You're doing great, really great!" Jennie praised. "Keep it up. You're not feeling tired or anything
are you?"

"Nope, I can fight three more rounds!" Lisa declared after she glugged down some water. She
wiped her brow, squinting beneath the bright spotlight over to the other corner where Shadow and
her trainer where sitting.

"I kinda pity the kid. She's putting up a good fight," Lisa commented.

"Not good enough though," Jennie said smugly. Lisa had won the first two rounds and practically
had the game in the bag. All their practice and Rosé's pilates had paid off.

"I guess so," Lisa smirked. "You're really in a good mood to be gloating like that."

"Well, for the first time I feel like all our efforts have paid off and we're actually going to have a a
shot at the Grand Slam. You just gotta keep your fighting form till the end of this month."

Lisa laughed at her sister's optimism, welcoming the change in attitude. "Jisoo's pep talk must have
worked."

"Oh shut up or I'll whip you with the towel," Jennie said jokingly, flicking the towel she was using
to pat Lisa dry. She didn't attempt to hide her smile as she glanced back in the direction of the
stands, her mouth stretching wider once she spotted Jisoo.

Meanwhile Lisa observed Shadow drink from her water bottle as her trainer tended to her. Shadow
frowned after she finished drinking, her face puckered up as though she tasted something bitter.
She gazed up at her trainer who merely nodded at her.

"She's a tough rookie and I like her better than the Bear. At least this one doesn't have attitude."
Lisa said thoughtfully.

"Speaking of tough, you gotta make sure not to let her catch you off-guard again," Jennie inserted
as she tapped Lisa's shoulder. The blonde winced and rubbed the sore spot ruefully.

"Yeah my bad, thought I'd go a little easy."

"Well don't. There's no room for compassion here, we're all fighting to just make it through to the
Grand Slam, remember that. No chivalry, no mercy," Jennie reminded.

"Yeah yeah don't get your panties in a twist, it only lasted just until she gave me that good o'l
punch," Lisa chortled and cracked her knuckles. She sat up, stretching as she readied herself to start
the round again. "Better ring up Jeongyeon and tell her to clear the place for us later cos we're
celebrating, baby!"

And Jennie nearly smiled hadn't she glanced up at the moment and locked eyes with Shadow from
across the ring as the girl slowly made her way to the centre. Jennie's stomach plummeted to the
ground and her smile shrivelled up and died.

No.... it can't be, she must have imagined it...not again...

But before she could warn Lisa, three sharp clangs of the bell rang out.

The fight had begun.

>

"Mom Mom what's happening?" Ella asked urgently. "Why did she fall hard like that?"

Rosé sat dumbstruck as she watched Lisa go down like a sack of potatoes when her opponent
punched her to the jaw, the sound of Lisa thumping the ground reverberating through the speakers.

She forgot all about hiding Ella's face—she hadn't expected for things to escalate right off the bat.

Rosé released a breath she hadn't noticed she was holding when Lisa staggered to her feet, holding
the side of her face. She looked dazed. The crowd around her screamed and yelled, the audio
crackling with the deafening roars from the stands.

Lisa shook her head, rubbing her jaw as the boxers circled each other, their respective supporters
egging them on. Rosé watched as Lisa raised her fists up level with her face, remembering how the
boxer had taught her that basic guard move when she visited the Vault that first time—

Both Lisa and Shadow charged at each other, a blur of movement as they surged forward like
waves rushing towards shore.

Lisa immediately fell back as Shadow's fist collided with her face. Spurts of red spattered the
ground as Lisa's head snapped away with the momentum and she stumbled back, falling on the
ropes limp as a rag-doll. Beneath the platform stood Jennie, ashen-faced.

Lisa groaned and cupped her nose, pinching it to stop the bleeding. Her hand came away slick with
blood. It immediately gave Rosé deja vu as she remembered the night she visited the Slammer,
when Lisa was also in a bad state but managed to make a miraculous comeback.

"Dang Shadow, you're really out for blood tonight," Lisa slurred before she suddenly leapt forward
without warning and attacked, boxing Shadow's ears before skipping out of reach. "Let's keep the
game going, no getting too cocky, eh?"

"I'll show you a real game," Shadow huffed, stung by Lisa's surprise attack and the match went on.
Shadow swung her fists and punched with all her strength as Lisa defended to the best of her
ability.

Hit after hit, Lisa couldn't seem to penetrate Shadow's defence, in fact it was the opposite, with
Lisa enduring dozens of punches as she was thoroughly thrashed and beaten to a pulp.

Her opponent—the girl with short dark hair—was too fluid, too strong. Her face was flushed and
her eyes lined with dark eyeliner gave her a blood-thirsty predatory look, like an animal toying with
a helpless animal before it eats it up. Which in this case, the helpless animal in question would be
Lisa as Shadow bashed and pummelled her around the ring.

Rosé didn't like the girl at all.

She couldn't quite put her finger on it but something about Shadow felt off. Rosé fancied Shadow's
eyes had a crazed glaze to them, but it could be her imagination, and her bias for siding with Lisa
making her see Shadow in an unfavourable light. Lisa had actually mentioned she was one of the
more respectful rookies, but Rosé certainly had seen none of that respectful attitude so far.

The groans and grunts of pain belonging to Lisa's echoed in Ella's room interspersed with the noisy
spectators screaming their approval or booing in disdain. Feverish excitement abounded as time
went on. Lisa defended grimly, being cornered each time as Shadow pushed into her space.
Experience and flexibility paid off and Lisa managed to slip out of tight corners but she was still
far behind in landing a solid blow or striking a powerful hit that would knock her rival down whilst
Shadow had no problem at all doing just that—the barrage of flying fists kept coming, the
onslaught relentless as Lisa fell again and again.

Again and again she got up, each time a little more bloodied and bruised.

Rosé's eyes were practically glued to the screen as she leaned forward, nose almost touching the
glass. She bit the skin of her nails with anxiety as her eyes flicked left, right, left, right, tracking
Lisa's movements.

The blonde boxer's jaw was swollen, with bloody trails staining her sports bra. Her face was
smeared with dry crusty blood and wet with sweat, with her bangs sticking to her forehead. Her
expression was grim—nowhere was the childish playful girl Rosé was used to.

This was gritty, bloody, cut-throat fighting: there was no room for jokes. Lisa was fighting with all
that she had just to block Shadow's aggressive attacks, and she was clearly struggling. Her chest
rose and fell sharply as she panted. The harsh sounds grated on Rosé's ears as she fearfully watched
her friend lumber around the ring to elude her relentless pursuer.

Come on Lisa come on Lisa come on Lisa, she chanted in her head. You can do it!

Her heart sank as Shadow managed to land another hit: her elbow smashed in Lisa's face with a
sickening crunch. Lisa crashed to the ground, her mouth guard falling out as she spat blood. The
sight made Rosé's stomach lurch.

What was happening? Was Lisa that ineffective in the face of her opponent?

But she didn't look this mauled after the previous two rounds, so what changed now?

Ella whimpered, catching her mother's attention. Rosé hugged the distressed girl, tucking her closer
to her side.

"Sweetie, why don't I just tuck you up to sleep? This is getting too PG for you," she said softly.
Ella shook her head no and Rosé didn't argue, too distracted to insist for Ella to stop.

She glanced back at the screen, reluctant to wrench her gaze away for even a moment as she
silently prayed for Lisa to fight back against the bizarrely overpowered Shadow. Relief coursed
through her body as Lisa straightened up, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Her face
was a sight to behold, with different shades of bruises decorating her jaw and cheek, making Rosé
wince.

Is this what Lisa was going to be facing for the rest of the tournament? Being a punching bag
every week? Is this what it had been like before she started pilates as well?

"I can't stop watching," Ella said breathlessly. She looked up at Rosé with wide eyes. "Is she going
to be okay, Mom?"

"Of course sweetie. She's tough—"

A new swell of roars interrupted her as Lisa's bludgeoned face took yet another hit and she keeled
over like a felled tree. By this time, one eye was swollen almost shut and her words were slurred
beyond coherence.

"Wow, you...you...pow'ed up..." she coughed.

"Saving the best for last ey?" Shadow smirked and flexed her biceps. Though she sported some
bruises herself, she hadn't accumulated any new ones as far as Rosé was aware, so they must have
been Lisa's hits from the previous two rounds.

But Lisa hadn't inflicted half the damage that Shadow was delivering now.

"Come on Tornado, I thought you were going to celebrate hard tonight hmm?"

"And I thought you din't have an att'ude, but I woz wrong," Lisa retorted as she turned her head and
spat more blood. Rosé marvelled at how the battered girl was still able to respond despite all the
knocks to the head.

"C'mon then. 'Aven't got all night," Lisa added as she raised her fists again, wincing as she bent
into stance. Her split lip made Rosé flinch when Lisa attempted to grin, the ghost of the cocky girl
making an appearance.

"Just give up already. You don't belong in here. You're a washed out old hag," Shadow taunted.

"I got a kiss from a gal for luck. Das more than you'll ever get, rookie," Lisa bragged, making
Shadow purse her lips as Rosé stared, heart twanging like an elastic band in her chest.

"A kiss from a girl?" Ella giggled. "Haha, Shadow didn't like that, look, she's jealous! I wonder
who kissed Lisa..."

Rosé knew just exactly who had kissed Lisa but she was too surprised to even answer.

That simple cheek kiss from the afternoon meant that much to Lisa that she remembered it
randomly even in her dazed state?

The two boxers charged together as though on cue, colliding in the middle with Shadow punching
Lisa squarely in the gut. Lisa's breath burst from her lips in an explosive gust, leaving her choking
and gasping for air, totally vulnerable. Shadow moved in and struck Lisa in the middle of her back,
throwing her to the ground.

"Let that kiss from your imaginary girlfriend save you now," Shadow snickered. Lisa didn't react or
even show that she was still conscious.

"Come on unnie, come on unnie," Ella muttered. Her small clammy hand squeezed Rosé's fingers
tightly. "Unnie's gotta make it. You trained so much together."

Rosé squeezed her hand back, swallowing the knot in her throat as they watched Lisa lying
motionless on the ground while the audience in the stands clamoured for the countdown to start.
The referee climbed into the ring and crouched next to the fallen boxer, raising his hand for the
signal. Shadow stood by with arms folded, smug and pleased with herself as the crowd started
counting.

This can't be it, Rosé thought in anguish. She can't give up now. Not now.

The countdown reached halfway through. Lisa had yet to stir.

"Lisa please wake up," Rosé whispered. Her fingers touched the unmoving figure on the other side
of the cold monitor. "Please.."

>

Much like Rosé, Jennie had been standing in a state of numb shock as she watched Lisa crash to the
ground over and over until she didn't get up again.

"Get up," Jennie muttered. "Come on, get up."

Lisa's body lay a few feet away, frighteningly still and lifeless. Her eyes were glued to her sister as
the roars of the crowd around her reached a crescendo.

Get up. Get up. Don't do this to me right now. Get up.

The bitter tears were threatening to escape as Jennie fought with all her might not to lose herself to
emotion.

They had come so close to get a taste of victory, for it all to disappear into smoke. Jennie felt like
screaming and stomping her feet at the unfairness of it all

The long nights working, the long days training, the money she spent, the sweat and effort, the
bone-aching fatigue, the knots of tension keeping her stiff as a board— they all came back to
Jennie in a flash and left just as quickly as the single tear that rolled down her cheek.

Her only hope and dream was being taken out of her grasp yet again, right in front of her eyes as
Life looked on, smiling cruelly at her despair.

Jennie gnashed her teeth together. Maybe she had been wrong to hope. Hope was dangerous for
someone as wretched as her and Lisa.

"4..." bellowed the crowd as they reached the final phase of the countdown.

"3..."

"2..."

Lisa coughed, her body convulsing as she heaved a great breath and rolled on her back amidst
deafening cheers and surprised yells. She still lay with eyes closed and Jennie immediately snapped
out of her stupor.

She leapt into action as she scrambled on to the platform. "Time out!" she requested, making the T
sign with her arms.

"There's not much time left of the round," the referee warned.

"Give it up, she's a goner anyway," Shadow jeered.

Jennie ground her teeth and rounded on her. "Not on my watch, punk."

Shadow's nostrils flared. "What did you just say to me?"

Good girl, that's it, come in closer, Jennie thought, pleased that her tactic was working. She stood
her ground as Shadow marched up to her side of the platform whilst shrugging off the referee who
tried to hold her back.

Jennie backed away into the corner, feigning being intimidated as Shadow pressed into her space.

Come on, show me what I need to see...

Jennie had made sure there was no light hitting Shadow's face, which was why she had backed
away from the central spotlights. When Lisa's opponent came to a stop in front of her, Jennie stared
directly into her enraged eyes.

And just as she suspected, Shadow's irises seemed to be tinged ever so slightly yellow, with the
pupils blown wide.

Bingo, she had been right all along!

But Jennie's momentary triumph soon disappeared when the dreaded question surfaced in her
head: What were they supposed to do now that she had realised the truth?

"You wanna start something, Shorty?" Shadow said sarcastically, cracking her knuckles.

Jennie's scowl melted. Her eyes hovered on the space behind Shadow before she smiled sweetly.
"No, I don't. But...she might."

"Shadow look out!" Shadow's trainer shouted.

Shadow turned just in time as Lisa's fist whizzed by her head and smashed into Jennie's nose.
People screamed as Jennie fell back against the ropes—amongst them, a girl with long raven black
hair stood up in her seat, her eyes widening at the sight of Jennie collapsing.

"Jendeukie!"

"Oh. You're not Shadow," Lisa said perplexed as Jennie groaned at her feet. Shadow stood close
by, snickering nastily.

"No kidding," Jennie grunted, holding her nose. Lisa crouched down and showed her three fingers.

"'Ow many fi'gers 'ave ah got—"

"You hit my nose not my head, idiot!" Jennie sniffed before standing up and turning to the referee,
still cupping her nose. "Ref, can we get that timeout right about now, please?"

"Oh come on seriously?" Shadow exclaimed, highly displeased. "The match's about to end
anyway! Even if we get extra time to make up, Tornado's lost!"

"Am still standing." Lisa pointed out through her swollen lips. She glanced at Jennie still nursing
her nose then nodded at Shadow. "Let's 'ave a fourth round, a decider."

"COP-OUT COP-OUT COP-OUT!" The crowd roared in approval, overturning Shadow and her
trainer's disgruntled protests.
"Fine!" Shadow snarled after an urgent discussion with her trainer, "let's do this. Time out, ref."

And finally the trainer raised his arm to allow the timeout while the audience burst into a hive of
activity as new bets were placed and money changed hands while muttered curses and swearing
filled the hall.

Jennie and Lisa retreated to their corner of the ring. Lisa sank down on her stool with a thankful
sigh and leaned her head back against the post as Jennie started tending to her. But before that,
Jennie glanced in Jisoo's direction and gave her a discreet thumbs-up to reassure her that all was
well. Jisoo smiled back with a thumbs-up of her own before settling into her seat again, relieved.

"Nice distraction," Jennie whispered to Lisa behind her hand, so that the camera didn't catch on to
what she was saying. Having Lisa 'accidentally' punch Jennie was a cheap tactic the sisters pulled
out from their bag of tricks to buy time, but they didn't use it often for fear of being called out on
their act. It was something decided on the spur of the moment: a quick look in each other's eyes to
confirm the go-ahead was all it took.

Lisa had her eyes still closed but a small grin made its way up to her mouth. "Hmm. Glad 'ah woke
up on time."

"Yeah, no hurry, I hope you had a good nap back there," Jennie replied drily. "Not like we're trying
to win or anything, no pressure."

She bit her lip as she sponged over Lisa's bruises, dabbing as gently and quickly as she could
although Lisa's muscles tensed beneath her touch. Even looking at the horrid discoloured
patchwork of skin made Jennie wince—she couldn't imagine how sore Lisa was feeling.

"Anyway, 'ope the punch look'd real 'nough. 'ow's your nose?"

"Not too banged up. But it was worth it, that stupid referee wasn't going to give us time to rethink
tactics." She took a deep breath and admitted the unsavoury truth. "You were right. They're back
Lisa. They're targeting you. They have to be...this is the second time this happened in such a short
time, after Undertaker. They're baiting you."

Recognising that Jennie was back in serious mode, Lisa cracked her good eye open. "Yeah,
guessed so. Did you confirm just now, when you spoke with Shadow?"

"Yes. I made sure there was no light on her face. Her eyes were tinged yellow for real." Jennie
glanced over at their opponent, currently sitting reclined with eyes closed as her trainer fanned her
with the towel. "I just hope nothing will happen that will forfeit the match. The yellowness was
more concentrated and prominent than with Undertaker. It could be dangerous, it could overwhelm
her system if she has too much...what where they thinking, using Shadow as bait?"

"And Undertaker too."

"And Undertaker too," Jennie agreed, frowning. "They really couldn't care less about their guinea
pigs huh? And in a crowded place like this, in plain view of everyone... they don't care, as long as
they get you."

Lisa closed her good eye again with a sigh—the harsh light made her head ache, drilling into her
eyeball. Briefly, she remembered similar blinding lights in a sterile white room that hurt her eyes,
even when she squeezed them shut—she couldn't shield her face because her arms and legs were
heavy, too heavy to lift, aside from her body being securely tied down to the hard examination
table beneath her.
Restless because of the memories that she didn't want to remember particularly now, Lisa started
clicking her wrist in agitation. "What are we gonna do Jen? We came this far....they're waiting for
me to mess up and...and get me. I could have fought back but I know you don't think it's a good
idea...I thought a cop-out this time round would help buy me time to recover and fight back but
she's really going all out. I'm not sure I can outlast her."

Jennie was thinking very quickly, weighing options as she came to an important decision. "Listen
to me Lisa. This is going to be your most important test. They know we need to win this. They
know we're desperate. But they won't come after us. They're the shady type to hide and wait. They
want to lure you to them without you knowing. They want you to expose yourself and in doing so,
you go to them. They're going to expect you to go all out just to win."

Jennie smiled grimly. "And you're going to do exactly that."

Lisa's good eye snapped wide open. "Jen?" she said in astonishment. "Did 'ah hit you dat ha'd?
What aa' you saying—"

"We need to win. We need to get through the Purge. And so, we're going to give them what they
want," Jennie said breathlessly, "but you're going to show them that you can be better. You're
going to end this tonight without anyone getting hurt and you're going to win, just like you did with
Undertaker. You're going to win on your terms and nobody will be any the wiser. You're gonna get
back out there and fight like a boxer. And you're gonna own it, without losing control. They won't
be able to touch you, because...you will be just an ordinary fighter."

Lisa bottom lip trembled. "You're trusting me...?"

Jennie clutched Lisa's hand, looking right into her eye. "More than ever, I need you to show me
what you promised. Show me that you have improved. I'm trusting you."

"Unnie..."

"You have to go," Jennie said urgently as she pulled Lisa to her feet when the bell tolled, signalling
the end of the time out. "Go show those bozos out there!"

Lisa hesitated. "Jen, what if..." she stared down at her clenched fists but Jennie understood
immediately.

"You managed to keep control with Undertaker. I trust you can do it again. I'm going to be here,
watching." She nodded at Lisa, her voice softening. "Keep control, okay? I'm here."

Lisa glanced down at her hands but she set her jaw and rubbed her knuckles determinedly.
"Control. Got it."

>

The fourth round started with much fanfare and hollering—it wasn't often that Cop-Outs happened,
and at the beginning of the pre-tournament no less. Needless to say, excitement levels were
running feverishly high as Lisa and Shadow stepped up to the centre of the ring, glowering at each
other.

"Ladies, let's keep this final round a clean fight, alright? Am I clear?" The referee interjected
nervously. He flinched when they turned their sickly sweet but dangerous smiles upon him.

"Crystal," they replied, with absolute zero intention of following his instructions. He simply
nodded and scuttled away. A few seconds later the bell clanged, signalling the start of the cop-out
round.

Like two dogs thrown a hunk of meat, both boxers hurled themselves towards each other, all
thoughts of playing nice thrown out of the window as they growled and snapped and snarled, hard
fists meeting skin and bone with thunderous claps and thuds.

Jennie watched the fight on tenterhooks. She had her arms folded, her fingers digging into her
elbows as she gripped hard, silently waiting for Lisa to make her move.

Shadow didn't let up for one second—she had been thwarted once when victory had been within
her grasp and now she was going to make sure she beat Lisa for good. Her brutal punches and
savage rasps of frustration combined with Lisa's own brand of guttural sounds. In a twisted sense,
they were like musicians harmonising together to create a bizarre symphonic cacophony,
intoxicating the viewer with heady rushes of adrenaline.

This was the beauty of such ferocious, unbridled showdowns: it was all brawn and raw feminine
power on full display, unrestrained and far from cosmetically appealing. But it was in such
moments that Jennie understood why people always came back for more—few other sports gave
such an intimate peek into the power the female figure was capable of, and it was mesmerising.

Jennie was snapped out of her musings when a roar broke out from the audience around her—Lisa
had punched Shadow's jaw, throwing her to the ground. The girl sprawled like a starfish as around
her spectators booed and howled.

Jennie smiled tightly, watching Lisa twirl and throw her arms up triumphantly, lapping up the
attention she was receiving.

Lisa was gearing up, holding steady and not going all out yet. That was good.

Now it remained to be seen how well she could pace herself—they certainly didn't want to kill
Shadow, but there was no knowing how unstable Shadow herself could turn, in which case Lisa
would have to take up the fight a notch higher.

Jennie briefly remembered Hwangssabu and the night their lives changed a mere few years ago.
She clenched her jaw with resolve as she watched Lisa prance around a frustrated Shadow. There
was a renewed spring in Lisa's step.

If something happens, you're responsible, reminded the voice in her head. Jennie didn't have any
form of protest to counter that statement: if worst truly came to worst she would do what needed to
be done. She would be responsible and do what she had failed to do that night,

Dread hung around her neck like a sinking stone.

Although she usually didn't usually turn around to face the spectators behind her, Jennie couldn't
help but do a quick sweep of the stands, wondering who was watching them, wondering who was
after Lisa, wondering how much they knew.

She had told Lisa that whoever was gunning for her was waiting for Lisa to go back by herself
because once exposed, she'd had no choice but to run. By exposing who she truly was if she lost
control, Lisa would be doing their work while they hid in the shadows, protected and untouchable.

But Jennie had only said that to put Lisa's mind at rest, to give her sister a sliver of hope—in
reality, the eldest had no way of telling just what game they were all playing.

Were they waiting for Lisa to slip up? Or were they simply playing a game of cat and mouse,
waiting to pounce regardless of what Lisa did?

Jennie shuddered at the notion that whoever was chasing after Lisa might already know
everything, even the Vault's address.

Would she wake up dead tomorrow in a pool of blood?

Of course those bastards wouldn't give up on getting their precious asset back, Jennie thought
bitterly. The past always catches up and I'm caught in the crossfire, again.

Meanwhile as Jennie puzzled over their latest dilemma, the fight in the ring raged on with the tide
of battle clearly shifting in Lisa's favour—her swift attacks were steadily increasing in power and
speed, leaving Shadow incredulous as Lisa dodged and ducked and swung her fists faster and
faster, gnashing her teeth with effort.

A particularly hard throw had Shadow spitting blood as she sat up, glaring with a trickle of blood
running down the side of her face from her split brow.

"What you on? Drugs?" she asked suspiciously.

"Leaving the best for last," Lisa winked. "Just like ya!"

Shadow didn't appreciate Lisa's answer— she clenched her fist and wiped her nose with the back of
her hand, her face contorting into a snarl.

"You better give your best then," she snarled, "cos you're gonna wish you weren't born!"

"Pretty tough words from a rookie shrimp like ya!" Lisa returned cheekily. "Bring it!"

Jennie had been paying close attention to Shadow's eyes, monitoring the girl's irises as closely as
she could from her position. She flinched when the girl's eyes flashed a sudden gold, the colour
receding just as quickly as it appeared so one might even mistake it for a trick of the light.

But Jennie knew better—her heart sank in her gut for the second time that night.

She was losing control.

"Take her down!" Jennie called urgently, hoping her sister understood the alarm in her voice.
"Hurry! Time's running ou—"

Shadow pounced on Lisa with a roar, bringing them down in a tangle of flailing limbs and shouts
as they wrestled and thrashed, bashing and whacking each other on the head. Lisa retaliated with
punches of her own as she blindly lashed out, managing to catch Shadow's jaw in a deft uppercut.

Shadow was not amused. With a visceral grunt, she managed to overturn herself up and straddle
Lisa, gripping the helpless boxer's wrists in one hand.

"I'm gonna end you, you dirty whoring dyke," Shadow spat. "Kiss my fist."

Jennie watched in horror as Shadow started pounding Lisa's face, flipping it from side to side with
tremendous force. She almost hid her face behind her fingers, almost, but she was too transfixed to
look away.

The crowd was going berserk, egging Shadow to keep up her savage battering. The girl herself
smirked with relish, her broad smile growing wider with each crack as her knuckles collided with
bone.
Feeling little to no pain upon impact, Jennie's mind noted, furiously processing all that was
happening as Jennie watched on helplessly. She's progressing too fast towards the end stage...

"Not so cocky now, are we?" Shadow laughed.

"Uhh..." Lisa groaned in answer and received another punch to the face.

Fight back. Fight back, Jennie pleaded desperately. Come on....why won't you fight back?

Shadow suddenly paused from her hit fest and stood up before bending to grasp Lisa from her
ankles and effortlessly drag her around the ring, taunting her as the spectators joined in with noisy
hooting.

"Your hair's like a dirty rag! It makes for a good mop! I'll clean the floor with ya!" Shadow jeered.
"Your face looks like a rotten tomato! You're weak and spineless!"

Lisa's eyes fluttered as she groaned and tried to sit up but Shadow didn't give her the chance. With
surprising agility she swung Lisa around once twice like a hammer thrower, and released her. Lisa
flew through the air and slammed against the ropes. She crumpled up in a heap as the audience
shouted.

"Fight me you coward!" Shadow marched over to her, sneering as she approached the fallen boxer.
Her face glistened with sweat and her eyes burned with mad energy. "Fight me you useless piece of
trash!"

She loomed over Lisa's form and brought both her fists together, high above her head. Her lip
curled up into a wide, wide smirk. "So weak! I bet even your imaginary girlfriend would be
ashamed of you," she sneered. "And you know what? If she were real, I bet you she'd rather get it
on with someone like me than a weakling like you! Nobody wants you! Just die already!"

Her fists whistled through the air as she brought them down for a skull-crushing blow. Shadow
tasted victory already and it tasted so—

THUNK!

Her eyes bulged in her head as the impact jolted all the bones in her body, right down to her toes.
She gazed down incredulously at her hands that were locked and unable to move within her
opponent's vice-like grip.

Fear rippled through her chest as the blonde boxer at her feet slowly slowly raised her face.

And her eye flashed an ominous shade of gold.

"Why you...you..." Shadow spluttered, confusion splashed across her face. She struggled and
pulled madly to escape Lisa's clutches but Lisa held on steadfastly, making Shadow's fear multiply
and choke her like thick vines around her throat.

"Not so cocky now, are we?" Lisa rasped, echoing Shadow's earlier comment. She opened her
hand, causing Shadow to stumble back and fall on her butt. The tables had turned as now Lisa was
the one to loom over her trembling opponent, rubbing her hands together.
"Let's end dis," Lisa said grimly.

Although shaken, Shadow wasn't about to give up. Deprived of her victory twice in one night, she
gritted her teeth and rose up to meet Lisa head-on.

And now Jennie watched the two women fight tooth and nail, ferocious like bulls and tigers bent
on ripping their enemy's throat out. She lost all track of time and strangely, the referee was
nowhere in sight to remind them how much time remained for the round.

Their punches became ever more sloppy and careless, hitting way off the mark as they frenziedly
flung themselves bodily at each other, fighting to bring down their opponent. They were past
caring about technique or finesse—the only goal pounding in their heads was to break break break.

They were a mess of grunts, blood and bruises, gnashing teeth and spittle dripping from their chins,
frothing at the mouth as all consuming rage took over them both.

But Lisa still was holding back because Jennie knew she could go much, much harder without
faltering. Yet falter and stumble Lisa did. Currently, Lisa was gasping and panting as she held onto
the ropes surrounding the ring while Shadow recovered on her side, prowling like a tiger as she
waited for the blonde's move.

Jennie bit her lip, realising just why her sister hadn't gone straight to beating up Shadow: she was
on the verge of losing control herself.

But she was fighting it. She was fighting to keep her rage in check.

What could have triggered her and put he right back in the game when she had all but given up?
Just because Shadow had said a few words? Granted, when Jennie reflected about it, Shadow must
have hit a nerve.

"I bet even your imaginary girlfriend would be ashamed of you! If she were real, I bet she'd rather
get it on with someone like me than a weakling like you! Nobody wants you! Just die already!"

The pieces added up in her head: Shadow had insulted Lisa by unknowingly referring to Rosé and
now....now Lisa was going to lose herself because of that damned pilates instructor she lusted over.
Seeing Lisa still bent over the ropes, Jennie surged in to stand underneath the blonde boxer,
wincing at the sight of her swollen jaw.

"Lisa, take control," she commanded tersely. "You have to take her down before something
happens to either of you. There's no time to waste, she's progressing fast."

"Am...trying..." Lisa gasped out. Her good eye blinked open.

Jennie was alarmed to see her iris's colour flicker like a faulty light bulb, switching between gold
and her normal brown as Lisa fought to suppress her inner beast.

"Try harder," Jennie said helplessly, "there's too many people here...you can't afford to lose control
—"

"I know," Lisa snapped, her voice menacing as she clenched her jaw, making Jennie gnaw her lip
with worry.

Advancing to the end stage, her mind helpfully noted.

The muscles in Lisa's neck stood to attention, stretched taut as the veins also bulged out, prominent
against the slope of her throat.

Jennie tried again. "Remember what Hwangssabu said—"

Shouts from the audience rang out as Shadow had silently sneaked up on Lisa and grabbed her in a
grappling hold, dragging her towards the centre. Lisa scrabbled at Shadow's arms, gagging as
Shadow hauled her nearly off her feet.

"Oi ref, ain't that a foul?" Jennie yelled but her voice was drowned out by the frenzied screaming
and yelling of the spectators: nobody paid her any attention because they were all too focused on
the outcome, regardless of how the fight progressed.

They wanted blood. They wanted gore.

They wanted death.

Jennie's stomach churned when she spotted the delight and glee painted on men's faces, her mouth
puckering in disgust when she caught a whiff of their feverish excitement: it smelled like a mix of
stale sweat and cheap cologne. They looked like starved animals, hungry for the spilling of blood,
revelling in the brutal savagery.

This wasn't just regular clean fighting now. This had devolved into a dirty, senseless brawl and lost
all its appeal, at least for Jennie. Yet what revolted her more was that all those leering men (not
that the women present were any better) were lapping it up greedily with no intention to stop the
girls fighting in the ring.

They didn't want the boxers to stop now: they wanted them to go all the way. They wanted a
winner and a loser; a victor standing tall and a broken body on the ground.

And Jennie feared that either outcome for Lisa would prove to be the end of everything.

The referee, where is he? Had he been bribed to keep out of the game? Was that why he ran off the
ring like that earlier? she thought bitterly.

Meanwhile, Shadow was parading Lisa around as the latter wriggled and squirmed like an eel,
unable to escape her clutches.

"Say your prayers," Shadow sneered as Lisa struggled in her grasp. Shadow's glistening biceps
flexed with effort when she squeezed tighter. Lisa's mouth yawned open as she sucked in what little
air she could, tongue lolling. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, showing the whites before
fluttering shut.

"Ey you Shorty! Not gonna tell her to do anything?" Shadow called sarcastically. "She could use a
little help before she falls asleep!"

Jennie didn't say anything. She merely folded her arms and waited, eyes trained directly on
Lisa. The moment of truth was at hand and it was all up to her sister now. She started a mental
countdown, her foot tapping in agitation.

Come on come on come on come on COME ON—

Lisa's eyes snapped open without warning, even the swollen one, blazing bright and furious. Jennie
glimpsed a flash of gold before Lisa moved.

With a visceral roar she grabbed hold of Shadow and threw her forward over her shoulder as
though Shadow was merely a feather, smacking her to the ground with a resounding thud.

Shadow didn't have time to recover—Lisa pulled her upright with a hand to her throat. Shadow's
toes dangled off the ground as Lisa raised her effortlessly with one arm. Terrified, Shadow wilted
in her hold, her arms falling listlessly to her side as she stopped moving; one glance in Lisa's
burning eyes and she knew struggling would be futile. The colour drained from her bruised face as
Lisa's eyes drilled into her own.

"P-please n-no I'm s-s-sorry, d-don't h-hurt me—" Shadow choked out.

Lisa's lips were peeled back in an animalistic snarl, her nostrils flared and shoulders hunched. She
didn't answer Shadow's pitiful snivelling nor show any sign of having heard at all. Instead, she
curled her arm back, taut as a coiled spring. In the stunned hush that had fallen all over the arena,
only Shadow's whimpers echoed.

Jennie shut her eyes tight as Lisa's arm powered forward like a cannonball. She grimaced at the
sound of shattering cartilage, with Shadow's agonised scream piercing her brain like a police siren.

Twisted as it may seem, she took comfort in the fact that Lisa's powerful punch had reactivated the
girl's pain sensation and Jennie allowed herself a moment of relief. Having Shadow neutralised
meant there was one less thing to worry about—good job Lisa.

Jennie cracked an eye open to see that Lisa had hurled the girl across the ring as though she had
tossed straw. Shadow was now a pathetic lump on the ground, holding her bleeding mess of a nose
and crawling away from Lisa as the other girl advanced, murder in her eyes.

"Stop stop stop!" shrieked Shadow's trainer as he climbed into the ring before Jennie could react,
"you've won! It's over! You've won! Leave her be—"

No, Jennie screamed in her head as she watched Lisa turn sharply and zone in on the hapless man
flapping his arms. Get out of there you idiot!

Giving Lisa a new target was exactly what they didn't need right now. Lisa needed to cool down
and regain her senses after striking down one target, not getting offered a new one!

It could start a chain reaction, one that had fatal consequences not just for the people in the ring but
the whole crowd in the Slammer.

Jennie didn't think. She scrambled beneath the rope as Lisa charged, exploding forward like a
bullet from a gun.

NO—

Time seemed to splinter in stretched out seconds and Jennie watched everything happen in slow
motion. Dimly, she registered the confused din of the crowd behind her who had finally noticed
something was amiss.

Shadow's trainer stood rooted to the spot as he watched Lisa thunder towards him like a mad bull
on the rampage. He was unable to react, unable to throw himself aside and save his skin. His
mouth hung open as he watched with a mixture of awe and horror when Lisa bore upon him,
frothing at the mouth.

Ice-cold rage burned in her eyes as she approached, ready to deal the blow that Jennie was certain
would kill the man on the spot. She could sense her sister buzzing with unnatural power but her
legs refused to budge, her body refused to move and do anything, anything at all. Anything to stop
Lisa from committing another massacre—

Then everything happened all at once: Lisa's fist rose high above her head as she leapt upon the
man with an angry roar. He covered his face with his arms and cowered away. Jennie snapped out
of her stupor and dived for Lisa's legs, intending to knock her off course.

But even before she reached her sister, Lisa froze, her body stiffening.

She fell out of the air in a jumbled heap at the trainer's feet, gasping her lungs out as though she ran
marathons. Drenched in sweat, Lisa heaved as she propped herself up on shaky arms and Jennie
rushed to her side to assess the situation, ignoring the dazed trainer and the confused hubbub that
echoed around the Slammer.

Warily, Jennie reached out and rested a hand on Lisa's shoulder. She took it as a good sign that
Lisa didn't pay her attention but continued to cough as she sucked in air harshly. Jennie bent close
to her ear.

"Show me your eyes," she said quietly, her lips barely moving.

She was all too aware of the cameras on them, ready to highlight the meltdown moment that would
have been. But Jennie wasn't too worried about what the general public would think was about to
happen before Lisa stopped herself. To them, it looked like Lisa briefly lost her mind in the heat of
battle and was going to hit Shadow's trainer as well, possibly sparking off rumours of feud or
animosity. Dramatic breakdowns and feuds weren't as common an occurrence but still everyone
enjoyed watching the drama go down, much like how people enjoyed watching Youtuber drama.

Lisa didn't respond right away but then she slowly turned her head, face wracked with guilt and
shame. Her eyes were filling with tears, momentarily distracting Jennie from what she was looking
for—

Her irises were now both back to normal, the wild glaze replaced by a dull, haunted gleam. Jennie
sighed with relief.

Crisis averted, for now.

"Ah'm sorry," Lisa choked out.

But Jennie didn't give her a chance to continue. She stood up straight and tugged Lisa to stand with
her. Lisa's head slumped on her chest listlessly even as Jennie raised her bloodied arm high above
their heads.

"Thai Tornado is okay!" Jennie shouted and remarkably the audience finally shut up to listen to
her. "She was a bit confused but she's okay, just a little conked out in the head. And she's the only
one left standing..." she threw a quick glance in Shadow's direction, where her trainer was
frantically trying to staunch the flow of blood gushing from her nose, his hands already sticky with
blood. "Where's the bloody referee?" Jennie added in vexation.

"He-here." The referee reappeared in the ring, clutching his stomach and looking decidedly pale.
"I...I apologise...I...got the runs umm...uh...couldn't stay....bathroom..."

Jennie pursed her lips, unimpressed. "Some kind of professional game this is, with no secondary
official around to see the fouls while you're not around. My player was assaulted but nobody was
around to stop it!" she said loudly in a scathing voice.

"I'm terribly sorry and I apologise for my lack of—"

"Save it!" Jennie barked, "just end this round and put it down on the official list: Tornado won.
Otherwise I demand a rematch."

When the referee nodded his assent and held up Lisa's other arm to proclaim her the undisputed
winner, the Slammer erupted in raucous cheering. A minority (Shadow's supporters) thundered off
in a huff, disappointed that their night outing ended in bitter defeat.

Jennie exhaled and led Lisa to her corner to wait until the crowd dissipated until they could go
back home. Lisa immediately slumped on the stool with eyes shut, her posture haggard. Meanwhile
Jennie sought out Jisoo who was wading through the throng of people as fast as she could.

"Jen! Jendeukie oh my goodness Jen, are you okay? Your nose—" Jisoo said the moment she
reached the platform. Jennie crouched down to speak with her, touched by Jisoo's concern.

"Priorities Chu." Jennie even managed a half-smile. "Lisa's in a more banged up state than I am."

"Yeah but she has you to look after her, but who's looking out for you?" Jisoo countered.

Jennie felt heat bloom across her cheeks. "I'm okay." She brushed her nose. "Is it bruised?"

"Just a little red." Jisoo's concerned gaze slid over to Lisa. "And Lisa..."

"She'll be okay," Jennie smiled tightly. She turned to Lisa as well, only now letting the sequence of
events catch up to her and sink in.

It had been a close call, too close. They still needed to talk about what happened as well.

She glanced up at the emptying stands.

Would the ones after Lisa make a move after tonight?

She noticed Park Jinyoung was one of the few remaining people lingering. He was one of the
Slammer's eminent sponsors and the guy Jisoo had spoken with at her first match. He had his back
turned, speaking to someone Jennie couldn't see.

Jinyoung turned momentarily and their eyes met. Jennie shivered: she didn't trust that superior half-
smirk on his face, as though he knew something she didn't. She shook her head when he and his
friend left.

"Let's get you guys home," Jisoo said delicately, pulling Jennie from her thoughts. "I think it's
better if you go rest for tonight....celebrate another time..."

Jennie nodded tiredly. Exhaustion and fatigue settled in her bones, the adrenaline finally draining
out of her system and leaving her walking like a zombie.

But Jisoo's steady grip around her waist kept her lucid as the older girl struggled without complaint
to lug Lisa along outside to her SUV. Jennie helped as best as she could to help ease the load.

She regained enough clarity to remind Jisoo that Lisa was dirty but Jisoo ignored her. Instead, she
patiently helped Lisa climb in and lie down on the backseat: blood, sweat, grime and all. Jisoo
covered her with a sheet then turned to Jennie who was resting against the vehicle with eyes
drooping shut.

"Up we go, Jendeuk, you can rest now."

She snapped the seat belt on for Jennie once they were settled, giving the brunette the opportunity
to smell her shampoo. Jennie sniffed shamelessly—sue her, but she liked how Jisoo's hair smelled.

"Want something to drink? I got the thermos..."

Jennie shook her head sleepily—she just wanted to doze off.

She smiled when a light fabric covered her body—Jisoo had laid a blanket over her, practically
tucking her up. Jennie burrowed further into the seat.

"Now I don't want to leave here," Jennie muttered making Jisoo chuckle.

"Much as I'd like that, I don't think sleeping in here would be too comfortable."

"Oh believe me, it is. The mattress at the Vault has the springs nearly worn out. Having it on the
floor really is not good for the springs," Jennie yawned, unaware of the conflicted look Jisoo threw
her way as she snuggled into the blanket and finally closed her eyes.

>

Jinyoung waited until he and Yang were alone and being driven back in his car to ask the all-
important question.

"So, what do you think?"

Yang hummed. "Interesting."

Jinyoung laughed. "Ah now, you will have to give me more than that!"

Yang grunted. "Fine. Yes, you were right. Clever little show you set up. That referee...?"

"Extra potent laxative," Jinyoung winked. "Had to keep him out of the way to let the show go on,
you know? I'm sure some people will lodge complaints about it, but it's not really my problem. My
intentions worked and now...I don't care what they do. I showed you what I needed to show you."

"Hmph," Yang said, "and the girl? The black-haired one."

"Her trainer is a greedy man," Jinyoung said airily, "but then most of them are. Show them what
they want most and you'll have them eating out of your hand. The girl was a guinea pig."

"Impressive," Yang said, still keeping his voice neutral but Jinyoung detected hints of excitement
as they edged closer to the real topic of the night. "And the other girl..."

Jinyoung smirked. "Very interesting showing, wouldn't you agree?" He didn't say anything more,
waiting for Yang to elaborate instead.

"Hmm..." Yang seemed deep in thought. "What's her name? Her real name?"

"Lisa Kim. She's a regular at the Slammer, one of the top seeds but I think tonight was the first
time she managed to enter the Purge. It remains to be seen if she will maintain her streak."

Yang didn't add more to the discussion. Streetlights briefly illuminated his scar in flashes as they
cruised through the streets.

"Lisa Kim..." Yang murmured to himself. Now where had he heard that name before?

And then he let out a dark chuckle as the realisation clicked in his head—of course.
Rosé.

>

Rosé was currently curled up in her own bed, wide awake as the torrent of thoughts rushed through
her head. She tossed and turned many times, unable to settle.

She had feigned a faulty internet connection and sent Ella to bed just before the cop-out started—
some kind of instinct had told her that the boxing match was heading towards more violence and
she wasn't going to put Ella through more.

She was right—propped up against the headboard, Rosé lost count of the number of times she hid
her face behind her hands, unable to stomach the savagery—it reminded her too much of her
childhood. But she couldn't help peeking, anxiously keeping track of Lisa. Her heart thudded
erratically with each blow; she gnawed at the skin of her nails and flinched every time Lisa took a
hit. Watching her friend being jeered at and beaten to a pulp had her eyes grow damp as she
pleaded for the violence to stop and for Lisa to be just okay.

But of course it didn't stop; it went on for what felt like hours.

She forced herself to soldier on and watch it all till the very end, even the part where Lisa seemed
about ready to murder someone—the eyes of a wild animal flashed dangerously on screen, livid
with an unstoppable rage but Lisa had thankfully reined in that passionate fury. Rosé supposed it
must have been the heat of the frenzied battle that had gotten to her.

She had debated long and hard whether to call Jennie and check on the both of them, but mostly
check on Lisa of course.

As her pilates instructor, Rosé felt it was her duty to ensure her client didn't get too banged up—

Rosé huffed and turned on her side.

Who was she kidding? She was concerned for Lisa, worried even—all those knocks to the head
can't be good and from what she had seen, neither Lisa or Jennie seemed keen on visiting hospitals
for check-ups.

Would Lisa really be okay? The amount of bludgeoning she got was alarming. Was this really what
was going to happen every week throughout the entirety of the wretched Purge? Would she be able
to make it? What if she got terribly hurt? What if she hurt someone badly? What were the
repercussions? Would she end up charged for something like assault? Was there some kind of
insurance for the players in case something went horribly wrong?

Rosé sat up, unable to help herself. She was going crazy all alone with her treacherous thoughts for
company. Soft, she padded to Ella's room, smiling when she noticed Leo sleeping soundly in his
box by her daughter's bed.

Rosé slipped in behind Ella curled up with Flora and tucked up the sheets to her chin as she
spooned Ella's small body and hugged her close.

Ella slept on soundly, cluthing to her cuddly bunny and and Rosé took a minute to prop herself up
again, gazing fondly at the sleeping girl. Her chubby cheeks were bunched up in an adorable pout.

Of all the things she regretted about her past relationship with her ex, Ella wasn't one of those
regrets.
Rosé tucked a strand of hair behind her daughter's ear and tenderly planted a kiss on her cheek
before settling back on the pillow, listening to Ella's gentle breathing sounds as they lulled her to
sleep. The voices in her head gradually quietened as her body relaxed just by Ella's soothing
presence alone.

Solitude was her enemy; despite the silence outside her body, the voices in her head took over and
overwhelmed her.

But Ella was her oasis in the night, her drop of tranquility in the vast ocean of loneliness and fear
and remorse and guilt. Her precious baby deserved so much more than what she could give and
Rosé remembered to thank the heavens that she didn't abort or give Ella up.

Maybe she should really consider getting that synthesizer after she gets the bonus money, it would
be a nice little apology gift for Ella....although of course, it's not what Ella really wanted but still...

Rosé felt sleep catching up to her. She snuggled close to Ella breathing in the powdery clean smell
of her pyjamas. Even as her eyelids drooped, her last thoughts were about Lisa: flashes of the
blonde girl bravely fighting the aggressive onslaught of punches had Rosé ponder once more on
what she could possibly do to help ease Lisa's upcoming tough schedule.

I'll check on her, Rosé decided drowsily. I'll make sure she's okay and takes it easy. I'll go to the
Vault tomorrow...

She slept with a small, satisfied smile on her lips.

 Late Night Call

The next morning, Rosé stirred when a shaft of sunlight tickled her eyelids. She stretched her arms
and rolled over to the other side of the bed, momentarily enjoying the empty space before her eyes
snapped open.

Empty space?

She sat bolt upright, breathing heavily.

Ella wasn't in bed and the side she occupied was cool to the touch. There was no sign of Ella in the
room either.

Okay calm down, calm down. Breathe. She's probably gone in the bathroom.

Rosé frowned when she strained her ears and heard nothing at all coming from the bathroom close
by, or the other rooms for that matter. The apartment was stiflingly quiet as a library. Unnerved,
Rosé pulled herself out of bed, her eyes falling on the small bedside clock.

11:45

She rubbed her crusty eyes but the time didn't magically reverse when she looked again.

She had slept for nearly all morning!

Rosé swallowed a silent scream. Her clients, they had morning appointments! And where was
Ella?

In her haste, she stubbed her toe against the door and bit back a curse, stumbling around her
apartment calling Ella until she reached the kitchen and saw a note with familiar wonky
handwriting attached to the fridge with a magnet.

To Mommy gone to school. dont worry I took apple and I put food for cats. lots of love Ella
:) XOXOXOXO

Rosé smiled in relief, her anxiety fading. But she was also very, very vexed.

Forgot the alarm, again! she scolded herself.

This wouldn't be the first time she would be so exhausted that she mixed up dates and forgot Ella
had school the day after her night job. Then she'd sleep in late and miss out on client appointments
as well, making her look extremely unprofessional. This irked her very much because she took
great pride in building and maintaining a sound reputation. How could she keep up her pilates gig
and attract clients if word got out that she was unreliable and undependable?

Moreover, she berated herself, ashamed that Ella had to wake up, fix herself breakfast, prepare her
bag for school and whip some lunch all by herself—Rosé considered it negligent parenting, even if
Ella was perfectly capable of doing all that by herself. Yet, coupled with the lingering guilt from
her night job, it always brought up feelings of inadequacy about her role as a parent.

She tried hard not to make it a habit and diligently set several alarms—it was bad luck that she had
been dead tired and fallen asleep right after watching Lisa's match without turning them on.

Rosé shook her head and threw away the crumpled note.
Ironically enough and with remarkable consistency, her primary reaction when she didn't find Ella
anywhere in the apartment on such mornings was always one of blind panic. Rosé had long
accepted the fact that her fear and traumas were here to stay and torment her for a long time, no
matter how many times circumstances repeated themselves: she resigned herself to always being
afraid of waking up to Ella being taken from her.

Rosé sighed, crouching to stroke Bori when the cat rubbed against her leg.

"Some kind of parent I am, Bori," Rosé sighed. "I just can't ever get this right..."

She made herself a quick breakfast, checking up on emails and messages as she ate. As luck would
have it, her two clients booked for that morning had actually cancelled their appointments through
some excuse or other.

Rosé smiled grimly, sent an appropriate response to reschedule and continued scrolling.

Usually when clients cancelled, it was either of four reasons: they had given up pilates; they had
urgent emergencies; they were going on holiday (a bunch of those rich snooty types that lived in
her block liked to do that very often because they had no idea what to do with their money); and
last but not least—and usually the most devastating— they would have discovered that a good
portion of their life savings had mysteriously gone missing overnight, leaving them floundering in
a dire situation. Having pilates would be the last thing on their minds.

Little did they know that the innocent, naive and sweet pilates instructor was the one responsible
for their ruin.

Rosé grimaced. Truth be told, she had gotten used to the dull sting of guilt that accompanied the
realisation that her boss had emptied the clients' accounts she handed him. Yang had his ways to
siphon off money—he would start small, testing the waters to see if those poor oblivious idiots
noticed. And then when he had sniffed out every security detail, he'd go in for the kill and wipe
clean their accounts. He had never been caught or else, if he was feeling particularly generous, he
would pass on a small amount of money to be 'recovered' by the authorities.

This numb complacency scared her—no matter how much she tried reasoning with her conscience,
the uncomfortable truth was that Rosé wasn't much different from the criminals she so greatly
detested. Her moral compass had long been corrupted, even if what she did was out of necessity, to
survive and protect herself and Ella.

Her hands clenched into fists.

In the end, was she destined to lose what little humanity and compassion she had left? Would there
be a day when she wouldn't bat an eyelid as she surreptitiously added the special infiltrating
software Yang equipped her with to her clients' gadgets? Would there be no twinge of guilt every
time she walked out of the apartment at night and left her daughter alone?

Would she become just as black-hearted and wicked as the man that owned her?

Although she desperately wanted to say no, in her heart Rosé knew she was in too deep to redeem
herself.

That didn't mean she stopped trying—she did it for Ella, because Rosé would never be able to live
with herself if her daughter ever came to know of just who her mother really was.

But Rosé was also aware how pitiful and pathetic her efforts to fight the corruption was. Even her
demons knew, mocking and taunting her, telling her it was for nothing—as long as she kept
working under Yang, it wouldn't make a difference. Not one bit.

She had swindled countless people, cheated and lied and double-crossed until it became second
nature, without her heartbeat spiking at all as the lies rolled off her tongue. She watched on as her
clients cancelled and never appeared in her studio again. Some that resided in her block she even
watched them move out of their luxurious apartments, crying as all the wealth they worked for
vanished in thin air. She would pass them in the corridor and lend them a sympathetic word or two,
or even give those dazed souls a comforting pat without even batting an eyelid.

Fake. It was all fake. She was knee deep in the mud, sinking faster and faster each day.

Ella would grow up hopefully without cottoning on to what her mother was doing, at least not until
much, much later. She would grow up, start hanging with friends and Rosé wouldn't have to worry
about leaving her alone at home because she would be old enough to be by herself then.

And there it was, the little voice in her head reassuring her, papering over her guilt and feeding her
fake reassurances.

A life of wickedness seemed to be the only path beckoning her forward.

Rosé pushed away her plate, her appetite soured like her mood. But after a few moments
wallowing in self-loathing, Leo and Oliver's miaowing roused her from her brooding. She still had
to give them their breakfast.

She took a deep breath. That's right, I shouldn't be crying over spilled milk, she thought. What's
done is done and I can't neglect my other responsibilities. I'll always worry about Ella, no matter
how old she gets. She's my daughter. And I'll always care about people that I stole from, even if I
forget their names. They are still people.

And as for my friends...I just have to make sure they don't know about what I do.

She stood up and went to fetch Leo and Oliver's milk. The kittens were a demanding bunch,
mewling urgently when they spotted her approaching with their bottles and teats. Watching them
contently drink brought a smile to her face as they finished all the milk down to the last drop. Leo
even tried having a go at sucking her finger as she was taking his bottle away, the greedy little
munchkin that he was.

Rosé kissed the kittens' tufty fur and sat back on her knees as she idly played with them,
contemplating what to do next until Ella came back home.

She had a client appointment for today but that wasn't until the afternoon. Maybe she could clean
and dust up the place a bit. And since she hadn't checked up or phoned Lisa at all, maybe she could
go visit the sisters later at the Vault. And take Ella too, yeah!

Cheered up, Rosé got down to work, whistling tunelessly as she tied her hair up and fetched her
dustpan and broom. Sunlight filtered throughout the apartment, the warmth further improving her
mood as she tipped her head to catch the rays kissing her skin. She opened the windows wide to air
the rooms as she dusted into the furthest nooks and crannies.

Eventually she reached her room and turned to the multitude of unopened boxes nestled in the
corner, pausing in her routine.

Only one box had been touched—the one that contained the action comics that she had opened for
Lisa. The rest of them were much like Pandora's box to her, a reminder of her childhood that she
clung too for some reason or other. Reminders she was unable to part with.
She told herself that it wasn't the time to let go yet—she didn't have the closure she needed, yet.

Rosé crouched down and pulled the nearest box towards herself, blowing off the dust and
squinting at the scrawled writing on the flaps. Opening it, her heart gave a little tug within her
chest when she made out the contents: stacks of old CD's along with an old stereo player.

They used to belong to her father, Youngbae.

On sudden impulse, she took an armful of CD's out, sifting through them and selecting a couple
before she pulled out the stereo player as well. It still seemed to be in a good condition. She took it
out to the kitchen table, plugged it in and slotted in a CD.

"I could stay awake, just to hear you breathing...."

All at once she was a kid again, back in their old shabby apartment listening to her father sing and
trying to join in as he laughed, his voice devoid of its usual anger. It was the only time she could
connect with him—when he was in a good mood and burst into song.

She raised her voice timidly now to sing along to Aerosmith's classic, wincing at first because it
sounded so foreign to her ears but gradually growing more confident as the song swelled and filled
the room.

"Don't wanna close my eyes, I don't wanna fall asleep cos' I'd miss you babe," Rosé sang, "and I
don't wanna miss a thing..."

She grabbed her broom and held it like a microphone, belting out the lyrics without caring whether
her neighbours heard her. "Cos' even when I dream of you, the sweetest dream would never do cos'
I'd miss you babe, and I don't wanna miss a thing..."

A broad smile had crept to her face as she continued singing and twirling around the room. They
had even watched the movie Armageddon together—she vaguely remembered there was Ben
Affleck in it and she had cried her eyes out while Youngbae cuddled her close and his shirt smelled
of peppermint. It was one of her favourite memories.

Song after song played and Rosé sang her heart out, remembering the precious memories with her
father. That was the thing about her relationship with Youngbae—it wasn't all bad.

Yes there was the very bad, of course there was—

There were the nights she felt like a waste of space and couldn't stop crying;

The nights when she feared she wouldn't wake up in the morning because her body ached so
deeply;

The nights when he hit her so hard she blacked out;

The nights where she couldn't look at her naked form in the bathroom because it was bruised blue-
black;

The nights where even though she locked her room (she bought the lock with her own money) he'd
roar and threaten her so much she'd break down and comply, taking her due beating as quietly as
she could before she crawled back to her bed and he went down to the basement to drink or punch
the punching bag some more.

But she could put up with it—she was confident she could put up with it for some more years
before she left to fend for herself. She had been saving up for the first opportunity to leave.

She learned to put up with his moods and the beatings and the insults. She didn't have many bright
prospects for school but she was making decent money as a waitress at a greasy spoon café who
didn't care about employing underage workers. She was tall for her age and easily passed as a
sixteen year old.

But then everything changed when she met that boy with an uncanny boxy smile...

Rosé shook her head, unwilling to let the bad memories get to the best of her.

"Don't go chasing waterfalls," she sang along with TLC, humming the tune where the lyrics
slipped her mind. Music used to connect her and Youngbae, and music had always been a salve for
her spirit, even though she had quite forgotten about it recently until Ella mentioned her chances of
participating for the end-of-year piano recital.

"It's still not official Mom!" Ella stressed each time she brought up the topic.

"Nonsense! My baby is gonna play and blow everyone's mind, I know it!" Rosé would respond
determinedly each time afterwards.

She used to love singing as a child and would host a concert for all her dolls and imaginary friends
to pass the time after her father sent her to her room for the night when he had some 'friends' over.

"What do you do with your friends, Papa? Can't I meet them?"

"No," was the grunted reply most of the time.

But other times, he would pat her head almost fondly."They're a dangerous bunch, I don't trust my
little girl around them. You understand, right Chaeng?"

Obedient little girl that she was, Rosé always nodded and listened to her Papa who protected her
and loved her so much even though she was a bad, fat little pig that killed her Mama.

"But it's so boring when I'm alone, Papa."

"Sing your heart out, then," he smiled. It was one of the rare times when he smiled at her, when he
was in a good mood. "I know! How about I give you my CD player hmm? Take good care of it
though or you'll get a taste of the belt!"

The threat flew in over her head; she heard 'CD player' and was instantly hooked. "Yes please!"

He gave her a stack of CD's that she often heard playing when he was thumping the punching bag
in the basement. There were a couple of workout collections to get your blood pumping but what
caught Rosé's eyes were the other type of CD's that had all her father's favourite songs on them,
songs that he used to sing with her on car trips or just the good days when she'd cuddle up with him
on the sofa and he would sing to her, laughing as she tried to join and mumble along to the lyrics.

She clutched them close to her chest and thanked him profusely as she ran to her room of her own
accord and immediately got down to arranging her dolls for her first ever concert. He never asked
for them back; in fact, he kept adding CD's to her collection. Eventually, she started sneaking some
away as well when she got older and his moods got worse and worse—he would work out without
any music, just ferocious thumping hammering into the punching bag with the window panes
rattling.
Or else, he would sit and drink all day, crying and calling for his wife.

Her mother....

Rosé sighed and went to switch off the stereo—not even music was enough to make her forget the
guilt and sight of her father crying. It was one of those more powerful images branded in her brain.
And though she recognised now that Youngbae treated her horrendously, still she couldn't help but
pity him—a broken man who had lost something precious because of her.

Youngbae never spoke of his late wife in front of his daughter except to curse the day Rosé was
born, the day her mother died birthing her. From what Rosé could gather, her mother had been
anemiac all throughout the pregnancy and ended up losing too much blood in labour.

She would never forget the insults her father hurled at her, the blame and hatred he spewed.

Yet at other times he'd smile, and tell her how pretty like her mother she looked and ask for her
forgiveness, especially as she grew older. It was a bizarre relationship they had; when he came in
late at night, there was no knowing what mood he'd be in and Rosé always tried to stay out of his
sight.

Her heart ached for him now that he was gone and there would never be an opportunity to make
amends, to perhaps mend and heal together: Tiger King had robbed her of that chance.

Avenge your father, Yang had often told her. Once we track down Tiger King you'll feel so much
better ridding the world of that monster. That brute ruined my face and took my best men. I could
kill him with my bare hands but if you like, I will leave the honour to you. Just say the word.

But Rosé wasn't so sure that killing the man behind the cold-blooded murder would change
anything, which was why she had said as much when Jinyoung asked the night before. It was Yang
who was hell-bent on personal vendetta.

Truth be told, she was not overly concerned—she had bigger things to worry about than a killer's
fate. In principle, she was against killing, but if Yang wanted to kill him she wasn't going to stand
in the way.

She just wanted to know Tiger King's identity and motive to have closure, so that she could put that
part of her life to rest for good.

Rosé sighed and carried on with the cleaning.

>

Jennie sat in the dark behind her desk, sipping on her energy drink now and then as thoughts in her
head multiplied and clamoured for attention.

Lisa was still having her afternoon nap; Jennie let her rest even thought it was nearly four now, but
she reckoned her sister needed the rest. Although some of the lighter bruises had started to fade as
usual, she still sported some ugly purple ones that Shadow dealt out during the Cop-Out round.

The Vault only had Irene and Matt visit in the morning. Matt brought along the bagels and called
Somi to greet Lisa from his phone, who promised Lisa she'd visit tomorrow, being the weekend.
They had even chatted and joked a bit, making Jennie forget her worries somewhat when she saw
Lisa's enthusiastic smile as she chortled and snorted to whatever Somi was saying.

"Yeah and you know what Mimi? I was like, dayum, so this is how it ends for the great Thai
Tornado: I won't get my chicken buckets before I die—"

"I GET IT I GET IT I still owe you the chicken buckets you goof—"

Irene had simply walked up to Jennie and poured her some tepid brown liquid. Jennie raised her
eyebrow when she took her cup.

"This isn't coffee."

"Herbal tea. I have a feeling you don't need any more stimulants in your system right now." Irene
had smiled gently and patted Jennie's head as they sipped in companionable silence while Lisa
yakked animatedly with Matthew and Somi in the background.

"It was...terrible," Jennie whispered.

Her mind wouldn't cease with providing a blow-by-blow of the match:

the storm of fists whizzing through the air before they hit skin and bones.

The grunts and shouts from hoarse spectators.

The stench of copper and sweat lingering heavy in the air.

The awful sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that didn't go away until she was sure Lisa had
fallen asleep....

Jennie had stayed up, unable to get a wink of sleep now that she was alone with Lisa in the same
room. The sheer gravity of what could have happened hit her full force as all her exhaustion melted
away and Jennie found herself on the verge of suffocating.

Oblivious, Lisa slept, her raspy breaths rumbling throughout the attic.

Jennie backed up against the wall right next to Hwangssabu's photo, trembling as she held her
knees under her chin with only the small saucepan they used for heating noodles to protect her in
case anything happened. Those manic golden irises still haunted her even when she closed her
eyes.

Irene patted her shoulder, startling the brunette out of her thoughts. "She made it. You're in," she
said gently.

"Yeah." Jennie was taut as a violin string, sitting stiff and ramrod straight with nerves. She fiddled
with her cup. Irene noticed and nudged her, recognising that Jennie was shaken more than usual.

"Lisa seems to be recovering well though, look at her bouncing around."

Jennie lifted her downcast eyes to her sister and managed a weak smile. "Yes...yes. She always
bounces back." She took a deep breath, attempting to explain herself to Irene. "Last night...I guess I
got too cocky in the first rounds and then...I thought all that time we spent training was going to
waste when the tables turned at one point. I'm still trying to come to terms that we won. It's...it's a
shock."

Irene nodded in understanding and didn't add anything else, leaving them both to sip their tea until
Jennie asked about Seulgi, to which Irene was more than happy to talk about.

"...Her girlfriend seriously annoys me though, like how could someone like Ddeulgi-bear get
together with a sleazy slut like her is beyond me—"
"Ddeulgi-bear?" Jennie said, amused. "That's Seulgi's nickname? You've already advanced to the
nickname stage, I see."

"So what?" Irene said a little defensively. "Jisoo has been calling you Jendeukie since—"

"Invalid comparison, Jisoo throws a cup of coffee at you to get to know you, so there. What did
Seulgi's girlfriend do to make you dislike her so much?"

"Oh nothing," Irene sniped, sarcasm dripping from her voice, "nothing except eat and slobber over
Seulgi's face every time they finish from gym. Like, all tongue and saliva you know, yuck. And
her hands are everywhere like jeez, this is a public space not your bedroom, slut, tone it down you
thirsty hoe."

She fumed when Jennie chuckled at her. "I'm serious. Have people no sense of respect anymore?
It's the only thing that annoys me about Seulgi really. I can't understand what she saw in her."

"So they go overboard with the PDA, big deal....isn't that really their business? Get with the times,"
Jennie winked, "if you don't like what you see, turn the other way. Or make some loud sound to
frighten them. Lis and Mimi used to do it all the time when we went to the mall, I pitied those poor
couples."

Irene sighed in exasperation. "You don't get it...."

"Don't I?" Jennie said aloud now, alone in the empty Vault. "Or maybe I get it all too well. You're
just like Momo and Soojoo...jealous."

She sighed, took another swig and held her head. "At least she's not the type to do something
psychotic, I hope," she added to herself.

She shouldn't be thinking about Irene right now—her conversation with Lisa weighed down on her.
It felt like her head was being squeezed between a vice and was on the point of exploding.

"Well now we're alone," Jennie said once she had gotten their food from the diner and passed Lisa
her chicken, " spill."

"Can I eat first?"

Jennie let her eat. They were both sitting cross-legged on the floor and the tension between them
was so thick she could barely stomach her salad. Lisa meanwhile dug into her chicken pieces with
gusto.

"Well....where do I start?" Lisa said at length, licking her fingers clean. Jennie scrunched her nose
and passed her the napkins from the diner.

"Mind your manners now, we're not savages." Jennie considered her question and eyed Lisa
sternly. "You lost control last night."

Lisa didn't beat around the bush. "Yes" tumbled out of her mouth without even a moment's
hesitation. She didn't raise her eyes.

"Why?"

Lisa gripped her knees. "Shadow...insulted Rosie indirectly and I...couldn't stand it."

Jennie exhaled, confirming her suspicions. "So Rosie was the trigger... like with Undertaker too.
She was the one to trigger you..."

"But Rosie saved me too!"

Jennie stared in disbelief. "What?"

"Hwangssabu always used to say to think of something that will help anchor me in the present.
And well...Rosie was my anchor last night."

When Jennie continued to stare, Lisa pushed on. "It was all chaos up here." She tapped her temple.
"I don't...I don't remember...but there was red, like a red haze, and just this...this rage..."

"I know," Jennie said quietly. Hwangssabu used to explain it over and over, trying to make Jennie
understand why Lisa was slightly different than they were.

"Yeah and then well...I was trying to break through that haze. I was honestly trying Jen. Believe
me...." Lisa reached out to touch Jennie's hand but when Jennie didn't react, Lisa withdrew her
hand again. "And then...then I don't know but I suddenly thought of Rosie and...I came back.
Simple as that."

"Just like that?"

Lisa nodded, her eyes sincere. "Rosie saved me Jen. I could have really lost it back there."

Jennie closed her eyes, replaying the exact moment when Lisa was struck by clarity— her sister
was mid-air with her fist high above her head, eyes fixed on the kill.

A mere second later and Lisa would have delivered a punch powerful enough to kill her victim, or
at the very least knock him senseless for days, like a vegetable. A mere second later and everything
would be splashed in red.

She shivered, trying to rid her head of memories that she definitely didn't want to remember right
now.

"I'm really sorry Jennie." Lisa bowed her head like a scolded dog. "I know I failed. I get it if you
won't trust me anymore."

Jennie shook her head. "Let's sleep," she said simply.

But she didn't take a nap like Lisa did. Although she craved a rest, the thoughts flying through her
head were too loud.

She decided to lodge a complaint with the Slammer's management about negligent match
personnel and suspicions of doping players—Undertaker's behaviour had been suspicious but
Shadow confirmed that something was going on behind the scenes. For the sake of other players'
safety, the organisation should enact stricter policies and checks.

However, Jennie doubted anything could be really done about the whole affair now, yet it made
her feel less helpless. Then she took her energy drink and descended the step-ladder to sit in the
quiet and gloomy Vault.

She had been trying to sort out her feelings since then, running over the same things repeatedly
until she could no longer make sense of her garbled, scattered thoughts.

Briefly, she thought of Jisoo.

The older girl had unfortunately been required to go in for work because she needed to raise the
weekly hours she clocked in at her office. Ironically enough, Jennie found herself missing Jisoo's
goofiness and surprisingly mature side that emerged now and then. Brief images of Jisoo helping
her and Lisa out of the SUV to enter the Vault flashed in her head, making her lips curl up into a
small smile as her shoulders lost some of their tension.

Maybe if I tell Jisoo about this...

She shook her head immediately.

No. Not yet. Nothing had happened yet. She could handle this. She got this. Nothing to worry
about. She had to deal with way worse things than this. Yes, she got this. She was fine. They were
fine—

"Jennie?"

She jolted in her chair, blinking up at the figure in the gloom before her mouth dropped open in
surprise.

"Hi unnie. It's so dark in here, aren't the lights working?" Ella piped up from next to her mother.

"Ella!" her mother berated.

"Wha—How—" Jennie began, still trying to catch up.

"I'm so sorry for barging in like this but I knocked and you didn't seem to hear so...we kinda invited
ourselves in," Rosé apologetically. "I'm sorry if this is a bad time to be visiting but...I thought
about checking up on Lisa. Wait, maybe I should have called—"

"It's...it's okay," Jennie said at last. She smiled at Ella. "Hey there. You're right, it is a bit dark huh?
Lemme go switch on the lights."

She didn't tell Ella that she had been saving on electricity since nobody was around, but Rosé
seemed to have cottoned on, judging by her sympathetic gaze.

"Well, Lisa is still asleep I'm afraid," Jennie said after the fluorescent lights flickered on. "I wasn't
really going to wake her up, she needed a rest—"

"We watched her unnie!" Ella said eagerly, "she was hit so many times! But she won right?" She
scuffed her feet. "I...I fell asleep," she pouted, "and Mom didn't wake me up again to see."

Jennie blinked. "You watched?" She raised a questioning eyebrow at Rosé who grimaced.

"We watched the third round and then I sent her to sleep before the Cop-out," Rosé said
sheepishly. She knew she shouldn't have let Ella watch the decidedly R-rated match. "I...didn't
know things get so...violent."

"It was awesome!" Ella interjected. "A bit scary but hey, Po gets beaten up all the time by bad
guys! But he always gets up again."

"Kung Fu Panda," Rosé filled in Jennie by way of explanation. "And yes sweetie of course she
won, I told you already," she said to Ella.

Ella pulled a face. "But you could be saying that just to make me feel better!"

Jennie chuckled. "Ah we have a tough cookie here." She squatted level with Ella and winked.
"Yep. Lisa won. We're back in business thanks to your mom's help. Gimme a fist bump now—atta
girl, that's how we do it in the Vault!"

Ella cheered as Jennie stood back up and turned to Rosé who was staring at her in wonder.

"It really is thanks to you Lisa was able to win," Jennie smiled gently, "she wouldn't have done it
without your help."

Rosé nodded dumbly, pride and relief mingling. "So..so...are you...okay with...with Lisa and me? I
mean as friends, of course," she added hastily. "And I really should apologise for yesterday I lashed
out and...I'm sorry."

Jennie shook her head with a sincere smile.

"I may have my reservations but...you're a nice girl Rosé and honestly it was just my...my
insecurities and doubts getting the better of me. I guess I got used to having Lisa around me so
much that I forgot she has her own life and choices to make..." Jennie roused herself from her
rambling and held out her hand. "I hope I can make it up to you? I'm sorry if I was hostile.
Bygones?"

Rosé beamed and took Jennie's hand happily. "Definitely. I'm sorry on my part as well—"

"Where's unnie? Can we see her?" Ella interjected, impatient with the adults talking over her head.

"Ella!" Rosé said aghast, "Lisa needs to sleep, don't be rude! I'm so sorry on her behalf," she said to
Jennie.

"It's okay," Jennie chuckled. "Lisa's still sleeping, El. Tell you what, if your Mom approves and
you're not in a hurry, why don't I show you some more boxing moves?"

"Oh can we?" Ella said in delight. "Mom, please can I, I mean, may I?"

"Don't use those puppy eyes on me, Lisa doing it is enough," Rosé groaned as Jennie joined in with
the chuckles. "Yes, you may—"

Ella cheered.

"—after you do your sums."

Ella pouted, making Jennie chortle but Rosé kept firm and dug into the bag that had been strapped
to her daughter's back for the textbooks. Jennie stood to help arrange the chair for Ella to clamber
on. Ella drummed her feet, impatient to get to boxing with Jennie.

"Unnie I'm gonna finish these sums so fast, just watch me," Ella said determinedly making Jennie
internally melt as she smiled and patted her head.

"Go get'em tiger," Jennie grinned as the girl knuckled down to work.

"I'm sorry for imposing like this, but she wouldn't hear of doing her homework once I told her we're
visiting. I didn't know she'd get this excited," Rosé said apologetically, "but maybe this way, we'll
get something done."

"So....you're kinda imposing on my hospitality so Ella can do her homework?" Jennie chuckled at
Rosé's stricken expression. "Rosé I'm pulling your leg."

Rosé's face cleared. "I can see the resemblance now...Lisa also likes to tease me. A lot."
"I tease you once and I automatically remind you of Lisa?" Jennie made a gagging noise. "The
horror! The horror!"

Rosé chuckled, making Jennie smile again.

"I got all the time in the world," Jennie assured her, "no shift today and besides, it was getting
boring all by myself so please, make yourself at home. Can I get you anything...." she trailed off,
remembering the painfully empty pantry with only stocks of pot ramen, water bottles and energy
drinks.

Rosé saved her with a quick wave. "We're good, don't worry."

"Moooooooooommmm stop talking I can't concentrate," Ella whined. She was focusing so hard she
was going cross-eyed.

"Sorry baby!"

Rosé and Jennie backed some distance away to give her space.

"I'm really, really sorry for taking up your time this way," Rosé apologised once more, still
sheepish by the turn of events. "I did let her bring her math books with her but only so that if we
were going to be spending time here while I talked to Lisa, she'd have something to do and doesn't
get bored."

"Rosé it's fine. Honestly," Jennie reiterated. Then she tilted her head with a smirk. "So tell me, you
seem to have been on the receiving end of my sister's infamous pouting?"

Rosé groaned followed by low chuckles. "More times than I care to count."

Jennie shook her head. "She thinks it charms people to let her get away with things."

"Well I definitely don't let her get away with anything," Rosé declared.

"Right..." The shorter girl smirked.

"You don't believe me?" Rosé feigned holding her heart. "I feel wounded."

Jennie smiled, her dark mood completely gone. "I can see where Ella gets her pouts from."

"Nooooooooooo—"

"Mom!" Ella whined. "Sssshh, I'm trying to concentrate here!"

"Sorry, sorry! How many have you got left?"

Jennie almost laughed—who would have known that a visit from the source of her doubts over
Lisa's mental stability would make her forget the very same fears?

Now that she had removed the blinkers, Jennie could appreciate the girl Lisa was crushing hard on:
Rosé was a thoughtful, well-mannered and groomed woman with a warm aura and kind eyes that
Jennie fancied they seemed to understand pain intimately. And judging from her fussing around
Ella, she was also a caring person trying her best to juggle her attention between her daughter while
also finding time to check up on Lisa.

"You know, Rosé, you and Ella are always welcome here, just to let you know if I never told you
before," Jennie piped up. "So please, feel free to drop by anytime you like. The summer holidays
are coming up—"

"—and I'm officially gonna be in the end-of-year Junior piano recital!" Ella inserted triumphantly.
"Mr Lee and the Principal personally told me today during break!"

"She's very excited," Rosé nodded with a trace of pride in her voice.

"That's wonderful," Jennie praised, making Ella grin smugly before she bent over her books again.

Jennie continued what she was going to say before she was interrupted. "So yeah, the holidays will
be upon us before you know it, we'll probably be even emptier so....if you're ever in need of
company, we'd be happy to have you both. I'm sure Lisa will be thrilled—"

"HELL YEAH NINI!"

With a clump, bump and thud, Lisa tripped down the ladder at the very back of the gym and
sprawled on the ground, shocking the other girls into silence before Rosé flew from her seat and
ran to Lisa's side.

"Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! Lisa are you hurt are you okay talk to me—"

"Uuuuuuuugh," Lisa groaned and Rosé dropped to her knees, frantically reaching out to feel for
bumps and bruises. She winced at Lisa's purple bruised eye. Her hands scrawled feverishly up the
boxer's torso, biting her lip as she debated whether to feel under her shirt.

"Where does it hurt? Oh my gosh did you break your arm? Or your leg—"

"Yah! Cut it out loser, you're scaring her for real!" Jennie called amidst the chaos, still seated. Ella
had come closer to peek rather fearfully.

Lisa opened her good eye and stuck her tongue out at a flabbergasted Rosé. "Gotcha, chipmunk."

Rosé smacked her. This time Lisa howled out loud for real as she rolled on her side, nursing her
arm. "YOWW! Holy bagels, that actually hurt you know!"

"Serves you right," Jennie smirked as Rosé stalked away in a huff. "The ladder prank is getting old
now. She used to do it to embarrass people when they start feeling her up for broken bones," she
explained to Rosé. "It was a game she and her friend Momo used to prank people with." Jennie
shook her head. "She has no shame, that one."

"Hey, I got a name ya know." Lisa sat up, her good eye sparkling with mirth. She spotted Ella.
"Kiddo! Hey it's great to see ya again. Back for some boxing?"

"When I finish my sums," Ella nodded, darting back to her seat after she made sure Lisa was
indeed not hurt.

"Sums?" Lisa perked up and lumbered after Ella, flinching a little with every step. She didn't notice
Rosé watching her with concern. "C-can I see, kiddo?" she asked hopefully.

Ella readily slid her textbook over to Lisa. "I don't think you can solve them this time unnie, they're
a little more advanced."

Lisa sucked in a breath. "Can you show me how?"

"Sure..."
Something about Lisa intently listening and nodding along to Ella's explanation with such an
attentive and earnest expression had warmth spread through every inch of Rosé's being.

The boxer didn't ignore her daughter. Lisa paid Ella due attention instead of focusing solely on
Rosé, which only made Rosé's crush blossom even stronger.

She was aware that having a kid from a previous relationship was sure to be an impediment and
turn away any future partner. Her hurried trysts with Jisoo had been quite the struggle to balance
with her parental responsibilities. Jisoo had been sweet to Ella when they passed each other in the
corridor or came out of Rosé's room in the morning, but of course, she had been more interested in
getting it on with Rosé rather than focusing on Ella.

On the other hand, Lisa found time for Rosé without compromising on Ella— the unlikely duo
both got along like a house on fire.

It had quickly become Rosé's favourite past time to sit back and watch her daughter interact with
Lisa. Rosé daydreamed her family was on a picnic outing in some green field beneath a warm
golden sun. Lisa picked up their daughter in her strong arms and whirled her around until they
collapsed in a heap with laughter ringing in the air.

Their daughter...

Rosé gave herself a stern shake. Where was her mind wandering off to? They weren't even together
and her imagination already took off with preposterous fantasies.

But it was hard not to fantasise such a domestic dream when she saw Lisa earnestly hanging on to
Ella's every word. Rosé remembered the fateful night when she was being rather too daring for her
own good, and Lisa surprised her with a few solemnly spoken words: "I would treat her like my
own."

She didn't realise she had been staring for a tad too long until Jennie's polite cough brought her
back to the present.

"Sorry I just....they're sweet together. I should take a picture." And so saying, Rosé dug her phone
out and snapped discreet candid photos of her daughter and Lisa, unable to push away the smile
growing on her face.

"I didn't know she bonded so well with Ella," Jennie commented. "Lis is always going on how
she's no good with kids, Somi being kind of an exception since they pretty much grew up
together."

"Maybe it's just because she never really had experience with them before. She's a natural, she has
that naturally friendly aura kids are attracted to."

"Naturally friendly aura?" Jennie repeated sceptically.

"Yeah. Kinda like nice teachers have? The kind of aura that makes you feel safe." Rosé looked
back at the duo. "Lisa...makes you feel safe, somehow. Like everything will be okay. And Ella
really got out of her shell lately, she talks more now. I think Lisa has to do with that as well. She's
brimming with confidence, it's rather contagious sometimes."

Jennie was still processing the irony in Rosé's statement without being able to contradict and tell
the unwitting girl just how safe Lisa actually was.

"You saw her fight yesterday," Jennie said at last, choosing her words carefully, "and you still
think that she's uhm...safe?"

"Sure? I mean, she was only fighting, right? John Cena and The Rock were wrestlers, but they
seem to be the nicest guys so....yeah? I mean, it was only fighting. She wasn't beating up someone
innocent and defenceless," Rosé reasoned.

"When you put it like that...I guess you're right..." Jennie answered nervously.

If only you knew...

"She's quite good at picking up things," Rosé said blithely, unaware of Jennie's misgivings. "Was
she good at school? Like maths? She really has a knack for numbers."

"Never went," Jennie said softly, "I taught her a little of what I know...and Somi taught her some
more high school level stuff." She smiled sadly. "We couldn't afford school but at least, she's not as
empty-headed as people think. That's why she still asks about some big words now and then, she's
still picking up the language. But she's bright. If she had proper schooling, she would have made
something of herself, that's for sure."

"Oh..."

Rosé stared, questions popping up in her mind like weeds. She really didn't know anything about
Lisa at all, except for some detail here and there such as the loss of her parents. But she was
intrigued by Lisa's history and desired to get to know her better in hopes of growing ever closer.

She wanted to be there for Lisa the same way Lisa was there for her when she opened up about her
ex's abuse.

She wanted to be there for Lisa the same way she held Lisa in her arms as the blonde cried in her
shoulder over a kitten's death.

"Wow that's actually pretty close to what Ms Kang said!" Ella crowed jubilantly. "Let's go with
your method unnie—"

"Ah, but maybe it's better not to," Lisa said modestly, "I only found a loophole, but your teacher
would know if you're kinda cheating. Better try it the hard way, you'll work your brain more and
learn more."

She chuckled when Ella pouted grumpily but seemed to obey as she settled down and started
working out the sum. Rosé meanwhile watched, admiration shining in her eyes. Despite finding a
shortcut to an answer, Lisa still encouraged Ella to work it out the harder but honest way.

As if Rosé needed any more reason to fall for the boxer....

Rosé cupped her cheeks, madly trying to hide her blushing face. Why did she have to act like an
idiot in Lisa's presence?

"Umm, Rosé?"

She blinked away her starry gaze, blushing harder when she spied Jennie watching her strangely.
The brunette probably caught her mooning at Lisa like some schoolgirl.

"Oh please, carry on. Don't let me interrupt. But I'm not gonna apologise for puking," Jennie
snickered. She stood up when Ella took off from her chair, having finally finished the sums. "I'm
sure you two want to catch up so....I'll leave you to do that."
She smiled down at Ella as she led the excited girl away to a punching bag. Meanwhile, Lisa
approached Rosé with a grin. The pilates instructor couldn't stop the unconscious wince at the
bruises and cuts decorating Lisa's face.

"Hey Chipmunk, missed me so much?"

"Don't get too cocky, I came to check up on you because knowing you, you probably didn't even go
for a check-up after all those knocks to the head. Seriously, what if you get a concussion? You
could go to sleep and never wake up," Rosé lectured. She waved a finger in Lisa's face. "And how
much you wanna bet that you didn't even put on any of the salve I gave you last time, hmm? AND
look at that mess," she said, almost gagging at the sight of Lisa's scabbed and blood-crusted
knuckles. "Tsssh, do I have to come here and check on you each time? You could get some nasty
infection you know!"

Lisa chortled. "Rosie, you ain't slick," she said, "why not admit you just wanted to see me?"

Rosé bit her lip. "Well...that too," she said quietly, "I wanted to make sure you're okay."

Lisa tilted her head at the more serious tone in her friend's voice. "Heard you watched me last
night." She broke off in an awkward chuckle. "Not exactly one of my finest moments..."

"Like the fact you had to mention that cheek kiss I gave you, in front of everyone?" Rosé shook her
head at a grinning Lisa. "Was that supposed to be some sort of brag?"

"Yes," Lisa said shamelessly. "Also I had no idea what I was saying but you kept flitting into my
head so I just remembered and wanted to tell someone."

"Well congratulations, everyone knows now—"

"Hey it's not like I mentioned names—"

" Yeah but still—"

"Awwww is someone shyyyyyyyy?"

"Shut up!"

"You're shyyyyyyyy," Lisa sang.

"So what if I am?" Rosé challenged, praying that her cheeks weren't turning pink.

"Why are you shyyyyyyyyyy Rosieeeee?"

"Because....I don't even know! It caught me by surprise," Rosé blustered, "there, happy?"

Lisa was smirking quite smugly. "And did you like it, Rosie Chipmunk Posie?"

"Oookay, let's get back on track now, I think you're still getting the effects of all those knocks to
the head," Rosé said slowly, then quickly segued into another topic. "So, you were listening in on
us?"

Lisa pulled a face. "You ain't slick but I'll play your game. Yes I did. I thought I heard voices when
I woke up. Then I peeked down the trapdoor and heard you guys talking. Thought I'd stay quiet and
think about the perfect moment to bring on the prank but Jennie basically invited you over any time
you liked and I got too excited..."
Rosé's smile reached her eyes as they crinkled into crescents, mirroring Lisa's. "I think Jennie
forgave me for lashing out yesterday."

"Nah, there was nothing to forgive anyway. Nini was just stressed and being over-protective. After
all, she was pinning a lot on me to win. I'm all that she has too, so don't mind her acting all over-
protective. She's always there for me...and I'm there for her. We're there for each other in
everything."

"Well tell your sister I won't be taking you away from her," Rosé reassured. "I can be her friend as
much as I'm yours."

"Just a friend?"

Lisa said it jokingly but Rosé still heard the slight hint of hope in her voice and she tried not to let
it affect her.

"I'm your long-suffering pilates instructor as well," she responded playfully and held out her hand.
"Get me the salve. I want to see your bruises, we need to treat them seeing as Jennie's preoccupied
right now. And your face....did you even put on ice?"

Lisa scuffed her toes. "Uh...no. We got no ice...."

Rosé recovered quickly. "Oh okay, let's see what we can do with what we have then. Your
hands...did you at least use some antiseptic for the knuckles?"

Lisa glanced down at her busted knuckles and hid them behind her back like a kid caught stealing,
now vaguely aware she still had not technically even showered after last night either.

"Uh Rosie I uh....I should go shower first," she said, suddenly shifty. "I conked out last night right
after the match, Jennie didn't even get to clean...patch me up. And I uhm...I'm kinda sweaty."

"What's this?" Rosé teased. "Still shy of being stinky around me? Weren't you sweaty in my
presence before, in my own studio? I even recall having this same conversation."

She relented when Lisa only tightened her jaw, signifying her uneasiness. "Hey, I don't mind. Go
shower if you like, sure. I'll be right here."

Lisa threw her a smile and a thumbs up before she scurried away.

>

It was simultaneously a good and bad idea to let Lisa shower.

Good, because it gave Rosé some time to gather her wits and think about what she actually needed
to be able to treat Lisa.

She had spotted the first aid box hanging on the wall and wandered towards it to check its contents
but Jennie quickly stopped her and went to fetch a second smaller box, citing that the first one was
packed with more important stuff that they used only in big emergencies. Rosé accepted the
explanation and took the second case Jennie handed her, which was surprisingly well-furnished
with several types of bandages and alcohol along with other tools.

Bad, because Rosé couldn't stop herself from thinking about Lisa being naked inside the shower,
making her pummel the punching bag in front of her harder and harder until her fists were stinging
with every hit. Lisa was rubbing off too much on her lately.
"Whoa whoa there!"

Lisa herself walked up next to her, smelling fresh and fragrant (they must have been able to afford
new soap, Rosé noted absently) with her wet bangs and hair still dripping water. Rosé had never
seen her with all her hair down. It made Lisa look simultaneously younger and more vulnerable.
Her skin was still flushed from the hot water, steam rising from her head as though she had a
smouldering fire on her crown. She was also wearing her Unicorns are Real T-shirt.

Unaware of Rosé's train of unholy thoughts , Lisa reached out and stopped the swinging punching
bag. Rosé tried not to let her eyes skim the length of Lisa's biceps, toned but bruised blue-black in
places.

"Sorry just....letting off steam," Rosé panted.

"Mhm....did Punchy say something to get you mad? I could have a word with it, chest to chest, girl
to punching bag, ya know how things work here."

So saying, Lisa squared up to the punching bag. "Yo, so I heard you're messin' with this fine lady
here? Huh? What's that? You wanna toughen up, big guy? S'cuse me? S'cuse me? You wanna go?
Oh it's on!"

She let fly with a punch that sent it swinging away crazily in circles and laughed.

"Lisa you're not supposed to be punching stuff today!" Rosé chided as she led the boxer to a bench.
"Can you stay away from anything punchable for a while until you recover a bit, at least? I saw
you limping earlier too."

"Awww, you worry about me—"

"Yes I do!" Rosé bit back in exasperation. She busied herself with taking out the materials to tend
to Lisa. "You're not taking your recovery seriously enough and if you're too reckless you'll end up
hurting yourself for real and we'll be back to square one. I mean, look at your wrist you keep
clicking. And what about before you came to me? You weren't allowing yourself enough time to
recuperate properly."

After Rosé's outburst, Lisa just stared dumbfounded with all traces of silliness leaving her face.

"Oh..." she said at last.

"Yes. 'Oh'. Did that reach through that thick head of yours?" Rosé tapped smartly on Lisa's bangs
and the girl blinked as Rosé set to work, cleaning Lisa's knuckles with gentle dabs of cotton dipped
in antiseptic before she started wrapping them in bandages. She hummed softly to herself as she
worked, hoping to let her words settle and register in Lisa's head.

Meanwhile Lisa watched her without making another single joke or jab; she flinched when the
alcohol stung but didn't fuss about it. She focused on Rosé's clever fingers lightly dancing around
her skin. When the pilates instructor finished, Lisa gave her hands a quick squeeze in thanks.

"Thanks for patching me up, Doc." She inspected the result, admiring Rosé's neat handiwork. "I
should hire you as my first-aider at the Slammer, you'd help Jennie to no end."

Rosé chuckled bashfully. "I had practice." She nodded at Ella sparring with Jennie. "Kids get into
scrapes all the time, I researched the best ways to do bandages and that kinda stuff cos' of Ella."

She turned serious again as she looked back to Lisa. "Now let's see what we can do for your
muscles. Does Jennie do any massages for you? Shoulder blades or the lumbars? It provides some
good relief for strains. And those bruises...will need the muscle salve for sure."

Lisa shook her head. "Jen works out any knots I get but it doesn't happen too often. When I came to
you, it was just my overall core that was out of balance, she couldn't do much for that."

Rosé nodded then briskly picked up the salve lotion she had given Lisa last time. "Good then
today, you're in luck—you'll get a free chiropractic massage by yours truly. Lie down and let's get
started."

"What?" Lisa squeaked. She thumped her chest and harrumphed several times. "I-I mean—ohhh
really Rosie? Aren't we moving a little....too fast perhaps?" she smirked , her eye glittering anew.
She batted her eyelashes, making Rosie roll her eyes.

"Do you want my help or not?"

When Rosé didn't blush, Lisa deflated like the wind had been taken out of her sails: the pilates
instructor meant strictly business and there was no playing around.

That didn't mean Lisa was about to give up teasing her just yet, though.

Without further comment, Lisa obediently positioned herself more comfortably on her stomach on
the bench, pressing her cheek on her arms as pillows. She peered through her eyelashes and flashed
her most innocent smile.

"Whenever you're ready, Doc," Lisa winked.

She waited until Rosé moved to sit on the back of her thighs and start kneading her shoulders
before speaking up again. "Ya know, I'm really digging this doctor-patient role play thing we got
going. Yeri did say it was fun. But maybe it's missing a little spiciness: I don't suppose you have a
blindfold on you, do ya? Maybe a whip too?"

She yelped when Rosé slapped her, and immediately rubbed the area.

"That's not even where I slapped you," she heard Rosé laugh.

Lisa smirked. "Well ya see, I don't wanna rub off the imprint of where your hand touched my butt.
That's a special, sacred place now, reserved only for your hand."

She screeched out for real when Rosé smacked her upside the head.

>

Meanwhile, Jennie and Ella had stopped to take a breather from their lesson. Jennie had taken the
chance to chug down the last of her energy drink that she had left standing when a giggle from Ella
caught her attention.

"What is it?"

Ella pointed discreetly, hiding her giggles behind her hand. "Mommy's on top of Lisa unnie."

Jennie spat out her drink. "W-what?"

She whipped around so quickly her head almost snapped at the neck. Relief washed over her when
she spotted the other two girls (still fully clothed) on the bench with Rosé straddling Lisa, bent over
as she worked on Lisa's back.
They were talking and laughing at intervals and much like yesterday, Jennie felt as if she were
intruding on an intimate moment. The two girls were locked in their own world, oblivious to
anyone around them. Rosé had found some bar and was currently rolling up and down Lisa's back
as though she were rolling dough while Lisa gave appreciative groans and moans at the gesture.

"Is that okay? It's not too hard is it?" Rosé asked, anxious of pressing too hard on the bruised spots
on Lisa's body.

"This is soooo good," Lisa groaned, "I feel like I'm melting. Wahh you're magic, Rosie!"

"It's just a massage," Rosé answered but she looked immensely pleased.

Jennie could have stayed watching them, letting the bittersweet feelings take over but Ella had
other ideas. She went running over to her mother's side.

"Mom Mom I wanna try! Can you try on me please? I'm tired too, I think I grew a lot of muscle!"

Jennie had to stifle a chuckle as she walked up to them and watched Rosé gently explain that she
needed to finish tending to Lisa first.

"I can give you a massage later at home, though, okay?"

"But I want nowwwwww!" Ella whined.

"Hey Rosie, it's okay, you can do the kid. I feel quite relaxed already," Lisa started, generously
giving up her as she went to get up but Rosé didn't budge. She pressed down on Lisa's shoulders
instead to make her lie down again. Her lips were pursed in a thin line.

"No. She needs to learn to wait for her turn. Ella, don't be rude and please ask nicely, don't whine in
front of people. It's not nice."

"Rosie, I think she's just tired," Lisa tried again, tilting her head up to smile at Ella. "Or maybe
you're hungry? El, do you like noodles? I think you bought some new pot noodles right Jen? We
could heat one up, eh? What do you prefer kid, beef or chicken?"

"That's really not necessary—"

"But it's a good idea, isn't it?"

"I hardly think noodles will substitute—" Rosé began, sounding doubtful.

"Take it from me, El, try beef, it's really tasty—"

"Lisa stop it I'm trying to be serious here!"

"Well I'm serious too, the kid might be hungry—"

"Lisaaaaaaaaa!"

"Rosieeeeeeee!"

"Ugh!" Rosé huffed as Lisa and Ella giggled together. "It's like I'm dealing with two kids!"

"Well somebody's gotta side with the kid, ya know?" Lisa reasoned. "It's like playing good cop and
bad cop. Clearly, I'm the good cop here."
"Are you saying I'm the bad cop? That I'm too hard on her?" Rosé demanded.

"No no no no I didn't—OW! You pinched me!" Lisa exclaimed.

"Yeah, because it's not okay to hit someone—"

"But it's okay to pinch instead? Is that what you're teaching Ella?!"

They bickered on and on. It was like watching parents arguing over how to raise their child,
making Jennie faintly smile.

She was third-wheeling here.

No scratch that—she was already out of the equation.

But oddly enough, she didn't mind. Watching her sister interact with Rosé and Ella made Jennie
wonder if she should hang on to hope of restoring normality someday.

Maybe there was light at the end of the tunnel: they had secured a place in the Purge, Lisa just
needed to keep up her winning streak. Jennie doubted there would be anymore incidents similar to
Shadow's—that would make even the general public suspicious and possibly expose whatever was
going on in the shadows. The culprits after Lisa wouldn't want so much attention on them, lest all
their dirty and shady deals got exposed too.

And Lisa seemed to be smiling more and more with Rosé and her daughter around. She was
definitely happier around the pilates instructor—Jennie didn't fancy playing the monster that would
keep them apart anymore. She had promised Jisoo that she would give them a chance.

Maybe things were looking up. She dared to hope so.

"Let's play a game," Rosé said at last, making Lisa and Ella perk up with interest. "I Spy?"

"Rock Paper Scissors?" Lisa suggested.

"Mommy always loses that game," Ella giggled. She clapped her hand. "I know! There's a game
my friends are playing a lot at school right now. It's called Twenty Questions!"

"Mhm?" Rosé said. "How do you play?"

"You take turns with a person. You ask a question, they have to answer honestly. Then they get to
ask a question, which you also answer honestly." Ella grinned evilly. "It gets fun when the
questions are the good ones because you can catch out liars!"

"The good ones?" Lisa asked curiously.

"Yeah. Like, if you cheated on a test, or whose your secret crush, or if you ever licked your toes, or
peeked in on someone in the bathrooms....that sort of thing."

"Sounds terrifying," Lisa smirked and rubbed her hands. "Alright I'm in! Jennie, you gotta play
too! I can't wait to expose you! You never told me anything about that boyfriend of yours!"

Jennie gave her a patronising look. "Uhhh thanks but I think I'll pass..."

However, she made the mistake of turning to Ella's direction and was blasted full-force with the
girl's devastating puppy-eyed pouting expression.
"Please unnie?" Ella wheedled.

Jennie felt herself give in without even trying to put up a fight. She covered her face in defeat. "Oh
no..." she groaned, "when did Ella learn to do that?"

"Oh yes!" Lisa laughed. "Ha! Jennie's in too!" She glanced at Rosé and wiggled her eyebrows.
"Guess we'll get to know each other better this way huh, Rosie?"

Rosé could only mirror Lisa's wide grin. "Sounds perfect."

>

Later that night after putting the kittens to sleep, Rosé was placidly brushing her daughter's hair
before on the bed. She couldn't help but hum quietly to herself, trying to remember the Thai song
Lisa mentioned during their rounds of questioning in the game. Although Lisa could only
remember the tune, it sounded nice and soothing to Rosé.

"Mommy?" Ella said, pulling her mother out of her reverie.

"Yes baby?"

"Today was fun," Ella said drowsily. "Can we go again tomorrow? I want to play more twenty
questions with the unnies."

"I got clients to see tomorrow," Rosé said fondly. "But we'll see about visiting later in the day
perhaps? We'll see."

"Okay." Ella snuggled up against her when Rosé put away the brush. "Mom?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think you will still buy that synthsizer?"

"Synthesizer," Rosé corrected, "and yes sweetie. I'll definitely buy it now. Gotta have my baby be a
hundred percent prepared for the big day." She hugged Ella tightly. "I'm so so so so proud of you."

"I haven't even played yet Mom. What if I mess up?" Ella wriggled as she tried to escape her
mother's grasp but Rosé didn't relent. Instead, she started tickling Ella. The girl squealed and
laughed, her arms flailing as she squirmed.

"Stop stop stop!"

"The Tickle Monster doesn't know how to stop!" Rosé intoned. "It will only stop with a secret
magic spell!"

"What?" Ella gasped in between hiccups and giggles and Rosé scrabbled and poked her. "What's
the magic spell?"

"Not telling! I'm gonna gobble you all up RAWR!" She pretended to chomp on Ella's stray arm.
"OM NOM NOM! I'm gonna get you!"

"No no no no! What's the spell?"

Rosé grinned. "The spell is pretty simple. You just have to say: I don't care if I mess up."

"I don't care if I mess up!" Ella squealed immediately.

"The spell won't work if you don't believe it in your heart! Come on, like Disney," Rosé said in
between tickling her struggling daughter. "Say it like you mean it!"

"I don't care if I mess up I don't care if I mess up I don't care if I mess up!" Ella chanted.

"Ohhhhhhh nooooo you got meeee," Rosé groaned and fell back on the bed with her tongue lolling
out of her mouth, feigning defeat as Ella cheered and gasped to recover.

"That's more like it, eh?" Rosé smiled as they quietened down and snuggled under the sheets. She
hugged Ella close again. "Baby, I know this is a big thing for you. And of course, I want you to do
well. But just so you know, it won't be the end of the world if you do mess up. I will still love you
no matter what." She paused thoughtfully. "It's pretty normal to mess up actually. You're up there
on stage and you feel all the pressure and expectations."

"Yeah..." Ella breathed.

"And if Mr Lee shouts at you during lessons, don't let it get to you, okay? He just wants you to
show people how good you are," Rosé reassured.

Ella was quiet for some time and Rosé assumed she had fallen asleep. Her eyes almost closed when
a small tug on her shirt woke her up again. Her eyes searched in the dark until they found two
pinpricks staring earnestly right back at her.

"Do you think Lisa unnie will come see me too?" Ella asked bashfully. "And...and maybe Jennie
unnie? And Jisoo unnie."

Rosé's heart melted. "That sounds lovely baby. Do you wanna ask them? I can ask them for you.
I'm sure they'd love to come along and see you."

Ella nodded happily and Rosé reached out to type in a quick reminder on her phone.

But just as she was about to put it aside, a new message from a familiar number popped into her
inbox.

Call me, the message read. It was simple and short yet the command was still full of authority—
she had no choice but to comply. Otherwise...

Rosé gritted her teeth, her gut immediately writhing with loathing. Her previously good mood
vanished on the spot.

What does he want now?

"Mom?"

"Oh hey sorry. Just scrolling. Let's go sleep now," Rosé said smoothly, putting her phone aside.
Her insides churned with anxiety as she cuddled into Ella and waited for her daughter to fall asleep.

He didn't reach out to her like this except for emergencies. The last time had been some years back
when they had an exposure scare. He'd warned her to keep her head low for a while until the cops
got off their backs. Rosé had desperately prayed that the investigative authorities would finally
catch her boss and throw him in jail but to no avail.

When Ella's breaths evened out, Rosé slipped out of bed and took the phone. She locked herself in
the bathroom and turned on the shower to mask her voice should Ella wake up and hear her
talking.
He picked up after the first ring.

"Hello, Thorn."

"You wanted something, sir?" She kept her voice demure and deferent.

She heard him chuckle. "You still insist on calling me sir after last night?"

Rosé clenched her fist. Had that snake actually called her in the middle of the night because he
couldn't get over his kink of hearing his name being called or something?

"We are over the phone sir," she tried reasoning.

"Rosé," he rasped, startling her. "Say. My. Name." The threat in his voice underlined every
syllable. Even though he was miles away, Rosé felt the goosebumps erupt on her skin.

She took a deep breath to steady her voice. "You wanted something....Yang, sir?"

"Now that's more like it. Aand as a matter of fact I do." His voice was back to being stern and
business-like. "I wanted to inform you that I went ahead and ordered the synthesizer you wished to
buy at our meeting last time. A little birdie told me Ella is going to play in the end-of-year school
recital so might as well have it to practise, right? Give her my congratulations, it must be a
momentous occasion for an eight-year old."

Terror gripped her heart as he laughed, freezing it until her heart was a block of ice sitting in her
chest. She gripped the phone tighter as her knuckles turned white.

"Wha-you-how do you—"

How did he know? She hadn't told anyone. Ella swore she kept it secret even from her best friends
because she wanted to surprise them in person.

Her mind went into overdrive, paranoia taking over. The teachers, it had to be the teachers! Or
maybe some other staff keeping an eye out for Ella? Someone had to be reporting back to Yang!

Was it Mr Lee? Ms Kang? Ms Choi? The school principal? The janitor? Other students? Who?!

"You're welcome," Yang laughed, relishing her panic, "it's the latest model, I think you will find it
suited to Ella's needs. And no worries, love," he added, "this is my gift to you. This time, you don't
owe me a penny for that. Consider it my little....appreciation present for your services."

Rosé almost swallowed her tongue. "P-pardon?"

Little appreciation gift? Since when did that snake give her presents because he appreciated her?

Her heart thudded to the beat of her rising fear. He was planning something. He was planning
something and he was trying to lure her in.

She was more frightened than ever now and her voice trembled. She made no effort to hide it.

"Yang....wh-why?"

"Oh sweetheart, no need to be so scared now," he said condescendingly before adding: "well, let's
just say that you have given me an important lead in our search for our friend Tiger King."

There it was again, the name that had started to give Rosé anxiety anew after having forgotten it
for the better part of her time working for Yang.

It seemed he had lately resumed his obsessive search for the murderer with renewed vigour.

"Me? Gave you a lead? What...what do you mean?" she asked in bewilderment. "I told you, I don't
know who he is! Wouldn't I have told you by now? I want to know who he is just as much as you
do!"

"And we will, with some co-operation from your side and more investigations. I have a feeling
we're closing in on him," Yang returned smoothly. "As to how you gave a lead....I hadn't even
realised before yesterday. You did it quite by accident. Call it a moment of serendipity."

When Rosé didn't say anything, Yang picked up again. "Jay Z will pick you up tomorrow night. I
want you to come in for a meeting. I will give you your brief there, given that you're so paranoid
over the phone. It's better we discuss the matter face to face anyway considering the sensitive
nature of our whole investigation."

"What?" Rosé said aghast. "Why? What do you want from me?"

Soft breathing whistled down the line before Yang whispered the words right into her ear.

"I want to know about Lisa Kim."

 Bao Bao

"Heads up! Heads up! Gimme a second to think. This is gonna be the million-dollar question," Lisa
announced to her audience as she pressed her hands to her temples in the act of thinking very hard.

"I won't even try to stop you," Irene said wearily, "I know it's a dirty one."

It was almost a month after the start of the Purge.

They were all sprawled on the mats, with Lisa abandoning her exercise and training in favour of
swapping jokes and relaxing together with the other girls, with Jennie's blessing thanks to Rosé's,
Jisoo's and Irene's constant reminders for both siblings to take it easy. And considering that Lisa
had been advancing relatively smoothly through the pool of fighters, Jennie tended to relent and
listen "as long as you still put in some daily exercises."

Currently occupying the Vault on Saturday morning was Irene, Somi, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and
Lisa. Jennie and Jisoo had nipped out to the laundry, leaving a distressed Irene in charge ( "We
won't be long, I'll tell Jisoo to drive fast," Jennie promised as Irene clung to her at the door,
begging to go with her. "Just keep an eye on them.")

"I got it!" Lisa's eyes glittered. "Which is better: fingers or tongue?"

"Are we talking objectively regarding fetishes, or to plug holes with?" Chaeyoung asked, brows
furrowed in utmost concentration.

"Chaeyoung!" Irene groaned. She covered her face for the umpteenth time, silently cursing her
decision to pop in and check on Lisa and Jennie. Her motherly concern did not warrant her
undergoing this torture.

"To plug holes with, I guess," Lisa said after a moment's thought. "Any kind of hole, on the body
obviously. Don't go sticking stuff in the electrics, kids, unless you got a thing for near-death
experiences."

"To plug holes? Dick is best," Somi answered, miming an obscene gesture with her hands to
explain.

"Pussy, obviously." Chaeyoung rolled her eyes. "It can't be all that great choking on the D, no
offence Mimi."

"What they said but depending on the mood, I guess," Dahyun mused. "I say either or. Depending
which end you wanna plug up, so to speak. Unless you want both at once."

"Those weren't even the options!" Irene shrieked wretchedly and held her head. "Will you please
stop it, I'm going to hurl! I can't take it anymore!"

She had been forced to join the circle today. Irene wondered for what past wrongdoing she was
forced to sit with the group, having to endure the relentless slew of filthy words and crude jokes
that poured from the younger girls' mouths as easily as she poured fabric softener in her washing
machine.

If she was being honest, the mischievous quartet were doing it on purpose just to see her react in
shock and disgust—as far as she was aware, Somi hadn't ever even hooked up with anyone to begin
with, but the girl enjoyed throwing out sexual innuendos to make the older woman blush, and of
course Lisa egged her on.

"Well there's not much left to ask each other, we've practically covered all the basics. We've been
playing this for a while now. It's the extra juicy questions that are left," Lisa pointed out, backed by
Somi and Chaeyoung's nodding heads.

"And you did say you're glad we're not stuck playing Animal Crossing anymore," Somi added.

"That was before you started going R-rated!" Irene shot back.

It had been close to a month since the Twenty Questions game initiated by Ella picked up speed
and became a source of entertainment (vexation to Irene) for Lisa, Jisoo, Somi, Chaeyoung and
Dahyun when the latter three popped by the Vault in between exams, usually on weekends. The
trio had collectively decided that visiting at least once a week would be good as a mental break, to
catch up with Lisa and her progress in the Purge.

The twenty questions game had departed from the family friendly version Lisa played in Rosé's
presence, taking on a more quiz show format (a PG-rated and dirty quiz show to be precise) when
it was her and the three college girls messing around, much to Irene's dismay.

"I bet if your pilates instructor was around you'd be singing a different tune!" Irene said. "Maybe I
should let her know the extent of the filth you spew out! I'm sure you're all angelic with her, aren't
you?"

"Aha she's turning red! So it's true, she's got you wrapped around her thumb then!" Somi hooted,
watching Lisa's cheeks turn splotchy. "Rosie and Lisa sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N—"

"Oh you're not much different missy," Irene rounded on Somi. "If only Matthew was here, you
would think twice about running your dirty mouth like that!" she scolded. "I'm absolutely
mortified! I had no idea you had this side to you, you should be ashamed of yourself! Girls should
be decorous and proper!"

Somi merely giggled and lazily waved her hand in dismissal. "Whatever granny, but he isn't here,
it's the weekend, so no need to get your panties in a bunch. Now let's get on with the fun. Next
question, you're up, Dubu." She laid back on the mat, idly scratching at her chin.

"Hmmm okay soooo...." Dahyun scrunched her eyebrows, thinking very hard as Irene watched on
anxiously.

Although Dahyun tended to ask more mundane questions (Taylor Swift or Ariana Grande? Pizza
or burgers? Stranger Things or Game of Thrones?) they also happened to be the most divisive
questions which had the other players shouting over each other and nearly coming to blows.
Dahyun's questions may not have been the explicit ones that came with a warning label, but they
still nearly caused Irene to pop a vein owing to extensive damage control she had to carry out.

She braced herself when Dahyun snapped her finger on sudden inspiration. "Got it! Avatar the Last
Airbender or Legend of Korra?" she asked.

"Ooofff sis, she really went there!" Somi gasped.

"Well obviously I'm going with LoK cos hey, queer representation. Besides, the animation is miles
better than in Avatar," Chaeyoung said with an eye-roll.

"Well duh, Avatar was made in the 2000's! But story wise, Avatar is tighter! Avatar is better!"
Somi was quick to retort.
"Heck no, Korra faced worse antagonists—"

"Well it was a consequence of her actions mostly, she was a hot-headed impulsive teenager—"

"I don't even know what those are," Lisa said mournfully. "The shows I mean, not teenagers," she
added when the other girls stared at her, "I know the memes, but I haven't watched them yet."

"Well but you know that Avatar is the best right? Tell her."

"Don't bring a non-fan into this Mimi!" Chaeyoung yelled. "Everyone disses on LoK just because
hoes mad—"

"Excuse me? What we gotta be mad about?" Somi demanded. "The story lines in LoK were messy
and ambiguous—"

"Look, are these shows you're talking about taking place in the same universe? Are they concurrent
to each other?" Irene finally asked.

"Yeah, Lok is the sequel to Avatar—"

"Great well then let's agree that they both had their strong and weak points but as a whole they
provided you with unforgettable and important content as fans. Next question, chop chop!" Irene
ordered. She had proved to be a skilful and efficient mediator, able to disperse arguments that
cropped up and keeping the questions flowing.

In reality she just didn't want to get a headache from all the furious clamours and screeching
indignant voices. Thankfully, the younger girls tended to obey quickly enough, although they still
occasionally glowered at each other in the aftermath of a hot debate.

"Okay then Chaeng you're up next."

Chaeyoung didn't think twice. "So this question is kinda personal but we're all girls here
anyway....so, what do you guys think of when you masturbate?"

Somi and Lisa burst out laughing, rolling on the mats and holding on to each other while Dahyun
and Irene face-palmed.

"Great," Dahyun sighed, "we have crossed the line and we are never going back."

"Really? I could have sworn you crossed said line a while ago," Irene said drily. "I don't know,
maybe when Chaeyoung asked which tasted better, cum or pussy juice? Or was it when Somi
asked if missionary was better than doggy style?"

"What's great?" Jennie said as she and Jisoo joined the circle, bringing with them the strong smell
of detergent as the other girls noisily welcomed them back.

"Eyyy unicorn buddies in da house!" Lisa yelled. Jisoo eagerly ran up to her, leaving Jennie
looking on as she watched them carry out a particularly complicated sequence of handshakes and
high-fives for their greeting.

Her eyes widened when Irene practically flew to her side, breaking down in sobs.

"Jen I can't take it anymore, they're awful, they're horrible! I need something to clean my ears,
they're such a foul filthy lot! Please make them stop!" she begged.

Jennie raised her eyebrows at her sister. "What did you do to Irene?"
"Nothing, we're just playing twenty questions," Lisa defended.

"Can I play?" Jisoo asked brightly.

"We gotta finish this round but after that, sure," Lisa said before turning back to Jennie, "and it ain't
my problem granny here is such a goody-goody wholesome cloistered nun who probably skips the
sex scenes in movies. She was definitely fibbing when Somi asked about that steamy scene in
Titanic!"

"Mind your business Lisa!" Irene muttered, head still tucked against Jennie's side. Jennie sighed,
surveying the Vault with a quick sweep of her eyes.

"I leave for twenty minutes and I come back to a broken Irene....but at least everything else is in
one piece. So...what's great, again? Dahyun said something is great."

"Chaeyoung wants to know what we masturbate to, the little pervert," Lisa snickered.

"I can't help it!" Chaeyoung exclaimed. She gesticulated frantically as she spoke. "I'm desperate!
It's been a month without being able to do anything! I can't see Mina in person, we're both so busy
with exams and we promised we won't let anything distract us!"

"Ah, so that's why you're so grumpy and snappy, I thought it was your period—"

"Lisa!"

"What?!"

"Wow, not even boning each other once in a while?" Somi clicked her teeth. "That's rough, buddy."

"Tell me about it," Chaeyoung groaned, "this whole staying-away-from-each-other-so-we-can-

focus-on-exams thing is driving me crazy! If I had known it would be this bad, I wouldn't have
agreed to it!"

"Yeah but I bet Mina's neighbours are happy now without hearing you two going at it like jack
rabbits every other night," Somi smirked. Chaeyoung ignored her and droned on, revealing the
extent of her problem.

"I tried porn, I tried masturbating, nothing works! I'm sexually frustrated and stressed because of
exams on top of everything! I can't get a proper wink of sleep at night. Why do you think I caved in
and came back to exercise at the Vault? So that maybe I'll be too tired to think of my needs and just
conk out at night!" She slumped on the mats. "But then, if I do sleep, I wake up still horny like
some hormonal teen boy, for crying out loud! How I'm getting my exams done absolutely beats
me."

Somi and Lisa were still giggling while Dahyun's face threatened to break into a smile, as did
Jisoo's. Jennie watched on impassively while Irene looked highly unamused.

"Well still, that's not a question you just ask people! We're civilised beings here, not louts at the
local bar—"

"Oh come on Irene, like you don't touch yourself then, ever? Is that it?" Chaeyoung shot back.
Irene turned a fiery shade of red which didn't go unnoticed by Somi and Lisa who immediately
tittered and jabbed at the mortified woman.

But Chaeyoung was still not finished. "Girl talk like this should be more normalised! Guys
compare their dicks all the time and nobody says anything! Why should it be so different for us?
It's the basic rules of feminism!"

"We...we do talk about...periods?" Irene said timidly.

But Chaeyoung only snorted. "Huh! Behind boys' backs though! And whilst making sure we hide
the tampons and pads. I say things gotta change around here! They yak on about equality between
the genders but they know nothing! I'll teach them a thing or two about real feminism!"

"Hear hear!" Somi and Lisa chimed as though of one mind and thumped the ground with their fists.
"Feminism! Feminism!"

"Do you even know what feminism is?" Jennie asked.

"Of course I know what feminism is!" Lisa said hotly. "They mention it in Mean Girls!"

"Right....because Mean Girls is the superior authority on such things," Jennie sighed. She already
felt a headache coming on.

"Feminism?" Jisoo said with interest. "Ain't that Emma Watson's religion?"

"Oh oh the one from Harry Potter!"

"Yeah!" Jisoo stood up and waved her arm like a windmill. "Win-gardium Levi-osaaaaaaa!"

"Yep, her!" Lisa laughed, clapping as Jisoo did a dramatic bow and nearly keeled over.

"Jisoo sit down. Lisa, stop encouraging her." Jennie pinched the bridge of her nose as Irene shook
her head next to her.

"Now you see why I was about to tear my hair out?" she told Jennie. "In my case, it was like
babysitting dirty-mouthed gremlins."

"Hey! Focus!" Chaeyoung barked in agitation, startling them. "All I'm asking is for some help, girl
to girl. Besides, I just want ideas. Nothing has been working!" she pleaded. "I don't dare try
vibrators or anything like that, sneaking them into the dorm is difficult enough as it is and I'd die of
mortification if my roommate finds out. And what if my parents find out as well? I'd die."

"Hmm. If you can't get vibrators, what about trying—" Jisoo started but Jennie pointedly shot her a
stern look. Jisoo gave a sheepish smile and didn't finish her sentence.

"Well I guess it is kinda frustrating," Lisa conceded, "but I'm not sure hearing how other people
get off will get you off though."

"I'm willing to try anything at this point. Just please help me," Chaeyoung begged.

"Fair enough. Well then, lemme tell you what I—"

"Oh no you don't!" Jennie pounced, clapping a hand to Lisa's mouth. "I do not want to know what
you'd be moaning and groaning about under the sheets when I come back home late, thank you
very much."

"You're not even the slightest bit curious?" Lisa said around Jennie's hand, her voice muffled. She
wiggled her eyebrows mischievously.

"NO."
"Prude," Lisa muttered when Jennie removed her hands. She didn't add anything else, silently
shrugging at Chaeyoung who looked increasingly frantic.

"Are y'all really bailing on me?" she wailed in despair. "Come on! Dubu?"

"Don't really do it much," Dahyun shrugged. "I prefer gaming or playing the piano to release
stress."

"You're hopeless," Chaeyoung groaned in frustration.

"And you're a sex maniac," Dahyun laughed, "maybe I should do a feature about it for my next Uni
blog post. I'm sure my professors will find it...titillating, to read all about your venereal
problems."

Chaeyoung shoved her and Dahyun shoved back, grinning as she trapped Chaeyoung in an arm
lock and they both started wrestling on the spot.

"Uh what's 'titillating' and 'venereal' ?" Lisa wondered out loud.

"I'll tell you later—"

"You know Chaeyoung, you're blessed with a wonderful gadget called An Actual Phone That
Works Unlike My Nokia," Jennie said, "and there's that other wonderful thing called The Internet
that might help you better with your problem—"

"Tried it all," Chaeyoung said grimly. "All the turn-offs. Name it, I tried it."

"She's just a horndog and she's missing her binch," Somi grinned.

"Shut up!"

"Somi!" Irene squawked. "When did you get so outspoken? I'll tell Matt!"

"Oh come on, she didn't even say the actual b-word, get off her back!" Lisa defended.

"Yeah! And snitches get stitches Irene." Somi stuck her tongue out. Irene glared daggers at the duo
until she felt a hand rest on her arm.

"Okay, enough," Jennie said firmly. "Mimi, watch your mouth around Irene, I will personally tell
Matt to give you a talk if you act out and harass her. Got that?"

"Yes...sorry Irene," Somi mumbled as an afterthought.

Irene nodded graciously, immediately forgiving her—she could never hold a grudge against the
younger girls for long. Deep down she knew they meant no harm. "Well I think it's better if we
move on to the next question, unless you girls are thinking of packing up. It's almost noon," she
said, attempting to subtly edge out of the situation but she didn't reckon without Somi chiming in
yet again.

"I haven't told Chaeng what I do!"

"Oh yes Mimi, because your hetero imagination will definitely help a lesbian in that department,"
Lisa dismissed sceptically. Jennie and Irene both looked conflicted, staring at each other
uncertainly. One could practically see the cogs and wheels turning in their heads, debating whether
they should let Somi speak her mind or not.
"Worth a try," Chaeyoung decided for the two women, "let's hear it then."

"Holy bagels this is gonna be good! Mimi is finally embracing her true exhibitionist persona," Lisa
winked, rubbing her hands gleefully. "She's gonna tell us all about how she imagines it goes down
with Daehwi oppar!"

"Your obsession with him and I being together is rather...disturbing," Somi rolled her eyes, "and
no, I don't think about him in that way...yet, at least."

"Aww shucks," Lisa grumbled, making the other girls chuckle. Irene and Jennie unconsciously
leaned closer to hear Somi, curiosity getting the better of them despite themselves.

"I'm gonna be honest with you, Chaeng," Somi said, getting right to the point, "when I get off, I
think of hot, emotionally stable guys telling me I'm funny."

"Really? That's it?" Chaeyoung frowned. "Well how do you know they're emotionally stable?"

"You don't," Somi shrugged, "it's why it's a fantasy."

Amidst hoots of laughter, Chaeyoung sighed long and loud. "Well, imagination seems to be where
I'm lacking then."

"Face it Chaeng," Lisa clapped her on the back with a hearty laugh, "you gotta hang in there for a
while longer until exams finish. Okay, let's keep this moving people," she called to the others.
"Jisoo and Jen, you're playing this round, let's go! Irene?"

"Hard pass," Irene said grimly as she got to her feet and slung her sports bag on her shoulder, "now
if you'll excuse me, I need to go and somehow erase the past few hours from memory."

"Dunking your head in bleach should help, granny!" Somi called after her as she high-fived a
cackling Lisa.

>

"Catching up on some reading?" Chaeyoung asked Dahyun as she dried her hair. They were
preparing to head back to their respective dorms and waiting for Somi to shower so they could all
ride back with Chaeyoung, the designated driver.

Lisa was lounging on the other side of the Vault with Jisoo and Jennie, thumbing through a comic
as her reward for finishing her workout of the day—the Berserker workout, if Dahyun remembered
correctly.

Dahyun shrugged. "Yeah. Corporate cover-ups. Capitalism sucks." She hurriedly crammed the
papers into her bag before standing up. "Drop me off at Uni, can you?"

"Sure. You meeting Jackson?"

"Mmm yeah..." Dahyun said absently.

She missed Chaeyoung's lips lifting slightly at the corners, too lost in her thoughts about the boy
continuously working in the lab. Dahyun couldn't help but be preoccupied with Jackson, who
lately had immersed himself with his experiments, mixing and testing and scribbling down only to
end up with a bigger furrow in his brows than the one he began with as he seemed to have come up
against a dead end in his endeavours. He would perform the whole process meticulously, over and
over again, mixing all kinds of colourful compounds together as the frown on his face deepened,
eyes pinched with exhaustion behind his goggles.

"Oh you dropped this," Chaeyoung observed as she picked up some papers that had fallen out
without Dahyun's notice. She raised an eyebrow as she scoured the titles. "You're reading up on
Thai child trafficking cases? Quite a change from 10 Signs Your Significant Other Is Your
Soulmate, eh?"

Dahyun grimaced. "God, don't remind me! That was such a lousy, cringy and useless assignment,
ugh. A waste of my time. And don't believe a word of it, I got practically most of the sappy stuff
from Cosmopolitan." She pulled a face. "And we all know how good that is."

"Noted," Chaeyoung laughed before turning her attention back to the papers in her hands. "Your
professors certainly don't shy away from the darker subjects though either, huh?"

"Uh...yeah. I think journalism is all about exposing what needs to be exposed," Dahyun said
lightly, taking the papers back, "babying us would serve no purpose. The world is far from being
all soft and fluffy like marshmallows. We gotta be prepared for the nitty gritty. After all, we're
learning how to search out good stories in the name of informing the general public and keeping
authority powers in check, right?"

Chaeyoung looked at her a for a moment too long, or so Dahyun thought as she stared back,
praying her friend wouldn't probe further. She was lying—they didn't cover anything like that in
class, it was just her ongoing research in the hopes she could pick up where she and Momo left off.

"You've really gotten into this investigative journalism thing huh?" Chaeyoung asked. "Maybe it's
your true calling."

"It has its charms," Dahyun conceded, "but my eyes are still on travel journalism."

"What does the article say then?"

"Well, if you really must know—"

"Of course I do Dubu, I'm always up to hear anything you're researching. I am your number one
proof-reader after all," Chaeyoung smiled and Dahyun found herself smiling back.

It was a stark contrast to Chaeyoung's earlier frantic outburst but Dahyun was used to such
polarising moments—when it came to friends, selfless Chaeyoung would be the first to put aside
whatever she was feeling or doing to focus her attention on the other person. She was also a solid
critic that Dahyun sought out for her articles that would then be uploaded on the University journal
site, because Chaeyoung spoke her mind and pointed out the strong and weak points in Dahyun's
write-ups.

"Well, these are newspaper articles so you have take things with a pinch of salt," Dahyun began,
"they always seek to sensationalise news. But there are some serious claims that I'm sure the
international newspapers would think twice before publishing such damning information or they
could be sued."

"Sued by who?"

"See, many companies—foreign ones especially— like to relocate to SEA countries because law
enforcement there can be lax and it's easier to get cheap labour for maximum profit. Such places
tend to skip the legalities about wages and benefits in a bid to have a larger percentage of the
population working that would boost the economy. They don't have the strict ethical standards
imposed by labour watchdogs in more developed countries.
Companies would then employ locals to work in their factories and even keep them in warehouses
to sleep there in crowded, hot and dirty conditions just like cattle. They work long exhausting hours
so for most of them, travelling some distance back to their original dwelling didn't make much
sense. Some stay mum about the poor quality of life and pitiful wages because they're used to it,
others don't want to lose their jobs which helps feed their families and others are afraid of
consequences. So the cycle of abuse continues."

"Where does child trafficking in Thailand come in all this?"

"I'm getting there," Dahyun said patiently. "Now Thailand is notorious for being a centre for
human trafficking, most notably children who are then forced to be sex slaves. Children are either
brought in to satisfy the prostitution demands, or they're shipped to other countries to do...whatever
it is they do with them. It's of course all very illegal but authorities in these countries are weak and
practically powerless due to corruption and the almost invisible traces that pimps and brothel
owners leave behind. Police are powerless against some big shady companies that thrive off this
dirty trade."

She sighed, noticing Chaeyoung's disgusted expression. "It's terrible but the whole chain of child
prostitution rings still exists, to this day. Making people aware can help fight against the
corporations that stand to lose a lot if their illicit actions are ever brought to light."

"That's why you said newspapers could be sued because of the claims they made when they dig up
such dirt. They have to be careful to be truthful when dealing with big bullying corporations or else
they could lose credibility as well," Chaeyoung noted.

"Yeah. Well and I was looking into one case, it's a bit old...there was this big Korean pharma
company who was in a bit of hot water in Thailand, back in like the 90's and 2000's. The company
was still relatively unknown at the time which I'm guessing helped it get away without much
reputation damage and even avoid being blacklisted. Those were more lawless times too,
unfortunately."

"Get away with what?"

"Remember the cheap factory labourers? A group of them came forward to speak to Amnesty
International about the state of their living quarters managed by this pharma company—"

"What was the name?"

"Forget it, it's not really important now," Dahyun lied, "now they spoke on condition of anonymity
because they were afraid of repercussions, so that makes it harder to verify their claims. But we'll
take the benefit of the doubt considering AI's credibility and integrity when dealing with human
rights issues. Now these workers—there were like 150 of them that came forward— they all
claimed to have been treated horrendously, paid very little in return for long exhausting working
hours, and suffered inhumane abuse and filthy living conditions."

Dahyun leaned forward, lowering her voice. "But the more damning claim was made by one lone
woman. She accused her employers of being in cahoots with local child traffickers and drug
pushers. Very shady, illegal business."

"How? Did she have proof?" Chaeyoung was hanging on to every word. "Please tell me she had a
photo or something."

"That's the thing," Dahyun said. She ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "There was nothing
concrete to back up her claim. She could have made it up just to get her bosses in more trouble.
The other workers didn't back her up because either they were afraid or they truly hadn't seen
anything.

But anyway, this woman said that she had once seen one of those big cargo trucks leaving the
premises covered with a tarpaulin sheet. One flap at the back wasn't tied down properly and she
saw these...these little kids. Very young kids, maybe not older than five. Their clothes were thread-
bare rags. They were gagged and trussed up like chickens, crammed in small cages. They weren't
even struggling— the woman said she couldn't see well but they looked dirty with cuts and bruises
everywhere, just huddled up in their cage..."

Dahyun broke off with a shiver. "She said their eyes haunted her the most, because they didn't
even look frightened by what was happening—they just looked dead."

"What happened to them?" Chaeyoung whispered.

"The kids? Who knows. Probably shipped out of the country or taken to brothels or wherever it is
they're taken, if they survive at all," Dahyun said bitterly. "Or maybe they were shipped out of the
country. The reporters couldn't verify the woman's claim either despite extensive investigation—
the people responsible are a cunning lot and cover up their tracks. The reporters tried bribery and
having insiders scout out the company's establishment for anything that might incriminate the
owners. But they came up short again.

And as for the labourers...I don't know what happened to them...there didn't seem to be any follow-
up to this case. Everything died down naturally as though this whole exposé didn't exist, everyone
went about their day as though nothing happened. The big pharma company is still around to this
day, conducting business as usual. It's bad enough they were abusing their employees but if they
were also involved in child trafficking like the woman said, then that's beyond sickening."

"Dear God," Chaeyoung muttered. She cleared her throat, searching for words to say to break the
stifling and uncomfortable silence that fell as Dahyun's story came to a close. "So nobody else tried
to investigate this suspicious company again?"

"From what I can gather, no. But I think they took the hint: when I checked, this company didn't
list Thailand as one of the countries where their branches are located. They must have closed down
shop long ago and relocated."

"Sick. So this whole child trafficking scheme or whatever could still be ongoing elsewhere, as well
as the labour abuse." Chaeyoung clicked her tongue in frustration. "So you're gonna unearth some
dirt on them?"

Dahyun laughed. "I'm not some corruption crusader Chae. This is merely to broaden my horizons
and let me know what's out there..."

Her treacherous heart pumped hard in her chest as the full implication of what she had laid bare in
front of Chaeyoung sank in. If her assumptions were right, she and Momo had been on the verge of
exposing more than mere corruption schemes run by an untouchable mogul. Hundreds or even
thousands of young, innocent lives ripped apart from their families could be at stake, being
subjected to horrific abuse and cruelty on a daily basis.

And who knows how many others had suffered the same fate, with their childhood stolen from
them in a blink because of repulsive greed oiling the wheels of capitalism?

Just thinking about it had Dahyun feeling sick all over again, even though she had ventured so deep
over the course of her digging that she had grown quite desensitised. But now seeing disgust spread
on Chaeyoung's face reminded her of that same initial revulsion in her gut when she unearthed this
important puzzle piece. Now that she had grown aware of the situation, Dahyun felt an enormous
but invisible weight settle on her frail shoulders—she couldn't stop now, even if she wanted to.

She owed it to all those nameless, invisible kids to find out the truth, no matter if Momo was no
longer around to help. She would have to strike out all on her lonesome. It had turned into a
personal mission for Dahyun and although she still had as yet to formulate a concrete plan of action
(after exams finish) she was determined that her first point of investigation would be Rkive.

Chaeyoung shook her head with a smile. "They wanna give you nightmares before exams."

"Knowing those sadistic creeps, probably. But we're made of sterner stuff. We did cover those
awful Baksa court hearings." Dahyun shuddered. "It's enough to give you nightmares, honestly."

Chaeyoung grinned and turned to Somi who had come bounding out of the shower at that very
moment while Dahyun exhaled secretly in relief.

"Sorry took so long, shower-head malfunction," Somi gasped out, "I know it's almost summer but I
nearly froze my butt off waiting for Jennie to fix it and then waiting for some of the water to heat
up again and then getting to shower." She turned to Chaeyoung and clapped her hands together in
plea. "Chaeng, can you drop me at Daehwi's? He's coming with me to see the dance crew practise
at the garage."

"What's this, what's this, what's this?" Lisa inserted herself in the conversation immediately.
Dahyun had almost forgotten all about her presence. Vaguely, she wondered if Lisa or even Jennie
and Jisoo had overheard her and Chaeyoung.

"Going on a hot date, are we?" Lisa asked with her trademark smirk. "My my, Mimi, how bold.
And during exam season too! Don't you think of how that will affect your good friend Son
Chaeyoung who's pining for Mina? And moreover, you'll be distracted and won't be able to dance
properly."

"Not a date," Somi insisted, "you can come along too and watch." Her mouth curved into a smirk.
"But of course, you won't be coming along will ya? Because..."

"Rosie's coming over soon," Lisa muttered under her breath and Somi grinned.

"Exactly. Like she does every other day. And don't try to feed me any crap—you'd skip on
anything to spend time with her, admit it."

"Well yeah I guess..." Lisa had completely lost the teasing smirk, finding herself cornered. "But
you're going with Daehwi! You've been mentioning him more and more frequently these days,
there's something brewing! Soon, you're gonna waltz in here and announce you're engaged—"

" Uh, there's usually the dating stage before that," Dahyun chuckled.

"Unless it's a shotgun wedding," Chaeyoung put in.

"Chaeyoung, not helping!"

"Just saying!"

"—and you're gonna have us wear matching ugly salmon dresses for bridesmaids. I never even
wore a dress before," Lisa droned on, "and oh jeez, what's Matt gonna say? Actually, I think he'll
be glad I didn't turn you gay. I think he thinks homosexuality is contagious or something...."
"Don't worry about my dad. He's the least of your worries. And no, I'm not marrying and we're not
even dating...yet. But at least there's progress on my side. It's true we're getting closer," Somi said
smoothly as Lisa whooped, "but what about yourself, hmm? Any moves on our mutual friend
Rosie?"

Lisa ducked her head, coughing and making Somi sigh in exasperation. "Step up your game, Lis, I
know you got the hots for my pilates instructor."

"She's my pilates instructor too," Lisa said righteously.

"And that's all she'll ever be if you don't step up," Somi smirked before her eyes diverted to the
Vault's entrance as the door opened and a familiar blonde appeared in the doorway.

Rosé spotted Jennie and Jisoo preparing to leave for Matt's diner to have lunch there and went to
greet them, being ever the polite girl to her unnies.

"And oh look, right on time, what a coincidence!" Somi added. "I wonder what she got you for
lunch today? Anyone wanna bet?"

"Gimbap, Lisa took quite a liking to them, or so Jennie said," Chaeyoung said.

"Salad," Dahyun put in confidently, "you said Rosé wants you to eat more healthy. She got you
salad, your next match is in a few days too right? It's gotta be salad."

"Get off my back, salads is for Tuesdays and Thursdays only, that's what she said!" Lisa huffed
and folded her arms. "Ugh, how can people eat that rabbit food? Granted, the dressing helps, but
still! And Mimi, I still haven't forgotten that fake detox kale juice fib you fed me back then, you
little snake, just so you know!"

"In any case it's so domestic, the instructor cooking for her client. Sounds like the beginning of a
porno," Chaeyoung grinned, wiggling her eyebrows at Lisa's fidgeting and clicking wrist. "Mimi,
Rosé doesn't cook for you too, does she?"

"Nope. And from what I heard, she doesn't make any extra helpings for Jennie either. It's all for
her favourite client Lisa."

Lisa fidgeted harder, the tips of her ears flushing red.

True to her word, Rosé started to bring Lisa an array of simple but tasty dishes in an attempt to
provide a more varied diet for the boxer 'because it's good to switch up a bit from chicken and
noodles'. Jennie, once she and Rosé got over the but-I-have-to-pay-you fuss, was wholly on board
for Lisa to have a more variable diet. Jennie herself adamantly declined Rosé's offer to make an
extra serving in addition to Lisa's since, as she reasoned, she wouldn't dream of making Rosé go to
extra trouble after being so kind as to offer making food for her sister.

"I think you have a shot with her," Dahyun encouraged with a small smile. "Rosé obviously cares
about you, Lisa."

"She cares about everyone...." Lisa sounded uncharacteristically doubtful. "The more I get to know
her, the more I wonder if...if she's in my league at all. She's so....perfect." She smiled as Rosé's soft
laughter rang out, her chest tightening with overwhelming fondness as she watched the blonde talk
with the shorter two girls.

"Chaeck out them heart eyes," Dahyun teased.

"She sounds like me before I got with Minari," Chaeyoung laughed. "Come on, you've been
hanging with each other for a good amount of time. I think she likes you too."

"Yeah, do you even hear yourself right now, Lis?" Somi rolled her eyes. "She's been coming over
for a month now. Feeding you because she is—and I quote—'concerned about your dietary
choices'. Giving you those X-Men comics—don't try and say you bought them, they're oldish
annuals, practically collector's items by now. She even brings that dratted fat cat over—"

"Leo's not fat!" Lisa defended indignantly. "He's just a big boy."

"—he must weigh a ton by now, but from what you said, she doesn't seem to be the complaining
type and still ferries him over in that cat transporter. She has you over at her place a lot too, even
though you said you would have no time to go when the Purge starts."

"Strictly pilates, I swear," Lisa stressed. "I get to use the Cadillac now!"

Somi merely waved her hand. "Take it from me, she's interested. I don't see Rosé going to this
length for anyone else. Shoot your shot before someone else snaps her up, I'm sure she got people
lining up to wife her up. And can I just say I ship you two so much? If neither my Jennie-Jisoo ship
or Irene-Seulgi ship come through, then you're the only one left, don't let me down! So jump on it
and make my dreams come true."

"Sssssssh she'll hear you!" Lisa hissed urgently before turning to face Rosé as she approached the
group after finishing talking with Jennie. "Oh uh, hey Rosie!"

"Hey," Rosé smiled, oblivious that she had just been the subject of hot debate as she set her bag
down on Jennie's desk. She nodded at Somi and her friends. "Somi, hi. How's it going girls?"

Lisa felt Rosé's honeyed voice seep right though her skin and slowly fill her to the brim like warm
spilling honey—tiny shivers ran up her spine at Rosé's soft-spoken greeting. Coupled with her
familiar strawberry scent, Lisa felt herself mellow down and relax: Rosé's effect was always one of
tranquillity for Lisa. That is, when Rosé wasn't the cause of an abnormal amount of blushing and
stammering, which Lisa was finding harder and harder to hide as the days wore on.

It had come to a point when Lisa found herself blushing and squealing inwardly to herself as she
reminisced about moments spent with Rosé. The memory of her chuckle and crinkled eyes brought
a smile to Lisa's face as well. She found herself missing the blonde pilates instructor, eagerly
waiting for the girl to show up again, smiling with her chubby cheeks, her soft voice and gentle
words. Her eyes always sparkled when she spotted Lisa, or so Lisa herself fancied.

A hard jab in the small of her back brought her swiftly out of her reverie.

"Shut your mouth, you're gonna drool," Chaeyoung muttered in her ear.

"...and well, you know how it is, the usual. Chilling a bit here before we go bury our heads in work
again," Somi was saying to Rosé. "We'll be going. I miss coming over for pilates."

"Well, any time you want to pick it up again, I'm available. Lots of people drop around this time,
they think they're ready to go for summer, so it's getting pretty quiet," Rosé chuckled, "and you
were one of those to drop out, too."

"Only until exams are over, I promise! And I have this big dance evaluation coming up that I'm
focusing all my time on, ask Lisa!"

"Eh?" Lisa had been so busy staring at Rosé she didn't even notice Somi's discreet elbow jabs in
her side.

Chaeyoung shoved Lisa hard in the back, nearly throwing her into Rosé's arms. "Say something,
you useless lesbian," Chaeyoung hissed.

Lisa blinked. "Oh! Right uh...dance. Yeah, I like it," she said brightly. "I could show you how
to...dance?"

She wondered why Dahyun snorted so loudly and why Chaeyoung groaned like a walrus.

Somi, now pink in the face, quickly turned back to a bemused Rosé and tried to salvage the
situation. "Well in any case I swear I'm doing the light exercises you told me though!" she
squeaked and threw a dirty glare at Lisa, who still looked dazed.

"Good. Keep it up and you should be fine," Rosé encouraged. "And don't forget to stretch and
warm up like I showed you too."

"For sure. By the way, you're still on for my party right?"

Rosé nodded. "Yep. Ella settled it just yesterday, they'll be having a sleepover on the night for
sure, so I'm available."

"Really?" Lisa cheered, remarkably alert all of a sudden. "That's awesome Rosie! I can't wait!"

"Oh you're awake now huh?" Somi grumbled.

"Eh? I been awake this whole time, what you on about brat?" Lisa retorted.

"Okay okay, break it up!" Chaeyoung said as she pulled Somi away, "well, best be heading back.
We got places to be. See ya!"

Somi stuck her tongue out at Lisa who did the same back making Rosé chuckle, highly amused by
their antics.

She liked how Lisa had Somi in her life to bring out the goofy, childish side of her personality. It
made Rosé secretly wish she had a younger sister to tease and laugh with, much like Lisa and Somi
did whenever she saw them together—they were the comedic pair of the Vault, a real-life Tom and
Jerry (minus the death-traps) and with a good deal more of affection involved, even if they
wouldn't admit it themselves.

Rosé waved after the girls' departing backs before turning to face Lisa.

Though she was dressed casually in sweats with a high ponytail, Lisa could never get over how
gorgeous Rosé looked even in simple garments. It didn't help that now as the weather grew
warmer, Rosé had taken to wearing a crop top underneath her jacket, which she usually took off
upon entering the Vault. Lisa was thankful that Jennie had finally gotten around to fixing the AC
(for now) because for some reason, the place always seemed hotter when Rosé was around.

"Lisa?" Rosé said from far off and knocked on her forehead. "Anyone in there?"

Lisa blinked. "Huh?"

"You're gonna drool at this rate if you don't close your mouth," Rosé giggled. "The girls just left, so
it's you and me."

And indeed, the Vault was entirely empty except for Lisa and Rosé.
"Oh uh, right, right yeah um...yeah. You and me," Lisa said quickly, stumbling over her words as
the heat climbed to her cheeks. It was really getting out of hand— she was glad Somi wasn't
around or she'd be teased rotten for the way she tended to fumble around Rosé nowadays.

I'm sure there's a line of people waiting to wife her up. Somi's last words echoed in her head,
making Lisa frown before quickly dropping her expression.

Thankfully, Rosé didn't seem to notice—she had taken a seat on the mats before Lisa could stop
her and was currently rummaging in her backpack. No matter how many times Lisa tried to
dissuade Rosé from sitting on the mats, the pilates instructor didn't really listen. Lisa edged closer,
excited to see what the contents of her bag contained today.

"So first, I got you the comic you asked," Rosé said and passed over the comic book which Lisa
clutched with an ecstatic gasp before eagerly flipping it open. "And I also got you lunch as usual."

"What's the starter today?" She noticed Rosé's small grin and instantly grew suspicious.
"Rosieeeeee don't tell me..."

"Don't tell you what?" Rosé replied, her grin growing wider and wider.

"I don't like that smile. It's a creepy smile. It's....it's..." Lisa pointed her finger with a dramatic gasp.
"It's the salad smile!"

Rosé burst out laughing as she revealed the plastic container filled to the brim with greens. "Ta-
daaaaa! Healthy rabbit food for the baby!"

"Nooooooooooooo!" Lisa flopped on her back, kicking her arms and legs in the air as she feigned a
tantrum. "You said salads on Tuesdays and Thursdays only!"

"Well you got another match coming up soon, you need to beef up on the vitamins—"

"But you said salads on Tuesdays and Thursdays only!"

"And the days before a match too," Rosé winked. "And come on, you can stop pretending you hate
salad! It's only me here you drama queen."

Lisa cracked an eye open and sat up, her tantrum over before it even begun. She made a show of
looking around and checking, secretly smiling when Rosé laughed again. It had become a habit of
hers to make a little scene before taking her salad since it always made the other girl shake her
head or smile at Lisa's antics each time. And if there was one thing Lisa enjoyed, it was making
Rosé laugh.

"You can't be too sure. I have a reputation to maintain Rosie," Lisa said solemnly after she finished
checking that they were indeed alone. She made grabby hands towards Rosé. "Pretty please with a
cherry on top?" she asked cutely, smirking in victory when her friend's cheeks turned rosy.

"A reputation, huh? As the resident tough macho who absolutely hates greens but is now a secret
rabbit food enthusiast?" Rosé said quickly as she handed over the container with the disposable
fork inside it. She giggled when Lisa threw her a deadpan look before delving into the salad with
gusto.

"I only eat it because you make it," Lisa insisted through mouthfuls of radicchio, "it's not that good
really."

Rosé didn't take any offence—she folded her arms and quirked an eyebrow in amusement. "Really?
You wolfing it down says otherwise. Let me see then."

She leaned forward and opened her mouth expectantly, eyes challenging Lisa. "Feed me some, the
chef gotta check whether your claims are true."

When Lisa didn't react and only continued to stare, Rosé swiped the fork and picked up some of
the salad herself.

"Mmm tastes good to me," she said, smacking her lips for good measure. She smirked at Lisa's
slack jaw, enjoying the girl's reaction. "Do you want the fork back Lisa? Or maybe....should I feed
you myself too?"

"I...I can do it just fine," Lisa let out in a strangled voice before quickly snatching back the fork.
Rosé giggled, satisfied she was able to score another hit on her mental tally.

>

It had become something of a mutual game between them, trying to test each other on who would
be able to make the other blush or surprised first.

Lisa had obviously been in the lead in the beginning, given her playful nature. Even her questions
when they played the Twenty Questions game always veered towards the mischievous and
naughty territory (provided Ella wasn't around) although Rosé was also pleasantly surprised when
Lisa gradually started asking more questions about Rosé's own life, wanting to get to know her
better.

What was it like growing up in Australia? Did you see kangaroos? Do you like kangaroo meat?
Did you always sing? What's your favourite song? Play it for me next time! Did you see the Great
Barrier Reef? How about boomerangs? Did you like school?

But now Rosé could safely say she had caught up—it was exhilarating to know she had a strong
effect on Lisa as much as Lisa did on her. Rosé lived for such opportunities to tease and flirt with
the other girl and perhaps, gauge just where exactly they stood.

She wasn't blind to Lisa's quick glances lingering over her body, checking her out—the boxer had
been doing that ever since they met and it didn't look like she was going to stop the habit. But it
was nice to be noticed; it gave Rosé a boost of confidence every time she walked into the room and
Lisa would immediately stop whatever she was doing and lock eyes with her, nodding her head
almost appreciatively as she took in Rosé's appearance.

It made Rosé feel warm and special—nobody had ever paid her such close attention as Lisa.
Nobody listened as attentively to what she said like Lisa. Nobody wanted to know all about her
like Lisa. Nobody ever complimented her with such sincerity and genuine admiration as Lisa.

And Rosé was sure Lisa wasn't that oblivious to her actions either, which weren't all that innocent.

Teasing lip bites. Careless grazes of hands. Sultry winks.

Long challenging gazes into each other's eyes just to see who would look away first and glimpsing
hints of lust simmering just beneath the surface.

Temperatures rising in the blink of an eye as they turned their heads too quickly simultaneously
and found themselves almost nose to nose.

Mischievous parting air kisses (and on the cheek for luck before a match).
Checking out Lisa's toned and glistening body post-workout.

Sweeping her hair up into a ponytail just to watch Lisa's throat bob up and down, up and down.

Pretending she couldn't quite get a particular move right so they would have an excuse to be
touching as Lisa showed her the steps to punch Punchy correctly. Lisa's hands lingered over her
waist but it was always light and respectful, holding back.

Tending to new bruises Lisa accumulated after every match which were thankfully nowhere near
as bad as that first match with Shadow. The odd massage session was thrown in as well, even if she
had to endure Jennie and Jisoo's funny looks. Rosé would never admit that her cheeks were tinged
pink because of Lisa's groans beneath her.

But so far, it was comfortable to just push and pull. It was comfortable to learn about each other
question by question; to grow accustomed of each other's mannerisms, moods and minds.

It was comfortable growing gradually more familiar with the idea of orbiting each other like a
planet and its moon: celestial satellites that might one day (accidentally or not) collide and explode
in a cosmic display of blinding brilliance to rival the brightest starburst in the universe.

Rosé nursed the small seed of hope that was timidly flourishing for her and Lisa— they were two
people struggling with their individual hardships and weighed down by their burdens, harbouring
secrets from the past that scarred.

But together, they could find strength and give the middle finger to all the obstacles Life threw
their way.

>

Sometimes Rosé would bring a snack for herself so it wouldn't be awkward just watching Lisa eat
all by herself, but mostly she just talked or listened to Lisa. The fact that she had gotten Lisa to at
least eat the salad she made was a great accomplishment in Rosé's books. In the beginning Lisa had
adamantly refused to try it, much like a picky kid would turn his nose up at greens. Rosé wasn't
deterred and tried wheedling and coaxing.

Eventually, she turned to bribing with comics and songs—after receiving her promised bonus from
Yang, Rosé had decided to buy the guitar she had initially laid eyes on. She rewarded Lisa with a
song on her guitar whenever Lisa went over to her pilates studio. Ella would sometimes join them
to jam along to her mother on the synthesizer, showing off the pieces she was learning for the
concert. Mother and daughter made a great duo, and Lisa was their enthusiastic supporter.

"Encore! Encore!" Lisa clapped as Ella did a dramatic bow and Rosé shyly smiled, her face pink.

"Please do another!" Lisa begged. Though she was addressing the both of them, her eyes were
fixed on Rosé. At times like these Rosé forgot there was her daughter and the cats milling about
their feet—when Lisa had that sincere gaze trained on her, Rosé felt as though they were in
different world altogether, locked within a snow globe of their own making.

"I...I have...well this song I was practising," she murmured, strumming her guitar nervously. She
had missed having the instrument in her hands but once she held the guitar, it was as though she
had never parted with it. Music was truly in her blood—the guitar was merely one of the many
instruments that helped her express that musicality.

"It's Thai," Rosé revealed, finally daring to look up at Lisa. Her heart was starting up its usual
rhythmic drumming as it tended to do nowadays when she had Lisa's attention.
"Oh yeah, Mom's been practising," Ella revealed excitedly, "and she's good with the
pronunciation, she sounds almost as good as the video on YouTube! Show her Mommy!"

But Rosé didn't say anything—she waited, studying Lisa carefully for any negative reaction.

"Show me Rosie," Lisa said. Her eyes held a soft expression that reminded Rosé of the time Lisa
cried on her shoulder.

Without further ado, Rosé hummed and bent her head to place her fingers on the chords. "It's
called Bao Bao. I figured it's probably the song that you remembered when you hummed it to me.
It's what the internet gave me that was closest to it, at least."

She strummed and sang, her voice hesitant at first before it grew and swelled with confidence as
she progressed through the song. But she didn't look at Lisa, who was listening silently. Rosé had
studied well, her patient and sharp memorising skills helping her pin down the foreign words that
sounded so exotic, much like Lisa herself.

When the song came to an end and Ella burst into claps, Rosé dared look up and immediately
drowned in Lisa's eyes.

"That was beautiful Rosie," Lisa said. Her voice hushed, ripe with emotion and on the verge of
ripping apart at the seams as she held herself together. Rosé would have been concerned for the
boxer if the tender gleam in Lisa's eyes hadn't pinned her on the spot and made her forget about
everything else around her.

"Glad you liked it then."

"Liked it? I love it! I'm gonna want you to sing it over and over!" Lisa declared.

"Not opposed to that, it's a very sweet song. I enjoyed learning it," Rosé chuckled. "Did you like it
Ella?"

"Yep! I don't get the words though..." Ella frowned. "It's in your language right Lisa unnie? What
does it say?"

"Well kiddo, it's about...well, it's about," Lisa said, choosing her words carefully, "it's about
someone who's patient and loves their uh... well, loves their...uhm..."

"Crush?" Ella supplied.

"Sure, that could work," Lisa nodded. "So the singer loves their crush but is okay with waiting for
them to love back because the singer knows they will both fall in love with each other over time.
And it will be a soft, tender love that means a great deal to the both of them. Meanwhile, the singer
is okay with waiting and being remembered in the little things that their crush does throughout the
day. That's where bao-bao comes from— it means gentle or something soft and light."

By the time Lisa stopped speaking Rosé wasn't sure whether she was still talking about the
original singer or the boxer herself.

But no, that was being delusional...unless?

Lisa's intense gaze coloured with an emotion Rosé couldn't quite put her finger on nearly stole her
breath away and she couldn't think lucidly.

Was there the remote chance that Lisa did see her in that light? Although there had been a number
of occasions that seemed to point towards this plausibility, Rosé needed more time to think.

Did Lisa see her as more than just a close friend to fool around with and tease? Was Lisa waiting
for Rosé to make a move?"

"Thanks Lisa unnie."

"Any time kiddo," Lisa winked and turned to Rosé once again. " Thank you for learning a whole
song in Thai, it mustn't have been easy."

"I...I didn't mind," Rosé repeated. "It's a sweet song."

"Yeah and you make it sound all the sweeter," Lisa had agreed. "It means a lot to me...thank you."

Rosé ducked her head shyly and quickly moved on to sing something else....

The promise of comics and being serenaded thus turned out to be the deal-breaker for Lisa who
finally agreed to try salad. She grudgingly conceded to enjoying it after further cajoling from Rosé
but swore the girl to secrecy lest other people would find out that she, a staunch lettuce-hater, now
loved salad.

"Nobody would ever take me seriously again Rosie," she said again and again. "Mimi would never
let me hear the end of it."

Rosé merely shook her head and sighed. "Fine you big baby I suppose we'll keep up this charade
till the day we die. It will be our little secret." She noticed Lisa smiling brightly. "What?"

"Does that mean we'll keep seeing each other till we're old and creaky?"

Rosé's heart fluttered at the hopeful question and her eyes crinkled but she tried to keep a
nonchalant tone. "Well, I'm sticking around until...well, for a long time for sure. Until you won't
need me."

"Nope nope!" Lisa quipped. "You're not allowed to leave Chipmunk!" Her lips stretched into a
wide crooked smile that had Rosé's heart beating like a drum on reflex.

God, when had she turned so weak for that stupid cocky smirk?

"I'll always need you Rosie," Lisa said, her voice turning solemn and soft, "so...stay with me?"

They were sitting close enough for Rosé to sense the familiar charge of electricity pulsing between
them, making her slowly lean forward as though compelled by some invisible magnetic force
emanating from Lisa. And as usual whenever she noticed they were sitting this close, Rosé's gaze
gravitated towards Lisa's tempting, puckered lips. She licked her own lips unconsciously, her
mouth dry.

Her breathing sounded too loud reverberating off the walls of the Vault, or was that Lisa panting
ever so slightly? She couldn't tell. Rosé's eyes flicked up to Lisa's orbs then back down to her lips
but she had seen what she needed to see—Lisa's blown pupils mirroring her own.

And oh—Lisa had leaned forward too, strong muscles coiling and tensing beneath skin as she eyed
Rosé with an expression that she could only describe as fond or even...tender.

Bao-Bao.

one heart, what does it need? We give it so much, we make it complicated

They were too close, practically tasting each other's breath. Rosé felt her heart thunder in her chest
as Lisa pressed further into her space, eyes falling shut in anticipation.

sometimes it's discouraging, but there's no need for regrets, let it go

Did she want this? Heck of course she did! She had thought about this moment in the depths of the
night, stifling her squeals in the pillows. It was thrilling to know that Lisa seemed to want the
same. Don't overthink it too much! It's going to be okay. She likes you. You like her. She wants
you to stay.

we'll gradually fall in love tenderly

All she had to do was reach out, tilt her head a little and...

"I want to know about Lisa Kim," Yang whispered in her ear.

Rosé jolted back in shock, breathing ragged as she pressed a shaky hand to her chest in an attempt
to calm her frenzied heart. She trembled at the timely reminder. What had she been about to
do? What had she been about to do?

Kissing Lisa when she was supposed to hand her to Yang on a silver platter? Flirting and
fantasising when she knew all too damn well she was going to end up hurting Lisa one way or
another?

Wake up Rosé! You're playing with fire. WAKE UP.

"Rosie?" came the sweet voice of her damnation. Rosé blinked and composed herself, the tension
dissipating as though it never existed between them in the first place. She caught Lisa watching her
curiously and quickly waved her hand.

"Sorry," Rosé said weakly, "I felt a mosquito buzz by my ear...pesky things, heh... "

"Ah man already? It's not even summer yet," Lisa groaned. "Watch Nini march in here with bug
spray if I so much as mention one of those critters making an appearance already, gawd I hate bug
spray...."

The moment passed as though it had never happened and Rosé laughed as Lisa launched into some
anecdote involving Jennie and mosquitoes.

If Rosé's heart wasn't crashing against her ribs and her hands shaking at the memory of meeting
with Yang, she might have thought she had imagined the brief flash of disappointment that crossed
Lisa's face when she pulled away from the near-kiss. Ultimately, guilt prevailed over feelings.

They had been so close, a hair's breadth away...

Neither of them brought it up again.

>

Of course, Rosé was not one to delude herself for long before she was rudely dragged back to
reality by the more rational side of herself.

Bitterness filled her entire being at the memory of Yang's request from nearly a month ago, a
request that had her torn and desperate like never before. It kept her awake at night as she churned
over the impossible request.
Bring me anything and everything you can gather about Lisa Kim. And if you don't....I think you
can imagine the repercussions. You have one month.

And his eyes were ablaze, coloured with impatience, hungry for revenge as she quaked before him
in fear. He had offered no sickly sweet endearments, no leeway and no compromise—Yang meant
business. He wanted to know about Lisa as though his life depended on it.

The deadline was soon.

Tomorrow actually.

She still had as yet to decide on a course of action, because of course she was not going to blab
about Lisa like that. That would be tantamount to betrayal—she would be endangering Lisa's life
and those around her. The fear that her friends would get tangled up with the part of her life she so
desperately tried to hide was slowly materialising even as she struggled to keep control.

But whichever way she looked, she was trapped and alone. It's not like she could waltz up to the
Vault and spill out her shameful little secret to Lisa. Even if it hadn't been a matter of pride or
shame or guilt, she had Ella to worry about as well.

Yet instead of spending her time carefully to formulate some sort of compromise or bargain for
Yang, she had put off that part of her life like it didn't exist.

She chose to focus instead on being around Lisa and pushing aside all her troubles, very much like
a procrastinating student who ignores the assignment deadline creeping closer and closer.

Very irresponsible, she knew, but old habits die hard.

Rosé instead spent her time enjoying Lisa's company, keeping a watchful eye over Lisa's progress,
making sure Lisa didn't over-exert herself, celebrating each fight, daydreaming and fleeing
reality....

She was good at that, running and hiding from reality and taking refuge in dreams to escape her
bleak circumstances. She was her father's daughter after all—the only difference was that
Youngbae sought refuge in violence and alcohol.

But you can only run so far before you trip and crash back into reality, harder and more painful
than before because now you have to face the consequences of running away in the first place.

She knew all this. Yet, she was weak.

She let herself daydream more often of the blonde boxer, with Lisa flitting unwittingly into her
daily thoughts when she was carrying out the most mundane of tasks. Rosé didn't fight this
intrusion—if anything, she welcomed the warmth that was creeping back into her numb husk of a
heart.

And soon enough, Rosé was actively thinking of Lisa at given times of the day—wondering if she
would like this comic, wondering if she likes this and that song (she made a mental note to play it
to Lisa next time she was over), wondering if Lisa would prefer pork belly this time round or
wondering what Lisa would prefer in the salad: maybe more carrots? more tomatoes? more
sweetcorn? more dressing?

But just like satellites and the planets they orbited, they were still too far from each other to truly
forge a deeper connection beyond lingering touches and piercing gazes.
Her ties with the criminal underworld kept Rosé from fully taking down her armour and baring
herself to Lisa. It created a thin glass wall that trapped Rosé behind it. She was afraid of shattering
it—once it shattered and everyone saw her for what she truly was, there would be blood. Pain.
Grief. Betrayal. Hatred. Anger.

But as they grew ever closer, Rosé noticed that she wasn't the only one holding up her guard.

What was it like growing up in Thailand? Do you have any favourite memory? How did you and
Jennie meet? When did you come here?

They sounded like normal questions enough to Rosé, yet Lisa always seemed to avoid answering
questions related to her childhood, clicking her wrist in agitation. Rosé didn't push her—since she
already had knowledge of Lisa's parents' demise, she guessed childhood would be a bit of a sore
topic to touch upon. It didn't stop her from being curious about her and Jennie's shared history.

She knew all too well that whatever happened to Hwangssabu, their mentor, had been something
awful, if awful was even fit to describe what the sisters had gone through, judging by their
reluctance to talk about him. Jennie gave only vague facts about how Lisa joined her and
Hwangssabu. Both remained tight-lipped whenever his name cropped up in conversation relating
to his death.

To Rosé, Hwangssabu was the mysterious common factor that tied Lisa and Jennie together, the
enigma she needed to crack first which would allow her a more comprehensive understanding of
Lisa's past.

"You know, it's your fault for getting me to like lettuce," Lisa said thickly, startling Rosé out of her
thoughts. She hadn't noticed how quiet it had fallen—while she had been lost in her contemplation,
Lisa had cleared up the marinaded beef strips, the dumplings, the kimchi fried rice and was
currently munching on the mango pieces with yogurt.

(Of course Rosé had brought more than one dish—salad alone wouldn't meet Lisa's energy
requirements.)

Lisa sat back, rubbing her stomach appreciatively. "See, the salad dressing is what makes the
salad...titillating."

Rosé choked. "Sorry?"

"You know. Exciting. Interesting."

Rosé hid a smile. "Did Somi tell you the meaning of that word, by any chance?"

"Yeah she did, it cropped up in conversation this morning. Why....?" Lisa's eyes narrowed. "Oh
no....don't tell me....it means something else, doesn't it?"

"Yes and no," Rosé chuckled, "but I admire your incentive to use words you just learned. You just
gotta be more careful about what they mean though. Titillate is when you arouse someone's
interest and excitement, usually by...sexual words or pictures."

Lisa flushed red. "Why that sneaky brat—"

Score.

"It's okay Lisa," Rosé winked, "I'm glad my salad dressing is titillating."
"Stoooooooooop," Lisa groaned.

They bantered back and forth, rarely ever running out of things to talk about especially with the
Twenty Question game: they would just randomly start asking any question that came to mind,
usually Lisa, and just like that, Rosé would forget all the dark clouds gathering above her head.

"Fish always look so sad, do you think they're actually sad?" Lisa wondered.

And Rosé went along just to humour her. "Maybe they are. They do look sad."

"Do you think fish are sad because they don't have legs to walk?"

"What if they're sad because they don't have wings to fly?"

"You make an excellent point, but can fish even cry?"

"Can fish even think?"

"Now that's just being mean!" Lisa cried. "The sharks in Nemo were so thoughtful they were even
gonna try be vegetarians!"

"Why trust the shark, mite?" Rosé mimicked Bruce the shark from the same movie, letting her
accent slip in. It had Lisa rolling around in giggles and Rosé joined in.

"I know I say this every time," Rosé said at length when their laughter died out, "I just remembered
now...please please, tell me if Jennie would like to have some food too." She gestured at the empty
cartons littering the ground around Lisa. "I get so guilty having her go out to eat while I can whip
her up extra helpings of your food—it's really no problem at all..."

She ignored the warning twinge of her gut. Preparing food for Lisa was already putting a bit of a
strain on her funds now that many of her clients were stopping pilates for summer but Rosé would
sooner die than admit she was unable to provide lunch for Lisa: it gave her so much pleasure
watching someone other than Ella enjoy the food she prepared.

"Oh don't worry Rosie! Jennie's fine with dining out, trust me," Lisa was quick to reassure. She
lounged on her back like a beached whale, hands behind her head as her eyes slid shut. "Nini
wouldn't swap that salad she has at Matt's for the world."

>

"I wouldn't swap this salad I have at Matt's for the world," Jennie declared as she swallowed with
relish. She even uttered a little moan. "Mmm I don't know why, but it seems extra delicious today.
Nayeon! Tell Yeri she outdid herself today!"

The waitress several tables down winked and gave a thumbs up as she disappeared behind the
counter and Jennie continued enjoying her salad. Occupying Lisa's place opposite Jennie was
Jisoo, scribbling busily in a notebook.

Now that Lisa was often eating with Rosé, Jisoo had taken to accompanying Jennie in Lisa's
absence whenever she could. They would know beforehand if Rosé was visiting because she'd ring
up Jennie, and so thus Jisoo was able to shuffle and arrange her day accordingly.

"So there's four final matches that are like the quarter finals before the winners of each move to the
Grand Slam," Jisoo said as she tapped her pen against her cheek, "there's Timberwolf vs.
Blackjack, Silverfin vs. Bulldozer, Warmachine vs. Thunder and then... Lisa and the Bear..."
"Timberwolf and Blackjack would be an interesting match. Silverfin and Bulldozer is a no-
brainer, Silverfin is miles better at technique, she'd hammer down the Bull, because Bulldozer was
just lucky she got weak-ass opponents before. Warmachine and Thunder...now that's tricky, it
honestly boils down to whoever lasts the longest. If I had to bet, I'd put my money on
Warmachine..." Jennie watched in amusement as Jisoo scribbled everything she had said down in
her notebook, tongue sticking out in fierce concentration.

"What about Lisa and the Bear?" Jisoo asked at length, raising her head.

"As for Lisa and the Bear..." Jennie fell silent, pushing the lettuce leaves around on her plate with
her fork. She rested her chin in her palm, supporting her elbow on the table and continued playing
with her salad, deep in thought.

"Lisa's been on a strong streak of wins," Jisoo said gently, immediately zoning in on Jennie's
source of silence, "she's better than ever and she only keeps improving with each fight."

"I don't want to make the same mistake as the first time," Jennie said quietly. "Until the game is
over, nothing is for certain."

After the night when Lisa had nearly lost control, Jennie had been cautious about celebrating too
early and vowed not to let herself get too over confident again—Lisa may have been gotten better
but the danger remained, simmering just below the surface. And only Jennie was aware.

But one crucial difference— she was going to trust in Lisa just as she promised. The poor girl had
avoided looking at Jennie when they were alone until Jennie sat her down and spoke a few words
just before her second match was due.

"You're scared. I am too," Jennie had said quietly, "but we started this. And we're gonna finish it,
no matter who's out to get you. I'm...I'm gonna be right there beside you, Lis." She reached out,
hesitantly until she gripped Lisa's arm tightly. "We knew it wouldn't be easy. But I promised
Hwangssabu I would look after you. I promised, and I'm not about to go back on that promise."

"But I didn't control myself," Lisa sighed.

"We got lucky you reined yourself in time," Jennie agreed, "so I hope the match with Shadow
serves as a reminder, to both of us. I still want to trust you but we can't be complacent. Got it?"

And Lisa's eyes shone determinedly. "Got it."

There had been thankfully no repeat of that fateful first match at the start of the Purge; the
organisation administration of the Slammer had thereafter asked for all boxers to start taking drug
tests in the aftermath of that occasion.

Jennie and Lisa were probably the only people that weren't too surprised when it transpired that
Shadow had not abused on any stimulant of sorts. People wrote it off as the staff at the Slammer
being too paranoid. It was just two gals getting all worked up and letting off steam like guys do, in
their books.

And ever since then, although there was no repeat of that event, both Jennie and Lisa still kept an
eye out for suspicious activity, of which they observed none.

"For real Jendeuk, I think Lisa has got this. Sure she's more banged up than usual, and she's
probably a teensy weensy bit tired but she's more relaxed and spending time with Rosie. She's
mentally relaxed and in the right mindset to get through this one last match. So, thank you for
listening, I wanted to tell you that." Jisoo squeezed her hand. "She's got this due in large part to
you."

"It's the Bear we're talking about," Jennie fretted, "every time Lisa and her faced off, Lisa always
ended up getting soundly beaten."

"But that was before Pasta came into the picture," Jisoo argued, "Lisa wasn't in tip top form before
but look now, she's unstoppable. She's been going from strength to strength, I mean Huracan is
probably one of her next top rival, right?" She consulted her notebook and showed it to Jennie.
"Says here she's one of the top seeds that used to often beat Lisa in past Purge openers, but Lisa
managed to beat her easily this time round."

Although Jennie had known Jisoo was keeping track of Lisa's progress in her little notebook, her
eyes bulged in her head when her view was assaulted by graphs, numbers, names, bullet points and
tiny scribbles that were squeezed into every nook and cranny on the pages.

"Well, someone's been busy...what is all this?"

"I've been keeping track of everything," Jisoo said eagerly, "watched re-runs of past matches to
compare to Lisa's form nowadays and you wouldn't think it's noticeable but it is, she's so fast and
stronger! More fluid. And don't worry I got you covered, I watched all her opponents too. I think
my favourite to watch was whenever she went up against Kamikaze, they were always so goofy."

"Momo," Jennie said in realisation. They had not seen hide or hair of the girl, even when the latter
had threatened to beat Lisa in the Purge. She hadn't even entered her name in the pool of fighters.

But maybe she had gotten too busy in Japan, Jennie reflected, or found some other plaything to kill
time instead. Lisa was slowly moving on from the loss and Jennie was quite thankful that Rosé and
Jisoo were able to keep her mind off Momo.

"Oh...Lisa's old friend?" Jisoo said delicately. She had heard of the infamous fallout. "No sign of
her, huh?"

"No. And maybe it's for the best," Jennie said at last. "She was fun and all, but she could have been
a bit of bad influence on Lisa too. I wanted Lisa to take things seriously to win us money but with
Momo, they just messed around all the time. And Lisa got her playgirl tendencies from her too,
trying to keep up and be a cocky macho like Momo and flirting with minors. So yeah, I'm not too
sorry to see the back of her."

"Did...did you know her long?" Jisoo ventured to ask, pleased that Jennie was answering her so
easily.

"Lisa and her got friendly after a few matches at the Slammer and Momo started coming over at
the Vault. Even got a gym membership, which was...well great, cos it's money right? She said she's
a CEO..." Jennie paused. "To be absolutely honest, I doubt that. I mean, she did say she inherited
an automobile company. But a CEO? Splashing out money carelessly like that? The company
would sink faster than a Titanic. And she wouldn't be able to sneak away and join a boxing ring
without having the tabloids jump on it."

Jisoo laughed. "The tabloids have more exciting things to report than a female CEO participating in
boxing to wind down Jen. People have their ways of sneaking around, Momo has hers. And
besides, she went by an alias, like Lisa does. And PFB isn't broadcast on major channels, it's still
quite a small niche sport, practically relegated only to this area of Seoul for now."

"Alright alright but anyway yeah, that was Momo," Jennie said. "What had we been talking about
before that? You said you saw Lisa's past matches?"

"Oh yeah! As I was saying, nobody comes close to Lisa right now, she can take on anyone unless
something freaky like what happened with Shadow and Undertaker happens. But those are one-
offs." Jisoo's brows furrowed. "I still say they were on something that those boffins in the labs
couldn't detect. Hopefully they'll work on testing harder to find out."

"Yeah..." Jennie said.

"And anyway I watched the Bear fight during the Purge too and she's pretty much the same as
when Lisa used to face her before, she hasn't changed at all. And I bet she wouldn't think of trying
anything knowing everyone is watching like a hawk in case of foul-play. So really Jendeuk, I'd say
it's gonna be...well, maybe not a walk in the park, but a light breezy stroll nonetheless," Jisoo
concluded.

"Fine I'll take your word for it. So I suppose that means you'll be celebrating with us afterwards
too?"

She tried to phrase the question casually, keeping her voice disinterested but deep down she knew
she wanted Jisoo to be there to celebrate with her and Lisa and the rest of their friends at the diner.
It would be pointless to go otherwise.

"Jendeuk do you even have to ask?" Jisoo laughed, "of course I'll be there! I've just gotten used to
being around new people, I'm not going to ditch them so easily!"

"Great!" Jennie cheered before she could stop herself. She clapped a hand to her mouth but it was
too late—Jisoo had heard and she was grinning.

"Aww didn't know you had grown fond of me."

"A bit difficult not to. Jeongyeon and Joy have practically adopted you as well," Jennie muttered,
hiding a little smile of her own.

They had all struck up an easy-going friendship now that the staff had gotten used to Jisoo. They
treated her like an old friend, much to Jennie's delight. The aftermath of matches were spent in
good company, with drinks and chatter flowing easily. Jisoo—being the responsible designated
driver for Lisa and Jennie—rarely drank. She and Lisa had a whale of a time re-enacting fight
scenes for their audience while Jennie sat to the side and watched, quietly pleased every time the
light caught Jisoo's eyes and they sparkled.

Joy (sometimes joined by Yeri) teased Jennie, but it was nothing Jennie couldn't handle. She had
gotten used to them throwing her smirks and questioning her relationship with Jisoo but she didn't
let their light-hearted barbs bring her down. Watching Jisoo interact and engage with other people
made Jennie feel strangely happy for the older girl.

The bright smile that Jisoo wore around their friends suited her a lot in Jennie's opinion and she
was glad Jisoo could openly be herself instead of acting wary and calculating somebody's next
move by hiding behind her weird acts to ward people off. Jisoo had loosened up considerably from
the time they met and when Jennie reflected on it, the transformation had gone both ways—Jisoo
was beginning to creep into places that Jennie had let precious few people see. She wasn't sure if
she was okay with this process, which seemed to be happening beyond her control.

She didn't try to stop this process though. It was like sunshine filled the space Jisoo occupied
whenever she smiled, radiating warmth. And Jennie was starting to miss that warmth whenever
that older girl wasn't around.

Is this normal friend behaviour? Jennie wondered. I don't feel this way for anyone else. Not Irene,
nor Dahyun, nor Somi or the others. Could it be...?

"Jendeuk, can I ask you something?" Jisoo said at length.

"Go ahead," Jennie nodded as she returned to her salad.

She had grown considerably more relaxed and open around Jisoo, quite a radical turnaround from
before when she adamantly shut her down in annoyance. But Jennie had to admit she was nursing a
soft spot for the other girl, who almost a month later was still hanging around the Vault.

This spoke volumes to Jennie—she knew she hadn't always treated Jisoo kindly (flashbacks from
their first few meetings often returned to prick her conscience) but despite all the harsh words,
Jisoo still came back. Jisoo's patience and kind, quirky personality coupled with her determination
to help Jennie had wormed its way into Jennie's heart, leaving an indelible mark.

Thinking back on the days before Jisoo started showing up at the Vault, Jennie always found it
remarkable how quickly the older girl had blended into their lives until Jennie couldn't quite
remember what it used to be like before they met.

"Why don't you laugh?" Jisoo asked.

Jennie's train of thought stuttered to a halt.

"It's not like you can't, or because things aren't funny enough," Jisoo went on, taking Jennie's pause
for hesitation, "because I saw you at times when you're on the verge of a good old belly laugh
but....you hold back. You giggle and chuckle and snort...but you don't laugh outright. And even
when you smile, it's not that big gummy smile you showed me once."

"Been watching me closely, huh?" Jennie said lightly.

"Well, it's not like I had much choice," Jisoo smiled, "my eyes tend to follow you, even when I
don't intend them to."

"Stalker much?"

"You're just pretty," Jisoo shrugged, "and I happen to have a major crush on you."

There was her Jisoo, always blunt and to the point. Wait what, her Jisoo?!

"Ah. It hasn't gone away at all then?" Jennie asked casually although internally she was
facepalming.

Jisoo shrugged again. "Don't change the subject Jendeuk. If you can't answer me today, it's okay.
I'll wait for when you're ready. I'm just...curious."

Jennie tilted her head. "And why does it matter whether I laugh or not?" she asked. "Perhaps it's
just a habit of mine."

"Well you see, I think it runs deeper. It's good to laugh and loosen up a bit Jendeuk. And I must
say, you have been doing a great job at the loosening up part, I'm happy you eased up on Lisa and
Pasta. And I'm happy you're—"

"I didn't know you were an undercover psychologist," Jennie grunted as she sat back in her seat
with arms folded.

But contrary to taking offence, Jisoo played along as usual. "Ah gosh darn it, my cover's been
blown!"

Jennie chuckled and then quietened down, worrying her lips as she thought. Jisoo waited patiently
for the outcome—she had said her piece, now it depended on whether Jennie was open to share or
not. She had wondered about that little detail of Jennie not laughing for the longest time and
thought that she might get an answer seeing as how Jennie was finally conversing with her easily.

"When Hwangssabu died, I felt guilty," Jennie said at last. Her voice was quiet, barely audible over
the general noise and clatter of people dining around them. Jisoo had to lean forward to hear better.
"I felt so guilty for the way things turned out..."

"What happened?" Jisoo said delicately. Jennie gave her a wan smile.

"Not today Chu. But let's say...I felt responsible for some circumstances surrounding his death.
You can say that it wasn't my fault or something to that effect all you like, but....you weren't there,
so you wouldn't really understand."

Jisoo didn't understand but she didn't say. Instead, she continued to wait.

"Hwangssabu was like a father to me and Lisa," Jennie went on. "He gave me a simple order that
night....but I failed to obey. And it caused a chain reaction, culminating in his death. for which I
blame myself and so...I don't feel like I'm allowed to be as carefree and naive as I was before. I'm
the adult now, I have to take care of things, I have to provide for Lisa and myself."

"What does it have to do with laughter?"

"It's my punishment," Jennie said softly. "That's what I told myself during that first year without
him around. I told myself, how could I laugh anymore when the reason we're struggling was,
however indirect, my fault? I felt I wasn't allowed to...to be carefree like that anymore. It nagged at
my conscience. Of course, the guilt decreased a little when rationality returned after the shock and
numbness faded...but even so, it's remained as my habit. Like a reflex. I conditioned myself to stop
from laughing..."

She was startled when Jisoo's warm hand covered hers on the table and looked up to see sombre
eyes gazing earnestly at her.

"That...that's terrible, Jen." Jisoo exhaled, squeezing Jennie's hand as though she was scared Jennie
would disappear in mid-air. "But I think it's time to move on from—"

Jennie snatched her hand back. The air between them suddenly turned arctic cold, with the
windows practically frosting over and making Jisoo falter at the sudden drop in temperature.

"This is why I don't like telling people," Jennie gritted, "they undermine what I feel, what I saw,
what I went through. You're too flippant and underestimate what I've been going through—"

"You're right, I know nothing," Jisoo cut her off firmly, surprising Jennie. "But Jennie, think.
Think objectively for once. Just think. Hwangssabu sounds like he was a caring guy. Would he be
okay seeing you beating yourself up, unable to let yourself go and laugh the way Lisa does? Don't
you think that he'd want you to allow yourself the chance to be happy, too?"

"I'm working on that!" Jennie snapped. "I'll be happy when Lisa gets through the Purge and
qualifies for the Grand Slam. That will be another hurdle to get through and win, but even if she
doesn't, getting through the Purge will give a handsome reward still."

"And that will make you laugh again?"

"What does it matter?" Jennie said bitterly. "I'll be cushy and won't have to worry about working so
hard for a little while. Happiness isn't something long term like in your precious animes and
cartoons, Jisoo. You work for it and it will only be guaranteed for a short time, if at all. Grow up."

Jisoo blinked, unfazed. "You didn't answer my question."

Thoroughly irritated, Jennie growled out: "No, it won't make me laugh. Happy?"

"No. Because you're still stuck in your destructive loop of not allowing yourself to be happy."

Jennie inhaled and exhaled. "Jisoo, you're really pushing it today—"

"You deserve to be happy," Jisoo said softly, "regardless of whether it was, or wasn't, your fault.
Why can't you accept that fact the same way you accept the blame? You punish yourself so much,
restrict and limit yourself many of life's simple pleasures, like laughing with friends and loved
ones." She shook her head. "It's a pity. You have a pretty smile too."

She eyed Jennie, her face devoid of all traces of humour. "Jennie, the real question here is, can you
forgive yourself?"

Jennie stared.

"I can't claim to know what you're feeling at all," Jisoo went on. The gentle look in her eyes gave
Jennie the shivers: warm but powerful tingles that ran the entire length and breadth of her body,
from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She had to look down at her hands, too afraid of
peering deeper and see how Jisoo was stubbornly trying to reach her heart.

"But, I do know that you have been through a lot and you deserve to be as happy as the next good
person, Jendeuk. I truly believe that," Jisoo said earnestly. She tentatively rested her hand on top of
Jennie's hand again. "You're a good person, even if you can't see that yourself."

"So you're gonna make it your life's mission to make me laugh, is that it?" Jennie scoffed, reluctant
to show that Jisoo's relentless efforts and persistence to help her overcome her personal demons
was actually kind of working and making her take in the bigger picture. Jisoo had been the only
person stubborn enough to not give up when it came to Jennie.

Jisoo winked. "You got it. That's where Jisoo Yoga comes in. No flying drapes, no complicated
poses involved. Once we get down to covering that, maybe I might help convince you."

"Uh huh," Jennie said dubiously, "you said you'll show me after the Purge because I'll be in a
calmer state of mind."

"Yep. I don't want to take away your focus t such a crucial time but really, we can start small. We
can start any day, with baby steps."

Jennie considered. "I might have asked to be shown now but...we better get back to the Vault, I'm
done eating. Goodness knows what those two will be up to."

Jisoo's eyes lit up. "Maybe they finally confessed their undying love for each other!"

"Yeah no, this isn't Cartoon Land, Chu," Jennie dismissed, "and besides, isn't a little too early to be
claiming they love each other?"

"I fell in love at first sight!" Jisoo declared. "It's possible!"

"Mhm. And I suppose you are referring to me, huh?" Jennie snorted.

"Hate to break it to you, but I actually fell in love with chicken wings the first time I saw them,"
Jisoo winked.

"Well, that's believable enough," Jennie chuckled as she pushed her chair back to stand up, unable
to explain the small pinch in her heart at Jisoo's words.

>

Back at the Vault with Rosé and Lisa, they decided to play some more rounds of Twenty Game
questions before Jisoo and Rosé left since it would be time for Ella to go home for school.

Ella had lately taken to stay for an extra hour practising with Mr Lee and the other kids for the
end-of year recital and although Rosé was anxious for her (especially with her suspicion of Yang
having an informant at her school) there was precious little she could do except hope that Yang
would have the sense to not touch a hair on her daughter's head. Although he must have powerful
friends in the police force, Rosé was tired of being scared and had given him a piece of her mind at
their last meeting, even though she was about to puke her guts out.

"I want your word that Ella won't come to harm. Call off whoever is snooping around at Ella's
school...at least just for this one month. I want peace of mind for once in this wretched life."

"Oh? Is that a threat?" Yang rumbled.

She shook her head no. "Just...I need a break. I can't keep worrying about Ella when she's
spending more time at school while I'm doing my utmost to carry out your orders."

She used the memory of Lisa to borrow some much needed strength and stop herself from bolting.
Yang's face was expressionless as he took in her request.

"Hmm...will giving you this so-called break help you co-operate to bring me information?"

"Yes," Rosé whispered.

Yang nodded. "So be it. You have my word—nobody will touch a hair on your daughter's head, not
at school and not while she's on her walk home."

"If you break your word and hurt her," Rosé said stiffly, summoning her last ounces of courage, "I
will bring you all down with me." Her threat sounded laughable to her ears, a child's playground-
level taunt but she had said it, she had not held back.

Yang's mouth lifted at the corners. "Being jailmates together doesn't sound so bad at all."

His cruel laughter echoed in her head long after she had left.

And now it was almost time to face Yang again and if she didn't satisfy his orders, she dreaded the
repercussions he promised to dole out in return.

"Favourite poison?" Lisa asked. "And no Jennie, don't say energy drinks or mocktails. I'm talking
actual alcohol."
"Makgeolli," Jennie and Rosé answered together then turned to look at each other in amazement.
"You too?" they chorused.

"Fancy that!" Lisa crowed. "Are you some secret party animal like Nini, Rosie?"

"I am not a party animal," Jennie stated, "I like to drink makgeolli while I watch you and Jichu
cavort around being silly at Matt's."

"Well umm I like red wine," Rosé said shyly, "but makgeolli is my favourite. I used to drink it
when I sneaked into parties as a teen, although that's illegal."

"Ayyyy naughty naughty!" Lisa waggled her finger.

Rosé chuckled. "I always went a bit wild on the stuff, I admit, and it led to...unfortunate events."

Like getting pregnant.

And then getting thrown out out of the house.

And then having to hole up with her then-boyfriend.

And then hearing of Youngbae's death.

And then finding out Youngbae's debt...

She didn't mean to dampen the atmosphere with her sudden drop in mood but Lisa quickly came to
the rescue: she threw an arm around Rosé's shoulder and gave her a light squeeze.

"Well don't worry, at Somi's party nothing's bad gonna happen cos' we'll all be there, just a girls'
night out and you can let loose all you like!" Lisa chirped, sensing Rosé's brooding at the mention
of her past. "For me, my choice pick of poison is soju. What about you Jisoo?"

When attention shifted away from them, Rosé looked up at Lisa to find the boxer watching closely.
She could see her reflection in Lisa's concerned eyes.

"I'm good. Thank you," Rosé mouthed. Lisa nodded in understanding as she took away her arm and
Rosé found herself immediately missing the comforting weight.

"Rosé you're up!" Jisoo called. "Hit us with your worst!"

"Okay, uhmm," Rosé clicked her tongue, thinking of a suitable question. "Hmm...this is getting
harder, we've been playing for so long now...uh..."

"You can always ask something sex-related. I don't mind and Nallalisa seems to have a knack for
those questions," Jisoo said helpfully, "she seems to be quite the expert. I'm surprised she hasn't
asked anything of the sort yet."

"Unnie!" Lisa flushed a dull red, stammering and avoiding Rosé's eyes. "S-Shut up!"

"Why? You were in your element this morning," Jisoo said with a mischievous grin. "Jendeukie
was there, right Jen?"

"I'm here every day with that goof and it's honestly a nightmare when those other three girls show
up," Jennie recalled as she sipped her energy drink. "It's enough to turn you off, Rosé, I'm telling
you."
"It doesn't turn me off," Jisoo frowned. "Is that bad?"

"No Chu no," Jennie sighed, "that's just you being you."

"Oh..." Rosé was uncertain how to respond, inwardly cooing at how red Lisa had turned in the
blink of an eye, her cocky facade melting away until only a mortified kid being embarrassed in
front of her friends remained.

"Can we just keep this moving?" Lisa said gruffly, avoiding Rosé's gaze.

Rosé smiled and complied. "Okay I think I got one: which is your favourite piece of clothes to
wear?"

And as a relieved Lisa enthusiastically launched into explaining just why her Unicorns are
Real shirt was her favourite (followed by her leather jacket), Rosé had time to sit and admire the
blonde and her strikingly alluring side-profile as she struggled to organise her jumbled thoughts.
There was so much think about but she had no idea where to start.

The deadline? Her relationship (or lack thereof) with Lisa? Her many dilemmas she was hiding?
The lies? Yang's threats? Ella's safety?

"Aight, that's me done. Jennie go."

"Hmm... would you guys say you're a cat person or dog person? Or perhaps both?"

"Cats, definitely cats." Lisa said immediately before the others. She shivered. "Dogs are scary."

"Dalgomie is a cute puppy though, Jennie saw him," Jisoo pouted. "He isn't scary at all, I'll let you
meet him one day."

"He is indeed harmless, but Lisa had a bad experience with dogs once," Jennie explained.

"Oh?" Rosé looked interested and glanced Lisa. "What happened?"

Lisa clicked her wrist. "Well....it was a friend and me. Bambam. He was this little squirt. Shorter
than me. Uh...uhm...one day we were walking and these pack of rabid, starving dogs attacked us
out nowhere..." she broke off with a shudder. "It was scary."

"Did they hurt you?" Rosé asked in concern. When Lisa kept clicking her wrist, she held out her
hand to stop her. "Hey, it's okay," she said softly. "You don't have to say."

Lisa flashed her a quick crooked smile. "It's just...not very pleasant to remember." She took a deep
breath. "Well, they were these big, black dogs with pointy teeth. Two of them gored Bam pretty
badly, like ripped into him. Blood everywhere. He was screaming and screaming...but I managed
to fight them off for the both of us and....they all ran away."

"What a hero," Rosé said warmly. Strangely, Lisa didn't puff up her chest proudly and flash a smug
grin as she had a tendency to do when Rosé paid her a compliment. Instead, she shrugged.

"Yeah guess I was," was all she said in a hollow voice. "But yeah so, cats for me. They don't grow
any larger than you so definitely no danger."

"There's tigers though," Jisoo pointed out thoughtfully, still batting for the dog agenda. "Big cats.
They could be more dangerous and wicked than dogs."

"But tigers won't just attack humans unless provoked or very hungry," Rosé frowned. Next to her,
Lisa shifted uncomfortably and glanced at Jennie.

Jennie understood her sister's silent plea and cleared her throat. "Uhh, Chu—"

"That's what you think, Pasta," Jisoo argued, ignoring Jennie's call. "Why, I read about this man-
eating tiger who was an absolute savage, a blood-thirsty killer. Known as the Champawat Tiger I
think. Champawat is a place in India, because that's where most of its kills were registered, but the
tiger originally started out in Bengal before it was driven out by the people hunting it in that area."

"Well, how many did it kill overall?" Rosé wondered, unaware of Lisa and Jennie's nervous
fidgeting. "Like, ten? Twenty?"

Jisoo barked out a laugh. "Four hundred and thirty six, give or take. Some say it was four hundred
and thirty nine, in the span of five years maybe? It was a vicious killer."

Rosé stared in horror. "What? But that's...that..."

Jennie gave an uneasy chuckle. "That's quite the number huh?" she remarked weakly.

"You heard me," Jisoo said. "They found that the tiger had some old injuries from gunshots in
some of its canine teeth, which might have been responsible for the change in feeding pattern—
going after humans instead of its usual prey. Because humans are weaker and easier. But yeah, that
thing was a brutal monster. It killed in broad daylight, so nobody was safe. It would lie in wait and
at the right time, it would ambush you. That's how smart it was. Not even decoys or traps worked
on it.

Even men refused to go working in the jungle when they heard its roars," Jisoo went on, seeming
to relish the fear in Rosé's eyes. "Anyway my point is, big cats can be just as vicious, if not more
vicious, than dogs. It's not in a dog's nature to be hostile towards humans. But tigers, they're wild
and feral and blood-thirsty. They kill. They are programmed to kill. The perfect killing machine,
virtually unstoppable. It took 300 people to eventually corner this beast I'm talking about. Usually,
it went after women and children—"

"Well I think it's my turn to ask a question now," Jennie interrupted loudly. "Let's keep this going
shall we? Or else we'll be stuck for longer."

She turned to Jisoo with a smirk. "And have I got the question for you..."

Immediately distracted, Jisoo focused all her attention on Jennie, eyes gleaming. "Make it count
Jendeuk."

"You okay?" Rosé whispered to Lisa as Jennie and Jisoo discussed Jennie's query (Which is your
least favourite plushy?)

"Hmm? Yeah...yeah... why wouldn't I be?" Lisa asked.

"I'm sorry about asking about the dogs and your friend," Rosé said apologetically. "It must still be
quite painful to talk about. Did you keep in touch after you left Thailand? This was back in
Thailand right? Or am I wrong to assume..." she trailed off, noticing Lisa's distress growing worse.
In the month she had spent growing ever closer to the boxer, she had learned to pick up on the
subtle hints of what agitated Lisa. She stuck out her hand to soothe the boxer.

"Lisa, it's okay. It's okay. You don't have to say anything. Forget I mentioned it at all, I'm sorry,"
she said gently. "It's okay..."
Lisa shook her head with a weak smile. "I...I hate that I'm like this. It happened years ago, I
shouldn't be scared of...of stupid dogs."

"Oh Lisa," Rosé said comfortingly. She almost cupped Lisa's cheek but the memory of the near-
kiss earlier made her hesitate. Instead, she opted to pat Lisa's hand. "Lis, you can't control how you
react to such traumas. Yes, you can work on minimising the effect it has on you but ultimately....it's
okay. It's nothing to be ashamed of. We're all human after all, you know? We all have our fears and
traumas and backgrounds that affect us. We can only learn how to live with them without letting
them paralyse us."

Lisa's lips pursed into a thin line. "But I want to be strong and fearless."

"Fearless doesn't mean you don't have any fears."

"Uh, yes it is! That's basically describing the meaning of the word itself!"

"Fearless is about controlling the fear," Rosé said patiently. "And not let it control you and take
over. Not letting it trap you so you stay stuck in place."

Lisa stared at her sceptically, still not quite taking in what Rosé was saying.

Deciding to demonstrate, Rosé picked Lisa's hand and curled the fingers into a fist using her free
hand, being careful not to brush over the healing knuckles and blisters from Lisa's latest match.

She loved the size difference, it made her inwardly squeal. Although they were roughly close in
height, with Rosé actually being a shade taller, this aspect did not translate in their hands.

Lisa had beautifully long, slim and rough fingers that could have made a pianist green with envy.
Her palm was large enough to engulf Rosé's smaller dainty fingers within her callused hand.

Rosé had gotten a taste of what it felt like to be holding hands with Lisa but it had been in the
context of friends comforting each other. Now, Rosé wondered what it would be like if she were to
hold hands with Lisa in the context of something more than just friends.

"I used to get anxiety when I thought I saw people clench their fists in public or raise their voices,
but I got quite good at hiding it. That's not the same as managing it healthily though," Rosé said. "I
would be on the bus, or some other public space, and I'd be hyper-aware of every person. Paranoia.
I wouldn't be able to concentrate properly.

It took me ages to do simple grocery shopping because I would be concentrating on breathing so

hard and at the same time walking slowly so that I don't get into accidents. In my head, I thought
people were going to attack me. Even if it was a simple gesticulation or swinging of the arms, I'd
flinch badly. I thought they were angry with me."

She sighed. "Of course, it was all in my head. Conditioned by trauma, see? To try and minimise it,
I kept my head low and avoided looking at people, pretending I was on my phone. I got really good
at it. If someone in a shop stopped me or called to me, of course I would greet back. But otherwise,
it was eyes down, walk slow, breathe deeply...."

"Was it because of your dad? Or your ex?" Lisa whispered. Her fist unfurled of her own accord and
she weaved their fingers together, creating a reassuring mesh of warmth that brought a shy smile to
Rosé's face. Her heart throbbed in her fingers and she wondered if Lisa could feel the bounding
pulse beneath her touch.

"Both. Both of them left their mark on me." Rosé smile was wry. "You know, you'd think living
with my dad, I would have known to steer clear of dangerous bad boys with violent tendencies
but...I think there's some grain of truth when people say a girl will seek out someone with her
father's qualities..." she shook her head ruefully. "God I was stupid..."

"Rosie, you were just a kid," Lisa protested. "You had no idea what...what real love looks like. So
you just...jumped on the first ship that came along and...bad stuff happened. It could have been me.
It could have been Jennie—I know her first and only boyfriend wasn't exactly Prince Charming. He
hit her, but she hit back too so I wasn't too concerned. She can manage herself and she promised
she would ask me if she needed back-up. They had that kind of punching bag relationship."

"That's not healthy," Rosé said worriedly.

"Oh yeah for sure. Jennie broke up with him anyway. It wasn't exactly love they had, more like
one-night stands and teenage foolery. Hwangssabu didn't even know, it was something between us.
Ya know, sister things," Lisa chuckled. "I don't even know his name and she won't ever tell me."

"Well I'm glad she's okay and nothing bad happened," Rosé said solemnly, "speaking from
experience..."

She started when Lisa squeezed her hand— ironically enough, she had quite forgotten they were
still holding hands. Rosé didn't let go and Lisa didn't seem to be in a hurry to let go either.

"Rosie, did I tell you how amazing you are?"

"You might have mentioned it one or two times," Rosé giggled.

"Well, you're amazing. You fought through ti all and figured stuff out all by yourself and you had
an amazing kid and did a hell of a good job raising her. Ella is someone to be proud of.
Heck, you're someone to be proud of!"

The familiar blush crawled up her cheeks as Rosé broke away from the spell Lisa had her under.
"No, you praise me too much," she murmured, "I did what I could but...it's not enough."

"It is! You did splendidly!" Lisa insisted. "Anyone in your position would have...I don't know,
neglected Ella and turned to drinking, or drugs or...I dunno, maybe even crime. But you managed
all on your own!"

Rosé couldn't even begin to describe the guilt that threatened to choke her, rising up her throat
bitter as bile and almost making her cry. Lisa admired her so much, placing her on a golden
pedestal as a paragon of virtue when in reality her life was all lies, lies and more lies.

I'm not what you think I am. I don't deserve you.

"Do you know what changed from me flinching in the presence of other people to learning how to
hit a punching bag with you?" she said, quickly switching the topic.

"What changed?" Lisa asked quietly.

"Well, it was mostly the association." Rosé held up her free hand, clenched into a fist. "Before, a
fist meant pain, anger, violence. But now, it's more than that. The new association helps override
my initial anxiety. I'm not saying I'm completely cured of course but... remember how scared of the
punching bag I was in the beginning? I was scared of the bad memories. But being around you and
Jennie helped me, unconsciously. Because punching became something more objective again. It
wasn't always about me and my experiences. It was something arbitrary, depending on the
situation."
"What's 'arbitrary' mean?"

"Randomness."

Lisa smiled hugely. "So...so you're saying you like boxing now? Because of me?"

Rosé laughed. "That's all you took away from my whole explanation? I still don't approve of all the
violence it involves you dork, but I can appreciate there's times when it involves more than
senseless bashing."

"Good. And for the record, I heard you." Lisa looked down at their hands still intertwined together.
"You're a strong person Rosie. I want to be like you more. That's why, I want to tell you more stuff
even if it's not pleasant."

"Please don't push yourself. Just because you want to, doesn't mean you're always ready to share,"
Rosé said softly. "And that's more than okay."

Lisa squeezed her hand. "You're always so caring."

"What are friends for?" Rosé laughed, ignoring the inevitable sting of her heart. That's right, keep
friend-zoning her, you moron.

It might have been her imagination but she could have sworn she saw Lisa wince too.

The moment passed however as Lisa took a deep breath. "Well, you were right to assume this was
back in Thailand, about me and Bam I mean. We were still kids ya know? Probably younger than
Ella. And well...Bam was hurt pretty badly. I...I don't know what became of him because we lost
touch soon after, unfortunately." She clicked her wrist. "I miss him sometimes ya know? He was
like a little brother to me. Sometimes I wake up and think he's next to me but of course, he isn't."

"Ever thought of trying to search him?"

Lisa shrugged. "Bambam wasn't even his real name, it was a nickname. Even he couldn't
remember his real name...or who his parents were. I just knew him on the street. So...yeah..."

"Are you two lovebirds quite done yet?" Jisoo called, startling them.

Rosé blinked and leaned away from Lisa. "Huh?"

"I've been calling you for five minutes," Jisoo laughed and Jennie next to her smirked, saluting
them with her energy drink. Jisoo tapped her phone to indicate the time. "Shouldn't we head back?
Ella is going to finish school soon."

"Right....right..."

Lisa giggled and gently disentangled her fingers from Rosé's. "I had fun today, thanks for dropping
by and thanks for the comic and food, it was delicious!"

"Even the titillating salad?"

"Huh?" Jisoo and Jennie stared.

"Never you mind!" Lisa yelped before rounding on a giggling Rosé. "No, everything was
great except the salad," she said through gritted teeth, flashing her a warning expression as Rosé
snickered.
"Hmm...guess I got to try harder to persuade you then, huh?" Rosé said with a dramatic sigh. Relief
washed over Lisa's face at the same time as Jisoo and Jennie watched on, at a loss.

"What are you guys talking about?" Jisoo said curiously.

"I won't even try to understand," Jennie sighed. She nodded at Jisoo. "See you two tomorrow or
whenever you feel like coming around." Her eyes softened. "And thank you, Chu."

Jisoo didn't say anything but her smile was reserved only for Jennie.

It was Lisa's turn to be curious. "What are you guys talking all tender about?"

She ducked when Jennie's crumpled energy drink can went sailing over her head. "Oi! Watch it!"
she yelped indignantly.

"Oops my hand slipped," Jennie deadpanned.

Rosé was laughing as she and Jisoo waved for the final time and headed for the door.

"Wait! Rosie, you'll come see me before my match right?" Lisa called hopefully.

Rosé smiled tightly. "Of course," she said even as a dead weight settled in her gut.
 Ringmaster

Irene tapped the steering wheel, mouth pursed into a thin line.

Nerves.

It didn't help that the onset of summer was already making its presence known, with the muggy
afternoon air serving to irritate her further as she waited.

Yet, Irene swallowed down her annoyance the moment she detected movement at the entrance to
the gym Sulgi attended with that woman.

Irene's initial dislike of Seulgi's girlfriend hadn't gone away—if anything, the animosity she nursed
for Seungwan increased day by day, accompanied by a curious hollow feeling in her heart as her
stomach twisted into knots when they did their little kissing show.

Irene had no doubt that Seungwan staged the slobber stunt for one person and one person only:
Irene herself. The older woman would be left to clench her jaw as poison threatened to spill from
her mouth until Seungwan let Seulgi go.

Irene was 200% sure that the little smirk Seulgi's girlfriend threw in the direction of Irene's car
(where Irene was sitting inside behind tinted glasses) was meant as a warning: Mine.

And each time, Irene would scoff and huff. As though she would even make any move on Seulgi!
She didn't like the clumsy, adorable bumbling teacher like that.

Yes alright, Irene had to admit Seulgi was cute when her nose turned red after drinking a little too
much wine.

And yes, sure, Seulgi's little giggles made her day.

Fine, yes: having Seulgi over for dinner had become the highlight of Irene's day and hearing Seulgi
call her 'Joohyun' in that mellifluous voice made the goosebumps erupt all over her body.

And so what, Seulgi looked so much like she belonged in Irene's little kitchen, giggling and
laughing together over mugs of hot chocolate as they gossiped and swapped stories about
themselves as though they had known each other for years.

And yeah, she would admit to having fantasies about backing Seulgi against the nearest door and
kissing her silly but so? That was probably her hormones or the wine talking. As far as she was
concerned she was straight as a ruler. Right?

But although Irene had gotten used to Seungwan's show with Seulgi (well sort of—there was still
that traitorous clench of her heart to contend with each time) what had her more disconcerted was
Seulgi's gradual and insidious transformation.

Irene was on tenterhooks, waiting at the edge of her seat once she saw the both of them exiting the
gym and commence their saliva swap.

What was it gonna be today? Irene thought dully. A quick dismissive wave? Snapping like a
crocodile? The cold shoulder? The moody sullen teenager? Or is she going to ride with Seungwan
today?
She watched the two women part, tasting something bitter in her mouth as Seungwan lifted up on
her toes to whisper something in Seulgi's ear. Seulgi had her back turned so Irene couldn't see her
expression, but she did see the smug look on Seungwan's face as she trailed a finger down Seulgi's
face. The image made Irene clench her fingers into claws.

Then Seungwan headed to her own car and Seulgi turned away, head down as she strolled towards
Irene.

>

Lately—Irene couldn't quite tell when it started—Seulgi's mood turned volatile.

It was quite a difference from the ever shy and smiling Seulgi Irene had gotten to know but she
bore with it because at first, it hadn't been such a big deal. Everyone had a bad day once in a while.

But that was before Irene noticed the pattern—the mood swings would strike once Seulgi entered
her car when Irene picked her up after her gym session. And Seulgi seemed to have gotten
comfortable enough to snap and growl in irritation when Irene so much as greeted her.

It was quite rude of course but Irene let it pass, bearing with her scowling and cranky friend.

She was quite curious about this transformation and tried inquiring about it as well.

"It's none of your business!" Seulgi snapped. On some days she didn't take the ride back with Irene,
hitching a ride with Seungwan to her place instead. On other days she would sit mutely in the seat,
her eyes narrowed as she worked her jaw. She would ignore Irene and then get out of the car upon
arrival without another word. The atmosphere was tense and suffocating.

But later on in the evening, Seulgi tended to phone her up and apologise profusely, almost on the
verge of tears.

"Joohyun I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm just not in my right mind now, I'm so slammed and busy...."

Hearing the distress in Seulgi's voice always made Irene soften.

"Want to come over for dinner?" Irene would ask.

Seulgi sometimes said yes, sometimes she said no.

Sometimes she invited Irene to her place.

Other times Irene spied Seulgi sneaking out of her home late at night and leaving in her own car.

This was another thing that confused Irene—Seulgi had her car fixed a long time ago but she still
took up Irene's offer to be driven to school or back from the gym (Seungwan would take Seulgi to
the gym herself after the teacher finished work.)

So essentially, it looked like Seulgi was freeloading off Irene's kindness. The thought stung but
Irene brushed it aside, reasoning that the teacher had given in to Irene's insistence to drive her to
and fro. It hadn't been a problem to Irene before, so why should it be now?

Where Seulgi went at such a late hour Irene could only assume, but her bets were staked on
Seungwan. It wouldn't be the first time Irene's sharp eyes glimpsed discreet red marks decorating
Seulgi's neck in the morning, along with strange bruises and welts on her arms and even her face
that Seulgi easily dismissed, claiming clumsiness as the culprit. She tried hiding them under layers
of foundation and she took to wearing long sweaters and cardigans, even as the weather grew
warmer.

But Irene bore with it all because she wanted to give Seulgi a chance to explain just why she was
acting so strangely.

And her prime suspicion was fixed squarely on Son Seungwan.

Something about that woman (aside from slobbering over Seulgi) didn't sit quite well with Irene—
call it a sixth sense that had her gut writhing as though it were a snake-infested pit. Irene knew she
meant trouble the moment she first saw the shorter blonde devouring Seulgi's face and now
Seungwan was responsible for their deteriorating friendship too.

Irene had even meant to ask Seulgi to accompany her to Somi's party but with the way things were
looking, she thought it would be wiser not to bring up that suggestion at all.

Speaking about the issue with Seulgi herself or maybe Jennie would amount to nothing—Jennie
would most likely be too busy anyway.

But she would probably shake her head and confirm Irene's fears: that Seulgi was showing her true
colours now that she didn't really have a need for Irene anymore.

If on the other hand she tried to talk with Seulgi, Irene was sure she'll get her head bitten off or be
rudely dismissed, as had indeed happened that one time Irene summoned enough courage to ask.

"I'll be your friend Hyun. You always got a friend in me," Seulgi had said so brightly one time and
perhaps foolishly, Irene had hung on to that promise a little too tightly.

Irene waited and watched, debating on calling out Seulgi on the way she was treating her as a
friend. Had she forgotten her promise so easily? Because Irene hadn't, and she remembered it each
time she gave in and let Seulgi waltz into her kitchen on the excuse of checking her progress in
cooking.

It baffled Irene how Seulgi would laugh and talk over hot chocolate one day and then be cold and
distant the next time they met and then phone up that same evening and apologise and invite to
dinner to make up.

Something wasn't adding up.

But Irene was going to wait. Seulgi was not the type to hurt her friends like this, Irene just knew.
She had seen her fair share of fake friends and although Seulgi now seemed to be showing her true
colours, Irene was going to go by her gut feelings for now: Seungwan wasn't to be trusted and
Seulgi could possibly be a victim.

Seulgi needed all the support and patience Irene could muster until she got through to her troubled
friend.

>

"Feeling up for dinner at my place?" Irene said lightly when Seulgi settled in her seat. She watched
the other woman closely, concern rising when she saw the slight tremor in Seulgi's hands.
"Ddeulgi?" she tried again.

Seulgi opened her mouth then shook her head, holding herself back. "Hyun I...I..." Her voice was
on the verge of breaking making Irene sit straighter, alert. Seulgi looked up at Irene with a
conflicted expression, her bottom lip trembling as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Hey, hey..." Irene reached out to take Seulgi's hand, heart clenching in pain. "I'm here, I'm here
for you...talk to me..."

Seulgi wavered, torn. She looked like she would almost collapse into Irene's arms but at the last
second, she snatched her arm away.

"Just drive!" She snapped. "Let's go back already!"

Irene gritted her teeth, her patience running thin. "Is that any way to talk now, Seulgi? I thought we
were friends."

"We-we are!"

"Sometimes I doubt that," Irene said quietly and turned to grip the wheel and put the car in gear, "if
your attitude towards me is any indication, I seem to have outlived my usefulness."

She didn't know if Seulgi heard her at all.

Seulgi didn't utter another word all the way home. Irene turned on the car radio as usual to blanket
the silence that overtook them. But even over the bright tunes playing, she was still observant of
Seulgi, casting quick glances in her direction every now then. The young teacher was quiet, save
for the occasional sniff.

What is going on with you, Ddeulgi? Irene thought sadly.

>

Dahyun tapped her pencil, gazing at the blank Word Document in front of her. The blinking cursor
taunted her—she had three days to write, cross-check and edit her assignment before submitting it
and so far, she was having the worst luck to gather her thoughts and organise the jumbled mess
between her ears.

In the end she sighed and sat up, stretching like a cat before grabbing her phone to check on
notifications. She frowned to see her earlier text checking up on Jackson had still not even been
opened.

Was he that busy? It wouldn't be the first time that he left her on read because he was so
preoccupied with his experiments.

She looked up, only now noticing how late it was—twilight was settling in, the streetlights lighting
up as the sky darkened from purple to indigo.

On the spur of the moment Dahyun phoned Jackson. He picked up after five rings.

"Hey, you still at the labs?" she asked, wandering to the window to look outside. "It's late you
know, getting dark."

"I don't have anything tomorrow, don't worry," Jackson replied followed by a long yawn. "Sorry,
didn't see your message, got a bit busy....wow, it's nearly eight."

"Have you eaten anything at all?" Dahyun sighed. "They really should revoke that policy of
keeping the labs open 24/7 for Einsteins like you. What if you set the whole place on fire because
you're tired and mess up?"
She was relieved to hear a tired chuckle from his end. "There's the fire extinguisher right next to
me Dahyun, and there are night watchmen and security guards. I made friends with some of them
too, they check up on me when I do all-nighters."

She had heard it all before but it didn't ease her mind. On the contrary, hearing about Jackson
pulling consecutive all-nighters had her curiosity piqued like never before: what could he be
possibly working on that warranted so much time and commitment? Inventing some kind of atomic
bomb? Working on a cancer cure?

"Have you eaten?" she asked again.

"Yeah sure...I think? I ate Doritos...I think?"

Dahyun sighed as she grabbed her purse. "I'm getting you a burger. Wait for me."

The chuckle that arrived down the line made her smile. "Man, now you got me drooling! You
really don't have to—"

"I insist," Dahyun said firmly, "you probably will head back at goodness knows what time and I
don't want to stay up wondering if you're going to faint on the doorstep. Somi said Daehwi says
you even left a sandwich go mouldy in the fridge!"

"Oh it's just...I'm not really there anymore..."

"I know I know..." Dahyun interjected gently. She didn't want him to feel more burdened. "I'll be
there in like twenty minute tops, okay?"

"You're the best Dubu," Jackson cheered, making her smile grow wider still. "Alright, you know
your way in. See you."

>

Minutes later she was on her way to University in the back of a cab, the warm paper bag in her lap
filling the interior with the heady smell of greasy junk food heaven. She lowered the window out of
respect for the driver, especially when she heard his stomach grumble.

Dahyun sat back in her seat, letting the cool night air waft in as her thoughts turned to the boy
slaving away (there really was no other word for it) at the University lab.

She knew that lately Jackson seemed to be having trouble with his experiments and had seemingly
even fallen afoul of his cousin and uncle or so he blurted out once when Dahyun visited him in the
labs. She tended to sneak in either early in the morning or after an exam—more often than not there
would Jackson be, hunched over his test-tubes and other apparatus that he definitely explained to
Dahyun at some point before but she forgot all the technical jargon.

"Jinyoung is pissed at me," he mumbled. Dahyun wordlessly passed him the thermos of coffee
Daehwi had given her via Somi. He gulped down some of the brew and shook his head, kneading
his temples as he gazed mournfully at the conical flask in front of him that contained a sickly
yellow liquid. Frustrating for Dahyun, he never labelled his array of solvents and chemicals so she
could not even glean a clue about the contents.

"I just can't figure it out..." Jackson murmured absently as he touched the flask. His eyes were
drooping despite the shot of caffeine he had just ingested. "I need something else to make it work,
something is missing, a crucial ingredient...."
"Maybe it would be wise to step back a bit, get a change of scene? It would help give you fresh
insight," Dahyun said delicately.

She had been pacing around in the act of cleaning up non-existent spillages but in reality, her sharp
eyes were on the lookout for any stray pieces of paper from his notebooks that he was forever
scribbling in and never let out of his sight. She had noticed him writing and writing in them,
puzzling and frowning and muttering. Getting her hands on him and studying them would surely
shed light on the many mysteries surrounding Jackson.

When Jackson didn't reply, Dahyun noticed he had drifted to sleep with his head resting on his
arms on the bench. Sighing, she fished into her bag and brought out a blanket, draping it over his
shoulders.

She glanced around at the benches overflowing with test-tube racks and Bunsen burners and
vessels and glassware full of colourful liquids before turning back to the sleeping boy. He looked
distinctly shabby and unwashed, sporting a five o'clock shadow. The bags under his eyes were
more pronounced as well. Despite his exhaustion, he never failed to flash her his boyish smile,
which admittedly had lost some of its brilliance ever since he plunged himself whole-heartedly into
whatever project he was working on.

She made sure the area was well-ventilated, there was no Bunsen burners alight or any chemical
vessel which was left unsealed. And after glancing at the small mound of take-out cartons stuffed
in the bin, she left to head home—there was no use of lingering around anymore in hopes of either
getting some crumbs that would help for her investigations or else persuade Jackson in the spirit of
concern to go home and rest like any other sane person would do.

He wouldn't be persuaded to leave, even for a walk. The only times he left campus was to head
back to his dorm for a quick shower and change of clothes. Sometimes he'd pack it in for the time
being and sleep in his own bed, sending Dahyun a quick goodnight selfie which had her smiling
with relief.

He was working and pushing himself too hard and although she didn't doubt in his time-
management abilities, it did make her wonder how he was coping with his academic lifestyle.

Dahyun often found herself distracted from her studies with all the different issues in her life
clamouring for their due attention. Jackson's mysterious experiments, her frustration with dead-end
leads, her closure with Momo, her studies, her lingering curiosity about Jennie and Lisa's
background which had not subsided at all although it had taken a backseat...

Taking prominence currently was her concern for Jackson's health—the consecutive all-nighters
were already taking their toll and yes, she had to admit she was worried for him. He was always
cheerful and welcoming whenever she asked to keep him company in the lab, appreciative of her
offers to buy food and he always found a way to pay her back. She would find money in some
corner of her bag, magically appearing like a white rabbit from a magician's hat. It always pulled a
fond smile from her.

"Miss? We're here," the cab driver called, shaking Dahyun from her reverie.

She paid the fare and stepped out, starting on her walk through campus with minutes to spare. The
idea of seeing him again filled her with a familiar feeling that she hadn't felt since the first few
months of dating Momo—the sensation of something fragile blossoming and brewing in her chest,
making her heart swell.

She wasn't naive, or at least she wasn't oblivious to the butterflies that swarmed in her stomach
whenever she heard his voice, read his text or giggled over a sleepy selfie he sent right before he
conked out. She was extra aware of his presence when he dusted her shoulder or absently patted her
head or brushed crumbs from her clothes, or arranged the collar of her shirt.

And she wasn't too sure how to deal with this unexpected development.

Feelings were messy—after Momo, she knew better than to let her guard down around the first
person that showed interest in her. She insisted with Chaeyoung that whatever she felt for Jackson
was purely platonic.

The only reason she hung around him so often, as she told herself, was in hopes of being able to
progress further with her investigations and certainly not because she enjoyed his company,
although she did enjoy that as well, very much so. She let Chaeyoung speculate because it helped
with keeping her cover.

But Dahyun would be lying if she claimed her goals weren't slowly being over-turned. She would
be lying if she insisted she didn't enjoy being with Jackson who had been one of the most
supportive and encouraging person she had known. While Somi was busy with her dance crew or
meeting Daehwi, and Chaeyoung was busy dating Mina, Jackson was there for Dahyun with his
chirpy personality and uplifting aura.

Briefly, she reminisced on their times together. Aside from that fateful phone call that soured her
perception of him and proved Momo wasn't lying for once, Dahyun still considered him to be a
caring and genuine friend.

Or was that all just his cover?

But, maybe if she told him what she knew, it wouldn't be too late for him? Maybe she could help
open his eyes to the atrocities being committed right under their noses—

No. Jackson was no child, and he was no misunderstood scientist either. He knew perfectly well
what he was doing and he did it readily, to whatever end that served.

Dahyun even had a wild theory that Jackson was posted at the school specifically to be able to
conduct experiments under-the-radar with no ethical regulations whatsoever stopping him. He
would be operating secretly, perhaps sourcing the more uncommon ingredients he needed directly
from his uncle or even Jinyoung, and bypassing all protocols that would normally hold a
pharmacist's integrity to the highest degree to ensure no illegalities were carried out.

The theory seemed outlandish, but given she knew so little about the nature of Jackson's work (he
did sometimes explain superficially about some processes, or even show her neat tricks like
chemicals changing colours), she had to consider every possibility before ruling it out once
evidence to the contrary surfaced.

Her heart though still wanted to believe that maybe, Jackson could be somehow redeemed.

Focus, Dahyun scolded herself.

She couldn't afford to derail her investigations because of something fickle as feelings.

>

She heard him barking into his phone from outside the door and hesitated, deliberating whether to
intrude when he probably needed his privacy to deal with some stressful call.
But her insatiable curiosity, as always, won over prudence.

Throwing caution to the wind, Dahyun quietly scrunched up the paper bag to ensure the smell
won't leak out and left it some few feet away before returning to the door—she wasn't taking
chances. Jackson might be sleep-deprived but he could still be alert enough to smell McDonald's.

She carefully eased the door knob down, thankful that the door was relatively new and well-
maintained—it opened silently without a creak. She peered through the crack, immediately zeroing
in on a pacing Jackson.

Contrary to how she saw him usually in the lab, he was gesticulating animatedly with forceful
movements as he spoke to the person on the line. He was also talking loud enough for Dahyun to
catch what he was saying.

"You don't understand! I can't give you anything right now!" Jackson said exasperatedly. "How can
I make you a bio-marker without knowing the original formula?"

He paused, listening intently to the buzzing voice as he stared out of the wide glass panelling.
Dahyun was glad she hadn't opened the door wider—he might notice the reflection of the ajar door
which might have him abruptly cut the call.

Thankfully, no such thing happened as Jackson spoke up again. "For the last time—that old batch
of bio-markers doesn't work for the newer formula you're producing. Do you hear me Jinyoung? It
won't make a difference to confirm his identity, period! You're wasting time, I'm wasting time,
we're all wasting time!....oh now you want to talk to me about risks? Risks? Don't make me laugh,
I'm risking everything for this to work..."

The tense conversation went on, with Jackson grumbling or complaining as he pressed a finger to
his brow. Dahyun was immensely interested but hopelessly lost without context. She made a
mental note to research on bio-markers, because it seemed to be important.

From what she could gather, Jackson was trying to create a particularly tricky bio-marker for some
drug that in some way....would help to confirm the identity of a person?

Dahyun frowned, frustrated by her dearth of pharmaceutical knowledge.

"I tried already, it got me zero results!" Jackson was speaking more urgently now, as though
pressed for time. "Look, if we're doing this, I need more time to find a substitute ingredient to make
the bio-marker. I need to test more stuff so get me more serum batches of your current formula...or
even better, get me blood samples that contain compounds of the original drug! Blood samples
would definitely, definitely speed things up...I know, I know it's practically impossible! I'm just
laying it all out there but...Jin, I'm doing all I can to keep up..."

He fell silent. Dahyun noticed him stiffening and the thudding of her heart multiplied with fear.

Has he seen me?

"I...I see...they're on to us then..." Jackson said darkly. "Shame, this place was cushy. Quite state of
the art facilities too...yeah, yeah. No. Yes. Monday. Okay, I'll see what I can do. But don't forget:
blood samples, new batches of serum from the subjects themselves or preferably a synthetic
duplicate as close to the original as you can. I can't exactly make it myself here, you know, it's just
a school lab. Mhm. Okay."

She didn't notice he hung up until a moment of silence stretched out, punctuated by a familiar rich
jazzy melody blaring in the room. When Dahyun dared peer around the door, Jackson had his back
to her, staring out of the window as Frank Sinatra's That's Life played in the background.

He only put that song on when he felt particularly stressed because he mentioned it helped him
calm down and keep his problems in perspective. She had noticed him playing it more and more
lately.

Dahyun retrieved the paper bag and then noisily stomped down the remaining length of the
corridor, all the while a torrents of thoughts scurried through her head.

Another phone call, another glimpse at the real Jackson lurking beneath his easy smiles and
cheerful compliments.

"Delivery for the mad scientist?" Dahyun called and barged into the room without even waiting for
his acknowledgement.

Jackson turned with a weak smile plastered on his face. "Hey..." he said, turning off the song.
Immediate silence enveloped them as Dahyun stood observing him for a few moments.

"Jackson you look...shaken. Are you okay?" Dahyun asked, watching him closely. To her
satisfaction, she noted yesterday's coaxing had not been in vain—he was clean shaven, the clothes
beneath his lab coat were free of stains and wrinkles. He had evidently gone home and freshened
up.

It was simultaneously a good and bad thing: good for him but bad for her heart as it was fluttering
traitorously in her chest right now.

Jackson shrugged and reached out for the burger she handed him, shelling the wrapper absently.
"Just...busy. Jinyoung called again...he's always on my case. Nothing I do pleases him."

He sighed and bit into the burger bun, all the tension draining from his face as his cheeks bunched
up with food. "Man this is just what I needed! You're the best Dubu. Oh and help yourself to fries
if you like!"

"I'm good," Dahyun assured. She hovered by the table uncertainly as he busied himself with eating.

"Are you gonna be leaving anytime soon?" Jackson asked her out of nowhere. Dahyun blinked.

The faint hint of a plea in Jackson's voice made her waver, with a strange burst of heat rushing to
her face. "I..."

"It's okay I get it," he interrupted quickly, "you probably have loads to study for exams tomorrow
and it's not safe for a girl to be out at night. And you'd get in trouble with your roomy for getting in
late—"

"My roommate's not there," Dahyun said loudly. "Ever since exams started she's just staying at
home. Said it was a better environment to study. And I haven't got exams tomorrow, nobody has,"
Dahyun added quickly. "It's Sunday, remember?"

Jackson frowned as he chewed. "Oh...so it is...so it is..."

Dahyun came to a decision and perched on a stool, folding her arms. "I'm in no hurry, I'll stay."

The wide delighted grin he gave her sent her heart skittering all over the place as she struggled to
maintain her composure.
Maybe it's PMS, Dahyun thought feebly, desperately trying to explain just why she couldn't quash
the blossoming sensation in her chest. I'm just feeling lonely. Jackson is not what he seems. He
may be sweet and kind and considerate but he's also working on something secret, and potentially
illegal, breaking a thousand rules and protocols along the way. Remember what Momo said about
appearances.

"Dahyun?"

She blinked quickly. "Yeah?"

Jackson had polished off the rest of the burger, dusted his hands and was now gazing at her with
something akin to fondness gleaming in his tired eyes. "You're always taking such good care of me
and all I do is worry you, huh? I want to say sorry for that."

"Don't apologise, it's not your fault," Dahyun protested, resting her hand on his arm without much
thought. "Well alright, I do think you should cut back on the time you spend here. I mean, you're
neglecting your health and hygiene and that worries us to some degree..." She bit her lip, retracting
her hand and turning away. "Well, at least it worries me."

"I know." She was taken aback when he caught her hand. "And I appreciate your concern for me so
much. It's just that...that..." he trailed off, sighing. "I don't even know how to explain."

"Can't you take a break?" Dahyun asked softly. "Focus on your school work instead of impressing
your uncle and Jinyoung? You can do that after the stress of exams have passed."

He gave her a tight smile. "It's not that simple. And today I got some news from home too." He
shook his head. "I think I will have to go back to Hong Kong. For good. I won't be able to stay here
with you guys...and with you, Dahyun."

Her mouth ran dry at the intense gaze he was giving her. She almost forgot how to string words
into a sentence. "Y-you won't be here anymore?" she asked hoarsely. His grip on her hand
tightened.

"No." He muttered, running a hand through his hair. "My exams...I didn't really want to tell you
guys in case you thought differently of me but...I had them in advance. Dean's permission and all
that. Earlier this month."

He looked relieved when Dahyun chuckled. "Why didn't I think of that? You're definitely smart
enough to skip ahead and I'm sure I—or rather we—wouldn't have held it against you," she
reassured.

His old smile resurfaced. "Yeah but...anyway, I wanted to...to thank you. I'm glad you came here
tonight because I don't think I'll be seeing you again. So...this is like a goodbye."

Her brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I'm leaving next week," Jackson said softly, "next Monday. Two days from now." He watched her
in silence, letting his words sink in. "I know it's short notice but...it's some kind of family
emergency. They summoned me and I can't decline. Good thing my exams are out of the way."

Dahyun was still processing the bomb, still coming to terms with the hollow finality in his tone.

Had been summoned home....or was his departure related to the phone call? He had mentioned
that somebody was on to them...did it perhaps mean that some higher authority had caught wind of
Jackson's base at university and Jackson had to leave before he got caught?
For all she knew he was cooking meth and selling it off to drug dealers. She didn't even research to
see what meth looked like!

The conflict in her head multiplied. What was she to do? Her one credible source of info closest to
JYP was leaving, disappearing like sand falling though her fingers. She would be left floundering
all by herself and have to push herself out of her comfort zone to seek further information.

"Dahyun? Dahyun," Jackson called, clutching her hands.

She regretted not being more proactive and bold, regretted being too prudent and respectful when it
came to snoop in Jackon's life to extract anything that might be of use to her. She was supposed to
be impartial in her investigations, yet Dahyun had broken a cardinal rule of journalism to treat
everyone with equal scrutiny. Although Dahyun might deny this fact, her heart had indeed proved
to be a formidable obstacle to prevent her from crossing the line.

She fervently wished she had Momo's amoral approach when it came to staying one step ahead of
rivals. She was just an amateur, playing at being detective and never straying out of her comfort
zone.

Maybe Momo was right, Dahyun thought bitterly, maybe I am useless at this...

Her gaze fell on the small open notebook besides the crumpled burger wrapper, its pages crammed
with Jackson's observations and experiments.

The notebooks!

She had to get Jackson's notebooks at all costs, they were her last shot at cracking the case. He was
forever scribbling in them and holding them close, packing them up in his bag with care. There
were two of them, roughly A5 in size, bound in dull navy blue covers. There had to be something
in them that would break the deadlock in her investigations, she was positive.

Staring back at Jackson, she suddenly had an idea, a crazy reckless idea borne of absolute
desperation.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. And she was one desperate person.

"Dahyun? Say something. Please." Jackson pleaded. He had not let go of her hands. "You were
such a good friend to me and I know this must be a shock. You're fully justified to feel mad and—"

Dahyun kissed him.

She pushed forward and grasped his face, kissing him insistently even as he tried to pull away.
Dahyun attacked with voracious hunger, hoping to sell her act as she scrambled to straddle his lap,
her hands pushing off his lab coat as she gripped his shoulders and tilted him back in his seat.

"Wha—what?" Jackson choked out, sounding dazed. She caught his arms before he could even
think of pushing her off.

"Don't go. Don't leave me," Dahyun begged before she swooped down and captured his lips with
hers again, pressing insistently against his lips, urging for him to respond. "I..." She raised her eyes
momentarily, summoning a burst of courage. "I want you. Please. Stay..."

Jackson's jaw was slack, his eyes wide. "Dubu...I...all this time...you?"

"I was waiting for the right moment," Dahyun said in anguish, "I was enjoying myself so much
that I never thought anything like this could happen, that you'd be taken away from me. I thought
we had all the time in the world. Jackson...please...won't you ever come back?"

He covered his eyes. "God, if only I could...Dahyun, you have no idea...I'm so happy right now."
He lowered his hands to hug her, burying his face in her shoulder. She returned the embrace,
breathing in his cologne.

Dahyun's heart hammered in her chest when Jackson raised his head again. His eyes were gleaming
brightly as his arms encircled her waist, holding her close ad he beamed.

"I like you too," he confessed connecting their foreheads together. "If only I had a little more
time...I...I liked you for so long but I never thought you'd return my feelings because...you know,
your ex." His eyes closed contentedly. "But you do. You like me too..."

Guilt and remorse choked her as she leaned in and softly pecked his mouth again, only for him to
chase her back and reconnect their lips, stroking her head as his other hand rubbed circles along her
thigh.

Dahyun responded with increasing fervour, even demanding entrance into his mouth with her
tongue and immediately plunging in once she was granted access. She subtly bounced up and
down, testing the waters, and was pleased to hear his strangled groan.

"Da-Dahyun," he said weakly.

"What?"

"We can't—" he didn't sound very firm, his voice cutting off as Dahyun landed particularly hard in
his lap.

"We can," she whispered right next to his ear, perfectly aware of what he was implying and
perfectly aware of the effect of her ministrations as she continued to warm him up: depositing little
kisses along his throat as she savoured his fresh soapy scent, tugging at his hair and licking daintily
at his adam's apple as it bobbed up and down in front of her.

Jackson didn't hold back much though— he tilted her face up to kiss her hotly, his hands gripped
her flesh hard enough to leave imprints. He gnashed his teeth, failing to stifle his low moans. The
sounds set off sparks of electricity down Dahyun's spine.

She could tell he was getting impatient and hot as he squirmed beneath her, his arousal poking her
thigh through his pants. He even gave a little hiccup as she teasingly played with his belt.

For the first time in a long time, Dahyun felt powerful and in control and she was enjoying it.

"Dahyun...you'll...you're just very emotional right now..." he gulped. She shut him up with another
long kiss, even biting his bottom lip and smirking when she heard his groan. She was getting the
hang of kissing him, her act holding up splendidly so far—he was practically putty in her hands. A
momentary stab of guilt for using him had her bunching up his shirt in her fists.

"I may be emotional," Dahyun conceded as she sat back, panting for air, "but I don't care. We both
like each other, and now that I'm never going to see you again..."

Her hands played with the hem of his shirt before she glanced up at him again, pleased with his
blown pupils radiating hunger and lust.

"I want this just as much as you do," Dahyun said firmly. "So let's just have this...tonight."
He watched her for a moment longer before swallowing and Dahyun knew she had won.

"Okay...okay...but let's go somewhere more private," he suggested.

"My place," Dahyun whispered. "My roommate's not there."

When Jackson tilted his head up to kiss her again, she wasn't sure if she was still acting as she
melted into his embrace and pushed the last vestiges of reason to the back of her head.

>

Only a little more than a day ago Rosé was promising Lisa she was going to watch her match.

She had caught a ride back with Jisoo and waited for Ella to arrive safe and sound from school,
with no fear of Yang and his posse touching a hair on her daughter's head. She had smiled and
nodded as Ella happily chattered about her progress. She had even practised some arpeggios with
her, her rusty plucking skills sharpening with each strum. She was improving and becoming more
fluid with each day of practise.

But the dark cloud hanging over Rosé's head didn't leave at all.

His words from her last meeting rang in her head each time she woke up from her fitful sleep.

I want to know everything about her. I want to know about Lisa Kim.

Now it was Saturday evening and her knees were turning to jelly with each step as she followed
Jimin to her boss's office for the dreaded meeting.

Her stomach twisted into knots of apprehension. She clutched the folder tightly to her chest as if it
were her baby, the edges digging grooves in her palm when the man in front of her knocked.

"Come in."

Yang was looking out of the window with his back to them, plumes of smoke drifting from his lips.
Jimin closed the door behind them and situated himself to the side, silent as a statue with his hands
behind his back.

Rosé glanced at him, bemused by his presence. Yang usually didn't ask for his Jays to stay in for
meetings. Jimin ignored her curious gaze, looking steadfastly down at his shoes as though they
were the most fascinating thing he had ever seen.

"Good evening Rosé," Yang said he settled behind his desk. "Jay here is sitting in with us because
I asked him to. I'm sure you won't mind?" He watched her closely, the stub of cigarette still
hanging on for dear life between his teeth. "Let's get your budget list out of the way first, shall
we?"

"Yes sir."

"Yes Yang, sir," he corrected.

"Yes Yang, sir." Rosé said numbly. She opened her folder and handed over her monthly budget,
bracing herself for the inevitable eyebrow raise when he saw the list had extended to several
papers. He picked one up and perused it, eyebrows knitting together as he scanned the list.

"How come you're buying more vegetables and food now? And more cat food?"
"Ella is growing up and getting quite the healthy appetite," Rosé said, injecting confidence in her
tone and delivery. She had rehearsed her words beforehand in front of the mirror until she was
satisfied with her act. "And Bori had kittens."

"I thought you had spayed your cat?"

Rosé wondered just how much detail the man before her memorised about every aspect of her life.
She felt small under his keen gaze, like a goldfish trapped in an aquarium with his looming face
watching her from the other side of the glass.

"She....wasn't spayed well?" she answered meekly. "But it's only two other cats now, sir."

Yang grumbled low in his throat, rubbing his chin. "Make sure you neuter her properly then. Can't
have forking out more money for something so trivial."

Like you couldn't afford to pay for hundreds of tuna cans, Rosé thought wryly.

"Very well then, Jay-P will give you your allowance afterwards. And now..."

She detected the impatient undertone of anticipation in his voice, even as his face remained
impassive. The scar seemed to stand out more than usual, drawing her eye towards it even as she
tried to focus her gaze elsewhere.

"What have you gotten for me about the boxer?"

Rosé took a deep breath, balling her fists under the desk. "I would like to know what she has to do
with Tiger King, first, sir...Yang."

"It isn't your business to know," Yang said immediately, his tone sharp as broken glass. "We are
dealing with a sensitive target. If he catches wind of our efforts to get him, he will disappear
again. I can't afford to have many people be intimate about the case. The more people know, the
greater the probability of word reaching him somehow. He'll take off again before you know. And
then it will take more years, more wasted time to track him down."

"I have every right to know," Rosé said, surprising even herself by her demanding tone. "He killed
my father."

"He nearly destroyed everything I worked for—from before you were even born— in less than five
minutes when he attacked me," Yang gritted. "You're not the only one that has been robbed by that
devil, you're not in any way more privileged to know more than you need to. You don't have any
claim to—"

"Don't I have reason enough to know what's going on?" she pressed. "He killed my father. I'm more
involved in this case than anyone here! I'm assisting you in finding him and you even let me meet
Jinyoung, whom I'm assuming is the whole mastermind behind this manhunt. So why can't I know
what are the motives behind some persons of interest that you ask me to gather information about?
Don't I get to know what you'll do with it? What, you think I'll go blabbing? Who would I tell? My
daughter? The cats?" She gave a nasty chuckle. "You made sure I wouldn't have anyone close
enough to confide in."

A ringing silence fell as Yang regarded her.

"You have no idea," he said finally, startling her. His voice was quiet. "You have absolutely no
idea how big this is, Rosé. You think this is all some vendetta plot hatched by yours truly, and that
I roped in some friends in the top flight to help me get my revenge, don't you?"
He shook his head. "But this isn't just about you and me. We—" he pointed at Rosé then at
himself, "—are only a small, minute, minuscule, part of the entire web. You wouldn't even start to
comprehend the sheer length and breadth of it all. You think we're the only ones searching for
him?" He spread his arms. "Rosé, there's a long-standing bounty running into thousands—maybe
even millions of won by now—for him to be caught, dead or alive. Many want him dead. We're not
the only people chasing after him by far. There are bounty hunters that have been trying to track
him from before he came into our lives. I myself had been tracking him because I took a
commission. Your father too, he was on my team. It is rather ironic that Tiger King came to
us, instead."

Her mouth ran dry. "My...my father?" she repeated. "He was...searching for Tiger King?" She
remembered all the late nights he came in, cursing and raging. Was it because of his frustration and
anger at his failure to find the elusive killer? Was that the reason behind his foul temper and the
many sleepless nights she endured, huddled in fear in her bed?

She tasted bitterness as a wave of resentment washed over her. Maybe if Tiger King didn't exist in
the first place...maybe Dad wouldn't have been so violent. Maybe Dad would have been...better.
Maybe Dad would still be here. Maybe I wouldn't be working for this monster. And maybe we
could have mended our relationship...he never even got to meet Ella...

No. Rosé shook her head, banishing the useless thoughts.

Youngbae hated her because of her mother. Tiger King's absence would have made absolute zero
difference...wouldn't it?

Rosé couldn't help but wonder about the possibility and now more than ever, her old animosity for
the faceless murderer returned in sharper focus.

"We all were searching for the bastard. Me and my team consisting of the best of my men.
Daesung, Seungri, Jiyong, Seunghyun. And your father. My best guards," Yang said darkly. "But
that devil found us instead and took them before he almost took me..." His hand passed over his
scar. "I swore then I wasn't going to rest until I would be the one to break his neck with my bare
hands.

"But...who is he?" Rosé said urgently. "Why...what does he even want?"

He pursed his lips. "I have spoken too much about that runt. Now out with it! What have you
gotten me on Lisa?"

She lowered her eyes. There was a lot she could tell him.

She could tell Yang how Lisa preferred her bagel lightly toasted, with extra bacon jam and her egg
still runny. She could tell him that Lisa loved the colour yellow. She could tell him that Lisa was
smart despite no schooling. She could tell him that Lisa worked hard and complained little—
everything else was just her being dramatic for attention because she could also tell Yang how
much of a drama queen Lisa could be. She could tell him how Lisa made her laugh. She could tell
him Lisa had a compassionate heart and that she was also an insufferable flirt.

She could tell him Lisa was still deciding on a favourite mutant from X-Men but she seemed to
hold a soft spot for Wolverine, much to Rosé's delight. She could tell him Lisa was growing to like
LANY and the 1975 (some of Rosé's current favourite bands) after singing some songs she liked to
her. She could tell Yang that Lisa loved memes and had vine reference wager going on with Somi.

She could tell Yang that Lisa was partial to quinoa but wasn't exactly thrilled by kale. She could
tell Yang that Lisa believed in unicorns. She could tell Yang that Lisa had a wrist that clicked
when she was agitated. She could tell Yang that Lisa loved her sister Jennie and worried about her.
She could tell Yang that Lisa's favourite drink was chocolate milk. She could tell Yang that Lisa
loved dance and tried to learn from Somi's routines. She could tell Yang that Lisa loved cats but
hated dogs.

Rosé could tell him all that and an infinite number more, but she didn't.

She had considered the weight of her decision, fearful of the consequences that would have its
effect on either side: if she protected Lisa, there was Ella left defenceless and vulnerable. Yang
could simply decide to threaten Rosé using Ella. He had implied as much during her briefing last
month, even as he lifted whatever monitoring operation on Ella he had going on, just for the
month.

But Rosé didn't think she could bear seeing Lisa if she betrayed Lisa's trust and revealed intimate
details to Yang, who would surely use them to his benefit, one way or another. The guilt would be
too much—it was already obstructing their friendship, preventing her from taking the initiative to
make a move and reciprocate Lisa's advances. The near-kiss flashed in her head to remind her of
her growing guilt.

Friend-zoning Lisa was Rosé's way of keeping up the barrier, protecting Lisa from ever being hurt
by her secrets, even when she longed to go beyond them, even as she struggled to shake off the
invisible chains.

"Rosé." Yang's voice sounded almost sugary, as though he was talking to his favourite niece. It
made Rosé's stomach churn. "The more information we can get, from multiple sources, the better.
Every little piece of the puzzle helps. And we believe this boxer Lisa is connected in some way or
other."

"We?"

"Jinyoung and I...and other people we're working with." He clasped his hands in front of him. "This
is all a game, you see. A conspiracy that has been going on for a long time right underneath
everyone's nose. Every person is touched by it in some way, even the common folk who pay their
taxes. They're just oiling the machine that keeps the big players going."

"Players?" Rosé asked blankly. Her head was swimming with new information.

"I'm talking big-moneyed corps, government officials, bounty hunters, criminals, the lot.
Everything is connected." He waved a hand towards the window. "The world of ordinary people
out there, and our world beneath all that shiny veneer, they're connected. They're not as disparate as
you might think. After all, we're just two sides of a coin. Tiger King is only one aspect of it all, the
thread the connects you and me to this particular web of capitalism and politics."

Yang obviously knew more than he was letting on but these tantalising titbits were already
promising. Rosé was trying to think how best to extract more information.

"Rosé, you don't want to get caught up in all this," Yang said softly, as though he had her best
interests at heart. "Consider this a warning from an old man who has seen it all."

"I'm already deep in this mess, Yang." Rosé said dryly. She was disconcerted by his cackle.

"You're saying that because you work for me? Trust me sweetheart, I am but small fry compared to
the sharks lurking out there. You haven't yet seen the sheer depravity, the darkest depths humanity
will willingly sink to just to have power. You think I'm intimidating?" He smiled almost ruefully.
"Keep thinking that, and you might just find something far more dangerous than I am if you dare
to chase after mad men and their ambitions."

If he was trying to scare her from asking more questions, he was succeeding.

What could be worse than Yang?

An image of Jinyoung, the deceivingly unassuming young man they had met at Rkive rose up to
her mind's surface as a possible contender. The thought made her shiver—she had no idea who he
really was and what he was capable of but she had seen enough to know he was calling the shots.

Yang responded to him, listened to him, took his orders—she had seen the power interplay last
time: Yang had been the one visiting Jinyoung, who received them in his lair. Despite Yang's
seniority, Jinyoung held more power in his hands. He was commanding the whole game board and
they were merely pawns in the grand scheme of things to hunt down a mysterious killer.

And once again, it all came back to Tiger King. Her fate seemed connected with this elusive
person, almost as though some omniscient entity preordained for their paths to cross again and
again, merely to taunt Rosé and leave her with no resolution.

Yang spread his arms in front of him when the girl remained silent in her thoughts. "Haven't I been
generous and lenient? Would any other mob boss care to the extent that I have? Tell me, who was
it that offered a pitiful teenage girl employment when she was turfed out of dear old daddy's house
for the crime of being pregnant?"

"You did," Rosé whispered.

Her ex happened to be working for Yang too at the time as one of his drug runners. Although she
didn't directly meet Yang until much later (since she was at the bottom of Yang's hierarchy), Rosé
was set up to do menial computer work to assist her ex and learn how to bypass security systems to
defraud people, steal their credits cards and suck their cash funds dry.

But it would be much much later that she would come to know that her late father worked for the
same mob boss. Yang never told her, probably gleeful that he had trapped both father and daughter
within his grasp. It was only when Youngbae died that Yang revealed himself to her and
announced the overwhelming debt Youngbae racked up in loans, gambling, alcohol and mortgage,
demanding that she paid up or else her daughter would be taken away.

"Who locked up Taehyung when he became too much to handle? Who paid for your protection?"

She gritted her teeth at the familiar sting her ex's name conjured. "You did."

"Who gave you a new name, a new identity and a new lease on life? Who paid for you to do your
diploma? Who paid your child-care support? Who paid for the nanny to watch the kid when you
had exams?"

"You did."

"Who set you up in a cushy apartment in the nicer side of the district? Who paid for extensive
advertising to build a solid rep for your pilates studio and keep up a steady stream of customers?

"You did."

"Who allowed you to keep working for him to pay off debt? Who taught you a trade and allowed
you and your kid to live off his generosity despite having the easier option of ending your
miserable life there and then with a single bullet to the head when you first came to me for help?
Who?"

Rosé closed her eyes. "You did."

"I did, that's right," Yang crowed smugly. "So just remember sweetheart—I own you. All I'm
asking this time, in return, is by far negligible when compared to all that I did for you. Surely, it
should be too easy for the likes of you to extract information? After all, I
taught you everything you need to know to carry out the job."

But Rosé's streak of stubbornness had not been stifled quite yet; she tried to solidify her stance once
more. "You haven't answered me about Tiger King. I stayed silent for all this time and now I think
I deserve answers."

She was pushing her luck, she knew, but she was only trying to delay the inevitable storm
brewing. Already, she could feel the dull static charging up in the air between her and the man in
the chair opposite. The heavy atmosphere suffocating her like a thick blanket was fast becoming
unbearable.

Yang's eyes narrowed, unimpressed. "Oh? Feeling frisky are we? Is this because we are now on
first name basis? You seem to have to grown comfortable enough to....make demands. I will not
permit such behaviour from you. You will toe the line, like anybody else."

Rosé set her jaw defiantly. "Then I have nothing to give you—"

She flinched at the loud sound of his hand slamming the tabletop, jolting her in her seat from
shock.

"Enough niceties," Yang said, the sugary tone gone. He leaned forward menacingly. "It's no use
protecting her, Rosé. If you protect her, then you and your kid suffer the consequences."

"I don't care how long I work for you, even if it's every day of the week. But you won't touch a hair
on Ella's head," Rosé said recklessly. "Or by God, I swear, I won't hesitate to bring you all down
with me. I will do it. Go ahead, do your worst. I won't involve someone innocent unless you tell me
exactly why I should because I don't trust you to keep away like I ask. Anyone who gets your
attention always ends up worse off than they started."

"Oh? And what becomes of the kid then after the cops are done with you?" Yang retorted, lips
peeling back in a sneer as he watched Rosé wilt. "That's right, sweetheart. They will take her away
from you...send her to some orphanage or a foster home. Maybe adopted permanently. I'm sure
she'll be much happier living with a family who doesn't hide and lie and leave her alone at
home because she works for a crime boss."

Separated from her baby...it hurt more hearing it coming from the cruel man before her because
she knew he meant it. Yang would be incarcerated, but he would have the last laugh.

Rosé turned away, angrily blinking away her tears. "I can live knowing she's alive and safe, away
from you."

T he truth was irrefutable, no matter who said it—she might never see Ella again if all hell broke
loose and she turned in Yang to the authorities. She was every bit as rotten as Yang was, and social
services would surely swoop in to take Ella out of such an unstable household.

"How cruel," Yang sneered, "how selfish. Giving up her daughter to protect a stranger in the name
of morality and justice. Seems to me like someone has their priorities all muddled up. I wonder
what the kid would say if she knew her mommy was so willing to give her up to save someone
else's skin? Does Taehyung's offspring repulse you that much, Rosé? Do you hate your own flesh
and blood to that extent?"

He waited for her to retaliate but Rosé didn't rise to the bait. Yang bristled.

"I'm going to give you one more chance to give me something about Lisa. Anything at all. Family.
Friends. Parents. What she eats. What she drinks. What she works. Hobbies."

He tried again when Rosé still remained quiet. "Are you sure you still want to find Tiger King? By
staying silent, you are in essence protecting him as well. You are complicit in his crime. I asked of
you one simple thing and yet, you still insist on obstructing our investigations." He bent closer still,
relentless. "By protecting that devil, you're an accomplice in your father's death, and in the
hundreds of other deaths preceding him."

Rosé paled. "Hundreds of other deaths?"

"You see?" Yang said gleefully. "You think too small. You think this is just about some gang turf
war perhaps. But sweetheart, that man has committed atrocities you wouldn't even dare dream of."
He sat back in his chair. "Haven't you ever wondered why they call him Tiger King?"

She gulped. "Because....because he's...savage as a tiger?"

"It was apparently his moniker; nobody knows his real name. From a young age, he was a prodigy
in the art of murder. He got his name from a famous tiger in India I believe, that amassed an
unbelievable number of human kills in the span of a few years."

"The Champawat tiger..." Rosé said faintly, remembering Jisoo's story with a sickening punch to
the gut. "The man-eating tiger."

"How knowledgeable. Can you guess the number of kills he racked up by the time he earned that
name?"

She didn't dare say a number, fearing the truth would be far more horrible. "Twenty?" she ventured
at last.

Yang barked out a laugh. "400. And since he went rogue, who knows how much else he racked
up?"

"But...but how could he!" Rosé said desperately. "You can't just kill 400 people and nobody cares!
Someone must have been alerted to all the deaths happening, he's a serial killer!"

"There are a lot of disposable people out there.. People who wouldn't make a difference if they
were alive or not."

"That's not right!" Rosé said shrilly. "All lives are precious! It's a life we're talking about, a person.
They had families, kids, jobs, dreams... and Tiger King just killed them?! Who gave him the right
to do so? He's a cold-hearted psychopath!"

"Not exactly. You see, he was more of a killer-for-hire. And he made for an efficient killer since he
was so lethal, he killed with his bare hands. Arm him, and he became triple dangerous." Yang
grimly pointed to his scar as Rosé clapped a hand to her mouth. "I was lucky to escape with only
my face getting carved, but he did knock me out cold too. He killed for gangs, he killed in
underground brawls, he killed men, women, children. Wiped out entire families. He killed for
whoever paid the highest to get the target out of the picture. You get the idea."

Yang clasped his hands together. "Now you understand why he must be stopped at all costs? He's
gone rogue and is dangerous to the public at large because they don't even know he exists. He has
been hiding well."

She stared. "But...but what about...the police?"

"Let's say, it's an unspoken and vital rule that Tiger King remains unknown to authorities at large.
He's a valuable asset for whoever is able to claim him—there's a bounty on his head running into
thousands. Or maybe millions by now."

"Who's paying all that money?" Rosé's brow furrowed, trying to wrap her head around the notion.
"Who wants him so badly they'd pay...millions?"

"It's none of your concern," Yang said. "I don't care about the money, but I do want my revenge
and it's been years since we had any credible sightings of him. Some even thought he's dead. I have
been waiting for years and now that Jinyoung is getting things moving again, there's not a moment
to lose."

Rosé felt overwhelmed, half disbelieving all that Yang told her. But the situation had caught her
unawares. The stakes had been raised far beyond what she speculated—this wasn't about her
history tied with her father's killer anymore.

She tried weighing the cost of Lisa's safety with catching Tiger King, who was more dangerous
than she could have possibly imagined.

"But...where does Lisa come in all this?"

"Oh? I do remember asking you not to be too skittish around me, but this attitude is
unprecedented," he chuckled with a shake of his head. "Rosé, I have reason to believe our mutual
friend might have unknowingly come in contact with Tiger King. I simply want to know more
about her and take that information to cast my nets wider in my search for him. Does that answer
your question?"

She wanted to answer that no, that far from answered her question but she was fast losing her non-
blinking battle with him. She lowered her gaze back to her folder that laid on the desk between
them. Yang noticed her looking.

"It's in the folder, isn't it?" he asked kindly. The tone didn't suit him at all.

Rosé gave a tiny nod, the gears in her head turning at whiz speed as she churned over the onslaught
of information.

"Open it for me." He watched her like a hawk with hungry eyes as she wordlessly picked up the
folder and slipped out a single piece of paper. He snatched it eagerly, only for his face to contort in
disbelief seconds later.

"What's this?" He asked incredulously, waving the empty paper in her face.

"All that I know about Lisa," she answered calmly. And all that I'm not going to tell you, asshole.

Lisa would be proud of her for that one. She couldn't help giving a tiny smirk seeing Yang's
inflamed eyes bulging in his head.
"You think this is funny?" Yang snarled as he crumpled the paper and threw it over his shoulder.
He stood up and towered above her, frothing at the mouth. "I was generous. I was understanding. I
gave you one month, in return for lifting my surveillance on your daughter . And you expect me to
believe that you didn't learn anything? You dare bring me nothing?"

"You did tell me not to befriend anyone because friends are a distraction," Rosé blurted out, "those
are your exact words. And thanks to adhering to your initial advice, we haven't progressed much at
all after that, Yang."

Yang's brows shot up at the same time as he raised his fist high in the air. "You ungrateful, insolent
little—"

"Sir, sir!" Jimin rushed from the shadows, spreading his arms in front of a cowering Rosé. "Sir,
please, don't do something you'd regret!"

She was stunned, lowering her hands to peer at Jimin's back—he was still standing slightly to the
side, his torso bent to shield her with his arms spread wide.

Yang heaved and put down his arm with a growl as Jimin also returned to his spot, avoiding Rosé's
questioning gaze.

Her boss spun his chair around with so much force that it crashed to the ground, startling Rosé. He
punched the wall with a frustrated grunt before hastily reaching in his pockets and lighting up a
cigarette, puffing rapidly to calm down.

Meanwhile Rosé still sat frozen in her seat, as though she had been looking on everything, detached
from the scene. Her mind was still hurtling to catch up with the storm that blew over before she
knew it— someone else had temporarily taken over her mind and dared to talk back to Yang, she
was sure of it. And she was also sure that she had just signed her death certificate right on the
dotted line.

But she knew this moment would come when she slipped the empty paper into the folder along
with her budget list—she had only been delaying in order to glean more information.

"So," Yang spoke up conversationally, as thought he hadn't been about to punch her to kingdom
come, "you really think I don't see through you, Chaeyoung?"

She had never seen him so rattled before and it was disturbing—she couldn't predict his next move,
couldn't tell whether he'd lash out or calmly plot his revenge to make her life even more difficult.

The sound of her old name stung but it also gave her a clue as to his desperation—he really needed
to know that much about Lisa such that he resorted to use her old name mockingly, to remind her
that he owned her?

"Protecting her won't be of any use," Yang stated. He still had not turned around. "I will find out by
my own methods if you so choose to remain obstinate. It will just take me a little longer." He
exhaled a cloud of smoke. "As a matter of fact, I already know where she lives."

"What?" Rosé said, her mouth running dry. How? Has he been watching me?

Yang dug into his pockets and threw something over his shoulder. "Show her, Jay-P."

Jimin obediently moved forward and picked up a square of paper which he carefully unfolded and
spread on the desk in front of Rosé. Her heart sank—though it was discoloured and the corners
dog-eared, there was no mistaking it: she was looking at The Vault's poster for interested
applicants to join, like the ones Lisa had left in her apartment that one time so long ago.

"My men have already tracked down the place," Yang sounded smug now. "And I also have a
name. Jeon Somi. She's a client of yours as well, isn't she?"

No.

Her heart crashed against her ribs even as she fought to keep her face neutral—Jimin was watching
her.

"I'm assuming she's an associate or friend of our Lisa—her name was on the poster at the very
bottom, the fine print. She's the creator of the poster, yes?"

"I...I don't know..." Rosé whispered.

"Hmm...in any case, maybe she will be an interesting lead to check on more closely. I will review
her financial details you provided me before—"

"She's just a student!" Rosé burst out, "she's just a college student, don't you dare hurt her in any
way!"

Remorse gripped her tight as she remembered quietly riffling through the girl's belongings,
sneaking through the barriers on Somi's phone and stalking her social media accounts as she
scoured for clues to crack the codes to get social security information. She was ashamed of it all,
even more so now that she realised how vulnerable Somi was to Yang's whim.

"Please...leave her out of this," Rosé pleaded. She wrapped her arms around herself, wanting to curl
up in a ball in defeat. Gone was her defiant streak— Yang had dealt a terrific blow to her
conscience and she wasn't strong enough to put up face anymore.

"You miscalculated," Yang said coolly. "Don't worry, you will learn for next time. Now, since you
still insist on being silent, shall we conclude?"

When he didn't get an answer, Yang went on. "As per agreed should you fail to give me
information, you will get half of your monthly allowance, and you will start working three nights a
week for me ahead of your summer schedule. You may leave."

As Jay-P moved towards the door, she came to a decision. "Wait!"

She swallowed hard. "If I give you another name, will you leave Somi out of this?" She wouldn't
be able to sleep knowing that the cheerful girl that made Lisa laugh the most was top on Yang's list
of targets.

"I will," Yang said.

Rosé's eyes narrowed, not believing him in the slightest. "What guarantee?"

Yang turned around, cocking his head. He took a drag from his foul cigarette and blew out the
smoke. "You drive a hard bargain, Rosé. No wonder you're so good."

"I am only asking for peace of mind," Rosé said righteously.

He scratched his chin, turning over her request. "Indeed. Very well, how about this. I shall remove
all monitoring on Ella while she's in school for the rest of the year—that includes when the new
term starts next September. How does that sound? You don't have to worry about her during the
time when she stays late for practice or something."

She bit her lip, thrown off by the offer. Although she would have preferred something more
concrete, it was a compromise nonetheless. Having peace of mind while Ella was in school would
be a start, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't stay vigilant.

"Alright. Let's shake hands on it."

"Spoken like a true businesswoman," Yang chuckled gamely as he shook hands with her. His voice
changed when he drew back his hand. "Now, the name."

I'm sorry, Lisa. "Hwangssabu," she said clearly, "he was Lisa's mentor and the previous owner of
the Vault."

"Previous?"

"He's deceased. Around four years ago."

It was a small victory, giving a dead man's name in exchange for Somi's name. There was no way
Yang could target a dead man and in turn threaten Lisa, but at the same time she had fulfilled her
part of the bargain. She watched her boss, challenging him with her eyes.

"Hmm," was all Yang said, his expression unreadable.

>

The ride back home was quiet. Jimin steadfastly avoided her gaze and he hadn't addressed her as
'love' once throughout the time she was in the car with him, which struck her odd. Although Jimin
was the quietest of the Jays, he still tried to have her attention with his occasional compliments and
endearments. She never paid him much attention, just as she did with the other drivers.

Tonight however, he had been acting odd all evening, starting from when he picked her up to take
her to Yang. He didn't greet her, didn't glance her way and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel
in agitation. Then he had joined in on her meeting with Yang as well, at Yang's request no less.

Rosé shrugged and leaned back in her seat as she gazed outside the window while they cruised
through the dark streets. She didn't care about Jays, and she wasn't about to start caring either: in
the end, they were just an extension of Yang.

"Thank you," she said politely once they arrived. Jay-P grunted.

"And thank you...for looking out for me," she added, referring to when he bravely stepped in
between her and their boss.

He scratched his neck. "Yeah...sure."

Something was bothering him but Rosé didn't have any intention to find out—she was in a hurry to
get back home, take a long shower and slip into bed with Ella.

"Thorn, wait."

She turned back around to see Jimin watching her as he chewed his lip. Finally he sighed.

"You know you practically declared war with the boss, right? He's not happy."

"There's no war. I did my part," she said tersely. She was wary of his intention to speak with her.
What if she let slip some piece of information for him to go running to his master like the faithful
dog he was?

Jimin rolled his eyes. "Just by giving a dead man's name? That was clever but not enough. You
think a name alone will keep you safe? Think of the kid!"

Rosé didn't speak, fearing he was trying to bait her into confirming that she knew more than she let
on about Lisa. She wasn't about to spill to Yang's lackey, especially when he was acting so
insistent, which was unusual with the Jays. They were well-aware of the hefty penalties they could
incur for stepping out of line or getting too close to Rosé.

"Goodnight, Jay-P." She stiffened when his hand shot out and gripped her tightly from the wrist.
"Jay what are you doing? Let go."

"Stay in the car, Rosé," he gritted, a hint of warning colouring in his voice.

"It's been a long night and I just want to get back to my kid, Jay," Rosé answered as calmly as she
dared while her heart rate skyrocketed when she noticed the locked car doors. "Jimin—"

He pounced on Rosé like a hungry wolf, pushing her up against the side as he kissed her roughly.
She struggled beneath his weight pinning her down, managing to free an arm and slap his face
away.

"Get off me you creep!" she yelled, madly thrashing her legs wedged beneath the glove
compartment. She scrabbled for the car lock but he tugged on her hair with a savage pull, making
her scream out in pain as he easily pulled her back in his clutches. She flung out her arms, blindly
hitting the dashboard until she found the horn, making it blare out in the night.

Jimin snatched her hands away. "Stay quiet, will you?" he grunted as his hands groped down her
thigh.

He received a sharp blow in the teeth from her elbow in return, making him falter for a few
seconds as her hand shot out and boxed his ears, exactly like Lisa told her.

Do it hard enough, and it will disorient your opponent.

Rosé scrambled away from him immediately, swinging her fist to break the window and escape but
Jimin caught her hand and twisted, making her yell out in pain. He continued twisting as she
whimpered until he overpowered her and pinned her down against the seat, climbing over the small
stretch between their seats to hold her down securely. The cramped quarters worked in his favour—
he had her trapped and unable to move.

"Leave me alone. Why are you doing this?" Rosé pleaded.

"Why? Because I'm sick of waiting for you to notice me, Rosé," Jimin growled. "I look out for you
and what do I get? Your high and mighty airs. You think you're invincible, Yang's pet pooch, huh?
Well, let's take you down a few pegs and see if you will treat me with better respect."

"What are you saying?" she gasped. "Yang doesn't want you talking to me! He doesn't want me to
fraternise with you in any way!" Surreptitiously, she eyed the blinking red LED light on the
dashboard. Please, please, anybody...

"To hell with Yang! He's not here! He can't do anything!" Jimin gritted out feverishly as his hands
flipped up the hem of her shirt, lustily tracing over her creamy skin.
"Jimin, don't do this! Please!" she cried, throwing her dignity to the wind. "Please! Yang will kill
you! Remember Jin!"

He ignored her, smacking his lips like a starved man about to have his first meal. "Yang doesn't get
to do this....or this..." His hand raked up her body to grope her chest. He laughed when she tried
snapping at his hand, wriggling in his grasp like a fish.

"Nobody gets to have you!" he gritted out, grabbing her jaw and making her look directly up in his
maddened eyes. "Not Jay-Z, nor Jay-J and least of all Yang! But I can, because I don't wait around
for you, I will take you myself whether you like it or— AAAARRRRGHHH!"

Jimin convulsed and released Rosé as he fell back in his seat, his whole body jolting and shaking
violently as though he was being electrocuted. His hands rushed to his neck as he screamed, eyes
rolling in his head.

"Make it stop! Make it stop!" he bellowed, gnashing his teeth in pain. "Make it stop!"

Rosé could only watch transfixed as the man in front of her abruptly stilled, collapsing in a heap in
his seat as his head lolled, his whole body limp. She didn't dare move from her position to check if
he was alive. A distinct smell of something burning filled the car, making Rosé choke.

"I apologise for Jay-P's deplorable advances," Yang's reedy voice crackled from the
radio. "Quite a stroke of luck that your comm was on."

"I turned it on while he...he..." Rosé wrapped her arms around herself, trembling as the incident
that just transpired sank in. "He...he almost..." She broke off again, nauseated by the ghost of
Jimin's touch wandering along her skin, fondling her breast.

"You won't have to worry about him anymore," Yang said soothingly. "I shall see to it he will
never bother you again, upon my word."

Translation: he will be dealt with just like Seokjin was.

"What...what did you do to him?" she whispered, eyeing Jimin's motionless body.

"Zapped him," Yang said matter-of-factly. "All the Jays now wear specially fitted collars to
keep them in line, as a precaution when they're around you. It's remote controlled by me.
Convenient, yes? Don't worry, he'll wake up soon...or maybe not so soon. That was quite a
hefty voltage I gave him. But in any case, he's no longer of your concern. My men will come
to collect him. Exit the car and take your belongings. Try to be as natural as possible. And
goodnight, Thorn."

With a click, the radio turned off, leaving Rosé to stare for a moment before she was blindly
unlocking the car door and tottering out on to the pavement in great haste, her hair and clothes in
disarray.

She managed to pick herself up and stumble inside the building, frantically pushing at buttons until
the elevator arrive, whereupon she flung herself inside and sagged against the wall as the doors
closed behind her.

As the elevator ascended up through the floors, Rosé gripped her shoulders and slowly sank to the
ground, the dull hum of machinery roaring in her head as her heart galloped in her chest. A lone
tear trickled down her face.
Nobody heard her crying.

>

Before she went inside her apartment, she did her best to tidy up and made sure her face was dry,
without bloodshot eyes. She held up her phone and gave a timid smile. Her reflection looked
constipated.

Smile, you useless con. Now is the time to give it your all and sell your act.

Rosé smiled wider until she looked like a demented clown. She shook her head and rested her
forehead on her front door, willing herself to go in without bursting into tears again during the
elevator ride.

She needed to be strong for a little while longer until she was alone in her own lonely bed—Ella
mustn't hear her crying so with a heavy heart, Rosé decided she wasn't going to sleep next to her
daughter tonight.

When Rosé finally made her way into her apartment, Jisoo was waiting for her in front of the TV
with the volume turned low.

"Hey, you made it," Jisoo said brightly as she threw off the blanket. "Ella is out like a light, there
weren't any problems at all. Did you get the job?"

Rosé smiled wearily, stepping up to Jisoo and resting her forehead on the shorter girl's shoulder.
Jisoo's scent was comforting and familiar, something Rosé was sorely in need of right now to settle
her jangled nerves, and the arms holding her in a warm hug had wonderful healing properties,
soothing her tattered dignity.

"I got it," Rosé said tiredly, keeping up the lie she had told Jisoo about getting a summer job at a
bar.

"That's wonderful!" Jisoo cheered, blissfully oblivious. "You did it Pasta!"

"Mmm...I did..." she was too tired to push away the stab of guilt piercing her heart over and over,
too tired to dwell on her harrowing ordeal and narrow escape from Jay-P. It had happened too fast,
without warning—she didn't even get a chance to process what happened properly.

But that would have to wait for now, while Jisoo was still around.

After all, she was good at pushing away traumas and internalising them.

Nonetheless, Rosé allowed herself a small victory dance in her head—she had managed to keep
Lisa somewhat safe and she had gotten herself some peace of mind regarding Ella's welfare in the
form of Jisoo.

Yang had miscalculated Rosé—she had not gone to the meeting without taking some precautions
first to ensure Ella was safe in her absence. Rosé was not taking chances, given her decision to
protect Lisa as much as possible was sure to provoke Yang to retaliate. Although he had promised
to stop monitoring Ella, she wasn't about to start taking his words for granted.

The day before the meeting, she had resorted to calling Jisoo and ask her to babysit Ella on the
pretext of having a job interview at a bar to work night shifts, thus Ella would be left alone at
home.
It was a measure of last resort, because she didn't want to involve Jisoo and perpetuate more lies.
But as things stood, it was easy.

She felt only the slightest bit bad for lying to Jisoo, because Jisoo had cheerfully accepted to stay
and even generously offered to look after Ella should Rosé get the job as well, which was
extremely welcome news. Rosé immediately jumped on the opportunity and accepted.

"What about Jennie? Will you able to work it out?"

"Not to worry Rosie," Jisoo had said determinedly. "Just get the job. I know things will be tough
not having pilates clients in summer but don't worry, I'm sure you'll be amazing at the interview!
Everyone loves you!"

If only she knew how much of Rosé's life was built on lies....

"You can sleep here, if you want..." Rosé murmured out of courtesy, her voice muffled because she
was still resting against Jisoo.

"Nah, I should head back. Got a mandu to get home soon."

Ah, Jennie.

Rosé smiled and lifted her head, eager for distractions. "What's going on between you two
exactly?"

"Well....we hang out...and...I'm planning to take her out on dates. But she won't know it's a date,"
Jisoo confided. Her eyes shone excitedly making Rosé chuckle.

"Why not tell her fair and square?"

"Because she might be scared that I'm moving too fast," Jisoo explained. "For now, she'll think it's
just Jisoo Yoga. But I'm sure she'll realise very quickly. Jendeukie is very smart."

"That she is."

"I want to see her laugh and be happy," Jisoo said dreamily. "She has the cutest gummy smile, you
know? You have to see it for yourself. And I'm sure she has a cute laugh too."

"Unnie but...do you think she...likes you?" Rosé asked carefully. "I don't want you to get
hurt...after, you know...Soojoo."

Jisoo's smile faltered. "One thing I know is Jendeuk's altogether different from Soojoo. They don't
compare. But about liking me...I don't know. Sometimes I think there's definite progress but other
times...I don't know."

Rosé nodded understandingly before pulling her close again, snuggling against the older girl. "If
you want my thoughts, I think Jennie is just guarded and unsure," she said, "it's been just her and
Lisa against the world for a long time. All she ever had to do was look after Lisa—her life revolved
around that one purpose. Letting people in doesn't come easy to her. But I can tell she likes you a
lot, at least as a friend. You two have made great progress since the time you greeted her with your
awful pick up line."

"I still say it's what sealed the deal," Jisoo grinned as Rosé chuckled again. "But what about you,
Pasta? How are you and Lisa?"
Now it was Rosé's turn to sober up. She gave a wan smile. "I like her. I like her so much unnie."
She turned away. "And Lisa is a sweetheart. She's sweet and kind and she listens to me and
understands me...and she gets along well with Ella." She gritted her teeth, willing the words to slip
out of her mouth and take away her pain with them. "Unnie, I can't stop thinking about Lisa.
And...and a future without her sounds so bleak."

"Tell her," Jisoo said gently.

Rosé shook her head. "It's not so simple."

Her stupid doubts nagged at her. What if Lisa's not ready for a serious relationship? What if she
learns of Rosé double life? What if she can't handle commitment? What if she tires of looking after
Ella?

"I'll treat her as if she were my own," Lisa had said solemnly, with such gravity and sincerity that
Rosé was floored. And it was in this moment she realised that Lisa had unknowingly broken the
padlock around her heart, leaving Rosé defenceless and vulnerable.

It was why Ella found her mother crying on the floor later, because it was too late—Rosé was
falling for Lisa and there was no stopping the snowball from growing and growing as it rolled
down the hill, destroying all sense and reason in its path.

"She's perfect for you, Rosé." Jisoo watched the younger girl closely. "I think she likes you a lot
too. What's keeping you? You're definitely much better prepared for a relationship than when we
were seeing each other. Ella adores Lisa, too, they make quite a pair."

Again, Rosé shook her head. "It's not simple."

"Why does it have to be complicated?" Jisoo wondered. "Look at me. I like Jennie, and I told her
already. Multiple times. Now it's a question of whether she likes me back just as much."

Rosé's lips quirked up at the corners. "But you're Kim Jisoo and you just speak your mind."

And also you don't have a murderous boss wanting to get his hands on the girl you like.

"It's easy," Jisoo said, painfully unaware of Rosé's ongoing conflict, "you just have to block up
here," she tapped Rosé's forehead, "block out all the doubts and fears and go for it. Just say it.
Speaking your feelings is so freeing, even if the other party might not be ready for you. Isn't that
what we did when we agreed to stop seeing each other? We sat and talked and cleared the air like
adults. And look, we're still great friends! Besides, if anything, I know Lisa will listen."

Rosé nodded in agreement. "Lisa always listens." Take that, stupid voice of doubt.

"At the very least, I know for a fact she's not the type to run away or ignore you..." Jisoo cupped
Rosé hands with utmost care, as though she was holding something fragile like a butterfly inside.
"Lisa is like a gentle giant. She looks intimidating and buff, and she jokes and flirts around but
she's such an innocent kid at heart. She won't ever hurt you Rosé, I'm sure of it. She will take care
of you as much as you allow her to. I'm certain."

"How can you be sure?"

Jisoo grinned and tilted her head. "I'm Kim Jisoo."

And Rosé finally smiled as she hugged Jisoo again, heart filling with the slightest sliver of hope.
"Thank you unnie."
"Anytime, Pasta."

>

Puffing on his tenth cigarette since Rosé departed, Yang Hyun Suk sat in his office with the poster
in front of him. But his mind was far away.

Hwangssabu....Lisa's mentor....

"Now where did I hear that name..." Yang muttered. He cast his eyes on the Vault's poster again.
One of his men had picked it up from the streets, quite by chance, after Yang had initiated his
mission to gather more information about Lisa Kim.

Interestingly, no official government records like birth certificates seemed to pop up online for her
and her sister, Jennie, who was also her trainer according to Jinyoung. Yang remembered the petite
brunette particularly for her feline eyes, pinched with exhaustion beneath the harsh glare of the
arena's spotlight.

Hwangssabu....Lisa's mentor....Tiger King...

The picture was forming but it was too scant to pin down properly. The frame hung tantalisingly in
front of him but it would take some more thinking and adding more puzzle pieces to form a more
coherent picture.

But why did the name Hwangssabu sound so familiar? his mind persisted, why did it stick like
gum?

It was important, but its relevance escaped him at the moment. Who was that man? Was he some
drug dealer that had business relations with Yang before? Nightclub owner? Pimp? Bouncer?
Informant? Government official? Civil servant? Military officer?

Think. Think. Think.

Yang took up the poster again, scanning it for new clues, of which there were none to be found—
his men had dissected it thoroughly. Jeon Somi was the only other lead he had.

Now in contrast, this Jeon Somi he had sufficient information about. Date of birth, passport picture,
fingerprints, address, identity number, social security number, university she was attending, social
media accounts. Father was in the military, now retired and running a modest chain of eateries and
diners and café's.

Jeon Somi might come in useful, but he had other things to focus on right now.

Yang stood up and walked to the window, looking out into the dark. His meeting with Rosé
replayed in his head, making him chuckle in amusement. Her attitude and resourcefulness
impressed him—she had managed to regain back some semblance of control over the
circumstances he issued, and she also saved herself from Jay-P's lecherous attack by alerting him
via the car's communication channel.

Though she often ended up cornered, Rosé fought back with all she had.

"Plucky girl. But she's tugging at the leash again," he said ruefully, shaking his head. "She doesn't
listen. Poor stubborn fool..."

He closed his eyes, letting the smoke fill his lungs before expelling it with a languid huff.
Hwangssabu.....Lisa's mentor....

Hwangssabu....Tiger King....

He frowned, chewing on the cigarette.

Hwangssabu....Tiger King....Hwangssabu...Tiger King...Tiger King!

Yang's eyes snapped open.

Of course! How could he have forgotten?

He had been so focused on remembering Tiger King's face he had pushed away all the other
components that made up his memory of the night of that bloodbath.

He had been so concentrated on the singular goal of unravelling the enigma behind Tiger King—
obsessively trying to remember the build, hair and vicious animalistic eyes that spelled death—
that he had pushed away all other aspects of his memory.

And now, he remembered: Hwangssabu had been there.

He smiled as the new puzzle piece clicked into place.

The bespectacled man on the ground before him shook his head, wheezing hard after Yang's
guards backed away from punching and kicking him. His glasses were askew.

"Easy on him Taeyang," Yang smirked as the man still pummelling Hwangssabu reluctantly
stepped back. Taeyang—or Youngbae as he was known to his closer friends—was always eager to
use his fists and fight.

"Now I'm going to ask again one more time: where is the runt? Where are you hiding that
bastard?"

"I don't know..." Hwangssabu slurred through bloody lips, wincing as he sat up. "No idea...who
you talking about...."

"How long are you going to drag this out?" Yang sighed. "We know your background. We checked
your military profile. The existence of your task force is the only indication that the government
knows—or at least, they knew—of Tiger King, and were actively trying to catch him and find out
more about his origins when he was active."

Hwangssabu started to laugh. "Oh yes, Tiger King. Created in a lab hahahaha the perfect killing
machine, broken down to the core and reconstructed and juiced up on drugs. Like those Marvel
comicbook movies, ay? Hahahahaaaaa....." he doubled over, coughing and retching as everyone
looked on impassively.

Yang wasn't smiling. "If the government people are still searching for Tiger King and they find him
before me, it will upset some powerful men that are paying me and jeopardise their operations.
And trust me, you and I don't want to be there when it happens. There's still a chance to get Tiger
King before anyone else, because probably only a handful of people in government believe he's
real. They're not going to raise the alarm and cause unnecessary panic amongst the public."

He crouched level with Hwangssabu. "I know you're hiding something, Colonel," Yang said in a
measured tone, watching Hwangssabu stiffen. "You were laid off the task force because the
government deemed it a failure and waste of time. It was a humiliating disgrace. But you haven't
stopped looking and researching and keeping up with military pals to get information....you never
stopped looking for him, did you? You wanted to get your hands on him and turn him in to get a pat
on the back and all the shiny medals, don't you?"

Hwangssabu shook his head violently but Yang leaned closer still. "Must be sad your mother will
never get to see her precious son make it in life. Such a pity she had to die with the knowledge of
her only son being a major disappointment..."

Hwangssabu spat at Yang, who laughed as he backed away from the furious man.

"Go to hell!" Hwangssabu said bitterly. "Tiger King...Tiger King is dead!"

He received a kick to his jaw from Youngbae. His glasses flew off and Youngbae immediately
stepped on them, sneering at the sound of crunching glass.

Yang smiled as more of the memory returned, very pleased with this new connection. Rosé had
unknowingly provided him with an interesting clue. Now it remained to be seen how he would
work around the hand he was dealt in his efforts to pin down Tiger King.

Because obviously, Hwangssabu had lied: Tiger King had been far from dead.

"Jay!" Yang called and turned around to greet his lackey, mildly wondering who would answer
now that Jay-P had been dismissed.

The door opened and Jay-J walked in. "Yes, sir?"

"Has Jay-P been collected?"

"Yes sir."

"And is he awake?"

"No sir."

"Good. Set up a surveillance team and keep an eye on Rosé indefinitely. I want it to be a discreet
team of one or two, keep an eye out on her movements, who she meets, where she goes. Don't let
her catch you—keep your distance. That's imperative. You are not to engage with her or anyone
who approaches her in any way, just report to me on the daily."

Jay-J nodded as he keyed in a memo on his phone. Yang went on.

"Call up Ringmaster as soon as you've finished sorting that out. Tell him I have a new addition for
his stock and give him Jay-P's age, weight and height. Provide him with anymore details he
requests. In return, tell him I need his assistance for something."

Jay-J's thumb paused in mid-air. "Uhm...Ringmaster, sir?" he asked nervously. "And Jay-P...what
happened?"

"An unfortunate occurrence that won't happen again, unless you'd like to join your colleague and
meet Ringmaster as well?"

Jay-J gulped, suppressing the shiver of dread that ran up his spine. He had heard the stories of
shiny sharp scalpels and electric saws and white coats and glass tanks with ghastly floating bodies
straight out of horror movies. He wasn't sure if he believed them. The thin collar around his neck
that he was forbidden from taking off seemed to constrict tighter around his throat when he
overheard the rumours.

Many distorted versions of who Ringmaster is and what exactly was his role circulated amongst
the other lackeys when one of them crossed Yang and broke some rule or other. Ringmaster was to
them like the monster under the bed was to little kids: a dark shadowy figure that you're not too
sure about its existence. Yet the men that provoked Yang disappeared and never came back, soon
replaced with new recruits. The last time someone had disappeared from Jay-J's group had been
Seokjin, for stepping out of line and bothering Rosé.

Jay-J didn't know what his colleague did, although he suspected it was something similar to
Seokjin since he had been with Rosé but surely, it couldn't possibly warrant him never coming
back? Jay-P was the only guy who stood on the same ground as he did when it came to dealing
with Jay-Z and Yang. He was the only person Jay-J respected over their mutual and unrequited
rivalry for Rosé's attention.

Then again, Jay-J mused, maybe now he could have his shot with Rosé but he'd have to be more
careful and patient lest he ended up sharing the same fate as Jay-P.

"No sir but maybe involving Ringmaster would be a little too drastic..." Jay-J tried again, breaking
the uncomfortable silence to defend his colleague.

"I will be the judge of that, Jay," Yang said sharply. "Keep the lad locked up and gagged and
prepare for his departure. Have someone burn his possessions and bring me his phone when you're
done wiping it."

Jay-J nodded robotically as he noted down his boss's instructions. "And Ringmaster?"

"Right. Tell him to prepare one of his pets for a job shortly in return for giving him Jay-P. Tell him
to keep on standby until I send word, but it should be some time soon. I will send him the brief
myself, tomorrow latest."

Jay-J nodded again as he typed, aware of Yang's eyes on him. "And uh, any more requests for
Ringmaster, sir?" he asked tersely, like a waiter taking an order at a restaurant. He tried to shake
off the uneasy sensation creeping over his body like spiders crawling over his skin.

"Ah yes. Yes, actually." Yang's face stretched into a wide, wide smile. "If he's stable enough, get
me Kim Taehyung."
 Mischief and Mayhem: Part 1

The morning of Lisa's final Purge match arrived and the sisters started to prepare for the match
with their usual jog around five blocks to loosen up. Since summer was now well on its way,
mornings were pleasant for runs, unlike winter with its biting cold. Early summer mornings were
brighter and pleasantly cool, just right to not overheat during the course of the run.

Currently, Lisa and Jennie were returning to the Vault, keeping up their brutally brisk jog. Where
Lisa usually pulled ahead to run according to her pace, today she took it in her head to hold back
and run with Jennie, chattering nineteen to a dozen all the while.

"...and did you know the X-Men originally stood as an allegy—no, allgory—no—"

"Allegory?" Jennie supplied with a quick huff of breath.

"Yeah, that," Lisa said brightly, keeping in stride with Jennie. "The X-Men comics used to be an
allegory for discrimination, Rosie said it was like subtly talking about racism when they talked
about how the humans hated mutants. Like you know, Magneto is Jewish and he went through the
Howcaust—

"Holocaust."

"Yeah, that. But now, they also talk about LGBT too, isn't that awesome?"

"Sure."

"They have the first ever gay wedding in superhero comics with the first openly gay Marvel
character who was also a mutant, and queer representation is everywhere! They even have a
mutant who's a drag queen!" Lisa prattled on, eager to fill in Jennie on the many X-Men stories
Rosé had told her while discussing the comics. "You know Mystique, I told you about Mystique
didn't I? The blue shapeshifter?"

"The one played...by Hunger Games Katniss...in the movie which....you still haven't seen...yet,"
Jennie panted.

"Yeah well, she had a blind girlfriend who can see in the future, her name is Destiny! And there's
Psylocke, she's a cool psychic ninja chick and she's bi, like Deadpool! Or actually he's more pan,
come to think of it. You know Deadpool, right? Merc with a Mouth?"

"Yeah, wasn't his actor...married to that actress...from Gossip Girl... or something?" Jennie said,
gasping out words with every breath.

"Oh wow, you're good," Lisa laughed, easily surging ahead of her with a care-free laugh. "Gotta
thank Mimi for curating our pop culture knowledge. We would have ended up pretty much like
uncultured swine otherwise."

"If you're...including Mean Girls," Jennie called after her sister's back, "I don't think...that really fits
into...the cultural knowledge standard."

"Mean Girls is the standard, Jen! Regina George is the OG HBIC!" Lisa laughed as she ran
towards their imaginary finish line.

Perspiration dripped down Jennie's nose. She had let Lisa talk to distract her from her thoughts,
even if the topics weren't anything particularly enlightening.

Morning jogs were Jennie's favourite time to puzzle over her problems and dilemmas to come up
with solutions. Hwangssabu had taught her that she needn't use music to keep the tempo while
running. All you needed was to breathe in through your nose, breathe out through your mouth,
empty your mind and keep your senses alert to your surroundings.

And then you simply run, as people since the dawn of time used to run before Walkmans and
earphones were invented.

Hwangssabu was a firm believer that running helped him gain more insight to solve his problems.
He passed on his knowledge and techniques to Jennie mostly, because for Lisa, running didn't have
the same therapeutic effect as punching a punching bag.

Jennie stood by Hwangssabu's teachings faithfully. For example, it was during a typical morning
jog that Jennie had held an internal debate on how to handle Lisa's performance slump and whether
to accept Irene's offer to sponsor pilates classes. Seeing as the result of those debates seemed to
usually guide her towards a feasible solution, it was enough for Jennie to affirm that morning runs
were her own unique brand of quality therapy time to reflect and evaluate, like Hwangssabu taught
her.

It also made her feel closer to him, remembering how he used to jog beside her. Being the owner of
a petite body with tragically short legs, it didn't stop a determined teenage Jennie from trying to
keep up with his galloping pace.

"Slow down!" Jennie huffed in irritation. She hated being always the last person trailing after
everyone when Lisa would probably be miles away if she really ran while Hwangssabu was always
dozens of metres ahead. The order would usually be thus—Lisa breezing at the front, barely
panting, followed by Hwangssabu keeping pace for her, and then Jennie brought up the rear.

Hwangssabu turned, chuckling as he slowed down until Jennie caught up. He maintained pace,
lips curling up in amusement at Jennie's efforts to overtake him.

"Legs too short, Jen," he pointed out but not unkindly. "But hey, you still got room to grow you
know? Don't girls have till eighteen till they stop growing? Should be quite soon, eh? Might wanna
work on it."

"Shut up," Jennie grumbled, bumping into his side none too gently. He nearly stumbled but
regained his footing, chuckling at the fuming girl.

"Alright cranky, let's run together," he said finally and Jennie smiled as they fell in step together
while Lisa bounded ahead like an excited dog out for its walk.

This little scenario happened every other day that they went running but Jennie never pointed it
out. It was one of her favourite moments with the burly trainer because for a little while, as Lisa
jogged well ahead of them, Jennie could pretend Life was good, the both of them messing around
like father and daughter with nary a care in the world. No complicated problems, no shady people
after Lisa, no rationing food and clothes or bickering with her sister. No grisly deaths and no
secrets.

Just Hwangssabu and herself, like it used to be before Lisa came into the picture.

Jennie sighed now, returning to the present as the memory faded.

Today however, there were too many thoughts clogging up her mind, so she was grateful for Lisa's
chattering presence—maybe her sister had read her mood and decided to stick close. It made
Jennie feel a bit better to talk about Lisa's interests than her anxiety for the night's match facing the
Bear or her unusually strong yearning for Hwangssabu's presence.

Once back inside the Vault after a quick shower, Lisa was up to do a light workout and started out
with punching Punchy.

"Keep it quick and fluid," Jennie instructed as she circled behind her sister. She didn't really have
to tell Lisa anything but her hands felt clammy and she was restless, she needed to be doing
something.

Because in a few moments, Jisoo was going to walk in through the Vault, and Jennie (when she
wasn't worrying about Lisa's performance) hadn't stopped running over Jisoo's words from the day
before.

She keeps saying she likes me and has feelings for me, Jennie thought. And it feels...nice.

After her fiery fling with her brooding ex-boyfriend, she never had much time for dating. And if
she were being absolutely honest, the kind of love she experienced with her ex wasn't all that
attractive as movies made it out to be. If love was all about fighting and beating each other and
then jumping straight to hot, angry makeup sex, Jennie thought she had had her fill of it, thank you
very much.

It was fun at first, sure, but it left her feeling disillusioned afterwards when she trailed back to The
Vault, dishevelled and sporting some new bruises. She always lied and told Hwangssabu she got
them during training. Either he knew and let it slip by or he trusted her to stop when it got too
much to handle.

Jennie scarcely knew anything about the boy she dated except that he rarely smiled, liked playing
rough, was explosively short-tempered, was built stocky and knew a trick or two in bed. It was all a
very hormonal affair back then, her own way of flipping off on Life for taking away almost
everything and giving her very little in return.

Jennie had no aspirations for school or some fancy career, as her real parents had dreamed for her
once upon a time long ago. Those dreams were gone now and Jennie was left with the grim reality
of being stuck fast in mud of which there was no escape.

But she brushed aside her regrets and moved on from her teen angst. Her ex boyfriend wasn't
someone she thought a lot about either. Sometimes, she'd wonder where he was and what became
of him but those thoughts didn't linger for long.

Jisoo however....Jisoo seemed to promise something altogether different. Jennie could honestly say
she never felt this way around her ex, never was confused or thought about him the way she
seemed to be thinking or reminded constantly of Jisoo in small things as she went about her day.

When she saw black SUV's pass her by in the road, Jennie immediately craned her neck to see if it
was Jisoo driving, even though her brain would have already registered that it wasn't Jisoo's car.

When the waft of chicken from the diner kitchens would assault her senses, she was reminded of
Jisoo devouring her chicken pieces and a small smile would find itself creeping across Jennie's
lips.

When she was at the diner and some song would come on the radio that she had learned during her
late-night drives with Jisoo, Jennie would hum to it under her breath, unaware of her co-workers'
delighted expressions.

At times during the day, some odd or random fact that Jisoo told her would pop up in her head
again, making Jennie either roll her eyes or gag, depending how gruesome the trivia was.

And when something of interest happened at work (like Lucas being caught making out with his
apparent girlfriend in the lockers room and teased to death about it) Jennie would take note of the
event to mention to Jisoo later, because it was nice to hear Jisoo's throaty chuckles enjoying her
anecdotes.

Sooner or later, Jennie knew she was going to have to sit down and analyse her feelings properly
regarding Jisoo before coming up with an answer to her friend's declarations. Jisoo had been so
patient and understanding, a non-judgemental friend that was always there for her. She encouraged
Jennie to be more forgiving of her past self, gradually bringing out a side of Jennie that even she
had all but forgotten about.

Irene's words of caution echoed in her mind, warning her about hurting Jisoo's feelings.

Jennie sighed, in so far undecided about how to deal with Jisoo but suffice to say, she planned to
settle the matter once the Purge was over and she started Jisoo Yoga—she was curious what that
would entail.

But right now, she was too caught up in winning this last round of the Purge and then having just a
month off before gearing up again for the Grand Slam. So Jennie pushed all thoughts of Jisoo out
of her head and turned to keep an eye on Lisa.

"Hey it's bagel tiiiiiiiiiiime!" Jisoo shouted as she made her entrance, holding the cardboard box
aloft. "Who wants breakfast?"

Jennie whirled around, startled by Jisoo's loud voice. Speak of the devil. No, angel would be closer.
How can someone look so perfect in the morning with zero makeup? She really kept her promise of
not wearing masks around me...focus Jennie dammit!

"Me me me me!" Lisa cheered like a five year-old, abandoning the punching bag in favour of
breakfast bagels. "Oh what a treat, we don't usually have bagels on Sunday!"

"Figured I'll nip in and buy some. Nayeon said hi!" Jisoo grinned and waved at Jennie. "Hey
Jendeuk!"

"Hi," Jennie mumbled, throwing Jisoo a tight smile. How the girl was always so upbeat and
energetic in the morning absolutely beat her—Jisoo was indefatigable. "Thank you for getting
them."

"No problem," Jisoo beamed and turned to Lisa. "Oh by the way, Rosé's not coming in today I
think. Something came up, she told me to let you know."

Lisa's smile fell slightly. "Oh...is she alright? Is it Ella? Is she sick?"

"Uh...she didn't say but she was alright don't worry, it's not an emergency or anything," Jisoo
reassured. "She said to say hi and best of luck for tonight, though!"

"Mmm...alright...uhm...you don't think maybe you could call her later perhaps?" Lisa said
hopefully. Jisoo only gave a shrug.

"Uh...maybe she would still be tired uhm....she was out late..."

"Out late?" Jennie frowned. "What about Ella? What was Rosé doing out so late with a kid at
home?"

Jisoo looked flustered. "Oh uhm...I wasn't supposed to tell...bummer..."

"Hey hey, it's alright. I'm sure Rosie will tell us if we ask," Lisa reasoned, "although I'd be a bit
worried for her out at night. And Ella being alone at home with just the cats—"

"Oh I babysat Ella," Jisoo said promptly and then clapped a hand to her mouth.

When both Jennie and Lisa raised their eyebrows at her she relented. "Fine fine! But you didn't
hear this from me: Rosé's just looking to apply for a night job to keep up with expenses and she
succeeded yesterday. So today she's sleeping in, I think she mentioned having some afternoon
schedules with clients so...it's unlikely we'll be able to catch hold of her. Also, I'll be babysitting
Ella from now on, you don't have to worry about Ella being alone at night! I'll still be able to drive
you back home as well Jendeuk, I'll manage."

"We'll work that out some other time don't worry," Jennie reassured, wondering why her face was
feeling so warm at Jisoo's concern about picking her up from work. "We have a match to gear up
for tonight so Lisa, we should get back to work."

Lisa nodded, looking a little dispirited. "I guess..."

"Hey, Pasta is sorry she wasn't able to come today," Jisoo comforted, patting Lisa. "But you know
what? I'm sure she'll be cheering for you when she's watching the match."

"I know I know, I'm not holding it against her..." Lisa clicked her wrist, "it's silly really but...it was
like a ritual thing before a match uhm...you know, giving me a kiss on the cheek for luck..."

"Is that all? I'll give you one on her behalf," Jisoo laughed before she quickly leaned over and
pecked Lisa on the cheeks. "There you go! And now you're double lucky cos' I believe in
unicorns!"

A ferocious creature immediately reared up inside Jennie's chest, roaring furiously at the sight of
Jisoo kissing Lisa. It was like a kick to her gut, emptying her lungs of air and Jennie gasped at the
suddenness of it all as she held her heart, glancing down in confusion.

She hadn't felt such a deep-seated viciousness in a long time. The sensation was nowhere near the
irritation she felt when she watched Rosé kiss Lisa's cheek. This was more specific, more direct,
more like...like...

Jealousy.

Jennie shook her head, dazed. "Uh alright then uhm...let's get to work. Lisa get your head in the
game now, we can't afford to lose focus at the last minute."

Lisa, punched her fist in the air as she smiled crookedly. "We're all in this together!"

"Oh I know that! High School Musical!" Jisoo cheered. Lisa's eyes lit up.

"Yeah! Who was your favourite? Sharpay Evans was iconic! Don't you think me and Jennie are
perfect as Ryan and Sharpay? I'm Ryan, cos gay, duh. And Jennie would make the perfect diva as
Sharpay, if only she would listen to me and learn tap dance—YOWW!" Lisa broke off in a howl as
Jennie smacked her upside the head.
"Work. Now," Jennie said grimly, still trying to erase the image of Jisoo kissing her sister and the
little discontented twist her heart gave each time.

>

Thank heavens for Jackson being bone-tired enough to not question the bitter taste of the water
Dahyun gave him when they made it back to her apartment. Distracting him enough with a few
kisses until he was in that malleable haze of hunger and need, she managed to sneak into the
bathroom and ransack the medicine cabinet until she found what she needed than crept back to
make out with him again before offering him some water.

"I'm afraid the water might be a little bitterer than usual," she apologised as he drained the glass,
"we use water-purifying tablets in this building's water system—the landlord is a bit of a freak
about it. But you get used to the taste eventually."

Jackson quickly got dozy thereafter but still had enough of his wits to respond to Dahyun's
ministrations. In the end, they didn't even shed any clothes. She led him to bed whereupon he
collapsed back on the mattress and lay dead to the world, snoring. Dahyun took off his shoes and
socks then went to sleep on the couch, holding her heavy head. Searching through Jackson's bag
for the notebooks had to wait.

Despite her efforts, some of the crushed sleeping pill mixed with the water had inevitably entered
her system when Jackson kissed her, though she did her best to avoid his mouth.

She had fully intended to sleep with him because the idea itself wasn't as repulsive—though her
preferred choice of intimacy would always be women, sleeping with Jackson didn't sound too
foreign to her ears. She only stalled on that plan because some of her rationality pierced through
the haze as she debated more seriously on what she was about to do during the short stint of kissing
they had during their ride to her apartment (or more precisely, none of them had condoms and she
was not going to risk any accidents to get her hands on the notebooks and potential information.)

And now stumbling in the morning light filtering through her window, Dahyun swallowed a curse
as she stubbed her toe. She glanced back at Jackson, still passed out peacefully, mouth hanging
open. Her heart tightened for a split second, imagining an alternate reality where she would have
woken up next to him, warm bodies rubbing sleepily against each other in sated pleasure.

Dahyun quickly shook her head and moved on to execute her investigations—she had no idea how
potent the sleeping pill was and how it would affect Jackson. The pills belonged to her roommate
and Dahyun hoped she would not notice any that were missing.

She had to be swift and quiet, methodical and organised. If Jackson noticed that someone had
rummaged through his belonging, she would be the only suspect.

She stiffened when Jackson mumbled in his sleep and turned to his side. After her thundering heart
quietened, Dahyun hastened with her mission. Quickly, she retrieved Jackson's bag and carefully
started her digging. Beneath two files, she discovered one of the notebooks.

Dahyun took it out, hands trembling ever so slightly in anticipation. Her face fell when all that she
saw were chemical formulas and equations with notes jotted in the corner. She did not understand
chemistry or pharmaceutical jargon and clearly, Jackson was levels ahead of her going by the
complicated symbols and composite formulas and numbers neatly dancing along the page. He had
drawn diagrams of organic molecules as far as she could tell, but Dahyun hadn't the faintest idea
what it was all about.
Hydroxycarbonucleasesomething, Tetrahexagonalthingummy, Diioxycarbodearmylord...Dahyun
nearly went cross-eyed trying to absorb it all in.

Of note, there seemed to be a recurring molecule pattern, which Jackson labelled 'TK'. Then he
drew and calculated many numbers, crossing them all out with red pen and jotting down
several ???? which indicated either missing information or utter confusion on Jackson's part. She
tried to remember what she could from the conversation she overheard the night before: Jackson
was trying to work on creating a bio-marker of some kind that would help pin down someone's
identity.

But who was it? Why was Jinyoung looking for them? Why were they so important to be found?
Why all the trouble to creating a totally unique chemical for someone who could probably be
found with some digging through governmental systems?

Unless they were underground persons of interest that police have no information about...

Dahyun shook her head, frustrated with more questions piling in her head. TK repeated every other
page. An minimal anatomic sketch proved the only other useful lead: TK was encircled in bubble
then drawn with an arrow leading away from it and to the stickman's head. And then a second
stickman was pencilled in next to the first stickman with a very angry looking face and stick limbs
raised high in the air. An arrow from the first stickman pointed towards the second stickman.

As Dahyun understood: the molecule TK makes whoever ingests it angry.

She wondered what use it would be to anyone. Surely, Jackson meant something more in his notes?

But as she sat trying to puzzle out and take photos on her phone for a more thorough study later,
she heard Jackson stirring and mumbling incoherently, making her freeze. She raised her head up
to watch his face as he frowned and muttered in his sleep.

"Tiger....Tiger...." he seemed to be saying, or at least that's what Dahyun understood, followed by

more unintelligible muttering.

Dahyun soundlessly dropped his notebook back in his bag, scrambling to fish out the second
notebook because Jackson talking in his sleep probably meant he was awakening as his
consciousness edged closer to lucidity.

Holding her breath, Dahyun extricated the second notebook from the very bottom of Jackson's bag
and opened it with feverish fingers.

Now this notebook held more promise: it seemed to be a planner, with all of Jackson's schedules
and events penned down. Some were scrawled, otherwise were more evenly printed. She leafed
through, skipping over mundane inscriptions like study for test or account check 2morrow :
( or group session—library! or BUY MILK & RAMEN URGENT!!!!!

She almost laughed at that last one, clearly noticing his priorities. If she hadn't known about his
secret side-job, she wouldn't have guessed by reading over such notes—it was all so ordinary.

One reminder had Dahyun furrow her brow, puzzled: tuesday phlebo. session w/ dr. song

That was interesting since to her knowledge, Jackson never mentioned anything about phlebotomy
around her. He never mentioned visiting a hospital, he never mentioned visiting a Dr Song and he
never mentioned anything about practising or learning how to draw blood.
Maybe he was some vampire. At this rate, nothing would probably surprise Dahyun anymore—
Momo's haunting warning was proving to be more and more true. She barely knew who Jackson
was and what he did. He had her duped so well, thinking that because he talked so much with her
he had been open with her.

Soon however, she stumbled on less and less mundane notes as things took an uneasy turn. Dahyun
calculated this was around the time he had plunged himself obsessively into working on whatever
he was working to produce for Jinyoung.

Meet Jin was scattered throughout but PHONE JIN!! showed up every few days, sometimes even
consecutively. Rkive 10pm was also prominently introduced and underlined several times
throughout the planner, making Dahyun grimly make a mental note for the future.

The notebook also seemed to double as an idle note-taker because scrawled at intervals on empty
slots, Jackson had jotted down more formulas and chemicals which left Dahyun fuming and with
no option except to take more photos, silently lamenting the phone storage she was using up.

She should show these to someone with chemical knowledge, Dahyun decided. Or try to decode
the meaning of the formulas herself with the help of Google but that would take infinitely more
time.

Or she could swallow her pride, brush away all caution and show her findings to a particular person
with a whole team of chemists and scientists at her beck and call....

And then she turned a page and sat blinking as words screamed at her.

Tiger King formula V.33 FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL

JIN—> TIGER KING —> SERUM FACTOR X

"What are you doing?" said a disgruntled voice.

Dahyun's heart flipped in her stomach as she spun around to behold a frowning Jackson Wang
peering over the edge of the bed.

>

"Mom?"

"Yes baby?"

"Doesn't Lisa unnie have a match today?"

"She does."

"Aren't we going to see the unnies at the Vault then?"

Rosé raised her eyes from her computer, blinking behind her spectacles as her fingers stilled from
their rapid-fire typing. Ella stood in the doorway to her room with Oliver in her arms. Bori and Leo
were scampering around her feet.

"I'm a little busy today, sweetheart," Rosé said. "I'm doing some accounting and I've got two clients
scheduled for pilates later as well."

"Couldn't you reschedule?" Ella persisted. "You always visit Lisa unnie when she has a match."
"Today is an exception, I guess," Rosé said heavily, turning her attention back to her screen.

"Does it have to be?"

The combined tension that had been building up in her head all through morning accompanied by
guilt and her longing to see Lisa made Rosé stop and draw a deep breath as she struggled not to
lose her temper.

She closed her eyes and counted to eight. "Ella, baby, why don't you go practise for your recital?"
she said evenly once she finished. "I'll join you with the guitar once I'm finished here, how about
that, eh?"

"Don't feel like it. I want to see Lisa and Jennie unnie."

"There's no time to go."

When Ella didn't say anything again, Rosé breathed out in relief, thinking her daughter was going
to let it pass. She was about to start typing again when Ella spoke up again.

"Did something bad happen yesterday, Mommy?" Ella said in a small voice.

Rosé's blood turned to ice, making her swivel around to face her daughter.

"No no, of course not. I'm still here, aren't I?" She leaned forward and held out her hand. "Look.
See?" she added, squeezing reassuringly when Ella took her hand. Rosé searched her daughter's
face in concern. "El, why would you think something bad happened?"

Ella pointed. "There's a bruise on your neck."

Rosé's hand flew to her throat.

In the morning, she had woken up with some faded bruises on her arms, courtesy of her struggle
with Jay-P in the car. She easily hid them with a light breezy summer dress that had long flowy
sleeves. But she hadn't looked in the mirror once, going through the motions of washing her face
and brushing her teeth like a robot. She had thus missed any other bumps marring her skin.

"And you were jumpy all morning," Ella continued, fidgeting with her fingers, "and when Bori
brushed by your leg you nearly kicked her across the room."

Sometimes, Rosé forgot just how observant her daughter could be. It was all true—still high-strung
after her meeting and the almost-rape with Jay-P, Rosé had been on edge all day: jumping at the
smallest creak or the slightest brush of a cat's tail, playing with her food on her plate, leaving the
door to the bathroom slightly ajar when she did her business because having it closed suddenly
made her feel suffocated.

It would pass, she told herself. It would pass like everything else she went though. Sweep under the
carpet and move on, Rosé.

But she couldn't face Lisa or anyone for that matter, not with her jangled nerves—she needed time
for the shock and horror of what could have been to wear off. Otherwise, if she showed up at the
Vault trembling down to the tips of her toes, they would surely be concerned and ask questions.

It was nothing short of a miracle that she had briefly managed to act somewhat normal around
Jisoo last night. She didn't want to feed her friends more falsehoods about her life so her only
option was to lie low, at least for the day, even though she would be missing out on seeing Lisa
before the match, as had become the routine.

She had called Jisoo to tell her she wouldn't be able to make it and asked to greet Lisa on her
behalf. The day thus passed by until now, when Ella had to point out the bruise and her behaviour.

"I'm just a little nervous Ella," Rosé attempted to brush off, "you know, for Lisa. Because I can't go
see her. I'm sorry for being jumpy."

Ella's gaze was locked on her, piercing through the flimsy veil of nonchalance Rosé was hiding
behind.

Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. Not in front of her.Rosé chanted in her head as she stared back at
her solemn daughter.

"But what about the bruise?" Ella insisted. "Where did you get it?"

Rosé didn't notice she was crying until she felt something wet drop on her arms. A single tear.

"Oh..." Rosé said in defeat. Weak, as usual. She took off her glasses because they were misting up.
"Well you see..."

How do you tell an eight year old the truth without scaring her? How do you keep from burdening
her with your stupid decisions and their consequences? Lie? Tell her a white lie?

"Well you see, I kind of fell and hit my neck..." she trailed off, the excuse sounding ridiculous even
to her ears and Ella showed it with her bewildered expression. No. Enough lying. Just this
once...tell her the truth.

"A bad thing did almost happen," Rosé said finally. "But...I'm here now. I'm here. You don't have
to worry."

I'm here I'm here I'm here, echoed in her head, affirming her reality. She was alive and safe and
unharmed, away from that monster.

"I'm here," Rosé repeated and the dam broke. Ella threw her arms around Rosé and Rosé held her
tight, foregoing her resolve to hide her worries from her daughter as she wept in Ella's shoulder.

This is wrong, Rosé thought repeatedly, she shouldn't be seeing this, she shouldn't take on the
parent role.

But despite her spiralling thoughts, she didn't let go of Ella.

"It's okay," Ella told her mother soothingly and patting her head. "Cry it out mommy. You always
say it's good to cry it out. You should go to bed too. I can lend you Flora, she'll protect you."

Amidst her tears, Rosé couldn't help but smile. She raised her head and kissed Ella's temple. "What
would I do without my baby?" She hung her head. "I'm sorry El. You're not supposed to be looking
after me. I'm the Mom here."

"Mommies need breaks too," Ella argued. "Not just on Mother's Day."

Rosé snuggled her daughter close. "Hmm, can't argue with that."

She didn't want to let go just yet, feeling the familiar sense of calm settling her nerves just by
hugging Ella. Back when she was absorbing as much information as she could about the human
body and its fascinating structure for her own general knowledge, she had read that a good long
hug approximately twenty seconds long releases a chemical in the body (oxytocin, if she
remembered correctly) that drastically improves mood and lowers anxiety.

How foolish of her to keep her daughter at arm's length when Ella was the one thing keeping her
tethered to sanity right now.

"Mom?"

"Yes, baby?"

"Are...are you in danger now?" Ella asked with round eyes. "You know, the bad guys always come
after the good guys, they don't give up. We should tell Lisa to protect you."

Rosé stroked her head. "No don't worry. I learned a trick or two from Lisa. We're okay. Don't worry
about it, alright? Mommy's got this."

"Promise?"

"I promise. You don't have to worry about a single thing," Rosé said firmly, linking their pinky
fingers together. If there was one promise she intended to keep, it was that no matter what, she was
going to keep Ella as uninvolved from her secret double life as much as she can.

"You should still go to bed," Ella stated, standing back with hands on tiny hips and making her
mother chuckle as she wagged a finger. "You're tired and you probably didn't sleep at all. I'll tuck
you in."

"Hmm," Rosé mused, "well then, if I'm going to bed then you're coming with me. Let's make a
blanket tent and I'll get my guitar. And how about some cool ice tea eh? We got plenty of time
before the next client shows up and we haven't made a blanket tent in a while."

Ella's eyes shone as she squealed in delight. "Yes yes yes!"

In no time at all the blanket tent was set up in Rosé's darkened room with flashlights lighting up
the interior. The whole structure was supported on a broom handle. Rosé sat cross-legged as she
strummed on her guitar, tweaking and tuning while Ella sipped her ice tea.

"Any requests?" Rosé asked with a smile, anticipating Ella's answer.

"Bao Bao!" Ella said promptly. She held up her bunny toy. "It's me and Flora's favourite, you
know that!"

"Flora and I," Rosé corrected, leaning forward to peck Ella affectionately on the forehead. "And
yes, I know, but there are plenty of other songs I could play as well."

"But you like Bao Bao too, don't you? It's Lisa unnie's song."

Rosé chuckled. "Hmm I like it indeed."

It was indeed Lisa's song and in a sense, Rosé felt it was their song as well. When she sang it, her
mind always turned to Lisa and all her fond memories and good times she spent with her.

"Do you also like Lisa unnie?" Ella asked.

"Oh, is this a round of twenty questions?" Rosé smiled. "Of course I do, baby, it's impossible not to
like her after you get to know her."
"No I mean like like her. You know, the girlfriend type of 'like'," Ella said shyly. "Unnie did say
she fell in love with you at first sight, remember? That first time we went to the Vault?"

Rosé laughed. "And you also said you'll hit her when I said she was only joking." She ruffled Ella's
hair. "I have my very own bodyguard."

"But I think she really does like you now," Ella insisted. "And I know you like her too. You go
there a lot more."

Rosé peered at her daughter, squinting in the dim light. "Why all the interest in Lisa and I all of a
sudden?"

Ella shrugged, playing with Flora. Rosé decided to tackle the question from a different angle.

"Would it bother you if Lisa and I started dating?" she asked softly.

Enclosed in the blanket tent with the soft glow of the flashlight, Rosé felt safe enough to speak her
secret wish. Even simply saying 'Lisa' and 'dating' in the same sentence sent a burst of sparks
skittering all over her skin, the pleasurable warmth spreading from the back of her neck to the tips
of her toes.

Ella shook her head vigorously. "No! I like unnie a lot! She makes you laugh and she helps with
my math homework!"

"Aha! So that's why you actually like her, because she helps with maths," Rosé declared before
mustering a pouting face. "Don't I help out too? Now I feel sad. I think I'll go hug the cats, at least I
know they love me."

"They love you because you feed them," Ella giggled as her mother's eyes bugged out.

"The betrayal!"

"Well, if you and Lisa unnie get to be girlfriends, then you can both help me," Ella compromised,
"and then I finish my homework faster and we can all play music together."

Rosé couldn't help but laugh and shake her head at her daughter."Since when did you turn so
cheeky, hmm?"

She patted her head and then settled back, strumming the chords to Bao Bao as a comfortable
silence enveloped them. Ella snuggled closer to her mother and rested her head on her shoulder.

"Things are a bit complicated right now for that to happen, sweetie, much as I'd like the idea. I
have no idea how Lisa feels and what she wants and whether she would have time. There's a lot of
things to think about," Rosé said pensively, "real life isn't like Disney movies where we sing
together and we kiss and then...we get married."

"It's always complicated for adults," Ella sighed as though weighed down by all the burdens of the
world, making Rosé giggle.

"Most of the time it's our fault though. We make things complicated." Sensing her daughter's
disappointment, she turned to her side and pecked Ella on the forehead. "Cheer up El. Want me to
tell you a little secret?"

"What?" was Ella's natural question.

"Sometimes if you believe hard enough, wishes will come true, just like magic."

Ella was doubtful. "But adults don't believe in magic, it wouldn't work."

"What wouldn't work?"

Ella looked down at her hands shyly. "My wish."

Rosé had a faint idea of what Ella's wish involved but was curious enough to say: "And may I ask
what your wish would be?"

"If I tell you, it might not come true. Like birthday wishes," Ella said solemnly, making Rosé nod.

"Fair enough. But can I at least ask if it involves Lisa and I?"

Ella gave a small, shy nod that had Rosé smiling.

"Now you said your wish won't work....because us adults don't believe in magic?"

Ella nodded again.

Her mother went on. "Well, no harm in trying. Many people still have magic deep deep in their
hearts without them knowing. It would just take a longer time for the wish to come true. And
besides, adults don't believe in unicorns either, but Lisa and Jisoo do."

Rosé shrugged. "So...it wouldn't hurt to try and hang on to your wish now, hmm? Maybe I can do a
little extra effort and believe harder in magic to help your wish come true. In fact, let's make a wish
right now. I'm going to wish with you."

Delighted, Ella clapped her hands together and shut her eyes tight as though in prayer. Rosé
followed suit with an amused smile on her lips.

But when her eyes closed, she opened her heart and prayed to anyone listening for her small secret
wish to come true.

>

Trouble, Jennie reflected, will always, always catch up, regardless of your efforts to evade it. It
might be sooner, it might be later. But the really shocking power of trouble is how it catches you
unawares the moment you grow even the tiniest bit confident that the worst is over.

In other words, complacency is truly the reason why trouble, once it reappears, feels like a
bombshell that explodes in your face. And frustratingly, Jennie kept falling into the trap, lured by
one simple thing common to all abjectly desperate people: hope.

She should have noticed trouble in the form of Lisa's opponent as they both sauntered into the ring,
saluting their respective supporters and hyping up the crowd. She should have noticed something
was off, she should have trusted her uneasiness, she should have trusted her intuition which was
whispering that something bad was going to happen.

But Jennie didn't pay attention, putting it all up to nerves, and she never got to warn Lisa until Lisa
charged in for the kill as the bell rang.

Lisa had grown too confident as well.

The Bear coolly socked her in the jaw, downing Lisa within seconds of the match starting. Lisa
crashed to the ground with a sickening thud. Sound was muffled, the dull roar of incredulous
spectators crashing around Jennie like waves on a distant shore as she watched Lisa go down like a
sack of cement. Time stretched out, slowing as Jennie stared, unable to comprehend what she was
seeing.

Miss me? Trouble whispered in her ear. Why do you keep doing this to yourself, Jennie? Hanging
on to hope that things might change? Things never change, not for losers like you.

Jennie shook her head, all at once dispersing the snide voice of doubt as light and sound returned in
a disorienting, blinding cacophony. "Tornado!" she shouted, running to edge of the ring. "Get up!"

Lisa had already staggered up, shaking her head as though emerging from deep underwater.

The Bear didn't give her a chance to recover, rushing in to punch her squarely in the stomach. Lisa
fell to her knees, gasping out of breath as her lungs were emptied of air. Hacking coughs and
rattling breaths, Lisa gasped for air like a dying fish. Jennie had never seen her so winded after
barely a few minutes into the match. This wasn't the work of natural boxing from the Bear's side.

No, Jennie thought. No please, not now.

She glanced at the Bear, searching for the dreadful golden gleam in her eyes but was stunned to
find nothing except that smug self-assuredness as Lisa's foe pummelled Lisa as easily as if she
were fighting a lifeless ragdoll.

Impossible.

Jennie set her jaw as a few moments later, the round ended with neither party having been knocked
out sufficiently but the Bear clearly held the upper hand.

"She came out strong and we weren't prepared for that," Jennie muttered as she patted Lisa's face
dry. She was no stranger to seeing Lisa's face bruised and bloodied but tonight the bludgeoning
seemed to be worse than usual. Lisa's jaw was swelling already.

"She came out strong and she's on something. She has to be. She's...too strong and faster than her
normal," Lisa slurred through a busted lip. "Did you see anything? Her eyes?"

"Nothing." Jennie leaned closer. "I don't get this. They were lying low for all of the Purge and now
they decide to show up? Why? Are they trying to make us lose?"

Lisa frowned, thinking hard. "Or maybe it's totally just a coincidence. Maybe she got hold of some
of the formula and—"

"Don't move your lips and keep your voice down," Jennie said tersely, "there's eyes everywhere."
She tipped her head up, gesturing at the screens transmitting a live feed of the action going on in
the ring.

Jennie glanced over her shoulder at the Bear then turned back to Lisa. "She didn't have yellow
eyes, so that means she's either still gearing up and we haven't seen her at full power or...I don't
know yet. I'll figure it out. Hang in there till then, okay?"

"Does that mean...?"

"If you have to," Jennie sighed, "just...be careful. Tire her out a bit before...you go all out."

"You know it doesn't work like that...especially if she has a fair overdose, she won't tire out..."
"It's a risk," Jennie agreed, "but it might make her crash faster—"

"But she would escalate faster as well, you want a repeat of Shadow? Yeah, me neither," Lisa
sighed and prepared to stand.

"We can always forfeit the match—"

Jennie started when Lisa grasped her hand, jaw set. "I got this Jen. We got this far, I'm not about to
lose. Watch my back, okay?"

Jennie pursed her lips as the bell rang and slipped back under the rope.

The second round was marginally better—Lisa worked smarter, favouring evasion and running
around to tire out her opponent as Jennie advised, instead of outright attack and offence.

To Jennie's dismay, this tactic of tiring out the Bear seemed to have no effects whatsoever: the
masked woman with her eyes narrowed to slits chased after Lisa relentlessly while the audience in
the stands bayed for blood and scattered money bills in the air.

Jennie watched like a hawk, her gaze sometimes darting back to the Bear's shorter trainer—Wendy,
if she recalled correctly. Wendy kept rubbing her hands with glee whenever the Bear landed a solid
punch.

"Knock her out, you fool!" Wendy screamed at the Bear as Lisa landed a solid uppercut. The Bear
stumbled and Lisa seized her chance to press in.

"Come on, you stupid oaf, get her! Get her!"

Wendy seemed not to care much that her fighter could possibly be injured, but that was none of
Jennie's business. Many trainers were downright abusive to their fighters but she wasn't about to
take any moral high ground.

The Bear stumbled backwards from Lisa's punch, momentarily faltering as she blinked before she
steadied on her feet and retaliated with a low snarl from behind her mask.

And they were off again, Lisa running and occasionally feinting, then throwing a punch before
dodging and targeting fleshy areas while the Bear glowered, following in hot pursuit. Both girls'
skins were slick with sweat, shining beneath the spotlights.

"Gotten rusty, dingo, huh?" the Bear grunted.

"I could go on like this all day," Lisa retorted. She planted her feet wide in a stance and brought her
arms up. "Tired yet?"

The Bear growled. Both fighters shot forward and brutally clashed with tremendous impact,
ricocheting away like bullets deflected from a metallic surface.

But they charged forward again.

And again.

And again.

Lisa pushed, the Bear roared, Lisa yelped, the Bear snapped, Lisa broke away and the Bear gave
chase. They danced around each other as the arena echoed with their fury, drowned out by the
audience lapping up the whole spectacle and absolutely loving it as they shouted for more.
Matches between the Bear and the Thai Tornado would always be highly anticipated scintillating
games, owing to the intense animosity both fighters displayed immediately within proximity of
each other.

Neither Lisa nor the Bear would be considered unbeatable heavyweights at the Slammer, but
watching them duke it out was a whole different experience than watching other boxers, possibly
owing to obvious tension that brewed just beneath the surface, palpable even to outsiders watching
the two fighters for the first time.

Jennie never quite felt that same vibe from her sister as when Lisa faced the Bear, her true rival in
the ring that kept pace without flagging and often bested Lisa as well.

And now that the Bear seemed to have mysteriously powered up, what will be the outcome?

Jennie watched intently, puzzling over the conundrum presented before her, an anomaly. The Bear
had no golden yellow eyes, usually her go-to indicator that would confirm an opponent's
abnormally aggressive behaviour.

The cogs and gears whizzed in Jennie's brain as she figured her conclusions.

No yellow eyes could mean a few things:

1) she didn't take anything, it's all natural strength. She bulked up and has miraculously found a
way to keep all the muscle invisible, lucky girl.

2) she isn't at her full power yet, but it could also mean that owing to her undeniable strength right
now then:

3) she didn't take a strong dosage today, but she has been juicing up for a longer period of time and
has now built up a reservoir that she will access at the right time to demolish her opponent, in this
case...Lisa.

Jennie broke out in cold sweat as she drew up her conclusion. She needed to tell Lisa and fast,
before things spiralled out of control.

"Tornado!" Jennie yelled, cupping a hand to her mouth to shout above the deafening bellows of the
crowd. "Take her out!"

Dinner or murder? Lisa wondered vaguely, grinning at her lame attempt at humour before she was
quickly brought back to reality with a flying fist that missed her face by inches.

Lisa gritted her teeth and pulled her arm back. She had been building up slowly, enough to hold off
the Bear without escalating too much but to the trained observer, the Bear was definitely pressuring
Lisa.

Not for longer.

"Eat my fist, punk!" Lisa shouted and her arm powered forward, slicing through air.

THUNK!

Lisa howled on impact, wincing when she heard something crack. She fell down on one knee as
darts of pain burst in her skull before they were replaced by a low quiet hum, growing steadily in
intensity like a hive of bees.
The Bear snickered, still holding Lisa's fist tight in her own, arm locked in position as she blocked
Lisa's attack. Her hulking figure blotted out the spotlights overhead.

"Too slow Tornado—"

Lisa's other fist flew past and caught the Bear's chin, catching everyone by surprise and flinging
back the ebony-haired woman, teeth rattling in her skull. She released her hold on Lisa and doubled
up but quick as a flash, Lisa swung her good arm again and smashed her fist in the Bear's nose.

Blood splattered on the Bear's chest as she fell to the floor, amidst screams and boos from the
stands. Spectators appeared sorely disappointed when the referee declared the second round
finished, clamouring his decision as rowdy members pounded noisily on their seats. They were the
ones that enjoyed blood and gore a little too much.

Jennie hopped into the ring once more with Lisa's stool, practically tugging Lisa to sit down as she
frantically rushed to assess her arm. She waved away the medic who had been coming over to
assist.

She didn't need extra people hovering around her while she tended to Lisa.

"Where does it hurt?" Jennie asked urgently, feeling along Lisa's wrist, "can you move your
fingers? Can you feel them? Is it numb at all?"

Standing close by, she had heard something crack too and was fearing what she would find.
Watching the Bear effortlessly stop Lisa's punch gave Jennie deja vu—blocking a punch was Lisa's
move that signalled her gearing up to enter a more aggressive state of mind.

If the Bear was only just getting started now...

Lisa chewed on the inside of her cheek and screwed her eyes shut as she gingerly tested her hurt
hand, opening and closing it without any particular difficulty, albeit her hand worked slower than
she would have liked. "Just a bit stiff—"

"Oh god, and it's the hand that clicks too. We screwed up," Jennie fretted, "you definitely broke
something. Or fractured it. How is it not bruising or getting warm? How is it not swelling up? Dang
you and your weird body—"

"But do you feel anything broken?" Lisa questioned as she gulped down water. Jennie shook her
head with a frown, her fingers pressing and testing.

"Then I got no broken bones, Nini, simple as that," Lisa said as though it was the most obvious
thing in the world and she even threw in a wink, enjoying Jennie's open-mouthed disbelief, "if
anything, maybe our pal the Bear reset my mangled wrist bone structure and it won't click anymore
—"

"Will you stop messing around?" Jennie hissed, still massaging Lisa's wrist, "what if you sever
some nerve and ligament and you don't have a working hand anymore? How are you....hmm, what
would really impact you? Oh I know! How will you be able to eat a bagel with one hand without
the filling falling out? Imagine that perfect fried egg falling out, and the bacon, and the cheese slice
landing splat on the ground. Wasted."

Lisa's eyes grew round, almost tearing up as she pictured fried egg yolk trickling from between the
two halves of the bun, then followed by the fried egg, rashers of bacon and finally the cheddar slice
flutter down gracefully at her feet. The mental image made her heart shatter in agony.
"Holy bagels," Lisa whispered, "how will I be able to eat a bagel with one hand without the filling
falling out? Jen, my hand!"

"Glad you're finally seeing the severity of the situation," Jennie said dryly.

She knew what Lisa had been doing beforehand— acting all nonchalant and easy going to try to
stop her from devolving into panic just when victory was within grasp.

But was it really withing their grasp? She wasn't so sure anymore.

Jennie glanced down at Lisa's hurt wrist and resisted the urge of twisting it like Lisa did to make it
click, just to reassure herself that all was well. On the outside it seemed deceptively fine—no
bruise, no redness of skin, no swollen areas—disguising the insignificant defect beneath the skin
but Jennie was uncertain if they should risk incurring further harm.

Quickly, she started tying up Lisa's wrist with bandages, hoping to at least offer a level of support
for Lisa to keep fighting. But her mind was churning

What if another punch broke the bone inside clean off? What then?

She wasn't sure about the previous state of Lisa's wrist except for the unusual clicking Lisa did
when she was agitated. They had never checked it out when Lisa got it hurt the first time. Lisa's
day to day living and fighting performance had never been affected so they never considered it to
be a big deal. Avoiding institutions, especially places such as hospitals, had always been crucial for
Lisa to be able to maintain a low profile. Hwangssabu had taught Jennie all he knew about treating
minor injuries but she was no specialist.

She couldn't share Lisa's nonchalant attitude, not when so much was at stake—Lisa's hand, Lisa's
future fighting prowess, the outcome of the match which would dictate their near future, the prize
money...

Worry grabbed her tight from the throat and wouldn't let go, no matter how hard Jennie tried to
suppress her fears. As a measure of last resort, Jennie twisted the skin of her forearm hard until it
hurt but nothing was working—this time fear had latched on tightly.

"Jen, I have to go," Lisa said from far off. Jennie blinked and returned to the ring, to the noisy din
and eager, restless spectators watching.

It was too loud in her head and too loud everywhere.

By reflex, Jennie sought out Jisoo and immediately singled her out from the crowd. Jisoo was like
her guardian angel in times of stress, watching out for her. Always patient, always caring, always
beautiful, instilling a sense of calm in Jennie when their eyes met.

Seeing Jisoo made Jennie's spiralling thoughts halt and slowly wind back, giving her much needed
space to focus once more.

Jisoo is here. It's okay, it's going to be okay.

Jisoo was watching Jennie intently. She gave a tentative smile and thumbs-up, which Jennie
returned with a wan smile and thumbs-up of her own.

Feeling a bit better, she turned to Lisa who was watching her with mild concern etched on her face.

"Jen, you okay? You're a bit pale."

Jennie shook her head dismissively. "I'm fine," she croaked, "worry about yourself."

She glanced at the Bear who was already pacing around her side of the ring and punching her open
palm menacingly, waiting for her opponent. Although her mouth was hidden by her black mask,
Jennie could just imagine the menacing sneer painted on the girl's lips.

"Take her down as soon as you can," Jennie said tersely, "but don't lose control." She kept her gaze
fixed on Lisa. "Think of Rosé. She's your anchor; if you feel yourself going too far...hang on to her,
okay?"

"I got this," Lisa reassured and squeezed Jennie's hand, "we're winning tonight Jen."

>

"Unnie what's going on?" Rosé pleaded on the phone, "why is Lisa..."

"I don't know, I don't know!" Jisoo sounded at the end of her tether. The connection was replete
with feedback noise from her surroundings. "She's not holding up—"

Her shaky voice was cut off by the roaring of the audience that deafened Rosé. Turning back to her
laptop, she clapped a hand to her mouth in horror as she watched the Bear ram into Lisa's back with
an explosive force.

"Lisa..." Rosé whimpered.

Lisa's back arched in mid-air before she slammed to the ground. The Bear stepped back, holding
her fists aloft in a show of dominance as she faced the rabid supporters and basked in their howls of
approval. Lisa scrambled to drag herself away to the side, her pitiful form hunched over as she
pulled herself up using the ropes.

"There's not much time left, if they keep pummelling each other, it might well go into
another round, or a cop-out," Jisoo said in distress. "I don't know what happened, Lisa
seemed to be holding up alright even with her arm but now...now..."

Rosé didn't need her to finish—in the solitary darkness, she had watched the match right from the
beginning, her eagerness gradually morphing into horror. Lisa seemed to have gained traction in
the third round but the Bear still inexplicably moved faster, punched stronger and pressured harder
than Lisa seemed able to counter.

If Rosé had anything to say about the whole fight, it was that Lisa seemed to be holding back
somehow. But that can't have been right—why would you hold back when your opponent was
giving you a hell of a thumping and practically beating you to a pulp?

"Tornadoooooo better run before I get youuuu!" the Bear jeered in a sing-song voice, her words
rumbling around Rosé's room as tensions reached fever-pitch on screen.

Lisa turned slowly, her jaw tight. She was guarding her bandaged arm, her face shining with
sweat.

"Then come get me, punk," she challenged.

Alone in her room, Rosé held her breath as the Bear took up the invitation and thundered towards
Lisa like a stampeding rhino.

At the last second Lisa dodged, aiming for a hook at the Bear's ribs.
But the Bear was quicker—she reacted like lightning and brought her fist down in a blur, striking
Lisa in the skull.

Rosé stifled a scream as Lisa crashed to the ground, motionless. On screen, she could see Jennie
frantically call out to Lisa but Lisa didn't react. She lay frighteningly limp.

"Oh my goodness..." Jisoo whispered, still on call. "What's happening..."

"She'll get up," Rosé said desperately, "she'll get up right? She always does, she just likes to stretch
it out until a countdown starts, the little drama queen..."

But for some reason this time round, her words rang hollow—the Bear's hit had been so violent and
sudden that she couldn't help think if it knocked Lisa unconscious for real. What if she got a
concussion, or worse?

Jennie looked distressed, giving away the true nature of the situation. If Jennie was on the brink of
panicking, that meant things were very, very bad.

The Bear wasn't yet finished. Fear clogged Rosé's throat as the ruthless masked woman bent over
in the middle of the referee's countdown and grabbed Lisa's limp body.

"What is she doing?" Jisoo exclaimed. "Is that even allowed? In the middle of the
countdown?"

Rosé sat rooted to the spot, chills breaking out all over her body as she watched the action unfold
on screen.

The Bear's eyes glinted wickedly as the roars of the audience reached a crescendo and Rosé
couldn't tell what they were saying anymore—it was all white noise with her attention centred on
Lisa's body as the Bear slowly lifted her above her head. Lisa's head was tilted backwards, eyes
closed.

Framed by bright lights, it looked like Lisa was ascending. Despite the dire situation, despite how
banged up the blonde was, Rosé couldn't help but think how beautiful Lisa looked, like a mighty
fallen warrior of legend being celebrated after a great battle.

No no no don't go there it's not over yet!

Rosé's mind whizzed at top speed, silently pleading for Lisa to wake up, silently begging the Bear
not to hurt Lisa.

Her hands were clammy, nails digging half-moon crescents in her palm.

Don't hurt her don't hurt her please don't hurt her...

The Bear slowly moved to one side of the ring, still holding Lisa up above her head.

"Oh no..." Jisoo whispered.

Too late, Rosé realised what was happening when the Bear heaved and with a grunt she hurled
Lisa out of the ring.

For a split-second Lisa was airborne, suspended in mid-air, before she crashed down on a rickety
table with medic supplies, falling to the ground as the table folded beneath her. People screamed.
"Disqualified," Jisoo whispered shakily in Rosé's ear. "Lisa...they've been disqualified."

Rosé sat stunned as her mind hurtled in opposite directions, all garbled and jumbled up. Lisa is
hurt and They're disqualified ricocheted inside her head, heart thundering away so hard in her
chest her ribs would surely bruise.

Throwing your opponent out of the ring was usually an unorthodox method of disqualifying the
other boxer and besides, quite a lot of raw brute strength was needed to heave a person over the
ropes (aside from subduing your opponent long enough to throw them out).

Frankly, as Lisa had told her once, winning by disqualification was even seen as rather
dishonourable and few players went down that route. Certainly not those that vied to be seen as
elite fighters who ended a match using their fists and boxing skills.

The Bear however, had gone the extra mile today in order to thoroughly humiliate and thrash Lisa,
honour be damned. Watching the masked woman triumphantly march around the perimeter, Rosé
couldn't help but fill with burning resentment, angry at the Bear for taking away Lisa's chance to
shine.

Wait. Lisa! Is she okay?

Rosé's heart jumped in her throat when she spotted Lisa sitting up from amongst the wreckage,
dazed but otherwise seemingly unharmed—no limb sticking out weirdly and no blood, thankfully.
The table must have saved her fall and already, medics were rushing to her side to help her up,
Jennie amongst them.

People in the stands were cheering and booing alternately but Rosé didn't care as her spirits soared
with relief.

They might have lost, and yes it was a bitter and cruel defeat, but at least Lisa was safe and
unharmed, out of that savage brute's way.

"Hey, what the..." Jisoo's voice, tinged with confusion and incredulity, brought Rosé swiftly back
to Earth as movement on screen and a rising commotion let her know that it wasn't over yet.

>

"Lisa!" Jennie knelt by Lisa's side, frantically patting her cheek to revive her as Lisa's half-lidded
eyes met her own. "Lisa are you okay?"

"I...didn't lose control..." Lisa mumbled. "D—Hwangssabu would be proud right?"

Jennie's heart tightened at the mention of his name. "Yes."

Everything had happened too fast for them to keep up—they had underestimated the Bear and now,
all the fruits of their labour were lost. But despite her heart stopping for a split-second when the
Bear flung Lisa out of the ring, Jennie recovered quickly enough to run to her sister and make sure
she was unhurt.

Although Lisa was incredibly tougher than most regular people, she was not entirely unbreakable.

To her relief, Lisa seemed to be okay. Dazed, but awake and unharmed.

In the chaos of people surrounding them and shouting over their heads, Jennie forgot all about their
severe loss. She was just glad that Lisa had come out relatively unscathed. They could both deal
with the fallout of their crushing defeat later, nursing their wounds away from the Bear's snide
remarks and her overwhelming triumph.

"Jen look out!" Lisa yelled in her face. Cries from the audience and a blood-curdling roar coming
from the ring had Jennie raise her head in confusion as the people surrounding them scattered in
panic. A dark shadow fell on Jennie as she turned and stood rooted to the spot, watching the Bear's
form drop out of the air.

She never stood a chance to move, she had no time to do so.

This is going to hurt, were Jennie's last thoughts.

>

Her mind was surprisingly lucid after the fall and immediately listed what she needed to
know. Lisa Kim. Boxer at the Slammer. Right now just got a terrific wallop.

Her body seemed to be alright for all the hard knocks she endured, except for the insistent buzzing
that wouldn't go away and Lisa knew it wasn't going to go away before she had her release. But she
was still holding on and the sooner she got away from the Slammer, the sooner she could cool
down. While facing off the Bear, she had been holding on so tightly to the imaginary thread of
control in head that she couldn't fight back properly and consequently, had her sorry ass handed to
her.

Defeat was a bitter pill to swallow yet, Lisa felt strangely light. She hadn't lost control even in the
face of danger and raised stakes. She had done good—Hwangssabu would be proud.

She missed him. He was always there for her, even when Jennie would storm off to her boyfriend,
angry at her sister, angry at Hwangssabu, angry at the world.

"Lisa!"

A tap on her face made Lisa open her eyes. Jennie's concerned face swam into focus.

"Lisa, are you okay?"

"I...didn't lose control," Lisa said, "D—Hwangssabu would be proud right?"

Jennie's face contorted. "Yes."

"Bear! What are you doing?!" the referee called in panic. "You won, it's over! Someone stop her!
Where's Wendy?"

A shout rose up from the rows of people sitting, who were no longer sitting, followed by more
shouts. Lisa looked over Jennie's shoulder, heart jumping in her throat when she spotted the Bear's
gaze fixed directly on her as she gripped the ropes and poised herself, like a cat about to pounce.

With a demented cry, the Bear leapt.

"Jen look out!" Lisa yelled—her sister was directly in the Bear's path.

Jennie turned.

Lisa didn't stop to think—lightning fast, she pushed herself to her feet, shoved Jennie out of the
way and surged up from the ground to meet the Bear head-on with a roar of her own.
The thread tightened and stretched dangerously taut, on the verge of snapping. The buzzing
increased, louder than the dull shouts of the audience.

Lisa and the Bear clashed mid-air and fell to the ground, grappling and grabbing at hair, all rules of
the ring thrown out of the window. The medics scrambled out of their way while security
personnel raced towards them but all stopped just shy of tackling them, seemingly hesitant to get
involved.

Lisa and the Bear were lost fighting in a blind frenzy, hails of punches and kicks and hits making
them grunt and roar.

"Bear, get a grip!" Lisa bellowed as they circled each other. "You disqualified yourself! Just walk
away and go home!"

I'm giving you this one last chance.

"I'm going to tear you apart limb from limb, dingo," the Bear snarled in return and her eyes
flickered yellow. Lisa's heart sank as she set her jaw and quickly glanced back at Jennie, who
looked uneasy but understood Lisa's intention immediately.

Diversion, quickly.

The few security guards that remained behind to cordon the area where the Bear and Lisa were
situated trembled like jelly in their boots. Some of the braver ones had tried surrounding the Bear
but one got too close. The next second, he went flying into the audience, who roared—they, at
least, seemed to love this new twist, ignorant to the very real danger simmering beneath the
surface.

Jennie seized her chance as Lisa stood silent, unresponsive to the Bear's taunts. "Hey now let's all
just calm down, okay? This is just a match," she said bravely, stepping towards the masked boxer,
"where's your trainer anyway?"

The Bear snarled in Jennie's direction. Jennie was quickly pulled back by one of the security
guards despite her protests.

"Let them fight it out, miss," one of them said wearily, "it's the only way this crazy bitch will calm
down before she jumps us all. Tornado can take it, yeah? Humour her."

"Yeah let's see them take each other down, we're all here for the show, ain't we?" piped up another
and the rest of his friends nodded vigorously.

Jennie pursed her lips. "Isn't this your job? Do you even have crowd control gear? Or even a
measly taser? Do you just sit around playing big tough guys till the going gets tough, boys?"

Lisa could have laughed when her sister let out a big, dramatic sigh as the security guards
mumbled and shook their heads.

"Great, I'm taking this up with management after this is all over then," Jennie groaned. "I thought
PFB wants to be taken seriously with the other big sports in the game? But if one of the top
establishments in the field can't even manage to organise its personnel and show a little
professionalism, then what do you expect? You gotta do everything yourself around here! Who's in
charge of you all? I want to speak with your boss. Gosh, I sound like a Karen—"

"Where do you think you're going? Fight me you coward!" the Bear seethed, sensing that attention
was being diverted away from her as Lisa subtly edged away, "I'm going to tear you apart with my
bare hands!"

Escape thwarted, Lisa gritted her teeth and swung around to face the Bear once more.

If Lisa didn't take down the Bear quickly and without losing control herself, then things could turn
even nastier—the woman pacing impatiently before her didn't seem to be in the mood for
compromising, and the spectators were thumping their fists on their seats, eager for the show to
keep going.

So what if it wasn't in the ring anymore? They had paid money to watch a fight.

Another glance at Jennie and Lisa could practically read the thoughts stamped on her sister's face,
plain as day: there are too many people here, it's dangerous for you.

"We can't let her run amok either," Lisa said with her eyes. Jennie gnawed her lip but nodded
stiffly, understanding her sister's decision.

The buzzing in her head reached a crescendo, angry bees liable to explode at any moment. Her
inner thirst to fight was also giving Lisa a hard time to suppress—the thrill of it all made her blood
race, pounding strongly through her veins, craving more.

Lisa took a deep breath and bowed her head, still hanging on to her last ounce of control as she
steeled herself and clenched her fist. When she looked up again, she knew her eyes must have
flashed golden as the Bear's own eyes widened slightly, tinged with uncertainty for the first time.

"Fine. Let's see you try," Lisa growled.

The buzzing in her head stopped.

>

From afar, Jennie watched the fight escalate as she ignored the throbbing in her shoulder from
when Lisa pushed her aside. Her arms were crossed, lips pursed up and her eyes flitted from her
sister to the other fighter, back and forth as though she was watching a tennis match. She was all
too aware of the invisible timer counting down as her doubts and fears taunted her, paranoia
latching on with its claws.

How long had it been since Lisa and the Bear cranked up their game?

Minutes? An hour? Were they here, watching too? She had done a quick sweep of the audience
but nobody particularly struck her as suspicious.

Except for Jinyoung Park, always sitting coolly and watching with a faint smile reeking of
superiority, as though he knew something that others didn't. Jennie hated that irrational feeling. She
had always harboured a distrustful sentiment towards him, even more now that he had tried
chatting up Jisoo when he met her. Remembering that time had a strange burst of heat climb to
Jennie's face, livid at the idea of some rich boy getting his hands on Jisoo. Focus, Jennie, dammit,
you're so out of it!

She shook her head and returned to the bloody match at hand.

Too many people around. What if she hurts just one person? What if the Bear goes berserk?

She winced as Lisa took a hit and went down but immediately bounced back up, to the Bear's utter
displeasure. She bellowed incoherently and charged at Lisa once again.
Lisa had a narrow opening, a slim window of opportunity, to take down the Bear without losing
control. Last time something similar had happened with Shadow had nearly been disastrous and
Jennie shivered at the memory of her sister's golden yellow eyes.

Lisa was better equipped this time round, more adequately prepared to control herself, more aware
of her limitations. Should things turn ugly, Jennie hoped Lisa remembered Rosé since it was what
saved them last time.

Lisa could do this. She had to.

A quick glance over her shoulder and Jennie saw Jisoo, phone to her ear, eyes wide with concern.
Their gazes met but Jennie could only give her a grim shrug before she turned her attention back to
the fight, her mind churning over contingency plans as she shut out Jisoo's distressed face.

Lisa and the Bear didn't have much space to tussle and grapple but probably being used to small
spaces, they didn't venture close to the sides and kept to the centre. The stands thnkfully were on a
raised platform to overlook the ring.

A cry of glee did the rounds as the Bear finally managed to pin down Lisa. The Bear's hair was
dishevelled, falling out of the tight knot at the back of her head. Lisa writhed and struggled,
rocking the woman straddling her quite strongly but unable to throw her off as she kicked out.

And then the Bear started battering Lisa, holding her tight in place with her knees as she punched
and flipped Lisa's face back and forth. The crowd jostled to see better and shouted, insults and
encouragements raining down like hail, hard and fast.

"Tornado! Tornado!"

"Bear! Bear!"

Jennie drew a sharp breath as the Bear's fists pounded harder. Anyone else would have been
howling in pain or knocked out unconscious by now.

But Lisa's hand shot up without warning, gripping the Bear's wrist and pushing fingers backwards.
The only reaction she got was the Bear's grunt of discomfort before Lisa was able to overpower her
and shove her off.

Little acknowledgement of pain, Jennie's mind noted as they continued sparring, close to threshold.

If she was assuming correctly, Lisa was trying to tire out her opponent as they had originally
planned, meaning Lisa had to first burn out the Bear's system before she could deal the final strike
to neutralise the Bear without actually killing her.

So Lisa was reserving her strength, bidding her time and letting herself be a punching bag Jennie
winced to see all manner of colourful bruises blooming on Lisa's face although thankfully, her
constitution meant they healed faster than a regular person's do.

But the longer it took to tire out the Bear, the more it became apparent that the Bear wasn't going to
go down easily—whatever she had ingested, she had clearly taken a massive dose and had been
taking it for quite some time, because she still hadn't lost entire control and gone full berserk-mode,
unlike the previous two fighters Lisa had faced in a similar situation who escalated too quickly.

This had to be purely premeditated, planned to slowly stretch Lisa to her limits, to expose her when
previous attempts failed. It had to be.
Jennie broke out in cold sweat at the thought. What if they're trying to push Lisa to the very edge?
It would be a massacre.

She had drawn up a back-up plan involving her trusty little device stowed away in her pocket,
because that was how Hwangssabu had trained her to think around Lisa: adapt and evolve to the
situation as quickly as you can to minimise consequences.

But she was praying there would be no use for it, and that Lisa would somehow figure how to de-
escalate the situation safely.

>

Lisa moved almost blindly, letting her senses guide her.

Punch, shove, punch, dodge, breathe, feint, uppercut, dodge again, breathe, duck, punch—

Tendons and ligaments screamed with exertion, thrumming with too much energy coursing through
her as fists zipped through the air and teeth rattled upon impact, miraculously intact. Razor sharp
breaths exploded out of lungs as the boxers hammered into each other, dull roars of the crowd
rising and falling like waves.

kill kill kill kill no no no no

Firecrackers burst into millions of stars inside her head as Lisa danced and danced around the
maddened fiend hell-bent on ripping her to shreds the moment she gt her hands around Lisa's
throat.

kill no kill no kill no.

Lisa wasn't sure who to listen to. Her instinct was primed only to remain alive.

Time stretched and compressed, distorted by the flow of the fight—it could have been minutes or it
could have been an hour, that was beyond their concern or control. Knuckles and fists bludgeoned
eyes and cheeks and jaws, vicious kicks to the shin and legs bruised purple while crimson streams
dribbling down noses and mouths left a coppery tang on tongues.

A particularly violent elbow strike to the face sent Lisa reeling but she was back up on her feet in
seconds, charging at the Bear and clinging on to her back as she held the masked woman in a tight
choke hold. The Bear roared and arched back, madly struggling to throw her off until on sudden
inspiration, she dropped down on her back, flattening Lisa.

But Lisa rolled out at the last second and pounced on the woman. She pulled her arm back, taut as
bowstring, ready to deliver a stunning blow.

Boxing is violent.

Lucidity trickled in at the last second and Lisa faltered, confused. Who said that? This was
different from the other voices clamouring in her head. Clearer, softer. Familiar.

It was all the Bear needed to trap Lisa's fist and throw her off, snarling behind her mask and glaring
out of her one good eye—earlier, Lisa had managed to hit her squarely in the face, injuring her.
Lisa rolled and stood back up, shaking her head. The veil of red rage that momentarily lifted fell
over her eyes again.

Another growl from the Bear, almost like a signal that only the both of them could understand, and
they both charged at each other, powerful punches fuelling their combat as they pummelled and
dodged and grunted.

No provoking barbs were traded, no sassy remarks, no riling insults—they were two animals in a
heated rage racing towards the point of no return, and there was no time for words.

The thread was about to snap for the both of them.

Out of nowhere, the Bear suddenly groaned, her voice raspy and hoarse with distress as she
clutched her hair and backed away from Lisa, swatting at her head as though fending off invisible
flies.

Lisa recognised the sound as it rumbled inside her head, reverberating like an echo.

Take her down, someone ordered, just like Jennie had told her. But something felt different: the
voice sounded authoritative and manly, making Lisa frown. She hadn't heard the cruel voice in a
good long while. Instinctively, she knew who it was but she couldn't remember the name. It was on
the tip of her tongue—

Now, came the order.

Obediently, Lisa rushed in to deal the final strike to knock the Bear out cold. But before Lisa had
taken one step, the Bear recovered from her momentary lapse and grabbed Lisa from the neck,
holding her up with one hand, muscles rippling and flexing beneath her skin as the veins in her
neck popped out with exertion. Her eyes flickered yellow and steadied. Lisa felt her breath catch in
her throat as the Bear's fingers tightened around her throat, bracing herself for what was coming
next.

Her face slammed into the ground, blood spurting from her nose as the Bear hurled her down with
full force, screeching like a fiend. Lisa lay prostrate for a full minute, her vision dizzy until she
sensed the Bear standing behind her. Hands grabbed her from her neck, pulling her to stand up
again.

Lisa only had a chance to see the bright lights shining down on the empty ring before the Bear
violently slammed her down to the ground with a sickening thud, again and again, bashing her to a
pulp. Lisa felt her brain turn to jelly, the bones in her body protesting as aches flared up. Someone
seemed to be calling her name but it was lost in the garbled confusion that was seeping through her
senses.

don't snap don't snap don't snap you can take it you can take it just a little longer—

But a single dart of pain pierced through the semi-haze of numbness that blocked her body's pain
signals from reaching her brain and shot up her spine, leaving a trail of electricity in its wake.
Lisa's eyes widened as she realised what happened—her body had reached its limit.

The thread snapped and her inner beast leapt out to protect itself.

Noise faded to a dull, distant hum. Lisa's arms shot out without warning and grabbed one of the
Bear's wrists, twisting herself around in a quick movement and hauling herself up to headbutt the
masked woman.

Taken by surprise and with one arm trapped in Lisa's hold, the Bear staggered back. Lisa steadied
her stance and powered forwards, pushing the Bear back until she rammed her into the solid wall of
the ring's platform. The Bear arched back with a strangled groan, making the corners of Lisa's lips
quirk up in a smirk.
She had the upper hand now and she was going to relish her time.

The Bear seemed to realise that as she writhed harder in Lisa's grip, gnashing her teeth behind her
mask. Lisa didn't even pay attention to her opponent's struggling as her eyes narrowed. With one
quick movement she heaved the Bear and flung her to the ground, moving ruthlessly as she
followed the Bear, raised her up and threw her down again, hard.

There was no hesitation, no consideration, no holding back.

Before the Bear could flip over, Lisa grabbed her from her shoulders and flung her aside again. The
Bear gasped for breath, madly scrambling to stand up but Lisa grabbed her from the ankles and
whirled her around once before she let her fly. The Bear skidded on the ground like a stone
skipping on water. She tripped and rolled like a loose wheel before coming to a stop at Lisa's feet
—Lisa had rushed ahead to meet her, lightning fast on her feet. As the Bear propped herself up on
all fours, Lisa threw herself forward, landing on the woman's back and flattening her.

A collective ooooohhh rumbled around the arena but Lisa wasn't finished—she repeated the
motion two more times, crushing the Bear with her weight. As the woman feebly attempted to
stand up again, Lisa grabbed a hunk of her hair and pulled her face up, twisting until the Bear
turned stiffly in her grasp to behold Lisa's devilish smirk. Her eyes flashed yellow, remarkably
clear, and the Bear gulped, powerless and terrified.

"Playtime's over," Lisa rasped, "and I'll be taking that."

She tore off the Bear's bloody mask and let the defeated woman fall limp at her feet.

>

The crowd behind Jennie was going insane as Lisa held aloft the mask she ripped off the Bear
before strapping it on to her face in a gesture of victory.

"Tornado! Tornado! Tornado!" the people in the stands cheered.

Jennie didn't cheer. Her mouth pulled back in a thin line as she waited for the next move.

While Lisa had her back turned, the Bear slowly got up, sneaking behind Lisa with wobbly steps as
she swayed like a drunkard.

The crowd noticed her and raised their voices to warn Lisa but it was too late. The Bear grabbed
her in a choke hold, holding on for dear life as Lisa bucked and shied like a horse. Still the Bear
hung on grimly, puffy jaw set as she clutched her wrist to secure her hold. She dragged Lisa
backwards to keep her off her feet, bending into a stance to avoid getting kicked by Lisa's furious
movements as she moved blindly in circles.

The Bear tightened her hold and Lisa choked, breathing already obstructed by the mask. She
tugged on the Bear's arms but the other woman held on steadfastly.

Jennie watched while around her people screamed, but her eyes were glued on Lisa, who was still
putting up a fight. Quietly, Jennie reached inside her pocket to clutch her weapon.

Whether she would use it on either the Bear or Lisa remained to be seen.

Infuriated that she still hadn't managed to put down her enemy who still dared to stand up and
attempt to strangle her as well, Lisa bellowed and finally managed to grab on to the Bear's arms,
pulling her over her head and violently smacking her down, before holding her up again and
punching her square in the face, so hard that the Bear moved backwards and fell right in the
wreckage of the table that Lisa had fallen on.

The Bear's head whipped away so hard with the force of Lisa's punch that Jennie had to close her
eyes, heart pumping madly as the Bear spat blood before collapsing. The Bear lay dazed and spent,
blinking as Lisa loomed over her, mouth quirking up in a devilish smirk when her prey squirmed,
pinned underneath her gaze with nowhere to run and barely any strength to stand up—the Bear had
been finally defeated.

"Please...I'm done..." the Bear whispered, barely moving her cracked lips. Her eyes had lost all
their fire and brimstone—now they were ordinary and they belonged to a helpless frightened girl at
the mercy of her enraged opponent. Her eyes swivelled back and forth desperately.

"Wen...Wendy? Where... are you...please..." Tears gathered in the Bear's eyes and her mouth
trembled. "Wendy..."

Lisa never heard the woman's pitiful whimpers as her lips peeled back in a vicious snarl and she
raised her fists high above her head before bringing them down, slicing through the air like an axe.
Air exploded out of the Bear's lips, making her wheeze, winded from Lisa's blow to her abdomen
that emptied her lungs.

"No..." she gasped weakly as Lisa slowly raised her fists up again, "please..."

Lisa never got to slam her fists down and shatter the Bear's rib cage—Jennie made her move first.

Shaking from head to toe because she knew how risky it would be to divert Lisa's attention to a
potential new target—herself—Jennie carefully stepped forward as soundlessly as possible so as
not to startle her sister. The small taser hidden in her hand behind her back wasn't enough to
guarantee her safety but Jennie prayed she would not have to use it.

"Lisa," Jennie called softly, "Lisa, can you hear me?" She wasn't in the habit of calling Lisa by her
name when all eyes were on them and the match was ongoing, to protect her sister's identity from
audience members, even though she had a sneaking suspicion Lisa casually blabbed her name to all
the fangirls they used to meet at bars.

Jennie's voice caught Lisa's attention. Jennie willed herself to hold the blonde's gaze even as
ferocious yellow eyes glared at her. Caught unawares, Lisa teetered uncertainly, on the verge of
giving in and pounding the Bear as her fists clenched tighter in the air and the Bear cowered at her
feet, curled up into a ball.

"Rosé," Jennie said clearly. She hesitated when Lisa didn't react. "Rosé. Come on, you know her
right?"

Her stomach did somersaults as Lisa dropped her fists and stepped over the Bear, regarding Jennie
suspiciously. Jennie held on to the small taser, her palms clammy as Lisa lumbered over, forgetting
all about the Bear. Heart in pounding in her ears, Jennie gulped, trying to dislodge the lump in her
throat as Lisa faced her. The familiar fear spread throughout her body, like a spiderweb in her
lungs that kept growing and spreading, choking her.

Dimly, Jennie registered the clamouring voices of confused spectators inquiring what was
happening and calling for the fight to continue. But Jennie ignored their boos and shouts, ignored
even the useless calls from the security guards.

She was like a deer caught in headlights as Lisa's gaze pinned her in place. Jennie was thankful that
cameras couldn't get a proper angle of Lisa's face because then who knows what might happen if
they catch sight of her state right now.

"Remember Rosé please remember her, please," Jennie squeaked desperately, still holding her
ground although sweat was pooling in her palms and she gripped the taser harder, eyes squeezing
shut. Why wasn't it working?

"Rosé Rosie Roseanne—"

"I heard you fine the first time."

Jennie cracked an eye open, heart fluttering weakly in relief when she spotted Lisa's eyes had
returned to their normal colour. Lisa took off the Bear's mask, face streaked with blood. She
grimaced and threw the Bear's mask away.

"Trying to give me a heart attack?" Jennie inquired faintly.

"Maybe," Lisa managed a small smile before her eyes rolled to the back of her head, her legs gave
way beneath her and she crashed to the ground.

>

What happened next was a bit of a blur to Jennie— there was lots of shouting, jostling, people
bouncing in the stands, the security guards trying to maintain control. Through all the chaos of
people trying to decide who won and made it through the Purge, Jenne frantically tried to sling an
arm under Lisa to help her stand, buckling beneath her sister's dead weight.

Why did Lisa have to be a giant, and drop unconscious right now?

A tap on her shoulder had Jennie whirling around to behold Jisoo.

"I'm here," Jisoo blurted, pushing up her sleeves, "how do I help?"

Jennie could have kissed her from sheer relief.

Whilst people celebrated or yelled at each other in the ensuing confusion trying to reach a
consensus (Bear won! She's still conscious! No Tornado won, Bear fell a long time ago!) Jennie
and Jisoo paused when they spied the Bear still curled up in a heap, shoulders shaking and with
distinct sobs issuing from her mouth even as two medic people fussed about her trying to coax her
to sit up. No medic came near Lisa—Jennie had always made it clear that they don't need their help
and managed fine by themselves.

"Jen, what do we do?" Jisoo asked uncertainly. "Her trainer's gone...she's all alone...we should do
something, shouldn't we? What do we do?"

Jennie's heart clenched seeing the girl in such a pitiful state—she was probably confused and
frightened to death by what transpired, on top of aching and being bruised and hurting all over.

But she was also Lisa's enemy. And no matter how hurt she was, the Bear cost them their victory
tonight. All their work and money spent on Rosé's pilates had been for nothing. This last thought
hardened Jennie's resolve as she turned to Jisoo.

"There's nothing we can do," Jennie said firmly, "it's none of our business. Let's go before we get
swamped by people. We'll head out through the locker rooms, c'mon."
Jisoo hesitated, throwing uncertain glances back at the Bear but finally grabbed Lisa's other arm
and hoisted it over her shoulder.

"Why Jisoo, hello there."

Jennie froze, barely daring to take a breath as an immediate impulse to run the man with a knife
flashed through her mind's eye.

"Oh hey, Jinyoung," Jisoo greeted, doing her best to steady Lisa's weight. "Quite a game wasn't it?
Oh, you have friends today?"

Jinyoung laughed and gestured at the hulking squad of four behind him. "My bodyguards. And
yes, exciting game indeed. What a twist—and the girl of the hour...ah, is she alright?" he added in
concern, eyeing Lisa.

"She'll be alright after some rest, thank you," Jennie replied as politely as she could whilst she
subtly tugged on Lisa, "now we should be going. Have a nice evening."

"Are you sure?" Jinyoung persisted. "It will be no problem at all to provide transport to the nearest
hospital and I will be happy to pay for the cost—"

"Oh that's kind of you," Jisoo beamed, "say Jen, how about it? Lisa might need a check-up—"

"Tornado," Jennie said with a tone of warning, "will be quite fine, I will monitor her myself. We
wouldn't want to inconvenience you Mr Park, I'm sure you have more serious issues to attend to."

He shrugged. "Not at all. I have taken it upon myself as an eminent sponsor to make sure my funds
are being properly spent. From what I have seen tonight, seems like the security and medical first
aid part is still lacking. Providing these elements is instrumental to the smooth running of the
Slammer. As recompense, this is why I'm offering to help transport and pay for hospital costs. In
fact, I will be escorting your colleague in the same manner."

He nodded at the Bear, who was being lifted in between two of Jinyoung's burly bodyguards as he
spoke. The Bear's head hung listlessly, her legs dragging.

Seeing her so helpless and watching Jinyoung's little smile as he spoke had Jennie's gut ignite with
irritation.

"Oh that won't be necessary Mr Park," she jumped in as Jinyoung's smile disappeared clean off his
face. "She's coming with us too. She's our friend outside the ring."

"Oh?" Jinyoung looked disarmed for the first time. "She is? I thought—"

"We keep it professional. Rivals in the ring, friends out of it," Jennie said smoothly. She didn't look
at Jisoo but she could feel the girl's beaming smile trained on her. "We'll take her off your hands
Mr Park but it would be nice if you escorted her to our vehicle. That would be very much
appreciated seeing as we have our hands full," she added, gesturing at Lisa.

"Wait but they both could use with professional medical attention in a suitable setting," Jinyoung
insisted, a trace of indignation in his voice. "I am assuming responsibility—"

"And it is very kind of you to do so, I assure you," Jennie cut him off, "but I'm assuming
responsibility instead. I know when they will need medical attention and I promise to provide it for
them the minute they do so, I'm more experienced in working with athletes." She giggled to
disguise her overwhelming distaste towards him that was probably oozing out of her pores.
"Besides, girls gotta stick together, don't you think?" she added, fluttering her eyelashes for
maximum effect.

Jinyoung stared at her and Jennie gazed back, eyes steely to ensure she made her point clear: she
didn't trust him one bit.

Eventually, he gave an awkward chuckle. "I suppose there is no use of further arguing my point?"

"It's getting late for everyone so no, I suppose not," Jennie mused.

"Very well then, my men will help escort you and your friend outside to your vehicle." His eyes
were on Jisoo as he spoke. "I don't suppose you might still consider joining me for dinner
sometimes, Jisoo? Last time's offer is still very much open."

Over Jennie's incensed glare, Jisoo chuckled. "Jinyoung, I told you I'm gay."

"People can still be platonic acquaintances, no?" He smiled toothily. "I'd like to get to know you
more. Another time perhaps?"

"Perhaps..."

He took out a card from his pocket and passed it to her, right under Jennie's nose. "There's my
number. Call me if you feel like it. And goodnight." His gaze briefly flickered up to meet Jennie's
and she could have sworn he gave her the tiniest smirk, as though he could read her thoughts,
taunting her. The thought nearly had Jennie lash out and punch him in the face.

Oblivious, Jisoo accepted the card and thanked him, riling up Jennie even more.

Why is Chichu even entertaining the idea? Why is she leading him on? I thought she was interested
just in me? Has she given up on me then? Why is she smiling at him like that? And is she actually
blushing? Jennie seethed. Blasted Jinyoung!

With a curt nod in Jinyoung's direction, Jennie signalled for the body guards carrying the Bear to
follow them as she savagely half-dragged Lisa away with Jisoo struggling to keep up.

>

"Where to now?" Jisoo said breathlessly as she eased the SUV out of park. She turned to the
brunette deep in thought, riding shotgun. "We could go to my place?"

Jennie shook her head, shoulders tense. "No. Drive and go to the river for now. We'll take it from
there. I want to check something."

"Okay," Jisoo said gamely, "can we talk meanwhile or do you want to stay quiet?"

"Talk? Sure," Jennie said absently. "Keep your window rolled up."

"But it's hot—"

"Switch on the AC."

"Jennie, what's up?"

"I want to see if Jinyoung follows us," Jennie said tersely, eyes glued to the side mirror. "So just
drive as normally as possible. Talk if you want to keep things normal."
Jisoo raised an eyebrow. "Why would he follow us? Isn't that a bit paranoid? He's got better things
to do—"

"Yeah, like handing out his fancy business card to random people so he can score a date and get in
their pants?" Jennie fired back. She bit her lip when Jisoo stared at her. "Sorry," she muttered, "slip
of tongue. I'm....just drive, Chu."

Wordlessly, Jisoo obeyed and put the car in gear. She alternated her attention between the road, the
hunched up brunette next to her and the two passed out girls in the back seat, securely strapped
down with seat belts and their heads propped up with a shared rolled blanket. Jisoo could have
sworn she heard Lisa's light snores. The other girl, whom they still had as yet to learn her name,
sniffled in her sleep, occasionally groaning.

"I don't see Jinyoung that way, you know," Jisoo said at length, determined to clear up the thick
tension hanging in the air. "You know I don't. I was just... being polite. Being normal, like you
asked—"

"Not with him," Jennie spat vehemently. "Stay away from him. Be rude to him. Don't talk with
him."

Jisoo couldn't help the sudden coiling of heat between her legs at the sound of Jennie's aggressively
possessive voice. She clenched her thighs together but decided to play the strings a little and see
what was on Jennie's mind. "Oh? I'm an adult you know. I can talk and hang out with whomever I
please."

"He's bad news, Jisoo, I know it," Jennie said earnestly. "He gives me the creeps. And the way he
keeps trying to get your attention...I don't like it."

"Why? Jealous?" Jisoo hummed thoughtfully when Jennie didn't answer. "You know, he's not such
an eye-sore. I'm sure if I were straight, he'd have me quite wet to be honest. Don't straight girls like
bad boys?"

Jennie's mouth set in a grim line.

"I'm quite surprised you don't seem affected. I mean, you do like boys, don't you?" Jisoo probed
further. "Did you see the way he smiles? And his eyes are quite pretty. Maybe I'd have accepted his
offer to hang out sooner. Everyone would probably be jealous of me."

Had she glanced sideways as she spoke, she would have seen Jennie's nostrils flare.

"Maybe you should then, since he's not such an eye-sore," Jennie gritted in annoyance, "see if I
care. I bet he's one stingy grinch even though he's rolling in money. He'll get tired of you quickly
cos' he's just a slimy party boy who screws girls one time and moves on, I bet."

Jisoo shook her head, her eyes fond and not the least bit perturbed. "Oh Jendeuk, you still doubt
my feelings for you, don't you?"

They drove quietly for a while, letting the spoken words stew over in the silence punctuated by the
gentle hum of the AC.

Jennie was continuously checking her side mirror, tight-lipped. Her heart would always beat a little
too hard whenever she noticed a vehicle seemingly following on their tail, only relaxing when the
car would eventually take a turn and disappear. As far as Jennie could tell, there didn't seem to be
any suspicious activity—no vehicles followed behind them for too long before branching off or
overtaking them.
"It's just you're so confusing," Jennie said slowly in answer to Jisoo's earlier question, "you say one
thing but here you are, playing with the idea of dining with him. Sounds like you've grown tired of
chasing me and now you're jumping on the nearest opportunity to...to be with someone. Are you
even as gay as you say?"

"Jennie, I thought I made my intentions quite clear," Jisoo replied, "I like girls. I like you. But I do
have my reasons as to why I would consider Jinyoung's invitation for a meet-up sometime. Want to
know why?

Jennie's heart sank, mouth ran dry. "It's because I never gave you an answer and he shows active
interest in you, unlike me," she said forlornly. Jinyoung you won this time, you bastard.

"No, silly," Jisoo laughed, "I can wait for you as long as you need to think about it. No, the reason
I wouldn't mind is because I'd like to learn more about him. You never know when some
information he might share with the ditzy quirky lesbian he's smitten with might prove useful,
hmm? Especially since he seems to be a shady person to you, and an overall puzzle to me. He
thinks I'll be easy prey or something along those lines so he'd probably answer any questions I have
way easier."

The revelation had Jennie stare at Jisoo's side-profile in wonder. Jisoo wasn't being oblivious at
all, she was actually being rather cunning and insightful. That's hot.

Jennie felt momentarily thankful for the cover of darkness hiding her blushing. But before she
could say anything else, a loud groan from the backseat broke out.

"What...where...where am I?" piped up the Bear's uncharacteristically timid voice, raspy from
sleep. "Why...why can't I move? Hello? Wendy?"

To Jennie's shock, she started crying. "I don't want to die please make it stop make it stop please I
can't—"

"Hey hey," Jisoo called before Jennie could collect her thoughts. "It's alright, you're safe, I
promise. We're driving home. You're safe, you're with friends."

The crying abruptly stopped. "You're...you're not cops?"

"Nope," Jisoo returned cheerfully. "I'm Kim Jisoo, your friendly neighbourhood lesbian. You're in
my car and you got your seat belt on because we don't want any accidents now, do we? You can
unbuckle yourself if you want to check. How are you feeling?"

"Am...am I being kidnapped?" The Bear still sounded dazed and confused. "Huh, who's this?
Tornado? Why is Tornado in here too?"

Jennie decided to intervene. "Because we're going home and we picked you up as well. What's
your name?"

"Huh?"

"Name. We need a name or better yet give us your address so we can drop you off."

"Jennie," Jisoo said appalled. "Go easy on the poor girl."

"She's no poor girl," Jennie snorted, "or have you forgotten already that she cost me and Lisa all
that we've been working for this past month? Maybe you've already forgotten how she was
thumping Lisa only a while ago?"
"I haven't forgotten," Jisoo defended, "but put yourself in her shoes. She's upset. Confused. All
alone, surrounded by strangers after she just woke up. A gentler approach is the better way to go
about it, don't you think? Besides, us women should stick up for each other, the way you stuck up
for her in front of Jinyoung...that was cool of you."

She snapped her finger. "It's the girl code Jen. Treat her like a friend right now. She needs it."

Jennie sighed and sat back in her seat. "I want to get rid of her as soon as possible and go home and
sleep," she muttered.

"I know," Jisoo said softly. She reached over and found Jennie's hand, giving it a quick squeeze.
"Just a little longer. Think of it this way, if you take it easy with her, you might extract her name or
address more easily instead of making her clam up. Get her to trust you first and make her calm
down."

"Should I teach her some yoga breathing exercises too, while I'm at it?" Jennie dead-panned but
there was no real malice in her voice. Jisoo smiled—she knew she'd won.

Jennie turned in her seat to address the dazed woman. "Hi. Your face looks awful."

"Jendeuk, try again," Jisoo said stifling a smile despite herself.

"How's your head?" Jennie said.

"Um...floating...like light...kind of dizzy actually..." The Bear broke off with a retch. "I think I
might puke..."

"How long till we get to the river Chu?"

"Five more minutes."

"Good, we'll stop there and get some air while we figure out where to take her. You, hang on to
your puke for a little longer," she instructed the Bear but the other woman wasn't listening as she
frantically unbuckled her seat belt.

"You're not taking me anywhere! I'm not telling you anything! You want to rob me! You're gonna
kidnap me!" The Bear said shrilly as she madly started scrambling in the backseat and fiddled with
the doors of the moving vehicle. "I'm outta here!"

"Jisoo, brake, now!" Jennie ordered.

Without thinking Jisoo slammed on the brakes and they all jolted forward, interrupting the Bear's
attempt to open the back door as she slammed into the back of Jennie's headrest and then slumped
in her seat, groaning worse. "Ow my head..."

"Stay put, will you?" Jennie grunted as the SUV started moving again, "we're only trying to help.
Why do I always get mixed up in these things...."

"Hey at least Lisa's still sleeping," Jisoo said optimistically and as though on cue, Lisa snored.
"Wow, I do hope she didn't actually get a concussion—"

"No she didn't, it's normal, she's all burnt out."

"Yeah but she doesn't usually pass out like that either—"

"Let me out! Please, I swear I won't do it again!" The Bear blubbered in anguish. "I'm sorry, I don't
want to lose my job! My parents can't know I box! Please don't tell the cops! I'll go with you but I
swear I don't know anything, Wannie gave me the pills, I swear I don't know anything else and she
said they were just stimulants but I won't ever touch them again I—"

She broke down in tears again, distressed. Jennie frowned but at that moment, Jisoo announced:
"We're here."

Few people were out and about strolling around the bank and taking in the city's night scenery,
which suited Jennie. She didn't want to attract extra attention.

"Wanna come out and clear your head?" Jennie asked the Bear as she hopped out and stretched her
legs. "You can puke too if you feel like it. And here, I picked up your mask if you want to cover
your face...it's a bit dirty though—"

The woman snatched it from her fingers and quickly put it on without a second thought, visibly
relaxing now that her face was half-hidden as she stepped out of the SUV. She was a far-cry from
the arrogant, self-assured fighter that beat Lisa on numerous occasions, an altogether diffrent
person from the mysterious rookie who had people buzzing with interest when she first showed up
at the ring.

The Bear now sat huddled up on the grassy verge next to Jennie, who stood close by keeping a
watchful eye on her. Jisoo had meanwhile been instructed to remain in the car to keep an eye out
for Lisa as well for any suspicious movements in their surroundings.

Jennie still wanted to make sure that Jinyoung didn't try to follow them. It had struck her uncanny
that he was making such an effort to transport the Bear and Lisa to a hospital. Jennie didn't buy
anything he said. For once, she listened to her intuition.

The night was quiet except for the distant omnipresent sound of sirens rushing to some emergency
or other. Jennie shoved her hands in her pocket and exhaled, turning over the small taser as she let
her sight roam over the vast blackness of the river in front of her.

It had been a night full of twists and turns and now as usual, she was stuck dealing with the
aftermath. Even if Lisa was somewhat okay, never in her her dreams had Jennie imagined she'd
end up babysitting their rival, the Bear.

It's the girl code, Jen. Jennie closed her eyes, inhaling and exhaling slowly. At least this time round
though, she had Jisoo with her to help.

"So...so you're Jennie Kim, right? Tornado's trainer?" The Bear piped up.

"Yep."

"Why...why..."

"Why am I helping you?" Jennie supplied. The Bear nodded without looking at Jennie, her mask
hiding most of her face. The design consisted of diagonal slashes of white paint across the black
fabric. Now, the white was smeared red with blood.

"I don't know. I wasn't going to," Jennie said honestly.

Something about the state of both boxers and the way Jinyoung seemed so insistent on taking them
to hospital had Jennie changing her mind and help.

At the hospital, people asked too many questions about backgrounds and history and identity,
probed too much about the anatomy and biology of a person. She and Lisa avoided hospitals for
the simple reason none of them had proper identity documentation and feared being noticed by
local authorities who would separate them or worse.

On top of that, she didn't trust Jinyoung's intentions. His excuses seemed genuine enough, but
when she remembered Jisoo mentioning that he seemed to be a fan of Lisa, Jennie quickly made up
her mind and turned him down. So far, she had no regrets for doing so.

"My friend Jisoo wanted to help you first," Jennie admitted. "Because she's kind like that. I didn't
want to meddle, I mean, I'm not responsible for you and we are kind of rivals, right? Besides, don't
you have your trainer? Where did she go?"

"I don't know," the Bear said miserably, hunching over as she held her shoulders, shivering ever so
slightly despite the night air being moderately warm. "I didn't even notice Wannie taking off. Can I
phone her? I hope she's okay and safe. Oh she must be so worried..." Her teeth chattered.

Wordlessly, Jennie took off her jacket and draped it over the Bear's bare shoulders, making her
squint up in surprise.

"Don't mention it. Just girl code stuff. Looking out for each other," Jennie said gruffly. "And I
suppose I'll lend you my phone since we left in a hurry and didn't grab your stuff from the lockers.
Maybe Wendy has them."

"Seungwannie," the Bear nodded and eagerly reached out to take Jennie's phone. But Jennie held it
out of reach, frowning.

"Why do you keep calling her that? I thought her name is Wendy?"

Why did the name Seungwan sound so familiar?

"Oh Seungwan's her actual name, I just call her Wannie," the Bear said innocently, "Wendy is her
alias as a trainer. Just like Tornado is Lisa, and Shadow is Soyeon, right?"

"Hmm and may I ask what's your real name then?" Jennie asked as a hunch started to form at the
back of her head. The question of just who Seungwan could be was just too big of a coincidence to
overlook, although of course it could be an altogether different person than the Seungwan she had
in mine. The foundations of a plan of action to deal with the Bear also started to germinate, based
on whether her hunch proved correct or not.

The Bear paused. "You...you sure you're not the cops?"

Jennie sighed. "I see you're still a bit addled up here huh?" And she tapped the Bear's forehead,
making the woman blink. "Just how many...uh, pills, you said? How many did you take? You had
a bad crash."

"I wasn't driving."

"I mean...look, never mind. It doesn't matter now. How long have you been taking them?"

"Been taking them for over a month," the Bear answered, "but I'm never taking them again." She
pulled a face. "This is...it was...awful. They changed me a lot."

"You might be thankful you took them actually, considering the amount of damage you
accumulated over last month and tonight," Jennie said dryly. "They're the ones numbing some of
the pain. Wait until the effect wears off all at once later, then you'll feel worse."
"How do you know? You took some before? I think Tornado has taken some too, she's super
strong," the Bear prattled on. "But it's no surprise, there have been rumours of a super stimulant pill
going around, after what Undertaker and Shadow did but nobody ever found anything. One of the
perks of it, there's no detection test for it, Wannie said. And Wannie got some so that I could win.
But they're awful and bad and...I wanna go home," she finished in a small voice.

Jennie stored this interesting piece of information to the back of her head. A super-pill, untraceable
by tests and finding its way into sports. She would have liked to extract more information while the
Bear's grip on lucidity was still hazy.

"I didn't take anything. Now if you could give me a name or an address, I can take you home and
you can phone Seungwan, if you remember her number."

"Her number?"

"Let's start with a name first."

"Name?" The Bear searched the air around her, squinting against the glow of a nearby streetlight.
"Seulgi."

What a small world. Having just come to the same conclusion, Jennie just had to confirm: "Kang
Seulgi? You know someone called Bae Irene?"

Seulgi's good eye widened and Jennie imagined her mouth dropping open behind her mask. "No
way, you read my mind?"

Jennie had to remind herself that the rather endearing and clueless woman sitting in front of her
was Lisa's fiercest rival, not a confused and sleepy toddler. "She's my friend."

"Can we go see her?" Seulgi pleaded. "I miss her. I was awful to her. I'm a bad friend to
everybody," she bawled and thumped her fists on the ground. "I want to see Hyun!"

Jennie closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. You just had to mention her, huh?

"Jendeuk, is everything okay?" Jisoo called in concern as Seulgi cried. "Is she having trouble
puking? Maybe you could slap her on the back? I read that—"

"No Jisoo, no," Jennie said wearily, "everything's just peachy, like Mimi says."

She glanced down at Seulgi's pitiful state. Put yourself in her shoes, Jisoo said. Against her better
judgement, Jennie was moved to help the confused girl and thus crouched down in front of her.

"Hey uh, Kang, look at me."

Seulgi kept crying until Jennie reached out and rubbed her shoulder.

"Seulgi, look at me," Jennie said as gently as possible. "It's very late in the evening, I don't think it's
such a good idea to wake Irene up and make her panic, you know? If you like, we can take you
home though, you live next door to her, right? You'll be close to her that way. And we can stay
with you till you feel better as well. How about that?"

"I don't have my house keys," Seulgi blurted.

Jennie swore.
 Mischief and Mayhem: Part 2

Some time later, Jennie found herself seated in a modest but comfortable living room, hands
clasped together as she fought to steel her nerves in front of the stern pair of eyes piercing into her
very soul.

"Jennie Kim, explain yourself. Now."

Wearing a red velvet nightrobe paired with fluffy bed slippers and completed with rolled-up hair
and crossed arms, Irene didn't look anymore disgruntled than a grumpy granny bunny whose nap
time was rudely disrupted.

Her sharp tone and unflinching gaze, however, made Jennie want to curl up in a protective ball and
be swallowed up by the sofa.

"It's just like what I said on the phone, unnie," Jennie began tremulously. "Jisoo, Lisa and I were
heading home after the match and we were passing by a bar and Jisoo nearly mowed down Seulgi
when she was crossing the street. We found out she was in some bar brawl, hence the bruises, and
she told us her name. But she forgot all her stuff with her girlfriend. We couldn't contact Seungwan
so....we thought we'd bring her here since she kept mentioning you."

"I'm dead certain that ninety-percent of what you just said is a lie," Irene said flatly, "but alright,
okay, I will go with it. Whatever." Her brows furrowed with worry. "Seulgi's seriously injured.
Lisa too for that matter but I assume that was from her match and you never want me to intervene
on that but for Seulgi...please, please tell me it wasn't anything I should worry about. What if she
needs to be checked up? Did she hit her head? What if she gets a concussion?" Her hands flew up
to her head in alarm. "Oh goodness, I shouldn't have left her alone in the shower—"

"She just needs you to be there for her unnie. She's had a rough night but the moment I mentioned
you, she couldn't rest until I promised her I'd bring her here," Jennie said softly, "so go to her. She'll
be alright. I got everything under control here, I prom—"

Her voice was drowned out by a pair of simultaneous and loud, obnoxious snores coming from
Jisoo and Lisa, who were sprawled on the couch to Jennie's right, eyes closed. Jennie resisted the
urge to strangle them on the spot and instead plastered a hopefully innocent smile on her face as
she gestured. "See? Knocked out cold, sleeping like the dead. Hehe. No trouble at all."

"You should get some sleep too," Irene suggested, clearly not believing a word but going along
because what else was she supposed to do? Call out Jennie on her lies? Her mind was elsewhere,
preoccupied with Seulgi.

"I will. Thank you for putting up with us and I'm really sorry for imposing."

"Not at all Jen. I meant it when I said call me if you're in trouble. It's the least I could do for
Hwangssabu..." Irene trailed off thoughtfully. "Maybe one day you'll tell me what really happened
tonight though? Provided we're not in immediate danger that I should know urgently, like right
now? You're not chased by cops, are you?" she asked meaningfully.

Jennie's gut squirmed like a snake-infested pit. "No no, nothing too urgent, nobody's after us. But
maybe it's something for you and Seulgi to talk about," she said quietly. "Iron things out, if you get
me. I don't want to get in between you and her."

Irene looked like she wanted to ask more but a small voice interrupted them.
"Hyun?" Seulgi called timidly from down the hall. "I—I'm finished."

With one final glance in Jennie's direction, Irene shuffled away, leaving Jennie to finally exhale in
relief.

"Hey I think we were pretty convincing," Lisa said as she sat up and stretched, wincing as the ice
pack Irene gave her fell off her face. "Ahh, the lovely pain, it's coming back. My face feels like
someone ran over it with a bulldozer."

"Shame we couldn't go to the diner like usual and celebrate," Jisoo sighed. "Joy and Yeri were so
excited."

"What is there to celebrate?" Jennie said bitterly. "Lisa got disqualified. And I should really call up
that place's useless management and give them a piece of my mind. I'll do that right now before I
get mad at you guys for being such lousy actors. If Irene wasn't so worried about Seulgi, she'll
have called me out on the BS I was spouting and then we'd be busted."

"Oooh she maaaaad."

"Yes, I'm mad, Lisa. What do you expect?" Jennie snarled. "You weren't the one handling
Jinyoung and doing damage control after the match finished cos' you conveniently conked out."

"Alliteration—"

"Not the time, Chu."

"Hey in my defence I thought I did pretty well, all things considered," Lisa defended, " what are
you so worked up about? Yeah we lost the match and yeah we lost our one way ticket to earn more
money but so did the Bear, I mean Seulgi. We both lost so fair's fair. I prefer both of us not making
it through than only her making it through."

"Fancy the Bear being Irene's girlfriend all this time."

"I wouldn't go that far, I don't think she's her girlfr—"

"Yeah, I'm quite flummoxed, isn't she some school teacher too?" Lisa bulldozed over Jennie's
protests. "Who would have thought? Guessing she kept her identity hush hush cos' they don't want
boxers as schoolteachers huh? Violence and a bad influence and all that. And I wonder how she hid
all the bruises? She must be a makeup extraordinaire. Maybe I should take some notes from her."

Lisa had taken the discovery of the Bear's identity in stride, probably softening her stance after
realising that Seulgi was badly shaken by events that transpired and picking petty fights tonight
was not the way to settle their rivalry. Jennie was thankful her sister was being sensitive for once
but she also wished Lisa would go back to pretending she was asleep.

"Will you shut up for five minutes?" Jennie gritted. "Go back to sleep. You both suck at pretending
by the way. And stop waving your arms around before you knock something over, I'll kill you if
you break something."

"Where are you going?" Lisa asked, dropping her arms.

"I need to make some calls," Jennie said testily. "The whole security management at the Slammer
seriously need some reforming because they suck. I don't care if the administration officials are
asleep, I want answers and I'm gonna get them."
"Shouldn't you sleep, like Irene said?" Jisoo asked in concern. "Jendeuk, you've both been through
quite the night..."

She trailed off as Jennie walked away into the kitchen, stabbing at the phone's keypad and
muttering under her breath.

"Let her go," Lisa said softly, "she needs some space for now, she's still too pumped up to think of
rest. Let her blow off some steam and then try talking to her again. She'll come around."

Jisoo sighed and absently reached out to adjust the ice packs on Lisa's face. "Do you think Irene
would mind me charging my phone? I got my cable with me."

"Nah, don't think so, go ahead. It's just charging, she ain't gonna notice."

"Plug it in for me?"

"I would," Lisa said, "but I have really lousy hand-eye coordination right now, like Jennie said, and
I'll miss the phone's pussy."

"The phone's what?"

"The hole thing that you charge from. The phone's pussy."

"Good one," Jisoo snorted. "That's the phone port. But okay, I'll get it myself."

For a few minutes, peace reigned as Jisoo sat back and watched Lisa absently massage her hurt
wrist. Jennie had pronounced it to be unbroken or unharmed in any tangible way but Lisa claimed
she could still feel the echo of the impact.

Jisoo had to hand it to Jennie, she really knew how to handle a crisis, smoothly talking to Irene and
calming her down long enough to spin a story over the phone about how they picked up a battered
Seulgi from the streets.

"Why not tell her the truth?" Jisoo asked as they drove to Irene's. Seulgi had calmed down
significantly, still sniffling in the backseat. Lisa had woken up and now groaned softly with every
jostle and bump of the SUV.

"I have a hunch Irene doesn't know about Seulgi's boxing side gig," Jennie had answered. "I don't
want to come in between them. Irene doesn't approve of Lisa boxing and competing. I don't want
her to hear about Seulgi from me, an outsider to their friendship. She and Seulgi should talk it out
so that Irene hears Seulgi's perspective first. Seulgi deserves that much. She's had a rough night,
her girlfriend that's also her trainer bailed out on her, she's terrified about us reporting her to cops
and she just had the biggest crash from whatever drug she has been having and she's not coping
with it very well. And when the full effects fade, she'll be sore and aching as well."

Jennie looked up at Jisoo. "There's no need to add any more grief to her troubles. If you're not sure
about backing me up with the story, all you and Lisa have to do is play like you're dead tired and
sleeping while I handle Irene, got it?"

And Jisoo had smiled fondly as she turned back to face the road. "You know, I think you're really
getting the hang of the girl code, Jendeuk."

The car's interior was too gloomy to tell for sure, but she could have sworn she glimpsed a hint of a
smile curving Jennie's lips.
Jisoo watched a dejected Lisa paw at the sofa cushions, bored and restless. She could faintly hear
Jennie's low mutters coming from the kitchen as well.

Jisoo's leg bounced restlessly as she pulled out Jinyoung's card. It was simple and minimalist, no
frills and to the point. It read JYP PHARMATECH and underneath it Jinyoung Park—
CEO followed by his number, stamped in black ink. The card gave absolutely nothing of interest
away, which left Jisoo mildly disappointed. But a smile soon crept up her face when she
remembered Jennie's hostile reaction to her teasing, remembered the way Jennie's possessive tone
had her aroused out of nowhere whilst Jennie remained oblivious of the effect she had on Jisoo.

And Jisoo would have to admit that she had perhaps pushed too far with her little jabs, but she just
wanted to know the extent of Jennie's feelings and suffice to say, she took heart from Jennie's
promising reaction.

"What you got there unnie?"

"Jinyoung, that sponsor guy for the Slammer? He gave me his card. Wants to hang out some time."

"Oh...like a date?" Lisa took the card, studying it with a frown.

"If it's a date for him, it's certainly not for me. My eyes are on Jennie," Jisoo answered as she took
the card back.

"Does Jennie know? She might think you're cheating on her."

"We're not dating, yet. So she can't feel cheated. But yes, she knows."

"Mm I dunno...she doesn't like him much. Don't fall for him or I'll make you pay for breaking
Jennie's heart," Lisa said solemnly.

"Breaking Jennie's heart is something I can promise won't happen, I swear it Lisa," Jisoo vowed.
Lisa sat back, pleased with Jisoo's answer.

"Okay, I'm so bored now," she whined, "and I don't feel like sleeping at all."

Jisoo frowned, churning up ideas to entertain themselves until she snapped her fingers upon
inspiration. "Hey, do you think Irene would mind if we put on some tunes? I feel like we need
some music to shake off tonight and loosen up."

Lisa's eyes lit up. "Oooohhh karaoke?"

"You read my mind."

Lisa clapped gleefully, the ice packs dropping off her face. "But keep it low or Jennie will kill us."

"I got you, I got you," Jisoo winked and scrolled through her phone. "Any requests?"

"Surprise me." Lisa stood up and stretched. "Aight, hit it DJ!"

>

Jennie got off her phone for the tenth time, rubbing her tired eyes and yawning hugely as she
leaned over her seat and rested her head on her arms on the kitchen island.

Negotiating with officials had her holding down her ground and arguing every corner she could,
even though all she wanted was to collapse on her mattress and sleep like the dead. Never had she
thought she'd ever miss her simple mattress back at the Vault.

But she grimly persevered, stubbornly ringing and ringing until she got through some higher ups at
the Slammer who had at least attempted to empathise and view the situation from her perspective.
Her efforts were rewarded with a promise of compensation if she would stop by the Slammer
tomorrow and fill out a statement.

That way, she and Lisa would be getting at least a quarter of the original sum but it was better than
nothing, and not even Jennie's hard haggling skills could make them budge. So she ended up
ranting about the match officials and security, complaining long and loud about the pitiful state of
organisation. She must have touched a nerve because the people on the other end of the phone
grimly informed her they had taken down her report and would be looking into the matter, which
was enough to satisfy Jennie, for the time being.

"I'm impressed you managed to even get some deal at this time," Irene chuckled lightly beside her
as she went about fixing mugs of tea.

"I can pay for Lisa's pilates sessions myself now," Jennie yawned. "Thanks for all your help so far
unnie. And I'm sorry we didn't make it."

"Hey things happen. Besides, Lisa is much better off now and she's made a new friend too. It's not
all a loss." Irene tapped the folded piece of fabric sitting on the edge of the counter. "Oh, Seulgi
gave you your jacket back."

Jennie slipped it on again with a sigh, watching whilst Irene fussed around as she boiled some tea
and poured it into three mugs. She slid one over to Jennie. "Here, this one's for you."

"I don't mean to be ungrateful but I don't suppose you have some energy drink lying around
somewhere?" Jennie said tiredly, even as she took the tea and sipped. "I need to stay awake, not
sleep."

"You will sleep," Irene admonished, clicking her teeth, "heavens, what do you even need to stay up
for?"

"I don't know...forgot..." Jennie mumbled.

She hadn't forgotten at all—her gut was slowly twisting into knots at the thought of Jinyoung
coming back and bursting into Irene's house unannounced to declare he was dragging Lisa and
Seulgi away and then lock them up somewhere and stick them with needles like a porcupine and
then—

Jennie shook her head and gulped down some more tea, nearly scalding herself in the process.

"You're gonna kill yourself with stress one day," Irene observed, noticing her tense posture. "And
there's nobody around to shake out the knots like Hwangssabu did. Unless you ask Jisoo if she
knows some yoga trick for that."

Jennie didn't answer.

"I'll be taking this to Seulgi," Irene said softly as she finished stirring and picked up the two mugs.
"Get yourself to bed with Jisoo and Lisa. If you need more blankets, let me know."

Jennie nodded. "Thank you unnie," she mumbled, eyes drooping. She didn't catch the fond
expression on Irene's face.
Irene walked out of the kitchen, leaving Jennie alone with her thoughts for approximately ten
seconds before her phone buzzed on the counter right beside her head. She didn't pick up. Jennie
sighed as her phone buzzed again, making her blindly reach out and accept the call.

"Yeah?"

"Oh thank goodness, Jen!"

Jennie's eyes flew open when she heard Rosé's urgent voice on the other end. "Rosé? What is it,
what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"No no I'm fine," Rosé said breathlessly. "But I've been trying to call Jisoo and I can't reach her and
I'm worried so I thought of calling you to find out and oh how's Lisa, is she hurt?"

"Slow down, Rosé slow down," Jennie said. "Jisoo's fine, she's with me and Lisa. We stopped over
at a friend's house for tonight. I don't know why you can't reach her, maybe her phone died. Do
you want to talk to her?"

"If she's with you then it's okay, don't bother. I just wanted to make sure she got home safe...it was
chaos after...after they fell out of the ring..." Rosé trailed off and for a few moments Jennie could
only hear breathing. "How's Lisa?" Rosé whispered at length.

"Alive and...well, loud," Jennie smiled, deducing Rosé's real reason for calling. "Do you want to
talk to her? I could pass her the phone if she's not asleep."

"Oh I couldn't possibly let you..." Rosé said shyly but the longing tone gave her away.

"Don't worry, I'm nearly out of credit anyway. Hang on, I'll get her for you. She missed you, you
know."

"I did too," Rosé said, a quiet admission that Jennie still heard. "I was so scared...."

"She's alright now, don't worry," Jennie said, remembering something as she rummaged in her
jacket's pockets and walked to the living room.

She stopped at the entrance, mouth falling slack for two reasons.

One, she couldn't find the Bear's mask. She had glimpsed Seulgi hurriedly tearing it off and
stuffing it in the jacket pocket as they approached Irene's front door. Where was it now? Oh no.
Irene couldn't have possibly found it, right?

Two, she came face to face with Jisoo and Lisa's butts wiggling in the air as they gabbled gibberish
to the tune of the Macarena playing in the background.

>

Seulgi fidgeted restlessly as she waited for Irene's return with promised mugs of tea and the subtle
implication of discussing whatever happened. She was sitting on Irene's bed holding an ice pack to
her black eye, the covers pulled back haphazardly in places after Irene presumably leapt out of bed
when she was rudely awakened by Jennie's call.

Seulgi grimaced, feeling another stab of guilt hit her. She was still wondering how on earth she was
going to explain to Irene, and where to start.

She cast her eyes about her, briefly realising that although she had been to Irene's house a couple of
times, she had never ventured into her bedroom. The room was homely and tidy, very much like its
owner. It was painted a muted peach tone and with oak furniture to match. A small dresser and a
desk completed Irene's room.

Inevitably, Seulgi found herself comparing it to her own bedroom, with its blank walls and
scattered clothes littering every surface.

The last month had been so hectic that sometimes it would take all her will power to jump into the
shower and then fall into bed, forgetting all about sorting any laundry she had gotten done. Those
nights sneaking out to Seungwan's place and the Slammer matches along with the stimulants she
had been taking wreaked havoc on her system, leaving her an irritable, moody wreck.

At the thought of Seungwan, Seulgi swallowed and shook her head, wincing at the movement. No.
Don't think of her. It's over. It's over.

She still couldn't believe that her girlfriend ended their relationship so suddenly, chopping Seulgi
out of her life like someone snapping a twig off a tree and throwing it away without any care. It
was a bolt out of the blue and Seulgi never saw it coming.

Although, if she were to be entirely honest, Seungwan had been the volatile and aggressive kind of
person on and off the ring, not Seulgi's type at all. So maybe if she had looked deeper, Seulgi
might have noticed the more obvious sign that she and Seungwan weren't suited to be together at
all.

After ringing up Seungwan's number for a couple of times using Jennie's phone, Seulgi finally sent
her a message, with Jennie typing in their whereabouts.

Seungwan replied with a message a mere few seconds later.

sorry gi. end of the line for both of us. i thought you could be a winner but you blew it when you
lost your head and got disqualified, after all the hard work and time i put into you. and i dont
give 2nd chances. don't call me again and dont show your face at the gym. we're thru. I know
you had your eyes on dat hoe, maybe screwing her behind my back too—S

Seulgi had remained catatonic, blinking with one good eye at the text, unable to believe what she
was seeing until in a hoarse voice she called Jennie over and asked her to read the message out
loud. She had to check that she wasn't dreaming. Hesitating, Jennie obeyed as Seulgi hung on to
the jacket, while her vision shattered into a kaleidoscope of colours like the surface of the Han
River before them.

"Seulgi, I'm so sorry," Jennie said sadly when she finished. "I...I shouldn't have read that.
That...that's so cruel of her."

And Seulgi shook her head, sniffing as she wiped her leaky eyes. "It's okay. I'll talk to her
tomorrow, maybe. Can....can we go to Joohyun's now?"

To Joohyun's. To Joohyun's. To her safe place.

Despite the initial shock and hurt, a certain lightness also accompanied her devastation, a certain
relief as a load was taken off her shoulders and set her free.

"Of course," Jennie said, her tone infinitely more gentle than before.

In the shower, Seulgi had scrubbed at the dried blood on her skin as much as she could until the
water ran red. Even then, she scrubbed harder until her skin felt raw as she imagined cleansing
herself of Seungwan's invisible touch where her fingers and mouth had previously roamed over
skin. By the time she was finished, Seulgi was now sore from rubbing her skin too hard, on top of
the array of bruises and aches decorating her body.

Her dirty garments had been handed over to Irene to run in the washing machine. She also gave
Irene Jennie's jacket, asking it to be returned to her. Seulgi felt a slight thrill through her stomach at
the thought of Irene touching her clothes and pouring in that fabric softener that made everything
smell of lavender.

Seulgi's hands shook all the while she waited for Irene's return, a slight tremor that she couldn't tell
if it was some sort of withdrawal effect, or the shock, or the remnants of adrenaline still shooting
through her veins as she replayed the fragments of memories from earlier, when she still felt
invincible enough to take on on a dozen stampeding rhinos.

But now? Now all that remained was a sinking helplessness and cold dread sitting in the pit of her
stomach as her knee bounced restlessly and thoughts swirled like a whirlpool in her head,
drowning her in self-loathing.

Hyun needs an explanation. Hyun DESERVES an explanation.

She clenched her fists, torn.

But I can't. She hates PFB.

Seulgi remembered how Irene would often would rant or complain about the sport that pitted
women against other women gladiator-style, calling it brutal and just an excuse for lecherous men
to ogle at nearly naked bodies. Irene compared PFB akin to selling your body, your health and your
youth for the sake of cheap, dirty entertainment.

She hates violence. She hates drugs of any kind, even simple sport stimulants. She'll hate my guts.

Distress mounting, Seulgi fiddled with the hem of her hoodie as she once more debated what to do
once Irene returned.

She wore the clothes Irene left outside the bathroom— grey sweatpants and a plain maroon hoodie.
There was even a pair of faded but clean underwear and brassiere, set a little aside as though a
hesitant afterthought, but Seulgi chickened out and opted to keep the ones she had on.

Wearing underwear that Irene probably wore at one point was just a little too much for her racing
thoughts and the simmering feelings she had been so desperately trying to quash ever since she
spied her gorgeous neighbour leaving the house one morning in a skintight yoga pants, plain T-
shirt and a messy bun, yawning as she hoisted her sports bag into her car.

Back then, as she goggled from the safety of her window, Seulgi hadn't noticed the drool dripping
down her chin and she quickly snapped her mouth shut, feeling incredibly foolish for her actions
yet curious to know more.

Seulgi thought Irene was the most gorgeous woman she had ever seen, and that was saying
something, since she had seen her fair share of pretty girls back in college.

But Irene was unrivalled in her refined and demure manner of carrying herself around, leaving
Seulgi a little awed. Once she probed a little further, Seulgi was pleasantly surprised to find out
Irene could be a genuinely fun person with an adorable laugh and a heart of solid gold, ready to
drop everything to help you.
It was bad enough wearing Irene's clothes, with their comforting lavender smell that Seulgi had
grown to love. Lavender was synonymous with her friend, the rather aloof but kind-hearted
neighbour who took Seulgi under her wing and made Seulgi her friend.

But for once, the smell sickened her, reminding her of the secrets she kept and the blatant hurt she
inflicted on Irene—Seulgi wasn't as oblivious of her actions as she led her friend to believe. She
knew her behaviour was callous, which was why she was forever trying to apologise and make up
for her shortcomings, only to fall into the same pattern again.

It was a vicious cycle of being pushed to be a good girlfriend to Seungwan by her guilt over her
lingering feelings for Irene and then longing to spend time with Irene, just talking or drinking hot
chocolate as they chatted or learning some new recipe. Seungwan must have sensed something was
off about Seulgi's actions, because she always accused Seulgi of giving Irene the eye.

So Seulgi kept her distance, she listened to Seungwan's advice regarding her boxing regimen and
took her dose of stimulant religiously that would help her get through the Purge, then spiralling
into a haze of working out, beating opponents at the Slammer, hiding her bruises when she went to
work and blowing off cumulative stress and increasing mood swings with decidedly unhealthy
habits.

Slinking out in the dead of night to go to Seungwan's was one of them—her girlfriend demanded to
see her because she needed stress relief and pampering. Guilty for the short amount of time they
were sharing what with all the preparation for boxing matches, Seulgi easily caved in, wanting to
get Irene off her mind for a few hours as well.

Irene couldn't know just what a turbulent month of confusion, highs and lows it had been, like an
acid trip that Seulgi was only just now resurfacing from, broken and battered down to the bone.

All that work to win the Purge and make a name for herself in a sport she liked...if her parents ever
got to know, she'd be dead meat. They wouldn't ever have allowed her to do such a thing, they were
conservative, anachronistic people who weren't exactly thrilled with her career choice and
sexuality for starters.

"The hoodie suits you."

Seulgi jerked her head up hurriedly to behold the older woman bearing steaming mugs of aromatic
tea.

"Uh t-thanks," Seulgi stuttered, heart fluttering. She put down the ice pack and took one of the
mugs, hoping that her grogginess wouldn't return and cause her embarrassment by puking in front
of Irene. The thought had her on edge as she took minute sips, rocking back and forth
unconsciously.

"Dddeulgi, hey, it's just me," Irene told her gently, "calm down. Drink, it will help you relax." She
brushed the collar of Seulgi's hoodie absently, fingers accidentally grazing the side of her throat
and Seulgi thought she was going to spontaneously combust on the spot.

All that work to distance herself in hopes of her crush being snuffed out had now gone down the
drain. Why did she even bother hiding her burgeoning feelings in the first place? Ah right, Hyun's
straight.

Seulgi recovered enough to give a slight nod and continued to slowly sip on her tea, legs tucked up
while Irene sat beside her, drinking quietly as well. The silence stretched on until Seulgi couldn't
take it anymore and abruptly lowered her mug, placing it at the foot of the bed. She licked her lips,
summoning the strength to start speaking once she straightened up again.

"Hyun, I know I owe you an explanation and I promise I'll tell you soon, I'm just still trying to
gather my thoughts and everything is so scattered and it's a mess up here so please, please just bear
with me for a little longer until I get there, I won't take any more of your time."

"Seulgi, you don't have to tell me anything if you're not up for it," Irene told her softly. "All I would
like to know right now is if you're in any imminent danger of being chased by...people. Or the
cops. I want to protect you to the best of my ability. Jennie said you were involved in a bar brawl
but I don't believe her. You look too badly battered for a mere bar brawl and I'm worried you'll get
a concussion if we don't check up—"

They covered for me, Seulgi said in wonder. Her fiercest rivals in the rings hadn't just picked her
up instead of leaving her in the hands of a stranger but also covered for her, probably well aware
that Irene wasn't keen on PFB at all.

"Dddeulgi!" Irene snapped her fingers. "Hey, you alright? Do you feel dizzy? Are the lights too
bright?"

"No, no they're okay," Seulgi said faintly. "And uh, like Jennie told you, it was a bar brawl and
yeah I know I shouldn't have done anything, that was stupid of me. But this guy was making moves
on Wannie and I got mad and...yeah... but I swear it died down on its own and then I walked out.
I'm totally fine and I don't need to go to hospital, Jennie took care of me."

Irene pursed her lips and turned away. "I understand if you can't tell me the truth," she said softly,
"but please...don't feed me lies instead. Just tell me to my face that you can't tell me the truth and I
will understand, or at least try to."

Seulgi's mouth ran dry, despite the tea she was drinking. "But...I'm telling the truth," she said
forlornly, hurt that Irene doubted her but not quite surprised either.

"Really? We're really doing this?" Irene's voice sounded on the point of cracking. "Since when did
you start hiding from me? This past month, you've been hiding things from me and it made me
hurt but I didn't want to intrude, even though it killed me to see you changed so much. And now
tonight, you show up on my doorstep all bloody and...and I can't help but think the worst..."

She broke off, shaking her head. "I can't keep going on like this anymore. I'm tired, Seulgi.
Please...if our friendship meant anything, can you at least tell me the truth about tonight? Or why
you've been acting so...so differently? Is it me? Or is it Seungwan, was she threatening you?"

Seulgi couldn't even get to appreciate the concern in Irene's voice before she jumped into defence
mode. "No! No Hyun, it definitely wasn't anything for you to worry about I promise! I was just in a
bad place, that's all, and I didn't deal with it in a healthy way and you got to see the worst part of
me. That's all there is to it. Believe me," she finished weakly.

Irene's eyes were pleading for her to reveal all but Seulgi cowered away from the truth, shrivelling
up in a corner in shame.

"Seulgi..." Irene cupped Seulgi's face, making Seulgi freeze. "You're safe here. You don't have to
cover up for her. You...you can tell me anything."

Irene's voice was so unbearably fond and warm that it took all of Seulgi's willpower not to break
down and fall right into her arms. But she couldn't let herself crumble so easy. She had worked hard
to put up a distance between her feelings and the object of her affection.
"If you're talking about Wannie, there's nothing to cover for her," Seulgi said stiffly. "She's m-my
girlfriend and I-I love her. She's a good person and wants only the best for me."

There, she'd done it. It physically hurt, darts of pain stabbing her over and over, not only because
of the painfully stupid lie but also because Irene's expression shattered.

Yet it was necessary to hold Irene at bay, before Seulgi did something she might regret even more.

"Is that why she ran out on you tonight then, and left you at the bar?" Irene said bitterly and Seulgi
turned away.

"Maybe she was scared. I'll find out later," she fibbed. "Don't worry about us. We're o-okay."

"Well, if you wait a bit, I can put in some new sheets and you can take my bed," Irene said after a
long moment of awkward silence. She didn't look at Seulgi and her voice was neutral, devoid of
emotion as Seulgi watched her retreat behind her aloof mask. And it felt terrible to watch the gates
slam shut in your face knowing it was nobody's fault but your own.

"I can take the couch you know—"

"The others will be sharing the couch," Irene sighed, putting aside her mug. "And I'm not about to
let you sleep on the floor in your state. That is final."

Seulgi relented and timidly stood up, moving away so Irene could pull off the sheets and put in
new ones.

"Where will you sleep?" Seulgi asked casually, guessing the answer.

"Here, on the floor. I have a futon somewhere. You didn't think I could possibly leave you all by
yourself when I have no idea if you'd need to go to the hospital or....or..."

"I won't," Seulgi said quietly, "I promise."

Irene's face tightened. "Don't make promises you can't keep. I'm...I'm tired of hanging on to your
word. And this one, you for sure can't tell what will happen. So just...don't."

The words struck deep, scorching her heart. Seulgi swallowed.

"Hyun," she began, "I'm sorry. I'm really really sorry. You have to believe at least that."

"What are you sorry for?" Irene whirled around, eyes blazing. "Sorry for making me so thrilled that
I thought I had found a steadfast friend in you only for everything to crumble once a new person
enters the picture? Sorry for using me as your emotional punching bag? Sorry for the silent
treatment and then the sweet apologies to keep me hanging on like a stupid moron? Sorry for the
fact that you just keep lying and hiding and covering up to leave me in the dark? What kind of
friend does that make you Seulgi?"

"A bad one," Seulgi said quietly. "But trust me when I say I have my reasons." She lowered her
head. "I'm just too ashamed to tell you because...well you already hate me and I'm okay with that, I
deserve it. But I can't bear the idea of you loathing me," she admitted miserably.

"Ddeulgi..." Irene's voice softened, luring Seulgi back like siren song. "I don't hate or loathe you.
How could I? I'm just...very confused and hurt. I thought we were friends but then I started to
wonder... what are we exactly? What am I to you?"
If only you knew, Seulgi thought. She remembered the countless nights spent lying awake in bed
reminiscing on her daily small glimpses she had of Irene, squealing into the pillow like some love-
struck teenager and planning on how to summon enough nerves to start up a conversation with her
neighbour, a proper one that wasn't small talk.

She always chickened out at the last second, fearing she'd come across as some kind of needy,
clingy child. She wished she could borrow her alter-ego for such occasions, bring out the
swaggering, smirking, confident and devil-may-care Bear. But she was smart enough to know that
putting on such a persona would really scare away Irene, who didn't seem to be fond of loud and
arrogant people. It took for an almost tragedy to get them talking, one crisp morning when Seulgi
was crossing the road and Irene was driving.

"You're a very dear person," Seulgi heard someone say. She realised it was herself, "and I regret
treating you the way I did. I can't ever apologise enough for what I did. And I'd do anything to go
back and undo the things I did."

"There is a way to do that." Irene stepped up to her and gently took Seulgi's palms, rubbing her
thumbs in circles. "Whenever you're ready, I'm ready to hear your reasons and excuses for your
actions. It's the only way that could possibly make me understand a little of what was going on."

"You mean, right now?" Seulgi swallowed, a lump sticking in her throat not just from apprehension
but also because of Irene's proximity and intense gaze trained on her. Seulgi now noticed the
lavender smell engulfing her, and she also noticed that Irene had pulled out the rollers some time
since she had come back, letting her soft downy hair fall past her shoulders. Bare-faced, Irene's
beauty was still mesmerising, enough to set Seulgi's heart hammering.

"If you keep thinking and thinking about it, you're going to keep stalling," Irene whispered. She
stood toe to toe with Seulgi, looking up at the younger woman. "Sometimes you have to rip off the
band-aid. You've let the wound fester long enough. Sometimes you have to let go and trust the
other person will be there to catch you."

"Will you?" Seulgi breathed. "Despite...despite...everything I did?"

"Upon my word," Irene nodded.

They were standing close, hand in hand. Seulgi hadn't even noticed Irene taking her hands,
intertwining their fingers together so easily.

No don't think like that don't think like that you're gonna do something stupid and regret it!

Irene was so caring and sweet, worrying about Seulgi despite all the hurt Seulgi inflicted on her. It
only made Seulgi's shame grow.

Seulgi stiffened when Irene leaned forward and connected their foreheads together. If the
atmosphere hadn't been so tense, Seulgi would be enjoying the skin to skin contact whilst melting
into a puddle of goo at the same time.

How many times had she woken up from such a dream, where Irene was only holding her hand and
smiling at her or simply cuddling with her but it was enough to have Seulgi spring awake, feeling
like she was about to burst into flames? Seungwan always complained Seulgi disrupted her sleep,
amongst other things Seulgi did that seemed to tick her off.

Seungwan could never elicit the same fireworks in a single night spent love-making that Irene
conjured with a mere forehead touch.
Seulgi closed her eyes, lulled into complacency. She sensed Irene gently untangle a hand and then
came some rustling. But Seulgi was too lost in the moment, enjoying the closest she would ever
probably allow herself to be with Irene.

"Ddeulgi, I know about you competing in PFB," Irene said softly. "I know about the Bear."

Seulgi's eyes snapped open, glancing down between them.

Irene's free hand held the Bear's mask, smeared with blood.

>

Seulgi couldn't believe what she was seeing. Of all things that would oust her secret, she had never
considered such a damning piece of evidence to be the culprit of her downfall.

"Wha...How..."

"In Jennie's jacket pocket," Irene spoke slowly, carefully.

"That's...it's not mine!"

"Are you sure?" Irene insisted. "Why would Jennie have in her possession her rival's mask? And
yes I know what the Bear's mask looks like, I've been hearing about that person for a while."

Seulgi's eyes darted back and forth between the mask and Irene. "I...I..."

"Jennie gave you her jacket. Now this was either in there because Jennie picked it up or else you
put it in the pocket since you had been wearing the jacket prior to me giving it back to her," Irene
went on, "this fell out on my way to give it to Jennie."

Seulgi could only look down, riddled with shame. "Hyun, I..."

"Jennie doesn't know that I found this," Irene said quietly, "but I see now what she meant when she
said you and I should talk things through when I pressed her about her cover story. She covered for
you, she lied to me to save your skin. And for what? Because you compete in PFB?"

"You hate PFB!" Seulgi burst out, startling Irene. "Don't try and tell me you don't! You go on all
about how it's unfeminine and violent and brutal!"

"And it is!" Irene fired back. "I won't go back on that! I hate that Lisa and Jennie are involved in it
but what can I do? It's their life! And it's your life too Seulgi. Who am I to stop you? You're my
friend too and it would have me more worried about you for sure I mean do you know how much
it affects mental health? All those hits to the head lead to a higher suicide rate, it's on level with
those american football players and they had helmets but you don't! Don't you see the issue here
now?"

Seulgi blinked. "You...you're okay with...you're okay with me doing PFB?"

"No I'm not! But I can't stop you either," Irene sighed, "but it doesn't mean you have to be ashamed
of it because of me. It's your life Seulgi. Even if I may not approve, it's your choice to—mmf!"

Irene's eyes grew round as Seulgi kissed her, hands cradling her jaw and holding her in place. Irene
didn't even have the chance to process what was happening before Seulgi broke away, eyes wide in
horror. Her hands dropped to her sides, trembling anew.

"I...I didn't...I was so relieved...I..." Seulgi stammered before she tore herself away and stumbled
towards the door. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry—"

She drew a sharp breath when Irene caught her wrist. Tears were welling up in her eyes, choking
her up as she realised just what a grave error she had just committed. She had lost control of her
high strung emotions and now ruined her friendship with Irene for good. It hadn't been the
discovery that she participated in PFB that would be the cause of their estrangement but Seulgi's
ridiculous relief and unbounded elation.

"Dddeulgi, wait," Irene pleaded with her. "Please wait. Stop running from me. I don't want to lose
you again."

"Y-you never did," Seulgi said shakily. "I'm always here."

"No you weren't." Irene's grip on her didn't relent, as though fearful Seulgi would run off the
moment she let her go. "Gi..."

"I'm sorry, I keep messing up, I can't stop," Seulgi whimpered. "I'm a mess Hyun I'm sorry I'm
sorry I'm sorry."

She slumped to the ground, with Irene letting her go and coming to stand in front of the weeping
woman hiding behind her hands.

Irene could still feel the ghost of Seulgi's lips curving against her mouth, sending tingles of
electricity skittering all over her body. It had been brief but intense, a prelude to something far
more sweeping and passionate, making Irene's toes curl now as she found herself wishing the kiss
had been longer.

"Seulgi it's okay, it's okay." Irene crouched down and pulled Seulgi into a hug without any qualms,
holding her close as she rocked them gently. "Ssh ssh, why are you crying?"

"I...I ruined us!" Seulgi sobbed. She hiccuped and dared to look up at Irene. "Didn't I?"

"No?" Irene smiled. "You didn't ruin anything. You're still my Ddeulgi and I'm still your Hyun.
Alright?"

Seulgi gulped. "You're not mad?"

"About what?"

"I kissed you," Seulgi said in a small voice.

"And why did you do that?" Irene asked softly, her voice laced only with curiosity which gave
Seulgi the heart to answer despite the haze of overwhelming guilt crashing down on her.

"I was so certain you'd hate me because I do PFB but then you weren't, you were the sweetest
about it, and I couldn't resist anymore."

"Anymore?" Irene echoed. Goosebumps erupted all over her skin and she fought to quash the swell
of hope in her chest. "What do you mean, anymore?"

Seulgi went quiet, turning her head away, rejecting Irene. "I should go."

Dismayed, Irene watched as Seulgi pushed back and climbed to her feet.

All at once, Irene came to a decision: it was time to chase after Seulgi. Every time she gave her
friend the freedom to speak or leave, Seulgi always chose the latter, fuelled by a cocktail of fear,
shame and guilt.

But not anymore. Irene was done waiting for answers. For once, she would go against her belief
and demand an explanation.

She stood up and swiftly turned Seulgi around to grip her shoulders.

"Gi, what do you mean you couldn't resist anymore? Please, tell me what's going on."

"I—"

"Stop running away," Irene gritted. "I'm not going anywhere, even if you say you killed someone
and needed to bury the damn body. Yes I said damn," she went on as Seulgi's eyebrows shot up,
"and you're not going anywhere until you explain. What do you mean, you couldn't resist
anymore?"

Seulgi withered beneath Irene's gaze, shaking like a leaf in a storm. "Okay...okay it's just...I
just...I'm in love with you Hyun."

Irene's heart stopped.

"I think you're an amazing person. Scratch that, you're quite possibly the most amazing person I
ever met. I like everything about you. You're first and foremost a great friend. Look at you, you're
still standing here, willingly ready to give up your bed for me, even after I hurt you, even after I
lied, even after you learned I play in PFB...even after..." Seulgi's face turned warm. "What did I
ever do to deserve you Hyun? I took and took and never gave you anything back. And
now...now..." she swallowed horribly, "I don't even know."

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Irene whispered. "Why...why are you with Seungwan then?"

Seulgi's mouth quirked up into a weak smile. "You really don't like her huh?"

Irene almost huffed and pulled away hadn't Seulgi said: "she simply was available Hyun. I...I did
what I could to take my mind off you."

"And...did it work?"

Irene was pleasantly surprised by Seulgi's chuckle. "We wouldn't be here having this conversation
right now if it did. Besides, it's over. Seungwan and I are done."

"What?" Irene was stunned. "But...I thought..."

Seulgi gave a a wan smile. "Yeah, I guess I expected us to last longer too. But it wasn't meant to be.
Not when I was still thinking about you whilst I was with her. I think she noticed too, and let me
go. It happened earlier."

"But you...why didn't you just tell me?" Irene asked as though it was the most obvious thing in the
world. "Why didn't you tell me...you had feelings for me?"

We wasted so much time running around each other in circles...

"You wanted me to just come at you and say that, even though you're straight?" Seulgi said
doubtfully. She shook her head. "I was scared of ruining what we had. Guess I still ended up doing
that..."

"I don't think I'm as straight as I think I am when it comes to you, Seulgi," Irene confessed quietly,
"because I can't resist anymore either."

Seulgi's brow furrowed. "Wha—"

Irene kissed her, the daintiest of pecks Seulgi had ever received. The sensation still had her knees
nearly buckling as her heart imploded, rendering her frozen for a few seconds. Irene pressed gently
against her lips with eyes closed, waiting for a reaction, whereupon Seulgi gave in and kissed back,
capturing Irene's lips more comfortably as she tilted her head and her hands came up to cradle
Irene's face. Irene sighed and leaned in further, her skin warming up with Seulgi's careful caresses.

Seulgi's gut was doing cartwheels of delight as she deepened the kiss, tentatively brushing her
tongue against the seam of Irene's mouth, drawing out a gasp as Irene abruptly pulled back. Her
hands gripped tightly on to Seulgi's shoulders with no intention of letting go. Irene grew aware of
one of Seulgi's hands slipping to the middle of her back, holding her close.

"We...we should talk," Irene said huskily. They still had so much to cover but for some reason she
couldn't quite remember what they needed to discuss.

Her tone betrayed her true wishes and judging by Seulgi's dark pupils blown wide, the other
woman understood her perfectly.

"We should," Seulgi said solemnly but she didn't budge or add anything else, merely continued to
hold Irene and gaze at her with something akin to hunger pooling in her eyes. Fire licked at her
insides, a low but steady burning flame stoked with desire to meld with the woman in her arms. But
Seulgi waited, exercising her restraint to give Irene space to back out, if she so wished. Seulgi
would be damned if Irene felt pressured—she wanted to move according to Irene's wishes.

Meanwhile Irene was blissfully lost in free fall and basking in all the new sensations that had her
crave more. Her fingers longed to explore the firm muscles, itching to slip underneath Seulgi's
hoodie and roam around bare skin. Seulgi looked good in anything but wearing her clothes was
doing something funny to Irene.

"Hyun?" Seulgi called gently, swiftly bringing Irene back to reality, "is this okay? Are we okay?"
She clutched Irene a little tighter, hesitation showing up in her voice. "We...we can...go back to
before and..."

Irene shook her head.

She had freely stepped off the edge of the cliff and it felt good, like never before. It felt just
right and Irene couldn't believe she had ever resigned herself to lukewarm feelings regarding
relationships. With Seulgi, it was sparks but also a sensation of security and home, despite their
combined emotional and raw outbursts just moments earlier. The knowledge that Seulgi was
attracted to her had Irene realising just why she had always been mild and neutral when men gave
her attention—her interest never lay with them in the first place.

Irene smiled at Seulgi and forgot about everything else, one by one flinging all her worries and
concerns out of the window at the sight of Seulgi's endearingly shy smile that beckoned her closer,
inexorably so. All that mattered right now was Seulgi opening up to her like a flower blossoming in
the rain. Glimpsing Seulgi's face brimming with trust and hope in her, Irene knew that everything
would right itself eventually.

They would find the answers and solutions, they would be able to pick up again and heal and clean
up after the mistakes that were made and start over. They will be alright as long as they figure
things out together.
"We will be okay," Irene sighed softly, eyes fluttering shut as Seulgi closed the gap between them
once more.

>

"Are you guys crazy?" Jennie hissed.

"We just...wanted to loosen up a bit Jendeuk—"

"Loosen up my left foot." Jennie pinched the bridge of her nose and leaned back in the couch. "I
would say walking on you two idiots dancing like headless chickens is the weirdest thing that
happened tonight but I'm scared of actually verbalising that in case something worse happens."

"You kinda just did," Jisoo pointed out.

"Jisoo please," Jennie said in utter defeat. "I just don't want anything else happening. Can we
please sleep?"

"Alright alright, serious mode on," Jisoo replied and settled to sleep, stretching out on the couch.
"'Night Jendeuk."

"Goodnight." Jennie laid back in a sitting position on the other couch, foregoing a blanket and just
crossing her arms and closing her eyes. The lights had been dimmed, leaving the living room in
semi-darkness because Lisa was still in the kitchen talking to Rosé and Jennie didn't want Lisa to
come stumbling and possibly knocking something priceless over, or dent the furniture. She would
strangle Lisa for sure if her sister broke that expensive looking vase or knocked over that silver
photo frame.

The low mumbles of Lisa were the only thing Jennie could hear besides her and Jisoo's breathing.
Inevitably, her mind drifted to the other two occupants sharing with them tonight: what had Irene
and Seulgi gotten up to?

"Jendeuk? You asleep?"

"Not yet." Jennie yawned. "What is it?"

"Umm...where's the bathroom?"

"Down the hall, three doors to your left," Jennie said, turning to her side trying to get more
comfortable. "Take your phone with you, you definitely won't miss it."

"What if I open the wrong door?"

"A monster will eat you," Jennie dead-panned. "Chu, come on, just go out of the room and try the
next door."

"But...what if I walk in on Seulgi and Irene?"

"They're most likely asleep."

"What if they're making out and I interrupt them?" Jisoo voice lowered to an urgent whisper. "Or
what if they're having sex—"

"Irene and Seulgi?" Jennie spluttered. "Why would they even—how even—"

"Don't tell me you can't read the room?" Jisoo retorted. "There was definitely some kind of tension
going on between them when they were in the same room with us, I don't know if they want to
jump each other or strangle each other—"

Jennie groaned and stood up, realising she wasn't going to get any sleep at this rate. "Alright,
alright. I can't believe I'm doing this. Let's go."

Jisoo beamed at her and grabbed her phone as she bounced off the couch. "Adventure time!"

"Yeah yeah but you better not try any funny stuff," Jennie warned. "And keep your voice down."

"Jendeuk, I would never take advantage of you like that," Jisoo said soberly. "I respect your
boundaries and—"

"I meant no pranks you idiot, not....not whatever you were thinking ugh!" Thankful for the cover
of darkness that hid her blushing, Jennie tossed her head. "Turn on the flashlight and let's just go!"

>

"...then she just jumped from the ring, it was epic! Hella metal, you get what I'm saying?"

"I get you," Rosé chuckled.

Lisa was narrating the events of the boxing match to Rosé for perhaps the umpteenth time, but
Rosé gamely went along, giving her reactions each time because listening to Lisa talking excitedly
was endearing and made Rosé forget that it was nearly three in the morning.

"She really had it out for me that she disqualified herself. It was crazy, she nearly flattened Nini
into a pancake. Jennie would be a Nini-cake," Lisa shook her head, smiling to herself as Rosé's soft
laughter caressed her ear. She tucked her legs up underneath her on the seat.

"Hmm, but you said you'll be getting some compensation since you both were disqualified?
At least that's something," Rosé said optimistically.

"Yep and I called dibs on spending a day at a Spa resort for some serious pampering!" Lisa said
enthusiastically as Rosé giggled. "Leave it to Nini to bully the officials after the way they handled
the whole match. They were kinda useless, not gonna lie."

"I'll say!" Rosé huffed. "You were basically getting murdered in plain view—"

"No I wasn't! I was doing fine!" Lisa protested.

"Now is not the time for pride Lisa," Rosé chided, "you hurt your hand and you got thrown
out of the ring. If people were in their right minds the match would have ended right there. I
couldn't even see anything properly and I couldn't tell...I couldn't see what was happening to
you..."

The waver in Rosé's voice did not go unmissed by Lisa. "Hey it's alright. I'm okay, I promise. I
collapsed a bit at the end because I kinda stopped moving abruptly so it was like a shock to my
body and my hand will be fine, I promise Rosie. Don't you worry about it."

"You didn't go to a hospital did you?" came the pensive reply.

"Nope. Don't need to."

"Lisa..."
"It's all good Chipmunk, I swear. Jennie's with me, she knows when I'm at my limits and when I
need help." Lisa couldn't help feeling warm all over from Rosé's unrelenting concern. She had
already asked a thousand questions the moment Lisa took the phone from Jennie, urgently wanting
to know if Lisa's vision was blurry or if she was nauseous or coughing up blood.

"Well....maybe I could drop by tomorrow and check for myself...." Rosé mused.

"Oh yes please!" Lisa cheering, making the pilates instructor laugh, "I missed seeing you today!
And you know Doc Park is always welcome at the Vault!"

"Is she now?" Rosé giggled before sobering up. "I missed you too. I'm sorry I couldn't make it.
Ella was pretty bummed out about it until I sang her a little and watched a movie with her."

"Awww, say hi to her for me! Is she with you right now?"

"Goodness no, I made her sleep before checking in to your match. I'm glad she didn't get to
see it."

"Yeah me too. Pretty humiliating to be honest. And how's Leo?"

"Roaming around and biting my hands when he's playing. Oliver though, he's quieter. Did
you know Leo even wandered in during a pilates session? Luckily, Mrs Seo doesn't mind cats
so it was alright. I don't know how he came in, I thought I had the door closed."

"The little rascal," Lisa chuckled.

She straightened when a commotion sounded from the direction of the living room, before silence
reigned again. Tempted to check what happened, Lisa eventually shrugged it off as Jennie or Jisoo
finally making a move on each other. Good for them.

"Rosie, can I ask you something?" Lisa said, struck by a thought. "Jisoo said you got a night job
and that's why you couldn't make it today, because you were resting. How come you didn't
mention anything?"

There was a momentary silence on the other end before Rosé's voice came on the line
again. "Sorry it's just...everything happened a bit fast. It's nothing too fancy, it's a bar. I'm
waitressing just to earn something extra because pilates business is slow in summer. And I'm
having Jisoo babysit Ella. I'm sorry for not telling you."

"Hey, I ain't the boss of ya. But if you told me, I would have congratulated you! Like I'm doing
now: Congratulations on getting the job!" Lisa said happily.

"Lisa it's just an ordinary job, not some secretary position in a prestigious company," Rosé
said, amused. "Oh and speaking of congratulations, I have a present for you!"

"A present?" Lisa's eyes grew round. "What? For real? Why? What is it?"

"It's a surprise. I'll give it to you tomorrow. It was supposed to be a present to celebrate you
getting through the Purge...but I guess it can be a present for pretty much anything you want
it to be. Consider it a late-birthday present, if you like."

"You're the best!" Lisa beamed, "but can't I get a hint now? Please?"

"I'm not good with hints, I'll just give it away," Rosé smiled, "or you'll extricate it from me
somehow."

"Just one teensy weensy hint," Lisa wheedled. "This isn't twenty questions. Just a tiny hint. Is it
wrapped up already?"

"It is, I got it yesterday. Hmm....you might use this present in the future or practically any
day really. It all depends on you."

"What kind of a hint is that? It could be anything!" Lisa groaned as Rosé giggled. They fell quiet
for a few moments, basking in each other's presence and the lingering echoes of their laughter still
ringing in the air.

Lisa rested her head on her arms at the kitchen island, sleepy and comfortable listening to Rosé's
gentle breathing on the line. If she closed her eyes, she could just picture Rosé next to her.

"Lisa?"

"Yeah?" Lisa yawned, rubbing her eyes.

"Nothing...just wanted to hear you I guess," Rosé said shyly, making Lisa puff up with pride.

"Yeah? Well I like hearing you too. When you say 'hmm' in that deeper voice, it's nice."

"Hmm? Like that? What's nice about that?"

Lisa could distinctly hear the smile in Rosé's voice. "I don't know, it sounds nice. You have a nice
voice."

"Why thank you," Rosé said graciously before Lisa heard her stifle a yawn.

"You're sleepy too?" Lisa asked.

"Hmm yeah. We should sleep before your phone runs out of credit."

"Jen said we can use it all up anyway. Can we just...stay on-call?" Lisa asked hopefully.

"Sure if you like. I'm lying in bed so don't be too surprised if I doze off."

"I'm in Irene's kitchen."

"Ah, were you hungry?"

"No just to get some privacy, and let Jennie and Jisoo...sleep," Lisa said, "but come to think of it,
I'm kinda peckish..."

"I'll make you kimbap for lunch tomorrow," Rosé promised and yawned again. "Maybe you
should go sleep Lis, get some rest. Your body needs it. I don't even know how you're still
awake."

"I'm Super Gay, remember? It's one of my specialities."

"Oh yes your superhero persona," Rosé snorted. "And what's your speciality then? Staying
awake?"

"No. Sleeping with my eyes open."

Rosé burst into peals of laughter. "So you're saying you're sleep-talking and sleep-walking,
then."

"No no, I'm asleep but able to hear you and reply back," Lisa insisted, giving up as Rosé kept
interrupting with little snorts.

"You talk more silly when you're sleepy," Rosé said at last, gaining her breath.

"You love it," Lisa said smugly, a dopey grin spreading across her face when Rosé chuckled again.

"Guilty as charged."

A lull fell in the conversation until Rosé spoke up again. "But you should really go rest your
body Lisa. It's taken a lot of hits and endured some serious battering tonight."

"Doctor's orders?" Lisa joked.

"Doctor's orders," Rosé agreed immediately. "No excuses."

"Well then, can't argue with that now, can I?" Lisa sighed dramatically. "Listen, I can't go sleep.
Jennie and Jisoo might be...doing the do."

"What?"

"Banging."

"What?!" Rosé squealed. "They wouldn't! Unnie and Jennie? Well...it would be a bold move.
Are you sure, Lisa?"

"I thought I heard something but it's definitely quiet now," Lisa frowned. "Maybe they ran out of
stamina and fell asleep. I'm a bit scared to go see, in case they're naked."

"Lisa." Rosé could barely contain her giggles. "I'm pretty sure that sleeping together in a
friend's house after a challenging night is the last thing on Jisoo and Jennie's minds. You can
go in and they will just be asleep, you'll see."

"What if they're naked and...and...you know..."

"I'll eat two avocados for breakfast," Rosé promised. "But I'm positive. You probably heard
Jisoo fall off the couch....or maybe Jennie pushed her off."

"Farewell to my innocence, just in case," Lisa muttered as she tiptoed into the living room.

>

What Lisa had actually heard were indeed Jennie and Jisoo, but not in the scenario Lisa imagined.

After their excursion to the bathroom involved one big wrong turn (Jendeuk, that's right not
left!, Jisoo hissed all too late as Jennie's hand turned down the doorknob) both girls had quickly
rushed away from the scene, breathless and stupefied as they flung themselves on the couches in
the living room.

"Maybe...maybe if we just go to sleep we'll wake up in the morning and it will be all just a dream,"
Jennie squeaked.
"My eyes!" Jisoo whimpered. "How are we going to face them in the morning?"

"Tell you what, first thing at the crack of dawn, we grab Lisa and we're out of here before anyone
knows it," Jennie suggested, rapidly formulating a plan of escape.

"Good idea. But I still need to use the bathroom—"

"I'm not going back there!" Jennie said appalled. "I'll die of embarrassment if I see Irene!"

"Hey you're the one who didn't listen!"

"Well you're the one who dragged me along in the first place!" Jennie fell back with her face in her
hands, feeling her cheeks on fire. "Oh my goodness, I can't stop seeing them like that arrghh!"

"They seemed pretty into it, yeah."

"Shut up Chu."

"Rather hot, if you ask me."

"Shut up Chu." Jennie swung her legs over the couch and bent over her knees, kneading her temple.
"Okay. Okay okay okay. So we saw Irene and Seulgi making out. No big deal. We're all adults
here. People kiss and make up all the time. Why are we even acting like this? They can do
whatever the hell they want. They're cool, we're cool, we didn't see anything. It's fine, it's totally
fine."

"You don't sound fine."

"I said shut up Chu!" Jennie clawed at her face. "Why does it have to be such a big deal for
heaven's sake?"

"Maybe because of the unexpected shock factor? That's your friend that you always imagined was
straight, getting all hot and steamy with another woman, Lisa's rival no less. And maybe it got you
all hot and bothered too—"

"No it didn't," Jennie snapped.

"Besides, that's a whole plot twist right there, I mean I definitely expected some shouting at the
very least before moving on to second base but damn, they jumped to it pretty quickly. I mean
heck, Irene was practically naked, bouncing in Seulgi's lap—"

"Shut up shut up shut up!" Jennie yelped, clapping hands to her ears.

The sinful image replayed in her head: Seulgi sitting on the bed's edge with Irene straddling her,
back facing the door. Her night robe was pushed down over her shoulders, pooling around her
waist. Ebony black hair cascaded down her back as she arched up, head tilted back with her mouth
open in a silent cry of pleasure as her fingers tangled in Seulgi's hair. Seulgi's mouth was attached
to Irene's neck, while feverish hands gripped the fabric at Irene's hips.

The memory ended there as a hand clapped over Jennie's mouth when Jisoo quickly pulled her
away from the view. Jennie snapped out of her stupor and rushed away from the room hot on
Jisoo's heels. Nobody had come out after them, no other sound had indicated that the two women
had noticed their stunned audience so Jennie thanked whatever lucky stars were out there for not
getting caught.
The embarrassment on both sides would have been astronomical.

"Guys?" Lisa stepped out from the shadows, phone in hand. She sounded perplexed. "Okay so I'm
mildly disappointed and at the same time kinda relieved you're not banging but also....who are you
talking about?"

"You expected me and Jisoo to be banging?" Jennie whispered, mortified.

"Oh you're just in time. Jendeuk and I saw Irene and Seulgi making out," Jisoo said as Lisa's eyes
nearly popped out of their sockets. "It was a milf fantasy come true."

"HOLY BA—"

In a blink, Jennie tackled Lisa and covered her mouth, bringing them both down to the carpeted
ground as silently as possible.

"Not. Another. Word," Jennie gritted at Lisa's bulging eyes. "They kissed. We don't speak of this
again unless they bring it up. And tomorrow, we're all going to act like nothing happened. End of
the conversation. Now let's sleep. Gimme back my phone."

"Bye Rosie!" Lisa called under her breath as Jennie snatched her phone back and finally ended the
call.

"You've been talking to her for twenty-five minutes?" Jennie asked as she inspected the screen, her
voice murderous.

"You did say you're nearly out of credit, right?"

"I didn't mean you should use it up...." Jennie pinched the bridge of her nose. Irene was right—one
day, the combined stress of dealing not only with her sister but with Jisoo as well was going to kill
her. "Let's just sleep. I'm officially over and done with everything."

"But—"

"Lisa, do you know what time it is? It's shut-the-eff-up-and-go-to-fricking-sleep o'clock. So let's do
that, right now."

She made Lisa take the couch before lying down on the carpet floor between the two sofas, and
didn't budge on her decision despite protests from both Lisa and Jisoo to share with them.
Afterwards, Lisa easily passed out like a light after a few more giggles she shared with Jisoo about
the new developments. Jennie's eyelids drooped lower and lower until Jisoo piped up again.

"Hey circling back to our two new lovebirds—for the last time, I promise. If anything, this is a
good thing. You told me Irene was probably jealous and in denial about her feelings for Seulgi but
there we go, I think she's past it now. Good for them, good for them."

"I just hope things don't turn sour in the morning. It's been a night of too many hysterical emotions
to handle and I'm too tired to face another crisis so soon again." Jennie rubbed her eyes. "Just
please, not another peep. If something else happens, I don't care. I'm asleep."

"What makes you think it might turn sour?" When only silence punctuated with gentle breathing
noises greeted her, Jisoo's frown melted into a fond smile as she settled down for the remainder of
the night.

"Goodnight Nallalisa. Goodnight Jendeuk."

>

Meanwhile, at an undisclosed location near a warehouse situated along the docks on Incheon's
coast, Park Jinyoung surveyed the handful of men standing before him as they gleefully counted
the stack of bills one of his bodyguards had handed them upon meeting up.

"It's generous of you Mr Park—"

"Very generous—"

"Extremely generous—"

"Our pay is lousy, the Slammer is so stingy with staff but then them crazy bitches fighting get all
the cash—"

"So unfair—"

"We're more than happy to do this again, Mr Park—"

Jinyoung smiled, used to the bootlicking from anybody who got a whiff of how rich he was. "We'll
see about that, gentlemen. My due compliments for your efforts tonight—it was most satisfactory.
My friends and I are quite pleased with how things proceeded so smoothly."

"Oh leave that to us Mr Jinyoung—"

"Yes, we're damn convincing right? Hahaha—"

"All we had to do is do nothing bhahahah—"

"Those crazy girls were just thirsting for a catfight—"

"Rest assured you and your friends will always have our support Mr Jinyoung—"

"It's Mr Park," Jinyoung said pleasantly, a razor-sharp edge to his tone sounding a warning for
anyone trying to get too friendly, "but let's not get too carried away, gentlemen. I'd like you to do
one more thing for me tonight and it's very simple. I would like you to pay close attention and
answer this question: did you see anything unusual about the fighters?"

The Slammer's security guards that had been present at the PFB match scratched their heads and
looked around dubiously, uncertain and confused.

"Unusual, like what?"

"Anything," Jinyoung said tight-lipped. His four body guards stood silently and spread out behind
the now considerably more unnerved men. The gentle bobbing of the sea lapping against docks
was clear and crisp in the salty dark.

"Er well...no, there wasn't anything out of the usual except the Bear blowing her head off and going
on the rampage. That part was unusual."

"Yeah, you should see them whenever they face each other, even off the ring the Bear acts like a
diva. Can't get close enough or she'll bite your head off—"

"Tornado is a ladies gal, she loves'em and takes 'em all. But the Bear and her, they're like two mad
bulls in the same pen."
"Yeah remember that time when—"

They fell silent when Jinyoung held up his hand. "I see. Well, that will be all for now. Thank you
for your time, gentlemen. Pleasure doing business with you all," he finished off with a cloying
smile, making sure to let the subtle enormity of his disappointment crush them beneath his heel
like mere roaches as he abruptly turned away.

"Wait! Mr Park wait!" One of the security guards cried frantically. "I think I remember seeing
something funny!"

Jinyoung pivoted immediately, intrigued. "Yes?"

The man who spoke up was pushed forward by his colleagues. He gulped, all traces of glee
disappearing from his face as he found himself surrounded by Jinyoung's bodyguards.

"I...I saw them. They had yellow eyes!" he stammered. "The Bear and Tornado, they had yellow
eyes!"

"Oh yeah I saw it too!" piped up another one.

"Me too!"

And then all at once like a gaggle of geese, they started clamouring and claiming to have observed
this detail, eager to prove themselves and earn Jinyoung's approval.

They fell silent as Jinyoung's raised a hand to quieten them.

"Interesting," Jinyoung purred. "But how sure are you that it wasn't a trick of light?"

"No Mr Park I swear—"

"It was too vibrant and unnatural—"

"More like a golden colour—"

"Pure murder in their eyes—"

"The spotlights don't reach that area very much, it can't have been the light—"

"We were the only ones who could see it, the other people were too far away overhead, we were
level with the fighters, leve with their eyes."

Once again, they fell silent when Jinyoung raised his hand. Like obedient schoolchildren, he
thought.

"Hmm, very well I suppose for that, you all deserve a bonus. Jay-N, if you would be so kind to pay
these gentlemen their dues?"

Jay-N, the man with the briefcase, moved forward and opened the briefcase again, balancing it in
one hand as he tossed out a couple more stacks of bills, making sure that each man stood in a row
and each individual got only one stack.

"Excellent. Well gentlemen, as I said before, it has been a pleasure carrying out business with you
all. I hope we may work together again in the future. Have a goodnight."

"Goodnight to you too, Mr Park sir!" They bowed ninety degrees as Jinyoung entered his car with
his entourage.

He sat back in the leather seat, eyes closed as he replayed his dispute with the petite brunette
trainer and watched her run off with his valuable targets.

They had slipped from his hands....he almost had them...but they slipped away...

His hands clenched at the memory, but there was nothing he could do about it right now. The only
thing he could take comfort for is that he was on the right path to find Tiger King. He was on the
right track to acquire power and make his father take notice.

And when he does find the fabled assassin, (because make no mistake, he was going to find Tiger
King if it was the last thing he ever did) Jinyoung was going to make sure that everyone bowed
down at his feet and begged for mercy.

Because Jinyoung was going to rule Seoul and beyond.

"Where to, sir?" the driver asked, snapping Jinyoung out of his thoughts.

Jinyoung's brows furrowed, lips pulled back in a thin line of disdain. "Rkive. I need a drink to wash
away my utter disappointment for those desperate leeches. Useless, brainless greedy sycophants.
They have the audacity to complain about their wages in front of me? And their blatant bootlicking
is enough to make you vomit, or shoot yourself!"

His thoughts drifted to the security guards he had paid to sabotage the match. He had heard a
rumour that the Bear was juicing up and was immensely interested in seeing the play-off with
Tornado after a month's worth of accumulating drugs in her system.

It had been all too easy to bribe them and the referee into allowing the match to follow its course
instead of ending it should things take a turn for the violent.

The match had been very interesting, but still not enough, Jinyoung reflected frustratingly. And his
one opportunity to retrieve a sample of the girls' blood for his cousin to investigate later was
thwarted.

"I'm not comfortable letting those security guards run around freely. They could blab to anyone and
everything could be ruined," Jinyoung said aloud. "We can't risk shooting ourselves in the foot, not
when I'm so close."

A sudden brainwave occurred to Jinyoung, instantly lifting his mood. He unbuttoned the top of his
shirt; it was too warm out for shirts but he had an image to maintain.

"Jay?" he called.

"Yes sir?" All four men inside the car, including the driver, answered immediately.

Jinyoung glanced back in the direction of the warehouse, carefully weighing some considerations
in his head before coming to a decision. Moonlight splashed across his jaw as he flashed a sudden
diabolical smile.

"How many bullets would it take to shut them up for good?"

 The Case of the Two Jinyoungs

Dahyun had spent the better part of the morning after managing to get rid of Jackson holed up in
her room frantically pulling up all the resources she could think of to help her decode the
information in the pictures on her phone.

While she was at it, Dahyun also upgraded her firewall and anti-virus as well as malware detector.
Although she was trying hard not to let paranoia grip her, she even pulled down the blinds.

She had spent a whole day after he left churning over the meagre theories and threads she had
about her research, all of which soon drew a frustrating blank. No amount of Google search and
cross-referencing with chemical textbooks seem to bring up the complex organic molecules that
Jackson had drawn, and certainly there was no mention of TK that remotely resembled what she
was looking for.

By the time evening rolled around, she was ravenous, thirsty, cranky and exhausted. Her eyes felt
like lead balls in her head but her brain refused to stop, still running on an anxiety high as the
implications of what could happen should Jackson suspect her ulterior motives to checking his
notebooks kept pushing her to work out what he was up to.

She ended up sleeping on the couch, being lucid enough to refuse sleeping on the sheets that
Jackon had slept in.

There wasn't much of his scent lingering to be honest, but Dahyun's skin crawled at the thought of
sleeping on something he touched, which was why she had again spent a night on the couch before
pulling out the sheets and heading to the nearby laundromat early in the morning.

The blazing sunlight pushed everything into sharp focus—memories trickling in had her
mortification skyrocket as she remembered practically seducing Jackson into sleeping with her, all
to get her hands on his notebooks. Her recklessness had her almost doing something she'd most
probably regret, even when it seemed like the only good idea at the time out of sheer desperation
and lust.

Dahyun tucked her legs up on the chair she was sitting and rested her forehead on her knees,
sighing out loud. She was alone except for the background whirring of the washing machine she
was using.

After scrambling for some excuse as to why she had been rummaging though his bag, Dahyun had
finally admitted that she got bored waiting for Jackson to wake up and got curious since she always
saw him writing in his notebooks.

"Guess it's my journalistic sense," she had chuckled, praying he wouldn't probe further, "always
sticking my nose here and there, you know."

Still thankfully groggy, Jackson seemed to accept that explanation, although he snapped the
notebook shut rather forcefully when Dahyun handed it back.

He too seemed to have gotten over the night's declarations of desire and devotion, avoiding her
gaze as though he was a child caught sneaking candy. Probably, he recognised that it was better to
have a clean break than get entangled just before he departed. Jackson left with a curt 'thank you'
after a quick trip to the bathroom, leaving Dahyun staring after his departing back until she snapped
into action and pulled the sheets off the bed.
Her heart gave a weak pang watching him leave so swiftly, without even a proper goodbye but with
Jackson out of sight, it was easier to dampen the feeble spark that had momentarily threatened to
blaze between them.

Only now Dahyun understood that she barely knew Jackson and therefore couldn't even trust his
apparent good intentions. He had just been using her to mask his true goals and blend in as a
regular college student.

Momo's warning from before taunted her but Dahyun brushed all thoughts aside as she operated on
autopilot and walked to the corner laundromat in a daze.

Which led up to the present as she debated on the next course of action.

So Jackson was gone now, presumably out of the country and out of Dahyun's life. She shouldn't
be worrying about him right? He couldn't tell Jinyoung anything, couldn't do anything to her
because he didn't suspect her. If luck favoured her, Jackson would carry out his business as usual
and Jinyoung would be none the wiser.

But if Jackson did warn his cousin about Dahyun reading the notebooks, did that mean she was in
danger now? Would she go back to her dorm and find an army of hitmen waiting to kill her?

Dahyun shook her head, kneading her temples.

No. Jackson didn't know what she had learned and moreover, she was sure he meant what he said
about his feelings so at least, she could count on him believing her to be innocent. No matter how
tenuous that hope was, it's all she had to hold on to because otherwise, she was in decidedly hot
water should Jackson turn out to be suspicious.

And if she were to be pursued, where was she going to hide from the powerful force of a shady
corporation intent on hiding its secrets from the world? How was she going to be able to dig deeper
to expose the truth? Her last link to JYP had now slipped out of her hands and all she had were a
few scant photos of molecules and the mysterious phrase 'Tiger King'.

Think, Dubu. Think.

The answer for her next course of action was simple, almost laughable in its obviousness even
though she tried considering other plausible options.

It didn't make it any less easy to accept though.

Dahyun sighed and took out her phone, tasting bile in her mouth as she typed her message with
decisive stabs of her fingers, sending it immediately before she could get cold feet.

we should meet. i have something to tell u bout jyp. call me when you get this

She didn't get a reply within five minutes of impatiently checking her phone. In the end she
resigned herself to waiting until noon before she took action herself.

Dahyun sat back against the chair, tilted her head up to rest against the counter behind her and
closed her eyes.

It was going to be a long morning.

>
"Jennie! Wake up! Wake up!"

Jennie roused herself from sleep and came face to face with Jisoo peering intently at her.

"What? What is it? Is it time to go?" Jennie slurred, blinking the clouds from her eyes. She
suddenly felt self conscious and covered her mouth. "Are you watching me drool? Give people
some space, please?"

"Jendeuk, have you ever met a capybara called Reginald?" Jisoo asked urgently.

Jennie blinked. "Huhhhhhhhhhhh?"

"A capybara called Reginald," Jisoo repeated in the grey light of morning, "but it seems you
haven't met one because you're not understanding what I'm saying. That's good, that's good."

Jennie squinted up at Jisoo. "And uh, what's the deal with capybaras this morning? I know what
they are, if that's what you're asking."

"I had a weird dream that you were playing carrot pocky with a capybara called Reginald and you
two were having a romance and were planning to elope," Jisoo informed with a straight face, "and I
woke up because I couldn't bear to see you kissing a capybara. So I was just checking in case you
met one and my dream is already reality."

Jennie's mouth fell slack before she flopped back on the carpet with a sigh.

Good morning to me. Am I really catching feelings for this girl?

She was still too sleepy to process bizarre statements so early in the day when she didn't have some
energy drink or even coffee to boot up her system.

"Out of curiosity," Jennie asked hoarsely, "do you usually wake up Dalgom with your dream
anecdotes?"

At the mention of Dalgom, Jisoo's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh, Jen, Dalgom! I...he's all alone. My
poor baby he will be missing me and wondering why I never got back, I gotta go feed him and I'll
be back for you I promise, I—"

"Hey, hey. Chu, calm down," Jennie frowned and sat up immediately upon seeing Jisoo in distress.
She took her hands, successfully grabbing Jisoo's attention. "Jisoo it's okay, don't worry. Go on
ahead. We'll see you later."

"But, you need a getaway car and driver, remember?" Jisoo said urgently. "So let's just get away
from here and I can drop you off—"

"No listen. I don't want to run out on Irene like this, it would only make things more awkward. I
respect her a lot, it would be rude if we left without a word. Besides, we're all adults. It's her
business who she makes out with. Lisa and I will stay to greet her and then we'll be on our way."

"With what? Please don't tell me you're walking, it's quite a long way away and it's still too early
for you to be walking around, especially Lisa being all beaten up," Jisoo said worriedly. Jennie
was touched by her concern and squeezed her hands.

"Chu, we'll be okay, I promise. You go back to Dalgom, he needs you more than us right now. And
I'm sure you're dying to use the bathroom as well."
"As a matter of fact I am, now that you mention it," Jisoo grimaced. "But how are you going to get
back?"

"We can always catch a ride on a bus or a cab, I think I still got some money on me—"

"Or you could catch a ride with me," said a new voice.

Jennie and Jisoo sprang apart like two startled cats as Irene shuffled into the living room. Jennie
quickly stood up as well, avoiding Jisoo's gaze as she faced Irene. It was hard to see in the gloom
yet Jennie's eyes immediately flickered towards Irene's neck in search of tell-tale shadows.

"Jisoo, I understand if you have to leave," Irene said to Jisoo, "but Jen, you and Lisa should stay for
breakfast. I'll drop you off at the Vault myself later."

"Well we should get a move on then, don't you have work?" Jennie reached over to shake Lisa
awake but Irene stopped her.

"It's fine. I called in sick," Irene said, waving her hand dismissively. "Supervisor was forever
nagging me that I never use up my sick days. I thought today could be an exception and I checked
if they really needed me in. It's Monday but they're expecting it to be a slow day so..."

"Oh...and Seulgi?"

"Called in sick as well. I don't think she's still entirely herself..."

Jennie and Jisoo shared a knowing look before Jennie cleared her throat. "Uh so...what now?"

"I guess you could help me with breakfast? Everyone seems to be up now. You can use the
bathroom in a moment, Ddeulgi's still in there. Jisoo, you're more than welcome to join us."

Jisoo's eyes grew round. "All of us? In-in the same bathroom? No, uh, t-t-thanks I'll p-p-pass—"

"Chu, she meant breakfast," Jennie said patiently.

"Oh. Uh...I think I'll still pass, Dalgom will be missing me...thank you for the offer though, Irene,
and thank you for letting me crash here. Your couch is comfy."

"Thank you?" Irene said, half amused. "Let Lisa sleep, Jen, she needs the rest. Help me whip up
some eggs and bacon for her? I'm sure she needs to make up for the energy she used up. I'm
making some for Seulgi so you can make some for yourself too."

"Sure."

Jennie sounded uncharacteristically hesitant and Jisoo picked up on it immediately, turning to her
when Irene went to the kitchen.

"Nervous you'll burn down the whole place?"

"Shut up Chu," Jennie said tersely.

Jisoo chuckled. "Hey, Irene will be supervising you, right? And you mentioned you had home
economics back at school in New Zealand right? It will come back to you."

"All I can remember is chopping onions," Jennie muttered. "I don't really cook at the Vault and at
the diner, I'm not even in the kitchen..."
"Jendeuk, it will be okay. Just follow Irene's instructions and make Lisa some breakfast with lots
of love." Jisoo's hand reached out, hovering close to Jennie's cheek before she thought better of it
and lowered her hand again. "You're a bright girl Jen. You'll figure something, just watch Irene
closely. And it's not like you'll be graded over your attempts either. Just be careful not too add too
much salt otherwise nothing will be edible. Besides, bacon and eggs are easy to make, you'll see."

Jennie nodded. "Okay."

Both girls loitered awkwardly until Jisoo finally broke the silence. "So I'll see you around,
Jendeuk."

"Yeah... see you."

Jisoo waved and grabbed her phone but as she was stepping into the hallway, something warm and
soft thudded into her back, clinging on resolutely. Jisoo stopped stock still, processing the fact that
Jennie was resting against her and giving her the most timid of back-hugs.

"Jen?"

"Sssh, don't move," Jennie whispered. She closed her eyes, curling her fingers in the fabric and
resting her cheek against Jisoo's back, inhaling her scent. A small smile tugged at Jennie's lips
when she heard Jisoo's heart twanging just underneath her head.

"I don't say this enough but...thank you, Jisoo. For everything. For now. For last night. Thank you
for being there for me and Lisa and even Seulgi," Jennie said quietly. "I couldn't have done it
without you."

Jisoo felt her heart do somersaults and her nose tingled with the simple words that meant to her
more than Jennie could ever know. Her breath caught in her throat as she tried not to let the lump
of emotion burst and choke her.

"You're welcome Jendeuk," she croaked finally, "anytime."

She wasn't sure if she should move first, but she didn't want to. Jennie hugging her felt so nice. She
closed her eyes, wanting to commit every sensation to memory.

"Chu, I know you've been waiting and waiting for an answer about...about us," Jennie murmured.
"Can...do you think you can wait just a little bit longer? I promise I will give you an
answer...eventually."

"You don't have to worry about that," Jisoo said softly, wishing she could return the hug but fearing
it would break whatever spell they were under. "I'm stuck with you Jen, as friends or whatever it is
the future will have us be. Take all the time you need. I'll be here."

She held her breath when a new weight rested on her shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye, Jisoo
saw Jennie twist her head.

"Thank you," Jennie whispered, almost tenderly. She kissed Jisoo's cheek and darted away, leaving
an elated Jisoo floating on cloud nine.

>

"Saying your goodbyes?" Irene said lightly as a pink-faced Jennie finally came into the kitchen,
sleeves rolled up. Jennie didn't reply except for a tiny nod. Irene gestured to the eggs and bowl.
"Can you mix the eggs for me? Thanks. Oh and there's coffee if you like."
Irene bustled around the kitchen in her nightrobe and fluffy slippers, humming cheerfully to herself.
Jennie smiled to hear her as she cracked the eggs and then spent the next several minutes trying to
pick out the shards of eggshells that had fallen in the bowl as well. When she managed to get most
of it out, she started mixing, concentrating fiercely on raising the froth without spilling on the
counter.

It was pleasant, working in a comfortable silence accompanied by the shrill cries of the kettle,
Irene's humming or the gentle frying sounds of the bacon, which had Jennie's mouth watering.

In another universe, this could have been her life—living with Irene with no worries of being
evicted or running late on bills or being chased by shady people from Lisa's past hounding every
waking moment.

Jennie tried to imagine what it would be like if Irene made good on her promise to take her in from
Hwangssabu upon his demise. She would have definitely been eating better, gotten enrolled in
school, be working a better job and have a proper bed as well.

As always, there had been Lisa involved to throw a wrench in Jennie's dreams and although Irene
had kindly offered to put up Lisa as well, Jennie knew that raising Lisa would be too much to
handle. Lisa was too different to blend in normally.

Hwangssabu had made it clear enough that nobody was to handle Lisa, except Jennie herself.
Wherever Jennie went, Lisa must go, and vice versa. He didn't trust anyone else with Lisa and it
fell to Jennie to bear the responsibility.

Even though she had known that day would come, she hadn't expected it to be soon, or so sudden.

Jennie shook her head. No use crying over spilled milk—she and Lisa were doing okay. They
weren't alone because everyone chipped in to help them and give them a push now and then. Like
Irene and Matthew, who were there since day one after Hwangssabu died.

She was always too lost in her head to properly appreciate the people around her sometimes. Now
Jisoo made her open her eyes and look around her a little more.

"Irene?"

"Hmm?" Irene answered, plating rashers of bacon as she twirled around to attend to the scrambled
eggs in the pan. "What is it?"

"Thank you."

Irene glanced back at Jennie with a quizzical smile. "You've been saying thank you non-stop. It's
all on me, Jen."

"Yeah I know but....thank you. For everything. Even when I'm stubborn or headstrong and...well
you know, disagreeable. Thank you."

Irene was quiet for a moment before she turned off the stove and came around the kitchen island to
face Jennie. She stopped in front of the sitting girl with arms outstretched, silently beckoning.

Jennie quickly nestled against Irene's stomah before her pride made her back away, allowing Irene
to snuggle her close. "What's this hug for?"

"Just felt like it." Irene stroked the top of Jennie's head, sounding wistful. "It's been a long night.
How did you sleep?"
"Surprisingly good." Jennie pulled back from the hug but her arms stayed around Irene's middle.
"We didn't make it to the Grand Slam," she added sadly.

She was still in grief about it, mourning their only chance to win some money. They had beenso
close for the first time in years, victory just within grasp. Hwangssabu would have been proud.

With last night's turn of events fading, reality now closed in on Jennie, pressing her for answers
and the next step forward.

Guess I'd have to ask Matthew about picking up more shifts again, she thought ruefully.

"I'm really sorry, Jennie," Irene told her sorrowfully. "I know how much it meant to you and Lisa.
And you were both doing so well. Seulgi is sorry too, I promise. Will you give her a chance to
apologise at least?" Irene's brows furrowed when Jennie slowly undid her arms from around her.
"Please? I know it won't change anything but...I just...I don't want any...friction..."

"Unnie, it's okay," Jennie comforted. "I'm not going to make you choose between us and her. This
is a matter we will resolve, the three of us: me, Lisa and Seulgi. I promise if things go sideways, I
won't make you take a side."

Irene's face tightened. "You think you won't forgive her?"

"It might take time, depending on Seulgi herself as well, is all I will say for now," Jennie conceded.
She had been civil to Seulgi because the boxer had needed them but coming face to face with her in
the morning when she was still coming to terms with everything that happened would be a different
story. Jennie wasn't sure a simple apology could suffice for their loss.

Failing to qualify for Seulgi meant a minor loss —she still had her day job to sustain her. But for
Jennie and Lisa, it was a colossal waste of time, money and energy devoted to securing a place in
the Grand Slam which would ensure them a better fighting chance at scoring some decent cash.

She couldn't help but feel bitter once more about her luck.

Seeing Jennie settle back in her brooding, Irene wordlessly moved away to continue cooking and
give Jennie her space. Seulgi soon showed up, happily greeting Irene and throwing Jennie a shy
wave which Jennie acknowledged with a nod as Seulgi took the seat farthest from her.

"How are you feeling?" Jennie asked, motioning at the array of bruises decorating Seulgi's face,
which had faded somewhat.

"I think it's getting better, but I can feel the aches...you were right, I didn't realise how much my
pain sensitivity had been numbed over the past month," Seulgi grimaced. "I think I'll have to cut
the bacon to chew it properly, my jaw feels like it got blasted and re-assembled back again."

Jennie nodded and didn't say anything else, unable to keep the conversation going for longer.
Though she would have liked to have asked some more questions about what Seulgi had mentioned
the night before, she didn't want to do so in front of Irene. Besides, she had no idea whether Irene
knew Seulgi took drugs or not.

So they both settled in an uneasy silence, pretending to be immensely interested in the cutlery.
Luckily, Irene didn't take long to finish pouring some orange juice for Seulgi before bringing all
the plates to the table.

The awkwardness levels in the kitchen shot through the roof once Lisa showed up, making Jennie
wish Jisoo had actually stayed to help dissipate the tension brewing. Seulgi actively started
shovelling food in her mouth, while Irene glanced nervously between them.

"Something smells scrumptious!" Lisa declared, sniffing the air. Her pupils dilated when she
spotted Jennie's plate piled high with bacon and a hillock of scrambled eggs. "Oh wow...uh, can I
have a bite of that, Jen?"

"You got your own plate," Jennie gestured, "here."

Lisa's mouth stretched wide until she saw that she would be sitting directly in front of Seulgi.
Wordlessly she dropped into her seat and started eating after she grunted 'thanks' in Irene's
direction.

"How's your hand?" Jennie asked anxiously, noting that Lisa seemed to be favouring using her
other hand.

"It's okay. A little banged up, but what isn't right now?" Lisa shrugged. Seulgi visibly shrank into
her seat.

Conversation was sparse—everyone was either too frazzled (Jennie and Irene), too hungry (Lisa) or
plain nervous (Seulgi with her free hand absently drumming on the tabletop).

"So, Jisoo had to go because she needed to check on Dalgom," Jennie said loudly, unable to bear
the suffocating quiet anymore. "We'll catch a ride home with Irene later."

"Okay. Irene this is delicious!" Lisa exclaimed, smacking her lips appreciatively after she had
hoovered up her plate, "thank you very much! I'm sure Jennie will give you a discount on
membership as thanks! Won't you Jen?"

"Membership?" Seulgi spoke up, voice registering interest.

"I go to their gym," Irene explained whilst stirring her coffee."They both run it and it's—"

"Uh uh uh!" Lisa put a finger up with a frown. "No sharing secrets please. She can't know anything
about us, even if you're girlfriends now."

Jennie spluttered, thumping her chest with her fist and hastily gulped down some coffee.

"Oh we're not..." Seulgi said uncertainly, glancing in Irene's direction. Irene sighed.

"You heard us?"

"Jennie and Jisoo unnie—" Lisa was cut off by Jennie's smack upside the head.

Jennie took a deep breath. "It was an accident, my fault. I was trying to show Jisoo the bathroom
and then...we kinda walked in on you."

Irene's face flushed bright red whilst Seulgi ducked her head.

"And...what do you think?" Irene croaked.

Jennie blinked in surprise. "What do you mean? Why does it matter what I think?"

"Because...well, with everything that happened...I'd understand if you were mad and I fully—"

"Unnie, if you're okay with Seulgi, then I suppose we can try to get to know her from your
perspective too," Jennie comforted. "I trust your judgement. So tell us, what do you guys have in
mind? What is the status on your relationship?"

Irene looked at Seulgi who mirrored her, their hands reaching across the space between them and
intertwining. A tender look passed between them before Irene wrenched her gaze away.

"Last night...was unexpected and emotional," Irene began. "We weren't being very rational.
We...dived off the deep end. That being said, we both know we have feelings for each other now
and they're very much real. We want to take it slow, work on building up trust again and get to
know each other without any secrets involved. I need to work on being less judgemental too
because it's what has people shutting me out most of the time—they fear my judgement will be
harsh, as I'm sure you two can relate."

"Sure do," Lisa chimed in, jumping at a kick from Jennie under the table.

"I need to be more open-minded since people always say I'm like some grandma, particularly you
and Somi, Lisa," Irene concluded.

"You know we don't mean that!" Lisa said hastily, "it's just a joke because....well yeah, maybe you
can be a little uptight about me and what kids like Mimi do nowadays, and you're not exactly tech-
savvy..."

Irene nodded as she sipped. "I got my stuff to work on, Ddeulgi has her own. We talked a lot last
night."

"Made out a lot too," Lisa muttered. Jennie glared at her sister while Irene and Seulgi blushed
again.

"Give it a rest, will you?" Jennie gritted. She wanted the earth to swallow her up whole.

"What? I'm telling the truth. You saw them by accident, wasn't it? And besides, you left
immediately to give them space." Lisa turned to the two frozen women. "But congratulations on
working stuff out, I'm happy for you!" she added with a grin.

"You are?" Irene exclaimed, massively relieved. "Thank you for understanding, Lisa."

"Sure. Granted, I'm not too thrilled that you-know-who turned out to be your mystery girlfriend but
hey, one more addition to my lesbian cult! I can learn to live with who you smooch."

Seulgi cleared her throat. "I know I'm not exactly welcome here—"

"Gi, no—" Irene fell silent when Seulgi patted her hand.

"—but I want to clear the air between us. I hope you will at least accept my apologies for last night,
Lisa. I'm truly sorry and I hope you understand that...I wasn't exactly in my right frame of mind."

"Like you weren't all season?" Lisa said dryly. "Not gonna lie, I felt kinda special because you only
called me a dingo. But it can't have been a good word to call me, am I right? What's it mean by the
way?"

"Oh...it's an Australian wild dog but dingo can also mean a coward. It just...kind of...stuck," Seulgi
finished lamely.

"Well shut the door and screw me naked, I think I'm getting emotional," Lisa deadpanned. "How
witty. You could have called me a bitch like anyone else, you know."
Seulgi took a deep breath. "I've been unbelievably rude to you all throughout the season but believe
me when I say, I want to start over and make amends. I'll do what it takes to make it up to you
Lisa, and you too Jennie."

She bowed her head in shame, fidgeting with her hands. "I-I feel terrible now, face to face with you
in person with no mask to hide my face. It's an awful feeling and I can't express how much I regret
taking my actions this far. I never meant for it to end up like this. I'm sorry."

"I believe you," Lisa said gravely, surprising them all with her rapid turnaround. "Apology
accepted, Kang. Thank you."

Seulgi blinked, mouth hanging ajar. "R-really?"

Lisa's puffy eyes were solemn as she nodded. "I know what you mean. Even though it was rather
important for Jennie and I to win since we needed the money...but I can understand where you're
coming from. We've dragged this on for long enough. I think it's time to move on now that
we're...kinda on the same side I suppose."

"Oh thank goodness I...thank you," Seulgi said gratefully, "and I'm so sorry. I know I was a jerk in
the ring. It's....it's well, the persona my trainer and I chose for me so that nobody would guess who
I was in real life. To try and keep that disparity between the Bear and me. I...well I have people
who wouldn't be too impressed that I moonlight as a boxer, even though I just do it as a pastime.
So....I couldn't let anyone get too close, in case my real identity leaked out. I could lose my job
over it."

"Now that is how 'keeping your identity low-key' is done," Jennie chided Lisa, "she had us all
fooled. You don't go blabbing your real name to anyone , least of all your bar groupies. I blame
Momo for that, I should have kept a closer watch."

"Yeah whatever," Lisa muttered but Seulgi wasn't yet finished.

"I also want to say thank you for not abandoning me and...and for bringing me here. It...it was a
rough night."

"I'm glad we did as well. Jinyoung was acting shady as hell," Jennie mused.

"Jinyoung? Jinyoung Park? That pharma guy you don't like, Jen?" Irene frowned. "What about
him?"

Briefly, Jennie filled her in on what happened which had Irene's brows furrow before she shrugged.

"No matter. You're here and he can't touch you now." She gripped Seulgi's hands more tightly as
she spoke. "And you're going to keep clean and stay away from those horrid drugs?"

"For sure," Seulgi said fervently as Jennie's eyes widened. "They're like...I don't know, ordinary
pills? Like aspirin or ibuprofen."

"What do you mean? They're anti-inflammatory?" Irene frowned.

"No I mean they're not the addictive kind, there was no particular rush or even flavour to it. But
they did mess up with my mood so bad. I...I was turning into some kind of monster," Seulgi said,
shuddering.

"It's alright," Irene soothed, unaware of Jennie and Lisa glancing at each other, "you don't have to
go anywhere near Seungwan again."
"I wish I could still go to the gym though," Seulgi said wistfully, "I don't know where else to go
now..."

Irene gave Jennie a pleading look, which the brunette understood. Mustering her most agreeable
voice, she turned to Seulgi. "You know, you can always pop in at...well, you can always come with
Irene to our place."

"The Bear in our secret sacred Vault?" Lisa burst out, "Jennie are you mad? Saying sorry is one
thing, but this? Don't you think that's taking it too far?" She eyed Seulgi balefully.

"She's Seulgi now, not the Bear," Jennie chastised, "and she's...our friend now." Her mind turned
to Jisoo, wondering if the other woman would be proud of her for saying that. Irene's beaming face
certainly solidified Jennie's resolve to do the right thing.

"You two, shake hands," she added, pointing at Seulgi and Lisa. "Do the dumb introductions since
you both were out of it last night."

Seulgi hesitantly extended her hand forward, giving Lisa a timid smile while Lisa eyed her
suspiciously before gingerly taking her hand and shaking it carefully.

"I'm Seulgi."

"Yeah. Lisa." And they withdrew their hands.

"I think a pair of robots would have done it better," Jennie remarked. "At least say something about
yourselves. Come on, like they tell you to do at school," she added, smirking.

"Oh. Well uh...I'm an elementary school teacher and uh...I love my job." Seulgi grinned toothily.
"There's never a dull day with kids. Sure sometime they're a handful, not gonna lie, but on the
whole...I don't regret choosing this for my career. Uh...uh what about you Lisa?"

"Nothing. I'm a boxer," Lisa said flatly. Her face softened. "But it's great to hear you love teaching
kids, that's a good thing. And...and if you really want to keep up boxing or...or anything, you can
drop by our place I suppose," she added grudgingly at a pointed look from her sister. "But it's not
free!"

Seulgi looked far from perturbed. She sat back and folded her arms, tilting her head to the side. "I
think I have an idea on how to pay for my very first session then..."

"What's that?" Lisa asked curiously, dropping her aloof facade as her face lit up with curiosity. "Oh
have you got some secret stash of cash maybe? Like the ones with piles of gold bars sealed in safes
with keypads and fingerprint scanners and retinal scanners and with vents that spies use to go down
with cables..."

She trailed off when everyone at the table started snickering.

"This isn't some Mission Impossible Lisa," Jennie sighed. "Tom Cruise ain't gonna be swooping
around."

"Unfortunately, my job doesn't come with that kind of perk," Seulgi said, "but, I think I have a
much better idea..."

"Hint?"

Everyone leaned forward to hear as Seulgi smiled. "Let's just say, maybe your chance to make it to
the Grand Slam isn't quite over yet..."

>

Jisoo was waiting for them outside the Vault when Irene's car drew up and its occupants spilled
out.

"Jendeuk, you're here!" Jisoo called happily before stopping short when she saw Lisa with her arm
slung around Seulgi's shoulders. "And Seulgi?" She blinked, wondering if she was seeing right.
"Lisa?"

"Kang is king! Kang is king!" Lisa shouted at the top of her voice in greeting. "Kang is king!"

Jisoo's mouth dropped open even further when she noticed Jennie was beaming. "What's
happening?"

"Kang is king!" Lisa kept on bellowing as she yanked Seulgi after her, breezing past Jisoo. "Jen,
open the door!"

"What about 'please'?" Jennie asked but she shook her head and complied, unlocking the door to
the Vault as Lisa propelled a chortling Seulgi inside.

"Will somebody please explain what's going on?" Jisoo begged. "I hate being left out of the loop
you know."

"Come on Chu," Jennie smiled, linking arms with her. "It's a great day today. You'll see."

Mystified, Jisoo could only look at Irene, hoping the older woman would explain but Irene only
winked and followed them into the Vault.

"Now this ain't much but I promise you, we have showers that give you the option of cold and get
this, hot water! Ain't that a steal?" Lisa was telling Seulgi, steering her back and forth around the
desolately empty space and talking like a sleazy real estate salesman.

"Hot water? How tempting," Seulgi quipped, gamely going along with the tour. "Are there any
vending machines?"

"Unfortunately no, but Nini and I would graciously allow you to buy two pot noodles from us for
the price of one! And what's more, we even heat it up for you!"

"Get out of town!"

"I knew you'd love it," Lisa laughed in return, trading easy punches with her once bitter arch-
enemy in the ring. Watching them, Jisoo couldn't even tell that they were the same people she had
watched duke it out the other night. In place of the venom dripping from their gaze, Lisa and
Seulgi now had bright infectious smiles as they laughed together like old friends.

Standing to the side with Jennie and Jisoo, Irene watched it all, heart warming at how Lisa was
now so openly welcome of Seulgi and how Jennie's smile was probably the widest she had seen
since Hwangssabu's demise. Irene had been afraid Seulgi would have a tougher road to win over
Lisa in particular but it seemed like Seulgi's deed had more than stamped out Lisa's hostility.

"....and from now on, you can visit anytime, you're officially part of the gang!" Lisa stated
gleefully. "The one and only Vault Gang with exclusive membership, and I am the Daddy of these
lot—"
"No you're not!" Irene and Jennie cried shrilly.

"—bonus points if you're a lesbo like yours truly," Lisa went on. "Induction will start at sunset!"

"We're a gang?" Jisoo asked excitedly. "Why didn't anybody tell me? Oh can we have secret code
names? I'm Raincorn! Get it, because Rainbow Unicorn," she added, turning to Jennie with a proud
grin, "and you can be Ninjen, because Ninja Jennie. Cool right?"

"Daddy appreciates the code names!" Lisa crowed while Jennie rolled her eyes.

"No we're not a ga....oh you know what? Fine we're a gang," Jennie relented, too elated to rain on
the party today. She smiled at Seulgi. "Welcome to the Vault, Seulgi. I'm afraid it's not very state-
of-the-art...but we do have a decent place to train."

"Oh trust me, it's more than fine. I only need a punching bag, maybe a couple weights at most and
I'm good to go," Seulgi assured, "plus, if there aren't any dudes around, that's already put it on top
of my favourite places. College gym was the worst, all the guys be ogling girls like they're...I don't
know, seeing a piece of ham. It was disgusting."

"So you weren't looking at the girls too, then?" Lisa teased playfully.

Jisoo felt a pinch in her chest seeing Lisa so chummy with another girl but she pushed it aside—
Lisa was just excited to make a new friend, she wouldn't abandon her in favour of spending all her
time with Seulgi now. She could join in with Lisa's enthusiasm to make Seulgi feel welcomed as
well.

She was still wondering how they had reconciled so quickly though.

"If you must know, I would look respectfully ," Seulgi said in a very dignified voice with a side-
glance at Irene. "But only look. I went to the gym so I don't get flabby from sitting down all day,
not because I wanted to check out girls."

"Yeah, I think we're leaving you in safe hands Irene. Don't you think so, Nallalisa?" Jisoo chimed
in, stroking an imaginary long beard

"Quite so, quite so Raincorn," Lisa said to Jisoo's delight, also stroking an imaginary long beard.

"Why?" was Irene's natural question.

"You're both a bunch of sappy prudes with googly-eyes for each other."

Jisoo and Lisa collapsed into giggles, trading high-fives.

"You'll have to excuse them, they gets quite silly sometimes," Jennie sighed. "Especially Lisa
when she's drunk or happy."

"And why is she happy?" Jisoo said immediately. "Nobody has said anything yet—"

"Whoa, who's the new girl?" said a new voice, making everyone turn simultaneously.

"Mimi!" Lisa said thrilled and dashed to her. "You're here! Oh my gosh, come meet Seulgi. She's
king. Kang is king!"

"Huh? Seulgi? Irene's friend? Wait, your bagels—"

"We'll have them for lunch, we already ate at Irene's," Jennie said, taking the bagels from a
bemused Somi. "Long story Mimi, I'll tell you soon. Where's Matt?"

"He'll be along, he had some errands to run today—"

"Somi come on!" Lisa said impatiently, tugging on her arm. " Come, come, come! I'm so glad you
stopped by!"

"Well yeah exams are done now remember? And I came to check on you because that jerk gave
you a hell of a beating yesterday," Somi said, voice darkening. "The Bear is one mean bastard I
mean, she even threw you over the side in the middle of the countdown, I hope the Slammer locks
her up and—"

She stopped mid-ramble when she came face to face with a fidgeting Seulgi.

"Uh, hi?" Seulgi said bashfully. She winced and rubbed her jaw. "Sorry, it's just some movements
are painful at the moment. Uh, I'm Seulgi. And you must be Lisa's friend?"

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Somi frowned. "You look really familiar...and oh gosh, are you okay?
You're hurt..."

Something seemed to click in her head as she gasped and held up her hand in front of her, squinting
as she covered Seulgi's mouth and immediately recognised the person standing in front of her. "The
Bear!" She turned to Irene with an incredulous expression. "The Bear is Kang Seulgi? Your
neighbour-slash-crush"

"She's not—"

"Knew you'd figure it out," Lisa grinned.

"Lisa, what the hell is the Bear doing here?" Somi gawked at Seulgi, her eyes swivelling back and
forth from the other girls. "What the hell is going on? Why is she here? I thought she's your mortal
enemy! Irene, you traitor, were you in on this all this time?"

"Was a mortal enemy," Lisa corrected. "But not anymore, it's water under the bridge."

"But wha....how?" Somi held her head. "Last I saw, she was beating your ass and threw you into
the stratosphere! And she cost you the Purge! She disqualified you!"

"The stratosphere bit is a little dramatic," Seulgi said weakly but nobody heard her.

"Lemme just start from the end and explain why she's here," Lisa beamed and threw an arm around
Seulgi. "Kang is king, and she's the latest member of the Vault gang."

"We're a gang?"

"Shut up and listen, brat! Why is she king, and why is she allowed to step foot in this sacred
hallowed place, you might ask?" Lisa spread her arms. "Because thanks to her, Jen and I are
officially back in business, baby!"

Somi and Jisoo stared at her, utterly lost.

"They gave us back our slot," Jennie said helpfully. Her smile hadn't faded one bit. "Lisa is
fighting in the Grand Slam next month, thanks to Seulgi."

"No way!" Jisoo hollered in shock.

"Are you kidding me?" Somi yelled.

"Nope," Lisa said happily. "Kang is the coolest."

"But how even?" Jisoo shook her head in disbelief. "Heck, so that's what took you so long to come
back here! Did you guys go to the Slammer then?"

"What is going on?" Somi said bewildered, unable to process the multiple revelations. "My brain-
cells are fried from studying, I'm not even sure that this is not some hallucination—

"Let's all calm down, okay?" Irene intervened. "Somi, all you need to know is that no, I didn't
know that Seulgi is the Bear until last night. Jisoo, Lisa, Jennie and Seulgi crashed at my place.
Jisoo left this morning while the others and I went to the Slammer because Jennie had to sign a
statement regarding the match to collect some cut of the Purge prize money as compensation. But
Seulgi wanted to apologise and make amends for her behaviour towards Lisa and kindly asked the
Slammer officials to reconsider and reinstate Lisa's spot in the Grand Slam."

"Seulgi did?" Jisoo gasped before turning around and thumping Seulgi on the back. "Way to go!"
She met Jennie's eyes and winked as if to say, See? It paid off to be kind to her.

"Hey I didn't do much," Seulgi said modestly, "I just made them see sense. The disqualification
was unfair. I don't know why the referee didn't stop me. People had already lodged complaints
about it and the handling of the match anyway, they said so themselves. I only asked the guy to
reconsider and pushed him towards accepting my idea."

"By threatening him very subtly about reporting the Slammer to the Korean Sports & Olympic
Committee to conduct a thorough investigation about all the funny weird stuff that was going on
under people's noses," Lisa grinned. "You should have seen his face. He was smart enough to
agree with Seulgi and then even tried offering us both to go through to the Grand Slam as well. I
guess he realised that having both the Thai Tornado and the Bear would amp up the hype for the
finale."

"Oh that's great news! So you're in too, Seulgi?" Jisoo cheered. "I'll be sure to come cheer for you
both! Gosh, what if you two end up at the final?"

Seulgi shook her head. "I want to stay clear of competition for now, get back on my feet and reflect
a bit. Besides, I had no right to. Lisa was the one unjustly disqualified and she was also the last one
still standing so she deserves the chance to fight again. It counts more for you guys than myself
anyway," she added, gesturing to Jennie and Lisa.

"See? We're all cool now," Lisa said jovially. "Man, to think yesterday I was moping around..."

"We both were," Jennie said. She turned to Seulgi and bowed ninety degrees. "Thank you, Seulgi.
You've more than outdone yourself."

"Oh please stop, I did what I could. I wasn't even sure it would work out but thank goodness it
did."

"I don't know," Somi said slowly, "although I'm happy Lis got her spot back....but is that really
enough to let bygones be bygones? She's been a jerk to you all season."

"I'm the one who was enemies with the Bear and I say she's been forgiven for everything
concerning me," Lisa said firmly. She took Somi's hands to plead with her. "Mimi, please. Outside
the ring, things are different. Give her a chance? She's even gonna show me how to do make up
cos' she has serious make-up skills to cover her bruises. Get to know her a little better, with us."
She winked. "After all, she and Irene are going to start dating now."

"They are what?" Somi screeched, loud enough for people around her to wince. "When? How? Did
you kiss?

"Yes they did," Jisoo answered right away, "Jendeuk and I saw, last night."

"And you're only telling me now?"

"I heard they had a pretty steamy make out session," Lisa smirked, eyes glittering evilly as the
victims blushed profusely. Somi's eyes grew round as saucers.

"Irene? Making out?" Somi spluttered. "I don't believe you! I can't picture it aaaaah! I thought the
most she could do was a dry little peck but making out? What's next?!"

"Mimi please it's not that big a deal. Jisoo stop encouraging her. And Lisa, when will you stop
invading people's privacy?" Jennie sighed. "How would you like it if we did that to you in the
future huh?"

But Somi barged right over Jennie's righteousness, spitting out words like automatic rifle bullets.
"Are you girlfriends? Spill the details! My first ship is sailing oh my goodness! But why did you
have to be dating the Bear, I hated her guts so much! That's not gonna e easy to get over," she
groaned. Seulgi shrugged helplessly as Irene smiled, shyly leaning against her.

"Get used to it. I'm not letting go of this one so easily," she said, wrapping her hands firmly around
Seulgi's arms.

"I'd like it better if you didn't let go of me at all," Seulgi flirted back with a meaningful raise of the
eyebrow.

"I like the sound of that," Irene replied, feeling her face ignite when Lisa and Jisoo cat-called. "Oh
be quiet you two, I'll be the one catcalling you soon enough!"

"You wouldn't dare," Lisa taunted.

"Watch me."

"Hyun, it's okay, don't worry," Seulgi said soothingly, patting her hand to divert Irene's attention
back to her. She looked Irene directly in the eyes, her one good eye crinkling into a crescent as she
smiled, wincing soon after. "Let them have their fun."

And Irene relented easily to sag against Seulgi's neck, burying her face there as Seulgi rubbed her
shoulder while Jisoo and Lisa cooed.

"On second thoughts, if you're going to be this sappy all the time, then maybe I can get around the
idea of Seulgi being the Bear a lot quicker," Somi giggled. "Are you still on for the party? You
look a bit rough, as do you, Lis. Should we reschedule? I don't know if Chaeyoung would be able
to make it though, I think she was going to Jeju with her family and I could do a rain check with
Dubu..."

"Party?"

"Oh I never told you because...well, because I wasn't sure if you wanted to come," Irene confessed,
remembering Seulgi snapping at her. "Somi here is having a party tomorrow at her father's diner
where Jennie works with all the other staff and some friends to celebrate finishing exams and
officially starting summer. Would you want to go with me?"

"Great place to start getting to know us," Somi pointed out. "Since we're a gang and all, apparently.
Do we get code names?"

"Indeed we do! You're a girl after my own heart," Lisa beamed, "choose whatever ya want, I'm
Daddy—"

"Heck no, that's so gross!"

As Lisa and Somi bickered, Jennie turned to a bemused Seulgi. "Let's leave them to it. So, if you're
up for it, it's just gonna be a girls' night out, no guys invited although I think Somi said Lucas might
be around for security—he's a good guy, he works there."

"Karaoke and alcohol guaranteed," Jisoo chimed in.

"I'm not chaperoning," Jennie warned.

"Well?" Irene asked hopefully.

"Hmm...should I?" Seulgi took a few moments to think, grinning at the sight of the expectant faces
in front of her. "Kidding, I'm in," she chuckled, and neatly dodged a stray fist from Lisa who
rushed past in hot pursuit of Somi.

>

"It's really kind of you Mr Jeon—"

"Oh please, call me Matthew, or Matt. My daughter attends your pilates class and you're a friend of
Lisa's. No need for formalities," Matthew said kindly as he helped carry all the extra stuff she had
brought along with her today. "You go in ahead and give her the present."

It's not like Rosé couldn't handle carrying the cat carrier, her first aid kit, Lisa's lunchbox and
Lisa's gift all at once but she met Somi's dad going in at the same time and after a brief greeting, he
seemed insightful enough to notice her intentions and offered to carry some of her baggage whilst
she went ahead and greeted Lisa with her present first.

Rosé hadn't wondered very much about the nature of Lisa's gift: she knew instantly the moment
she had the idea of giving Lisa something that it was going to be a book. Lisa loved learning, was
always eager to see Ella's homework and possessed a child's fascination and thirst for knowledge
about the world around her.

Now, what kind of book to get her, that was the tricky question.

A book on world trivia? A travel book guide about Thailand? Or a book about Australia, since
Lisa was immensely interested in Rosé's hometown? A book on numbers, since the boxer had an
aptitude for mathematics? A book on dance, since she mentioned she liked dancing? A book on
boxing? A book on food? A picture book? A novel? A YA novel? A biography? A memoir?

Rosé had spent a good hour browsing in a bookshop, helplessly skimming through shelves and
titles, agonising over what to choose whilst Ella sat close by poring over some Geronimo Stilton
volumes.

But serendipity struck just when Rosé was about to glumly give up. A navy blue cover from an
innocuous looking book spine somehow caught her eye and she eased it out of its slot. Blaring
trumpet sounds blasted in her head as epiphany struck her: she knew that this book she held in her
hands now belonged to Lisa.

Without further ado, Rosé had bought the book and rushed home with Ella in a state of giddy
rapture, quickly rummaging through the drawers until she found some leftover wrapping paper and
wrapped up the present, afterwards adding a little bow for flourish afterwards.

Rosé smiled and clutched Lisa's present close to her chest like a baby. "I just hope she likes it."

"She will," Matthew said encouragingly. "That kid is the sweetest. She will be over the moon if
you gift her even a simple spoon with her name on it. Go ahead, I'll bring in the rest. I'll be right
behind you."

Taking heart from the man's words, Rosé arranged the scarf around her neck that hid the last traces
of her bruise and opened the Vault's door, greeted by a cacophony of noise.

She only had a split second to notice the gathering of people at the far end of the gym before Lisa
broke rank and came running full tilt towards her.

"Rosieeeeeeeeeeeee!" Lisa screeched. "You're here, you're here!"

"Wha—AAAAAA!"

Lisa picked up Rosé unceremoniously and spun them around in circles as she laughed while Rosé
grabbed on to Lisa's shoulders for dear life, hanging on to the book with her other hand.

"Lisaaaaaaaaaaa! Put me down!" Rosé squealed. Her hair whipped her cheeks red by the sheer
force of Lisa whirling them around. "What's going on?"

"I'm happy!" Lisa laughed in elation, as though she hadn't seen the pilates instructor in a long time.
"You're here! And you'll never ever guess what!"

"Lisa slow down!" Rosé gasped, heart slamming in her chest. "Put me down!"

Finally Lisa put her down, steadying the disoriented girl and beaming at her. "Guess what?"

I...I don't know," Rosé heaved, still trying to catch her breath after the sudden spinning motion
caught her unawares. She had never in her life been welcomed in that manner—it had her breath
knocked out of her lungs, and not just from the sudden movement.

Not that many people were ever overjoyed whenever she entered a room, much less likely
welcome her so enthusiastically.

But Lisa always made her feel welcome and more than that, Lisa always managed to make her feel
like she was the single most important person in the world. Lisa's eyes sparkled as they looked up
at her, with that cheeky smile that drew Rosé in like a moth to lamplight.

Lisa made her feel so special with something as simple as a greeting.

"Come on Rosie you're not even trying," Lisa whined. Her eyes fell on the gift Rosé held. Her eyes
grew round, immediately distracted. "Is that my present?"

Rosé smiled. "It is. But tell me about this good news first. Why are you so happy?" And then her
expression morphed into something akin to horror. "Oh my goodness—Lisa you shouldn't have
been lifting me, what if you get more hurt? Your back, you fell last night! And look at your face!
And your eye, we should take a look at it, I bought more stuff from my first aid box and—"

They heard laughter—their friends along with Matthew were watching them in amusement.

"If you're gonna just stand there and squeal at each other like dolphins, it's gonna take a long time
to get to the bottom of explanations," Jennie drawled. Rosé could have sworn she saw her eyes
twinkling. "Who wants to go first?"

"Me!" Lisa exclaimed. "Me! Me!"

"Well go on then."

Lisa turned to Rosé, practically vibrating on the spot with excitement. "Rosie, I'm officially back in
the game! I'm in the Grand Slam next month!" she announced.

"What?" Rosé's mouth dropped open. "What? How? But I thought you got disqualified...Jisoo
said...oh my goodness, Lis, you're in?!"

"Yes!"

Rosé threw her arms around Lisa without a second thought, laughing jubilantly as the other girl
held her close and joined with her own bright laughter as well.

Rosé snuggled shamelessly, lingering in the embrace and enjoying the feeling of Lisa's arms
holding her tightly, breathing in her scent. Vaguely, she registered that this would be the second
instance that they hugged, unless she counted Lisa spinning her.

She was close enough for stray hairs from Lisa's ponytail to tickle her nose as she rested her chin
on the boxer's shoulder.

"Well now my present will be serving its purpose then," Rosé beamed once they pulled back from
the hug. She fondly watched Lisa accept her gift, turning it over in her hands and even sniffing it to
guess what it was, like a kid. "Congratulations on making it through, baby, I'm so proud of you."

"Baby?"

The whole Vault fell silent as a tomb. Rosé's face caught fire as their audience watched them,
mouths open in surprise (and glee, in Somi and Jisoo's case).

She waved her hand, chuckling awkwardly as Lisa's initial surprise morphed into a greasy smirk.

"Ah, it slipped out, I just say that a lot to Ella, sorry," Rosé said weakly, fanning herself.

"Hey, I don't mind one bit," Lisa grinned. "Can I call you baby too? I know you're dying to hear
that, makes for a change from chipmunk."

They were treading familiar waters yet within an entirely new context, lending the whole situation
a different weight. Rosé just wasn't sure what would be appropriate. Lisa had called her by
nicknames in the beginning before settling on Chipmunk. However, 'baby' came with an added
measure of intimacy and affection.

Maybe if they had been alone, without any witnesses, Rosé would admit to entertaining the idea of
having Lisa call her by that endearment but under the curious eyes of their friends she immediately
sought a way out.

Would there ever come a day when she would be brave enough to boldly return Lisa's flirting in
front of other people, instead of keeping that aspect of herself only for private moments? At this
rate, Rosé doubted so.

"No you already call me one nickname and that's more than enough," Rosé snorted, " besides, it
was a slip of tongue. But now can somebody tell me what happened exactly? How is it possible
they reversed their decision?" she added, changing the topic quickly. "Did you talk to the Slammer
administration or something? I thought they only were going to give you some compensation
money."

"And I still have no idea what's happening," piped up Matthew having joined the circle of women
crowded around Lisa and Rosé. "Can someone bring me up to speed on everything? I know Lisa
had that big match with the Bear last night but that's all."

"Oh speaking of the Bear!" Lisa pushed forward eagerly and grabbed Rosé's hand. "I promise I'll
see your present soon but you have to meet the star herself!"

Rosé was dumb-founded as Lisa tugged her in front of a similarly battered dark-haired woman who
was fidgeting as they stopped in front of her. Irene was standing close to her as well.

"Rosie, I'd like you to meet the Bear," Lisa beamed.

Rosé frowned. "The Bear?"

Wasn't she Lisa's enemy? The reason Lisa got hurt and thrown out of the ring? The reason Lisa got
disqualified in the first place?

"The Bear huh?" Rosé said again, her face darkening. "Well, it's great that we're meeting in person
because I'd like to know just how many people you've bludgeoned to death like you nearly did to
Lisa."

"Rosie wait no—" Lisa said in alarm, tugging at her arm.

But Rosé pushed on mercilessly, wagging her finger in the Bear's face. "You give PFB a bad name
with your attitude and showing. You're just insecure and jealous of Lisa so you treat her like trash.
Well let me tell you, she's not trash at all, she's worth dozens of you."

"Rosé," Jennie called but the livid pilates instructor didn't listen.

"You turned something moderately enjoyable into a gladiator bloodbath all because you hate Lisa's
guts!" Rosé pushed on, her voice scathing. "That's unprofessional, immature and childish! And you
call yourself a sportswoman? It's despicable!"

"Rosé wait!" Jisoo was by her side, completely taken aback by her outburst: she had rarely seen
this side of the girl.

But Rosé was on a roll, pinning down the flustered culprit in front of her with a hard gaze. "You
disgust me. Frankly, I think you're scum. PFB doesn't deserve to have its name tarnished because
of people like you. You're all a bunch of greedy, egomaniac, narcissistic, arrogant pieces
of...wait...."

Rosé paused from her tirade, a bewildered expression crossing her face as she took in the woman
nervously fidgeting before her, eyeing her more intently. "Do I know you?" Rosé asked, her voice
a deathly whisper.

"Hi Ms Park," said the ebony-haired woman nervously, "fancy seeing you here. Small world,
huh?"

Rosé gasped and doubled back in utter shock. "Ms...Ms Kang? Seulgi?" What little colour was left
drained from her face and Rosé turned pale as a sheet.

"That would be me, yeah," Seulgi chuckled awkwardly. "Didn't know you watched PFB matches
as well."

Rosé made an incomprehensible gurgling noise as she covered her mouth, eyes wide in horror.
"Oh....oh my goodness...what even...."

"Uhm...what's going on?" Jisoo asked, confused. "Pasta?"

"I think I figured it out," Jennie said. She pointed at Seulgi. "Rosé knows Seulgi as Ella's teacher."

"You're Ella's teacher?" Lisa gawked. "So you're the Ms Kang that she was always talking about
when we did maths!"

"And you must be the mysterious unnie who helped her solve a maths problem using the old
method." Seulgi shook her head with a faint grin. "A lot of revelations this morning."

"Wait Ella told you about me? I thought told her not to say anything."

"Well I noticed that method because it stuck out. It's been phased out of teaching practice and I
certainly didn't teach that to the kids. I asked Ella about it and she told me an unnie friend of her
mom," Seulgi's eyes flitted to Rosé," showed her how to do it."

"How is this possible?" Rosé squeaked and held her head. "No. I did not just rout out Ella's teacher
who is secretly the boxer that is enemies with Lisa."

"No not enemies anymore, we're buddies now," Lisa corrected.

Rosé groaned and turned away from her audience, red in the face from embarrassment. "I did not I
did not I did not. I. Did. Not."

"You kind of did though, Pasta," Jisoo said, helpful as always. "We were standing here and we all
heard you—"

"I think she gets the point, Chu," Jennie said dryly.

"I'm sorry, I-I should leave," Rosé whispered, mortified. The humiliation kept hitting her over and
over, wave after wave of utter disgust at her prejudice and jumping to conclusions that made her
want to shrink into a ball and disappear. "I'll....I'll call you, Lisa."

But before Rosé could even move Lisa had latched on to her hand.

"Rosie, just slow down okay? Take a deep breath. Come on, it's gonna be okay, I promise," Lisa
coaxed, squeezing her hand. "I know this is a shock so let's just talk out it, all of us." Her face
brimmed with sincerity such that Rosé found herself listening and gradually calming down the
longer she gazed into her concerned eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know..." she mumbled. Lisa squeezed her hand comfortingly.

"It's more than deserving," Seulgi reassured. "I have indeed treated Lisa poorly and been quite
unprofessional as well. But believe me when I say it was for a reason. I...didn't want people to
know that I did PFB because of my teaching job. I knew it wouldn't have positive reactions from
parents like yourself and my other school colleagues if...if they find out."

She gazed pleadingly at Rosé. "Curse me all you like but please, please don't report this to the
principal. I love my job and my position. I can't lose it. Please Ms Park? Believe me when I say I
never engaged about PFB in class since I know most people misunderstand the sport and the kids
are still too young and impressionable."

Rosé stared agog. "Why aren't you angrier?"

Seulgi shrugged. "I think everyone has been rather easy on me because I helped get Lisa's spot
back in the Grand Slam. Maybe I needed that scolding."

"Ddeulgi no, it's still not right—"

"I agree with Irene. I apologise Ms Kang," Rosé said, bowing deeply. "I understand you had your
reasons but...I suppose I was being protective of Lisa. And don't worry, I won't say a word. It's
just...all so sudden."

"Thank you. It's alright now. It's past. Lisa and I...well, I suppose you could say we're friends
now."

"Definitley on the way to be friends," Lisa agreed.

"What did happen exactly for you to...to reconcile?" Rosé asked timidly.

Once again, Seulgi briefly recounted how she managed to have Lisa's spot in the Grand Slam be
returned to her. Lisa stood close by, her hand never letting go of Rosé's, giving intermittent
squeezes now and then accompanied by little nods as she confirmed whatever Seulgi was saying.
Rosé was only half listening, her eyes straying to Lisa's side profile, noting how her bruises
actually were in their latent stage of healing, and same went for Seulgi.

Maybe she had panicked for nothing to bring out her first aid box intent on checking up on Lisa but
she just wanted to be sure—the match last night had been terrifyingly violent yet here the both of
them stood, looking battered but in good spirits.

It was bewildering to Rosé, but perhaps the more bizarre revelation was how her daughter's teacher
wound up being a boxer. She had Lisa to thank for making her see that boxing in itself was a sport
like any other, with the violence factor depending on its participants. Through Lisa, she was able to
differentiate between her own traumas connected to boxing and the sport.

If she were to learn about Seulgi's involvement in PFB before she had met Lisa, Rosé was sure she
would have been a vociferous critic demanding Seulgi to resign. Rosé was sure she would have
been the first to storm to the school principal and report the teacher herself.

But now, she knew that would be a poor decision—Ella was extremely happy to be in Seulgi's
class, always chattering about how kind and sweet Ms Kang was. So what did it really matter that
Ms Kang practised PFB in her spare time? It wasn't anything despicable or depraved like
pedophilia.

"How didn't anybody notice you were a boxer?" Rosé asked curiously. "The kids see you every
day, how come they don't see the bruises on your face? Make up can only cover so much."

"Oh I er...well, I was careful not to accumulate hits and I made sure to have my matches on a
weekend, otherwise I'd swap dates. Any bruises that I got I covered with foundation...but if
something was too blatantly oblivious, everyone knew me as a walking disaster so that excused
any bruise I had," Seulgi explained with a shake of her head and a small quirk of her lips.

"You're still clumsy in real life too," Irene pointed out lightly. Seulgi pretended to swat her but
Irene ducked quickly.

"You're right," Seulgi agreed. "I already am a bit clumsy but I took it a bit further. If the kids see
me with a bruise, they will assume I walked into a lamp-post or something like that. Ask Ella,
she'll tell you."

"Well?" Lisa asked softly, turning to Rosé. "Are you okay with having Seulgi here?"

Touched by her concern, Rosé nodded. "I was just shocked and well...I did say some really mean
things which I could have phrased better. But if you say you're okay with her being here, then I'm
okay too." She held out her free hand to Seulgi. "Bygones?"

Seulgi readily accepted with a firm handshake and a big smile. "Bygones."

>

Things calmed down significantly enough for Lisa to pull Rosé aside without anybody else
noticing as they were all still discussing the implications of the new turn of events. Somi was
showing everyone her favourite Tiktoks, bringing back the loud atmosphere at the Vault and
leaving Rosé and Lisa with plenty of time to themselves.

"Now let's open my present!" Lisa said excitedly and Rosé's heart swelled, fondness once more
filling her chest that Lisa wanted to have this moment to themselves.

"We're checking your hand afterwards alright?"

But Lisa didn't hear as she tore off the wrapper and paused, eyes growing comically round as she
took in the book she was holding. "Oh wow... I...holy bagels...."

"Do you like it?" Rosé asked hesitantly.

Lisa beamed at her so brightly Rosé could have sworn she had taken the sun's place, bathing the
little dark corner with light.

"Like it? I love it! My very own dictionary! Thank you Rosie."

And Rosé willingly opened her arms for Lisa to embrace her like it was the most natural thing in
the world. It felt like ages ago when Lisa's overly touchy and flirty mannerisms had put her off but
she was well past that phase and wanted to initiate touches herself. It felt different than hugging
Ella, but it felt no less right to be this close to the blonde boxer, balancing on the edge of something
new but staying in the safe zone.

She tried to not get too carried away by the sensation and instead focused on Lisa who was talking
excitedly.

"I'm going to learn so many words, I'll learn a new one each day and tell you! So this is what you
meant when you said I might need to use it everyday, you sneaky chipmunk!"

Rosé relaxed in the hug, quietly happy that Lisa liked her gift. "I figured since you like learning
new words, it might come in useful."

"It's perfect Rosie," Lisa reassured, eyes sparkling as she withdrew her arms and sat down on the
ground. Rosé joined her, watching with mounting pride as Lisa slowly thumbed through the
dictionary as though each page were a delicate sheet of glass, eagerly drinking in the printed words
and definitions.

"I never got a present like this one before. It's my favourite thing now!"

"Even more than Hwangssabu's jacket?" Rosé winked. "Or the unicorns shirt? Or an all-expenses
paid trip to a spa?"

"Welllllllll, this might make it a close second though, but I really do love it," Lisa insisted, making
Rosé laugh, "look. I'll find a word right now!"

"Lisa it's alright, I know. And I'm glad you like it this much, even second favourite is good enough
for me." She watched in amusement as Lisa randomly flipped through her brand new book, brows
furrowing and tongue stuck out as she scoured the page.

"Aha! Here's one. Jen-tac-u-lar. Jentacular! Sounds like a mash-up of Jennie and spectacular, she'd
love that." Lisa looked up grinning and holding the book close to her chest. "So do you know it
means? What could it possibly be?" she sang, dragging out the 'e' at the end.

"No idea. Enlighten me?" Rosé smiled. And off Lisa went as Rosé rested her chin on her hand
propped up on her elbow and merely basked in the boxer's infectious enthusiasm.

Rosé wandered off in a little daydream, foreseeing lots of new opportunities to steal away time
together just by asking about new words Lisa would have learned in her absence. The idea had her
secretly happy about having Lisa's attention—she craved that sense of importance Lisa managed to
inspire in her, just like with the twenty questions game when Lisa concentrated all her attention on
Rosé when she was answering questions and engaged in earnest conversation.

She was only recently getting used to the idea of allowing herself to lower down her armour just a
smidge, secure in the knowledge that Lisa would support her. Rosé let her daydreams run wild,
imagining herself free of her past. Lisa would be there to keep her and Ella safe, to fill in the
missing hole in their lives that gnawed at Rosé's heart.

Her daydreams were her safe place, where she could imagine a whole new world for her little
family, with Lisa being cuddled up with them safe and sound, away from the clutches of the
sinister shadow of the man who owned her lingering at the edge of her fantasies.

Someone as wretched as herself didn't deserve to have dreams, yet she couldn't help but dream
even more.

Rosé gave a despondent shake of her head as flashes from the previous night replayed in her mind's
eye, once more sowing doubts in her head. That Yang Hyun Suk was the prime reason her
daydreaming was always interrupted spoke deeply of her dread: he was the living embodiment of
her guilt, a thorn in her side, tormenting her just like the alias he gave her— Thorn, an ironic alias
playing on her name.

Because every delicate Rose has its vicious Thorns that ripped apart anyone who dared come too
close.

She gripped her arms tighter. There was her new night runner schedule to keep track of as well as
Ella and her pilates clients. Not to mention staying alert around Yang and his increasing obsession
with Tiger King and Lisa.

Why did he want to know about Lisa so badly? She didn't regret her decision to stay mum, even if
it meant taking on punishment as a consequence. But she was now more curious of what could
Lisa possibly bring to the table regarding their search for the cold-blooded killer.

"Rosie?"

Rosé blinked quickly. "Yes?"

"Are you still tired?" Lisa asked sympathetically. "Staying out late must be tough on the first day,
huh?"

"What?"

"You were kinda unfocused. Just now. It's okay, I'm sorry if I talk your ear off—"

"No no I'm good. It won't happen again, I'm sorry," Rosé promised, drawing herself closer to Lisa's
crossed legs. "I don't mind one bit. I love hearing you talk, Lis. Can you tell me what you were
saying again?"

"Okay," Lisa said with her easy smile, "so I was saying 'jocund' means cheerful and light-hearted.
Just like me!"

"Indeed just like you," Rosé chuckled, pushing all thoughts out of her head to focus on spending
her time only with Lisa in the present. "Tell me more?"

It was a good half hour later of giggling and mouthing obscure words that they were both startled
out of their bubble by Somi's yell.

"Oi! Are you two lovebirds done yet?" Somi hollered. "We're trying to decide a theme for
tomorrow so get your butts over here!"

"Watch your mouth, brat, I'm the Daddy of this place!" Lisa yelled before swivelling back around,
coming face to face with Rosé.

They both stilled at the sudden close proximity, noses nearly touching. For an eternal split-second
they were locked in each other's gazes, frozen like deer in headlights. Some time in the last thirty
minutes, Rosé had scooted over next to Lisa to read along and point out words with her but only
now did she notice just how close they were, practically brushing arms and legs and so much skin.

Rosé was desperately fighting the urge to look down at Lisa's mouth, her gaze being pulled by
some mysterious force to sneak a peek at those tempting lips: the last time she had gotten this
close, all she had to do was tilt her head to seal the gap.

And this time, they were practically touching even closer than that time when they nearly kissed—

Rosé was the first to tear her eyes away, heat blooming across her cheeks at the memory. "Let's go,
I guess." She spied Jennie watching them with an unreadable expression before the brunette turned
away to talk with Jisoo.

"Okay," Lisa said as she got up.

Rosé could have sworn Lisa sounded rather dejected as they walked back to the centre of the Vault.
And she was not having that.

She nudged Lisa to get her attention, determined not to have Lisa thinking she was giving the boxer
the cold shoulder and rejecting her, not when each day meant a step closer to possibly reaching one
another, a step closer to to what her heart yearned to have so insistently, and a step closer to
possible oblivion that ironically enough, Rosé felt would be worth it in the end.

"Hey I wanted to talk about yesterday," Rosé said softly, relieved that Lisa easily turned around to
listen. "I'm sorry for not showing up but I...well I was tired and I had some clients to take care of as
well..."

"It's okay Rosie," Lisa comforted. "You don't have to apologise for that. I did miss you though."

"I know. I missed you too..."

Rosé's hand absently brushed Lisa's knuckles as they walked, startling them both. But Lisa
recovered quicker—she reached out with her pinky finger and tentatively linked it with Rosé's own
little finger.

A strange tight sensation gripped Rosé's heart, sparks sputtering off from the tip of that tiny warm
connection where their fingers were shyly hooked round each other. It felt different than when Lisa
had been holding her hand to comfort her—there was an unspoken feeling behind Lisa's initiative
to hold her pinky finger, as though she was weaving a silent promise.

The thought had Rosé's insides melting into a puddle. She sneaked a glance in Lisa's direction, just
to see Lisa pointedly looking down at her feet, feigning nonchalance. The tips of her ears were
pink.

Rosé stifled the urge to squeal and wordlessly threaded the rest of her fingers with Lisa's own
fingers. She suddenly forgot what cold felt like.

"We're okay, yeah?" Lisa said at last. They had come to a stop, standing in front of each other with
neither girl making a move to get closer to Somi and the rest who were still talking between
themselves.

The knuckles of Lisa's free hand turned white as she gripped her book tightly, her face stoic as
though she was about to step off a roof. There was no sign of the cocky Lisa right now, alerting the
pilates instructor that whatever Lisa was thinking about was weighing heavily on her mind.

"Rosie, I...I..."

"Yeah?" Rosé's mouth ran dry as she hung on to every word, feeling her heart hammer against her
ribs in anticipation.

"Well I...I didn't get my lucky kiss yesterday...maybe that's why I got my ass beat.."

Rosé didn't know what she had been expecting but she did her best to quell her rising
disappointment. "Oh...well, we can fix that right now if you like? And you have all of this month
to prepare again, right?"

"I was going to say, maybe I'd like to switch things up this time round, because it was always you
giving me a kiss," Lisa said steadily, still not quite meeting Rosé's eyes, "I was thinking maybe this
time round...I could do it. As thank you. For everything."

Rosé frowned. "I'm not following..."

It happened in a blur—Lisa leaned in quickly and pecked her on the cheek, a quick dab on her skin
like a raindrop. With a bashful smile, Lisa darted away to join Somi and coo over Leo who had
been brought out of the cat carrier and was being passed around like a hot potato.
Alone in the middle of the Vault, Rosé blinked and cupped her cheek as a smile stretched her
mouth wide.

Someone as wretched as herself didn't deserve to have dreams, yet she couldn't help but dream
even more.

>

The man in the nondescript car parked down the road from the Vault yawned and scratched the
back of his neck. He was half-tempted to push back his seat and have a quick nap.

But everyone had heard of how Jay-P had been remotely zapped for getting handsy with the drug
runner that their boss had the hots for, and he didn't fancy being the next one in line. He was
smarter than trying to give Yang an excuse to zap him just for being idle on the job.

Keeping an eye on the boss's pet, Thorn, was proving to be too easy, bordering on tedious—his
target rarely ventured out of her high tower except for grocery shopping and getting her cat from
the alleys. Yesterday had been a little more interesting—she had gone to a bookshop. Even more
interesting, she held a suspiciously book-shaped rectangle as she was going into the Vault and he
assumed it to be a present for one of the occupants within. That had been a little over two hours
ago.

The man yawned again.

He had been up all night and he could do with a little shut-eye. Going by his calculations, Thorn
would most likely stay until her kid gets back from school, which was in approximately three
hours. The kid was a wee thing but quite tall for her age. Took after her mother, he supposed,
although he heard her father wasn't lacking in the height department either.

When he felt a third yawn coming on in as little as minutes, the man grimly touched his collar as
reminder.

The Zapper, they were calling it. A thin black band around his neck, almost like a choker. He
couldn't help the quick shiver that ran down his spine.

He was still wrapping his head around the fact that Yang had them practically on a leash. He didn't
have much choice in the matter, certainly didn't want to end up wherever the hell Jay-P was carted
off to, but he also hadn't signed up to be a dog.

The man drummed on the steering wheel, idly humming to himself.

He was supposed to keep his eyes peeled all the time— any cue about his surroundings could
come in useful for the future, any change or movement could provide necessary information. He
was trained to be vigilant at all times and so vigilant he must be.

Still, he couldn't help the weariness settling over him as glanced at the surrounding buildings all in
a state of shabbiness and disrepair. No wonder there was practically nobody going or leaving the
Vault, or so the place was named, according to a dilapidated sign on the door through which Thorn
had entered.

Crackling from the dashboard caught his attention. He leaned across and pressed a button.

"Progress report, Jay-W," said the stereo.

"No movement since 1100 hours," Jay-W replied wearily. "She went into the building and hasn't
come out since but I'm calculating she'll be on the move again once the kid finishes school in a few
hours."

"Very well, Jay-DG will take over once you get back to her address. Call in."

"Will do," Jay-W answered and rubbed his eyes. "Any word from the boss?"

"He said job well done with the cleaning, you'll get your bonus once you head back. Anything
else?" asked the clipped voice from the stereo.

"That's all for now."

The car fell silent and Jay-W resisted turning on the engine to have the air condition blast him with
cold air. It was stifling even with the windows rolled down, even though he was parked in the
shade.

But the car they gave him to follow Thorn incognito was the kind of beat-up dump that you didn't
give a second glance if you saw it on the street, which served its purpose fine for following targets
but was incredibly unfit to sit around and wait in. He feared the car battery might run out of power
if he used up all the juice to keep himself cool. So Jay-W sat in the sweltering heat as the sun
climbed steadily higher overhead.

At least the radio worked, Jay-W mused, wouldn't hurt to pass some time and listen to something
now, would it?

The third channel he was zapping through caught his attention. It was a news bulletin report.

"...police have confirmed the retrieval of a third unidentified body off the North quay at Yeonan-
dong, possibly connected to the two other bodies individually fished up from different locations
around the port just hours ago. Additionally, investigators are not overruling the possibility that
these three persons might be part of the seven-strong group of men reported missing early this
morning.

As of this moment, official investigators remain in the dark regarding the victims' identity owing
to lack of identification documents as well as extensive facial damage believed to be the work of
chemicals.

Detective Chanyeol Park has once again declined to give a statement until further notice, citing
the delicate nature of the case prevents from forming conclusive assessments. He also reiterated
that inquiries will be addressed in an official press conference once forensic officials have
completed their work. Stay tuned for future updates of this developing story, only on Radio XX!"

Jay-W slid down in his seat, a self-satisfied smirk curving his mouth as he patted himself on the
back for another successful cleaning job. The radio channel started playing a tinny pop song but
Jay-W wasn't listening anymore.

He wasn't bothered about the cops eventually finding all seven men and learning their identities.
And he wasn't bothered that the cops would eventually find out that they all worked as security
personnel officials at the Slammer. That wasn't in his hands to worry anymore—his job had only
been to derail and muddle the trail. The rest of the cover-up work would be up to someone else; in
this way, they were able to work stealthily within cells and if someone got caught, it would only be
a minor loss to the entire operation.
Now if only the next few hours could zip by a little faster, he'd be heading home for a hearty meal
and well-earned sleep.

After all, lugging corpses around in the small hours of the morning was no picnic.

>

Much as she predicted, Dahyun had to go to Momo's place herself to speak with the infuriating girl.

"Just be quick," Dahyun muttered to herself as the bell rang and rang. "Say your piece, figure out
what to do and then bolt out of there."

But life was never that simple of course.

When Dahyun finally entered Momo's apartment, she was hit by a nauseating sour stench that had
her reeling.

Dahyun coughed. If she were to walk right into a garbage truck, she was sure the stink wouldn't be
this bad.

She covered her nose and mouth with her sleeve as she made her way inside, noting how the
ground seemed to be covered in fluff.

Come to think of it, every surface on the furniture seemed to be covered in dust, which had Dahyun
frown slightly. To her knowledge, Momo was rather fastidious about keeping her environment spic
and span, as became a high-flying CEO who lived in a world of polished and spotless appearances.

What changed?

"Momo?" Dahyun called tentatively. Her voice seemed to echo back, mocking her.

"Here," Momo croaked from the living room, where the stench was strongest. Once Dahyun
arrived, she saw why.

Disgusting slimy residue forming furry mold, glistening limp noodles and pieces of meat in various
state of putrefaction peeked out of the tower of noodle cups, takeaway cartons and empty bottles of
soda cluttering a corner of the room. The precarious pile towered up high as an average-sized
person. Bile rising in her throat, Dahyun thought she saw fruit flies buzzing around the trash
mountain and wouldn't have been very surprised to see a rat slinking around either.

It looked ready to explode into an avalanche at any given moment and bury Momo, who was
currently slouching on the floor nearby.

"Hello Dubu, long time no see," Momo said nonchalantly.

She was sitting cross-legged in front of a wide-screen plasma TV with an XXL jumbo noodle pot in
her lap, wearing faded shorts and a T-shirt with greasy stains. Momo peered up at the horrified girl
standing in the doorway.

Dahyun could scarcely believe what she was seeing while simultaneously doing her utmost not to
barf up her lunch. The girl sitting on the carpet was far removed from the cocky, entitled and
sleazy CEO demanding attention and commandeering with confidence that Dahyun knew. Momo's
hair was greasy, bare legs unshaved, skin chapped and there were dark bags underneath her eyes.

Only weeks ago Momo had been larger than life, a powerhouse of righteous fury bent on exposing
JYP and ridding the world of her main business rival.

"What's up with you?" Dahyun asked in disgust. "Is this some sort of tantrum? You think sitting in
your own filth throwing a pity party will have me running back to you? News flash:
I'm not coming back."

"Yet here you are."

Dahyun spluttered but Momo went on, speaking monotonously without ever taking her eyes off the
screen as she surfed through channels and shovelled noodles into her mouth with her other hand.

"The world does not revolve around you, Dubu—"

"Don't call me that," Dahyun snarled.

"The world does not revolve around you, Dahyun," Momo said in between noisy slurps, "This is
not me trying to earn your pity. I have simply picked up a new lifestyle and am living quietly, just
watching my anime and playing Overwatch and League of Legends. Consider this as a long
overdue break from my work."

"What?"

Dahyun stared, trying to reconcile the image of the spiritless girl in front of her with her fast-talking
ex. "What do you mean a new lifestyle? What about your position at the company?"

"I'm an aspiring hikikomori*," Momo said.

Dahyun's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "Who, you? A shut-in hermit? Pull the other one, you
wouldn't last two days without needing to bang some slut."

"Well, I have already been a month and some living like this," Momo shrugged. "Hentai* serves
me well. People change. Deal with it."

"Change? Momo, you call this change? You're swimming in muck! And don't you have anyone to
clean for you? What the hell happened for you to want to lock yourself up in here? Jennie and Lisa
thought you were going in for the Purge too, weren't you mad with Lisa—"

Momo gave a bitter laugh and switched off the TV, taking Dahyun by surprise when the ringing
silence fell. She found herself faltering as Momo's gaze pinned her on the spot.

"Spare me your nagging. If you came here to gloat over me or something, just go."

"You didn't even see my message, did you?"

"I've disconnected from the outside world," Momo said simply, "except to order food and toilet
paper. They're delivered at my doorstep, paid online. I don't check messages."

"You're not even taking out trash! Are you even washing up, the place stinks! You stink too!"
Dahyun closed her eyes, willing herself to calm down and talk about the more urgent issue at hand
before she suffocated from the noxious fumes.

She could care less if Momo drowned in filth—there were more pressing issues at hand. She would
admit, however, to being curious as to why Momo had ended up shut-in and living like a primitive
lout with no sense of cleanliness.
"Look, all I want is to update you with some new info I found regarding JYP because I'm stumped.
And trust me, the last person I would want to work with is you but I really have nobody else to go
to."

"I'm not working on that anymore. I'm done with JYP."

"What do you mean, done? You roped me into this and now you're chickening out?" Dahyun said
indignantly.

"Pretty much," Momo answered. "Simply put I can no longer afford to go after him. I don't have
the resources and moreover, I have no reason to. It's all behind me."

Momo turned away and busied herself with the remaining noodles in the carton. "Now normally I'd
offer you to help yourself to some noodles in the pantry but I'm trying hard not to waste money
right now. Funds are a bit stretched."

Dahyun stared with disgusted fascination as Momo slurped brown glistening worms.

"Funds are a bit stretched?" Dahyun repeated, wracking her brain. "So....so....you really stepped
down from CEO?"

"Didn't I imply that?"

"But you must have cash saved up?" Dahyun asked frustratingly. "You were a high-flying CEO for
heaven's sake."

"Yes, and that's the money I'm using right now although much of my assets were seized or stocks
were sold so I was left with only the solid cash I had in my bank accounts which technically
speaking only run up shy of a million....and that's it."

"Well....well what job are you working now?" Dahyun paused, the cogs and gears in her heard
turning furiously. "Wait don't tell me.....you're a NEET* too?"

At Momo's nod, Dahyun groaned in exasperation.

"What the hell happened here? Don't give me crap about suddenly gaining some sort of
enlightenment to take a step back and let someone else steer the company while you loaf about and
waste your time. You're a free-loader right now, leeching off your cash fund, not even holding
down a job, not even working out anymore—oh yes, I can see the paunch," Dahyun nodded as
Momo peered down at her stomach, which had definitely gotten flabbier.

"You're not even cleaning your living space. You're a parasite, sucking up everything without
doing one useful thing in return. I would say you're depressed, but I don't think so. You're just a
clinically lazy sulky child that's lost everything and now you're throwing yourself a pity party,"
Dahyun concluded.

Momo froze for one long moment before her shoulders fell.

"Oh well done Miss Stick-Your-Nose-Everywhere," she said sarcastically, "and now how about
you get the hell out of my face and leave me in peace?"

"Oh believe me, I would, but I need to ask a few questions before I get out of this stink-hole. It's
unbearable and unhygienic," Dahyun spat back, "answer me this: have you ever heard of
something or someone called Tiger King?"
And to Dahyun's delight, Momo suddenly sat up straighter, her eyebrows raised.

"Oh that urban myth? Where did you hear it?"

"Urban myth?" Dahyun didn't think Jackson would randomly include an urban myth in the midst of
important and capitalised reminder involving his demanding cousin.

"It was in Jackson's notebook," she said, deciding to come clean about her findings. "I read his
notebooks. But I couldn't understand much, I spent all day trying to decipher what he wrote. He
seems to be working on some formula."

"How did you get a hold of them?"

"Got him to come over to my dorm but we didn't sleep together and then—"

"You were going to sleep with Wang?" Momo said, positively repulsed.

"I was," Dahyun shrugged, "he's not so bad for one-night stand and I think he liked me back. But
it's over now, he's gone, I blew him off. I managed to take some photos of the notebooks though,
before he left."

She was hesitant to hand over her phone to Momo's grubby hands and made a mental note to wipe
it down with alcohol the moment she got back home. Momo scrolled through the photos
impassively, understanding just about as much as Dahyun.

"Well I don't know what he's on about with all this chemical mumbo-jumbo. But, I can tell you one
thing for certain." Momo stabbed her finger down on the screen, specifically on one word. "Rkive
is Jarkive, the place you mentioned. You must have misheard but it's close enough. We were on
the right track. You had something Dahyun."

Dahyun blinked. She had been so focused on unravelling Jackson's chemical enigma that she
forgot all about Rkive.

"Rkive? Then...how come it didn't turn up when we searched? I mean Jarkive isn't that far from
Rkive," Dahyun said thunderstruck. "You had a whole team, somebody ought to have found it,
right? Somebody ought to have made that same connection?"

She had gotten chewed up by Momo for nothing. She had been humiliated and treated like dirt for
nothing.

"One simple reason: we were being wilfully deceived by a mole," Momo said grimly. "We found
the little rat but it was too late. The damage was done."

"A mole?"

"He had been a long-time employee, nobody suspected a thing until one day he slipped up and we
found all his blueprints for hiding crucial information regarding our main competitors, JYP."

Momo's voice was bitter. "JYP knew we were on him all along. He was playing with us,
with me. The mole had been blocking certain trails of invesitgation in our compilation of evidence.
This is why we kept running into so many dead-ends. We were being cut off at every turn by a
lowly rat on my payroll. And if I were to bet, the mole didn't slip up at all. He wanted me to find
him because JYP knew I was out of time. He wanted to gloat at my failure to nab him."

Dahyun could only look on at Momo's bristling anger, aghast that they had been taken for a ride so
effortlessly. "What happened to the mole? Did you extract anything else from him?"

"He shot himself in the head over a bridge," Momo said grimly, "clever bastard. That way, he
could not reveal anything else. He couldn't reveal if he was part of a network or working alone and
we couldn't prove that he was taking orders from JYP."

"Then how...maybe it's not JYP—"

"It was him," Momo insisted, "why would the mole otherwise work so hard on confusing me and
the team with regards our investigation into JYP? He was covering up for the rest of those rats."

Dahyun had to concede that it made sense when put that way.

"We did learn some interesting things though. JYP's lackeys that do the dirty work don't go by
names. For example, this guy was known as Jun Lee, but his real identity is Jay-LX. I have no idea
if you're supposed to read it in Latin—Jay-sixty—or just say the letters."

"Jay-LX?" Dahyun said doubtfully. "That's a name?"

"His alias," Momo corrected. "But Jun Lee isn't his real name either. Closer inspection revealed
that his certificates, passports, I.D—they were all fake. He even had a fabricated life story to back
things up. He's a John Doe. We only have Jay-LX to go by."

Momo took a swig of beer, leaning on the railing as she looked out over the rooftops and distant
scenery. "There had been rumours of a special group of glorified delivery boys personally hand-
picked by JYP running around under everyone's nose. They're specialised in their line of work
though, not like other lowly company employees, because they work more closely with him and
undertake more dirty errands. Like sniffing out company weaknesses to get the upper hand on
them. Like this mole in particular, worming around making sure to know our ways before reporting
back. I bet it's how JYP got an edge to us."

Dahyun stared, mouth dry. What Momo said was the stuff of thriller movies but watching her ex-
CEO ex-girlfriend as she ranted without even making a huge dramatic scene like before made
Dahyun question just what was real anymore. Everything was starting to sound like some
conspiracy theory but disturbingly enough, the pieces were fitting better in this scenario than
before.

If someone had told her that Momo would in time become a shut-in hermit with a penchant for
take-away cuisine, Dahyun wouldn't have believed them. Momo had always been so assured and
confident and in control, loud and energetic, demanding gourmet food and quality liquor. If she was
ever forced to step down from her position, Momo would go down screaming and kicking. She
wouldn't be moping around drinking cheap beer and eating artificial noodles without even caring
about her hygiene.

But here they were and oh how wrong Dahyun had been to assume. This person before her looked
defeated, a ghost of her former self. Dahyun's curiosity intensified but first she had to let Momo get
to the bottom of her spiel before delving into more questions.

"Jay-LX had no family, no particular friends he hung out with," Momo went on,"he was very
careful about keeping a low profile for the entirety of five years that he had been working
underneath me, the little bastard. We only confirmed that name because we found something like a
collar on his body, this thin black band around his neck that everyone thought was some sort of
necklace, like you know those e-boys like to wear chokers? Something like that. It had a tag with
JAY-LX written on it."
She shook her fist angrily at the sky. "I had no idea at all what that snake Jinyoung was capable of.
I underestimated him. Him and his father."

"The CEO?"

"Now that's another can of worms, a real sleazy trick the mole pulled off and I can't believe I didn't
see it. Nobody even thought of it," Momo seethed, "they took us for a ride and then pushed us off
the edge of a cliff." She turned to look at Dahyun, her eyes flinty. "No, Dahyun, I'm not talking
about Jinyoung the father, I'm talking about Jinyoung Junior, the scum behind all of this."

Another gulp of beer and Momo continued before Dahyun had a chance to register what she just
said. "It was so simple, so obvious, so blatantly arrogant. A case of identity switching. All this time
we thought JYP was the CEO. On paper, it says Jinyoung Park. But it could be either the son or
the father, because they both share the same name. Do you see now? You can't tell which
Jinyoung Park it is. Is it talking about Jinyoung Park Senior, or Jinyoung Park Junior?"

Dahyun stared. Of course, it made sense.

JYP was Jinyoung Park. Jackson's cousin was Jinyoung Park too, the son of the pharma mogul
JYP. How did it escape her so easily? She felt stupid, like when you wake up on exam day and
realise you had been up all night studying for the wrong subject.

"Jinyoung Junior has been steadily making more appearances involving business matters of the
pharma company, claiming he was appearing on behalf of his father whose presence in social and
business circles declined. He also claimed that his father had become a social recluse and preferred
to conduct business from home.

But Jinyoung Junior has been low-key the CEO of JYP Pharma for some time now, signing for
agreements and making key decisions in the company's structural framework—I got that much by
looking with my own eyes.

Yet nobody outright says that he's the CEO because officially, it's Jinyoung Senior's picture that
shows up along with his information when you look up JYP Pharma's CEO profile on every
Google search and official documents."

Momo turned her head and spat over the railings, making Dahyun wonder if some unfortunate soul
had been walking underneath at the exact same time.

"It's like Jinyoung Senior is the face of the duo, taking the brunt and slander or credit for any
action," Momo said darkly, "while Jinyoung Junior is the true director behind the scenes, moving
the pawns and rolling the dice. It's a clever little game they're playing. The father protects the son
while the son calls the shots."

"I don't quite—"

"Don't you get it? We've been deceived yet again," Momo said, "we were investigating the wrong
JYP while Jinyoung Junior carried about doing his business quietly and unobserved by my people,
completely under the radar. The mole did a magnificent misdirection trick so that his boss could
freely move about without scrutiny, make whatever deals he pleased as we focused all our efforts
on digging up what we could about Jinyoung Senior.

I fell for the ruse hook, line and sinker. It was humiliating. Hell, the things Jinyoung Junior could
have been up to without me even knowing! It's even more infuriating when you consider he was
right under my nose and I dismissed him completely!"
"Oh," was all Dahyun could say. It was now becoming clearer that Jinyoung Park was a man who
wasn't above playing dirty to get what he wants. He had played them for fools and trapped them in
the dark, going around in circles.

The thought of being entangled with his cousin and Jinyoung possibly already knowing about her
relationship with Momo indirectly through Jackson had Dahyun breaking out in cold sweat.

God, she had been so reckless! All because she wanted information...

"Did you try to look into what Jinyoung Junior was doing now? Or was it hard to get
information...."she trailed off when Momo shook her head.

"He basically won," Momo said with unbearable bitterness. "I can't do anything else Dahyun, it's
too late. It's over."

"What do you mean over?" Dahyun repeated. "You're giving up? Just like that?"

"Had to give up. Because..." Momo trailed off, lost in thought. She shrugged her shoulders. "Oh
might as well get out all of the sob story. Look, in short, my family were unhappy about the way I
was running things. Sleeping around with girls, burning away through the money I earned like
there was no tomorrow—I admit I might have siphoned off some company funds too..."

"You, embezzling your own company? That's new. Piggybank gone broke, is it?"

Momo ignored her jibe and went on listing the grievances that irked her clan. "Running up to Seoul
to see my....former friends. Competing in some un-feminine sports like PFB and having a fixed
rank amongst the top seeds...yes, the Hirai elders were far from impressed, even though I was
doing my damn job of upholding my family's legacy and keeping things moving swimmingly
enough.

But they feared that any day now, I would smear the family name with my habits and tendencies.
Stuffy old birds, what do they know about enjoying life except grind, grind, grind all day long?
Anyway, they threatened to cut me off if I didn't clean up my act, for real this time. They cancelled
my jet pass, so they really meant business this time round.

So to appease them, I promised them that I would bring down JYP, our main competitor, within a
set timeframe."

"And you came to me," Dahyun concluded. "And tried bribing me like crazy to stay. Just curious,
but what was the total bill on all the things you spent trying to persuade me that you were worth a
second chance?"

"Not important now," Momo said coldly, "the point is, I was doing all I could, I had a team
assembled, I pulled strings, I put my reputation on the line, I ordered unethical hacks and paid
bribes from my own chequebook, I stooped to play to JYP's level. Only turns out, Jinyoung Junior
had been playing the game longer than I had."

She turned her back to the scenery.

"By the time I uncovered the mole, my deadline had expired. I had only dug up something that
further proved my incompetency in their eyes. Cousin Takito replaced me around a month ago and
I was booted out.....so I holed up here in my Seoul apartment because the Hirai couldn't touch this
property: I bought it with cold, hard cash. And so, here we are."

Silence followed Momo's words as her story came to a close while Dahyun digested the situation,
thinking hard to come up with a solution.

"So...so you're all alone? You can't have your cousin try to follow up on—"

"No. He's focusing strictly on business," Momo said flatly. "Let's just say, his moral code is more
honourable than mine. He's the perfect fit to direct the company in the Hirai's eyes. I had only been
there because I'm my father's heir."

"What about the investigation team you had, they could be useful, surely they can still check on
stuff from the side and report back to you?"

"They're all gone. After the mole was discovered, I dismissed them from their jobs. Kicked
everyone out."

"Why?" Dahyun cried. "What the hell Momo? Why did you do that?"

"You wouldn't understand," Momo rolled her eyes. "I was so paranoid. Who was I going to trust if
the traitor worked in our midst? So...I booted them all out, as a precaution. Don't worry, they all got
a fancy remuneration package and stellar references on their resumé. They'll be fine."

Dahyun decided to drop the issue and move on. "So...you're here. And that's it? JYP is a closed
case to you?"

"As far I'm concerned," Momo shrugged. "I have no stakes in the company anymore. All my stocks
and shares, my assets...they were all liquidated just like that, because the elders agreed that 'I'm a
spoiled brat who needs to learn that life isn't cushy'. So they let me have some cash money in my
accounts enough to keep me going for a while and booted me out. I'm done with anything related to
JYP."

Momo crumpled her beer, threw it over her shoulder and cracked open a new can. Dahyun's nose
curled as she watched the other girl drink.

"It's ironic that you're still working on the case, when I'm the one who dragged you into it." Momo
commented.

"That's because there's something really shady going on at JYP, regardless who's in charge, JYP or
his son," Dahyun said earnestly. "And it's really terrible to think of, I can't bear to just sit by and do
nothing." She scrolled through her phone, looking for notes. "Look, here: JYP could have been
possibly linked with child trafficking back in the early 2000's, him and some other companies that
are based overseas. And see here— there's rumours he had been trying to develop and supply North
Korean military and outlaw militias in other countries with phsyical enhancing serums but those
kind of drugs are potentially dangerous and illegal so—"

"Dahyun, I told you. I'm not interested," Momo said bluntly. "I'm done. And I'm hungry now, let's
go inside."

"No wait please," Dahyun pleaded. "At least tell me what you know about Tiger King and I swear I
will leave you alone afterwards, you can go back to sitting in your musty garbage nest and you'll
never have to see me again."

Momo paused, pursing her lips. "Tiger King. Hmm, sure, why not? It's not really something the
general public probably knows. The myth sort of belongs to business circles."

Dahyun raised an eyebrow. "An urban myth that belongs to business circles? What, do you stand
around telling ghost stories to each other at conferences?"
"Sure," Momo said nonchalantly, catching Dahyun by surprise. "It used to be part of the gossip and
chatter. Like a highlight of conversations, to stir up some excitement when there's a lull. Do you
think it was him?" she imitated in a posh voice. "Did you hear about that murder? Did you hear
about this businessman? Did you hear about that trader? Did you hear about that broker? Do you
think it was Tiger King? That myth was all the rage at parties, when people gossiped about this
and that. You think people are going to be talking about numbers all the time? Nah, ya gotta spice
up crusty conversations somehow and Tiger King proved to be just the thing."

"But you said it's a myth," Dahyun said doubtfully, "why would Jackson write it down? What does
it have to do with Jinyoung?" At the back of her head, an idea of what the disparate pieces of
information could mean was forming but some glaringly blank spaces remained.

Maybe Momo's explanation would help solve another piece of the tangled web.

"Show me that last picture again."

Dahyun duly brought it up on her phone. It was the last thing she had managed to snap (and barely)
before Jackson caught her.

The words bellowed at them, urgent and loud:

Tiger King formula V.33 FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL

JIN—> TIGER KING —> SERUM FACTOR X

"I think....I might have an idea of what it could mean," Momo said at length.

"Me too."

A ghost of a smile crossed Momo's face. "I'll tell you the story first."

She sipped her beer, deep in thought as Dahyun waited impatiently, bouncing on the balls of her
feet. She was briefly inspired to record Momo and hastily put her phone out to capture the story.

"In Japan, we have our own name for Tiger King," Momo began. "We call him Kiiroi Me. Yellow
Eyes."

"So I guess he has yellow eyes, whoever he is? Like a werewolf?"

"Or so rumours go. Nobody has ever gotten a good look at him or captured him in photo to confirm
though. He moves too fast and those that maybe got a proper look at his face died because they
were too close."

"Like a curse thing?"

"No. He killed them," Momo said. "He was an assassin for hire, if you will. And he was damn
good at his job. Nobody ever caught him. He never slipped, not even once, that's why he's a
legend. Never let anyone that faced him live, not even when the gangs he went up against were
armed to the teeth."

Momo threw her hands up in exasperation. "Hell, nobody even knows anything about the guy. He
could have been a girl for all we know! The only thing we know is that he was called Tiger King,
he was a brutal and efficient killer, and he killed with his bare hands. If you had a gun or a knife,
that was of no use to defend yourself—if anything, you were helping him eliminate you less
painfully."
Dahyun sucked in a breath. "You keep talking in the past tense. Did he die?"

"Who knows? He just suddenly stopped taking requests for killings and no more was heard of him.
A couple of imitation copycats still roam around but they're nowhere near his status. With Tiger
King seemingly gone, business people started to breathe more freely and there were no more
bloodbaths amongst gangs of the underground. Because yes, Tiger King could kill yakuza gangs
for you—at a price of course.

Some of Tokyo's lower ranked yakuza gangs were wiped out and if he was still around, he might
have gotten around to picking out the bigger gangs too. I heard he did a number on a Gwangju
mafia gang too once. Only one member survived because whoever commissioned the kill
specifically asked for that person to be spared but left a quadriplegic. Must have been some
personal beef I suppose."

"So...so Tiger King was kind of...like a good guy? A vigilante?" Dahyun said slowly.

Momo barked out a laugh. "He killed for whoever paid, Dahyun. There's no good or bad side, not
where money is involved. Look, this was mostly before my time, before I took over the company
but you still hear stories from other people who might have made use of Tiger King. See, everyone
has someone they want to bump off."

She jabbed her thumb at over her shoulder, indicating the wider world behind her. "It's a fish-eat-
fish world out there, a bloody cutthroat economy. Getting rid of some rival that's in direct
competition with you always sounds like a great idea. And well, some people wanted to take the
easy way out."

"By killing?" Dahyun said appalled. "And what about the police? All these killings going on, how
could they be so useless to not solve at least one?"

"That's the beauty of the whole operation," Momo said, "that was the main appeal of Tiger King.
Whoever commissioned the kills was guaranteed absolute anonymity."

"Just like that?" Dahyun said sceptically. "It can't have been that easy, or straight-forward."

"Of course it wasn't, I'm coming to that," Momo snorted. "You had to fork out at least like a billion
won deposit as down payment, just shy of a million dollars. It was like your insurance money. Let's
say the police got wind of something fishy during an investigation into a murder that could be
linked back to you. Tiger King's handlers would use that one billion won deposit to give bribes,
manipulate information and generally impede the investigations as much as they can. Their
methods held out so they must have been doing something right. They got the fool-proof reputation
as a respected lowkey killer-for-hire agency and business boomed, for them. The police never
could keep up with them around."

"Tiger King's handlers?" Dahyun asked, fixating on a detail. "So there were more people involved
in this organisation?"

"One thing at a time. I'm trying to remember what I can because this is just people talking. I wasn't
there in person during Tiger King's peak, I was still pretty much a kid. All people do now is talk
and reminisce about the good old days when you could get a hold of his handlers and have your
enemies checked off the list a little while after."

"You make it sound like everyone was onboard with this...this...killer," Dahyun said warily.

"Not everyone was," Momo said thoughtfully, "but what could you do? People were afraid that if
they spoke up, they'd be the one targeted next. It's a case of mind-your-business-and-don't-rock-
the-boat-for-other-people. And also pray you weren't somebody's enemy that was ruthless and
wealthy enough to afford Tiger King's services, because heaven help you, there was no escape.
There was one such incident, probably Tiger King's toughest job. The target barricaded himself in a
bunker and called the authorities to help protect him. But it was no use. Tiger King found a way to
enter the bunker and killed him, before vanishing without a trace."

"Without a trace? No footage whatsoever?" Dahyun shook her head. "Sounds hard to believe."

"Yeah that's why I said it's kind of an urban myth," Momo explained. "You gotta take everything
with a pinch of salt. There was some sort of killer-for-hire, but I don't believe every story they say
about him. Like they say he once took out an entire gang of yakuza who were armed with semi-
automatic guns. Unless he was some sort of superhuman with superspeed, there's no way he could
have escaped without being harmed."

Momo took a long drink from her beer. "But I'm guessing you can see the appeal of having
someone like Tiger King on your side. He was like your Plan B. If you failed in your ventures
going the honest route, then there was Tiger King. His handlers, whoever they were, ruled over the
industry and the underground. Everyone was practically in their pocket. I heard even American
investors got wind of his existence and were immensely interested."

"Surely there must have been some names leaked. Like the organisation's name, or maybe some
top leader within the organisation," Dahyun persisted stubbornly. "You can't walk around doing all
those atrocities and be utterly nameless. People talk and let slip unconscious details. They get
drunk and uninhibited. They have money to set private investigators on your trail so I'm sure there
were people interested in knowing just who Tiger King and the other people involved were.
Someone must have found out something."

Momo frowned, straining to remember. "Hmm now that I think of it...I think the top dog was
someone who went by the name of Ringfighter. No, that doesn't sound right. Ringplayer?
No...Ringtaker? No no....Ringmaker? No, Ringmaster! That's the one! Fitting name ain't it?"

Dahyun sighed. "Ringmaster, alright. Well, at least it's better than nothing I suppose. So, after you
pay the deposit, is that it? How does it work?"

"The deposit was just the start of it. You had to pay the full price after the task is carried out,
depending on the difficulty and the rank of the target. There were also some rules— certain high
persons of authority were off limits, like political individuals in Cabinet positions, the President,
the Prime Minister, that sort of thing. Tiger King didn't want to be involved in national coups or
political squabbles—it was all just business. And to do business, you had to have a relatively stable
environment to work in. Causing national unrest isn't good for business. Probably would also have
been a tad impossible to pull off as well, killing the President."

"But how do you get in contact with Tiger King to commission him? Is there some hotline to ring
up Ringmaster? Like, hello, yes, I'd like to make an order for one bloody homicide please, with a
side of extra blood and gore for dramatic effect, preferably done by next week before I buy out
some stocks to sell."

"I'm not very sure," Momo hummed. "They seemed to favour operating a lot by word of mouth and
meeting in person, to avoid leaving tracks as much as possible. It was all very covert. I think there
was a designated area where you visited and just waited for someone to show up and walk up to
you. They were always watching, so you needn't worry about waiting long. It was best to go at
night as well."
"What if it was some other regular person that happened to be there, at the wrong place?"

"I think there was some password you had to get a hold of," Momo mused, "you see, it wasn't as
open as you think. They changed passwords frequently so you had to do some digging to find the
correct password. There was a process too, a cross-examination of sorts where the person that
contacted you reports back to determine if the assignment is feasible and worth the trouble.

If they accept, you're contacted within a week with details for a meet-up to hand over the deposit in
cash. Then you go about your day until you pick up the newspaper a little later and find out that the
rival company is in disarray because its director or manager was found dead or murdered. Et voila,
everyone is happy. Except the dead guy. And his family. And the police."

Dahyun's mind was reeling. "And you're saying they never got caught? Ringmaster and Tiger King
and the rest of their little possé never got caught?"

"Not to my knowledge. His handlers were really good, whoever they were. But something must
have happened for them to disappear overnight. Maybe they had been caught after all, but I'm sure
someone would have mentioned something. They just...disappeared."

"You said it was a myth but that all sounded real and detailed enough," Dahyun remarked.

"You can't believe everything you hear about Tiger King," Momo insisted. "He's become
something of a cult icon in the underground scene and on supernatural investigator platforms. I
think there's still sites dedicated to his exploits, glorifying his actions. Young people these days
have a taste for the morbid. Do you know where he supposedly got the name? So this one time
when he was a kid, Tiger King went up against this tiger, right, this huge vicious beast of a tiger,
because he fell in its cage at a zoo. And Tiger King fought the beast bare-handed and survived.
Now the spirit of the tiger lives on in him because he killed it. That's where he got his yellow eyes
from, it's the dead tiger's soul."

Dahyun stared. "Now that for certain is a myth. Don't tell me you believe that?"

"Why not?" Momo asked, crumpling up her beer can. "Maybe it's true. Maybe it's not. In any case,
truth is sometimes stranger than fiction."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"By all accounts Tiger King is the stuff of urban legend indeed. And yet..." Momo paused,
choosing her words. "Yet, Jinyoung Junior Park seems to believe he's real enough."

There was a new fire in Momo's eyes as she leaned against the railings, furrowing her brows in
fierce thought. "And if that snake thinks so then he's up to no good. When a man abandons the
rational for the fantastical, he's either mad or....or he's planning something. Something big, bigger
than simple company litigations. He's ambitious and he won't just stop with his company. He
thinks bigger."

Dahyun's mind was turning pieces of information over and over, seeking connections whilst
conspiracy theories floated in her head, mixing with Tiger King's story.

JYP Pharma...child trafficking....secret military deals...Jinyoung and Jinyoung...Jackson....serum

factor X... Ringmaster...Tiger King...murder...money...power....

"If you ask me," Momo said quietly, "it looks very much like Mr Jinyoung Junior Park intends to
recreate Tiger King's exploits with Jackson's help by making a new Tiger King."
"And if he succeeds and becomes the new Ringmaster, he'll gain control of Seoul's business sector
and maybe go even beyond the city itself," Dahyun continued as the picture slowly formed. "And
maybe, since he's in the pharmaceutical business....what if he decides to actually follow in his
father's footsteps and....and militarize his findings? Every military force in the world would be
begging to have a Tiger King or heck, as many Tiger Kings as they can have on their forces. What
if...what if you could have a whole army of super soldiers?"

Her words sounded wild to her ears, but what frightened her more was the terrifying possibility that
it could come true.

If what Momo said about controlling Tiger King was true; if control of Tiger King meant control
of an entire section of powerful stake holders that controlled the flow of the business industry, then
surely someone seemingly as enterprising as Jinyoung would be tempted by the possible power
Tiger King would lend him.

"It's a bit of a stretch," Momo conceded, "but given that snake's drive and seeing the lengths he
went to hoodwink me and my team...quite possible that he could succeed."

"Jackson is out of the country though so...so there's still time. At least, that's what he was planning,
I overheard him talking to Jin. Said that people had gotten wind of them, something like that. But
now I'm starting to wonder...if it was all just a ruse....maybe they even knew about my
involvement...I..."

Momo sighed and turned away. "They don't. You're safe."

"How would you know?" Dahyun asked suspiciously. When Momo didn't reply, Dahyun asked
again, sharper. "How do you know?"

The Japanese girl cracked open her third beer of the hour and took a long sip, avoiding Dahyun's
eyes. "I have the surrounding cameras of your resident block tapped with a continuous live-feed
recording 24/7, unless the camera is damaged."

"You what?"

"I've been checking and...there has been no suspicious activity near your dorm, Dahyun. You're
safe. They don't know about you and they don't suspect you. At least, not up until now." Momo
finally looked up. "It's the only thing I requested Takito to keep running and maintain on my
behalf: the CCTV in your street."

Anger at Momo's audacity and disregard for her privacy mingled with relief and grudging
thankfulness. But amongst all the jumble of emotions that swelled in her chest, Dahyun's curiosity
took centre stage.

"Why? Were you stalking me?" she croaked. And maybe deep down she knew the answer—it
hung unspoken in the air between them, invisible and bitter, yet at its very core nestled a tiny spark
of warmth.

"No." Momo gave a wry smile. "Guess I just still care about something."

Dahyun turned away, unwilling to let the girl who hurt her so much see her vulnerable. "Thanks I
guess. And thank you for your time," she said stiffly, "I'll be going."

"Wait, what are you going to do now?"

Momo's questions made her stop in her tracks. But she didn't have to ponder for long—she knew
her first port of call and now she had the resolve to do it. There was too much at stake to simply
give up and let herself drown in despair. She couldn't let herself sink to that level of apathy. She
couldn't stay in her comfort zone any longer.

"I'm going to investigate Rkive," Dahyun said determinedly, "I'm going to find out more about
Jinyoung Junior's plans."

And I'm going to put a stop to them.

 Preparation

"Aha! I got one that you definitely won't know this time!" Lisa declared as her index finger stabbed
the page of her dictionary. "Whoever gets this right will get a chicken bucket from Daddy!"

Thanks to Rosé's gift, Lisa had picked up a new occupation and fully moved on from the twenty
questions game, to Irene's relief.

After spending all afternoon and evening poring over her book and absorbing new words, Lisa
woke up the next morning and announced a new game: guessing the definition of a word she
randomly picked up from her book.

She even insisted on rewarding the person who guessed the correct definition with a chicken
bucket. Somi, Chaeyoung, Seulgi and Jisoo had humored her at first before quickly settling into
competitive mode as Matt and Irene watched on. Jennie declined to play, to Jisoo's dismay, citing
paperwork as her excuse.

"Alright alright hit me!" Somi said impatiently.

"Third time's the charm," Chaeyoung added, cracking her neck as though preparing for vigorous
activity.

"Pipe down kids, I got this," Seulgi smirked. A chorus of voices immediately broke out in
complaint.

"Can't you skip this one time?"

"Yeah skip, Seulgi, please, you're demolishing us!"

"Nope, I'm enjoying myself too much to stop now," Seulgi said sweetly as Chaeyoung and Somi
groaned. "Three chicken buckets for me so far, isn't it?"

"She's gonna get it right again, no fair!" Jisoo pouted, "she's a teacher! I'm never gonna win a
bucket at this rate!"

"Chu, stop grouching and focus," Jennie called from behind her desk. She sipped her energy drink
as she sifted through papers. "You're smart, so just do your best. I'm rooting for you."

"Oh...but she knows more words than any of us!" Jisoo protested, recovering quickly after being
disarmed by the casual compliment.

"Look, I'll buy you a chicken bucket myself if you want it so much then," Jennie shrugged, "but I
think you're underestimating yourself."

"Hmph!" Jisoo scoffed but her cheeks were tinged pink.

"Gi, go easy on them," Irene said half-heartedly from the side. Seulgi smirked and shook her head,
making Irene chuckle.

She felt like a carefree schoolgirl again, giggling when Seulgi had suggested playing hooky from
work the previous night because she wanted to spend more time with Irene at the Vault (but of
course both were responsible adults, so they called in sick again rather than actually ditching.)

"What about the classes Gi?" Irene had asked, "and the kids?" Her smile only grew wider when
Seulgi laughed on the screen in front of her as they Facetimed.

"School's almost out, we've got our end of year concert like what, over the weekend? I basically go
there to keep an eye on them during the day really. They'll find a substitute," Seulgi dismissed,
shrugging her shoulders. She hugged her pillow. "You're still on for the concert, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it," Irene nodded. She had been thrilled when Seulgi shyly asked her to accompany
her to the school concert, as her date. "But are you sure about ditching tomorrow? For me it's no
problem, but I know they're stricter on teachers..."

Seulgi sat back, watching Irene with a dopey smile. "I want to spend more time with you, Hyun.
Not just to make up for all the time I wasted, but because I want to. I really want to."

"Well then, your wish is my command. We'll ditch tomorrow too," Irene decided. Seulgi cheered,
making Irene smile as her heart fluttered.

They were still unsure what to label themselves as of yet, but they had agreed it was an exclusive
relationship. They were going to go on dates and they established that they had no intention of
seeing other people at all. Soon, they would be calling each other girlfriends.

Irene loved the sound of that. She had never had a special someone to call as her girlfriend or even
her lover, but the wait had been worth it. Seulgi was worth it. Irene had never been more sure,
especially now when Seulgi sought her out from time to time, eyes immediately turning to
crescents every time she found Irene.

"Don't worry Jisoo, Mimi owes me like six buckets so she can technically buy for you herself on
my behalf," Lisa said airily. "If you get it right, of course."

"Stingy," Jisoo muttered.

"Excuse you, I only owe you like four," Somi retorted indignantly. "Don't I, Chaeng?"

"I honestly lost count."

"Wow, got it that good with Mina last night that you lost your remaining braincells, huh?"

"Better than you dancing around Daehwi oppar playing late night Fortnite for sure," Chaeyoung
snorted. "What's all this back-and-forth thing you two got going on, is that what heteros do?"

"We're not dating!" Somi snapped, cheeks flushed pink.

"Never said you were," Chaeyoung laughed as Somi shoved her.

"Pipe down harlots, I changed my mind, I'm finding a new word!" Lisa admonished, tongue
sticking out of her mouth in concentration as she scoured the page. "How does that eeny thing that
Rosie does go? Eeny-miney?"

"Eeny meeny miney mo?"

"Yeah that's it," Lisa nodded and muttered the rhyme under her breath as she tapped up and down
the page.

"Who you texting? Daehwi?" Chaeyoung asked Somi curiously while they waited.

"Hmm? No no."
"Dubu then?" Chaeyoung frowned. "I should text her. She didn't show up today...do you think she's
gonna come by later?"

"You think she forgot?"

"I don't know...she's been a little...off, lately. Maybe it's exams. Or Jackson leaving. You heard he's
left?"

"Hmm? Jackson Wang? Oh yeah Dae mentioned helping him pack up," Somi said absently. "It
was all rather sudden."

"Yeah, there were people from his department leaving him farewell messages on Uni's online
bulletin board, you know how corny people get. Heard some of the ladies were quite heartbroken
too."

"You think Dahyun got mopey over him leaving? She was hanging around him a lot lately," Somi
hummed, lost in her rapid texting. "Well, I could do a rain check with her. She has been kinda in
her head these days, but maybe it's because of exams."

"Yeah maybe. Seriously, who are you texting?"

"Dubu is supposed to be the curious one, have you swapped places?" Somi laughed, finally lifting
her head. "I was thinking of inviting a few other gal pals over to my bash later, that's all. Have a
real party going on, you know what I mean? No offence to all the others here, but you need a
young crowd to really liven up the place."

"Hey! I'm young!" Lisa said indignantly. "I'm the life of the party!"

"So am I!" Jisoo and Seulgi chorused.

Somi rolled her eyes. "Yeah okay sure. Three's a company, not a party. No offence to you Irene and
Jennie, but I don't see you stiffs being party girls."

"You're right, I'm not," Jennie and Irene said promptly together.

"See? They're both just homebodies, they're only coming because of their girlfriends."

"Well, sue me for trying to be supportive, Mimi," Jennie muttered as Irene turned all shades of
pink.

"I still say I need more people to really make things more exciting so that's what I'm getting. And
you," Somi added pointedly to Lisa, "you're gonna behave yourself around my friends. If you
embarrass me or try to chat them up, you're dead."

"What's that supposed to mean, I behave myself plenty!" Lisa said indignantly.

"Sure, especially with all the groping and butt-grabbing you had going on in bars. I heard you were
notorious for doing that with your groupies. Word was, it was even considered an honour to
be...what was the term again? Oh yeah, Tornado-Tapped."

"Butt-grabbing?" Seulgi raised an eyebrow as Lisa spluttered and the others laughed. "I do
remember you lapping up attention back at the Slammer, but groping and butt-grabbing, Lisa?
With minors? Really?"

"Hold it right there! You gonna make me look bad in front of people!" Lisa yelped. "Fine, I ain't
any saint, but I swear I'm cleaning up my act now!"

"Oh don't worry, your precious Rosie isn't here," Somi smirked, "but maybe I should tell her that
you're not as angelic as she thinks you are. Save her the trouble and all."

"You'll do no such thing, brat, or you'll catch these hands!" So saying, Lisa lifted both hands to
show Somi, and closed her book by accident. "Dang it now I gotta find the page again!"

"Catch hands, huh? Then who's gonna get you your precious bagels and your precious crack?"
Somi asked.

"Crack?" Seulgi gawked, eyes round as saucers. "So you're really taking drugs?"

"The heck, no! Mimi is just talking about my protein powder for protein shakes!" Lisa screeched.
"I'm clean as a whistle! Clean as a drainpipe! Wait..."

"This kid's definitely on crack right now," Somi smirked. Lisa howled in outrage—Somi had just
won herself a chicken bucket with that smooth vine reference.

"Oh no you don't get to do that, you brat!"

Chaeyoung and Somi were practically rolling on the ground and holding their sides in stitches
while Jisoo snickered. Even Jennie smiled a little as she sipped on her energy drink and sifted
through papers and bills. Now that they had some money thanks to Seulgi's intervention on their
behalf, Jennie felt a little more relaxed as she sorted through documents. She hadn't pushed Lisa to
exercise today either and had been in a generally good mood.

After the scare at the Slammer, things seemed to be more settled at the Vault too.

Irene was positively glowing each time Seulgi so much as turned her head in her direction;
Chaeyoung and Somi (missing Dahyun) were all less crabby and tense now that gruelling exams
were over; Matt was working out in his corner as usual, occasionally joining in the banter; Lisa
declared her hand was healed and Jisoo had seemed extra bright, her infectious smile taking over
half her face when she walked into the Vault that morning. Jennie couldn't stop herself from
shooting a grin back.

It was looking to be a relatively laid-back day for a change—

"Hey Jen, can I talk to you for a second?"

—until she looked up and came face to face with Irene's rather sombre expression, a jarring change
from the woman simpering in Seulgi's direction only a few minutes ago.

"Sure, lemme just file this," Jennie replied, feeling a tug of uneasiness in her gut. "Everything
okay? Is it about Lisa's pilates sessions?"

"Not her sessions, but it's about Lisa and well...things..." Irene lowered her voice, casting glances
over her shoulder. "Can we go talk outside maybe? It's a bit...sensitive."

"Wanna go to the diner's for old time's sake?" Jennie asked loudly.

Irene nodded gratefully, shooting a reassuring smile in Seulgi's direction. "I'll be back soon Gi,
don't worry. They won't eat you."

"Of course not, grandma, that's your job now," Lisa snickered.
"Lisa!" groaned all the people in the Vault, except for Seulgi who blushed a deep red.

>

"Well, what is it unnie?" Jennie asked, unable to sit quiet for much longer the moment Nayeon
brought them their coffee and left. "What's on your mind? Trouble in paradise already?"

Irene gave a shy smile and bent her head. "Everything is fine."

"Then...?"

"It's just...well something Seulgi said that I couldn't stop wondering about. And now when they
were talking about Lisa's crack—"

"You know they were just goofing off, right? Lisa isn't on any drugs, I make sure of that."

Irene raised her head sharply. "How sure are you? What if when she's alone over at Rosé's, she
takes something? Maybe even Rosé herself is soliciting drugs." Irene whispered the last word as
though it was a curse.

"Whoa back up," Jennie said, mystified. "What the heck? Where did that come from?"

Irene sighed heavily. "The other night when you came over with Seulgi. She mentioned taking
those nasty stimulants right? Those...those drugs messed with her mood and got her to be way more
aggressive and angry and moody...I honestly don't know how she's still holding down her job if she
was snapping at poor kids in school like she was snapping at me..."

"It only kicks in times of stress, that's when it really starts working, otherwise you can be quite
mellow most of the time. Maybe she was stressed out in your presence, or had been in a stressful
situation before she met up with you, but the effect wears off after a while, so she would be quite
normal," Jennie said automatically.

"And how do you know all that, Jennie?" Irene asked quietly.

Jennie stilled in her seat. "Read about it."

"You don't read."

"Oh I meant heard about it, my bad. Still kinda drowsy," Jennie chuckled weakly. Irene's steely
gaze didn't waver.

"Jen, I never ask questions. I never question anything when it comes to you and Lisa," Irene said
solemnly. "But maybe I should ask more. Maybe I shouldn't have waited and waited. It's
something I realised the other night with Seulgi. If I didn't act, Seulgi and I wouldn't be...well,
together. It's only because I got tired of watching her clam up and run away from me that I stopped
her and demanded answers, which led to her confessing her feelings. And now, I've been
thinking...maybe I should start pressing for answers to some of my questions too. I deserve to know
some things that I know you're hiding from me for some reason, don't you think?"

Jennie's heart sank to the pits of her stomach. She had envisioned for this day to come, always
delaying the inevitable. Would today be the day she truly couldn't hide anymore?

"Jen, is Lisa on drugs? Seulgi seems to think so. At least when they were fighting, she seemed to
think so."
"She's not."

"Jennie."

"Unnie, why would I lie about this?" Jennie said tiredly. "She's not on drugs. I know what Seulgi is
thinking, but it's simply baseless."

"So if you were to take Lisa to the hospital and do a drug test right now, she'd come out clean?"

"Yes," Jennie said firmly.

"Is it because there is no test to detect this particular kind of drug yet? So you're secure in the
knowledge you won't be caught?" Irene drew out a small matchbox and slid it open. Inside were
two small circular pills, flat and pale yellow in colour.

Jennie blinked. "Are these Seulgi's?"

"Her last remaining ones. She gave them to me to throw away but...I had to check..." Irene's voice
was pleading. "Jennie, look at me and tell me you've never seen these...these atrocious things. Tell
me Lisa has never taken them."

"I never saw them and she hasn't taken them," Jennie said honestly. "Lisa might not be educated,
but she's not stupid either. She knows drugs aren't to be messed with. Rosé is no drug-dealer either.
She's just a single mom trying to get by."

"And she's living in the fancier side of the district in a high-rise condo apartment that some rich kid
like Jisoo affords," Irene said meaningfully. "She's a single mom with a pilates studio, how much
money could she possibly be making? I don't know why I never questioned it before but think
about it, how could she have secured such a spot in the first place?"

"Irene, listen to yourself. You're really gonna make Rosé the villain now?" Jennie shook her head.
"I might have butted heads with her, but no, Rosé is not a bad person. Jisoo vouches for her too.
She's not a drug dealer and she didn't solicit Lisa to do drugs. Lisa would have mentioned
something or acted different."

"Maybe so, but playing sweet and innocent might be Rosé's cover," Irene said darkly, "heavens, if I
get to know that she did something to Somi too, I'll—"

"Unnie, stop. You're spinning fantasies to fit your narrative and your speculations," Jennie chided.
"Lisa and I had heard of some super drug lowkey doing the rounds at the Slammer, but nobody
investigated it, not until Lisa had that match with Shadow. I can guarantee you that Lisa never had
any of it. The drug didn't have a name and I think that worked in its favour. Complete anonymity,
but everyone knew what drug you were talking about when you mentioned it."

"And the investigation was a dead-end as well. Seulgi told me there's no proper test to detect them
yet." Irene's face screwed up in distaste. "Her ex had reassured her about it and in fact, Seulgi had
taken the Slammer's drug test while still on the pills and nothing happened."

She closed the matchbox and slipped it back in her pocket. "I don't know what to do about it. What
are the odds of going to the police and them believing me? And then I'd have to rope in Seulgi and
you two as witnesses. And that Seungwan, I knew she wasn't to be trusted."

Jennie's blood ran cold at the prospect of coming in contact with the authorities. "I don't think it's
wise. Let sleeping dogs lie, Irene. You...you never know who might surface if you try to rock the
boat."
Irene raised a questioning eyebrow. "I just want my answers, Jennie. I want to sleep at night
knowing that none of you are in danger. What if the people that makes these things come after
Seulgi or you?"

"We're fine. Seulgi as well. She was just the end loop of a chain, not the buyer who came in contact
with the actual dealer. She won't have anything to do with any shady people," Jennie said softly.
"Flush the pills down the toilet and forget about them."

"You think it's that easy to forget, huh? For example, just because I never pressed you for answers
about Hwangssabu, you think I stopped thinking about him, did you?" Irene said grimly. "I waited
and never questioned, Jen. I just wanted to be there for you and Lisa. But you forget that
Hwangssabu was also my friend. I still wonder about his final moments.

Why does everything have to be a secret? Why are the police so damn incompetent to find out
things? Yes, you heard me right, I said damn."

Jennie drew in a breath slowly, anticipating the next barrage of questions. But she didn't stop Irene,
aware of the woman's gaze on her.

"I helped you, that night," Irene said softly and Jennie knew she was referring to the fateful night
where she found them, with Lisa drenched in blood. "I put myself in danger that night. I knowingly
did that because my only goal at the time was to take you to safety, away from that place where
heavens knows what could have happened to both of you, out on the streets.

Whoever killed Hwangssabu might have come after you two, and maybe they're still out there
today as well. Because both you and Lisa had been there, weren't you, at the time of his death?"

A flash of red followed by shouting voices and then utter chaos splashed across Jennie's vision.
When she blinked, she was back in the morning hustle and bustle of the diner with Irene sitting in
front of her, watching with concern.

"We were there," Jennie croaked. "Unnie, not right now...please..."

"I put myself in danger, and I would do it again," Irene interrupted.

She covered Jennie's hand, her voice pleading. "After all this time, don't you think I deserve to
know who exactly was behind his death, and why? You know. You must have seen something,
right?"

The question was almost laughable in its naive bluntness, but Jennie didn't laugh. She had
considered lying to Irene before, claiming she had no idea why Hwanggsabu had been killed and
by whom, and how.

But she couldn't bring herself to do it. She couldn't outright lie to her friend about something so
huge and traumatic. Besides, Irene would probably see right through her, which was even worse.

All Jennie could do was deflect, delay and ease her way out of the conversation until the next time.

"I'm sorry but...there's really nothing to be done about it. It's a closed chapter as far as I'm
concerned," Jennie said quietly. "Trust me Irene. Lisa and I know what we're doing. You weren't
related to Hwangssabu so...it doesn't concern you. Let sleeping dogs lie. We're fine, there's nobody
after us like you're thinking. It just wouldn't do any good to bring up the past."

"But Jennie," Irene protested, "All I'm asking for is answers. Why all the secrecy? I just want to
understand."
Seeing her agitation made Jennie inwardly sigh. Though she longed to set the older woman's mind
at rest, it was dangerous to involve more people.

Jisoo had also asked about that harrowing night, but Jennie had managed to avoid answering her,
for the time being.

"Right now, it's just not the right time," Jennie said at last. "Bear with me, I'll tell you one day."

That was another lie, a white lie that Jennie had gotten comfortable enough to repeat like a stuck
record, but Irene need not know that.

It was never going to be time.

Not while she and Lisa were still running from the shadows closing in on them.

>

Rosé got the phone call as she was chasing Ella after the latter finished her piano practice
rehearsal.

"Baby, you're going to bring the house down, come here!" Rosé grabbed Ella and hugged her close,
peppering her face with kisses. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Mom," Ella giggled as she squirmed in her mother's arms.

"You're gonna be a star!" Rosé declared. "The star of the show!"

"Moooooom this is just practice," Ella whined. "I might mess up—"

"Oh hush! You're going to show Mr Lee that you're his best student, no, his star student! And who
knows, maybe you could even go on to play more concerts! Would you like that, baby?"

Ella shrugged, bashful. "Maybe?"

Rosé smiled giddily and hugged her again. "Sorry, I took off there. You don't have to play in more
concerts of course but...I'm just so excited for this El, you're gonna rock it!"

"But what if I don't?" Ella said earnestly, always with a trace of doubt lingering.

Rosé kissed her forehead. "Then the tickle monster might come pay a visit like last time, hmm?"
And she suddenly attacked her daughter, tickling her anywhere she could reach as Ella shrieked
delightedly and wriggled out of her grasp.

"I'm gonna get you!" Rosé laughed as she chased Ella, who fled into her room with Oliver and Leo
in hot pursuit. Bori quickly moved out of the way.

A buzz from her phone brought Rosé to a halt, still laughing as she walked over to the counter to
pick it up.

The laughter died in her throat, her hand instinctively clenching as she spotted the familiar
unknown number flashing across her screen.

What did he want now? Was it an emergency for real this time?

Uneasiness grew in the pits of her stomach, choking her as she raised the phone to her ear.
"G-good afternoon, sir, is everything alright?"

"Hello Thorn," Yang said breezily. "I've booked you for a job tonight. You remember you
will be having extra gigs to make up for the little stunt you pulled the other day? Well, they
start tonight."

Rosé gritted her teeth. Tonight of all nights...

"I'm afraid I had...prior engagements." She folded her arm, hugging herself. "I'm really sorry, I can
come in any other time but tonight...I had arranged it a long time ago."

"Oh?" Yang mused, sounding interested. "Very interesting. Is it a date? Who's the lucky lad
you picked up this time? I hope it's not another Taehyung, eh?"

Rosé bit down hard on her lip.

"Should I perhaps prepare to introduce myself?" Yang mused. "After all, I am practically
family by now, he should consider me a father-in-law, yes? When can I meet him? Has he
met Ella yet? If he has, then things are getting serious, my oh my. Hey Jay—" she heard him
call, "— our little rose flower seems to be off the market and I might well turn out to be a
father-in-law! You ought to congratulate me!"

"Congratulations, sir," came the neutral response from whichever Jay that Yang had spoken to.

Rosé felt physically sick at the thought of being related to her boss no matter how hypothetical but
forced herself to reply instead. "I can come in tomorrow."

He sounded in a good mood enough and she hoped she would be let off the hook for today.

"Hmmm," he said. The creak of a chair was the only thing she heard over the pause before he
spoke again.

" Very well, I'll have someone else accompany Jay-Z. It's not that big of a deal to be honest,
but you're one of my best, what with your looks and your silver tongue. They tell me you lead
our clients on to believe they'll have some fun with you, eh? And then you leave them high
and dry! How utterly cruel of you, Thorn, but very economical, I must say."

Rosé closed her eyes, pursed lips disappearing into her mouth.

Seducing the targets was never her intention, but the criminals she met in the bars were like
animals, lusting after every woman that crossed their sight.

It made Rosé's skin crawl, but she utilised their disgusting fantasies to aid her in clinching deals
and broker trade for her boss. Acting the part of a sultry seductress wasn't one of Rosé's proudest
moments, but she was too far gone to care.

In the early days, she had played it up even worse, sneaking in lingering touches and caresses here
and there to sell her act. They all fell for it, but the Jay escorting her was usually there to prevent
from things getting too frisky.

She was older and wiser now, able to hold her own weight when bargaining instead of resorting to
such cheap tactics right off the bat.

"I'll be waiting tomorrow outside the building for Jay then, like usual," she said neutrally, trying to
conclude the call.

"Hmm," he said again. Yang clearly had no intention of letting her go so easily. If he was bored
enough, he was going to toy with her, like he did during meetings, since he delighted in agitating
her. "Where is it exactly that you're going anyway?"

"I...well, uhzzzt sorry there seems to bezzzzzzt...zzzt....interference...." Rosé said apologetically as

she brushed her phone down her shirt. "Canzzztttcan youzzztzzztzzttt sir I can'tzzzzt—"

"Rosé—"

Rosé cut the call and immediately switched off her phone, breathing freely again. If Yang were to
discover her plans for tonight, she knew he would be far from pleased. She just hoped he wouldn't
find out about Ella's sleepover as well, in case he changed his mind about monitoring her
daughter.

"Mom?" Ella was carrying Oliver when Rosé turned to face her. "Who was that?"

"Oh nobody in particular," Rosé said, summoning a strained smile as she did her best to dispel the
awkward air. She bent down and pinched Ella's cheek. "Now, where were we? Oh that's right, I
was chasing a certain somebody!"

But Ella wasn't to be distracted. She dropped Oliver who scampered away to play with Leo.

"What did they want? They're not going to hurt you, right? You're still coming to the concert,
right?"

"Everything's fine, baby, nobody is going to hurt me. And I wouldn't miss your concert for the
world," Rosé assured, "everyone's coming to see you too. Aunty Jisoo and Jennie unnie and
Lisa....and even Ms Kang's friend, Irene. She's really pretty Ella, you'll love her."

"Is she prettier than Lisa unnie?" Ella demanded. "Do you like her more than Lisa? You never
mentioned her before."

Rosé paused.

It was at rare times like these when Ella pressed her with questions that she was reminded of
Taehyung, and the way he used to demand answers from her before he raised his hand on her. And
she feared the older Ella got, the closer would be the resemblance when the inevitable teenage
tantrums made their appearance.

She quickly pushed away thoughts of her ex and answered her daughter.

"Well...I won't spoil, you'll see for yourself," Rosé winked. "But you know, all the other unnies are
pretty as well, don't you think?"

"Who's the prettiest to you, Mommy? It's Lisa right?"

"What's with all the questions today, baby?" Rosé chuckled uneasily at Ella's intent expression.
"It's not really fair to judge, everyone is beautiful in their own way. Even you."

"But you like Lisa unnie," Ella pouted.

"I do. Who doesn't?" Rosé said evasively.

"Not like that! You said so yourself before, you like her lots," Ella said frustrated.

Rosé stared at her daughter. "Sweetie, where are you going with this?"

"Because if you don't tell Lisa unnie you like her, then I will have to tell her for you, at the
concert," Ella said seriously.

"And why do you have to tell her so much?"

"At school, they told us to speak up and tell each other what we feel because it helps to stop us
feeling mis- misuns- misdun-"

"Misunderstood?"

Ella nodded vigorously. "Yes!"

Rosé squatted in front of Ella. "Sweetie, remember I told you it's a bit complicated to do that?"

"But you want to tell her, right? You made a wish like me."

Rosé sighed, turning away. "Yes. Maybe. I'm not sure...."

"Why not?"

"There's a lot to consider."

Rosé cupped her face. "For example, I want to make sure that Lisa is a hundred and ten percent
okay with you being here. A hundred and ten percent. No compromises. She can't only be here for
the good fun times. She must be here with you and me through the bad times as well."

"Aunty Jisoo couldn't stay for the bad times?" Ella's brow furrowed.

Rosé exhaled, choosing her next words carefully. "Aunty Jisoo was different, baby. She was—still
is—a good friend that I am very fond of. But I don't think we matched up properly."

"Why not?"

Rosé wondered if this was something she should be discussing with an eight year old but there was
no turning back now. "Well, you know how Lisa really likes hanging out with you, doing sums and
playing with the cats?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, that means a lot to me that she enjoys spending time with you. Because you and me,
sweetheart, we're a package deal. It's either the both of us or it's nothing. Aunty Jisoo well...I think
she liked hanging out with me more than she did with you. She still likes you of course, but it's not
the same. There's a lot of other grown-up stuff Lisa and I would need to figure out too. You'll
understand when you're older," she added when Ella looked at her quizzically. "For now, leave it
up to me, okay? I need more time to think."

"But—"

"Baby, you shouldn't be worrying about this. You should be excited for the concert."

"I am!" Ella pointed out. "But I want Lisa unnie to be here because she makes you happy and she
could protect you so bad things don't happen!"
Rosé sighed. "Ella, I want you to promise me that you won't mention a word about 'bad things' in
front of other people, least of all Lisa. You hear me?"

Hearing the serious, grave tone had Ella look at her mother with wide eyes. "But, how is she going
to protect—"

"I'll manage. Super gay, here to save the day, remember?"

"But...you still got hurt the other day..."

Rosé's heart damn near shattered to dust hearing her child spew bullet after bullet that struck deep.

At first, she had thought Ella just wanted to spend more time with Lisa, but it was growing clearer
that Ella worried about her mother's wellbeing, something Rosé couldn't have.

Ella was a child: she should be more preoccupied with Kung Fu Panda and Frozen and My Little
Pony and other toys kids her age liked, rather than worrying over her mother.

"Superheroes get into scrapes all the time, it's no big deal. Kung Fu Panda is a karate master, but
he still gets beaten up sometimes," Rosé said at last. "Lisa being here wouldn't make a difference."

Ella deflated. "It wouldn't?"

"Well now," Rosé said tactfully, "there would at least be someone to play with you and the cats
though, right?"

And finally Ella's eyes sparkled again. "So you'll tell her? Tonight, at the party? You're going right,
you're still going?"

"I'm going yes," her mother laughed, "but telling her? Not yet honey...not yet..."

"But soon?" Ella pleaded, blasting Rosé with irresistible puppy eyes. She held out her pinky finger.
"Pinky promise you'll tell her soon!"

Unable to hold out for long when faced with her daughter's aegyo, Rosé gave in and hooked her
own little finger with Ella's pinky. "I'll tell her soon," she promised, her heart giving a little clench
at the words.

She had lost count of the lies she told Ella.

>

Jisoo glanced over often at Jennie sitting pensively behind her desk, wondering why she seemed so
quiet after she and Irene returned from Matt's diner with food take outs for the whole gang at the
Vault, excluding Matt who had left.

She had been happy to see Jennie seemingly in good spirits earlier that morning but her mood
seemed to have dampened as she watched the brunette now fiddle with papers she had been
reviewing earlier, her salad almost untouched.

Jisoo quietly slipped away from the group and made her way to Jennie.

"Hey Jendeuk, how's it going?" Jisoo asked cheerfully as she plopped herself on the desk. "Had a
fun time at the diner?"

Jennie's face tightened. "Oh yes...yes..." she said vaguely. Her mind seemed elsewhere.
"Everything okay, Jen?" Jisoo asked in concern. "You barely touched your salad."

"I'm fine Chu, just not that hungry right now," Jennie said. She cleared her throat. "Did you want
something?"

Jisoo shrugged, still unable to shake the feeling that Jennie had something weighing on her mind.
"I understand if it's something between you and Irene but remember, if you're ever lost, you can
always come to me, got it?"

Jennie gave a small smile. "I remember. I'm sorry if I worried you."

"Nah, don't be. I just want to make sure you're okay."

"Well, I'm very fine actually. We got some money and Lisa didn't stop complaining about needing
pampering before I booked us both a spa day. And we got Somi's party later so I'd say things are
pretty good right now..."

Jennie suddenly looked up, struck by an idea.

"Say, maybe you and Rosé should come to the spa with us! I'm sure Lisa would like that and well
you know...girls' day out, right? I can pay—"

"I'd love to go," Jisoo beamed, thrilled, "and don't worry, I can pay for myself. Unless, you wanna
treat me, like a date?"

She laughed when Jennie blushed pink and shook her head, muttering incoherently.

Jisoo grinned, giddy with happiness at the unexpected invite. "I'm kidding Jendeuk. But yes, I'd
love to go. And I'll be sure to pass the message to Pasta as well, I'm sure she'd be onboard. We'll
manage something for Ella, I'm sure she could go around and stay at a friend's for a few hours.
Rosé is always so protective of Ella, but Ella's getting to be a big girl now, I'm sure she could spend
time with friends."

"Or she could come with us, if she wants to," Jennie smiled. "I'm sure they won't mind kids at spas,
if they're well-behaved and all, I think I saw a kid-section once."

"That's an excellent idea Jendeuk, but do you really wanna be stuck babysitting when we could be
having fun?" Jisoo smirked.

Jennie frowned. "Babysitting? Why would I be babysitting? Rosé will be there."

"And you think our Rosie posie will be able to look after Ella when Lisa is around?" Jisoo tossed
her head with a snort. "Not a chance, she's too whipped, that girl would be too distracted."

"Chu, I think she'll manage perfectly—"

"Oh you think? Face it, with those two mooning at each other till one of them gets the balls to
actually say something, Ella would be practically third wheeling."

"Won't we be third wheeling too then?" Jennie frowned.

"Nah, we'll be off doing our thing. Now, since you and I are only besties and not a couple—we are
just a couple of besties, right?"

"I suppose..."
"—so by the rule of logic, Ella will have to hang out with us then, since there would be no third
wheeling involved. Just two friends and their friends' daughter because her mother is busy sighing
dreamily and drooling at the sight of her crush. See?"

"Oh."

Jisoo could barely hold her laughter over the way Jennie actually sounded rather glum at the
prospect of being stuck babysitting.

"I suppose...when you put it that way...we'll be babysitting then, instead of doing our
thing...together," Jennie said hesitantly, now seemingly unsure of her idea.

Jisoo smiled triumphantly. "Oh why the long face Jendeuk?" she said slyly. "Don't you like Ella to
hang around? What did you have in mind for...us?"

"No no but it's just that I'm well...I don't know how to do fun things with kids and uh...I would like
to spend time with you," Jennie muttered, carefully avoiding Jisoo's triumphant expression.

"We'll figure something later. It will come together, like how we're all going to her concert now,
including Irene."

"I guess..." Jennie mused. She fiddled with some papers. "And uh...when are you planning to start
on Jisoo Yoga?" she asked nonchalantly. The tips of her ears remained pink.

"Someone's eager, hmm?" Jisoo smiled. She winked. "Soon Jendeuk, soon. Probably next week."

She was bursting to yell 'Let's go right now!' and whisk Jennie away to one of the many planned
dates that she was positively dying to have, some of which maybe could admittedly do with a little
toning down—moonlight boat picnic might be overkill. Jisoo admits she might have gotten carried
away, but she wanted to give Jennie a taste of the extraordinary in the ordinary and perhaps
glimpse that gummy smile or even better, make her laugh.

But it wouldn't do to get overexcited and scare Jennie away, not when she was so close to
accepting Jisoo, and perhaps accept any feelings she might harbour and nurture them.

"Chu, what's with the smug look on your face, what are you thinking?"

"Thinking of how I'm going to absolutely demolish your sister at karaoke tonight," Jisoo said
smoothly which wasn't exactly a lie—she had been practising with Dalgom and the plushies.

Or rather she had pranced about singing any song she could think of with Dalgom and her plushies
(and the rest of her neighbours residing on her floor) as her audience.

"Did someone say karaoke?" Lisa bellowed from the other side of the Vault, snapping her
dictionary shut.

"Oh no," Jennie muttered.

"I did and I said I'm gonna bring the house down." Jisoo hopped off the desk and walked up to
Lisa, smiling winningly. "I've been practicing in front of my plushies."

"Oh no," Jennie groaned. "Oh no no no no. Not right now."

"Hey, I guessed 'spiffy', you owe me chicken, don't forget!" Seulgi yelped as Lisa put her book
aside and squared up to Jisoo.
"I think we should take it easy on this guessing game, it's getting a little out of hand, don't you
think?" Irene said hesitantly. "In retrospect, maybe the twenty questions game was better because
there wasn't any chicken involved, just a lot of mental scarring, but I can handle that—"

"Ah shucks, grandma, it was getting good, Seulgi you absolutely crushed it!" Somi complimented,
echoed by Chaeyoung. Seulgi smirked and flexed her arms, in her element.

"Beauty, brains and brawn all rolled into one," she drawled. "Stay in school, kids."

"Oh don't you worry, I'll catch up in the brains department soon enough with my trusty dictionary,"
Lisa scoffed with a good-natured wink. "But I bet you can't do karaoke!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah!"

"I'll have you know I was the life of the few parties that I did go to at college," Seulgi informed. "I
was even in a small-time dance crew. And I can tell you, it was a riot whenever I showed up."

"You were in a dance crew?" Irene asked, impressed. Somi's eyes grew round with interest.

"Well I happen to have amazing entertainer skills AND I been getting a leg up from Mimi here in
the dance department," Lisa fired back, sliding an arm around Somi. "Ain't that right partner?"

"Sure is, you guys won't know what hit you," Somi winked as she fist-bumped Lisa. "We got some
surprises planned for y'all later too. It's gonna be fiyaahhh."

"Surprises?" everyone asked. "How come I haven't heard? What kind of surprise? What are you
two up to?"

"I think I can answer that."

They turned to Jennie, who had crept up to the edge of the group unnoticed. She smiled ever so
slightly when all eyes rested on her, except Lisa and Somi who winked.

"Seulgi and Jisoo, you fancy yourselves as contenders for entertainment queens, right?" Jennie
asked. The two women nodded determinedly.

"Well, I hope you come prepared because those two together can go crazy over karaoke. That's all I
will say," Jennie said mysteriously.

"I'm kind of rusty," Seulgi pouted.

"I thought you were confident in your karaoke skills, don't they require being ready for any song?"
Lisa smirked. Seulgi shoved her and Lisa shoved back, laughing.

Jennie watched them, amused but not very surprised that they were getting on so well together as
though Seulgi had been a Vault member all her life.

It had only been a day since Seulgi joined the Vault gang but she had blended in remarkably
quickly—it was revealed she had a wicked sense of humour and able to keep up with Lisa, Jisoo,
Somi and Chaeyoung, dividing her attention between their games and Irene.

Now that they had gotten to know the true Seulgi, they discovered she was a relaxed young adult
that appreciated their sense of humour, and the only real thing that set her apart from them was that
she had a steady job and was slightly more mature when it comes to 'granny stuff' as Somi put it.
Seulgi and Lisa had bonded over their mutual love of cats, with Lisa cooing over the pictures of
Seulgi's cats as the latter rambled on about all the endearing shenanigans they got up to.

"And is there a dress code for this thing?" Irene asked anxiously. "I haven't really been to many
parties..."

Chaeyoung grinned. "Relax, it's a girls' night out, you can show up in sweatpants if you want."

"Sweatpants?" Somi scoffed. "Sweatpants? Really Chaeyoung? Sweatpants? I'm so disappointed in

you right now."

"What? Why?"

"I better not see you in sweatpants, is all."

"Why not?" Jisoo asked. "I'm with Chaeyoung, sweatpants are comfy."

"Don't give me that, come on!" Somi rounded on Chaeyoung. "Chaeng, bring Mina if you have to,
but for the love of chicken don't show up to my party in sweatpants, this isn't a sleepover! And
Irene, dress to impress! Gimme that razzle dazzle you're hiding, I want to see you having fun with
Seulgi! My ship came true and I will not be lowkey about it! You could even dress up in matching
outfits, how about it?"

"Uh...I don't know about that," Seulgi said shyly with a blushing Irene next to her.

"Ohhh someone's shyyyy," Lisa tittered.

Jennie stepped in swiftly to the rescue. "I have an idea that might both save you on dressing
hassle and save the night instead of having you at each other's throats."

"It's only a little healthy competition," Somi groaned. "We won't actually kill each other—"

"Yeah no, not taking any risks, you get too competitive," Jennie dismissed immediately, "but listen
Mimi, how about you all band together? Come up with a uniform of sorts that will make all of you
stand out as the entertainers for the night? That way, you can all decide on a matching outfit,
something simple, and boom, that's sorted out."

She smiled when everyone considered her suggestion, seemingly deep in thought.

"But I wanted to wear my Unicorn shirt," Lisa protested, "it's my good luck shirt!"

"Hell no, you're not wearing that!" Somi shot back. She grinned at Jennie. "You know unnie, I
think you just gave me an idea. Seulgi, Jisoo, you in?"

"Why not? Should be a blast," Seulgi nodded.

"I've never been in a group before," Jisoo said enthusiastically.

"Fantastic! Chaeyoung, you want in?"

"Can I tap out now and then or are we gonna be entertaining all night?"

"Don't worry, we'll get breaks and play other games. You'll see, I got it all set," Somi winked as she
grabbed Lisa's hand, "but for now, we gotta discuss. Excuse us," she added in Jennie and Irene's
direction before simultaneously herding the other girls away into a corner.
"Well, that takes away some of the pressure, thanks Jen," Irene sighed. "I mean, they will probably
have to go for something basic if they're all gonna be matching, right?"

"Don't know, don't care," Jennie shrugged, "I just wanted them to quit shouting because it was
giving me a headache. We'll see what they come up with tonight."

"Don't you think they might...take it a little far?" Irene said delicately.

She threw wary glances in the group's direction as enthusiastic whispers and lots of vigorous head
nodding was happening followed by gleeful clapping.

Seulgi, Chaeyoung, Jisoo and Lisa were listening with rapt attention to Somi, who seemed to have
taken charge as she gesticulated with her arms. There then followed what appeared to be a heated
series of rock-paper-scissors games punctuated with exclamations and loud complaining of retakes.

"I'd be surprised if they don't take it too far," Jennie sighed, "but that's a problem for future me to
deal with. Right now, I just want to take a nap and then find something presentable to wear."

"You can borrow from mine, I think we're practially the same size. I could ajust it a bit too," Irene
said generously.

"Thank you unnie but it's okay, I'm going to stay lowkey tonight. Just a shirt and jeans should do,
don't listen to Mimi. Wear something comfortable. You rock anything anyway. You did land
yourself a girlfriend just by being yourself, didn't you?

Irene blushed and smiled. "Thank you Jen."

"Of course." Jennie grimaced as a round of hooting from the other girls nearly startled her out of
her skin. "Let's see how much I'll regret putting ideas into their heads later."

>

"Okay, repeat aunty Jisoo's number after me," Rosé said as she fussed to get Ella ready for her
sleepover. Ella's friend's mom was coming over to ferry the girls to the house where the sleepover
was happening.

It was a little after eight.

"Mom, I already said it like three times—"

"Just making sure you remember it, sweetie, I know you do but just in case, okay?" Rosé said as
she tossed in Ella's pink toothbrush, her towel and toothpaste, then stood frowning at the bag in her
hand. "Do you want to take some nail polish? I don't know what kids these days do at sleepovers.
In my time, we painted each other's nails."

"You went to sleepovers?" Ella asked with interest.

"Once or twice, before I came to live in Seoul," Rosé hummed, absently kissing Ella on the
forehead as she passed her by.

"Was it fun?"

"Sure, we plaited each other's hair, painted nails, ate lots of chocolate and popcorn, played CD's
and watched scary movies that we weren't supposed to watch."

The scary movies didn't compare to racing back home in the morning, heart in her mouth as she
prayed that her father hadn't noticed her gone because of course, she hadn't told him she was going
to a sleepover: young Rosé was foolhardy, with streaks of reckless behaviour despite Youngbae's
threatening shadow hovering over her life.

Rebelling in her own way to escape her suffocating home life was how she coped as she grew up,
until one day when everything came crashing down as she clutched the positive pregnancy test in
the cubicle.

By some miracle, Youngbae never did notice those times that she had sneaked out or she would
have faced the repercussions. Youngbae was always out late and when he did come back, he drank
and drank then conked out and didn't wake up till noon.

"What's a CD?" Ella asked, her eyebrows crinkling.

Rosé laughed. "Like the flat disc I put in the stereo to play, sweetie. In fact, turn it on, let's have
some music! We can call it a pre-party."

"Okay!"

"You still have to tell me Jisoo's number though! On second thoughts, you should recite mine,
since Jisoo won't be here either!"

"I will, I will!"

Rosé grabbed some of her nail polish from her room. She came back to Ella's bag and paused,
inspecting her hands as she was struck by an idea.

"El, want to practice painting my nails? They could do with a little extra pop."

Ella's eyes grew round. "Yes please!"

She came bounding over to Rosé after she finished setting up the stereo. Sk8er Boi by Avril
Lavigne started playing and Rosé chuckled.

"Good choice baby!" she laughed over the rock music blasting from the stereo.

"I liked the name," Ella said, pleased, and settled on the carpet to wait for her mother.

"I would tell you to practice doing plaits on me again, but I can't have any knots and I'm sure your
friends could look it up somewhere, try it yourselves," Rosé said as she joined Ella to work on her
nails. "Just don't watch any scary movies okay? Or you won't sleep."

The cats padded up to them while Rosé directed Ella. Ella snagged Oliver, making him bounce to
the music as Rosé laughed and clapped. She tried catching Bori and Leo but they wisely stayed out
of reach.

"Let's paint Oliver's claws," Ella suggested, making Rosé giggle but promptly unscrew her red nail
polish and get to work. Oblivious, Oliver purred in Ella's lap.

"Lisa will be surprised when she sees them," Rosé smiled as she worked.

"Do you think she'll come here soon again?" Ella asked hopefully.

"Sure baby, I bet we'll see her soon enough, she's got her boxing matches to prepare for."

And just like that, Rosé felt herself grow warm all over at the mention of Lisa. She really had to do
something about this crush of hers because every day, every little thing or mention about the boxer
set off the butterfly swarm in her stomach.

Maybe she should give more serious thought to Ella's request and try to talk to Lisa about what she
thought regarding relationships and commitment. Nothing too obvious, just throwing hints here
and there, fish for answers about Lisa's thoughts. The key was to keep Lisa oblivious enough
without Rosé giving away that she was referring to the both of them.

Rosé was confident she could do it, though she strangely seemed to get carried away in Lisa's
presence. But once she set her mind to do something, it would be game-time. She was Yang's
silver-tongued vixen after all.

The memory of the phone call had her frown. She dreaded to hear from him again, but couldn't
afford to leave her phone shut off whilst at the party in case Ella needed to contact her.

"Mom, you're making a mess!"

Rosé blinked. She looked down and found her hands streaked with bright red nail polish, some of
which had even gotten on to Oliver's paws.

"Well, now you know that is how you don't apply nail polish. Lesson learned," Rosé said brightly
and Ella giggled.

>

Dahyun stopped the recording she had gotten of Momo narrating the story, or myth as she kept
calling it, of Tiger King. She had been jotting down notes on what she deemed were the most
salient points, trying to glean as much information as she could that would be useful for
investigating.

But despite ultimately unearthing some interesting connections to several mafia gang
disappearances and other high profile businessmen, the trails always ended at a frustrating dead
end, much like her futile investigation into JYP. The organisation behind Tiger King were beyond
meticulous to make sure no traces were left behind that could remotely implicate them in any
crime.

The universe plotted against her, Dahyun was sure of it.

Dropping her pen on the desk, she sat back in her chair and rubbed her stiff neck. The apartment
was enveloped in darkness, except for her desk lamp. She had lost track of time, her whole body
aching from sitting for too long and her tired eyes itched behind her glasses. Her empty stomach
was only now making its discontent known.

It was a good time for a break, or even call it a night. She didn't seem to be getting anywhere,
slogging through the sparse trails armed only with grim determination to get to the bottom of what
was going on.

She was on her own—Momo had washed her hands of the case. Her ex had been quite reluctant to
learn Dahyun had no intention of letting things go.

Dahyun stood, stretched and went to the kitchen to grab some instant noodles. The clock read ten.
Not too late, but still too late to prepare a proper meal.

As the noodles heated, she checked her phone. There was Jackson's voice message that had
apparently come in earlier that morning, a bunch of Somi and Chaeyoung's messages, and now
there seemed to be an endless slew of sloppy texts from Chaeyoung.

Oh that's right, Somi's party. Dahyun facepalmed—the event completely slipped her mind. She felt
bad for skipping without prior notice, but partying was the last thing on her mind right now.

Her phone kept buzzing with new texts, making Dahyun grin as she read some of them, clearly
written by a drunk Chaeyoung.

From what she could understand, the party was in full swing and they were all having a blast. The
blurred pictures Chaeyoung attached showed her decked out in a white button shirt, top button
undone, and with a loose black tie. She looked like she belonged to some high school boy band.

The background was lit up with strobe lights and if she squinted hard enough, she could make out
what looked like festoons of colourful tinsel and holly hanging above people's heads and from the
walls.

Somi and the rest had gone all out for this party and Dahyun would be lying if she pretended she
was fine about missing out.

But it couldn't be helped, she was too weary and disheartened for partying.

Sighing, she turned her attention to Jackson's voice message, hesitation holding her back from
opening it. Nervous butterflies, weak but still there, fluttered in the pits of her stomach. What did
he want from her? Was he possibly going to confront her about the notebooks? Call her out and
threaten her?

Momo had promised she would continue monitoring her street for any suspicious movements
which provided a level of comfort but still, Dahyun couldn't shake off the paranoia that latched on
to her.

Well, only one way to find out what kind of trouble I'm in. She hit the play button.

"Hey Dubu, it's me, Jackson," Jackson began. He didn't sound angry or suspicious yet, which
was good.

"I don't really know what to say," he confessed, "maybe this was a bad idea, to call you up
like this. I couldn't even call you properly, I took some time to think about it too. But I don't
want whatever was between us to end like this."

He paused and Dahyun released a breath, stunned because this was far from what she had
expected.

She had expected heated accusations and threats, not a confession.

"We both were busy, and with me going away, everything came to a head...I think it was bad
timing, and we tried to rush with our feelings. I wasn't in my right mind that evening either,
you know, before I left. And then it was awkward the morning after as well..." he trailed off.

Dahyun hung on his every word.

"I really like you Dubu," he said with the familiar smile in his voice, sounding more confident of
what he's saying. "I think you're really sweet, and gutsy and determined. I won't try to pursue
more of our friendship, at least for now. But I'd still like to be friends, and catch up now and
then. What do you think? I understand if you don't see it that way but...well, I thought I'd
ask. Ain't no harm in asking, right? Uh...text me or call me whenever you feel like it and uh, I
hope you're doing okay. Keep snapping those pictures, checking your insta is one of the
highlights of my day!" he finished cheerily and the voice message ended.

Dahyun stared at her phone for an age, utterly floored as her tired mind momentarily wiped out all
thoughts of the work she had been doing all day and instead focused on the faint heat igniting her
cheeks.

Where does she even begin?

Like Jackson said himself, everything escalated so quickly that they had almost slept together, and
then both left their 'friendship' awkwardly open with no particular clarity or closure in the morning.
And more curiously, he made no mention of catching her reading his notebooks.

Had Jackson truly believed her weak excuse?

Or maybe this was some way for him to sneakily find out how much she had read of the
notebooks. Maybe he was going to ask her about it later on once they established more regular
contact.

Yet, she couldn't help the damn fluttering, pathetic butterflies. She was weak and she knew it.

Do you want to delete this message? the pop-up box on her phone's screen said.

Dahyun stared, torn, her thumb hovering over the Yes button for an age before on sudden impulse
she pressed No and saved the voice message.

Pursing her mouth in a tight smile, Dahyun took her (cold) noodles back to her desk and sat down,
slipping her glasses back on with renewed determination. If Jackson was still up to play games,
then she would play too.

Maybe the universe was still on her side after all.

 Party People

"Lemme hear ya people!" Lisa hollered as she bounded across the stage with Somi, one arm slung
around Jisoo's shoulder. "Here comes the drop—IT'S MY LIIIIIIIFEEEEE AND IT'S NOW OR
NEVER!"

The crowd shouted with her as the three girls shouted the lyrics in each other's faces, falling back
laughing.

At the bar, Jennie's left eye twitched without stopping.

"You okay, Jen?" Irene asked amused.

"Me? Why wouldn't I be? I'm just peachy," Jennie said sarcastically, "really, don't you see me
having fun Irene? This is fun, right?"

The gaggle of girls at the far end of the diner-turned-dance-floor screamed boisterously to
Chaeyoung and Seulgi's rendition of Bon Jovi's It's My Life and Jennie bit back another grumble.

She wasn't sure what she had expected of Somi's party, but she was starting to yearn for those
relatively quieter bar nights when Lisa and Momo fobbed off fangirls to get free drinks. They were
infinitely more bearable than all the thumping noise and sweltering heat.

Jennie slammed back her shot and set her glass down a little more forcefully than she intended.

"Easy there Jen," Yeri hooted as she took Jennie's glass away, "the night is still young, you know?"

"And I want a dance with you before it's over," a tipsy and clingy Joy warbled, throwing her arms
around her girlfriend. Aside from Somi's friends, some of the workers at the diner had also dropped
in to party. Jeongyeon, Nayeon and Joy were having a whale of a time cat-calling Lisa in particular
as she jumped and hyped the crowd from the stage.

"Babe, I'm manning the bar," Yeri said half-heartedly as Joy started peppering the side of her face
with sloppy kisses. "Please, there's Jennie about to murder someone—"

"I'm fine," Jennie huffed, crossing her arms. "I'm completely fine—"

She scrunched up her face as another rousing set of hooting laughter drowned out her voice,
coming from the centre where Lisa, Somi, Seulgi, Jisoo and Chaeyoung were currently standing
onstage and talking to their audience after finishing the previous song.

"...and so, as I was saying to my good friend Somi here," Chaeyoung was saying with a broad
smirk, "you know how they say French is the language of romance and love? So I had the idea,
what if you actually spoke French while you're getting some action in the bedroom? Set the
atmosphere and all to get things going, am I right ladies?"

"I'll speak French between your legs," Seulgi purred seductively and a few girls squealed.

"The hottest things I've ever been told!" Jisoo intoned.

"I'm just picturing someone screaming 'BONJOUR' at a penis," Lisa snorted.

"SACRE BLEU MADEMOISELLE VAGINA!" Chaeyoung exclaimed unromantically.

"HON HON HON TITTY CROISSANTS!" Jisoo bellowed into her microphone.

"Titty croissants!" Seulgi wheezed. She doubled over laughing, joined by Lisa, Chaeyoung and
Jisoo. At the bar, Jennie face-palmed for the umpteenth time.

"None of you should ever be having sex," Somi said in disgust as everyone laughed. "And they say
I'm the most immature one of the whole outfit," she added cheekily, "anyway, moving on, we're
only just getting started! I wanna see y'all having fun! Me and my gal pals are gonna make sure of
it with our band! Give it up foooooorrrrr—"

"Daddy's Girls!" Lisa cheered.

"The Weird Sisters!" Jisoo shouted.

"Somi and the Sapphos!" Chaeyoung boomed.

"The Fap Five!" Seulgi yelled.

Somi face-palmed amidst laughter. "You klutzes, I said we were gonna be called the Wannabes!
Were any of you even listening?"

"It's lame and basic, sorry Mimi," Lisa said breezily. "All in favour of Daddy's Girls being our
name raise your hand and say ay!"

"Lisa!"

"I'd rather die," Chaeyoung said flatly amidst catcalls and a flurry of Ay's! from the crowd.

"I think you just have poor taste Chaeng, unlike our lovely audience here. Thank you ladies, Daddy
loves you all!" Lisa winked and blew kisses, readily lapping up the attention.

Jennie groaned, long and loud. Irene was actually giggling as she shook her head.

"Moving on!" Somi called quickly.

"Gotchu!" Lisa winked and turned to address their audience. "So our next song is dedicated to the
gals that have been let down by their loser boyfriends at one point or another in their life—"

"What about the gays?" someone shouted.

"Don't get your panties in a twist, we'll be serving y'all gay anthems in a moment! But in the mean
time, you can com-mis-e-rate! That's a new word I learned today by the way," Lisa announced
proudly. "And oh! A special dedication to my lovely sister Jennie and her mysterious ex that
she still won't tell me the name of."

"It's none of your business!" Jennie yelled, but nobody paid attention. Lisa only waved back
heartily, cheerfully ignoring her sister's glare.

"Sing along y'all, lemme hear them pipes!" she cackled and snapped her fingers at Jisoo. "Hit it
DJ!"

Manning the turntables and surprising everyone with how adept she actually proved to be, Jisoo
gave a thumbs up and pushed up the knobs to a deafening volume. She joined the ensemble with a
broom for an electric guitar, just like Chaeyoung and Seulgi had, which provided for comic relief
and epic air riffing when Lisa borrowed one too.
Karaoke hadn't yet started properly, but with the help of Lucas, Somi had put up a screen and he
was manning the projector that shone the lyrics on to them. So far, the whole operation was
working smoothly.

The crowd cheered when they recognised the upbeat melody of Potential Breakup Song, making
Lisa and Somi grin and jump to action right away, alternating verses and playing off each other as
they laughed and interacted with the crowd alongside the other girls. They had a great energy
going on between the five of them, Jennie had to admit that.

She thought that if they all had just a little more refinement in their throaty enthusiastic singing, a
little more grace in their boisterous bouncing around the stage and a little less drink, they wouldn't
have been too bad.

All of them were on their way to being drunk already, laughing and sipping soju in between songs
they performed for the crowd. They had even worn black pants and white button-down shirts with
the sleeves rolled up. All five sported identical loose black ties, courtesy of Somi's dance crew
probably. They looked like a high school boy band straight out of a teen movie playing at prom.

The microphone's occasional high-pitched squeals grated on Jennie's ears but nobody else seemed
to care as they all screamed and cheered loudly.

Somi hadn't been kidding when she said she was inviting people to liven up the party because
anybody walking in would have mistaken the place for a fully fledged club: there was a disco ball
taped to the ceiling reflecting dizzying strobe lights down on to the main stage area which was a
small step-platform Somi and the others had put out for their performances.

Jennie couldn't take the loud stuffy atmosphere, so alien from the usual lowkey diner she was used
to working at every night. The whole place was also decked out in gaudy tinsel, of all things, which
grated on her nerves all the more—Lucas had found the Christmas decoration in some godforsaken
locker while he was helping the girls set up earlier and Somi immediately pounced on the idea of
hanging it up.

Only the sight of Jisoo's million watt grin as she laughed with the others made Jennie stay and
endure the nightmare.

Irene laughed at Jennie's grumpiness, shouting to be heard. "Well, it was your idea to have them be
a band—"

"I hate myself," Jennie said miserably. "I should have known they would take it too far, as
always."

"Aw, lighten up Jen," Yeri said kindly, "you should celebrate too. Lisa is back in the game isn't
she? Let loose just this once, eh?" She slid over another shot despite Jennie's protest. "Relax,
honestly. I'll keep an eye on everybody and won't let you leave if I see you drunk out of your
minds, not until you sober up. Just have fun for tonight. Your girl wouldn't want you to be
grouching all by yourself in this corner now, would she?"

"She's not my girl. And Jisoo seems to be doing perfectly fine singing out there," Jennie retorted.
Nonetheless, she picked up the shot Yeri had passed her. "Doesn't all the noise give you a
headache?"

"You aren't drunk enough yet," Yeri chuckled before hustling over to the other side of the bar to
serve a bunch of customers who were already getting demanding. Joy trailed after her with a
puppy-eyed expression.
"I admit it's a bit too much for my taste," Irene shrugged, answering Jennie's question, "but nothing
I can handle from over here, away from where it's all happening. As long as Gi is having fun and I
got you here, I'm cool."

Irene looked nice, going for a casual look as Jennie had suggested. She wore a smart blouse paired
with jeans and some modest heels. She didn't look at all out of place as she feared, and indeed, a
few girls had already expressed their interest before catching Jennie giving them the stink-eye.
They scarpered in search of other prey.

Jennie sighed, kneading her temple.

Yeri was right. She and Lisa deserved to unwind. It had been a stressful month and they had gotten
through the Purge. Yet, all the little incidents and harrowing events, the near-misses with other
fighters and run-ins with Jinyoung had her constantly on edge, especially with Irene's renewed
determination to interrogate her earlier that morning.

She frowned and sat thinking hard as Irene bopped her head and cheered whenever Seulgi sang
some verses. Jennie inadvertently smiled whenever Jisoo turned in her direction. Seeing her friends
enjoying themselves had Jennie come to a decision.

She was going to let loose of her stuffy, stiff self and party. Tonight, she wasn't going to hold on to
anymore responsibilities. She wasn't going to entertain any worries; she focused on the bad plenty
of times during the day.

It was time to celebrate the good things: new friends (with Dahyun, Seulgi, Jisoo and Rosé);
tossing out toxic people (Momo); achieving goals (Lisa getting through the Purge) and doing it all
without losing her sanity.

Think of Hwangssabu, Jisoo had told her, would he really want you to never laugh again?

Jennie called Yeri as she took out her wallet. "Some makgeolli Yeri, let's get the real stuff going."

She grinned when Yeri's eyes widened.

"Wow, now that's a complete 180," Joy commented, apparently still lucid enough to pick up on
what's happening. "Come find me and Jeong Jeong and Nayeon, Jen."

"Yes go find Jeongyeon so I can do my job in peace," Yeri laughed, shooing off her girlfriend. Her
mouth curved up into a smirk as she hurried to prepare Jennie's order.

"Makgeolli? You're bringing out the hardcore partygirl huh? Should I be...concerned?" Irene said,
but her lips were quirked up at the corners.

"Fret not," Jennie said airily as she took up the glass of the cloudy white liquor tha Yeri slid across
the counter. She gulped it down in two breaths, already feeling the rush of heat warming her body
as she slammed the glass down and smiled widely.

"It might have been a while since I have drunken my favourite poison but I can handle it just fine.
Wanna dance?"

"I'll pass. Go have fun, but don't go overboard, okay?"

Jennie snorted. "What do you expect me to do, grab a mic and debut on Broadway?"
>

"I LOVE YOU BEYYYBAYYY!" Jennie shouted into the microphone, "AND IF IT'S QUITE
ALRIGHT, I NEED YOU, BEYBAYYY—"

"Look at her go," Somi grinned. She had her phone out to record the performance. "Oh she's gonna
kill me tomorrow but it will be so worth it! I want this playing at my funeral, Lisa!"

She wiped her brow and wolf-whistled along with other people as Jennie pranced in front of the
karaoke screen, belting out lyrics at the top of her lungs with gusto.

The entertainers (hitherto still unnamed because they still couldn't agree on a name) had stopped
for a brief break and let other people have their turns at entertaining and playing karaoke.

Jennie had appeared out nowhere and snatched Jisoo's microphone, jumping on stage before
anybody could stop her and loudly requesting 'Can't take my eyes off you' . Lisa and Somi were too
flabbergasted to react but Jisoo recovered quickly and put on the song.

"This is how you sing, losers!" Jennie shouted and everyone watched in amazement as she shed her
stiff persona and strutted around the stage.

"Go Jen go! Yeah girl! That's my sister!" Lisa shouted as Jennie even showed off some dance
moves, albeit clumsily—drinking and dancing gracefully didn't make for likely partners after all.

But Lisa cheered through it all, thrilled that her sister was finally joining in on the fun.

Recovering after that little stunt, Lisa scanned the gloomy surroundings at times, her head
swivelling wildly. She watched Seulgi wade through the crowd to make her way to Irene's side at
the back.

Watching her go had Lisa feel wistful as she looked around at her friends.

Jeongyeon had Nayeon, Joy drifted back to Yeri at the bar, Seulgi had Irene, Somi had her friends
and Chaeyoung had Mina. Everyone seemed to have their own person to hang out with. Despite
enjoying herself immensely so far, there was still something—or rather, someone—missing to
make the party complete for Lisa.

She glanced at the diner entrance hopefully, the strobing lights blinding her at times but the
otherwise gloomy setting made it impossible to tell apart the indistinct faces.

"I'll be a little late because I have to send Ella for her sleepover and lock up and catch a cab. But
I'll definitely be there before midnight," Rosé had reassured her.

"Okay Cinderella, your prince Charming will be waiting for you," Lisa had chuckled, taking a
dramatic bow and making Rosé giggle.

She squeezed Lisa's hand, looking as though she had something else to say, her gaze fixed on her.
Lisa waited patiently but the other girl merely ended up nodding and left.

"Yes Jendeukie!" Jisoo cheered, enthusiastically waving her broom above everyone's heads before
Lucas tugged it out of her hands. She let go with little protest, too focused on hyping up Jennie. She
cupped her hand over her mouth to shout above the ruckus, waving crazily.

"Jendeukiieeeee I'm your biggest fan! Notice me!"

Jennie turned to her, pointing and winking, still shouting at the top of her lungs.

"YOU'RE JUST TOO GOOD TO BE TRUEEEE, CAN'T TAKE MY EYES OFF OF YOUUUU
—"

"Wow Lis, you need to get your sister drunk more often, she's a riot," Chaeyoung laughed.

Her hand rested around her girlfriend Mina's waist. Mina had seemed to be the shy type when
Chaeyoung introduced them, but through the alcoholic haze fogging her brain, Lisa remembered
that underneath that meek exterior lurked a veritable sex demon, at least according to Somi.

"You guys didn't believe me before," Lisa lamented, letting her chest puff up with pride. "Nini
could be a star if she would just let loose, I'm telling you, I don't call her Sharpay for nothing! We
would be an awesome duo!"

"Speaking of duos, where's your girl?" Chaeyoung wiggled her eyebrows.

"My girl? What girl? I don't have any girl!" Lisa said defensively.

"Don't give me that. Where's Rosé?"

"She's not here yet. But she did say she's gonna be late," Lisa said dolefully. She glanced at the
entrance again.

Chaeyoung laughed and clinked her soju bottle with Lisa's. "Chin up, there's plenty other fish to fry
here if Rosé's a no go. How about that brunette shaking her hips over there? Or does she have to be
blonde?"

"No no she's a go," Lisa slurred, "Rosie promised she'll be here." She nodded to herself, wondering
why her voice sounded funny.

"Might as well have fun before she shows up then," Chaeyoung winked, "you wanna stay there on
your lonesome like some scarecrow?"

"I uhm...I'm good...I'll wait, in case she doesn't see me..."

"Come on, lemme introduce you to some friends until she shows up," Chaeyoung coaxed. "There
were a couple gals I know back there that were almost flinging themselves on to the stage when
you were doing your thing. They're dying to meet you."

"But Mimi said not to talk with her friends," Lisa said uncertainly.

"Mimi is busy and you have my permission," Chaeyoung brushed off. "I'll be right back babe," she
told Mina, leaning over to give her a quick smooch.

Mina giggled and pulled her in for seconds, making Lisa pointedly turn away, shuffling her feet
awkwardly as the couple behind her made out, their moans still very much audible over the loud
party.

She didn't turn again before she heard Chaeyoung speak. "Just gonna go 'round and say hi. Lisa,
grab some booze and let's go get you a girl."

"I have a girl!"

"I thought you said you didn't?" Chaeyoung smirked. She had lipstick smeared around her mouth
like a child with tomato sauce after messily scarfing down a plate of pasta.
Chaeyoung pointed at her mouth, her grin growing wider. "Yeah you ain't slick Kim, I see you
looking. And that's all you'll be having tonight unless you get a move on and find a girl, 'cause I
certainly ain't gonna be smooching you, thanks very much."

Lisa rubbed her neck and huffed, coming to a decision as she fished out her wallet and dumped
some bills in front of Yeri.

"A couple of soju please," she muttered.

"You're still not finished with yours," Yeri pointed out firmly.

"It's not for me, it's for Chaeyoung's friends." Seeing Yeri raise her eyebrows, Lisa groaned. "I'm
not trying to get them drunk or anything, I just want to kill time and chat with people I guess.
Chaeyoung's introducing me to her friends. I swear I won't be doing anything!"

"Mhm," Yeri said as she pulled out some bottles. "I thought you were waiting for your girl?"

"She's not my girl," Lisa said wearily, starting to grow very tired of all the assumptions everyone
seemed to be making behind her back. She stared when Yeri laughed.

"Well, unless you grow some balls, she never will be for sure."

"Excuse me, but balls shouldn't even be mentioned if we're talking about getting courage to speak
up about something," Chaeyoung said, inserting herself in the conversation as she sidled next to
Lisa. "Grow some balls? Pah, it's all so misogynistic! Why does it have to be balls? Why do we call
people pussies to imply cowardice? Why does it have to be all about men? If anything, pussies are
the toughest—"

"Alright alright!" Yeri cut her off hastily before she went on a feminist rant. "Lisa, woman up and
be a pussy and tell your girl that you like her. Happy?" she added in Chaeyoung's direction.

Chaeyoung nodded in approval and grabbed the bottles. "So, ready to go mingle?"

"Yeah yeah, getting to know people is fun and all, but the moment Rosie is here, I'm outta there,
you hear me?" Lisa warned. "And Yeri, the second she steps in here, you let me know, got it? She's
tall, blonde and gorgeous—"

"Are you talking about French fries or your Rosie girl?" Chaeyoung asked stupidly. "'Cos if we're
getting McDonald's, I'm soooo down, I'm kinda peckish."

"Rosie, I'm talking about Rosie!" Lisa yelped, blushing a deep red. 'Your Rosie girl' had sounded
nice, too nice. Her heart seemed to agree, if its sudden burst of gymnastics was any indication.

"Just checking!"

"You guys this is, like, the best party eveerrrrrrr," Joy burbled, appearing out of nowhere and
slinging herself over Chaeyoung and Lisa. She poked Lisa's cheek, frowning. "Awww what's with
the pouty pout?"

"She's missing her girl," Yeri laughed. "Her tall, blonde and gorgeous Rosie."

"Don't forget hot too," Chaeyoung slurred, her filter long gone.

"You've got Mina!" Lisa yelped, electrified. "Hands off Rosie!"

"So defensive," Chaeyoung grinned lazily, "can't I appreciate a hot girl now? It's not like
she's taken or anything, right?"

"Well no, but still," Lisa grumbled sulkily. "She's not someone you just strip in your head, okay?
Respect her. And what would your girlfriend think, seeing you ogling other people?"

"Hmm well you know, I think I remember Mina saying she kinda fancies threesomes, but of
course, I'm not bringing a prude like you up for that conversation. Maybe Rosé would be interested
though. I'm pretty sure Mina wouldn't mind having someone extra to play with—"

"Shuttup shuttup shuttup!" Lisa babbled, clapping her hands to her ears as Chaeyoung and Yeri
laughed at her. Her face was on fire as she desperately fought to stifle her overactive imagination.

"Why so shyyyyyy?" Chaeyoung smirked. "What are you, some closeted virgin?"

"Well uhm actually, I never—"

"Poor, poor lovesick puppy, missing her Rosie, tut tut that's not good," Joy cooed obliviously,
"should I phone her for you? What do I say?" Her eyes glittered wickedly. "Oh I know! Lisa
missesssss youuuuuuuuu mwaaaaahh hurry here before she starts crying—"

"Okay enough!" Lisa exclaimed mortified when Yeri and Chaeyoung doubled over with laughter,
holding their sides and gasping for breath.

She scrambled to salvage her remaining shreds of dignity. "Joy, Chaeyoung and I were going to
talk to some friends. Why don't you come with us? And Yeri, keep me posted! Rosie's her name,
don't forget."

"Rosie. Tall, blonde, gorgeous and hot, got it. Anything else?" Yeri humoured her.

"Oh yes," Lisa shouted over her shoulder as Chaeyoung pulled her away, "she's got hips that don't
lie, they're like a Victoria's Secret model's type hips, and she's got these hella plush lips and these
beautiful eyes, and she smells like strawb—"

But Yeri didn't hear the rest of her description because the crowd thronging around them
swallowed her up from sight.

>

Rosé cautiously pushed open the diner's door to be met with a cacophony of voices and music that
blasted her eardrums. The darkness had her blinded for a moment until her eyes adjusted to the
gloominess that was intermittently broken by strobing lights. The glare of a spotlight lit up an area
further inside the diner where she could make out some people dancing wildly.

Her eyes could be playing tricks on her, but at least two of the figures on the little platform were
jumping around riffing on a broom and looking for all the world like demented bass players as they
headbanged energetically. She could have sworn one of them was Jisoo, but she was too far.

Rosé shook her head and continued scanning her surroundings, finding herself a little helpless since
she couldn't recognise anyone. Her heart thudded anxiously as she looked for the familiar blonde
she was longing to see.

But Lisa was nowhere to be seen, and neither were her other friends, or Jennie. Rosé spotted the bar
counter up ahead and waded through the mass of girls squawking at the top of their lungs.

At least the one good thing about this party was that there were only girls, no lecherous guys to
worry about. It had her thudding heart gradually slow down as she got more used to her
surroundings. Her hand grazing her neck—where Jimin's bruise that had all but faded was hidden
by generous application of make up—slowly relaxed too until she forgot all about it.

Rosé hadn't been to parties or clubs since she had Ella. She couldn't help but be overwhelmed by
the scale of the party, having expected a smaller, intimate gathering. As she tried searching out for
any familiar face, the barwoman called her attention.

"Hey, just got here? It's a bit loud isn't it?" she asked kindly, noting Rosé's dazed state. "Can I get
you anything? What do you wanna start off with?"

Rosé remembered Lisa mentioning that her friend Yeri would be manning the bar and she took the
opportunity to ask.

"Are you Yeri by any chance? I'm looking for Lisa."

Yeri's face cleared. "Oh you must be Rosie then? Lisa's told me all about you, and then some."

Rosé blushed. "Good things, I hope."

Yeri smiled. "She told me to let her know you're here but right now....she seems a little occupied."

"Occupied? Occupied where?" Rosé said, feeling her anxiety return as she turned to glance around
her.

Certainly, there were plenty of good looking girls all dolled up having a whale of a time. Lisa being
the outgoing charmer that she was would have no problem chatting them up. The girls would
probably flock around her like bees to honey.

Maybe she even gave up waiting, Rosé brooded. Maybe she's dancing with someone, or hitting on
some girl. They did say she used to like flirting with fans after her boxing matches. Maybe she's
having a good time and doesn't need me here—

"Ah there they are!"

Yeri's exclamation made Rosé look up in time to see a conga line heading in her direction, the
dancers barrelling aimlessly as they followed the leader, whom Rosé now recognised as being
Seulgi.

It was rather odd seeing the teacher in such a setting but Seulgi looked no less than a college girl
out for a night of fun, not a professional adult with a straight-laced job.

She led the line around the diner, meandering and swaying tipsily as more people joined her train.
Right behind her were Somi and Chaeyoung, belting out Smashmouth's lines to Believer as though
their lives depended on it.

But where was Lisa?

And then someone's throaty enthusiastic singing caught her attention, growing louder and nearer as
a figure broke ranks from the conga line and swung herself up the far side of the bar counter,
twirling on the spot to the beat of the song.

"Lisa no you idiot!"

Yeri scrambled to get her down before the blonde tottered off the counter and hurt herself. Rosé
hurried after her in concern.

"Lisa, get down from there!" Yeri shouted. Her voice was drowned out by all the noise.

Lisa never heard, too busy shouting with her head thrown back.

"What's the use in trying? All you get is pain," Lisa sang, "when I wanted sunshine—"

"Rosie's here, you doofus!" Yeri yelled.

It happened in a blur: Lisa snapped to attention as her eyes landed directly on Rosé, her foot slipped
and she careened off the counter. Luckily, people had already given her a wide berth once she
stepped up to sing so Lisa crumpled to the ground without bringing down anybody else with her.

Rosé was the first person kneeling by her side, heart twanging with worry. "Oh my god, Lisa!
Where does it hurt?"

"And then I saw her face," Lisa laughed, singing right on beat, "now I'm a believer!"

Rosé couldn't help but laugh in disbelief as Lisa jumped up and grabbed her hand, still singing as
though she hadn't just fallen off the bar.

Her tousled hair tied up in a ponytail, messy bangs, loose tie and top-button-undone shirt in the dim
light was making Rosé feel a certain type of way, especially with the roguish grin Lisa had on her
face.

"Rosie you made it! Sing with me!" Lisa laughed, tossing her head back. "I'm in love oooohhh I'm
a believer, I couldn't leave her if I tried!"

She even let go of Rosé's hand and started air riffing energetically right next to her, clearing the
area as people backed away to avoid getting hit by her vigorous movements.

"Slow down, you just fell off the bar," Rosé laughed, secretly relieved Lisa seemed okay.

"Nope nope nope no slowing down, we gotta partyyyyyy!" Lisa shook her head, eyes bright. She
picked up Rosé's hand again. "Come on let's go—HEY, you guys are doing a mosh pit without
me?!"

Distracted, Lisa rushed away before she stopped, ran back and picked up her hand again to Rosé's
bemusement, holding it tightly.

"Hold my hand okay? There's so many people. Hey no fair! Wait for me guys, come on!" she
called out to what looked like to be Jisoo and Somi who had just flung themselves unto the crowd
to join a likewise floating Seulgi being passed over people's heads.

Rosé's heart stopped for a split-second, fearing the worst, but all three girls were raised up, floating
above people's heads as they laughed while the bass blasted their ears.

"Go have fun, I'll be alright at the bar," Rosé said generously, noticing the longing look on Lisa's
face.

"What? But Rosie—"

"Just come back now and then okay? Or else it will get boring. I'll join you soon, just need to warm
up a bit."
"To dance?" Lisa said hopefully.

"I came all the way here, I definitely want a dance with Prince Charming before the night is over.
And maybe more than just a dance," Rosé said boldly and winked.

What did she mean by that? Rosé had absolutely no idea, but she felt just the right amount of
daring tonight.

It seemed to have set Lisa's mind at rest because she brightened and did a clumsy bow. "It's a
promise, my lady! And by the way, you look absolutely spiffy Rosie! I learned that word today
from the dictionary," she added proudly.

Rosé blinked. "Spiffy?"

But Lisa had already rushed away, pushing people aside to get to the platform. "Guys guys wait for
meeeeee!"

Rosé watched her go fondly, her ears still throbbing from all the shouting. But she didn't mind one
bit when it came to the blonde. Seeing Lisa so hyper and enjoying herself only made her look more
endearing in Rosé's eyes.

"Who's choosing the songs? I haven't heard Smashmouth in ages, not since my daughter watched
Shrek," Rosé chuckled as she turned to Yeri, the only other person around. "Oh and a soju to start
off, please."

"Jisoo and Somi are in charge I think. From what I heard, Somi got them all together yesterday and
they planned stuff out. They even coordinated the outfits and came here early to decorate and
practice a bit too, get that band chemistry." Yeri shook her head. "They still can't settle a name for
their little band though. Everyone has different ideas."

Rosé laughed. "I bet Lisa came up with something that the others thought was too wild."

"Hit the nail on the head," Yeri grinned. "If Lisa had her way, they would be Daddy's Girls, Lisa
being the Daddy of course."

"That's...a bit cringy," Rosé laughed.

"Just a bit? Anyway, they've been jamming and entertaining all evening," Yeri told her as she
passed her the bottle. "Even Jennie joined them."

"Really?" Rosé couldn't picture Jennie—stiff and pragmatic Jennie—singing and laughing and
entertaining people the way Lisa enjoyed doing. "She went on that stage with them?"

"She started off the karaoke session properly, yes. Took everyone by surprise," Yeri chuckled. "It
was quite a sight to see."

"Ah, and I missed that," Rosé sighed wistfully.

"Rosé?"

Rosé turned to greet the newcomer.

"Oh, Irene...unnie. Hello."

She was still rather shy to speak with the older woman, since there would usually be their other
friends around acting as buffer. Rosé would be lying if she claimed to not be rather in awe of Irene,
despite having spoken on the phone before to arrange for payment for Lisa's sessions, but that had
been purely business.

"How stiff," Irene chuckled, "come on, we've met before and yet you're going to talk like I'm just a
stranger?"

"Well, we never really got to talk properly before. And I kind of attacked your girlfriend last time,"
Rosé said ruefully. She bit her tongue when Irene paused. "Oh, I'm sorry for being forward, I didn't
mean to assume—"

"It's okay," Irene shrugged blithely, "we're heading towards girlfriend territory anyway. Seulgi just
gets me, you know? We really click."

"Hammered already, unnie?" Yeri teased when out of nowhere, Irene let out an undignified groan
and held her head. She winked at Rosé. "Someone's trying to keep up with the party animals."

"Am not, I can handle alcohol fine," Irene protested. Now that Rosé looked closer, her eyes were
bloodshot.

"That's what Jennie said before she jumped on stage," Yeri laughed, bustling about preparing a set
of cocktails. "By all means though, if you jump on stage too, I can die happy. Or well, Joy would
dig me up and kill me again because she didn't get to propose."

"Did somebody say propose?" Right on cue, a tall girl slumped on the counter in between Irene and
Rosé, her long hair tickling Rosé's nose. She smelled of sweat and an earthy perfume and her nose
was scrunched up in a pout.

"Here we go again," Yeri said wearily.

"Yerimie, I thought I was going to propose, are you scheming behind my back?" the girl whined,
pointing an accusing finger.

"The sheer audacity. Joy, I would never," Yeri said theatrically. "I don't have a death wish, yet."

She deftly poured liquor in a glass as she spoke and handed it to a customer before cashing in the
money.

"Good, because if you even think about trying to one up me with a surprise proposal, I'll...I'll turn it
down!"

"I hear you."

"I'm dead serious!" Joy thumped the counter.

"And I'm trying to earn us money. Be a good girl and go find Jeongyeon."

"You're no fun anymore!"

"Girlfriends?" Rosé mouthed at Irene who nodded.

"Rosie, this is Joy. Joy, Rosie," Yeri introduced them. "Forgive her, she's a bit tipsy."

"Rosie?" Joy blinked up at Rosé, ignoring her outstretched hand.

She looked her up and down before nodding approvingly. "So this is the pilates chick I've been
hearing all about that got Lisa crushing like a twelve year old boy? Nice taste, yes, very nice
indeed, Lisa might have just hit the jackpot. Wanna dance, Miss Victoria Secret Hips?"

"Joy, really?" Yeri scolded as Rosé's heart did somersaults in her chest, "stop badgering my
customers to make me jealous, it's not gonna work!"

"You're no fun," Joy mumbled.

"Where's Nayeon and Jeongyeon?"

"Making out somewhere, duh," Joy rolled her eyes and pointed at Yeri. "Don't you go anywhere,
hottie, I'll be right back."

Yeri blew her a kiss and Joy immediately dissolved into giggles as she threw herself back into the
fray, all forgiven.

"It's sweet how well you two go together," Rosé smiled, still trying to calm her giddiness over Joy's
words.

Had Lisa mentioned that she had a crush on her for real? Or was it Joy mixing stuff up because she
was drunk? And what was that about Victoria Secret hips? Was that Joy's compliment? Or was it
something Lisa had said?

Suddenly self-conscious, Rosé pat her skirt and the fishnets she had plucked out of the bottom of
her drawers. A smile found its way to her mouth and she was unable to stop it as she turned Joy's
words over and over, particularly the Lisa crush part.

Ella pleading with her to ask Lisa, her own heart demanding she got answers, and now this
seemingly casual mention of Lisa crushing on her...the universe seemed pretty consistent in its
signs lately, pushing her towards the blonde boxer.

Maybe it was indeed time to make her move and find out what Lisa considered her to be: a friend, a
fling, or something more serious.

However, the girl in question was currently having fun in the middle of the dance floor; having a
conversation on such a serious topic wasn't possible.

But there was plenty of time. Rosé didn't mind waiting just a tiny bit longer, sipping on her drink to
hopefully loosen up and get rid of the ball of nerves sitting in the pit of her stomach.

Whatever she decided could alter her future and impact Ella. Not to mention the ever present
complications that came with her night job and affiliation with Yang.

"Three years this year, I think? But we've known each other for longer," Yeri was telling Irene
when Rosé tuned in back to the conversation, "Joy is just a hopeless romantic and is dying to do
the proposal, on her knee with the ring and everything. So I promised her I had no intention of
doing a proposal if she wanted to do it so much, but I would be ready any time she asked."

"That's sweet," Irene cooed, "no wonder she was so upset thinking you're trying to do it yourself."

"Yeah. She's a dork, but she's my dork," Yeri replied with a fond shake of her head.

"Like Lisa," Rosé interjected suddenly. "She's a dork, but she's my dork."

She nodded cheerfully to herself and gulped down some more beer that she had been steadily
sipping, unaware of the two women throwing each other knowing smirks next to her.
The soju was particularly delicious tonight, especially since she wasn't in the habit of drinking at
home, because of Ella. Red wine for occasions like birthdays was as far as she got.

After the first few sips Rosé had rediscovered the delight of drinking something cold, refreshing
and purely alcoholic. Now, she was downing gulp after gulp as though quenching a dreadful thirst.

"Whoa there! The girl keeps pace!" Yeri said, impressed.

"So Lisa's your dork then, huh?" Irene asked with interest.

"Mhm," Rosé affirmed, "just like Seulgi is yours. And Jennie has Jisoo. And Yeri has Joy. We all
have a thing for goofy dorks. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Very enlightening."

"I love being a bartender," Yeri laughed as Rosé finished her bottle with a satisfied smack of the
lips.

>

Rosé was in the midst of regaling Irene and Yeri with some anecdotes about Lisa and the cats in
between drinking her new glass of makgeolli (Irene had declined drinking with her, fearing that
makgeolli would be too much to handle) when the sound died suddenly and the strobe lights
stilled.

"What are they up to now?" Yeri asked curiously as the last girl who had been singing to Ariana
Grande hopped off the platform to be replaced with Somi and Chaeyoung.

"Don't worry folks, the show is far from over!" Somi began, beaming widely.

"Hell yeah, I wanna sing more!" shouted someone from the crowd that sounded suspiciously like
Jennie.

Somi cracked up with other people joining in. "Jisoo, get your girl, she's wildin'! Now, what are we
doing, you might ask? Chaengie, wanna tell'em?"

"Well, one of us Somi and the Sapphos members—"

"Oh my gosh Son Chaeyoung, we are not Somi and the Sapphos, I can't believe we're still not over
this—"

"—wants to serenade a certain special gal, if you get me," Chaeyoung winked greasily, "to win her
over and stuff, you know the drill. It will be a group effort, cos' all for one and one for all, am I
right ladies? Yeah, that's what I thought. We'll leave it up to you to guess who."

People laughed and applauded, with shouts of who is it? doing the rounds, but surprisingly,
Chaeyoung merely smirked and mimed zipping her lips, keeping the secret despite clamours.

"Let's get on with the show! Music, maestroooooo!"

"It's Dee-jay, you idiot!" Somi hissed before they hurriedly got into position as the lights turned
low, except for a small spotlight trained on the stage, manned by Lucas.

Rosé squinted in the dim light, trying to spot Lisa but the blonde girl was nowhere to be found.

"What are they up to now?" Irene mumbled next to her, likewise bemused. Rosé shrugged and
turned her attention back to the stage.

"Eenie meenie miney mo, catch a bad chick by her toe..."

Chaeyoung started off the song, with a good chunk of the girls immediately recognising it and
squealing giddily. Somi followed with her verse, her voice carrying steady.

The name of the song escaped Rosé.

Then, as they watched, the crowd parted to reveal Seulgi in a low top hat. She walked forward,
singing with a bounce in her step as she made a beeline right for Irene, her voice a bit raw but still
mellow to the ear. People oohed and whistled as Seulgi approached while Rosé clapped along,
giggling gleefully under the rather hot light shining on them.

"So give me the night, to show you, hold you, don't leave me out here dancin' alone," Seulgi sang,
extending her hand to a stupefied Irene, playfully beckoning to join her on the floor.

Irene waved apologetically and Seulgi backed away with a wink, not offended in the least by the
rejection despite the crowd's vocal disappointment, which was quickly forgotten when the chorus
dropped and everyone started bouncing and yelling along to the song.

"Ah, I'm so old," Irene groaned mournfully, "I should have danced but I'm really not feeling steady.
Will Seulgi think I'm too old? Lisa is right, I'm such a grandma."

"Nah, it's only just playing around, Seulgi isn't taking it as seriously as you're thinking," Yeri
comforted. "Rosie knows that too. Right, Rosie? Rosie?"

Yeri followed Rosé's fixed gaze, lifting her eyes to see a new figure in a hat identical to Seulgi's,
standing at the far end on the platform with the spotlight now illuminating her.

"Let me show you what you're missin': paradise," Lisa crooned as she descended the stage to join
the crowd, eliciting squeals and gasps. "With me you're winnin' girl, you don't have to roll the
dice."

Some girls swooned as Lisa walked on past them.

"Tell me what you really here for," Lisa winked at a girl, slinging an arm around her shoulder. The
girl, a brunette, fanned herself furiously as Lisa went on: "Them other guys? I can see right through
ya."

She raised her eyes, meeting Rosé's gaze and Rosé could have sworn that everything else vanished:
it was just her and Lisa looking at each other from across the room while all sounds, scents and
people faded away into the background. Her heart picked up pace as Lisa approached.

"You seem like the type," Lisa trilled, shimmying closer with her eyes fixed only on Rosé this time,
"to love 'em and leave 'em and disappear right after the song. So give me the night: to show you,
hold you..."

Just like Seulgi had done with Irene, Lisa held out a hopeful hand to Rosé, inviting her: "Don't
leave me out here dancin' alone...."

The crowd erupted in cheers as Rosé took Lisa's hand with a grin and Lisa triumphantly led them
in the middle of the floor as the music blasted from all directions: "Can't make up your mind, mind,
mind, mind! Please don't waste my time, time, time..."
Rosé remembered the song now and she sang loudly along with Lisa, yelling into the microphone
without a single care. They laughed and jumped with the other party people, joined by Seulgi,
Jisoo, Somi and Chaeyoung taking over the song.

"Thought you might like this one cos' of the eeny miney mo thing that you do!" Lisa chuckled,
holding up the microphone between them as she took off her top hat and placed it on Rosé's head.
"Sing with me: I wish our hearts could come together as one! Cos' shawty is a eenie meenie miney
mo lover!"

Even in the middle of having her eardrums blasted to pieces, Rosé couldn't help but be touched that
Lisa paid such close attention to even her little habit of uttering the rhyme under her breath, enough
to find a song that highlighted that mannerism.

And then Lisa had to blast her in that moment with her happiest grin, eyes sparkling as she took
Rosé's hand and made her twirl, unaware of the surge of emotions Rosé was experiencing.

Maybe it was stupid, and certainly not the best place to do it, but Rosé wanted nothing more than to
kiss Lisa right there, hidden from the world and exposed to all at the same time. Her wish was
probably written plainly on her face, revealing her inner desire for Lisa to pin her up against the
nearest wall and—

Her train of thought was interrupted by a hard jolt as someone bumped into her, catapulting her
right into Lisa's arms.

"Whoa there," Lisa chuckled, "you okay?"

"Fine," Rosé gasped, suddenly very aware of the fact that her arms had somehow looped around
Lisa's neck and Lisa' hands were cinched around her waist, steadying her.

Add to that the fact that Lisa's face was bent close to hers to be able to hear better and Rosé
physically felt herself go limp, the cocktail of desire and alcohol in her system coupled with Lisa's
intense gaze on her being all too much to resist.

Lisa tightened her hold, caught off-guard by the girl sinking in her arms.

"Rosie?" Lisa's eyebrows furrowed, her hands gripping her waist tighter. "Hey you okay? Do you
need to get some air?"

Rosé shook her head absently, distracted by Lisa's lips. They were close, so close. Maybe if she
reached out a little further, tilted her face up...

kiss me kiss me kiss me, she chanted in her head.

To her enormous disappointment, Lisa turned her head away, but only to hand the microphone and
hat to the nearest girl, before she pressed a hand to Rosé's back, concern radiating off of her in
waves as she spared Rosé only a quick glance with pursed lips.

Rosé was still processing this turn of events as Lisa cleared a path for them to wade through the
crowd until they were at the very back of the diner, with less people and cooler air that helped
Rosé to rapidly regain her composure.

Chill out, she admonished herself.

She had nearly jumped on Lisa back there when Lisa clearly hadn't caught on to her intentions—
her friend was still in party mode, her mind probably a million miles away from any kind of lustful
thoughts.

Rosé grimaced, hating how her intoxicated self was reduced to her impulsive teenage version that
threw rationality out of the window for the first person that paid attention to her.

It's what got you pregnant, don't forget, she reminded herself.

Rosé's heart lurched dangerously when she noted Lisa's hand was still resting protectively on her
side.

Dammit, shouldn't she be feeling at least an ounce of guilt for enjoying Lisa's touch on her?
Because she didn't feel anything like that, at all. In fact, it was the opposite: she wanted more.

Lisa had been standing next to her all this while, studying her quietly.

"Got a bit too much eh? Must be a bit of a shock to the system, dancing after drinking."

"Hmm?" Rosé shook her head, white noise still echoing in her ears. "What?"

She regretted her inquiry when Lisa sidled up closer to her ear and quietly repeated her statement,
unaware of the pleasurable shiver that ran down Rosé's spine.

Lisa's breath grazed her ear. Was Lisa lingering on purpose? Rosé quickly brushed the thought
away.

"Uh, shock to the system?" Rosé asked stupidly. She seemed to have lost the ability to string a
sentence together, growing even more flustered when Lisa cupped her face, looking even more
anxious.

"Are you okay? You didn't take something did you? Did you watch your drink? Where was Yeri?"
Lisa watched her pupils intently, letting Rosé get a good view of those doe-eyes that had her
flustered.

Her nerves were going haywire, but through all the tingling sensations erupting under her skin,
Rosé managed to shake her head as best as she could.

"I'm good I'm good. I'm fine, I...just a little spaced. The alcohol, you know..." she added lamely.

Lisa seemed to buy her excuse because she lowered her hands, allowing Rosé to breathe freely
again. She sat back against some crates piled up against the wall, arms folded. Rosé copied her and
they fell into a comfortable silence, shooting each other small smiles and glances while the party
raged on.

So much for being Yang's silver-tongued vixen! So much for wanting to have a serious
conversation!

Rosé mentally kicked herself. She was even more tongue-tied and flustered tonight than ever,
making a laughing stock of herself in front of the object of her affection.

Somehow, the scenario she had built up earlier in her head of coolly approaching Lisa and sitting
down and having a serious conversation was starting to look more and more improbable.

Instead, it was continuously being replaced by increasingly creative methods of how she would
have Lisa kissing her at the end of the night, preferably pinned up against a wall.

Rosé groaned and held her head.

"Hey, no stress okay? I'll wait with you until you feel better," Lisa—sweet, kind Lisa—said,
oblivious to Rosé's unholy thoughts, "I could do with a little sobering up too."

"Sobering up...yeah...wouldn't want you to step on me when we dance," Rosé snarked. She smiled
when Lisa grinned, ready to rise up to the challenge.

This was good, bantering was familiar territory. She could handle bantering.

"Oh yeah? You sure it's not you who'd crush my poor little toesie woesies?"

"Yeah I'm sure," Rosé snorted, "your toesie woesies are safe because I'm light on my feet. Can't
say the same for you. You're as graceful as...as a drunk goose."

"Excuse me!" Lisa exclaimed righteously, "I'm your Prince Charming with a capital C. I'm the
dictionary definition of graceful! I'm graceful even when hammered!"

She demonstrated with a twirl, stumbling near the end and making Rosé laugh.

"All the more reason I should be the one worried," Rosé giggled.

"But you'd still dance with me, right?" Lisa pouted.

"Hmm, would I?"

"You're meannnnn," Lisa whined.

"You're just a big baby," Rosé teased swatting Lisa's shoulder.

"Oh yeah?" Lisa swatted back.

"Oh yeaaah." Rosé shoved Lisa, giggling.

"Oh yeaaaaaah?" Lisa shoved harder, chortling and swaying with the momentum. She latched on to
Rosé's hand to stop from falling and Rosé pushed back, almost tripping over Lisa's feet.

"Oh yeaaaaaaaaah."

They stumbled again and recovered, with Rosé pulling on Lisa's loose tie and accidentally
bumping foreheads. It only made them laugh harder as though they cracked the funniest joke ever.

"Oh yeaaaaaaaaah?"

"Oh yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah."

"Oh yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah?"

"Oh yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—"

"Ok time out for you, and time out for you," Somi declared, startling the giggling girls as she
appeared out of nowhere and pushed them apart. She snagged Lisa's arm. "Lis, we gotta go, the
show's about to start."

"Wha Somi, what are you—"

"We've been looking all over for you! Where's your hat? Come on, it's almost time!" Somi said
frantically. "Come on, you're wanted at the front!"
"Wha— but I was dancing!" Lisa argued. "I'm Prince Charming and Cinderella wants her dance!"

"Yeah no, Cinderella can wait before you crush her toes—"

"Ha! How you like that?" Rosé said triumphantly, punching the air. "I told you!"

"Aww shucks," Lisa sulked. Somi tugged at her arm impatiently.

"Come onnnnnnnnn—"

"Hang on hang on I'll be over real quick."

Lisa turned to Rosé, her face losing all traces of mirth as her expression turned serious. She cupped
Rosé's face, studying her. "Feeling better, yeah?"

Touched that Lisa still remembered the reason they had stepped aside and even wanted to make
sure she was alright before leaving, Rosé smiled widely.

"I'm fine now, thank you. I'll go find Yeri at the bar."

"We still have the dance!" Lisa called, letting herself be dragged away. "Don't run away from me
now Cinderella!"

"Wouldn't miss it."

"I'll find you!" Lisa promised, reaching out to Rosé dramatically with a big smile cracking up her
face even as Somi pulled her back into the fray.

"Counting on it!" Rosé called back, cheeks igniting. She watched Lisa disappear in the crowd still
going strong around them and held her cheeks, feeling the heat slowly dissipate.

But the warmth in the pits of her stomach stayed, curled up like a cosy cat.

When had she last felt this cared for? When had she last even been wanted in this way? Lisa just
kept exceeding expectations.

That's when Rosé decided: she liked Lisa too much to keep pretending and dancing around each
other when all she wanted to do was kiss her hard.

But first, she needed to talk, and she would do that once Lisa came back and asked her to dance.
She would pour her heart out and hope for the best, hope that Lisa would catch her.

No going back, no hesitation. She had given herself the deadline—the timing felt right and the
liquid courage still thrumming in her veins was persuasive.

Buzzing with nervous energy, Rosé made her way back to the bar wrapped in a haze. Impatience
coloured her thoughts: now that she had settled on a plan of action, she wanted Lisa to come back
already.

But the band were caught up in a new game, the crowd standing back and giving them plenty of
space away from the stage as everyone waited around, restless without any thumping music.

"What's going on?" Rosé asked Yeri as she camped on her barstool again. "What are they up to?
Somi came and took Lisa."

"They're all gearing up for something," Joy said. She greeted Rosé with a wave of her beer.
"Joy, easy, you're gonna get mega hungover—"

"You won't dance with me, so I'm drinking," Joy pouted. Yeri pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I'm kind of doing my job here."

"Just one dance—"

"I'll dance with you when we go home, how about that?"

Rosé noticed Irene with her head down in her arms on the counter and cast a wary look at Yeri,
who only shrugged.

"She's dozing. Don't worry I got my eyes on her," Yeri reassured, "and as for Somi...I think she
mentioned a sing-off. Or was it a dance battle?"

"Dance battle? They're all drunk," Rosé chuckled.

"Even better, we'll get a laugh," Yeri smirked.

Jennie wandered up at some point while they waited, greeting Rosé with an uncharacteristically
cheery tone.

"Rosie posie's finally here! Someone should tell Lisa—"

"I talked to her."

"Fantastic, are you having fun?"

"I am—"

"Awesome, I gotta go pee now, I'm absolutely bursting, toodles!" And Jennie left as quickly as she
appeared.

Rosé shook her head, catching Yeri's grin. "Well..."

Yeri chuckled. "I told you, I love bartending. It's a non-stop show—"

"Yerimmmmmm," Joy whined listlessly and Yeri caught her empty beer glass before she dropped
it.

"Except for the babysitting part," Yeri sighed wearily making Rosé laugh.

"Alright folks!" Jisoo announced, taking up the role of MC as she took to the stage, "apologies for
the delay, we had a slight hiccup because one of the band members was rather busy getting it on—
but it's finally time for the event of the night!"

"Dance-off! Dance-off! Dance-off!" chanted her audience.

Jisoo laughed, making Rosé unconsciously smile too. The older girl's unabashed laugh was one of
the things that had her drawn to Jisoo in the beginning when they had been seeing each other.

"Playing a medley of songs, we're gonna see which of our two pairs will be the better team to adapt
to spontaneous music change and rules we throw into the mix!" Jisoo explained. "Keeping them on
their toes before they get too comfortable. But we're gonna start out easy at first. Presenting Lisa
and Somi versus Seulgi and Chaeyoung!"
The said girls all appeared one after the other as Jisoo called out their names, donning identical hats
and plastic sunglasses as well, striking ridiculous poses that made the crowd roar appreciatively.

Lisa especially played it up, obnoxiously tilting her hat and pushing down her glasses to wink at
the nearest gaggle that squealed her name.

Not that Rosé was particularly paying attention to them anyway, not at all.

"Aaaaaaaaannnd music, deejay!" Jisoo called.

"Barba Streisand," boomed the speakers and the two pairs took to the floor.

Freestyle!" Jisoo called above the beat. "Show us your moves!"

Everyone started hyping up Lisa and Somi who stepped forward first, busting out moves that made
Rosé, Yeri and the rest of the crowd crack up laughing.

It was evident they weren't taking themselves seriously and just moving their bodies to the beat,
clumsy and ridiculous but entertaining at the same time.

They stepped back to let Seulgi and Chaeyoung have their turn, hyping their band members along
with the rest of their audience just like they had done.

"Do the shimmy shimmy!" Jisoo announced, enjoying herself. Obediently Chaeyoung and Seulgi
shimmied, eliciting claps and laughter. "Now Lisa—the chicken dance!"

The dance-off continued as they cycled through several songs, with Jisoo throwing in a different
condition each time the song switched without warning. If one of the girls didn't perform correctly,
she was forced to stand aside until the song switched again.

Rosé enjoyed the show thoroughly. Jisoo mixed in some tricky conditions with the song choices
which proved to be entertainment gold.

She had them hopping on one foot, twirling their hats non-stop, waving their hands in the air, waltz
with their dance partner to a rock song, do the Macarena to a song that wasn't the macarena, do the
WAP (which garnered a lot of screams and shouts), do headstands, do splits, do a tango to a ballad
song...

Rosé lost count of the number of times she laughed so hard she nearly toppled off her stool and
even Joy forgot her sulking.

"Irene you gotta see this, it's priceless!" Yeri kept saying, tears in her eyes, but Irene would only
groan weakly and sip from her bottle of water. She was not faring well with her headache and Rosé
was mildly concerned for her.

"Hey unnie, why don't we go outside and get a break from all the noise?" she asked.

"Not a bad idea," Yeri nodded. "Don't forget your purse."

>

There were only several other people outside, most of them smoking or chatting quietly to get a
break from the party. Rosé and Irene made sure to stay downwind of them, both for privacy and to
steer clear of the smoke fug.

While Irene was gratefully soaking up the cleaner air, Rosé fidgeted. She didn't know what to do,
even if she had been the one that volunteered to accompany her outside.

On sudden inspiration, Rosé took out her phone.

"Excuse me for a moment, I'll just send my daughter a quick text to check up on her," she told
Irene.

Ella had an old phone Rosé kept for emergencies, nothing too fancy, but it would do the job to set
Rosé's mind at rest and keep them in contact with each other.

"She's alone at home?"

Rosé heard the belittling judgement behind Irene's sharp question but didn't comment about it,
allowing the sting of guilt to settle before answering.

"Oh no no, she's at a sleepover. I wouldn't leave her alone like that."

Irene shrugged and fiddled with her own phone, the air between them suddenly frosty.

Rosé bit her lip and turned her attention to her text to Ella.

She was vaguely aware that Irene probably judged her lifestyle as a single mother. Lisa had once
mentioned that despite offering to sponsor pilates sessions, Irene didn't approve of Lisa and Jennie
competing for PFB.

"I'm sorry."

The apologetic tone had Rosé glance at Irene to find the other woman looking up at the night sky.
She wondered if Irene was a little bit too drunk.

"The others tell me I'm prejudiced sometimes. Or most of the time. Narrow-minded and backward.
Maybe I earned my nickname of grandma. After all, I'm like a fussy grandma, forever poking my
nose in other people's business and looking down on them."

Irene didn't look at Rosé as she kept speaking. "I'm just... I might not go about it the right way, but
I do care. I just...I just want people to be alright. But nobody wants someone breathing down their
necks about it like a fussy mother, do they? I suppose not. It's why people clam up when I'm
around, because they don't want judgemental, they want people to understand them. But how can I
understand when they don't tell me anything?"

And that was when Rosé spotted a single tear slip down Irene's cheek.

She ducked her head, finishing up her text instructing Ella to call her before she fell asleep as she
thought about the words she could tell the hurting woman next to her.

Against her better judgement, Rosé squeezed Irene's hand to get her attention. She couldn't bear the
sadness in the older woman's voice, hiding so much pain in plain sight, so she had to give it a go at
consoling her.

"I don't know you well enough to say anything about what other people say or tell you," Rosé said
softly, "but I do know that you mean well. I truly do. It would be lovely to have a friend who cares
so much to go out of their way and tries to point me down the right path, just because they care
about me from the bottom of their heart.

"I never had a friend like that growing up, or anyone, really. It was me, myself and I against the
world and I admit I made mistakes along the way, bad ones too. Mistakes for which I'm still
suffering the repercussions. Lisa and Jennie are very fortunate to have you looking out for them,
unnie, and I know they care about you too in their own way. Somi as well, she looks up to you a
lot."

Irene gave a weak chuckle. "I'm just the prude grandma to her. She wouldn't stop going on and on
about me dating someone, that was her only source of interest in me."

"That's because she wanted to see you happy with someone that cared for you."

"What?" Irene was stunned. "You think so?"

Rosé smiled. "Why else? Somi's a good kid with a good heart, even if she might be the teasing
type. I know her that much."

Irene paused, digesting her words. She was looking at Rosé differently now, with a new gleam of
respect shining in her eyes.

"Thank you. You're really different from what I thought, Rosé. And...I'm sorry for dumping on
you like this. I'm never drinking again," Irene groaned, making Rosé chuckle again, the leaden
weight in her heart lifting because it finally seemed that the tension surrounding her and Irene had
lifted for good.

"Hyun?" Seulgi stepped out of the diner, her eyes immediately zeroing in on Irene. "There you are.
I thought you left. Are you okay?"

"Just getting a little air and talking with Rosé," Irene said, brightening at the sight of the other
woman. "Has the show finished? What are you doing out here?"

"You're more important than the show," Seulgi smiled. "I was looking for you to make sure you're
okay. How's your head?"

"Better, thank you. But you should really head back—"

"Don't worry, Jisoo took my place."

"But who's MC-ing then?" Rosé wondered.

The way the teacher grinned mischievously had her guessing right away, especially when Seulgi
opened the door a little wider for noise to filter out.

"—NOW DO A JUMPING JACK! LISA THAT'S THE MOST LAME-ASS JUMPING JACK I
EVER SAW IN MY LIFE, DO TWENTY PUSH-UPS AS PENALTY! YOU OUGHT TO BE
ASHAMED OF YOURSELF!"

"Is that...Jennie?" Irene asked, slack-jawed.

"She's definitely enjoying herself," Rosé chuckled.

"You missed quite a bit, Hyun," Seulgi added fondly and took her hand. "Say, how about we ditch,
hmm?"

"I can call you guys a cab if you like?" Rosé asked delicately.

"I'm fine," Seulgi said dismissively.

"But we can't just leave either, Somi would be upset," Irene said anxiously.

"We've been here long enough and I want some time with you too. Trust me, I think Somi would
be even more pleased to learn that we both ditched and left together, even though nothing is going
to happen. Nothing you don't want, I mean," Seulgi said, suddenly anxious. "I mean, I don't want to
move fast or anything, but if you'd like to come back to my house for a nightcap or hot chocolate, I
mean it's really up to you—"

Irene cut her off with a sweet kiss as she cupped her face. "Sounds good to me. Rosé, we'll take it
from here and call a cab."

"Hyun, we can take my car—"

Irene shook her head, tracing Seulgi's cheekbone with her thumb. "We're taking a cab, Gi. I don't
want to risk anything, especially since we've both been drinking and you're ten times more likely to
be clumsy. Better safe than sorry. Please, for me?"

Seulgi turned her adoring eyes to Irene. "For you? Anything."

Irene smiled and leaned forward to kiss her again. This time Seulgi kissed back, hands resting
around Irene's waist and pulling her closer.

"Uh...I'll be heading in then," Rosé excused herself, inwardly melting at the tender sight before she
wrenched her gaze away.

Maybe before the night was over, she and Lisa could also—

Rosé shook her head, face heating up as she dived back into the chaotic party.

She made her way back to Yeri and informed her about Seulgi and Irene ditching before she settled
to laugh at the show Lisa and the rest were still putting up with a drunk Jennie clearly having a
whale of a time shouting out more and more ridiculous conditions.

"Now twerk it, shake it and grind it up against your partner!" she chortled into the microphone.

Her voice gave out abruptly when she saw Jisoo and Chaeyoung took one look at each other before
Jisoo advanced on Jennie with a smirk.

"No stay away from me aaaaaa someone save meeeeeee!" Jennie went sailing across the stage as
she ran away from Jisoo, who couldn't even walk properly because she was bent over laughing and
holding on to Chaeyoung.

Wiping tears from her eyes, Rosé noticed her purse was vibrating and reached inside for her phone,
drawing it out and answering with a laugh.

"Ella baby, I thought you had fallen asleep! How's it going? Hope you're having fun."

"Hello Thorn."

Rosé froze.
 Monster

In the middle of throwing it back and nearly breaking her spine in the process, Lisa laughed and
glanced in Rosé's direction. She brightened upon spotting the blonde back at the bar, having seen
her leave with Irene. She assumed they had gone out for some fresh air.

But now, something wasn't right.

Lisa frowned, all her senses switched on high alert as she fought off the haze of alcohol. Her eyes
narrowed when she homed in on the source of her agitation.

Even from afar, Rosé's terrified face was plain to see as she held her phone to her ear, lips moving
and mouthing words. Her eyes were darting everywhere.

Lisa stopped moving entirely, ignoring the sounds of the party and bodies still in motion around
her. Her vision tunnelled as she focused on Rosé. All noise faded away to a distant ringing. Her
fists clenched and her skin prickled.

She sensed danger.

>

"Enjoying yourself, are you?" Yang said, his voice disturbingly still like a treacherous calm sea
before the storm hits. Despite all the noise around her, his voice cleaved through the chaos like a
knife.

Rosé swallowed, her hands clammy. "Yang, I can explain, it's not what it sounds like." She forced
down the bubble of panic rising up her throat because she had no idea how to explain.

"Thorn, please do not insult my intelligence," Yang growled and she flinched, her skin crawling
with dread.

Yang wasn't just angry; he was enraged.

How hadn't she noticed the number on her screen before picking up?

"Get the hell out of there. Go home before I lose my temper and do something you'll regret.
Go, now ."

"Wh-what?"

"Don't test me, sweetheart," Yang gritted. "Ditching your job just to go out and party?
Thinking you could lie to me and get away with it? The audacity! And you thought I wouldn't
find out? You've gotten too full of yourself lately, spurning my good graces. You need to be
put in your place. Leave this instant Thorn, or the whole diner will be blasted to dust on my
word."

"You—you can't. You wouldn't," Rosé said stupidly, because he would, of course he would, if you
pushed him enough. It was just the kind of sick power-play he relished.

"It's too crazy," she tried reasoning, her voice quavering, "you wouldn't blow up this place with so
many witnesses—"
His cruel laugh made her panic double, because of course, he was a psychopath who relished in
destruction and pain, of course he wouldn't care who or how many died.

She remembered how he once snapped a man's limb in half without even flinching, and how he had
vanished Seokjin and electrocuted Jimin because they harassed her.

Rosé swallowed dryly, on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Sweetheart, seems you have forgotten who you're dealing with. How about a little
refresher? Currently, I have on standby the Jays on location where your precious daughter
and her little friends are all having themselves a merry little slumber party, painting nails
and playing hairdresser. If you don't believe me, the address is—"

"No! Don't you dare touch them!" Rosé whispered but he heard and chuckled darkly.

"That's entirely up to you. Would your conscience feel better if I blew them up first instead
of your dance party? You could stay dancing for a while longer, no?" he asked
diabolically. "Think about it, you could go out whenever you like and as long as you like
without Ella around to keep your curfew. Hell, you can pick up guys more easily too, she
won't be in the way."

Rosé was shaking, horror rooting her to the spot as his words sank in, not even making sense.

"You monster," she rasped at last. "How could you even think like that?"

He laughed as she glanced around her, nearly in tears, hoping that nobody had noticed her
agitation. Yeri was thankfully busy doing her job and everyone else was still dancing.

She needed to slip out of there, and fast, before the madman on the other end of the line did
something unthinkable, before somebody noticed her panicked state and complicated the situation
even further.

"Time's a-ticking, Thorn. Do you want me to give you a countdown? Get a move on."

She had no way of proving he was bluffing, which he probably was, just to get her to leave as
punishment for hoodwinking him and bruising his ego.

But there was also the very sick possibility that he would carry out his terrible threats: blowing up
either Ella's sleepover party, or the diner full of people, Lisa amongst them.

She couldn't even bear to think of the outcomes—Rosé had no choice but to obey.

Her heart thundered away in her chest, terror seizing control of her body and making her wade
through the sea of people until she had made it to the diner entrance and burst through the door into
the cool night air, phone still glued to her ear as she cast about her helplessly.

"We made a deal! You weren't going to watch my kid," she gritted, regaining a little of her
righteousness, "so leave Ella alone or I swear, I'll bring you down if it's the last thing I do."

"You also promised to bring me information, Thorn," Yang reminded. "But pity, none
seemed to be found. Two can play at that game, love. Your move."

Rosé scanned her surroundings, urgently looking for any of Yang's lackeys. There were only a few
people loitering outside. None of them screamed danger and they were all girls. But what if the
Jays were at the back of the diner, armed with explosives or whatever Yang had in mind, ready to
commit mass murder?

Rosé did her best to compose herself, to think about her next course of action without imagining
increasingly morbid scenarios and panic even further.

The last thing she wanted was to draw attention to herself.

"Are you out of the damned place yet? The Jays are on standby and I don't want you to be
caught in the mess. Debts have to be paid and all. Don't you dare play the martyr and stick
around to stop me from blowing the place up or you'll be having your daughter's funeral
tomorrow."

"Please, don't do anything! Call them off!" Rosé pleaded. "I'm going, I'm going, I'm out of there.
I'm going home now."

"Good girl, I knew you'd see sense. Jay-J, tell all squads to stand down. She complied," Yang
said before he came back to Rosé, sounding decidedly more placated.

"Thorn, be careful. You're pulling at the leash and it won't be long before it tightens into a
noose that you won't be able to escape from," he said meaningfully. "I was lenient and
merciful tonight. Next time, I might not be. Keep that in mind. Now go home."

"Leave my daughter alone," Rosé said in tears. She was utterly drained and defeated. "Just...leave
her alone. God, she's only eight, leave her out of this. I'll do any job you want, just don't touch her."

"Now that's what I like to hear. Don't give me any excuse to hurt her and she won't
be," Yang answered. "I have a taxi coming to pick you up, he has all the details. Don't worry,
it's just a regular cab driver. You can pay him yourself; I'm not forking out anymore money
for you."

On cue, a regular-looking taxi cab drew up to where Rosé stood, with the driver confirming that
she was Rosé Park. Shaking from head to toe, Rosé climbed in, thankful for the interior's darkness
to spare her further mortification.

"Try to be more mindful of your actions, sweetheart. You're treading on thin ice," Yang
warned her when she had settled inside. "Goodnight, Thorn."

The call ended but Rosé couldn't relax, sitting ramrod straight with thoughts buzzing like a
beehive, all jumbled together as the car peeled off into the night.

She wanted to call Ella, she wanted to call Jisoo, she wanted to shove the driver out of the car and
drive home at the speed of light, she wanted to go straight to Yang and strangle him, she wanted to
jump out of the car and run, she wanted to scream and scream until her voice gave out, she wanted
to wake up from this never-ending nightmare, she wanted to run into Lisa's arms and never let go...

Rosé curled up in a ball, letting Yang's words take over instead.

She was helpless Park Chaeyoung again: alone and powerless to fight back.

>

Yang was not done playing with her.

"Uh excuse me but you must have my address wrong, it's another two streets down," Rosé frowned
when the taxi driver pulled up to an unfamiliar building.

"Oh? I'm sorry miss, this was the address I was given over phone. I made sure to input it into the
GPS right away," the taxi driver said apologetically. He sounded just as dumbfounded as she was
feeling.

"I can always drive you the rest of the way of course, but it'll cost you extra."

"Never mind. I can walk myself," Rosé sighed as she all but kicked open the door. "Thanks for the
ride, here's your money."

"Miss, it's not safe to be walking all alone—"

"I can handle it. Goodnight," Rosé said tersely. The taxi driver gave up, took his money and
zoomed off.

Rosé straightened, thankful for the warm summer night, because her outfit certainly wasn't made to
withstand the cold.

She gritted her teeth and strode forward, determined not to show any fear.

This was Yang's doing, to punish her and give her a warning, to show her he called the shots, to
show her that her life was in his hands and he could do as he wished with it on a whim.

Well, she couldn't care less. Her night was ruined. Her paranoia was off the charts but she wasn't
about to give Yang the satisfaction of breaking down in public, in case he was somehow observing
her from the lurking shadows.

It was late; the streets were silent and only the streetlights kept her company as she hurried along,
eager to get home and jump in the shower for a good long cry.

She did gather her wits long enough to send Ella a goodnight text as she walked—calling her
daughter would only cause confusion.

Rosé didn't contact anyone else, too exhausted to come up with excuses. She still remembered the
icy chill that gripped her heart when Yang threatened to murder mere children (amongst them her
own baby) with brazen nonchalance. She walked on, hugging herself, her eyes prickling with
unshed tears as the adrenaline slowly drained from her system and she could replay the night with
more clarity.

Everything had been going so well. She had been having fun with people, chatting with Lisa's
friends and having the opportunity to mingle and wind down like a normal young adult.

She had even gotten close enough to kiss Lisa and then...

They hadn't even had their dance. Lisa would be so confused to see she was nowhere to be found.
Lisa would never know how badly she wanted to dance with her and confess her feelings. Now,
Lisa would probably think that she got bored and left...

Rosé shook her head. Tomorrow, she would have to come up with some believable excuse. Her
mind churned over ideas as she slipped into the familiar territory of weaving half-truths and lies to
sell her act.

Maybe Ella caught some pesky stomach bug during her sleepover and started projectile vomiting.
She (Rosé) had to leave right away to collect her daughter and then get to work nursing her.
Unfortunately, they both couldn't be around people, in case of transmission risk.

That would excuse Rosé from seeing anybody for a few days until Yang's temper faded and she
would be safe to see Lisa again.

But would the two of them be able to pick up where they left off, or would they be back to skirting
around the elephant in the room without the push of liquid courage?

Frustrated, Rosé walked with her head down, lost in her ruminations.

She didn't notice the same car that had been surreptitiously tailing her taxi was now sitting idle and
parked a short distance away, shrouded in darkness and silence. She passed right by it and
approached the door to her condominium.

Fumbling in her purse and muttering curses under her breath, Rosé finally found the key and was
about to insert it into the keyhole when an ominous growl had her look up in fright.

That was her first mistake.

Rosé frowned when the empty road stretched in front of her, devoid of life. She shrugged, chalking
it up to some dog's sound conjured up by her paranoid imagination, and turned her attention back to
the door.

That was her second mistake.

She saw the shadow approaching from the corner of her eye. There was a sudden whoosh as the
shadow grabbed Rosé before she could scream, violently dragging her away in a headlock to the
shadowy alley nearby.

His grip on her immediately brought back memories of Jimin and the struggle to escape his assault.

Not again not again.

Rosé thrashed and struggled, but the man was too strong for her pathetic attempts to shake him off.

"Let go!" Rosé cried at last, lashing out with her fists. But it was useless—Lisa's brief boxing
lessons had said nothing about fighting out of a headlock.

This was Jimin all over again, but this time, she was going to die.

Her kidnapper paid no attention to her cries, determined to drag her to God knows where as he
panted and grunted when Rosé's stray fists collided with his side. He never stalled.

She tried to drag her feet but she was at a disadvantage, unable to even dig her heels as her
kidnapper moved swiftly deeper into the dark alley, where the dumpsters were located. Fear
clogged her throat and she tipped her head back to scream for help, all dignity thrown to the wind.

He clapped a hand over her mouth, muffling her screams as tears dribbled down her cheeks.

Without warning, he flung her to the side, her body slamming against a wall. She cried out in pain
and crumpled to the ground. The crown of her head throbbed as she struggled to prop herself up.
The reek of rotting produce and filth from the dumpsters nearby made her gag.

Images of her battered, mangled body stuffed in a garbage bag filled Rosé's mind. Her hands and
knees burned from scrapes. Her breath came out in gasps. Dazed, she saw his ominous shadow
approach her, hands reaching out to grab her again.

"No! No! No!" she screamed, madly trying to crawl away, "don't touch me—"

She wailed in pain when he snatched her hair, tugging her back ruthlessly and making her freeze
up as his hot breath wafted by her ear when his face bent level with her own.

"Please, somebody! Help! Don't kill me, please!" she sobbed managing to get her words out,
curling up into a pathetic ball. "Don't kill me—"

Out of nowhere, something wickedly fast hurtled into her kidnapper, bowling him over with the
force of impact. Rosé dropped to the ground, whimpering and covering her head.

"Rosie are you okay, are you hurt? Can you stand up? Talk to me!"

Rosé's eyes sprang open in disbelief as she looked up at her saviour, the familiar silhouette almost
making her weep with relief.

"Lisa?"

Lisa kneeled next to her, panting hard as she squeeze her hand reassuringly. "I'll handle this
bastard, go! I'll be right behind you."

Rosé just blinked at her with her mouth open, her mind still processing the fact that Lisa was
present in the flesh and even holding her hand tightly. But before she could throw her arms around
her out of sheer happiness, she spotted movement behind her.

"Watch out!"

Rosé pushed Lisa out of the way just as the man shot towards them, heading right for Rosé who
lay frozen.

Just in time, Lisa threw herself in between them with a visceral yell, knocking him off course. They
sprawled in a heap, rolling over and over as they grappled for control, fists flying.

Rosé backed away, dragging herself as best as she could with her eyes glued to the fight.

Lisa fought fiercely, her arms moving in a blur, but her opponent far outclassed her where brawn
was concerned. He was a beast, straddling Lisa and gripping her jaw as he punched and knocked
her blows aside with heavy grunts.

"Lisa!" Rosé cried when Lisa took successive hits square to the face.

Lisa yanked the man's arm to throw him off but he slammed her head to the ground in return. No
matter how hard Lisa tried to push him off her, he didn't budge.

The fight hung in the balance as they wrestled furiously underneath Rosé's distraught gaze.

Lisa was fighting dirty, all techniques of boxing that she had shown Rosé flung out of the window
as she clawed and spat at the man, fending off his attacks as best as she could from her position.

They rolled two or three times when Lisa managed to tip them but the brute hung on grimly,
always coming up on top to pound her face, brutal blows that echoed in the night.

Rosé forgot all about leaving—how was she supposed to leave when Lisa was being beaten to a
pulp in front of her?
"Just go!" Lisa shouted, finally succeeding to overpower her opponent with great effort. She
locked her elbows as she gripped him from his throat. "I got this—"

Her words were cut off when he swiftly sat up and head-butted her, the sickening thud resounding
all around them.

Rosé stifled a scream as Lisa fell back with a groan and didn't move.

"No..." Rosé whispered shakily. "Get up... please get up..."

It was deja vu all over again, as though she was watching Lisa fight in the boxing ring through her
screen, the same helplessness stealing over her as she waited desperately for Lisa to stand and
fight.

But she didn't move. To Rosé's horror, the brute then grabbed Lisa from her shirt and flung her
aside like driftwood. Lisa hit a dumpster and crumpled in a heap but the man didn't even blink.

Rosé couldn't scream or move a muscle, her body stuck in place. She could only watch as he
stomped over to Lisa and snatched her up, holding her aloft from her collar all the while Lisa
groaned incoherently.

With clinical precision, the brute tugged on Lisa's tie and twisted his fist to wrap it around his
knuckles as it tightened around her throat, choking her. Lisa's eyes sprang open at the same time as
her hands flew to her neck to stop him. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth as she gasped.

"No!" Rosé cried in distress.

Lisa gagged, thrashing her legs to no avail. She wheezed and gurgled, her intake of air cut off as
the man stretched the deadly noose taut.

Something inside Rosé snapped.

She may have been helpless to help Lisa before, but she wasn't going to stand around and do
nothing, not when Lisa was right in front of her, within reach.

Lisa had come to save her, and now it was her turn.

Crouching down to grab the nearest object from a pile of trash, Rosé whirled an old chewed shoe
above her head and hurled it at the man, whacking the back of his head.

He yelped in surprise, dropping Lisa in the process who flopped on her back, coughing violently.
The brute fully turned to Rosé, growling heavily and seemingly forgetting about the girl he had
been strangling. She couldn't see his face, but Rosé could feel his heavy gaze on her.

"That's right, it's me you want," she called bravely, doing her best not to bolt as she edged
backwards. His face was hidden by shadows but she could feel his manic gaze on her—it made her
skin crawl.

He approached her deliberately slow, fists clenched and teeth gnashing. She knew he would catch
her with little effort—he was too strong, too fast— and he was aware too, taking his sweet time to
corner his prey.

But all she needed was to draw him away and buy some time, enough for Lisa to hopefully
recover.
"Run!" Lisa rasped, propping herself up, "get out of here, I'll—" she keeled over, shaking her head.
She was clearly still dazed, much to Rosé's dismay.

Rosé's eyes kept darting in between Lisa and the man that was quickly obscuring her line of sight
as he edged closer. She breathed slowly, trying to calm her jangled nerves as she quickly assessed
her options. Her mind was running fast, too fast to catch up, her hands shaking.

She was alone. Lisa was hurt, because of her. The monster towering over her was a heartless
machine but her protective instinct trumped her fear at the moment—she was not letting him near
Lisa again.

Gathering what remained of her wits, Rosé thought her heart was about to beat out of her chest,
each painful thud screaming at her to run.

"So be it," Rosé whispered to herself. "Come and get me, you bastard." Be brave, she reminded
herself. Like Kung Fu Panda. Like Lisa.

Bile in her mouth, she tore off at top speed before he could react, straight towards him.

It caught him by surprise, just as she intended.

Some deep part of her brain had reasoned that she would have been caught even if she had run in
the opposite direction, away from the alley. Running towards him in hopes of landing a good
punch to inflict some measure of pain in return sounded better than being chased like a pathetic
rabbit fleeing for its life.

It was foolish, but her stubborn streak had a habit of prevailing over her self-preservation instincts.

Rosé's fist collided with his face, smashing into his nose. She cried out in pain at the same time as
he grunted and staggered back, stumbling over his feet. His hand flailed wildly as he fell and
latched on to her wrist, taking her down with him.

They crashed violently in a jumble of limbs, with Rosé ending up underneath the man as he flipped
himself over and trapped her beneath him. She struggled beneath his bulk but he was immovable as
a mountain. Easily seizing her wrists together in one hand and pinning them on the ground above
her head in one slick move, he had Rosé in submission, helpless as a plucked chicken without
wings.

She struggled and bucked and pleaded, her heart about to gallop out of her chest. His face finally
emerged from the shadows when he leered down at her, eyes blazing.

Rosé froze, forgetting her dire situation for a second as recognition slammed into her like a freight
train.

That once handsome face now twisted into a vicious ugly mask, bruised and battered...it couldn't
be...

"Seokjin?" she whispered in shock. "But you're dead..."

He was dead, Yang had him bumped off for harassing her...hadn't he?

Seokjin didn't show any indication of recognising her—his grip was vice-like, cutting off blood to
her wrists. A wicked sneer crossed his bloody lips as his other hand suddenly seized her by throat
and squeezed, choking her. Rosé's mouth yawned open as her air supply was cut off. She couldn't
even struggle or fight back, held down steadfastly and slowly strangled.
"Stop it! Let her go!" she heard Lisa shout in anguish, her voice hoarse. "Get off her!"

She sounded distant to Rosé, too far to reach her in time.

Tears pricked her eyes and her gaze rolled skyward, lungs burning with the need for oxygen as she
arched beneath Seokjin, desperately wheezing as she tried to gulp in air. Her vision was dimming
at the corners as precious seconds ticked by.

You're pulling at the leash, and it won't be long before it tightens into a noose that you won't be
able to escape from, Yang had warned. His foreboding words had come true in the most horrific
way.

"Rosie!" Lisa screamed.

Rosé's heart cracked with regret. There was so much she had yet to do, so many apologies and
explanations to Ella, so little time to enjoy with Lisa...

Seokjin's manic sneer was larger than life as he continued to strangle her.

Maybe this was how it all ended: the sum total of all her foolish decisions manifesting as a chilling
ghost from her past that had come for its revenge at last, bearing remorse as its weapon.

She would never get to say sorry to Ella, to ask for her forgiveness. She would never get to tell
Lisa just how much she meant to her.

A single tear fell as Rosé's eyes slipped shut. She didn't want Seokjin's face to be the last thing she
saw when she died. She didn't want to see her life and all her pain and regrets flashing in front of
her just before the darkness took her.

I'm sorry Ella. I'm sorry Lisa. This is all my fault.

"GET OFF HER!"

The furious roar had Rosé's eyes snap open just as Lisa launched herself at Seokjin and knocked
the brute clean off Rosé, his hands slipping away from around her throat as he keeled over with an
exasperated roar.

Rosé heaved, sucking in air and gasping like a newborn drawing its first breath, tears streaming.
Her throat hurt, her breathing was ragged as she coughed and retched but she was still here, she
was still alive.

Frenzied snarls of a vicious brawl had Rosé look up, blinking as the bleary images darting in front
of her shifted into focus.

Lisa fought like a woman possessed, cold fury radiating off her as she hit Seokjin without stopping
for breath, her fists colliding with his jaw again and again. He yowled and grunted worse, as
though this time her blows actually hurt him.

Rosé watched in a daze, registering how Lisa's movements and strength seemed to have doubled,
rendering Seokjin attempts to deflect her relentless onslaught ineffective.

One particular hard punch floored Seokjin and he hit the ground like a heavy sack of rice, spitting
blood.

But Lisa wasn't done. Her fist clenched at her side as she quickly straddled him, gripped him from
his collar and held her hand aloft, glistening with blood and sweat in the cold light filtering from
the end of the alley.

She never hesitated—like a bloodthirsty animal that had finally caught its prey, her movement was
too calculated, too tense to call it hesitation—Lisa's attention was fixed solely on Seokjin's face. He
lay groaning, utterly spent.

Lisa's arm stretched taut, deliberately drawing out the moment as the air stilled in anticipation.

Rosé's swallowed dryly, suddenly aware of her frigid surroundings and the way her hands were
shaking. Her whole body trembled, still recalling the slap of her back hitting the ground, still
remembered how close she had come to dying.

"Lisa," she croaked. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Lisa, no..."

Lisa let loose with a snarl that raised the hairs at the back of Rosé's neck, the sickening crack of
cartilage and bone reaching her ears as Lisa battered the man's face.

"No," Rosé muttered. "No more, please. Stop..."

Blood splattered the ground with each punch and Rosé stood up shakily, feeling her gut roiling at
the sight of the blonde boxer swinging her fist with a grunt and smashing her knuckles almost
gleefully, bashing him mercilessly.

Her fearsome shadow loomed over them, plastered against the wall of the building overlooking the
alley and Rosé had to remind herself that it was Lisa in front of her, the girl she had hopelessly
fallen for, not some mindless bloodthirsty thug relishing the thrill of the kill.

Ugly violence changed all that, transformed Lisa into something unrecognisable, almost inhuman,
right beneath Rosé's eyes.

She was sick of violence. Violence beget violence beget bloodshed. She had lost her father and her
youth to violence.

She wasn't about to lose Lisa.

"Lisa!" she managed to cry out, managed to summon enough strength to leap towards them. "Stop
it! You're gonna kill him! Please..."

Lisa seemed to finally hear her, pausing before Rosé touched her shoulder. Seokjin was out cold,
his face a bloody mess.

"Lisa, let's go," Rosé said beseechingly. "Please?"

Lisa panted hard, shoulders hanging by her side as she slowly tilted her head up.

Rosé was startled to notice a strange yellow gleam receding from her eyes, as though moments
before Lisa's eyes had been coloured yellow.

She shook her head. There were more important things to think of right now than what her stressed
brain conjured—Lisa's bottom lip trembled, her jaw starting to swell from all the hits she had
gotten. She looked ready to bolt, like a startled wild animal. Rosé held on, silently trying to
reassure her as she held Lisa's haunted gaze.

Lisa shivered beneath her touch and wordlessly, Rosé helped her stand up and carefully step away
from the man. Seokjin didn't move, didn't show any signs of breathing, but Rosé didn't dare check
more closely.

Her main focus was Lisa, who was shaking like a leaf in a storm, hugging herself tightly.
Something was wrong with her hand, she was guarding it, holding it close to her chest.

"I'm...I...I mean I didn't...I wasn't...Rosie," Lisa said brokenly, eyes shimmering with tears. The fear
in her eyes as she glanced down at her fists and back up made Rosé's her heart ache.

"I...I killed..."

She looked back at Seokjin but Rosé swiftly cupped her face and pulled her gaze away, forcing
Lisa to look at her.

"Let's go get you cleaned up. It's going to be okay," Rosé said. She wanted her voice to be soft and
soothing but it came out as a croak. Her throat hurt. "It's okay, Lisa. It's going to be okay."

She hugged Lisa close, holding on until Lisa's stiff form slumped against her, still trembling
violently. Rosé cupped the back of her neck and slowly walked them away from the scene, only
stopping to pick up her discarded purse as they emerged from the alley.

The street was still silent as the dead, every window shuttered and dark. Neither girl spoke a single
word all the way up to Rosé's apartment.

When they disappeared inside the building, the man that was silently waiting in the car finally
stirred, pressing a button on the dashboard to contact his superiors.

"It's over. They just went inside. All according to plan."

"And the footage?"

The man checked the green bar loading on the laptop screen next to him. "Sending it over as we
speak."

"Perfect," Yang breathed, his voice brimming with elation.

>

"Lisa, we need go to the hospital, you're hurt."

Lisa held her hand close to her chest and shook her head violently.

"Lisa, it's broken—"

"No no no it's fine! It's fine!" Lisa said frantically. "Just tie it up it's gonna be alright by
tomorrow!"

Rosé had noticed her wrist, the one that clicked, hanging at a weird angle despite Lisa doing her
best to hide it behind her back. But once inside the apartment, and once Rosé dragged her to sit at
the kitchen table after she brought her first aid kit, there was nowhere to hide.

Lisa was forced to reveal her injury, making Rosé suck in a sharp breath at the sight of the mangled
hand coated in blood with split knuckles. She had wasted no time to feel along the wrist, heart
twisting as Lisa jerked her hand away.

"Lisa, it's most definitely sprained at the very least, and needs a cast. I don't dare try to straighten it
and neither should you," she warned. Her voice was sounding a little better but still scratchy, as
though recovering from a very bad cold.

"Can't you tie it up?" Lisa pleaded. "It's not that bad, I swear—"

She broke off with an uncomfortable hiss, wincing as Rosé sighed.

"Do you hate hospitals that much? I'd stay with you, I promise. And the cost shouldn't be too
much, if that's what bothers you either, your insurance should cover it."

Lisa shook her head again, getting to her feet. "I don't need hospital, I'll be fine with a few days rest
—"

She gave a soundless gasp when Rosé firmly pushed her to sit again.

"And where do you think you're going in that state? You're staying right there, and you're not going
to budge until we've got you all cleaned up," Rosé said sternly. "And after that, we're going to the
hospital. We won't mention anything about....him. We'll say that you fell down the stairs and hurt
your hand. Simple. No need to be scared."

Lisa sat back in defeat. "Please, not the hospital. Jennie...Jennie would get mad," she said in a
small voice.

"Really? You're bringing Jennie into this? Lisa, you're the one that's hurt, not Jennie!" Rosé
snapped. She faltered when Lisa cowered away like a kicked puppy.

Rosé crouched in front of her. "I'm...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound like that but...I'm worried,
Lisa. This is beyond my skillset. We can't have anything like swelling or infection set in."

It hurt when Lisa avoided her gaze, making Rosé feel even more of a jerk.

She was paranoid and upset and terrified, but it didn't warrant snapping at Lisa just because the girl
didn't want to go against Jennie's wishes.

She got to her feet with a sigh. "Let me just...get a basin of water to wash your hands and face
and...do what I can. Then you can hop in the shower and have a long soak and then...we'll see
where to go from there. I'll make us some hot chocolate too. How does that sound?" she added, her
voice softer.

Lisa nodded meekly, wincing at the movement.

Her face looked a sight. Although Rosé had seen her in a worse state before, it didn't mean that it
hurt any less to see her all battered.

The fight with Seokjin had not left her unscathed: Lisa sported a swollen cheek, busted lip and light
bruises around her nose and half-closed eye, most likely to darken later. Her face was splattered
with blood. Her neck too showed signs of bruising.

"Okay then, stay put, I'll get some warm water."

Rosé got to work, briskly gathering the items she needed to clean Lisa's hand and also make a
temporary splint to support her wrist to prevent from jostling it further. She was glad for whatever
sparse medical knowledge she acquired over the years, it came in handy for such emergencies.

As she flitted from room to room before returning to Lisa's side, Rosé briefly remembered the man
they had left behind in the alley.

What if he was really dead and the cops would find his corpse?

And Lisa's tie was still probably there in the alley, would they be able to trace it back to its owner
somehow?

She shook her head and quickly pushed all thoughts aside to focus on treating Lisa.

>

Lisa gratefully accepted the ice pack and sat watching in silence whilst Rosé kneeled in front of her
and gently bathed her hands, washing off the dried blood and drying them with utmost care, as
though she were handling a baby.

The sight made Lisa smile a little, remembering the fateful afternoon when the pilates instructor
had bathed the orphaned kittens. She was treating her hands with the same gentleness.

The kittens were nowhere to be found now, probably fast asleep in their cosy baskets.

Lisa shifted in her chair, dying to speak and lighten the atmosphere, even though the ice had her
jaw pleasantly numbed. She winced from time to time, her wrist area throbbing wickedly but Lisa
kept mum—the situation looked bad enough but if she verbalised her pain, she feared it would only
make it worse and Rosé would really rush her to hospital.

Quickly, she searched for a distraction, anything to talk about and take her mind off their
circumstances.

But what could she even say?

After what just happened, cracking a joke would be ridiculous. They just had a harrowing escape
from Rosé's attacker, both of them nearly being strangled. Lisa still felt the imprint of her tie
around her neck and grimaced at the memory.

While Rosé had her attention on the task at hand, Lisa took the opportunity to quickly scan the
blonde for injuries, guilty for the scrapes on her arms and knees, fishnets torn and coming undone.

Like the angel she was, Rosé hadn't complained once, solely intent on treating Lisa.

If only she had been more adept at protecting as much as she was at punching, maybe Rosé
wouldn't have gotten hurt, Lisa reflected ruefully.

Rosé was still clearly shaken from the ordeal, despite her taking firm charge. The tiny tremor in her
hands as she worked gave away her true state.

Lisa wanted to comfort her, but felt painfully out of depth to do so.

Would a consoling pat on the head be enough? Or perhaps a crushing hug would provide more
reassurance than a neutral pat. But would Rosé snap at her for moving or touching her?

"You can breathe, you know." Rosé said lightly, but the quaver at the end didn't go unnoticed by
Lisa.

"Ah yeah, sure, sorry..."

"You don't have to apologise." A pause, before she added: "I should be the one apologising. You
got involved in this mess because...well, because that guy targeted me."

"Well then it's not your fault but the guy's," Lisa pointed out, pleased when the blonde gave a small
smile of agreement. "Rosie...do you know him? Is he a neighbour here? Should we call the cops or
something—"

"I don't know him," came the clipped reply and that's all Rosé said before she bent her head with
pursed lips.

"Oh, okay."

They sank into another terse silence, with Lisa berating herself for upsetting Rosé again. It was too
soon to ask about what happened. She had to approach the incident delicately without triggering
negative reactions.

Lisa didn't want to upset her even further—Rosé was probably also scared of her and Lisa didn't
blame her, she was pretty sick with herself too.

She wasn't supposed to be involved in brawls—the last time she had seen red out in public because
of Yeri's harasser, she had almost ended up in hot water with the authorities.

And now she had beaten a guy senseless and abandoned him. Though he deserved every single
punch, Lisa had never meant to go that far.

She had proved Rosé right when the pilates instructor had condemned boxing, claiming it was
brutal and only beget violence. Now she would be disgusted and stay away too.

Lisa had glimpsed the way Rosé looked at her when she roused herself from her haze of rage, had
fancied seeing the fear in her eyes.

"Lisa?"

The sight of Rosé crying and being almost choked to death by that brute had Lisa see red, savage
rage taking over her senses. All rationality, all control and all sense of holding back were thrown
out of the window in a blink. Lisa couldn't help it—she was a slave to the hateful beast that slept
within her, that burst forth when she was beside herself with raging fury.

Lisa wanted to make the stranger pay. She wanted to make him hurt for hurting the girl so precious
to her. She wanted to kill him.

No no, killing is bad! She couldn't kill, she was being so good and now...had she really killed
Rosé's attacker?

Worry built up in Lisa's head, questions swirling and unfolding as the guilt piled up.

"Lisa, can you hear me?"

Jennie had warned her that something like this could happen, losing control because of Rosé. But
Lisa had foolishly pushed aside all those worries and confidently claimed to be in control, too
selfish to give up on her desire to get closer to her pilates instructor.

She was never in control, not with Rosé around. Rosé made her feel too much, just as Jennie had
worried.

And oh god, what would Jennie say now?

"Lisa, breathe."

She had lost control, she had killed a guy, and worse, she had hurt her hand, badly. She had messed
up so bad. Jennie was never going to forgive her. Maybe she wouldn't let her see Rosé again as
well.

"Lisa!"

Lisa didn't realise she was crying until Rosé's hand softly cupped her face, wiping away the tears
with her thumb and probably smearing blood in the process but that didn't stop her.

"Shh shh it's okay," Rosé said tenderly, "it's okay. I know it hurts so bad right now but I'm almost
finished. You're doing so good, baby, so good. Just a little more and you can have a nice long soak
in the shower to relax, okay?"

Lisa sniffled and rolled her eyes a few times, calming down from the overwhelming onslaught of
uncertainty that had taken over. Like a soothing balm, Rosé's words proved to be the reassurance
Lisa needed to ground herself.

She even called her baby again, which had Lisa's heart fluttering hopefully, because if Rosé was
calling her baby, that must mean she wasn't scared or disgusted by her.

"That's it, keep breathing. We got this."

Rosé withdrew her hand to continue with her task, applying antiseptic and band-aids on the
knuckles before painstakingly assembling a rudimentary splint to hold her wrist steady.

"There, all done. Is it tight?" she said, pleased with her handiwork.

Lisa tested her hand, moving it up and down. "Looks good. Impressive, doc."

"If I were a doc, I'd have gotten you proper treatment and whisked you to hospital," Rosé said
briskly as she gathered her first aid kit. She stood up and Lisa mirrored her.

"Right, how about that shower then?" Rosé said, suddenly business-like. "We'll put a plastic bag
over your hand to keep it dry."

Lisa detected the hint of shakiness lingering in her tone.

"Rosie, I can wait. You should shower first," she said softly. "You need it. It will do you good."

"But you—"

"You've treated me and I'll be okay. But take care of yourself now too. You've been through a
shock so....go have that shower," Lisa urged gently.

Rosé wavered and then abruptly hugged herself. "Don't leave," she said in a small voice. "Please
don't leave. I...I don't want to be alone."

Lisa's heart twisted painfully at the barely concealed fear in her plea.

"I'll wait for you in the living room, it's closer to the bathroom," Lisa told her softly. "I'm not going
anywhere Rosie. I'll stay the night. Nothing's going to happen to you while I'm here."

Rosé's lips trembled.

Before Lisa could think too much, she scooped Rosé in her arms and hugged her close. Rosé clung
to her, all the tension seeping out of her body as she crammed her face in Lisa's neck and cried.

Lisa held on, stroking her back and gently swaying them from side to side in the middle of the
kitchen, aching to kiss her tears away. She closed her eyes and leaned into the hug as well, thankful
that Rosé was safe, her body alive and warm beneath her touch.

She was reminded of the kittens again, how Rosé comforted her after she cried. Her arms tightened
at the memory, snuggling Rosé close as though she would slip through her fingers like sand.

She didn't know how long they stood until Rosé's sobs subsided, until her grip relaxed and she
raised her face, eyes red and nose splotchy.

"I'll go shower," she mumbled and ducked her head. "Don't look at me I'm hideous."

"You? Hideous?" Lisa shook her head, smiling. She booped Rosé on the nose, making her blink.
"You ain't hideous, quite the opposite actually. I told you, you look spiffy earlier, didn't I?" she
added on sudden inspiration, "it means 'smart in appearance'. Got it from your handy dictionary."

Rosé blushed, making Lisa immensely pleased with herself, especially since the other girl hadn't
removed her arms from her waist yet, and so Lisa hadn't let go either.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better," Rosé sniffed dolefully.

"So what if I am? Doesn't take away from the truth though," Lisa winked. "Wanna know what I
was thinking back in the alley, when you hit the guy on the head with that dead rat?"

Rosé stared. "Dead rat? Ewwwww, Lisa that was a shoe!"

"Are you sure?"

"Lisa!"

Lisa grinned to hear her giggles. "Well excuse me, I didn't have enough oxygen going around to
see properly, you know. But I do remember thinking hot damn when you stepped up to face him."

"As if," Rosé scoffed.

"No no it's the truth!"

Lisa reluctantly undid her arms to illustrate her explanation better. Rosé seemed disappointed to let
go, which had Lisa's heart swell with giddiness.

"There I was, hanging in mid-air while I was being strangled by this overgrown orangutan, but
then you stepped up and faced him head-on! That was really hot."

"Lisa, are you still drunk?"

Rosé was openly chuckling now, encouraging Lisa because it meant she was doing something
right.

"Maybe I am but so what? You were so brave Rosie, even though that was a bit foolish. What
made you charge at him like that? He could have crushed you."

"Tell me about it," Rosé grimaced. She clenched and unclenched her hand. "Still smarts when I do
this, like I hit my elbow."
"Did you keep your thumb out when you punched him, like I told you?"

Rosé beamed. "Yes!"

"Heck yes!" Lisa cheered, stopping short of sweeping her up in celebration. "See, that's how I hurt
mine, I was too lost to focus on technique properly."

She didn't mention that she had also been hitting with a larger force than her usual.

"I don't regret punching him though, even if it hurts and he still caught me," Rosé said, "because I
thought, I don't want to run. If I'm going down, I wanted to go down fighting...like you. I wanted to
be brave like you."

Lisa looked shy. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

A lull fell in their conversation but Rosé lingered, reluctant to leave.

"Nobody's ever, you know...saved me like that," Lisa said at length. "You jumped in even though it
was so dangerous. And it may have been foolish, but it means a lot to me."

"I was so scared. But I couldn't just leave you there," Rosé breathed. She squeezed her eyes shut as
the terrible loop played in her mind's eye. "I keep replaying it over in my head, the way he had his
hands on you and—oh we should put some salve on your neck for the bruises! Did you put ice on
it? I can—"

Her breath caught in her throat when Lisa cut her off with a soft unexpected kiss to her temple.

"Thank you Rosie," Lisa said, her voice raw and strained. "For everything."

And Rosé very nearly pulled her down from her collar to kiss her square on the lips and tangle her
fingers in golden dishevelled hair—the charging tension between them was heating up again. Her
body was doubly aware of Lisa's presence, so close but not close enough.

"Go have your shower," Lisa murmured, "I'll be right here."

>

The question of whether to inform Jennie and Jisoo was settled fairly quickly after Lisa was finally
done with her own shower, which took a little longer because of her injured hand, but she
managed.

Rosé had offered to help take her clothes off, very pink in the face as she mumbled out the
suggestion. She seemed relieved when Lisa declined.

Lisa had to take a few seconds to collect herself once alone in the bathroom because the image of
Rosé undressing her was enough to have her wiring short-circuit.

She was now decked out in one of Rosé's old pyjama bottoms paired with a baggy shirt sporting a
yellow chick on the front. It was cosy and smelled strongly of the strawberry scent Rosé seemed to
favour wearing. Rosé had turned on the AC while she was showering and the room was pleasantly
chill, with the lights turned on low.

The pilates instructor greeted her with a mug of hot chocolate in front of the couch.
"I know it's hot weather for hot chocolate, but I'm afraid I don't have any chocolate ice-cream and
well, chocolate is good for shock," Rosé had said.

They sipped in comfortable silence until Rosé finally broached the topic of informing Jennie and
Jisoo about what happened.

Lisa peered over her mug, doubtful. "I'm staying the night? That's it? We don't have to say anything
else?"

"For now," Rosé conceded. "Nobody saw you leaving, right?"

"I don't think so. I ran out fast. Everyone was pretty hammered anyway."

"How did you even do it?" Rosé asked, half curious half disapproving. "You weren't exactly sober,
yet you...what, ran all the way here?"

"I'm pretty speedy, they don't call me Tornado for nothing ya know," Lisa said smugly.

"What if you got hit by a car?" Rosé's voice lowered at the end, hushed, as though fearful that
saying it any louder would make it happen for real. "You could have been hurt."

Lisa was touched by her concern. "I knew something wasn't right when I saw you. You
looked...terrified. I had to make sure you're okay and I had a hunch you were heading back home."

She looked closely at Rosé. "Is everything okay now? Was it Ella? Did something happen?"

Rosé waved dismissively. "It's nothing, a false alarm really, but I didn't feel like turning back once I
had arrived here. Ella and her friends were just playing a pranking game and they pranked me
good, you know how kids are. Little rascals."

Lisa didn't say anything, yet she couldn't shake off the feeling that the blonde was holding
something back.

But Rosé didn't give her a chance to think about it. "You noticed me from the other side of the
room while halfway drunk and dancing?"

Lisa simply nodded.

She wasn't about to spill her secret, but Rosé couldn't possibly know how she was attentive to
every little thing she did, fondly breaking out into a smile observing her habits, admiring the slope
of her nose and her golden mane going black at the roots, her kind brown eyes and plush lips
begging to be bitten.

"Then it's settled," Rosé said, startling Lisa from her lips-induced trance, "I'll text Jisoo and Jennie
that you accompanied me home and you're staying for the night. We can talk about what happened
and what to do with your hand tomorrow when everyone is in a more sober state of mind."

"So we're definitely not going to hospital?" Lisa said brightly as a heavy weight rolled off her
shoulders.

"Tonight, no. But tomorrow..." Rosé frowned. "Lisa, your wrist is really hurt. What if it doesn't
mend correctly and you wouldn't be able to use it for boxing again? We need professional help for
that."

Lisa bowed her head, ultimately giving a shaky nod. "Y-you're right, of course. I just...Jennie and I
don't like hospitals. We avoid them."

She felt the blonde scoot next to her and squeeze her hand. Their shoulders and hips brushed, the
sensation making Lisa's mouth run dry.

What was happening? Earlier they had been pressed up against each other, snuggling into a tight
hug, but now the mere graze of skin had Lisa sweating? Was the AC too warm all of a sudden?

"I understand. I'll be there all the time with you whenever we go, okay?" Rosé said kindly, unaware
of Lisa's inner meltdown, "and I'll hold your hand, like this."

Holy bagels, she's holding my hand.

Lisa's heart twanged in her chest. She fought the giddiness taking over her as Rosé smiled at her.
She felt her own mouth stretch wide enough for her jaw to start throbbing again.

Such instances of body contact amounted to a mere handful, but something was definitely changing
between them now, lending a fresh perspective to such gestures which verged on the intimate. It
had Lisa blushing, stomach fluttering with butterflies.

In the aftermath of the attack, Lisa recognised a tenderness to their tentative touches, as though
both were handling something fragile and didn't know quite how to approach this new feeling.

It was, however, definitely a pleasant sensation that she could get used to.

She's so pretty and I'm holding her hand, Lisa thought giddily. Holy bagels, I'm sitting next to
Rosie holding her hand. Like a couple. Holy bagels—

"Uh Lisa, can I have my hand back now, please?" Rosé's amused voice cut through her happy daze.
She was rather pink in the face. "It's a bit hard texting with just my thumb."

"Oh right, right, here," Lisa said hastily, letting go of her hand reluctantly.

Rosé smiled and started composing her message while Lisa scooted close to read over her
shoulder. Rosé didn't stop her; rather she even smiled a little, endeared by Lisa's curiosity. She
almost patted her head, just like she would have done with Ella.

Meanwhile, Lisa was just letting herself soak in the serene atmosphere, thankful that Rosé was
relatively unhurt and safe next to her.

Her hair smelled of strawberries and Lisa couldn't help but secretly sniff to catch more of that
delicious scent. The urge to bury her nose in Rosé's hair and inhale deeply was growing, as was her
desire to snuggle against the blonde, lean on her and close her eyes, listening to Rosé's gentle
breathing.

It was a soothing noise, reassuring Lisa that all was well, as long as Rosé was with her.

"Sleepy?" Rosé asked softly, noticing Lisa's head nodding.

"No-o-o-o," Lisa yawned.

Rosé chuckled. "You're such a kid Lisa. I'm almost done and then I'll make you the bed here on the
couch, if that's okay? It's comfy, I promise."

"Fine with me," Lisa nodded. Truth be told, she was relieved that they wouldn't be sharing the bed
—she wasn't sure she would get a wink of sleep with the pilates instructor lying so close next to
her. She was too hyper aware of any movement Rosé did.

Lisa watched her type the message, deleting and editing several times as she muttered under her
breath.

"I'm sorry, I'm just trying not to sound too abrupt, I don't want to panic them either," Rosé
explained with a huff. "Why am I reading so much into this anyway...

Lisa smiled in amusement, fondly tracing her profile with her eyes.

Rosé's head was bent forward and Lisa drank in her fair features unashamedly, appreciating the
stray freckles peppered over her cheeks, the scrunched eyebrows, the round nose, following the
slope of her neck—

Lisa frowned as her gaze snagged on what seemed to be a small bruise stamped on the side of
Rosé's neck, greenish in colour, almost faded.

An old bruise. How come she hadn't seen it when Rosé last visited?

Something inside Lisa stirred, a quick surge of envy rearing its head before she decided to take a
closer look instead of jumping to conclusions.

Rosé started when she felt her hair being gently drawn back behind her ear like a curtain, exposing
her neck, but she didn't pay much attention until Lisa's cool finger grazed her skin.

She stopped stock still when she felt the faint throb of Jimin's bruise.

Of course. The foundation had washed off in the shower. It was visible now.

"Rosie? Where did you get this?" Lisa asked quietly. The room emptied of air as Rosé swallowed.

"Uh, what?"

"This bruise here."

Rosé shrugged, movements stiff. "Oh must be the bruises from earlier when that guy was
strangling me. They must be already showing then. Are there others?"

But Lisa shook her head, frowning. "This is an old bruise."

"I don't know then. Maybe I accidentally bumped into something while cleaning the pilates
equipment. You can get hurt really easily, you know."

Lisa had her suspicions, but the way Rosé steadfastly avoided her gaze only served to confirm her
fears.

"Rosie," she tried again patiently, "I know the difference between bruises. And to me...this doesn't
look like something accidental. I'd say it's a few days old and yet...I hadn't seen it before. You must
have been hiding it. Right?"

Silence fell, heavy with anticipation as Rosé neither denied nor confirmed.

"Rosie, who did this to you?" Lisa's voice was deathly quiet.

Rosé looked away and chewed her bottom lip, inwardly cursing. No no no now's not the time for
this, please don't ask me, please—
"Rosie, who did this?" Lisa tried again.

"It's nothing you should be concerned with." Rosé put her phone aside and stood up, clasping her
hands together nervously. "I'll go get the sheets for your bed."

"But—"

"Lisa, it's nothing."

"No it's not nothing. Someone tried to hurt you." Lisa had stood up now, standing toe to toe with
Rosé. Her eyes reflected worry. "Was it the same guy that attacked us tonight?"

Rosé shook her head. "No, no it wasn't...Lisa, it's not really any of your business."

"What do you mean it's not any of my business? Of course it is," Lisa said incredulously.
"Someone tried to hurt you tonight, what if I wasn't here? You were just saying how thankful you
were earlier that I was there for you."

Rosé lifted her head, her pride smarting. "So that's it? That's what you care about? You just want to
play hero and swoop in to rescue the damsel in distress, to feed your precious ego?"

"What no, I didn't mean it like—"

"I'm not a damsel. I can handle myself and I can fight back," Rosé said relentlessly, stamping out
Yang's malicious whispers in her ears. "I'm not as helpless as I look."

"I know," Lisa said quietly, "you saved me too. We wouldn't be here if you hadn't."

Lisa was watching her with such a tender expression, offering her gratitude so freely with no
pretence or arrogance in her words that all the fight in Rosé simply vanished and she wilted.

She was lying to herself, pretending she had gotten over both incidents and then lashing out at Lisa
out of fear when the other girl was simply worried over her.

The memory of Lisa being strangled flashed through her head again, making her turn away and
hug herself as her nose tingled. She was weak in front of Lisa's caring nature, weak to stick to her
usual arsenal of excuses.

"Rosie..."

"I am thankful, I am!" Rosé cried out at wits' end. She covered her face, swallowing down her
sobs. "God if you weren't here...I'm afraid of what would have happened," she confessed, voice
cracking.

"So tell me what happened before," Lisa insisted, tension simmering beneath her words. "What
happened when I wasn't there? What happened to you? Why did this happen to you? Is it the
location?" she wondered out loud when Rosé didn't reply. "Is this place a magnet for dodgy
perverts that prey on girls? Why did that guy take you in the alley? What about this old bruise?
Was it a mugger? Why is this happening to you?"

Rosé burst into tears, unable to take the deluge of questions. "Because they're monsters!" she
sobbed, "the guy who gave me this bruise is a monster, the guy from tonight is just a monster, Lisa
that's all they are, just monsters, they don't need a reason, it's just what they do!"

Lisa stared helplessly as Rosé wept.

She reached out to her before thinking better of it and retracting her hand. She could only look on
miserably, heart cracking at the sight of the blonde stifling her sobs.

You did this to her. You hurt her. You made her cry.

"I'm sorry," Lisa said. She hung her head, filled with shame. "I shouldn't have asked. I'm sorry I
made you cry, Rosie. You're right, it's not my place to ask. I guess...I guess you would have told
me if you wanted to. You would have told us if you wanted us to know eventually, right? Cos'
we're friends, and friends tell each other about these things, right? I'm sorry for pushing you, you
obviously weren't ready. I'm sorry..."

She was rambling, desperately vomiting words and apologies to stop the tidal wave of guilt from
crashing down on her as she clutched at straws.

Rosé sniffed, still facing away. It only made Lisa's heart sink further.

They had just been through a harrowing ordeal, getting comfortable on the couch together while
Rosé was obviously still struggling with a prior incident, but she had selfishly demanded answers
just because she was too scared of the unthinkable happening, because the memory of Rosé's
choked wheeze as she lay pinned beneath the monster would haunt her forever.

Monster.

That single word struck Lisa deep, scratching old scars hidden beneath the surface.

Monster.

It scorched her skin like a fiery brand accusing her of all the sins she carried, pierced the flesh and
stamped her bones, latching on so that she would never forget it.

Monster.

Lisa gritted her teeth as she looked down at her own hands, remembering the thud of skin and bone
colliding, remembering the crack of cartilage and blood spraying everywhere, remembering the
unbridled glee beneath her blind fury.

Monster.

She was surrounded by those sounds, the sights, the scent of blood and sweat, they were always
with her, inside or outside the ring. She even saw them when she closed her eyes to sleep.

And beating someone up wasn't just a one-off occasion like the brute she beat up in the alley—she
practised boxing, an aggressive sport; a violent activity that Rosé hated, because in her eyes it was
animalistic and savage and it only incited more violence that spread like cancer, unstoppable.

Lisa that's all they are, just monsters!

Rosé had been right, Lisa thought numbly, boxing is dangerous. I'm dangerous. I'm just...I'm just
like those monsters.

"What?" she heard Rosé sniff, "what did you say?"

Lisa swallowed, realising she had mumbled the words aloud. Rosé was watching her through wet
eyelashes, her eyes and nose red as she waited expectantly for her to speak.

"So I guess...I'm a monster too then," Lisa muttered. She didn't know how that admission made its
way out of her mouth but it did, the words tumbling over her tongue and hanging in the air between
them as Rosé stared.

Lisa couldn't face her but she felt the piercing gaze on her as she continued to elaborate. "I hit
people. I cause bruises. I'm in this aggressive sport. I beat that guy to a pulp. I regularly beat people
to a pulp for people's entertainment."

"No, no it's—it's not what I meant!" Rosé protested, stricken.

"No but...it is, right, deep down? You see me as one of them," Lisa pointed out, voice quavering.

"No, I see you as a protector or a saviour! A hero," Rosé said desperately, "Super Gay, here to save
the day, yeah?"

But her attempt at humour fell flat when Lisa merely gave her a wan smile and turned away, giving
her the cold shoulder. Rosé scrambled for the right words to say to comfort the guilt-ridden girl,
wounded by her careless words.

How could she ever have known that the very words she flung at Lisa out of disdain would one day
come back to haunt them both? She had no idea that Lisa took those snide words to heart, much
less remember them.

The only way she could think of to undo the hurt she inflicted would be to reveal some long-hidden
truths. She had one shot to make this right and Rosé hoped she wouldn't botch it up.

"I'm sorry, Lisa," she said remorsefully, "I'm sorry I never told you. I'm just scared, and I didn't
want anyone to know that, I'm still scared about what happened. But one thing you should know is
that I'm not scared of you. You're nothing like those monsters. I'm sorry for what I told you before,
about boxing. I have my own baggage to deal with regarding violence, but it has nothing to do with
what you practice for a living. You're not a monster for doing boxing and I see that now that I
shouldn't ever have held that prejudice against you."

Rosé was encouraged to note that Lisa was silent, listening, and so she went on, her voice soft as
she poured out her heart.

"You're sweet, and kind, and you care so much. You go out of your way to help. You ran all the
way here to protect me, got hurt on my account as well. You're not a monster, you're my hero. In
fact, I've never felt more safe and comfortable with anyone the way I feel around you, Lisa. You're
the furthest thing from a monster."

Rosé glimpsed watery eyes when Lisa turned.

Warmth engulfed her when out of nowhere, Lisa cupped her face and kissed her, knocking the
breath out of her lungs at the intensity of her emotions clashing together all at once the moment
their lips met.

The kiss lasted for only a split-second before Lisa was drawing back with a stricken expression, her
hands flapping in agitation, eyes round as saucers. Rosé looked at her, confounded.

"Oh no...I...I didn't mean to," Lisa stammered, "I'm sorry, I was just so relieved and happy to hear
you say that, I didn't mean to startle you, I'm so sorry—"

She gasped when Rosé brought their faces together and kissed her back firmly, losing herself in the
sensation of what she yearned to have for so long. It was bliss, the way Lisa relaxed against her and
responded enthusiastically as her hold on Rosé's waist tightened.
Rosé was floating, everything else forgotten as she pulled Lisa in deeper, all her nerve endings
tingling. Lisa smelled of her strawberry shampoo, which only had Rosé kiss her more hungrily,
desperate to have more of the blonde boxer. She ran her hands through tousled wet strands as she
melted against Lisa, pushing insistently on her shoulders.

Lisa stumbled but seemed to pick up on her intentions, walking backwards carefully with baby
steps as she forced Rosé's impatient movements to momentarily slow down. Locked lips and
wandering hands clutching shirts, Lisa flopped back on the couch with Rosé climbing on top of her
lap and straddling her as they wrapped their hands around each other, losing themselves in each
other's caresses, navigating by sound and touch alone.

Rosé thought her heart would burst, the small pumping muscle too small to contain all her joy. She
kissed Lisa over and over, tilting her head to find a more comfortable angle as Lisa returned each
kiss with fervour, eagerly drinking in Rosé's quiet whimpers and occasionally even daring to suck
on her bottom lip. Her fingers played with the hem of Rosé's shirt but never actually slipped under,
shyly roaming over her curves instead and giving tentative squeezes that had them both moan.

The need to breathe eventually won over their furious desperation to meld together and Rosé drew
back to rest her forehead on Lisa's, her body still recovering from the onslaught of sensations that
had her thrumming like a livewire. They were quiet for a few moments as they let their revelation
sink in, marvelling at the turn of events that both had secretly yearned for a long time.

Rosé played with the baby hairs at the back of Lisa's head and dropped a teasing peck on her nose
as small smiles adorned their faces, mutually understanding that no words could possibly convey
their happiness of what transpired and so they sat basking together in their little world, ghostly
imprints of their touch lingering.

The dishevelled sight of the girl beneath her had Rosé feeling smug, pleased to see that she wasn't
the only one affected by their intense makeout. If Lisa's blown pupils, swollen lips curved in a
dopey smile and hooded eyes were any indication, she was about seconds away from pouncing on
her again, which Rosé was more than ready to pick up where they left off.

"Holy bagels," Lisa croaked at last.

"Holy bagels indeed," Rosé nodded solemnly and then both cracked up, their giggles filling the
room as they rocked against each other with mirth.

Rosé didn't remember a time when she laughed so much during intimate moments. But laughing
right now with Lisa only served to bind them closer.

She wasn't very surprised—Lisa made her laugh at almost every turn. The fact that they had just
kissed and were now laughing without ever disrupting the intimacy they shared only served to
reinforce her belief that she was doing the right thing with the right person.

Their quiet chuckles gradually faded to shy grins. Lisa gazed up at her, her eyes sparkling
invitingly and who was Rosé to resist? She leaned in and kissed her again, slow and deliberate this
time, leaving no room for doubt that she was right where she wanted—no, needed—to be.

"This is real, right?" Lisa whispered.

"I'm asking that myself," Rosé replied, stealing another quick kiss that left her breathless, "but it
feels real enough to me."

"So...we're okay? This...is okay?" Lisa said hopefully.

"More than okay," Rosé reassured. She smiled, endeared at Lisa fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

"Uh...uh, can I..."

"Yes you may," Rosé chuckled fondly, quickly dissolving into a sigh when Lisa's fingertips finally
made contact with her burning skin as she slipped her hands under the shirt.

"Feels good?" Lisa asked as she massaged along her spine.

Rosé answered by slotting their mouths back together and letting her own hands explore
underneath Lisa's shirt, fingers splayed across her ribs as they wandered further up her chest.
Feeling Lisa's sighs against her mouth sent pleasurable shivers tingling to her extremities.

"I wanted to do this for so long," Lisa admitted. She cradled Rosé's face with her good hand,
stroking her cheek with her thumb and making Rosé pause as she glanced down. The sight of Lisa
gazing up at her adoringly had her heart swell.

"How long? Wait, let me guess....the moment we met?" she asked teasingly.

"Busted." Lisa grinned when Rosé's mouth dropped open. "What can I say? I thought you were
hot."

"So shameless," Rosé retorted, secretly enjoying the attention.

"I can't lie now, can I?" Lisa said, her usual cockiness reappearing. "And admit it, you find me hot
too."

"I don't think we'd be sitting here doing this if I didn't," Rosé chuckled, gesturing between them.

"And here I thought I had won you over with my charming personality," Lisa lamented.

"Who said anything about charming?"

"Rosieeeeeeee!"

"You're too easy," Rosé teased.

"Oh yeah?"

But Rosé merely hummed and pecked her on the lips, feeling the butterflies flutter in her stomach
like she was a lovestruck teenager all over again. Lisa happily accepted defeat in favour of more
kissing, her good hand cradling Rosé's neck.

"I like a lot of things about you," Rosé murmured at length, marching her fingers up Lisa's chest
and then tapping her cheek, "but I was worried that...that..."

Overcome by momentary doubt, she turned her head away to recollect her thoughts but Lisa caught
her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Tell me," she encouraged softly, her eyes sincere. "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere. Let's talk
about us."

Rosé nodded, taking a deep breath. Yes, Lisa was here, she hadn't run away. She was going to stay.

"I wasn't sure what you'd think about me having Ella and...and what that could mean if we
ever...well, if we ever...hooked up."
She was chewing her lip, anxious of moving too fast and scaring Lisa with any notion of
commitment. But Lisa merely squeezed her hand again to get her attention and look her in the eyes.

"Ella is your kid. She's an extension of you, and a very important person to you. I can't get in
between that. If...if you'd let me take care of you, that includes Ella, because if she's important to
you, then she's important to me too. I want to be there for both of you...if you'll let me?" Lisa said
hopefully.

"You'd really be okay with that?"

"Why not? Ella is your family. How can I just ignore that? She's a part of you Rosie, and she's also
a great kid cos' you did a heck of a good job being a mom. I want to be in her and your life as much
as you'll let me."

Rosé couldn't stop the tearful smile that stretched her face. "Do you remember when you rescued
the kittens?"

"And we bathed them, yeah."

"Do you remember what you told me, before you left that night?"

Lisa brightened. "About Ella, wasn't it?"

"Mhm." Rosé tenderly tucked her hair behind her ear. "You told me you'd treat her like your own
kid. I carried those words with me ever since because I never thought I'd find anyone so willing to
take a chance on Ella and I."

Her eyes gleamed with emotion. "Your words that day made me understand that I like you, Lisa,
and I wanted you more than just a friend. I was scared at first... but you made it so easy to fall for
you that I couldn't resist for long."

"The offer still stands, if you'll let me."

"Ask me then," Rosé whispered.

Lisa sat straighter, her bright eyes never leaving Rosé's.

"Rosie, will you go out with me?" she asked solemnly. "Can I be your Prince Charming for real, as
in, like a girlfriend?"

Rosé stifled her squeal. "Yes and yes!"

Lisa beamed. They simultaneously went in for a tight hug, squeezing the life out of each other.
Rosé felt the sporadic aches scattered over her back flare up but didn't care, relishing the delicious
body contact as she squeezed back.

Lost in the embrace, she felt Lisa flinch and abruptly remembered that the girl in her arms was in a
worse battered state, causing her to draw away hastily.

"Oh my gosh, your hand! And your bruises, oh—"

"I'm okay. Never been better actually," Lisa chuckled, bringing her close again. Her eyes gleamed
in the dim light. "Rosie I...thank you. I'm so happy right now. I never had a girlfriend before."

"Never ever?" Rosé said in astonishment. "But...I thought..."

"That I'm a ladies girl?" Lisa laughed, far from offended. "I never dated. Kissed girls here and
there, sure, and plenty, that's how I got good at it. Jennie never let me take it too far though. But
that's all behind me now, I swear on bagels."

"Oh my, swearing on bagels? You must be very serious about this, then," Rosé said, tongue firmly
in cheek.

One moment Lisa was grinning up at her, the next she had pulled Rosé to lie down on the couch
and hover over her, propping herself up so as not to flatten her. The speed of the transition had Rosé
blink in shock—she didn't even have time to draw a breath.

"Lisa, you're hurt!" she yelped, struggling to sit up.

"It's nothing that won't heal," Lisa grinned, "and you can always kiss it better?"

She laughed when Rosé swatted at her head but quickly sobered, sitting back on her heels and
letting Rosé sit up as well, hands immediately resting around hips. Rosé meanwhile twined her
arms around her neck.

"I am serious about this, us," Lisa said softly, "I didn't think you liked me like that. There was that
time when we almost kissed but you pulled back, and then that second time I thought okay, I have
to try now, but you looked away again too and I was kinda giving up but I still liked you so much
you're just so incredible and beautiful and hot and why are you smiling like that?"

Rosé hid her smile behind her hand. "Isn't it obvious? Because you're cute."

"I'm not cute, I'm trying to explain how much I wanted this!" Lisa complained.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Rosé said through her teeth and Lisa noticed, pretending to huff only for
Rosé to sweetly kiss away her pout.

"I'm very serious about your injuries though," Rosé murmured as she drew back to scrutinise her
properly. "Did I hurt you? I was a bit rough I think. Is your face okay? And your hand?"

Lisa blinked. "Hurt me? No? And oh yeah, that was hot, you taking the lead like that when you
kissed me....hot."

"Hmm, so you like to be...lead?" Rosé smirked. She giggled when Lisa turned red and muttered
incoherently so she tilted her chin up with her fingertips. "Speak up, baby."

"Uh...maybe?" Lisa mumbled.

"Hmm...very interesting. Who'd have thought?" Rosé mused.

"What?"

"Nothing. I had a different impression of what you liked when it came to...well, bedroom
dynamics."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lisa demanded.

"Oh nothing, it's just something I'll keep in mind for the future...baby," Rosé tittered.

She smirked to see Lisa shiver imperceptibly at the endearment. "You like that? Baby?"

Lisa nodded shyly. "Can i call you something too?"

"Anything you like. Just don't make it weird, please," Rosé grimaced and Lisa groaned, slapping
her forehead.

"Ah man there goes my plans to call you 'My Queen'."

"Lisa!" She felt her cheeks warm.

"No? Hmm, then how do we feel about...Princess'?"

"No!"

"How about Sexy Hottie GF? Nothing says off limits like SHGF, you feel me?"

"Lisa!" She couldn't help but snort even as she tried to keep a straight face. "Need I remind you I
have an eight year old daughter so please, no greasy talk around her."

"I'm pulling your leg. 'Baby' sounds just right to me." Lisa's eyes softened. "I never got to call
someone that. I mean it never had any real meaning...until now."

She leaned her cheek into Rosé's palm and closed her eyes, a contented smile on her face. "I'll take
care of you, Rosie. Nobody will ever touch you again. I promise...baby."

Tenderly, Lisa kissed the old bruise on her neck as well as the new ones that had appeared, gently
pushing down on Rosé's shoulders until they were lying flat again, languidly kissing with no
rushed movements whatsoever.

Rosé couldn't get enough of Lisa but no thoughts of actually sleeping together entered her mind—
for now, her heart was full with Lisa, of the simple pleasure that came from being able to kiss her
freely, as much as she wanted and as long as she liked, because she was hers.

"Lisa?"

"Yes baby?" Lisa said immediately.

"It's late," Rosé said softly.

She bit her lip, struggling to find the right words to say without shattering the cosy warm cocoon
they were wrapped up in. Though being so close to Lisa was heaven, she felt hesitant to suggest
sharing her bed. It was a silly misgiving to have after all the lips and tongues they shared, but she
wanted to enjoy their burgeoning relationship instead of jumping straight to third base right away.

Where before the reckless and impulsive teenage Chaeyoung wouldn't have second thoughts about
stripping Lisa and getting it on, grown-up and slightly more mature Rosé was enjoying the change
of pace, like sipping on fine wine and savouring it instead of downing the whole glassful in one
gulp.

Lisa hadn't seemed in a hurry to jump into bed with her either. Rosé took it as a welcome sign that
she was truly being serious about her as well as being a gentlewoman, patiently waiting for
permission.

Although Rosé definitely had thoughts of doing more than just kissing earlier when she was drunk
out of her mind at the party, all that remained now was a gentle simmering flame, warm enough to
remind her of the sizzling inferno that could erupt anytime she decided to turn up the heat.

"Sleepy?" Lisa asked.

"Mhm..."

"And...you want to sleep in your bed, but it's too small for someone who needs extra space for their
ego, like me?" Lisa said shrewdly with a lazy smile.

Rosé couldn't help the tiny gust of mirth that escaped her nose, her worries dissipating as she
clasped Lisa's good hand. "Come on, let's go then."

"But it will be cold," Lisa whined. She had eased her body to rest snugly on top of Rosé without
squashing her flat, wriggling to settle her lower body between her legs. "You're so warm, I could
sleep like this right now. I'll be your blanket."

Laughter bubbled at the back of Rosé's throat. "Well I certainly won't mind much, the couch is
comfy enough and you can keep me warm, but what about yourself? It might get cold once you
cool down."

"It's summer Rosie. We can always turn down the AC." Lisa yawned and settled more
comfortably, her ear pressing directly on Rosé's heart. "Hmm, you're heart's going pretty fast, doc.
Wonder why."

"Take a wild guess."

"I like hearing it, it's soothing," Lisa said with her eyes closed. Rosé stroked her head and Lisa's
mouth stretched into a happy smile, humming with pleasure just like a purring cat.

"What if I accidentally turn around in my sleep?" Rosé wondered. "You'll end up on the floor."

"Then you'll just have to make it up to me with kisses. I don't see anything wrong with that, do
you?"

"You think of everything," Rosé complimented.

"I'm not just some meathead, you know," Lisa said, smirking. She felt the dull vibration beneath
her cheek as Rosé chuckled.

"Lisaaaaaa!"

"Rosieeeee!"

Their bickering and bantering continued, at times turning sombre when the events of earlier
popped up again, at times turning sweet as they whispered softly, at times making Lisa turn her
face up and kiss Rosé and then look at her as though she couldn't believe her eyes.

Rosé understood her, because that's the way she felt as well.

Eventually they tired out and nestled against each other, weary and aching but hearts soaring
amongst the stars. Sleep tugged at their eyelids, transporting the two girls away to dreamland, snug
and warm in the best possible way—in each other's arms.
 Interlude: No Saints, All Sinners

The city of Seoul slept, unaware of the devils hidden in its midst.

The city of Seoul slept, unaware of its watchful protector working tirelessly into the night.

>

Sleep was currently the farthest thing from Detective Chanyeol Park's mind; there was too much
preoccupying him.

The city's unchecked criminal activity, for instance.

Seoul's notoriously polished criminal gangs, well hidden in plain sight and in cahoots with business
tycoons, politicians and many corrupted officials within the police ranks, continued to elude him.

His superiors sighed every time he stepped in their office, jaded and old next to his steely
determination.

He was on a one man crusade and he refused to slow down.

"Park, if you want to clean out the rot, you have to start from here, the corps itself. As long as the
criminals have friends amongst the police force, you won't ever win," his mentor Lee Sooman had
told him once, his voice sombre. Chanyeol had just graduated from the police academy and was
already thirsting to prove himself.

He took these words to heart and never looked back, not even when he put his own mentor behind
bars after discovering an extensive sex slave ring that he co-ran with other notable figures in the
underworld.

Lee Sooman had only given him a tight-lipped smile as he walked into his cell that was going to be
his home for the next twenty years. Chanyeol himself slammed the door shut, taking a perverse
pleasure in the way the metal clanged like a death knell, a warning toll for all corrupt bastards that
dared taint the name of justice.

That had been five years ago, when he had been promoted to detective at long last and immediately
plunged himself to work and root out the rat infestation, even if it meant resorting to unorthodox
methods. It wasn't easy, and many times he even received horrifying death threats, warning him to
watch his back.

It had been five solid years, and as yet, he had nothing tangible to account for, except for some
new grey hairs and too few arrests. The media only fanned the flames with apparent polls showing
the distrust of the hysterical public in the corps's ability to keep them safe.

But the lack of meaningful progress did nothing to dim Chanyeol's fervent obsession—if anything,
it only fired him up with more zeal to trounce those that dared mock him. He knew that he was
only scratching the surface. Nothing infuriated him more than when the people around him told
him to take it easy; he took it as a personal offence

"Crime never takes it easy so I will not take it easy either," he snapped.

Nobody told him to take it easy ever again.

Seoul's very own batman, they called him behind his back. Much like the brooding caped crusader,
Chanyeol was hell-bent on a mission, driven by one purpose and one purpose only: the mighty
hand of justice finally crushing the rotten blackness out of his city.

Chanyeol sat now in his chair, contemplating the view of the deceivingly peaceful cityscape from
his window on the 18th floor of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

It had always been a habit of his to stay working late, sometimes even sleeping for a few hours at a
time on the couch behind his desk. Then he would wake up before the night shift changed, wash,
shave and pull on a new change of uniform from his closet in the cubicle next to his office and get
ready for a new day.

He was at pains to groom and dress smart—nobody takes some haggard, unkempt officer seriously
and the media, aside from mocking him continuously for his utter contempt of the lies it tended to
spin, would only be too delighted to jump on that and tear his reputation to shreds.

The report of the strange killings of seven security guards that were pulled out of the river weeks
ago lay on his desk, forsaken but not forgotten. The cogs and gears turned in Chanyeol's head as he
puzzled over this latest instalment in citywide incidents that he believed were connected somehow.

Mysterious murders, reports of increased gangster mobility, rumours of a new drug doing the
rounds on the black market.

And a whisper, a whisper of a phantom killer's return...

Cautious but respectful rapping on the door had Chanyeol lift his head, instantly alert.

Finally.

"Come in." He stood up and stretched, cracking his knuckles in turn as the door opened and an
officer stepped into the dim office.

"What have you got for me?" Chanyeol's demeanour changed; where before he was like a resting
wolf lazily dozing, now he was wide awake and eager to feed.

He had his close-knit team of investigators looking into multiple gangster activity and cases that he
suspected had criminal ties to corruption and illegal conduct—it was his area of speciality.

Lately, their investigations always came up short, which somehow had given Chanyeol a nagging
sense that something sinister was afoot—if the gossip on the streets grew hushed and dried up to a
trickle, it only meant that the mob bosses were keeping their cards close to their chest, which only
had Chanyeol more wary of what would eventually befall Seoul and the country.

"Still nothing. Our moles in the triad—"

"Which one?" Chanyeol interrupted, perusing the reports.

He itched to be out in the field but his superiors advised him to do paperwork for a little while (it
had already been weeks) since he was attached to that seven men murder case. Their excuse was
that it was better to keep a low profile for a while and make it seem like he's got everything under
control. The media had been hounding him constantly for answers and spinning their own distorted
lies, such that it risked the investigation being completely derailed.

Reluctantly (solely to allow his colleagues to continue their work) he took a break from field
investigations and sat in his office, conducting operations from behind his desk.
Chanyeol couldn't help but let out a contemptuous snort each time he remembered, disgusted by his
superiors' apparent lack of a spine.

"....and yeah, so the chinks have teamed up for the time being—"

"Language, officer Kim. Criminal or not, I will not tolerate such language when you refer to
someone."

"Sorry sir. The china boys," the officer droned on, placing another report in front of Chanyeol, "but
no word from them either. Nothing on the yakuza brothers, just the usual petty stuff their lackeys
get up to, but at least they stick to their territories."

"Any noteworthy felonies?"

"Nothing that the district police aren't following up."

"Blast."

"Speaking of district police, they had to investigate multiple noise complaints of several back-to-
back rave parties down in Gangnam-du, despite shutting them down two weeks ago. Guess who's
behind the parties?"

Chanyeol grimaced. "Dasoni."

"Bingo."

"Again?" Chanyeol sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

After the head patriarch of the Dasoni clan had passed away, his youngest daughter had swiftly
taken over and risen through the ranks, showing she was no pushover but every bit as sly and
cunning as her father, driving up the demand for drugs the majority of which changed hands during
the many raves she organised. She had proved to be nothing but a constant nuisance to Chanyeol
and his team who were unable to corner her.

"The head bitch in charge sure likes to party," officer Kim muttered with pursed lips.

"Ninety-five percent she does it on purpose while we're already stretched thin, just to mock us for
being unable to pin them down," Chanyeol snarled. "The old man was a nightmare, but his
daughter is a devil. She likes flaunting her power in our faces."

"She sure must be having a whale of a time then, leading us all on like this is a game."

"It is, to her," Chanyeol said as he flipped through some pages. "From what we know at least, drug
pushing is merely a side gig for her, her money comes from the branch of casinos old man Dasoni
owned. Some people just want to watch the world burn, officer."

"Like Emperor Nero. Or the Joker."

"Poetic. What about Yang?" Chanyeol crossed his arms, standing in front of his bulletin board with
all sorts of posters and photos and notes hung. His eyes zeroed in on the largest photo of a man
with beady eyes, a sneer and a jagged scar running down the side of his face.

Yang Hyun Suk. Seoul's most famous criminal. He had been running a good chunk of Seoul's
criminal underbelly when Chanyeol was still in diapers. Chanyeol had studied that scarred face so
many times that he even dreamed about the man.
Slick as butter, dangerous as a snake, cold as a glacier, soul black as the night—Yang had amassed
a veritable fortune alongside a fearsome reputation. He was untouchable. Again and again, the
authorities came close to apprehend him, but never close enough. He was always one step ahead.
Chanyeol had no doubt that he had powerful friends to bail him out from tight spots.

"Our people are keeping a close eye on his movements as usual. There seems to be increased
activity observed around the territory but in so far, we haven't been able to infiltrate.
They're...unusually meticulous," officer Kim admitted grudgingly.

"Damn him," Chanyeol said softly. His gaze was fixed on the man's poster. "He knows he's being
watched."

"Most likely very aware and cautious, yes. He is after all on the blacklist."

"He's one of Seoul's most powerful men yet he keeps his head down, lets others take the title and
honours. Most people let power go to their heads, like our Dasoni girl. It makes them think they're
untouchable. However, he still got his feet on the ground...for now."

Chanyeol's fists clenched. "I want to see him break. He's the key to so many cases. We know very
little about him. What does he eat, what does he drink, where does he sleep, how does he sleep,
how long does he sleep, what keeps him awake, what excites him, what is he planning, what is he
thinking, who are the people he surrounds himself with....We know nothing."

He turned, yearning for solitude once more to empty his mind and think. "Thank you, officer Kim.
You are dismissed."

Officer Kim bowed his head. "There's one last thing that might perhaps be worthy of investigating
further...?"

"You don't sound very sure of yourself, officer. You know I hate uncertainties."

"Well, we've stumbled upon it before," the officer said hesitantly. "I'm talking about....about Tiger
King."

"That urban myth?" Chanyeol almost laughed. "Load of moonshine. Officer, I just said I hate
uncertainties. Urban myths are made up by people who have nothing better to do with their time."

"Yes but...what about the speck of truth, however distorted, that it might contain?"

Chanyeol frowned. "A lot of odds riding on that supposed speck of truth."

"And yet, the possibility remains."

Chanyeol was silent, ruminating over the words that hung in the air between them.

"I personally don't believe it very much either," officer Kim said hastily, "but lately....well, there
seems to be a revived interest in this person and it just makes me wonder..."

"Revived interest," Chanyeol repeated.

"Yes, uh..." he fumbled with his papers nervously beneath Chanyeol's chilling glare.

"Officer, I suggest you speak your mind clearly and then begone, I have better things to do than
contemplating some children's bedtime story."

"It's just...well, word on the street is that...uh, many of the mafia clans are banding together and
searching for him again because he um....has resurfaced?"

"What?"

"There was a bounty on Tiger King's head, it's been re-issued," officer Kim inserted quickly before
Chanyeol turfed him out of the office, "some people don't believe it of course, but there is already a
fair amount of interest in him that might suggest that Tiger King...well, that Tiger King actually
existed, or still does."

When Chanyeol didn't say anything, the officer rushed on.

"I mean, these are all dodgy criminals we're talking about. Would they really be the type to search
for some fabled assassin, waste so much of their time, energy and resources unless there was some
truth to it? The bounty, I hear, pays quite handsomely. Whoever wants him can't be messing around
to throw all that money away, they really really want him caught, preferably discreetly so that we,
the authorities, don't know what's going on."

"It's a distraction," Chanyeol spat. "They want everyone's eyes turned away. Maybe it's even a ploy
to distract us by having us go on a wild goose chase. I'm sorry officer Kim, but I will not entertain
—"

"Do you know where Yang got his scar?" officer Kim said softly.

Silence fell as Chanyeol paused, stumped. He looked closely at the young policeman in front of
him. "It was a gang fight, he got it in a skirmish some four years ago. He lost his closest group of
thugs and there was another casualty, a retired military sergeant."

The young officer nodded. He was one of the brightest from his cohort and Chanyeol had
immediately taken him under his wing, wanting to explore his potential.

"I heard rumours that it was Tiger King who gave him that scar. It was no gang fight—Yang had
attempted to bring him in. Yang is probably the only person on record to have survived an attack,"
officer Kim said. He swallowed. "I follow this...bulletin board outside of Naver's domain that is
devoted to the myth of Tiger King, like an internet cult following. Naver has no information about
him, which makes me suspect that the stories about government bigshots being involved with him
is true, so they cover up what they can. He has fans in Japan as well, they call him Kiiroi me,
which translates to Yellow Eyes. The stories of his exploits are...fascinating, though far-fetched."

He inhaled sharply when Chanyeol simply walked past him and opened the door.

"Time to go, officer. Thank you for your time tonight."

"Yes sir. Have a good night," officer Kim said meekly and left.

Chanyeol sat back in his chair, the tangles in his mind intensifying.

He was a man of cold, hard facts; black stamped on white; yes or no, in or out. He didn't believe in
hearsay or gossip unless it was staunchly backed by evidence.

And yet...

He glanced at Yang's poster sneering at him from the wall, the scar taking on a new meaning now.

Was there a remote possibility that Tiger King truly did exist?
Many people seemed to think so from what officer Kim surmised, eager to get their hands on this
person.

While it was certainly tempting to put faith in something that existed within the realm of distorted
facts when you have nothing on your hands, Chanyeol wasn't that desperate yet. Gathering some
more concrete information would be the most sensible decision before he would decide whether
investigating Tiger King was worth his trouble.

He needed to find the case file for the incident officer Kim mentioned, hoping it might shed some
new light on the case, which up till now had been deemed closed since no conclusive evidence had
been dug up. Chanyeol hadn't been overseeing the case at the time, but he did vaguely remember
how everyone had been wondering why Yang himself had gotten involved in the skirmish.

Well, now there appeared to be a plausible reason.

On impulse, he sat down at his computer and accessed the police database, his mind working at
whiz speed as he trawled through the case files related to Yang.

Only once did he stop with his furious typing when an idea popped into his head and he hastily
scribbled it down on a sticky note to address later: talk to lee sooman.

Because if there was anyone that might have information about Tiger King, Chanyeol would bet on
his old mentor, the closest person he had to an actual informant that had previously been tied with
the criminal underworld.

And if he somehow double-crossed Chanyel or refused to give answers, well, Chanyeol wasn't
above using a few persuasion techniques that may or may not be outlawed.

He was a detective after all, not a saint.

The thought had him bare his teeth, his first smile since he woke up.

>

The city of Seoul slept, unaware of the devils hidden in its midst.

The city of Seoul slept, unaware of its watchful protector working tirelessly into the night.

The city of Seoul slept, incapable of telling which is which.

 Angels

Rosé smelled bacon.

Her stomach immediately woke up, ravenous for a piece. As the rest of her senses slowly rebooted,
she vaguely wondered why her body felt unusually heavy, with something pressing down on her
chest.

Had Ella crawled on top of her? Or Bori?

Her eyes fluttered open, bleary vision quickly clearing when she remembered the events of the
night and how now, Lisa's head rested on her chest. Her face was hidden by her bangs but she slept
soundly, her hand clutching on to Rosé's shirt just like a baby.

Rosé smiled and tenderly brushed a hand over Lisa's hair, basking in the simple joy of waking up
to Lisa's presence.

Last night had been a mess of extremes, going from intoxication to terror to relief to joy in the span
of a few hours. They had kissed and opened their hearts to each other and then fell asleep in a
tangle.

If she hadn't been almost carried off by Seokjin, she wouldn't be here holding Lisa in her arms.

The sour reminder of Seokjin had the faint traces of unease stir in her stomach, but Lisa's low
mumbles as she roused herself pushed them out of Rosé's head. She braced herself to greet Lisa,
barely able to conceal her gigantic grin when Lisa lifted her head, squinting in confusion in the
morning light.

"Rosie?"

"That's me," Rosé nodded. "Did you sleep well, baby?"

Lisa's face split in a grin as she flopped back on her chest. "It wasn't a dream."

"Definitely not," Rosé said fondly, stroking her cheek. "You still got your bruises and your poor
hand...how is it feeling?"

"You're asking about my hand but you're not asking about me?" Lisa pouted.

"Technically I am." Rosé rolled her eyes and chuckled. "You goof."

"That's my charm baby," Lisa winked, testing out the endearment which had Rosé's heart swell.
She was dying to kiss her but Lisa sniffed the air and licked her lips, distracted by the aroma.

"Hey, are you cooking bacon?"

Before Rosé could snort and point out that she was still trapped beneath her, someone else spoke
up.

"Jisoo is."

Their heads whipped around to behold Jennie innocently licking the spoon she was holding, a pot
of yogurt in her other hand as she sat cross-legged on the carpet in front of them. She lifted the
yogurt pot up, as though making a toast.
"Ella gave it to me. Hope you don't mind Rosie, I was starving," she said nonchalantly. "It's quite
good actually, I might start buying it. We can afford to splurge out and be a little fancy now."

She swallowed another spoonful, the silence thick after she stopped talking.

Stunned, Rosé could only nod, tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. She lay frozen stiff on the
couch, her thoughts running amok.

Lisa on top of her certainly didn't cut for pretending everything was still platonic. They hadn't even
discussed how to break it to their friends and Ella.

How long had Jennie been sitting there watching them? How did she get in?

The sound of sizzling bacon intensified.

"Ni...Nini?" Lisa squeaked out, also frozen stiff as a board on top of Rosé. She swallowed
nervously, tucking her hurt arm out of sight. Rosé was suddenly thankful that Jennie had not yet
noticed it.

"Unnie, how long...how..." Lisa began nervously.

"How long I've been sitting here?" Jennie checked her phone. "Right now it's 10am, I think we
came over an hour ago, right on time with Ella, her friend's mother dropped her off. She let us in
cos' she had the keys. Jisoo and Ella got bored watching you sleeping so they're whipping up
breakfast. I'm sure you're hungry."

"Uh...yeah, hungry uhm..."

"Lisa, relax jeez."

To their enormous surprise, Jennie smiled at them. "Jisoo and I got Rosé's text last night. Well,
actually Jisoo got it, I had crashed out in the diner's staff room. But yeah, we understood what you
meant. And I must say, you really went at it hard, huh?"

She gestured at her neck in amusement, indicating the bruises Lisa and Rosé had decorating their
throats. "Matching hickeys? Or is it choking? You certainly didn't waste time."

"Wait wait Jen, you got it all wrong, we...we didn't...I mean it wasn't...." Lisa looked at Rosé
frantically, who squeezed her hand and gently pushed on her shoulder to make her sit up so that
they could address the situation properly. Lisa understood and sat up, followed by Rosé who
nodded reassuringly before she turned to Jennie, steeling herself.

"Jennie, when I sent the text, I didn't mean anything else. Lisa was going to sleep at my place.
That's it. But things happened and well, now..." she threw a bashful smile at Lisa's direction, who
had relaxed. In the golden morning light bathing the room, Lisa looked almost angelic despite the
bruises, with her messy bangs, sparkling eyes and happy smile.

Rosé almost leaned in to kiss her but caught herself in time, remembering she had something very
important left to say. "We're going to have a shot at dating. I want to be with Lisa."

"And I want to be with you too," Lisa stepped in firmly before Jennie could say anything.
"Relationships are a 50/50 thing baby, I know that much." She glanced at Jennie, missing Rosé's
adoring look.

Jennie shrugged and scratched behind her ear. "Congratulations I suppose. I was wondering when
you'd get together."

"So...you're okay with us?" Lisa said sceptically. "That party must have been really something to
get you to loosen up."

Jennie shrugged again. "I've been sitting here for an hour watching you sleep and having a think.
And then I watched you cooing at each other when you woke up, which is pretty gross by the way,
I don't know how I didn't hurl. The yogurt was too good to waste. But my point is, you hooking up
was pretty inevitable. You get all happy and lovey-dovey with each other. I'm not going to be your
keeper anymore, Lisa. You're an adult now. Maybe Jisoo was right— maybe I was scared before
because you were growing up and well...you don't need me so much anymore."

She levelled her gaze at Lisa. "Just remember to be strong, and it's on you," she said meaningfully.
Lisa nodded mutely, her grip in Rosé's tightening.

Before Rosé could wonder what the sisters were talking about, Jennie had returned to smirking.

"So spill the tea, Jisoo was betting me on who topped. Come to think of it, Mimi will have a field
day when she gets to know."

"Please tell me you didn't discuss this in front of Ella," Rosé said faintly. The thought of her
daughter being exposed to such crude talk left her mortified. "I...I still have to talk to her about
this...us."

"You don't think she'll be okay with us?" Lisa frowned.

"No no, she's going to be over the moon," Rosé reassured, "she's been pushing me to tell you for
the longest time in fact. She's your biggest supporter."

"Score for the kiddo," Lisa grinned but she sidled closer, slipping her hand from Rosé's to curl
around her waist and squeeze comfortingly. "Why are you worried then, baby?"

"She's worried Ella will think you're going to get married and live happily ever after and if that
doesn't wind up happening, it will crush her," Jennie said shrewdly.

Rosé nodded, ignoring her thumping heart at the 'get married' part. "That about sums it up, yeah."

Ella had become strongly attached to Jisoo during the brief time Rosé had hooked up with her,
despite Jisoo never really hanging out with Ella, unlike Lisa.

Although they spent little time together to bond, Ella was utterly dismayed when Rosé had to sit
her down and gently explain the situation as best as she could. She had never expressly said she
was dating Jisoo but she knew Ella wasn't stupid either.

"But...but you kiss her. I saw you do it a lot of times. You kiss someone that you love, right? Don't
you love her anymore?" Ella had asked forlornly.

Rosé wavered. She rued her failed attempts to keep her meet-ups with Jisoo discreet but seeing her
daughter so confused had her push on to clarify the issue.

Some might raise eyebrows at her mode of parenting, which involved explaining to Ella such topics
best reserved for adult conversations. However, Rosé firmly believed that Ella was smart enough
to grasp the situation—she had been through much upheaval in her short life and the only thing that
had kept them chugging along steadily was their mother-daughter bond.
Therefore, she deserved to know in simple terms what was happening rather than being left in the
dark as to why Jisoo suddenly didn't appear in their apartment anymore.

Ella deserved as much explanation as any other person, even if she was a child.

"Baby, I do love her. But...not like in fairytales. Not like...not like how I loved your father."

Because she had loved Taehyung once too, or thought she did. The memory of him was always
shrouded in sadness but mostly, pain and fear.

" See, there's different types of love, different levels of how much you love someone. With Aunty
Jisoo, I thought maybe I could love her lots and lots and lots, but turns out I only love her as a
friend, which is still a good deal, mind you. That's what we found out. We talked it out and agreed
that it's for the best. These things happen, sweetie, but what's important is that you talk it out."

Ella fidgeted, clearly still unconvinced. "Is it...is it because of me?" she said timidly. "Is it because
you have to share me with her that you decided to be friends?"

When Rosé stared, Ella rushed on: "My friend Yura said her mommy's boyfriend didn't like her and
that's why he left them. She said her mommy cried for weeks and didn't make Yura's favourite
snacks as punishment."

"No!" Rosé crushed Ella in a hug and then cupped her face. "El, listen to me. I love you, okay? This
has got nothing to do with you. Whatever I do, it's never your fault. Jisoo likes you but this is
something that we figured out that we had to do. It has nothing to do with you."

"You promise, promise, promise?" Ella said, holding out a pinky finger. It was her favourite way to
seal a promise and Rosé gamely went along, hooking her small finger on to Ella's.

"I promise, promise, promise." she said. It was probably the most truthful promise she had ever
given Ella. "I'm sorry sweetheart, I know you liked Jisoo. But don't worry, we'll definitely meet up
with her again, as friends. We can go to the park together when the cherry blossoms bloom, and
take Dalgom with us as well."

"Yeah!" Ella cheered.

"There's precious little you can do other than telling her the truth of things," Jennie said sagely.
"She's very excited, she nearly woke you up if it weren't for Jisoo, because she saw Lisa's shoes at
the door."

"It will be okay, Rosie," Lisa comforted. "I know I'd be devastated if I disappeared. The kid
probably got a crush on me like her momma, cos' let's face it, who doesn't?"

"Everyone," Jennie said promptly holding her fingers up to list, "Jisoo. Somi. Chaeyoung. Dahyun.
Nayeon. Jeongyeon—"

"Go screw yourself."

"—Irene, Seulgi, Joy, Yeri, Lucas, Momo, Sunmi—"

"Oh no you didn't, Sunmi definitely crushed on me!" Lisa yelped hotly.

"Uh...who's Sunmi?" Rosé raised an eyebrow. She stifled a chuckle when Lisa froze, turning
towards her as she gulped.
"Uh, nobody, uh..."

"She was her first crush," Jennie sang, "and she still gets all hot and bothered whenever her name
comes up in conversation—"

"Hold it right there!"

"Should I be...concerned?" Rosé hummed, thoroughly enjoying herself as she watched Lisa panic.

"No no baby, I swear, she was just a stupid teen crush, I swear I only have eyes for you, don't listen
to Jennie! She's out of the picture!" Lisa spluttered as Jennie looked smug, eyes glittering
wickedly.

"Remind me to tell you to the story of Lisa's epic fail one day," she told Rosé, "it's one for the
history books, a classic that never gets old. I think Jisoo already knows it."

"What is it about?"

"Lisa and her grand Vegas marriage proposal-slash-wild honeymoon-slash-delusional family plans
with a boxer milf. She had it all planned out."

"Mother of bagels, will you never let it go?" Lisa groaned in defeat as Rosé giggled next to her.
"Please just...give us some space? I didn't even get to greet my girlfriend good morning because of
you."

Rosé thought she would combust from hearing those simple words alone.

"Somebody's cranky because they didn't get their morning sex, I see," Jennie smirked as she stood
up. "Fine, do your thing, I'll keep the others busy. Try to keep the noise down please, you
horndogs."

And Jennie sauntered out, carrying her empty yogurt pot and humming to herself.

"I'm sorry about that," Lisa sighed, sinking against the cushions. "I didn't know she'd be here. We
were having such a nice moment together and she ruined it. Why did she have to be here watching
us like some creep ugh..."

Rosé smiled, unperturbed. "Come here, you big baby."

"Wha—oh," Lisa said when Rosé pulled her in and pressed their lips together.

They were quiet for a few moments, with Lisa's smile making Rosé falter as they kissed, little
hums of contentment filling the air like bees.

"Is that better, grumpy cat?" Rosé said in amusement when Lisa sank back with a dreamy look in
her eyes.

"Hmm I don't know. Can we do that again?"

"You dork."

Their chuckles abruptly stopped when they heard Ella calling the cats from the kitchen, her voice
mixing with audible noises of clinking plates. Jisoo said something and then clear as a bell, they
heard Jennie chuckle in response.

It made Rosé smile. Lisa was smiling too, and Rosé was sure that in that moment, their thoughts
mirrored: Jennie and Jisoo are good together.

"I guess we should head out huh?" Lisa asked. She glanced at her splinted hand and grimaced.
"The sooner I tell Jennie about this the better. Rip the band-aid off and all. She's not gonna like it
but she's in a good mood so...maybe she'll take it better."

"I'm going to be there too. I can do the talking, if you like."

Lisa shrugged. "She'll want to talk with me alone but I appreciate the offer babe."

She yawned and stood up to stretch, her shirt riding up her body and giving Rosé a view of her
toned stomach. She had seen it many times before during pilates sessions, but only now could she
appreciate the view as Lisa's girlfriend.

"Enjoying the show?"

"Very much, thank you," Rosé replied in jest. Unable to resist, she reached out to run her fingers
over Lisa's taut abs. "May I...?"

"Of course baby, be my guest," Lisa purred. Rosé smirked when she felt the blonde shiver beneath
her touch.

Her ribs showed signs of bruising and Rosé suddenly wanted to kiss them, these ribs that belonged
to the girl who risked her life, for her.

"You know, I can always...show a little more," Lisa winked, gripping the hem of her shirt.

A knot of heat made its way south of Rosé's gut and she was up in an instant, tugging on Lisa's
hands to chase away the immediate dirty thoughts that assaulted her mind.

"Tempting as that may be, we should leave that for another time," she said huskily, "I don't want to
be caught butt-naked or something out here by my own daughter, your sister, and Jisoo. That
would be the end for me, I'd just die."

"Come now, I'm sure Chu has seen a lot more of that booty than I have and—ow!" Lisa laughed as
she dodged Rosé's swipe at her head. "Okay okay! Let's go share the good news with Ella. We
won't get her hopes up and we'll tell her that we're going to be taking it day by day. Sounds good?"

Rosé nodded happily and wrapped her hand around Lisa's. "Sounds good to me."

>

"Best. Day. Everrrrrrrr!" Ella shouted as she ran around the kitchen in demented circles. She had
taken one look at Lisa and Rosé holding hands when they appeared in the kitchen and immediately
broke out in a high-pitched squeal as she bounced off every surface in jubilation.

"Pancakes coming in hot!" Jisoo said, ladling the hot cakes on to the plate next to her. "Well done
on the scrambled eggs, Jendeuk, see I told you they're a piece of cake."

Jennie muttered bashfully but smiled as she carried the pancakes to the table, narrowly missing
being shoved aside by the squealing girl tearing through their midst.

"Ella! You're going to get hurt!" Rosé called fearfully.

"I got her," Lisa chuckled, trapping Ella with one arm, "kiddo, how about a timeout and you tell
me all about your sleepover while we eat, hmm? I'm hankering for some bacon, how about you?"
As an excited Ella tugged Lisa to sit next to her whilst chattering nineteen to a dozen and showing
off her painted nails, Rosé watched them fondly.

The kitchen was a hubbub of clamouring voices and mouth-watering smells; it had probably never
seen that many people bustling about being noisy in a long time.

Far from being annoyed or exasperated, Rosé slipped in her seat with a wistful smile and merely
observed, a bystander admiring the living, breathing painting in front of her that spoke of human
warmth, of laughter, of what a family could look like despite the oddities, despite all the pain and
scars each member carried, despite the dark hostile threads of discord that always lurked just on the
edge of the canvas.

This felt like home.

She put her chin in her hand propped on the table and closed her eyes to stop her happiness from
overflowing and run down her cheeks like a waterfall.

"Rosie? Baby?"

Her eyes flew open. Lisa was eyeing her with concern while everyone too stood watching, the
kitchen falling suddenly quiet except for the plink plink of droplets of water from the faucet.

"I'm okay," Rosé smiled, "I'm just...happy. With all of you here."

"Well that's a relief," Jisoo chuckled, "maybe now would be a good time to mention that I may or
may not have uh, spilled all the almond milk down the sink, oops. How did that happen? Clumsy
ol' me."

Rosé rolled her eyes at her without any real malice in the gesture—Jisoo had always made her
distaste for almond milk very clear.

"Jisoo, this is my kitchen."

"Yes but please keep in mind how I very graciously provided you all with some hearty greasy
breakfast to pack up the calories you probably lost overnight, from my very own fridge no less.
You can say thank you now," Jisoo said sweetly as Jennie shook her head and helped herself to
more bacon, too hungry to talk.

"I saw her switch the almond milk with coffee milk," Ella stage-whispered to Lisa as Jisoo joined
them at the table.

"Hey Ella, snitches end up in ditches," said Jisoo.

"Hey Jisoo, hands off my almond milk," said Rosé.

Jisoo stuck her tongue out, making everyone shake their heads and laugh before they started to dig
into their food, grunting in appreciation.

"Jisoo this is awesome, I didn't know you cook," Lisa said impressed as she inhaled a stack of
pancakes. Rosé tapped her arm.

"Manners, baby, don't forget some of us are bit too easily impressed with your...talents," she
reprimanded, half-amused. She nodded at Ella's awestruck face who had her eyes dancing between
Lisa and her own stack of pancakes.
"No, don't even think about it, El," her mother said firmly. "It's not nice manners to shove food
down your mouth. Here, let me cut it up for you."

"Will you cut these up for me too, then?" Lisa simpered as she pulled a few more pancakes
towards her. She batted her eyelashes for good measure, scowling when Jisoo and Jennie gagged
simultaneously. "Oh cut me some slack you hags, my hand's kinda broken you know. I do need a
little extra help."

"Broken?" Jennie said sharply. "What's wrong with your hand?"

Rosé and Lisa stilled. The laughter and clatter at the table died down and the temperature seemed
to drop a few degrees as Jennie eyed them suspiciously.

"Well?" she said frostily, folding her hands.

"Bathroom," Lisa spoke up suddenly and pushed her chair back. She gave Rosé's arm a soft
squeeze. "We'll be back. Come on Jen."

Rosé watched the sisters leave, watched the way Jennie's eyes bulged as she took in Lisa's splinted
arm and the way her furious, frightened face snapped up to glare at her before she tottered after
Lisa.

"Mom, what is it? What happened?" Ella said worriedly. "Is Lisa unnie hurt?"

"Grown-up talk, strictly classified because it's between sisters," Jisoo told her, trying hard to feign
nonchalance as she toyed with her eggs. "Be glad you don't have a sister, they can be the pits to
deal with."

Her concerned eyes flicked up to meet Rosé, questions bubbling on the tip of her tongue.

>

"You did WHAT?"

"Jen—"

"I can't believe this! I can't believe you!"

"I can explain—"

"No. No no no this isn't happening. Because after the Purge, after everything that happened, after a
miracle happened and we got back in, you went and broke your freaking hand? Really Lisa?!
Unbelievable!"

Jennie was beyond furious as she paced in the tight space of Rosé's bathroom, huffing like an
enraged bull. She gripped at her hair and Lisa feared she would tear it all off.

"Of all the irresponsible things to do...Lisa, what the hell happened last night? Out with it!"

And so Lisa told her.

Jennie turned pale and slumped against the bathroom door in horror. "You killed him?" she asked
hoarsely.

"I'm not sure!" Lisa said hastily. "Maybe he's still out there, all we have to do is peek around the
corner, a quick peek to check—"
"And what if he is?" Jennie snapped. "What then? God damn it all, this happened because you're so
damn whipped!"

"What? Was I supposed to just stand there? Let Rosie get raped? Or worse?" Lisa demanded.
"Have you no heart?"

"I wish I didn't!" Jennie fired back, stunning Lisa into silence whilst she continued pacing and
holding her head. "What the hell are we gonna do now, genius? And your damn hand better heal in
time for the Grand Slam because I swear to God, Lisa—"

"It will, it will, it does't even hurt that bad," Lisa insisted, swallowing bile, "Rosie was just being
fussy and said it might be broken but I think she was just overreacting, I promise."

"Great, because I don't look forward to visiting hospitals or the police depot at all. Even if you
only knocked out the guy, what if he's concussed out there? He'll die eventually if he doesn't get
help!"

"Jen, calm down, let's just reason this out together, come on..." Lisa muttered.

"Reason this out together? Oh yeah, sure," Jennie said with a hysterical laugh. "What the hell am I
gonna do if the cops come asking for you, huh? And as for your precious Rosie-posie, god I can't
even—"

"Nobody saw us. Or at least, I don't think anybody did..."

"Real helpful," Jennie snorted. "What if they comb the alley and find your DNA huh? What then?"

"I'm in the clear. It should buy us some time. My fingerprints shouldn't be in any of the police
database, remember?" Lisa reminded. "Matt made sure of that when he helped get me community
service in exchange for serving time for Yeri's case. They don't have your fingerprints either. We're
still practically invisible to the system."

"Hmm, that's true," Jennie said more calmly now and Lisa breathed out in relief. Jennie was back
in her senses, processing rationally and calculating their next move.

"I'll go check myself then. It's best," Jennie decided. "Then we'll take it from there. Maybe I can tip
off the police, say that I came to visit Jisoo, smelled something weird and saw the body. We need
to tell Jisoo what happened as well so we can come up with a solid alibi to back me up. We'll have
to think of something for you and Rosé as well. If he's dead...well, we can let him be until
somebody else reports it. Hopefully the body would have rotted a bit before that happens. That
would give the police more work to figure out how it happened."

Discussing the attacker's state in broad daylight made Lisa's throat constrict. "He can't have died.
I...I wasn't thinking, I lost control..."

"What's done is done." Jennie felt suddenly weary, and briefly remembered Hwangssabu.

Did he always live like this, in fear and worry? Did he ever feel that he was living with a ticking
time-bomb, just as she did now?

"Your hand evidently wasn't properly healed after your fight with Seulgi, and then you went and
gave it a good whacking," Jennie sighed. She examined Lisa's hand with a critical eye, pursing her
lips. "Rosé did a nice job patching it up but I'm not liking the looks of it."

"We'll have to go to hospital?" Lisa said anxiously.

"I'm as much against it as you are," Jennie returned grimly, and opened the door.

>

"We don't have to go—"

"We definitely have to go," Rosé said firmly, tapping the gruesome cross-section of a broken arm
on her PC screen. "I'm sorry Lisa, but it's better to be safe."

"I'm Lisa's trainer, I say what to do—"

"Really Jen? You're going to risk her hand being deformed for life or even god forbid some
infection setting in because you're scared of the hospital?" Rosé growled. "She's hurt."

"She'll mend."

"What is she, Wolverine or something? This isn't just a bruise or scratch, this is a possible broken
wrist for heaven's sake!"

Jisoo and Lisa watched them, heads turning left, right, left, right, like a tennis match as they
watched the women argue.

They had been in a heated debate for half an hour after Jennie and Lisa returned from the
bathroom. Rosé sent Ella to her room to play with the cats, saying that they would be visiting the
hospital later together with Lisa.

And that was when Jennie started insisting that Lisa was fine, that she just needed rest and her
hand would be good as new.

"Look, if you're so scared of hospitals nobody is making you go inside. I'll go with Lisa myself but
we need a professional—"

"I'm not scared of hospitals!" Jennie said exasperated. "It's just...just...it's complicated."

She deflated and held her head. Lisa patted her back.

"Maybe we should tell them," Lisa said thoughtfully, "maybe they'll understand."

"Tell us what?" Rosé and Jisoo chorused.

"Fabulous idea, be my guest," Jennie muttered sarcastically but she didn't argue. Lisa kept her arm
around her sister as she spoke.

"Jennie and I...well, you both know we're not from here. Well Jennie is, but then her family ran
away and all that and kinda took up new identities. You know, new IDs, new social security
numbers and the whole shebang. And then...well, let's say, our entry here wasn't exactly legal, for
the both of us."

"We're illegal immigrants," Jennie said grimly, raising her face to meet Rosé and Jisoo's wide
eyes.

"We have no documentation to show that we exist and reside here. When Hwangssabu took me in,
he never filed formal adoption papers or anything. We were too scared the people that were after
my parents might notice that I'm still alive and come after me. If we asked the police, I might have
ended up in the system, fostered or at an orphanage. So....he basically smuggled me out of New
Zealand and into Korea," Jennie shrugged. "He was a military man, I'm sure he had his ways of
pulling strings and evasion."

"Well... but that's a long time ago, right?" Rosé said slowly. "So why didn't you, uhm, update your
identities?"

Jennie and Lisa glanced at each other before Jennie shrugged. "We had it worked out with Matt."

Rosé blinked. "Matt? Somi's dad?"

"Yeah, he helps looks after us now that Hwangssabu's not here anymore."

"It's all going on in the background," Lisa explained. "He continued to help us in Hwangssabu's
stead. Any sort of documentation or paper work, it goes through him. We are invisible to the
system. Matt is my ghost manager at the Slammer—you won't find Jennie or me on paper. If
something bad happens, it goes through to Matt. He also owns the Vault and we pay him lease for
the attic as well. And he risks a lot to employ Jennie."

"That's why she works graveyard shifts for so little money?" Jisoo frowned.

"He doesn't dare pay me more than the minimum wage, in case he gets questioned by his
accountants. He did try to pay me more from his own cut of profits but I don't need to be more
indebted to him. The Slammer is our only real source of income..." Jennie glanced at Lisa's injured
hand and sighed. "Going to the hospital would mean a lot of complications for Matt to cover. We
can't walk in. We just can't."

"That, and also I'm scared of needles," Lisa piped up. "Just putting it out there."

Rosé stared, coming to terms with the revelations.

All the times when she thought Jennie had been pressuring Lisa had actually turned out to be based
on real problems that threw her off completely. And Matthew, Somi's unassuming father, had been
more involved than she could have imagined, always quietly going about his workouts in plain
sight.

She remembered him helping her a while back, polite and cheerful, and couldn't quite reconcile
him with the man working to keep Jennie and Lisa's secret.

But who was she to take the high ground? She was as much of a crook as any of them.

"Oh...okay uh...well now you've got me...I don't know how to go about this..."

"You know, I might have an idea, actually," Jisoo mused. She smiled when everyone's eyes turned
on her.

"Please share, I'm willing to try anything at this point!" Jennie said frantically.

"Okay so, I know you guys know that my family is a bit rich and they also happen to own a
hospital. I can call them for a favour, have them take in Lisa, check her and treat her. The people at
the hospital won't ask questions. Simple."

"No," Jennie said.

Jisoo threw her hands up in exasperation. "Oh come on Jendeuk you just said you'll try anything!"

"Who's gonna pay for Lisa's treatment?" Jennie gritted.

Jisoo stared dumbfounded. "Uh...I thought it was obvious that I will?"

"Then no."

"Jennie—"

"Chu, I can't let you," Jennie said tiredly. "Hospitals are not that cheap, I know that much. This is
different than free yoga lessons and free car rides."

"Well, you're not the one to get treated, it's Lisa," Rosé pointed out, calmly facing Jennie's
withering glare head-on. "Shouldn't we let her decide? Lisa? Baby, what do you want to do?"

Lisa blinked at them uncertainly, fiddling with the splint. "Uhm...I don't know..." she said in a
small voice, glancing at Jennie. "I uhm...I don't want Jisoo to...to spend money..."

"That's up to her."

"I offered," Jisoo added.

"Why don't you try weighing the pros and cons?" Rosé suggested gently when Lisa still looked
doubtful. "Pros: you get treated and we find out exactly what needs to be done to make sure your
hand heals better and gets stronger again. You won't be in pain."

"Also it's free," Jisoo chimed in. "And I'm sure if you ask nicely, they will let Pasta be with you
holding your hand at all times."

Lisa perked up. "They let you do that?"

"I don't see why not, it's not like they have to open you up for surgery. I bet they won't even have to
make you sleep."

Lisa nodded, determined. "Let's go then. Nini?"

Jennie looked almost surprised that she was still included in the conversation. "What? Me?"

"Will you come too?" Lisa said softly. "It...it would be good if you go with us. Please?"

Jennie's eyes lost their hard glint and she nodded, likewise set on their next task. "Of course I will."

"Great, it's settled then," Jisoo grinned satisfied, "saving the day, who's Super Gay now? That's
right, me."

"I just want to check on the man in the alley before we go," Jennie told them. "You can get ready."

"What if he's..." Rosé didn't dare finish the sentence. Lisa's grip on her tightened as well.

"I'll handle it," Jennie assured. "Will Ella be okay going to the hospital?"

"We don't have much choice. I think she will be okay, she's curious about hospitals," Rosé decided.
"Will it be okay for someone to watch her while I'm with Lisa?"

"I can watch," Jisoo offered.

"I'll probably have to wait with you too," Jennie noted and stood up. "I'll see you in a bit."

When Jennie left, Rosé leaned against Lisa and closed her eyes. She felt Lisa lean her head against
her as well, silently supporting each other as they feared the worst. Last night's events were quickly
catching up to their reality and in the morning light, talking about what happened felt surreal to
Rosé. If it weren't for Lisa's hands, the bruises decorating her face and both their necks as well as
their scratchy voices, Rosé was inclined to believe she had dreamed it all.

But it had happened: Seokjin had been there, had carried her off, nearly strangled them both and
now...they would find out if he was still alive.

Rosé had many questions, questions she wanted to ask Yang because a sneaking suspicion told her
Seokjin's return had something to do with him.

"It's gonna be okay, you two. You heard Jennie, she'll handle it," Jisoo comforted. She squeezed
Lisa's shoulder. "I'll call the hospital people, you get ready."

>

The man in the car watched the women pile into the SUV.

They were too far away for him to hear, but as luck would have it, his audio mics from the alley
had still been on when the shortest of the four women, Kim Jennie, had appeared first, all alone as
she cautiously peeked around the corner of the alley and then pulled out her phone.

The man typed some commands on his laptop and her voice filled the car's interior, low and
relieved.

"There's nothing here, thank goodness. Is everything arranged with the hospital people? Good,
good. What? Yes, I'm sure. He probably walked off then. No I made sure, nobody's here. You can
come down now."

That conversation confirmed that Jennie knew what she was looking for, which probably made the
other woman, Thorn's neighbour, Kim Jisoo, an accomplice as well, since she was the driver.

So they were heading to the hospital. But which?

The man pressed the button on the dashboard to contact his superiors and quickly related the
events transpiring.

"Good work, Jay-W. Follow them," came the order, "We have dispatched our people to five
likely hospitals, but we believe they are headed to the hospital that Kim Jisoo's family owns in
Incheon. Whatever happens, do not engage and do not follow them inside. Wait until they are
finished."

"Copy that," said Jay-W and shifted the car into gear.

>

"Unnie, your leg is dancing," Ella pointed out.

"If only it was just dancing," Jennie sighed, halting all movement for a split-second before all too
quickly her foot started tapping restlessly again.

"Lisa did say you would have been a tap-dancing star," Jisoo said in amusement.

"Lisa says a lot of things," Jennie said with a faint smile but her mind was dark with apprehension
as she eyed the door in front of them. Behind it, Lisa was getting patched up and Rosé was
probably holding her hand, just as Dr Song had explained.

Jennie sat back to count the linoleum tiles on the ceiling for the thirtieth time, or was it the thirty-
fifth? She had already informed Irene, Matt and Somi of what had happened, reassuring all three of
them that everything was under control and that Jisoo had taken care of everything.

She would have killed for a can of energy drink. Something familiar and comforting to take the
edge off her nerves. Jennie longingly remembered the stash of energy drinks back at the Vault. It
felt like an age since she last had one. It felt like an age since they had been ushered into the bland
waiting room outside the theatre to wait while Lisa got patched up.

She had been so stiff with the doctor during introductions that she couldn't even bow properly
when he greeted them with two of the nurses, which she worried made her look rude. Jisoo
comforted her, telling her Dr Song was a cool guy ("he's kind of a close friend of the family and
one of the few people to not look at me weird" ) and that he was probably used to people being
nervous around him.

Still, Jennie worried.

She worried when he explained the procedure and X-rays, she worried when Lisa bit her lip and
looked at her from time to time seeking reassurance, she worried when Dr Song
mentioned needles and injections and local anaesthetic.

She worried when the young bright phlebotomist who introduced himself as Wang Ka-yee came
along to take samples of blood to check for any health conditions prior to the procedure, since they
had nothing to go by regarding Lisa's medical history.

Despite her fears, Lisa managed not to faint because Ka-yee did smooth work. He also cheerfully
answered Ella's inquisitive questions, explaining the different colours of the blood bottles he was
using to draw blood.

"What's this one for? The colours are all so pretty!"

"Aha! This blue one has a special substance in it to keep the blood from sticking together. In the
lab, we test how fast the blood will stick up. It's important the doctor knows this about the patient,
so that he can decide what medicine to give and how much."

"How about the red? And the yellow?"

He answered them all as he worked, making Rosé smile, grateful for the distraction he provided for
both Ella and Lisa. Once done, Ka-yee wished Lisa luck, told Ella to be his assistant one day, and
sauntered out, humming a tune Jennie recognised was by Frank Sinatra.

She worried during the hour it took for the medical team to scrub and get X-ray and blood test
results back—it was a flurry of movement and questions the nurses asked Lisa for the pre-op,
never hurried or forced, but brisk enough to leave Jennie disoriented by it all.

Lisa was putting up a brave front, even sliding in a few cheeky comments and making the staff's
mouths quirk up but she couldn't hide her pallor as the hour drew nearer. True to her word, Rosé
hadn't strayed from Lisa's side except to get kitted out in a gown, mask, gloves and surgical cap,
for sterility purposes.

"My my, and who's the mysterious doctor here hiding behind a mask?" Lisa winked when Rosé
returned with the nurses. "Shy are we?"
"It's Mommy!"

"Sssshh we're pretending not to know," Lisa whispered to Ella. Then she turned to Rosé, batting her
eyelashes. "Hey gorgeous, do you have a girlfriend?"

Rosé giggled, eyes crinkling. "Lisa, not here—"

"Ah ah, kind of a dodgy doc we got here, avoiding my question. Answer me, doc. It's my right to
information as a patient, ain't it?"

"Not personal information though."

"You're not getting out of this so easily, doc. We're gonna be stuck together for a while so might as
well get to know each other, don't you think? So...?"

Rosé rolled her eyes. "As a matter of fact yes, I happen to be taken, Ms Kim," she said with
exaggerated patience.

"Ah shucks, I was too late! But I'm a catch you know? A load of people say I'm girlfriend material."

"Mm I'm sure."

"No really! I'm the whole package. Charming, athletic, good-looking, witty..."

"Hmm."

"Don't turn your nose up at me yet! I like kids, I love cats, I adore bagels and I have a thing for
sassy blonde chicks that roll their eyes at me."

Rosé rolled her eyes and realised what Lisa said when Jisoo laughed."Dork."

The interaction made Jennie simultaneously want to barf up her breakfast but also melt into a
puddle. Hand in hand, Rosé and Lisa followed the doctor and the door closed behind them. Jennie,
Jisoo and Ella had been waiting ever since.

"Jendeuk, give it a rest," Jisoo chided gently.

"Sorry," Jennie said automatically but her knee kept on bouncing until Jisoo laid on a hand on her
thigh.

"They'll be out soon."

"It feels like forever," Ella complained on Jisoo's other side. She huffed out another sigh, dusting
off the crumbs from her lap from the forbidden crackers that Jisoo had sneakily bought for her.

"They'll be out soon El."

Jisoo had been the virtue of patience all morning: waking Jennie up at the diner and driving them
over, then running to her flat to greet Dalgom and fetch ingredients to make breakfast for all of five
of them and then offering to cover the expenses for Lisa's treatment and still being an angel trying
to lift their spirits up throughout it all.

"You said that five seconds ago! What if they don't ever come out?" Ella gasped, eyes wide.

"Then you'll have to drop out of school and find a job to earn money for you and the cats," Jennie
responded shortly.
"Ever the pragmatist," Jisoo said in amusement.

"What kind of job? Can I help out at the Vault?" Ella asked, flopping upside down on her seat as
she attempted to balance precariously on her head. "Jennie unnie look, I can do an almost
headstand."

"That's great El, now when your Mom comes out that door she'll have yet another reason to bash
my head in."

"Why?" Ella asked, still upside down.

"Because I didn't stop you from cracking your skull."

"Be nice, you sourpuss," Jisoo chortled as she helped Ella sit the right way up, "we're all antsy
here, you know. Work with me and go easy on Ella or I'll start on a trivia list, since you really like
those, don't you? I have plenty to say on mushrooms today."

Jennie sighed and leaned back in her chair, racking her brains for any game that might provide a
measure of distraction and keep an eight year old entertained.

She was grudgingly gaining a newfound respect for Lisa's ability to relate to Ella.

"Can we get ice creams after? It was so hot outside," Ella wheedled, showing her puppy-eyed face.

"I think she's been hanging around Lisa too much," Jennie muttered. She hid a smile when Jisoo
snorted, pleased with the reaction.

Jisoo winked at her before turning to Ella. "You know, that actually sounds like a good idea. I'm
sure the others would love some ice cream. What about you Jen? What's your favourite?"

"Milk tea," Jennie said, "but I could really go for some mango bingsu."

"Oh I love bingsu!" Ella clapped and launched into describing her favourite ice cream flavours.
Jisoo spared a moment to gaze at Jennie and smile, her heart-shaped lips stretching wide. Even with
all the apprehension still swirling around her head, Jennie could still feel the oasis of calm being in
Jisoo's presence brought her.

They might not make for the best babysitters, but Jennie knew that if Jisoo hadn't been there
waiting with her and doing her best to keep everyone's spirits up, her nerves would have been
ripped to shreds.

Fear of what exactly had transpired during the night with Rosé's mysterious attacker and the
implications it raised for Lisa and Jennie herself had her gut constricting into a singularity. Worry
gnawed at her sanity, almost making her puke the closer they had gotten to the hospital.

Lisa on the other hand hadn't seemed worried at all, laying her head on Rosé's shoulder in the
backseat with eyes closed and a contented smile. Ella's head rested on Rosé's lap and Rosé stroked
her daughter's head absently, her own eyes closed as she nuzzled Lisa. They looked like a family,
enclosed in their little bubble.

Watching them in the rear view mirror had Jennie's throat constricting. She couldn't pin down why
she felt like she was going to cry.

She was over arguing with Lisa, she had accepted that her sister and the pilates instructor were a
thing now, had sat and watched them sleeping on top of each other for heaven's sake, sat there and
observed how peaceful Lisa looked sleeping, how Rosé had smiled the moment she opened her
eyes and looked down at Lisa.

She had made her peace with the two of them being a pair, with her designated role as the outsider
looking in.

So why did she feel so wretchedly miserable seeing them happy?

Jisoo had been there, noting her rigid body and terse responses during the drive. She had pulled
Jennie aside once they parked and descended from the car.

"A lot is happening all at once and it's a shock for anyone," Jisoo told her softly. "Lisa's injury,
Lisa getting together with Rosé, the stress of Lisa's diagnosis and what comes after, the guy in the
alley...Jendeuk, nobody will think any less of you if you want to stay behind in the car and process
everything more slowly, I promise. I'd stay with you if I wasn't the one to do introductions. But I'll
keep you posted."

Jisoo was always looking out for her and it made Jennie almost sink into her arms for one moment
of weakness. She was scared and sick with worry and she was so tired, as though she hadn't slept all
night. Jisoo's offer was tempting, her arms already inviting Jennie to move closer and give in,
promising warmth, promising comfort but most of all, promising care.

But the spell shattered when Lisa called them and Jennie stepped back, shaking her head stoically.

"I'll be fine."

Jisoo nodded, lips pressed into a thin line. Jennie thought she saw her brows furrow with worry for
a second before it cleared and they were moving along. Jisoo didn't press her on the matter again.

"Mom!"

Jennie stood to attention as Rosé finally emerged, shedding her mask and gloves and catching Ella
as the girl went in for a hug.

"It's done," Rosé smiled, "Lisa's waiting for us in recovery."

"Recovery? Why would she be there, I thought the doctor said she can walk out?" Jennie frowned,
tightening her jaw. Jisoo nudged her.

"Yes well, there were a couple complications, but she's fine," Rosé said hastily, seeing Jennie's
tense form, "for starters, she fainted when she got anaesthetic."

"Oh hell I knew it, I knew she shouldn't have taken the anaesthetic, I knew it was bad for her—"

"Jen, slow down. She's scared of needles, remember? She probably fainted because of that," Jisoo
reminded.

"I'll tell you about it as we walk, come on." So saying, Rosé led them to Lisa's recovery room and
they all trooped after her.

>

"...so as I was saying, she fainted because of the needle injection, like Jisoo said."

"That doesn't explain why she's in recovery," Jennie said suspiciously.

"That's because she got a little...drowsy. Seems like she's extra sensitive to drugs and it worked
really quickly and deep on her, despite the minimal dose. Doctor Song was quite perplexed but
nobody was complaining much. Maybe it was for the best too, so that Lisa wouldn't see the actual
procedure. She was a bit antsy sitting on the operating table but don't worry, I didn't let go of her
hand."

"So you saw everything out in the open? What was it like?"

Rosé pulled a face. "Her wrist bone structure was a mess."

"What happened when unnie fainted?" Ella asked.

"Yes do tell, I wanna tease her about it," Jisoo smirked.

"It was rather funny to be honest. She was all chatty and even being cocky because she didn't faint
when they did the bloods right? So she thought she was in the clear, that she's over being scared of
needles. She was sitting on the table, I was sitting next to her. They injected her and then
immediately, she fell right into my lap, her head fell with a hard thunk on my thigh. It hurt too,"
Rosé said animatedly. "I thought she was pretending, doing it for a laugh to prank us."

"I was like, 'Ah! Lisa! It hurts! That's not funny!' But then I thought that she suddenly felt cold and
I started shaking her and going 'Lisa wake up!' Thankfully, the staff were around to make sure she's
okay and she did wake up after a few minutes. She was fine then, but later got groggy and slurring
her words. The doctor paused the procedure to make sure that it's nothing neurological or anything,
that's why we took so long. And now, she's still a bit dazed so be ready for it."

Rosé found the room she was looking for and confidently sauntered in. The room was private,
contained a single bed, bed table, cabinet and two chairs. It was spacious, with natural light filtering
in through the window.

Lisa reclined in bed, sitting up against her pillows with a glass of water and straw next to her on the
bedside table.

When Jennie spotted the pink cast Lisa sported, she pursed her lips.

"She chose pink," Rosé explained, following Jennie's gaze.

"Heyyyyy Niniiiiiii," Lisa grinned and squinted. "Hey, when did you clone yourself?"

"How are you feeling?" Jennie asked anxiously, taking a seat next to her.

"Hm...floating. Very...floating." She peered down at her arm, lifting it. "It's heavy and pink too,
like a sausage."

"She's lost in the sauce," Jisoo snickered. "Hey, can you see unicorns?"

"Chu?" Lisa lifted her gaze, smiling. Her eyes widened and her mouth went slack as she stared.

"What? Am I that dazzling to you?" Jisoo laughed.

"Don't move!" Lisa said in hushed tones. "I think there's an angel behind you."

"A what now?" Jisoo turned around but there was only Rosé standing with Ella next to her.

"Ssssshhh, she'll hear you!" Lisa hissed desperately, carefully peering around Jisoo.
"Don't tell me you're not recognising Pasta?" Jisoo said slowly, her eyes gleeful. "Oh wow, this is
better than a K-drama, I gotta record this, Somi will have a fit!"

"Nobody's recording anything," Jennie sighed.

"I swear she's an angel, I mean look at her," Lisa said reverently. "She's so...angelic."

Rosé was blushing and Ella too seemed to have cottoned to what was happening.

"Unnie thinks you're an angel, Mommy," she giggled.

"Lisa, it's me, don't you recognise me?" Rosé said at last, deciding to intervene because she took
pity on Lisa's confused face when Jisoo and Ella laughed together.

Lisa stared. "How do you know my name?" she whispered.

"What kind of anaesthesia did they give her?" Jennie wondered, dumbfounded. "Seriously, I knew
she was sensitive to drugs but this really takes the cake. I'm just glad they didn't turn her into a
drooling zombie."

Rosé sat on the edge of the bed, moving carefully so as not to alarm Lisa. "Baby, it's me, Rosie.
Your girlfriend, remember?"

Lisa teared up. "I have a girlfriend?"

"Oh lord—"

"This is gold—"

"She's crying! Unnie is really crying—"

"Yes, you do, babe," Rosé smiled tenderly, leaning forward to wipe the tears from Lisa's face .
"You asked me to be your girlfriend last night."

"And you said yes?" Lisa said hopefully.

"I did," Rosé affirmed. "I'm your girlfriend and you're mine. We even had our first kiss."

Lisa choked up again as Jisoo cackled while Jennie shook her head in disbelief.

Rosé pulled Ella close. "And this is my daughter Ella, you do maths together—"

"We have a baby?" Lisa bawled before Rosé could stop her, "I'm a mom?!"

"No it's not like that—Jisoo stop laughing, you're not making this easier!"

But even Ella was laughing, making it hard for Rosé to explain. Jennie was simply struck dumb,
scratching her head and debating if she should smack her sister back into her senses.

"Wait," said Lisa amidst the confusion. She frowned down at her crotch before glancing up again,
looking puzzled. "Does this mean I grew a dick? Please tell me it's at least a ten inch."

Jisoo collapsed laughing on the ground, tears streaming as she rolled and held her stomach. Rosé
gasped and quickly went to cover Ella's ears but it was too late—Ella was already giggling openly
at the mention of 'dick'.
"Are you quite done spouting nonsense?" Jennie asked, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Where's
the damn doctor, maybe he has something to make you sleep again."

"Here drink some water," Rosé said. Lisa sat back with a dopey smile and sipped obediently, her
half-lidded eyes glued to her girlfriend as though afraid she would slip away.

"You're staying here right?" Lisa asked anxiously.

"I am. Do you want to sleep, baby?"

"Mm not really. Why? You want to sleep and make more babies?"

"Oh for god's sake!" Jennie yelled.

"Lisa, dude. Hate to break it to you but you're not Ella's baby daddy. You're not even a mom, you're
just girlfriends with Rosé and you most definitely do not have a ten inch, or any inch at all. There,"
Jisoo said, still wiping her tears and Jennie heaved a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness for Jisoo really, Rosé was useless when it came to knocking some sense into Lisa.

"The doctor said he'll be along to explain about the cast and how long Lisa should keep it," Rosé
said when calm had finally been restored. "I'd imagine he'll be along any time now."

"Well, she isn't walking out of here for sure in that state," Jennie replied, gesturing at Lisa's
drooping eyelids. "She's about to clock out."

"'M not clocking," Lisa mumbled. "Jisoo?"

"I'm here, what's up?"

"Y'know, I was thinking," Lisa said conversationally as she waved her pink cast, "if your hand gets
cut off, would it hurt?"

Her query was met with a baffled silence before Jisoo recovered.

"I mean, duh?"

"How though?"

"Well, your hand just got cut off!"

"Where are you gonna feel the pain?"

"In your hand—" Jisoo broke off, frowning.

"Exactly," Lisa said earnestly, "how are you gonna feel the pain..."

"...if your hand is gone?" Jisoo continued, eyes wide. Jennie and Rosé shared a glance as Ella
clamoured for explanation.

"I've been thinking about this all day, man," Lisa said seriously.

"Lisa, it's only half past one you idiot—"

"Where are you gonna feel the pain then?" Jisoo asked, brows furrowed now as she fully devoted
herself to solving this conundrum. Jennie turned on the girl in disbelief. How could Jisoo be so
mature one moment and then completely revert to a goof the next?

"That's the point. There ain't no pain," Lisa revealed. "Once your hand's gone, your pain's gone
with it!"

Jennie face-palmed. "Lisa what the hell—"

"No hang on, she has a point," Jisoo said, awestruck. "It makes sense! Think about it."

"No it doesn't," Rosé protested, "there's phantom pain and—"

"Where you gonna feel the pain if your hand's gone, man?" Lisa demanded.

"I never thought of this," Jisoo muttered.

"I won't even dignify that with an answer. Are you two knuckle heads done sharing your measly
brain cell? Good, now shut up and let's wait for the doctor," Jennie said wearily. She had thought
Jisoo was better at dealing with Lisa but clearly, she was very, very wrong.

The longer they spoke, the more she feared for her sanity.

"Mom I need to use the bathroom," Ella announced.

>

The man in the car had sat watching from his vantage point, even though his car was baking in the
heat—he was not giving up the valuable parking space for something trivial as feeling too hot. He
had a job, and it was to keep an eye on his targets and be ready to follow them back once they
emerged, not matter the conditions.

His skin at his throat where he rubbed the band felt raw to the touch, testament to how many times
he had thumbed at the Zapper.

He had relieved himself in his empty water bottle and had eaten some crackers he found in the
glove compartment, but still he waited, just as he had done the night before, patient and alert,
scanning his surroundings and occasionally tuning in to the radio channels for some mild
stimulation.

Jay-W had had a busy night: ahead of Thorn's arrival, he had transported the strange brute— whom
he was positive was a former Jay due to the presence of a similar black band around his neck—to
location and monitored the ensuing alley fight.

Afterwards, he ferried the unconscious bulky brute when the test had finished and zoomed off into
the night—he had been given a much better vehicle to operate this time, much quieter, to travel as
innocuously as possible.

Thorn's blonde friend, Lisa, really had done a number on the brute. She had appeared out of
nowhere, zipping around the corner in a flash before a low ruckus started in the depths of the alley,
with dull thumps of bodies hitting metal and high-pitched squealing as well as low rumbles,
amplified with the mics and cameras he had planted earlier.

With luck, the neighbours will think that a number of city rodents got together in the alley for a
trash bash.

Seeing the hulking brute in action after he had released him from his bonds was mesmerising. Jay-
W had been warned not to speak to him at all.

"He knows his target. He knows what to do. Do not speak to him and whatever happens, do not
intervene. You'll mess up his programming and he'll go haywire."

The warning was ominous enough, but the brute hadn't seemed capable of speech either way.

Like an overgrown lanky ape dressed in loose black clothing, he sat growling and grunting
incoherently in the backseat with his hands and legs tied together, eyes squeezed shut and the vein
at his temple jutting out as though he was under great strain.

Jay-W had been mildly wary, eyeing him in the rear view mirror from time to time but then again
he had transported more volatile cargo before. He trusted in his superiors' way of handling
operations and thus far, they always held up their end of a deal.

Lugging the brute into the car after he was done sending footage of the alley fight nearly broke his
back. Jay-W felt the Zapper snag against his throat, an ubiquitous reminder of the repercussions
should he fail to carry out the task. So grimly, he huffed and puffed until he had dragged him into
the backseat and drove off, returning just before dawn to continue his watch.

The whole operation had gone smoothly, just as Yang had wished—capture footage of the fight,
stay incognito, clear the alley of evidence and drop off the brute at the warehouse where
Ringmaster's people would be waiting for him.

Another job done and dusted, another payment collected, no questions asked. That was his job.

Jay-W idly drummed his fingers along the steering wheel.

Earlier he had received confirmation that their man posted in the hospital had also successfully
carried out his job, which was good—his timely intel had been put to good use and finally secured
them the elusive samples that his bosses were so eager to have.

The girls finally emerged, looking decidedly less tense than when they had arrived. He spotted
Thorn walking close to Lisa, who now sported a pink cast.

Jay-W sucked a breath.

Yang wasn't going to be too happy about that.

>

"When will you be back?" Ella demanded as Lisa loitered by the apartment's front door. "You're
coming back right? Say yes!"

"Sweetie, can we try saying that again less aggressively?" Rosé asked gently. "It's not manners to
talk that way."

"Are you going to come back again, please?" Ella said after some thought. Lisa ruffled her hair.

"Yes kiddo, I'm guessing you'll be seeing a lot of me around. Your mom and I had a long very adult
talk at the park while you were busy feeding your shirt your ice cream," she winked, "and since I
can't do boxing right now, well, I'm sure I'll have a lot more time to see you two, the cats as well.
We can do fun stuff together."

"You're still coming to my concert, right?" Ella asked, anxiously eyeing her cast.
"Hey, it's just my hand that's broken, it's not like I'll be the one playing. Don't worry, I wouldn't
miss it for the world, even if I broke both my legs."

"Don't tempt fate," Rosé warned, reaching out to knock on the door's wood. But Lisa merely
laughed, the sound like honey in her mouth: sweet and indulgent. She wished she could record the
sound and play it whenever she felt sad.

Lisa held out her good hand for a fist bump. "Atta girl, that's how we do it!"

"Go change baby, and you can watch some TV. I'll be right along to make some salad," Rosé told
Ella.

Ella had been too giddy to concentrate on the ice cream when all five of them had gone to the park
to eat ice cream and discuss their next priorities and ended up staining her shirt. Jennie had gone
with Jisoo to her apartment, presumably to give Rosé and Lisa some space to themselves before
Jennie and Lisa left to go home.

"Not chickpea salad!" Ella said pulling a face.

"Not chickpea salad," her mother assured. Smiling, Ella waved at Lisa and skipped away, already
pulling her shirt over her head as she went.

"She's really getting mouthy and outspoken around you," Rosé smiled, "tries to be bold like you, I
imagine."

"That a bad thing? I could try toning it down. I forget she's still impressionable."

But Rosé shook her head. "I don't really mind, I can always correct her if she's being too much...but
actually it's good that she doesn't stay quiet. I don't want her to be a doormat."

"Well if she's anything like you, then I'm sure she won't be very quiet," Lisa chuckled. But to her
dismay, Rosé's face fell.

"I don't want her to be like me either. I was naive and reckless and stubborn and...and impulsive
and—"

"Hey, hey." Lisa moved and stood in front of her, cupping her cheek. "We all did stupid things as
kids. You had nobody to guide you so of course you had to figure out stuff and fall all by yourself.
But look at you now, Rosie. You're more than those mistakes, okay? And Ella...maybe she didn't
come at an ideal time, but I think you did a fantastic job raising her. You're awesome, I hope you
know that."

Rosé looked at her gratefully. "Thank you."

"Anytime, baby." Lisa kissed the spot between her brows then rested their foreheads together,
playing with their hands in between them. "Ella will be okay, right? She seemed to take it well
when we told her."

They had carefully explained that Lisa was Rosé's girlfriend, how that would work and afterwards
dutifully answered any questions she had.

"If she has more questions I'll do my best to explain. I always try," Rosé nodded.

"See? I told you you're awesome."

Rosé hummed then cupped Lisa's cheek. "How about you? Will you and Jennie be okay?"

"Yeah sure. We'll figure out something for the money. I'm more bummed out that I can't box for
weeks though."

She lifted her hand, sighing. "Stupid clicking wrist. Maybe you were right, I should have checked it
earlier. Maybe I could have salvaged something and my hand wouldn't be broken and I wouldn't be
out of the game for...how long was it again?"

"Twelve weeks," Rosé said softly, letting the words sink in the quiet apartment.

Twelve weeks. Almost three months.

The doctor had had been adamant about the healing time, even when Jennie tried explaining about
the upcoming Grand Slam in a month. He merely repeated what he already said: if Lisa uses her
arm before the given healing time, she would run the risk of seriously injuring it over and over
again, increasing the healing time and posing a risk for future PFB appearances.

"Patience, Ms Kim," Dr Song had told Jennie. "Let the body do its thing, give it plenty of rest and
good food and it will come back stronger. But you must give it time to heal. We did what we could
to help, but it's Lisa's body's turn now to do its magic. I'm sorry you would have to miss out on this
tournament but in the long run, it will be worth it."

Lisa sighed now, then shrugged. "Eh well, gotta make the most of it. Sounds like it's about time I
picked up some new hobby, just like you told me when we met, eh? Remember?"

"I remember."

At the time, she had thought Lisa was an ignorant meathead, a shallow gym junkie, an arrogant
cocky serial flirt, a colossal waste of time of effort to dupe in order to steal money from.

The irony was not lost on Rosé now, making her lips pull up in a wry smile: she couldn't possibly
have known how hard she would eventually fall for the blonde boxer and her sincere charm.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Rosé crooked a finger beneath Lisa's chin to pull her in for a kiss. "Thinking about us."

She liked how easily she could kiss her now instead of the endless yearning and fantasising. Best of
all was the knowledge that Lisa wanted just the same, easily returning her kisses and never
straying too far from her, even when she was interacting with Ella or the others.

They hadn't had much time to themselves all morning, sneaking little touches like hooking fingers
together or nudging shoulders whenever they could, always seeking to be in contact with each
other. Jisoo had teased Lisa about her high episode in hospital as well, adding fuel to the fire when
she pointed out how they couldn't take their eyes off each other.

But now there was nobody in sight, no Jennie or Jisoo, no Ella or the cats: Rosé had Lisa all to
herself and she didn't waste time to show her exactly just how much she had missed her.

Lisa's hands skimmed her sides, her bulky cast rubbing against Rosé's shirt. Her eyelashes fluttered
against her cheek, her lips parting readily and her hands coming up to cradle her jaw as she
deepened the kiss.

It was slow and soft, a kiss to seal the present, to shed the the tension and stress of the morning,
and to look towards the coming days together.

"How about you stay for lunch? I can make your favourite," Rosé murmured, sighing when Lisa
nosed along her jaw and teased her with kisses just underneath her ear. Her grip on Lisa's shoulder
tightened when she felt a small nip at the side of her throat.

"Lisa..."

"Did I mention how much hearing you say my name turns me on?" Lisa said huskily, her hands
straying down the swell of Rosé's hips.

Rosé swatted her arm away half-heartedly. "Baby, anyone could walk in on us any moment."

"Sorry sorry." Lisa sounded anything but sorry when she drew back to look her in the eyes,
smirking. "You were saying?"

"Stay for lunch? You only had ice cream, you must be hungry. And I know Ella would be thrilled
you're still around."

"Won't her mother be thrilled too?"

Rosé considered. "Hmm...maybe if she gets some more kisses?"

"You drive a mean bargain, babe," Lisa whined.

"Don't be so dramatic. Besides, it's fun," Rosé giggled, and Lisa quickly obliged to capture her
laughter, smiling as their faces came together.

Lisa couldn't get enough of happy Rosé, drunk on the sound of her laughter that had rung out often
throughout the day, especially because she had made her laugh.

Soft mouths pressed and held, caressing with utmost gentleness as hands cradled the back of heads
or gripped on to shirts tightly.

"That would be cool, but I already promised Jennie I'm going back to the Vault," Lisa answered
sorrowfully at length. "Sorry baby. But I'll come around tomorrow? Or whatever you prefer, you
can come to the Vault, it's cool with me."

"Don't worry about it, Jennie and you have stuff to think about as well," Rosé reassured. She bit her
lip, tracing her jaw. "I just want to be selfish for a little while longer before I let you go."

Lisa closed her eyes and rested her forehead on Rosé's. "The feeling's mutual. It's a bit scary, the
way I don't want to let go. I've never felt this way about anyone before."

"Me neither."

Lisa raised her head to look at her. "Not...not even with..."

The question hung in the air but Rosé decided to take the dive for once.

"With my ex, I was giddy and thrilled for perhaps a few weeks before everything...went to hell. I'll
tell you about it another time," she said apologetically even as Lisa nodded vigorously, "and I
didn't see anyone else afterwards. Jisoo gave me comfort, that's true, but again, it was fleeting and
more often than not, I felt empty, like I'm still missing something. But with you..."

Rosé smiled,her eyes sparkling. "With you, everything feels right."

Lisa beamed and was about to lean in again when a knock on the door startled them.

"Rosé?" Jennie called.

"Yeah here," Rosé said mechanically striding to open the door. She stood bemused when she found
Jennie standing with eyes screwed shut. "Jen?"

"Do you have clothes on?" Jennie asked, still with eyes closed.

"Really Jen? You'd think she's gonna open the door in her birthday suit?" Lisa sighed as she sidled
up next to her girlfriend. "I keep telling you, nothing happened last night and nothing happened
now."

Rosé thought Lisa looked rather pink but then Jennie opened her eyes, took one look at them and
snorted.

"Fine, maybe you didn't do the dirty but seems like you had a pretty good makeout session to me,
you're all hot and rumpled," she snickered. "Come on Lis, we're gonna miss the bus."

Lisa turned pinker as she quickly pecked Rosé one more time, whispered a hasty bye with a wide
grin and loped after Jennie, patting down her dishevelled bangs.

Rosé watched them go until they disappeared in the elevator before shutting the door and sinking
against it with a happy sigh, still replaying Lisa's ghostly touch that lingered on her lips and skin.
She gave herself a quick pinch to remind herself that she wasn't dreaming, that her wish had come
true, that she and Lisa were officially together.

The buzz of her phone had her draw it out of her pocket and immediately glimpsing Jennie's
contact on the lockscreen, along with a brief message.

ur gf lili here! :P bone up the teeth baby! xoxoxoxoxoxo

It took Rosé a few seconds to decipher the message, whereupon she chuckled and was in the midst
of typing an answer when a new message came in, this time from a familiar unknown number.

Don't forget you start tonight.

And just like that, all her happiness fled.

 Fallout

It was a few days later when Jennie lifted the trapdoor of the attic after she came back from
grocery shopping and found Lisa engrossed in her comic, her dictionary open next to her ready to
assist in finding some word she didn't know.

"Do you know what an enhanced quantum nanohelix-alphabeam spritzer is?" Lisa asked without
preamble, sounding puzzled.

"Well hello to you too dear sister, no nothing happened I'm quite fine. Oh please do not bother,
there's no need to help with my bags, they're not that heavy," Jennie snorted as she lifted herself in.

"Yeah hi, but do you know the word?" Lisa said distractedly as she flipped through the dictionary
pages with a crease in her brow. "I can't find anything here."

"Sounds pretty made up if you ask me." Jennie closed the trapdoor. She laid her plastic bags from
her trip to seven-eleven aside and picked up Hwangssabu's incense tin. "Is it in the story?"

"Yeah. It says it shoots nanohalogenic beams which I still don't get what it is. I'm finding separate
words in the dictionary but I guess they strung them together to sound fancy?"

"Yeah, that's usually how language works."

But Lisa had already sank back on her mattress, her nose buried between the pages of the comic
book.

Jennie shook her head with a little smile. The comics and dictionary were a thoughtful gift on
Rosé's part, partly because it quenched Lisa's thirst for knowledge and partly because at least it got
her to shut up for a while and let Jennie think.

Jennie placed new incense sticks in the pot, lit them up. The window was already open, letting in a
cool breeze to counter the afternoon heat.

She wasn't particularly religious, but it was the least she could do to keep the memory of their
mentor alive and honour him with their poor excuse for a shrine. She knelt in front of
Hwangssabu's photo and put her hands together, eyes trained intently on his bespectacled smiling
face.

I wish you were here.

She always started the ritual with that greeting in her head, a concession of her inability to shoulder
the burden she was handed.

It also translated for I miss you so much.

Jennie didn't dwell long in front of their late mentor's photo-it would only have her sink into
nostalgia and all the shortcomings that led up to the moment wrestling with current problems so
she would then solemnly close her eyes, say goodbye and carry on with the day.

She didn't know if Lisa ever talked to Hwangssabu like she did, but Jennie certainly didn't want her
sister to join her. She just wanted to have one little thing of Hwangssabu to herself. The ritual was
all she had left of him and she didn't want to share her grieving with Lisa.
It was almost like an unspoken agreement between them when Jennie had started out burning
incense for him after his death: Lisa would turn away or give a stiff nod, waiting until Jennie was
done. Then they would either settle for their afternoon nap or open the Vault, depending what time
of day Jennie burned the incense sticks.

"How's your hand today?" asked Jennie as she put away the new purchases and opened a Greek
yogurt pot, swooping up a heaped spoonful. She had taken a liking to it since she had one at Rosé's
place.

"It's good," Lisa shrugged.

"No pain whatsoever?"

"A little throbbing, but it's not much, like a tooth."

"Good, we can throw out those painkillers then, they'd only mess with you if you took them now,"
Jennie decided.

"Wouldn't it be better to hang on to them, for emergencies? Maybe you'd need them yourself one
day, if you got hurt," Lisa pointed out.

"I'd rather not mess around with drugs, thanks."

Lisa rolled her eyes at her sister's terse tone. "Nini they're just your average painkiller prescribed
by the doctor, could you stop treating it like it's crack?"

"They had you high, what's to say what they'd do to me?" Jennie said grimly. "Besides, it's not safe
to dabble like that, taking prescription drugs carelessly so...I'd rather have new ones prescribed
with instructions, if the situation ever comes to that."

Lisa turned a page of her comic. "Suit yourself then. You can go ahead and flush them."

"Okay."

They were quiet for a few moments but the room was suffocating with unspoken tension, the
conversation still not unfinished.

"It's a good thing your arm's healing steadily," Jennie began, breaking the silence, "hopefully in a
month's time, it will be healed and we can go into the Grand Slam without a hitch."

Lisa's head shot up. "What? But I thought...you said..."

She wilted when Jennie raised an eyebrow, her mouth running dry as realisation dawned on her.

"You lied?"

"I didn't." Jennie stirred her yogurt calmly, too calmly. Lisa knew that carefully blank face, the one
Jennie used to coax and cajole her, to persuade.

"Jen, you told Jisoo..."

"That we'll wait until your arm heals before we get back to boxing," Jennie nodded, "I never
mentioned about dropping out of the Grand Slam, though. That's just what everyone else is
assuming."

Lisa stared, her jaw slack.

"Your name is still in the running, I didn't pull us out just yet. As far as anyone is concerned, you
still qualify. We just have to make sure you don't end up rusty by the time we actually get to the
Grand Slam," Jennie said briskly, "and we've already slacked off these last few days."

"We've been running..." said Lisa faintly.

But Jennie shook her head. "Running won't substitute for actual punchbag training. So tomorrow I
want to get back on track with some punching, okay? Not your hurt arm obviously, we should wait
a little more, but we can't afford to let your progress so far go to waste. Competition will be tough."

"But Jisoo...and Rosie...I thought..." Lisa's eyes were wide, the comic completely forgotten in her
lap.

"Well, whatever you thought, put it out of your head because this is our plan of action now."

Jennie finished her yogurt and pulled some scraps of old newspaper towards her that had old game
plans scribbled in the margins. "Enjoy the concert tonight because we're picking up the pace from
now on and we need to match up with intensity and endurance-"

"Stop. Stop it. Just stop."

Jennie quirked her eyebrows. "What?"

Lisa glared, her jaw set. "What do you mean, what? Jennie, are you out of your senses? First of all,
you want to risk me going into the Grand Slam when I could potentially harm my hand again, for
good this time?"

Jennie waved her hand dismissively. "You always heal, don't be so dramatic. Now as I was saying
—"

Lisa's fist slammed down on the papers, successfully grabbing Jennie's attention.

"Why?" Lisa gritted. "Why do you want to go in so badly? You heard the doc. You heard everyone
else. Jisoo even offered to help out! What's wrong with you?"

This time it was Jennie's turn to stare. "What?"

"Stop playing dumb!" Lisa gestured at herself. "I thought we were going to lie low and...you said
you'd figure out what to do about the money."

"And I did. We're going ahead with plans as usual, the only difference is we're gonna have to train
your other arm because we're gonna lean more heavily on it for punching."

"Jennie, my hand is injured!" Lisa said indignantly, waving it in front of Jennie's face. "What's not
clicking?"

"Your hand."

"No!" Lisa groaned. "Please tell me you're joking. We can't go into the Grand Slam."

"Why?" Jennie's eyes narrowed. "I thought we were on the same page here. Get in the Grand Slam,
get the money."

"Yeah, but that was before I got hurt," Lisa insisted. "Things have changed now."

"Things have changed...or your priorities have changed?" Jennie said coldly.
The room stilled, thick with tension as they stared each other down.

"Is that a bad thing?" Lisa answered at last. "Changing priorities? Things change, Jen. We can
change too but doesn't mean we won't be able to handle whatever comes our way."

"Not this again," Jennie groaned, "you came to me with that crap when you wanted to have a go
dating Rosé. And look where that got you. Look where that got us."

"So there was a slight change in plans," Lisa conceded, "doesn't mean we have to be rigid and stick
absolutely—"

"Are you scared of what your Rosie-posie might say?" Jennie interrupted roughly. "Scared she'll be
mad that you didn't listen to her and stayed put? Is that what this is? Because she certainly has done
a fine job of placing you under her thumb."

Lisa stared, lost for words. "What?"

"I'm just saying," Jennie forged on, "you seem to have gotten quite bold as of late, questioning me
when all I'm trying to do is secure us the money. Is your Rosie-posie gonna feed you when our
winnings from the Purge run out, hmm? You think you'll make it till winter living on salads?"

"This has nothing to do with Rosie," Lisa gritted. "Leave her out of this."

"Right. Let's say I believe you on that. So what's your problem then, if it's not Rosé?"

"It's just that we don't have to risk me getting hurt again, we have options."

"Do we? And you won't get hurt."

"You don't know that."

"I do. I know how your body works, more or less."

"Jisoo promised she'd help. You know she will. Why can't you trust her?"

"I do trust her. But unlike you, Lisa, I still have pride. Have you no dignity at all? Is that why
you're so willing to throw yourselves at people's feet like an eager puppy begging for scraps?"
Jennie said in a terrible voice. "Well then, run along and be a good little dog. But I'm not that
cheap. Jisoo did promise me help when we last talked, but I never said I'd take it. She's done too
much already, I can't keep leeching off her."

"You won't be leeching, she's offering as a friend! Why can't you accept that?"

Jennie leaned forward, eyes trained on her sister. "I've spent my whole life fighting to stay out of
debt, Lisa. I've been in this game before you came into the picture. I watched my parents grapple
with money and all the suffering it caused. I watched Hwangssabu working several jobs to eke out
a living for us, before you came along. I had to leave my lavish life behind and start from scratch,
twice now."

All I want is to be able to live comfortably, without relying on others. You may call me greedy and
selfish and obstinate for all I care. But you wouldn't understand. So let me do my job in peace and
you do yours. That's the way we always worked, and that's what got us through so far."

"You're not giving me a choice, Jen," Lisa said quietly. "What happened to that? Am I just your
prize cash-cow? What happened to talking it out together? This is like when you told me about
pilates."

"You're not thinking rationally so I can't give you choices to make. Someone has to think ahead,"
Jennie shrugged, thumbing through her notebook for financial records and bills. "If you're so
adamant on not going into the Grand Slam, give me a solution. Excluding any charity," she added
sternly when Lisa opened her mouth. "Excluding any possible offer that your girlfriend and Jisoo
might dream up."

"I could...pick up some manual labour?" Lisa voiced out doubtfully.

"Right. You break your back all day and then get paid a pittance because you'd obviously be
working outside the law with all the other foreigners they'd bully into the job. Not worth it. Next."

"Maybe Matt could try give me another gig, but at a different diner..."

"He'd have two undeclared people on the pay roll. Doesn't even sound good when you say it out
loud. Plus, you're too conspicuous and memorable. Next."

"Pizza delivery?"

"You can't even ride a bike, or a motorcycle, or any vehicle for that matter. You'd need a license
and all that jazz. They're not gonna waste time teaching you."

"I could learn! And I could...buy a bike?"

Jennie gave her a sardonic smile. "You want to waste your cut of the Purge money on a bike? How
cute."

"Please don't make me go into the Grand Slam," Lisa said in a small voice. "I...I don't want to. I
could hurt my arm for good."

"You don't want to, or Rosie doesn't want you to?" Jennie said in a hard voice.

When Lisa opened her mouth to answer, Jennie held up her hand. "You know stopping the training
will be bad, you know that. You need to be constantly training, Hwangssabu said so."

"I know," Lisa said quietly.

"So why not be productive about it and get money while we're at it? I'm asking you again Lisa:
you don't want to, or Rosie doesn't want you to?"

This time Lisa was silent, her eyes downcast. Jennie clicked her teeth.

"That doc was talking hot air because he was considering the time it takes regular people to heal.
Your hand will be fine as rain in a month, you'll see. And don't even think of trying to get out of it
by injuring it again," she warned. "Stick to the plan."

"Would you go in if you were in my place?"

"I'd do it like a shot if it meant there was a chance I could win the money."

"It's all about the money," Lisa mumbled.

"Lisa, think of what we could do with the prize. You wouldn't even have to fight again until next
summer! That's how much money is at stake, and we'll be living as fancy as you please. We can
renovate this dump, buy a new AC and get proper food every day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. No
more noodle cups! Oh, and we can buy new mattresses and blankets! We can go to the spa every
two months. We can buy clothes and heck we can even get a heater and pay all the bills and
lease..."

Jennie's eyes shone, pleading with her sister. "Doesn't that all sound amazing? Isn't it that why
we're working our asses off? And all you have to do is train for this month and win. We're so close
Lisa. Are you really going to give up all that we worked for...for Rosé?"

"I told you, it's got nothing to do with her!" Lisa gritted. "I'm worried about getting injured again!"

"Liar. Tell that straight to my face. Go on, say it."

But Lisa lowered her head, cradling her injured arm close.

"Remember a few months ago, we were lying here and you held my hand?" she said quietly. "It
was when...when you told me you booked me for pilates. I didn't want to go because you sprung it
up on me out of nowhere. You held my hand, and you said...you said these hands shouldn't be
boxing but holding a pretty girl's hand walking through a park instead."

Vaguely, Jennie did remember comforting her sister in the dead of night when melancholy had
draped itself over them, silent as shadows.

"Did you mean it?" Lisa asked softly. "Any of it?"

Jennie lifted her eyes. "Maybe you were right. Maybe times do change. We could afford some
instances of sentimentality before, but circumstances being what they are now...the only constant I
see here is our lack of funds. And having a whirlwind romance isn't gonna solve that."

"Rosie isn't a whirlwind romance! I thought you were okay with her, with us?"

"I did give you my blessings, didn't I?"

"Then what's your problem? Why all the underhanded digs at her? I thought you were done with
that!"

"I thought I was too, but seeing as it's because of her we're stuck debating this pointless issue,
well...let's say my approval has taken a nosedive again."

"It's not her fault. It's not anyone's fault but that sick bastard that was going to hurt her," Lisa
growled.

"Lisa, I don't dislike Rosé but...I do have some concerns about her, ah, influence, over you."

They went quiet, sizing each other up.

"I don't have to go with everything that you say, Nini," Lisa said quietly, "I think you forget I'm my
own person too."

"If you were your own person, neither of us would be here," Jennie said grimly. "Think about that
before you get any ideas about throwing a tantrum."

"I'm not throwing tantrums," Lisa gritted, her fists clenched, "and I can handle stuff too. I handled
everything so far."

"Clearly," Jennie said dryly, "why do I feel like we already had this conversation before? Oh right,
because you messed up and look at you now, just peachy."
She turned her attention back to her notebook, furrowing her brows as she squinted to jot down her
latest purchases. "If you ask me, the sooner this fling is over, the better."

"This is not a fling!" Lisa yelled. "How could you say that?"

Jennie scribbled in her notebook, unbothered. "I'm just being realistic. The honeymoon phase will
be over before you know it. Think carefully about your relationship now, consider what's at stake.
Do you intend on telling her all about...well, yourself?"

"I will, one day soon. I plan to," Lisa rasped, her face steely, confident in her belief in Rosé. "I hate
keeping secrets and that's why I don't agree with your plan to sneakily get back into the Grand
Slam. I'm keeping enough secrets from her as it is, I don't want to add more."

"And you think she will be okay, learning all about you?"

"She will be. She didn't say anything when we told her about our documentation thing. She...she
accepts me for who I am, Jen. Something that I'm not sure you do," Lisa said slowly.

Jennie chuckled darkly. "Then she's a bigger fool than I thought."

"Maybe you're the fool, burying your head in the sand and just focusing on the money."

"And what's wrong with that? I'm the one holding things together, Lisa. I have to make the tough
calls and have to deal with whatever trouble you get yourself into. I'd rather be the fool that focuses
on money then the fool that goes all wishy-washy because of something as trivial as feelings. You
tell me whose the more likely to survive."

Jennie settled back with her notebook in hand. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing. Your hand will
heal in time. We just have to work smart and review our gameplan."

"We don't have to," Lisa said miserably, "Jen, our friends, they can help..."

Her sister sighed. "Did you hear anything that I said? Or do I have to repeat like a stuck record?"

She looked up, her eyes boring into Lisa. "If you want to show how much you've grown up and
how serious you are now, I'd start by considering the work needed to bring in the money without
having to rely on others. Rosie posie won't be your crutch forever. And she might leave sooner
than you expect."

"She won't." Lisa's voice was hoarse. "She's not like that. She's..." her voice trailed off, doubt
seeping in. She had only revealed bits and pieces of her background, and indeed Rosé had been
there, reassuring her, believing in her.

But when it came to revealing her past as well as her true self...would Rosé still be willing to stand
by her words?

"Truth is unkind and hard to swallow, but I'd rather that you know what you're in for instead of
feeding you lies," Jennie said sombrely. "Planning your future around Rosé when you barely know
each other is foolish. Winning the Grand Slam is what must be done. We start tomorrow."

Lisa was still for a single heartbeat before in a flurry of movement she had snatched up
Hwangssabu's leather jacket and scrambled across the room, grabbing her shoes in terrible haste.

Jennie didn't stop her.

Lisa opened the trapdoor and clambered through, slamming it shut behind her without ever looking
back. Jennie thought she heard a distinct sniff as her sister clattered down the stairs. Moments later
the Vault door thudded shut, the vibrations reaching all the way up to the attic before silence
reigned once more.

Jennie rested her head back against the wall and turned to the side where Hwangssabu's photo sat.
She fancied his smile looked rather dull.

"You want to tell me how bad I'm handling this too?" she asked tiredly. "Then just come back and
tell it to my face. Tell me what to do. Go on, do it. Give me something. Come back." Her voice
cracked but she gritted her teeth, stopping herself from pleading like some whiny child.

Naturally, nothing happened—Hwangssabu was a distant memory stamped on a piece of paper,

beyond anybody's reach.

Jennie was utterly alone.

Her eyes prickled as she squeezed them shut. She choked on the bitter words stuck in her mouth, a
silent cry trapped in her throat.

I wish you were here.

>

Soft music was playing in Rosé apartment when the knock at her door abruptly cut through Ariana
Grande's dreamy vocals.

"Now who can that be?" Rosé muttered.

She wiped her hands down the apron as she peered through the peephole to see who had
interrupted her cooking. A wide grin made its way to her face when she recognised Lisa. Her heart
immediately swelled up at the sight as the initial anxiety melted away.

She threw open the door with a happy laugh and pulled Lisa in.

"Hey you," she chirped, "well this is a nice surprise—oh?"

Lisa had whipped out a bunch of yellow tulips from behind her back and offered them to her with a
strained smile. Her good hand was shoved deep in her pocket.

"I erm, I don't know if they have any particular meaning, so forget about it if they do. I thought
they were pretty," she mumbled, "hope you like them."

"They're lovely," Rosé beamed, taking them and sniffing deeply. "Thank you baby."

Lisa shifted on her feet. "You're welcome, I guess."

"What's the occasion?"

"Just thought of getting you something on the way here," Lisa said bashfully. She couldn't help the
blush spreading across her face as Rosé pecked her on the cheek and stood back smugly.

"Score for me, look at you turning so pink, you're adorable."

"So you were actually trying to get me to blush on purpose before," Lisa accused. "I knew it!"
"Guilty as charged. But it's not like you're so innocent either," Rosé giggled. She cradled the
flowers close to her chest. "Let's find a vase for them, hmm? Come on in."

She paused and looked at Lisa curiously. "Unless you were going somewhere? How come you're
here already? Is Jennie here? Jisoo's not here though, she went in to her workplace today."

They had arranged to meet up at Rosé's place before heading to Ella's school for the concert but
that was still a good couple of hours away.

Lisa shook her head. "Jennie's...still at the Vault. I just wanted to see you. It isn't the same when
Mimi and the others drop by," she said hurriedly. "I missed you."

"Aww, I missed you too! I'm sorry things got hectic, just cramming in the last batch of clients
before summer starts properly."

"It's okay, I still got your goodnight texts."

"Jennie must have gotten pretty sick of those," Rosé chuckled. Her smile was replaced by a frown
when Lisa shrugged, avoiding her eyes.

She had been expecting some banter in reply but somehow, they weren't operating on the same
wavelength today.

"Is Ella here?" Lisa asked instead as they walked into the kitchen.

Rosé glanced over her shoulder, noting her girlfriend's subdued demeanour but didn't comment
about it. The vague sensation that something was troubling Lisa and that it had to do with Jennie
increased, but she thought of waiting a bit longer until perhaps Lisa spilled it herself.

"No she's at school, putting in some final practice before the concert later." Rosé filled a jug with
water then set about arranging the tulips in it. She worked deftly, her nimble fingers gently stroking
the creamy yellow petals every now and then.

The cats came gambolling and mewling around Lisa who knelt down and cracked her first smile,
her eyes lighting up.

"Leo you're getting so big! Did you miss me?" she cooed, crushing him in a hug. "And Ollie, come
here!"

She picked up Oliver and blew a raspberry on his stomach before rubbing behind Bori's ears as
well, talking to them in a babyish voice all the while. Rosé watched them with a secret smile whilst
she busied herself arranging Lisa's flowers.

"Oliver's name is actually Lego now. Ella declared that yesterday. Said Lego is a better name, and
who am I to argue? Maybe by winter she'll change her mind and call him something like Benji or
Hank too."

"Do kids change their minds a lot?" Lisa asked in surprise, letting go of 'Lego.'

"Some stuff they're pretty dead-set on, like her cuddly bunny Flora. I don't ever remember that
having a different name."

"Lego...I like it!" Lisa decided, scratching behind his ears. "I wonder where she got the name."

"You can ask her yourself when she gets back," Rosé smiled.
She had been in the midst of cooking, or rather she had been assembling food pouches of some
kind because there were a variety of dishes and bowls dotting the kitchen counter filled with herbs,
veggies and other condiments. Lisa eyed the abandoned chopping board and greens on it.

"If you're busy I can let you carry on..." Lisa said hesitantly but Rosé waved dismissively, placing
the last flower in the arrangement.

"I'm good, it's going into the freezer anyway." She stood back, surveying her handiwork with a
pleased eye. "There! Don't they just brighten up the whole place?" She smiled at Lisa. "Nobody
ever got me flowers before."

"Nobody ever got you flowers?" Lisa repeated.

"Ella gives me paper roses. The kids do them for crafts at school for Mother's day," Rosé
chuckled, "so those are the flowers I usually get."

"Oh...what about...Jisoo?"

Rosé gave a wry smile. "We never ventured into romantic territory. It was all...very physical. And
my ex well, he wasn't the gifting type"

"Ah...I see."

Rosé frowned when Lisa went back to scratching Lego's belly as he flopped on his back.

"Baby? Is everything okay? You're rather quiet," she said in concern. "Is it your hand? Is it
hurting?"

Lisa flinched at the mention of her hurt arm which Rosé was quick to note.

"No no I'm good I just wanted to see you and dropped by. There wasn't anyone at the Vault
anyway, it was boring. You sure I'm not bothering you?"

"Very sure. I thought you were keeping busy reading the comics, or did they make you bored too?"

"No no no no no they're so much fun! I'm having fun, honestly Rosie!" Lisa said earnestly. "I
search up words I don't know in the dictionary too!"

"That's nice," Rosé said, waiting expectantly for Lisa to elaborate.

But once again Lisa fell silent, focusing her attention on Leo and Lego as another Ariana song
started up from the stereo player.

Rosé would be lying if she didn't admit to feeling jealous that Lisa was choosing the cats over her,
wondering why she hadn't even kissed her yet.

But she let it be, deciding there and then to get to the bottom of what was bugging Lisa. Something
definitely wasn't right—even if she was trying to hide something, usually Lisa would still be
holding up her cocky facade but today, all that was stripped away.

Lisa hadn't even bothered to mask herself—something must have shaken her deeply enough that
she couldn't even pretend to be in a chipper mood.

Rosé knew better than to corner her and demand to talk—it had only been days since they started
dating and they were still getting used to each other, but Rosé knew better than to apply force.
Thus, Rosé turned back to her cooking utensils and picked up the knife at the chopping board,
humming softly as she started dicing some scallions.

"You'll have my undivided attention soon, I'm just going to finish chopping this up and then fill up
the rolls."

She smiled when she sensed Lisa stand up and cautiously approach like a curious child. Sure
enough, Lisa eventually came to stand next to her, watching attentively as Rosé nimbly chopped
the scallions into tiny pieces.

"What are you preparing?"

"Spring rolls. I don't think you tried them yet?"

"I haven't."

"Well, I can always reserve you some. I think you'll like them," Rosé offered, still working as she
spoke.

"Be careful," Lisa said anxiously, sucking in a breath as the knife danced across the board in Rosé's
skilful grip.

"I am, don't worry. Besides, you're here now, you'll take care of me if I slice my finger off, right?"
She laughed at Lisa's wide eyes. "Joke, baby, joke. Here, would you like to try?"

She chuckled again when Lisa shook her head violently. "Okay, okay. I'll be with you soon, unless
you're gonna stay and watch?"

"Can I help with something else?"

Rosé beamed and quickly directed Lisa to the pile of wrappers soaking in a bowl. "Okay so these
have been soaking a while so they should be good to go. No pressure alright? Go at your pace."

Humming, she turned back to her task when she noticed Lisa standing still and looking utterly lost
as she gazed down at the bowls and plates in front of her.

"Oh baby, you don't know how? Why didn't you say so? I just assumed you knew, my bad. It's
okay."

Lisa reddened, pressing her lips together. Her shoulders sagged when Rosé reached out and kissed
her sweetly on her cheek to reassure her, rubbing her back.

"I'm useless," Lisa sighed. "I'm wasting your time."

"Nonsense. You never got to make spring rolls before," Rosé said firmly, "so come on, let's do
them together."

She moved behind Lisa, nestling close and rested her chin on Lisa's shoulder. She took Lisa's
hands in hers to show her the technique of wrapping. In doing so, she may or may not have subtly
brushed up closer to Lisa's body, chest flattened against Lisa's back, to see her reaction.

"Is this okay?"

Lisa bobbed her head and swallowed but her spine was rigid.

"Babe, relax, this isn't rocket science you know. Or do you need some help relaxing, hmm?" Rosé
whispered next to her ear, giggling wickedly when Lisa shivered. Her girlfriend seemed especially
sensitive today, making Rosé wonder what had transpired since their trip to the hospital.

"I'm okay. You...you can start, I'll follow," Lisa squeaked. Rosé was dying to nibble her ear and see
what would happen but she decided to have some mercy and get on with making spring rolls,
although right now they were the last thing on her mind. Being this close to Lisa with full
permission to touch without the awkward tension that used to grip them before was delightful.

Rosé lifted their hands, directing like an orchestra conductor and speaking clearly as she went over
the steps, gently repeating the instructions while Lisa fiddled frantically, her cheeks aflame.

"Lisa, sweetie, it's okay, I promise. Slow down. Now, let's try that again," Rosé said patiently each
time the final roll turned out underwhelming.

Lisa fumbled a little as she did her best to follow, but she concentrated fiercely, Rosé could see her
out of the corner of her eyes, the way her girlfriend's gaze tracked their moving hands, memorising
the order of ingredients and the steps to wrap the spring roll. Soon enough, Lisa had managed to
wrap her first spring roll without tearing the wrapper or the whole roll coming undone.

"Yes!" Lisa crowed triumphantly. "I did it!"

"You got it," Rosé beamed and pecked her cheek, "I knew you would." She wrapped her arms
around Lisa's middle and kissed her neck, smiling when Lisa shivered. Despite the AC, she could
still feel the heat radiating off Lisa's body.

"Let's see you do some more, baby," Rosé purred, this time pressing a firm kiss to her jaw and
enjoying the way her girlfriend's breath hitched.

"I um...I have to focus," Lisa blurted out.

"Well, go ahead then, focus." Hiding a smirk, Rosé dropped a kiss on her shoulder and played with
the hem of her shirt. "Hmm, you're so stiff babes. You sure you're okay? Would you like a massage
afterwards?"

"Um...no I'm good...I...Rosie please..." Lisa's eyes slammed shut when Rosé paid no attention and
kissed softly behind her ear, humming as she trailed her lips down the nape of her neck, lightly
stroking the skin she could reach beneath the hem of her shirt.

"Hmm? What is it baby? Do you want me to show you again?"

She giggled when Lisa dropped the wrapper and clutched at her arms instead, halting all
movement.

"Rosie..."

Rosé immediately straightened, recognising the plea in Lisa's voice to be more than just her usual
bout of whining when she was being teased. "Lisa?"

She swiftly turned her around and cupped her face worriedly. "Baby, what is it? Talk to me."

Lisa's lips trembled but she looked away with a conflicted face. Her lack of response only served to
heighten Rosé's suspicions.

"Hey. Hey, it's okay. Come here."

She wrapped her arms around Lisa and hugged her close. It took only a few heartbeats for Lisa to
mirror her, burying her face in Rosé's neck and sighing, the tension seeping out of her body the
longer they lingered in the hug.

Rosé turned her head and tentatively kissed Lisa's cheek. "Do you want to go to the couch? It's
more comfortable."

"I've become really good friends with that couch," Lisa mumbled, pulling a snort from Rosé. Lisa
lifted her head, her eyes bright but she had her old smile back.

Rosé stroked her cheek, thumb running over the corner of her mouth repeatedly. "There's that smile
I love."

"Can I kiss you?" Lisa asked timidly.

"I thought you were on a kissing ban," Rosé chuckled. Her eyes fluttered close when Lisa's mouth
pressed against hers and she welcomed the familiar warmth that she had missed, claiming her lips
with utmost gentleness.

They migrated to the couch, still giving each other soft kisses as they sat down, before Rosé
reluctantly pulled back and looked at her girlfriend expectantly.

"Much as I enjoy kissing you, I think we should talk about...what's on your mind," she said gently.
"Putting it off won't help anything. I'm here, and I want to help anyway I can. Take your time."

Lisa sighed before wordlessly leaning against her and laying her head on her shoulder. She
hummed appreciatively when Rosé leaned against her as well and started stroking her head.

"Jennie and I fought," Lisa muttered.

"I assumed," Rosé said, remembering Lisa's sour face when Jennie cropped up in conversation.
"What about?"

It took longer for Lisa to reply this time but Rosé waited patiently as they sat in the empty room,
the only sound being their breathing and the stereo.

"It's about..." Lisa trailed off, troubled.

"About me, right?" Rosé said softly, letting it sink in.

Lisa inhaled sharply but didn't deny.

"I don't get it," she burst out suddenly. "One moment Nini's saying she's okay with us, the next, she
flips! And it's not hormones, I know for sure, it's nowhere near her time, I know because she's due
like three days after me and then you should see the amount of blood and pads in the bin, holy
bagels when you got two girls bleeding at the same time it piles up like a mountain and—"

She broke off and groaned. "You get the idea. I don't get her anymore, she's like a stranger now.
She was always bossy but that's for a reason, she manages stuff around the Vault so of course she
gotta be the boss but bringing you into the mix...that's not on!"

"What did she say?"

Lisa huffed. "I don't want to say the words again, it was hurtful, but she was being snippy and...and
it's almost like she's jealous of you. Why would she ever feel like that? It's so stupid!"
Rosé's brow furrowed. "There must be some reason though. Last time she seemed supportive of us.
What changed?"

"My injury," Lisa said heavily, "that's what's changed. And before that...well, she had been pushing
for me to come for pilates, and now she's doing it again wanting to go into the Grand Slam and—
oh heck."

She sat up guiltily when she realised her slip, meeting Rosé's icy gaze head on. She gulped as Rosé
pursed her lips.

"Jennie still wants you to go in for the Grand Slam against medical advice, even though you could
injure yourself worse?" she said in a hard voice. "Has she gone mad?"

"Where are you going?" said Lisa in alarm when Rosé shot up from the sofa and marched to the
door.

"I'm going to have a word with her," Rosé snarled, jamming her feet in shoes. "Who the hell gives
her the right to order you around like you're some—some dumb animal with no feelings at all!"

Lisa was speechless—the last she had seen Rosé this upset was when she had demanded Jennie to
give Lisa a break from working out all day in preparation for a Purge match.

The memory of that confrontation had Lisa's blood run cold—if Rosé faced Jennie again today,
heads will surely roll. She ignored the rush of gratitude for her girlfriend staunchly defending her
against her sister and leapt forward to stop her.

"No no no no no no let's not be hasty now," Lisa said hastily as she plucked out the other shoe from
Rosé's hand before she could put it on, "Rosie please, it's nothing—"

"Nothing? Lisa, you can get seriously hurt!" Rosé barked. "Jennie's being incredibly insensitive
and emotionally manipulating and you still want to justify her behaviour?"

"I know but I can handle it, I—"

"Jennie keeps pushing you because you never tell her no! She has to stop doing that, you're your
own person, old enough to make your own decisions and put down your foot. You're allowed to
discuss things and hold your ground, not let her stamp all over you!" Rosé advanced on her with a
grim expression, hand out. "Give me back my shoe."

"No."

"Lisa—"

"I agree with everything you just said, but talking to her when you're all worked up like this isn't
the solution!" Lisa said desperately. "What are you going to do, duke it out in the middle of the
Vault?"

"If it means knocking some sense into her, I will! Now give me back my shoe."

Lisa shook her head, holding the shoe high above their heads as she walked backwards. "Rosie,
violence doesn't solve anything, right? You told me that."

Rosé froze, hand falling to her side as clarity returned. "I...I did."

Lisa handed over the shoe with a tentative smile. "So...let's not go anywhere just yet. Let's talk
some more. And besides, it's my fight, right? It's me Jennie has to listen to."

Somewhat impressed, Rosé felt the inevitable smile forming at the corner of her lips. "You've got
me there. When did you get so wise?"

"I have this smoking hot teacher," Lisa answered huskily, "she's really smart. I've done my best to
learn what I could."

"Hmm, I think you're doing a great job so far. Tell that teacher to give you a star," Rosé said
seriously.

"Is that a code-word for giving me a hickey?"

Lisa laughed and ducked when Rosé swatted at her.

"Hey come back here!"

"Nope, catch me first!"

Soon they were squealing and chasing each other to the couch once more (almost tripping over the
cats that wanted to join in to play) where they crumpled in a breathless heap, kisses raining down
freely as Rosé straddled the girl beneath her and pinned her arms above her head, savouring the
sound of Lisa's giggles as she nosed along her jaw.

"So naughty," Rosé murmured when their laughter abated.

"It's part of my charm, babe," Lisa smirked, back to her old bravado. "It can't be stopped."

"I have a few ideas how to do just that."

"Oh yeah? Care to show me?"

"It will be my pleasure." She fitted her mouth to Lisa's and true to her word, peace reigned once
more in the apartment. They kissed for a while, now free of the tension that cloaked them since
Lisa's arrival.

Rosé's hands dropped to caress Lisa's face as they made out, the pleasant sensation of their bodies
pressing close together feeling comfortable and natural whilst they skirted around the more
intimate escalation of events. There was no rush, no primal instinct to tear off their clothes
although of course the desire and lust, the need to be skin to skin with Lisa, to touch her and taste
her, simmered at the back of Rosé's mind.

Lisa even got bold enough to slip her hands beneath Rosé's shirt and trail her fingers up the knobs
of her spine, making Rosé falter as she instinctively arched back.

"Mmm Lisa..."

With great reluctance she paused their makeout session to turn back to the pressing issue at hand
and sat up, panting slightly. Lisa beneath her looked a sight, hooded eyes cloudy with arousal. It
took all of Rosé's willpower not to lean down and kiss her to oblivion.

"Baby, I still don't like how she's pushing you to enter the Grand Slam when you're still injured.
The doc gave you three months minimum to recover and that means absolutely no fighting."

Lisa fidgeted. "Well...I might heal..."

Rosé's voice hardened. "So you'd go in?"

"It's not like that." Lisa took her hands pleadingly. "We do need the money, Rosie. Nini slaves
away at the diner but I'm the one bringing in the money."

"I thought Jisoo was going to help."

"Jennie won't accept. She doesn't want to," Lisa said sadly. "And I understand that. But I don't
know how to change her mind. She's dead-set on this."

"She's willing to go all out for the remote chance that even one-handed, you'd win the Grand
Slam?" Rosé frowned. "Jennie's practical, but this smacks of desperation to me. She's not thinking."

"Funny, because she said I'm the one's that not thinking."

"We should tell Jisoo. Jennie listens to her. Maybe Jisoo will knock some sense into her, make her
listen and swallow her stupid pride—"

"Rosie, she's scared, that's all," Lisa said quietly.

"Of what? Of not winning? Of losing out on cash money? Okay yes I'll give it to her, not having
money sucks because I've been there. But it's no excuse to treat you like this and force you against
your will!"

"She's scared of losing me."

Rosé almost snorted. "What?"

"Think about it," Lisa said thoughtfully. "You heard her when she found us together in the
morning."

"Lisa, I was just waking up! You can't expect me to be functioning in the morning baby, all I know
is that I was so elated that you were still there on top of me."

Lisa chuckled and snuggled up against Rosé. "She admitted it. She said she was scared I was
growing up and not needing her anymore. And now that I'm injured, she would have nothing to do
at all if I'm not training and spending my time with you. It checks out."

"Um...so it means that justifies her being a douche?"

"Rosie!"

"I'm sorry but she's acting like one," Rosé retorted.

"She's scared," Lisa said quietly. "Hearing her say that...she never admitted anything like that
before."

Rosé kept quiet, sensing that Lisa wanted to say more.

"She's...she's like a cornered animal lashing out," Lisa said thoughtfully, "or she's like a drowning
person, clutching at straws."

Rosé turned over this analogy in her head, trying to apply it to Lisa's brooding sister. "Well, she'll
take you down with her if you're not careful."

"That's the thing. She's scared that now you're here, you'll pull me out of the water but nobody will
pull her out. She's hanging on to me because I'm her lifejacket and she has nothing else."

"So you're gonna let her drag you down?"

Lisa shook her head, determined. "We need to help pull her up, all of us. She's my sister, and she
needs to get over the idea that I could somehow turn my back on her. No matter what she thinks of
me or you or anyone. I could never leave her."

Rosé stared, her face softening in wonder. "Wow."

"What?"

"It's just...I don't think I could be like that."

"Like what?" Lisa frowned.

"So...so compassionate. Still kind, even when your own sister is being a jerk."

"She's family," Lisa shrugged. "She puts up with me, I put up with her, and we help each other
when we can. That's family, right?"

Rosé shook her head. "I wouldn't really know." She turned away and squeezed her eyes shut,
remembering her father, remembering Taehyung, remembering Yang, remembering Tiger King.

Family...the only family she had was Ella. Everyone else had only come into her life to either rob
her of any dignity she salvaged or else hand her more pain.

Lisa's callused hand rested on hers, dry but comforting. "I just don't see the point of holding a
grudge. She's scared and thinks she's all alone now and she's been bottling everything up for so
long I think she's forgotten she can lean on other people. I know Irene tries her best, and Jisoo is
working on it, but Jennie just rejects everyone. We're going to change that."

Hearing the determination in her voice made Rosé smile, made her thread their fingers together and
give her hand a tight squeeze to say I'm with you all the way.

Lisa smiled too, getting the message. "I think your idea of involving Jisoo sounds good too. We
should talk about it with her after the concert."

"Sounds like a plan. I just worry about her pressuring you against your will."

"Don't be. I can handle it," Lisa said earnestly, brown eyes mirroring her.

"Alright then, we'll talk after Ella's concert." Satisfied for the time being, Rosé pulled Lisa close,
pausing to look at her with a fond smile.

"What? What is it?"

Rosé shook her head with a hum. "Nothing. I was just thinking...you're such a good person, Lisa.
The best I ever met. I mean it."

"Yeah?" Lisa asked happily.

Rosé couldn't help but kiss her.

"Definitely."
>

Jinyoung stood at the window, gazing out with his hands behind his back.

"And what of Yang?" he asked the Jay standing in the middle of the room briefing his boss (his
actual original boss) on the various operations running simultaneously.

"Keeping a close eye on him as you asked. He's getting more impatient and also more confident
now that he pulled off the first phase of the operation on his own steam."

"Let him think he is in control, for now. He is an old man who thinks seniority grants him certain
prestige. We can humour him for a little while longer while he does our dirty work for us."

Jinyoung smiled, thinking back to the grizzly man that had been so suspicious of brokering a deal
before, but now carelessly threw all caution to the wind, all for the sake of having his revenge. He
was convinced he was back to calling the shots, thanks to the army of Jays that Jinyoung so
generously loaned him.

Quite a relief he had managed to unearth Yang's weakness, Jinyoung thought. He had expected for
the older criminal veteran to be a tougher nut to crack.

But one mention of Tiger King, and the fearsome mob boss Yang Hyun Suk was eating out of his
hands.

Sometimes Jinyoung thought it was too easy. But then again, he had to remind himself that Yang's
obsession was quite justified—Tiger King had wrecked him, not just his appearance but his
reputation as well.

And in a world where money, power and respect hinged on the concept of a person's reputation, it
could make or break a man. In one fell swoop, Yang lost his credibility as the most feared crime
lord of Seoul. Of course, he still maintained sway but his reach diminished considerably until
Jinyoung had stepped in and offered to join forces.

Everyone had their reasons for seeking out Tiger King—most wanted to claim the bounty on his
head; others thirsted for the power such an assassin would bring to their ranks; others feared for
their lives and wanted him dead once and for all; still others were after the glory that came with
the name.

Yang was the only one Jinyoung knew that was seeking Tiger King for vendetta.

"Keep an eye out for any indication that he might try something without my knowledge, Jay-J, that
is all I ask," Jinyoung said.

"As a matter of fact, there was actually something that puzzled me about his recent orders..."

"Yes?"

"When he contacted Ringmaster, he asked for someone else before settling for what Ringmaster
sent instead, since the response came back negative." Jay-J thumbed through his phone. "A certain
Kim Taehyung."

Jinyoung let out a quiet chuckle. "Oh yes, I was informed. I was curious to see what he wanted to
do with his drug mule's ex but plans fell through. He wasn't ready to be out in the field."

"Sir?"
"Never mind. Now, I reviewed the footage that Jay-W captured of the alley fight. What did Rosé
have to say about her little encounter?"

"She hasn't done anything yet or indicated that she suspected Yang was behind it. They haven't
met in person either, yet. Her monthly meeting with him is in a few weeks."

"Hmm. Maybe it's just as well. Maybe she doesn't suspect anything yet. We must do our utmost to
keep it that way, understood?"

"Of course sir."

Jinyoung turned to face Jay-J fully. "Did our informant at the police depot make contact?"

"He has. He said he planted the information you asked. His superior, the one that's also in charge of
the security guards' murder, Detective Park, seems to have taken the bait and he's currently seeking
leads."

"Excellent," Jinyoung smiled brightly, "if I play this right, I might have the police do the job of
taking care of Yang for me. Anything else?"

"That will be all."

"Good. Remember your tasks, tell Jay-W to keep a sharp lookout for Lisa and Rosé's movements,
and I'll see you for the next report brief. You're dismissed."

Jay-J bowed and left, leaving Jinyoung alone once more in his stately office.

It was naturally more spacious than his more personal lair back at Rkive, with elegance oozing out
of every cabinet and glassware that furnished it. Jinyoung cared little for such trappings—this was
his father's office. Jinyoung only used it to keep up appearances and to host business dignitaries in
it during the week. It was hollow as a shell, blank and empty, just like the JYP headquarters it was
housed in. The portraits on the wall—all boasting some name of some old master—meant little to
Jinyoung.

All he cared for right now was Tiger King. And he was slowly, slowly homing in on his target, like
a spider waiting to catch its prey in its web.

He just had to make sure all the pieces were slotted in place before he took action. Meticulous to a
fault, Jinyoung wasn't in much of a rush to hurry up investigations, unlike his impatient older
partner who demanded to take the reins. But Jinyoung held firm: he knew he was ahead of anyone
else in the search for the elusive killer—he had concrete tangible leads.

Soon, he said, smiling to himself, as he glanced out of the window towards the busy city sweeping
before him. Soon, all of Seoul will be mine.

Jinyoung poured himself some water, sipping slowly as he waited for his next appointment, which
was, according to his schedule on the table, in fifteen minutes. Sometimes the list of meetings and
appointments were never-ending.

He loosened his tie, hankering for a distraction of some kind.

Jisoo never called back, he sighed. Maybe she really wasn't interested?

Shame, he had taken quite a (wholly unromantic) interest in her. Although she was indeed beautiful
and he certainly wouldn't say no if she asked to sleep together, he couldn't say that he felt any
chemistry between them; it would be a pointless tryst. Besides, she claimed she was homosexual.
He didn't try to pursue her; partly for this reason, partly because he was busy and partly because he
didn't want her to think he was interested in dating her.

Still, he had found Jisoo to be charming and quirky, and was curious to see more. But Lisa's trainer,
Jennie, probably scared her off. She had seemed very territorial, her sickly sweet polite tone when
she spoke with him made Jinyoung inwardly cringe because she wasn't fooling anyone—Jennie
Kim hated his guts with a passion.

His face darkened now as he remembered how the girl had snapped up his precious assets right in
front of his nose and ferrying them away while he was unable to stop her.

But no matter, he thought smugly, remembering his phone call with Jackson earlier, I still got what
I wanted in the end. I took what I needed from right under her nose too.

If he was being entirely honest, he had a wholly unromantic interest in Jennie as well, a kind of
magnetic pull that he couldn't quite explain. It wasn't attraction at all but on some deeper level, he
could, strangely enough, see himself reflected back in her. It was most peculiar, but extremely
intriguing.

Both girls had often appeared in his thoughts, circling after each other whenever he sat vacantly,
demanding his attention.

Jinyoung finished his water and came to a decision.

Though he had plenty of ongoing investigations following several persons of interest, adding two
more to the list couldn't hurt: Jisoo and Jennie, he felt, would be worth it.

Coincidentally, both their names started with a J, just like his. He liked that.

Though his prime focus of interest still was Jisoo, Jennie would probably prove to be more useful
because of her proximity to Lisa. She was a more challenging enigma than Jisoo, a tougher nut to
crack.

And Jinyoung, he liked cracking tough nuts the most.

 Beneath The Tree

"Hey, anybody home?" Jisoo called, pushing open the Vault door. She was struck by the utter
stillness of the place, usually filled with Lisa's boisterous laughter.

"Hello? Lisa? Jendeuk?" Jisoo called again as she padded further in. She was almost afraid to raise
her voice, as though she were in a library about to be scolded.

She had finished her stipulated time at the office and had a pretty good run with her gaming stats
today. On her way home, she was inspired to drop by the Vault and check on the sisters before
they met up later to go to Ella's concert.

Nobody responded to her calls. Jisoo suspected they were still asleep—she vaguely remembered
Lisa mentioning their typical schedule for the afternoon.

Curiosity welled up in Jisoo, pushing all thoughts of decorum out of her head as she hesitantly
made her way to the very back of the Vault, where the ladder leading to the floor above stood.

Jisoo knew it led to a trapdoor, the entry to the attic—Jennie and Lisa's home.

She had never seen the interior of their living quarters before, though she sometimes wondered. But
now, she was suddenly struck by an overwhelming desire to check it out.

Surely, if Jennie was around she would have heard her yelling and checked out the intruder?
Maybe the sisters had actually stepped out?

Jisoo dithered, her curiosity winning over the longer she waited for someone to stop her.

A quick peek wouldn't hurt anyone.

Once she made up her mind, Jisoo moved stealthily, like a burglar moving in a household, quiet
and light on her feet.

The step ladder gave the tiniest of creaks as Jisoo ascended with bated breath, testing the trapdoor
as she pushed. It gave way when she pushed, opening up silently.

Inwardly cheering, Jisoo hastily popped up into the attic, her eyes swivelling back and forth as she
took in the cramped but tidy space.

What she didn't expect to find was Jennie curled up in a ball with her face buried in her knees, quiet
dry sobs racking her body and papers scattered around her.

Jisoo almost fell down the step-ladder in shock. The movement didn't go unnoticed by Jennie who
looked up, startled.

"Chu?" Jennie sniffed. "What are you doing here?"

"I uh...I thought nobody was home and wanted to look around," Jisoo said weakly. "I'm sorry, I'll
let you be, I'll just..."

When Jennie didn't answer except for looking away, Jisoo nodded, taking it as her cue for
overstepping her welcome.

"Right, I'll see you later then Jendeuk."

"Don't you want to know why?" Jennie asked without turning.

Jisoo swallowed, trying to gauge the meaning behind Jennie's even tone. "Why what?"

A beat, and then Jennie came clean, voice wavering the slightest at the end. "Why I was crying."

"I do," Jisoo said immediately. "Of course I do Jen. I'm nosy and I poke my nose everywhere but
especially when my friends are hurt or sad in some way. But I've already made things awkward
so...I don't want to force you to...to talk about it. Unless you want to?"

She shifted hesitantly, longing to get the courage to fly up the remaining steps and crush the
shorter girl in a hug. But instead she waited, because it was Jennie's call to reach out.

"I don't know what I want anymore," Jennie confessed. "I'm...I'm tired Chu."

It was all Jisoo needed to hear. With firm steps, she climbed into the attic then squatted next to
Jennie, leaning back against the wall, shoulder to shoulder.

"Would a hug be okay?"

In answer, Jennie wordlessly leaned against her and Jisoo brought her arm up around Jennie's back
and over her shoulder, quietly pleased.

It was progress—Jennie was letting her in slowly. Up until a few moments ago, Jisoo was sure that
the shorter brunette would fly off the handle and kick her down the ladder for prying around.

Yet, the opposite had happened instead. Jennie was learning to open up.

Jisoo was determined to wait as long as it would take to find out just what was troubling Jennie
enough to make her break down. She had never seen Jennie this way and the worrying thoughts
started coming. Lisa was nowhere to be found—was she hurt? Was Jennie hurt? Was she in
trouble?

"Lisa and I fought," Jennie said evenly.

Jisoo racked her brains for a suitable response. "Want to talk about it?" she asked softly.

Jennie sagged against her. "Not really. I...I don't want to think right now."

"Okay..."

They sat in the stifling silence punctuated by their breathing, Jisoo doing her utmost not to fidget or
breathe too loud.

"So uh...pretty homey place you got here..." she said lightly, unable to sit still for longer. She was
encouraged by Jennie's low snort.

"It's a crappy dump, Jisoo, you don't have to be nice."

"Come now, I see one big pro to living minimal like this."

"Which is?"

"It won't take you long to dust and clean."

Jennie groaned but didn't dispute, making Jisoo grin winningly.

"I mean think about it, less rooms to clean and less hassle, no giant plushies to dust and air out."

"I'm sharing a dollhouse room with my scarecrow sister, Chu."

"She's hardly a scarecrow with all that meat slapped on."

"Fine, she's a strapping beefcake then. Happy?"

"Better. Hey, tell you what!" Jisoo said, struck by inspiration.

"What?"

"What you say come out with me for a ride to the park? Get some fresh air and air your thoughts
out? The brain needs some airing and it's a bit stuffy in here to do that."

"The brain needs some airing? Really Chu?" But Jennie's tone gave away her interest. "Alright.
Maybe you're right, I do need some airing...."

"That's the spirit! We can even do some yoga, it's been a while. We'll find some shade and get
comfy. Coincidentally, I bought some new mats on my way back here."

"Yeah? How thoughtful of you..."

"Oh thank you, I didn't think that they—"

Jisoo almost swallowed her tongue when she found Jennie looking right into her eyes. The space
between them had shrunken down in a blink and Jisoo froze.

Jennie's gaze pinned her down, drowning her in brown depths.

She struggled to maintain eye contact without thinking about how pretty Jennie was, how the light
sparkled in her eyes giving them a soulful expression, how she longed to kiss Jennie and hold her
close and protect her from the world.

This wasn't the time to act on her feelings, but Jennie always made it so difficult to remember to toe
the line.

"Chu, am I a bad person?" Jennie asked in a low voice, as though she were scared the very air
around them was eavesdropping.

"How could you say such a thing?" Jisoo whispered dryly.

"I fought with Lisa."

"Sisters fight all the time. I should know."

"Yeah?" Jennie breathed. Her eyes were dark with intent, like a predator sizing up its prey. Jisoo
was her helpless kill, caught between thrill and confusion as Jennie leaned in, excruciatingly slow.

Jisoo sweated, her focus slipping to Jennie's parted lips as she wrestled with every ounce of her
being not to tilt her head up for their lips to touch.

She had promised Jennie she wouldn't make a move on her without explicit consent, but she had
never banked on Jennie actually making the first move.

Was Jennie testing her? The silence was deafening, wrought with tension.
Jisoo suddenly grew aware that their chests were almost touching. Her heart rate spiked. The air
between them was so thick that Jisoo was on the verge of suffocation—her heart was about to give
out if Jennie didn't make a move, and quick.

"Jen," she squeaked in desperation, squirming in the tight spot. She wanted Jennie's mouth on
hers right now.

Jennie blinked and the spell shattered. She whipped away from Jisoo, throwing herself back as
though electrocuted. She looked dazed when she finally looked at Jisoo again. Clearing her throat,
Jennie turned away.

"I'm sorry."

Jisoo breathed out, her heart calming down. "What...what was that?" she said weakly.

Jennie's shoulders slumped. "I'm not in my right mind right now. I'm sorry. I almost..." She shook
her head, balling her fists. "I'm sorry. I can't do that to you, not like this. You deserve so much
better."

Jisoo's face softened. She placed a tentative hand on Jennie's knee. "It's okay Jendeuk. It's okay.
Don't beat yourself over it. I promise I'm not mad."

Jennie looked at her with shame in her eyes. "Jisoo...I almost jumped you. That's not right," she
said slowly, clearly, making sure Jisoo understood the gravity in her voice.

"Well, we went from you thinking I'm insufferable to jumping me, that's progress! I'll take it as a
compliment," Jisoo chuckled lightly. She softened when Jennie only looked downcast.

"It's not right. I'm sorry," Jennie repeated. Jisoo took her hands holding on firmly even when Jennie
showed initial resistance.

"Jendeuk, hey, look at me. I'm okay. I know what it's like to want a distraction. And I'm absolutely
okay with it, I promise. I knew what was happening, and I was okay with it."

Jennie's face twisted. "Not like this. You deserve...not like this. I didn't picture it like this."

"You pictured us?" Jisoo could hardly believe her ears. The smug grin made its way to her face.
"Well that's good, I pictured us too."

"I have no doubt." The ghost of a smile crossed Jennie's face. Her ears were pink, making Jisoo
melt.

For a moment, she regretted not giving in to her desire and making the decision for Jennie. She
would have been okay with taking on Jennie's guilty burden of using her for a distraction—how
many times had she slept with people just for the sake of release?

Jisoo wouldn't have blamed Jennie at all for doing so.

At the same time, she couldn't help but admire Jennie for holding out, for being so mindful and not
only concerned with her needs but also being considerate of the other party. The warmth Jennie
inspired welled up inside her chest, making her smile.

She wants me. And she wants it to be a special moment.

Jennie had no idea how hard it was for Jisoo to not kiss her.
"I think we both need to air our heads a bit. The offer for a yoga session at the park still stands,"
Jisoo said as she stood up and offered her hand out to Jennie. "You in?"

Jennie hesitated.

"We can forget that anything happened just now," Jisoo said softly. "It's not a big deal, Jennie. I
don't think any less of you."

It was all the reassurance Jennie needed for her to finally nod and take Jisoo's hand.

>

"Jisoo, are you sure this is yoga?"

"Totally, why?" Jisoo said, her voice muffled.

"Um...why aren't we...stretching or something?" Jennie asked, dumbfounded.

Upon arriving at the park Jisoo had singled out an elm tree, dropped her mat in the cool shade, put
on a mask over her nose and mouth, laid down on her back, and didn't move.

Jennie stood over her, perplexed.

"Sssshh, we're basking in the universe's essence and letting it cleanse our inner chakras, because
it's being blocked by some serious negative energy right now."

Jisoo pushed up her sunglasses, small gusts of mirth escaping her when she spotted Jennie's
hanging jaw.

"It's a joke Jendeuk," she teased. "Just lie down will you? Have a nap too if you like. Yoga doesn't
always have to be about rigorous exercises. Sometimes, it's simply a matter of just stopping and
being in the moment. I believe they call that practice mindfulness. Try it. Just lie down, and let
your eyes wander or close them, and breathe."

"Um...okay..." Jennie said doubtfully.

She awkwardly lay down on her own mat, hands clasped on her stomach. Very self-conscious and
unused to being immobile during the day unless she was napping, Jennie tried hard not fidget and
follow Jisoo's advice.

She glanced up at the dense canopy above them and was immediately entranced.

Sunlight filtered through the greenery, splashing in little pools around them and giving the area an
overall serene atmosphere, with birds chirping and distant traffic barely even audible over the quiet
intermittent chatter from other people in the park. A gentle breeze wafted past, stirring up the
stagnant hot air that notoriously clung to urban areas.

Jennie relaxed; her breathing came easier and the tension seeped out of her body the longer she let
her eyes roam through the layer of leaves above them, picking out swathes of blue peering down
through the foliage, like the sky was playing hide-and-seek with her.

She was acutely aware of Jisoo next to her, breathing slow and steady, an accompaniment to her
own breathing. Without really thinking, she started inhaling and exhaling in time with Jisoo,
sinking further into the tranquil space as she closed her eyes.

Gone was the sudden needy burst of lust that emerged out of sheer desperation for a distraction
from all the pain and worry—in its place remained relief and for the first time in a while, her mind
was quiet.

Jisoo is making me breathe slow like this, Jennie suddenly realised. She's helping me
relax. This...this is nice.

"Better?" Jisoo smiled knowingly. She had been watching Jennie gradually unwind, her stiff facial
muscles loosening up and her eyelids drooping.

"Yeah...I'm liking this kind of yoga," Jennie mumbled. "Better than the active one."

"Then I think you'll absolutely adore Jisoo Yoga. We do such fun stuff and it's totally relaxing,"
Jisoo winked, passing her a facemask. "Here, you might wanna wear a mask while we're out here."

"Why? Because the tree will suffocate me by sucking the air out of my lungs?" Jennie said.

"Don't be silly, trees don't do that."

"I know, I was just kidding—"

"Trees suck the air out of your lungs at night," Jisoo continued. "The facemask is for our little
chirping friends up there." She pointed up at the foliage.

"I just have a mortal fear of falling asleep with my mouth open and the birds up there would poop
straight into my mouth which is disgusting," she shuddered, "so unless you'd like to risk it, I
suggest you wear one. Sunglasses too, you don't want poop in your eye."

Jennie had known her long enough to know that Jisoo was being completely serious. She declined
the mask with a smile.

"I'll risk it."

"Suit yourself."

"Has it ever even happened?"

"No, but logically, it could."

"Hmm..." Jennie laid back again. "Chu?"

"Yeah?"

Jennie swallowed, still turning over what transpired between them at the Vault. "I...I still think you
took whatever happened entirely too calmly."

Jisoo didn't reply straight away. "You want me to fret and analyse and hassle about it?"

"No it's just..." Jennie tried searching for the right words, tamping her frustration. "I just want to
understand why..."

Why you're still here. Why you're not disgusted. Why you didn't run a mile away like any sane
person would. Why there's no awkwardness between us. Why you stayed.

"I think you're putting off thinking about things that actually do need your attention," Jisoo said
gently, making Jennie stiffen.
She glanced at the girl next to her and sure enough, Jisoo was eyeing her with sunglasses tilted up
to see better.

"Maybe both need my attention," Jennie said loftily, "I want to understand you Jisoo."

She turned her eyes to the leaves above them, willing herself to speak. "Maybe it will help me be
less of a jerk."

Jisoo hummed thoughtfully before lying back and slipping on her shades.

"I took what happened calmly," she said, "because I'm very smitten by you Jennie, so I didn't mind,
even if your intentions were not on my level. Second...I've been in your position before. Needing
physical intimacy for distraction, for comfort, to fill an empty gaping hole in my chest. I
recognised that, but I wasn't about to begrudge you. That brief burst of sexual release gives short
term relief for sure, but nothing that I would honestly recommend. More often than not you walk
away feeling worse. So I suppose in a sense, I'm glad nothing happened."

"Why?"

"Because nothing has been resolved. You're reminded that it's all futile. Nothing brings you down
faster than the reminder that whatever you do, you're still going to feel empty."

"I wasn't feeling empty."

"Perhaps not, but you needed distraction from your guilt, badly. Do you think it would have
changed anything in the scheme of things, had we slept together? You'd still have to face Lisa and
after that, you'd have to face yourself and the aftermath of your actions. It would still be all for
nothing," Jisoo said wisely.

Jennie wondered when Jisoo started sounding like some psychological counsellor, dissecting her
actions with surgical precision even as Jennie tried to counter them.

"We can't all be strong and have good coping mechanisms," she said quietly.

"I'm not strong in the slightest," Jisoo replied. "But you learn to handle it better. It's one of the
areas yoga has helped me, though of course, I'm no rigorous follower so there's lapses."

"Helped you...like doing this?" Jennie said shrewdly.

"You're learning." Jisoo sounded pleased. "Sometimes, it's better to take a step back, switch
environments and just..."

"Let your brain air out?"

"Very good Jendeuk," Jisoo chuckled. She turned serious again. "Well, does that answer your
question?"

Jennie considered. "I suppose..." A beat of silence followed before she cleared her throat.

"Thank you, for this," she said softly, "I never considered a change of pace might be helpful."

"You work hard," Jisoo said, equally softly, "perhaps too hard. Everyone needs a change of pace
now and then, a healthy distraction to indulge in safely. Otherwise, sooner or later, the fuse will
blow and it won't be pretty."

Jennie gave a wry smile, breathing in the clean green scent of the grass and tree bark. "I can't
afford to stop. I try, I tell myself that I have to, but when all is said and done, I don't know how to
slow down. All my life has been a non-stop sequence of responsibilities and...I'm tired, Chu. My
fuse has blown up in my face, to borrow your turn of phrase, and I don't know how to deal with it."

"Want to talk about it?" Jisoo asked bluntly, going straight to the point. "I'm sure that if you talk it
out, we'll figure out something."

"Maybe."

It made Jennie pause, wondering if she was doing the right thing, wondering how she could
possibly explain.

Lisa running out on her had shaken her more than she liked to admit: no matter their little tiffs and
squabbles, it never escalated to that point before.

Everything was changing; nothing was as it had been before. Their fragile reality that Jennie tried
so hard to sustain kept being upended each time—first Hwangssabu's death, now Rosé and Lisa's
injury.

And now she was left picking up the pieces in a daze. She couldn't help but run over their heated
exchange earlier, the bitter words they hurled at each other, snarling defensively.

"Don't bring Rosie into this!"

"It's about her though, isn't it? It's because of her! Do you really think she will stay when she
learns about you, the real you?"

The memory of Lisa's face cracking in pain was still fresh in her mind. But how else was she
supposed to hammer home the truth?

Truth, as she told Lisa, was harsh and unkind.

Why was Lisa so intent on throwing away everything they worked for? For a girl's affection? It
still baffled Jennie, even as she tried to accept the new circumstances foisted on her.

Lisa had never taken to someone like this. Could it really be love? Jennie had a hard time believing
in anything so fickle as love.

Love was supposed to keep her safe. Love was supposed to show her the wonders of life. Love was
supposed to be her parents, or maybe even Hwangssabu. But love let her down when she was
young and still very much green, and she couldn't find it in herself to trust in love at all now.

How could she explain how much it hurt her that Lisa was so eager to fling her off—like a dog
shaking water from its fur coat—and leave without a second thought?

But this was Jisoo she was talking too, and maybe she need not worry what Jisoo would think,
because Jisoo never judged her.

"I...I don't know where to start," Jennie admitted.

Jisoo's eyes crinkled, warm as the sunbeams. "How about the beginning?"

And Jennie obeyed.

"I used my ex a lot for distraction, as did he. It's what had us go back every time, wearing each
other down to the bone. Sex or just venting out on each other and hitting each other...I relished it.
In some part of me, I relished it. And I'm ashamed that I did."

She cleared her throat and squeezed her eyes shut. "I never told anyone this before but...sometimes
I wished for Hwangssabu to notice me. Don't get me wrong, he always made sure I had clothes on
my back and that I had food on my plate. He even gave up his portion of food for us but
otherwise...I was just there, his invisible assistant. He never said a word about the bruises I got
from my ex, and I know he saw them. Why didn't he? Did he trust me that much to not interfere? I
was just a kid."

"You were doing what you could to cope and get his attention. You didn't know better." Jisoo
sounded sad, making Jennie push on.

"I still puzzle over it sometimes. Maybe he really didn't want to interfere with my life. Maybe he
had no clue how to be a father. Maybe he thought he had already overstepped the line when...well,
when Lisa came into our lives.

"But he could have shown some sign that he still cared because hell, it hurt thinking he was too
absorbed with Lisa to spare some time for me." Jennie gritted her teeth but the deluge was flowing
freely now. "I'm sorry, I sound like some whiny self-entitled brat."

"No. You deserve be taken care of, you deserve to be the first choice." Jisoo's voice carried not a
single note of condescension or disgust. It was soft and gentle and caring, making Jennie's nose
prickle.

"I don't know. Sometimes I wonder if there's something wrong with me—"

Jisoo pressed a finger to her mouth, surprising her.

"None of that. There's nothing wrong." Her smile was crooked. "Jennie, the adults in our life let us
down, but we're still here, because we're stronger. We're trying to pick up the pieces and unlearning
harmful behaviours. There's a million and one ways both of us could have gone astray, but here we
are. And we're gonna be okay. I promise you that."

"How can you know?"

Jisoo hesitated before her fingers slipped to cup Jennie's cheek. Jennie lay perfectly still, eyes
pinned on Jisoo.

"Because...you're you. And I'm me."

Jennie stared for one long moment before she gave a mirthless chuckle. "That's so profound Chu."

"No you don't get it. You're you. And I'm me," Jisoo said earnestly. "We're gonna be okay because
we both fight to make our place in the world, to fit in wherever we can, in all the nooks and
crannies of people we find. We never stop. It might have people turn away if we're not careful, but
we do it anyway, trying to fit in. We can be abrasive and hurtful, but we can learn to soften the
edges."

She smiled at a flabbergasted Jennie. "I have been looking my whole life for...for the right kind of
people. For you," she added softly. "Jennie, I know you. I see you."

"What?" Jennie rasped in disbelief. "What is this? Jisoo?"

Jisoo dipped her head shyly. "I'm only answering your question. I know we're gonna be okay Jen,
because I know what you are. You're a fighter, tough like tree bark. I'd like to think I'm tough too
soooooo...it takes one to know one, y'know?"

"Oh..."

There was so much more Jisoo wanted to tell her: that she had long made up her mind to choose
Jennie, to make her her first choice, to trust her and care for her. She wanted to tell her that they
weren't so different despite their temperaments. She wanted to tell Jennie that she saw in her a
kindred spirit, opposite but all at once achingly familiar.

But for now, she contented with making Jennie see her own power within herself, because Jennie
didn't seem to realise. Watching Jennie register her words was a delight in itself. Jisoo couldn't help
the pride that swelled in her chest when Jennie's face slowly broke into a smile, a real one this
time.

"Jisoo?" Jennie said carefully.

"Yeah?"

In answer, Jennie pushed herself up level with Jisoo, serious brown eyes locked with hers.

Jennie sat watching her for one long moment before she leaned in and kissed her on the cheek,
exactly as she had done in Irene's living room. Jisoo's eyes fluttered shut on contact.

"Thank you," Jennie whispered in her ear.

Although nothing had been solved, and she hadn't even told Jisoo about the fight, yet her heart was
at ease.

Jisoo saw her. Jisoo knew her. Jisoo understood her.

It was all she could ever ask for.

 Of McDonald's, Movies and Makeouts

It had been a pleasant afternoon.

After all the heavy talk, Lisa and Rosé had exchanged kisses on the couch until their mouths and
tongues turned numb.

They had drifted off to sleep at one point because Rosé woke up with a start much later when the
dying sunlight had the living room awash in a golden glow.

Lisa was sleeping on top of her again like their first night together, ear pressed up against her heart.

The sight was endearing enough for Rosé to carefully reach for her phone and snap some pictures
of her sleeping girlfriend, smiling giddily to herself all the while

She almost didn't want to wake her but a glance at the time reminded her of the chores and
preparations she still had to take care of before Ella's concert.

"Lisa," Rosé called softly, kissing her head. "Baby, time to wake up."

"Nooooo..." Lisa mumbled, cuddling closer. "Five more minutes."

Rosé sighed, reluctantly reaching out with her fingers hovering over Lisa. "Don't make me tickle
you."

Lisa's eyes flew open as she shot up from her position. "I'm up, I'm up!"

After that, banter flowed freely while Rosé did chores and Lisa played with Leo and Lego. Bori
watched from a safe distance as Lisa squished the two kittens against her face or sidled up to Rosé
for some extra kisses as the latter passed by with fresh laundry.

Rosé couldn't remember a time when she felt so relaxed, blissfully basking in Lisa's attention as
she went about her housework until it was time to prepare for Ella's concert.

"Will they give us some sort of light stick like they do at concerts? Are we supposed to buy one?"
Lisa wondered while Rosé fussed with her shirt.

"It's just a kids' school concert, they're not going to be handing out light sticks for sure."

"But how are the kids gonna know where their parents are when they need the support?"

"Baby, sit still for a little bit, the buttons are fiddly," Rosé chuckled in answer.

Since she hadn't gone back to the Vault, Rosé had the bright idea of letting Lisa borrow an outfit,
reasoning that they were more or less the same size and height. Lisa refused at first but relented
quickly when Rosé started bringing out various dresses and shirts.

Choosing and matching clothes with Rosé was fun, since it wasn't an opportunity she often came
by anymore.

"I can't sit still! Ah I'm so excited!" Lisa exclaimed, practically vibrating on the spot. Rosé pecked
her on the lips, amused at how quickly Lisa simmered down after that.

"Were you planning it all along?"

"No but I figured if I'm good, I'll get another kiss as a reward?" Lisa said hopefully.

But Rosé merely laughed again, ducking her head away from her girlfriend's puppy-eyed
expression. "Enough of that, we're going to be extremely late at this rate."

"Hmm why? It's just a few kisses, unless of course...you were planning on having more?" Lisa
tutted, smirking. "My my, getting sneaky are we?"

"Says the one who smudged my makeup a few minutes ago," Rosé scoffed, "all because she
claimed she wanted to test whether my lipstick was smudge-proof."

"It's not like you said no," Lisa countered as she playfully waved strands of Rosé's hair, "and now
we know-you've been scammed!"

Rosé shook her head, finally finishing up the buttons she had insisted on tying (not because she
wanted to peek at Lisa's abs or her chest, dear me no, that would be so improper).

The shirt -light pink with the cuffs pulled back to the elbow-was a comfortable fit for Lisa,
although it was straining at the biceps and shoulders. It was a bit distracting too, drawing Rosé's
gaze to area each time she glanced in Lisa's way. And every time, Rosé would take a moment to
admire her girlfriend's sculpted physique while trying not to drool at the sight.

It was easier said then done, especially with the smouldering expression Lisa was giving her.

"You know, maybe it would be better if I just...didn't wear anything at all?" Lisa smirked, leaning
against the nearest furniture, well aware that Rosé was eyeing her. "I mean, if you prefer of course.
I know I'm a whole three-course meal."

Rosé felt her ears go pink but her resolve hardened as she returned Lisa's suggestion with a sultry
smile of her own.

Two can play at this game.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm pretty sure you would be escorted off school premises if you do
that." She leaned in to whisper in Lisa's ear. "I'd be more than happy to take it off for you later,
though."

She smirked at Lisa's sharp inhale.

"You look good too," Lisa managed, her voice rough. She hooked her thumbs in the pants Rosé
lent her, nodding approvingly as her girlfriend twirled to show off her navy dress.

"Just good? What about stunning, magnificent, fantastic-oh."

Lisa had been slowly pressing into her space, backing them up against the kitchen counter.

"Stunning, magnificent, fantastic...how about this one? Ravishing," Lisa murmured, her eyes half-
lidded as she peered into Rosé's eyes.

"Learnt it from the dictionary, have you?"

"Yeah..."

"Baby, we need to get ready. I still have to get my heels," Rosé rasped as Lisa traced kisses along
her jaw, but she didn't stop her.
"Hmm..."

"I mean it." Rosé struggled to clear the lust-induced fog clouding her reasoning. "Ella will be
disappointed if we're late."

Lisa drew back even though Rosé immediately missed her touch, but it worked, clarity returning as
Lisa nodded, her eyes still glazed.

"Ah you're right, we can't have that. Go get your heels babe, I'll wait here."

Touched by her consideration, Rosé pecked her one more time before she darted away to fetch her
shoes. She soon stepped out of her room, smiling when she was greeted by Lisa holding one of the
yellow tulips.

"My lady," Lisa said in a posh voice, offering the flower. She cut a dashing figure against the
twilight filtering in from the windows.

"Would you care to accompany me tonight? Our carriage awaits," Lisa added when she reached
her.

"It would be my pleasure," Rosé giggled, taking the yellow tulip, "thank you. Are the cats all
sorted?"

"Litter box cleaned, bowls filled, toys cleared, cat hair swept and kittens asleep," Lisa counted off
her fingers the tasks she had been assigned earlier.

"My, you've been quite busy. I think you deserve a reward." Rosé reached out to dust an invisible
stray cat hair from Lisa's shirt, unable to keep the grin off her face as she leaned in, humming when
Lisa eagerly mirrored her and their lips met in the middle.

Their whole exchange felt like they were a couple who had finally put their boisterous children to
sleep and were now heading out to watch their eldest born perform at a school concert, just like a
family.

Everything she did with Lisa was the culmination of an improbable domestic dream, one that filled
Rosé's heart with indescribable warmth.

How long will it last?

Rosé ignored the thread of darkness that threatened to overshadow her happiness, kissing Lisa
more firmly and successfully banishing all thoughts. Because Rosé couldn't care less, not right now
and especially not tonight.

All that existed was Lisa: her scent, her touch, her mouth covering hers and probably smudging her
lipstick again.

An obnoxious car horn made them draw apart, startled.

"Ah, Jisoo's here. And Jennie." Lisa sounded distant, her voice turning neutral as she said her
sister's name. Her eyes however, were conflicted.

Rosé cupped her face with one hand, turning Lisa to face her again.

"Hey, I'm going to be there, okay? You got this."

Lisa nodded grimly, her jaw set. Then all at once her face softened as she thumbed the corner of
Rosé's mouth.

"Smudged your smudge-proof lipstick again, darn."

Rosé grinned. "I'll be sure to explain to Jisoo why we're tardy."

>

Jisoo cleared her throat obnoxiously loud for the third time since she started driving. Lisa watched
her throw side-glances at Jennie riding shotgun.

It had been awkward settling in the back of the SUV whilst being fully aware that Jennie was
sitting silently in front. Jisoo had been cheerful, complimenting her and Rosé's outfits and casually
making remarks to Jennie before getting in to drive.

When they actually got going, everyone had fallen silent, the atmosphere brewing with tension.
Rosé squeezed Lisa's hands from time to time, catching her gaze and nodding with a small smile to
comfort her. Lisa would squeeze back, grateful.

She wanted to talk to Jennie and find out where they stood, maybe even find out if she was ready to
talk yet but Jennie's silence was not encouraging.

Her blank face had given nothing away, no hint of remorse or stubborn righteousness. She never
greeted Lisa or acknowledged her presence.

Lisa also wanted to spare Jisoo and Rosé the awkwardness in case the conversation turned ugly.

She didn't reckon with Jisoo though, who sighed long and loud before she maneuvered the car to
the side of the road and turned off the ignition.

"One of you," she said, pointing at Jennie and Lisa, "start talking. The sooner we get it over with,
the sooner we can get to Ella's concert. And since we don't have much time, chop chop."

"But Jisoo," Jennie began, sounding betrayed.

"No buts! You said you'll talk to her when she's in the car but I didn't hear anything for the past
twenty minutes, not even a single peep," Jisoo said severely. "I gave you ample time to do
something so now, we're doing it my way. I'm sorry you're roped into this, Pasta."

"Oh no it's cool. Let's get it over with," Rosé answered, her voice hard and her steely gaze trained
on Jennie.

Jennie grumbled something rebellious before she turned in her seat, her eyes meeting Lisa's in the
gloom.

"I'm sorry about this afternoon," she muttered.

Lisa hesitated, her usual easy inclination to forgive her sister and move on deserting her, nowhere
to be found. She had excused her sister's demands many times but maybe, as Rosé said, it was time
to put her foot down instead of doling out forgiveness. She had blindly excused Jennie enough
times, it was time to demand at least a bit more respect.

"What are you sorry about exactly?"

Jennie looked stumped. "Well uh...that I pressured you into entering the Grand Slam and...about
Rosé." Her eyes briefly switched to the other girl before returning to Lisa. "So that, yeah. I
apologise about that."

Lisa released a breath. "You don't get it, do you?"

Jennie's brow furrowed. "Don't get what?"

"Nini, it's not so much the pressuring part but the fact that you didn't let me have a say."

"What?" Jennie scoffed. "I did let you have a say."

Lisa felt Rosé squeezing her hand but she didn't say a word, though she raised an eyebrow at Lisa
as though asking to speak and give Jennie a piece of her mind.

But Lisa shook her head: this was her fight, she had to see this one through. "When I tried telling
you, you kept shooting down my suggestions down and belittling me. You basically told me that
my feelings and opinions don't count. That hurt more than anything Jen. I thought...I just wanted
you to listen, really listen to me."

"I did listen!" Jennie protested.

But Lisa shook her head. "You take my feelings and opinions about stuff for granted, like I'm the
kid expected to follow your lead every time. I don't have to follow everything you say Jen. And no
it's not because of Rosie," she added firmly, "I have feelings and thoughts of my own and you gotta
start taking my choices into account."

"And what if those choices aren't good choices?" Jennie asked quietly.

Lisa glanced at Rosé, swallowing. "We talk and we compromise. And if that doesn't work, we ask
other people to help out. But you don't get to shut me down."

She went on when Jennie stiffened. "Just because we never asked for outside help before doesn't
mean we can't start now. It doesn't change how I see you Nini. You're still my sister, no matter
what. I'm gonna stick by you always. You'll be sick to death of me like usual, even though I know
you secretly love me."

"That's debatable," Jennie mumbled with a tiny smile as Jisoo chuckled and clapped.

"There we go! Very well-said Nallalisa. Jendeuk? Anything you wanna add?" Jisoo invited with a
tilt of her head and a wink in Lisa's direction.

Jennie visibly swallowed. "I'll try to be better Lis. And...I've accepted Jisoo's offer to help. You
don't have to go into the Grand Slam if you don't want to," she added.

Rosé gasped and Lisa stared in awe.

"For real? Jen..."

"Yeah yeah...had a talk with Chu here whilst we were cleansing our chakras in the park," Jennie
muttered bashfully. "Mulled over some stuff that needed mulling and yeah. I was a major jerk and
pain the ass. So...will try not to be an ass in the future."

"You swear it?" Lisa said solemnly. "Swear that there's no sneaky loophole?"

Jennie gave a faint smile. "I swear on bagels."

Bagels. Rosé couldn't help but smile. Of course, bagels. Lisa swore by bagels and now, Jennie was
doing the same. They were on the path to reconcile.

The magic word was enough for Lisa to hold out her good hand for a fist bump, grinning widely,
and Jennie fistbumped her back. She turned to Rosé.

"I'm sorry I keep mistrusting you. Thank you for being there for Lisa," Jennie said, and she
sounded sincere enough for Rosé to immediately reply: "Bygones, unnie. I just want you to
remember that we're all here for you and Lisa and you can lean on us. It's not always you against
the world."

Jennie smiled in relief, glancing uncertainly back at Jisoo who was beaming proudly.

"That's a great start Jendeuk, I knew you could do it," she said, pleased. "And Pasta is right: we're
here for you and Lisa, you can lean on us."

Jennie coughed, embarrassed. "Uhm, thank you but...maybe we should really get going. The
concert..."

"Oh my goodness, yes yes of course right away!" Jisoo yelped and fumbled with the ignition as
Lisa and Rosé chuckled together, sharing smiles once they got going.

"You did it," Rosé whispered tenderly, "I'm proud of you, baby."

Lisa smiled happily and brushed their cheeks together, content. "Thanks for the backup."

"Always."

>

"Finally y'all made it!" Somi called loudly, waving them over to the empty spot.

She was waiting for them in the school grounds with Dahyun and Chaeyoung. Parents were milling
about, congregating in little groups or else turning up by themselves, chatting to teachers before the
school doors opened to admit them inside for the start of the concert. The gaggle of voices were
boisterous as Lisa and her group made their way to Somi.

"You girls came along too?" Rosé said in awe when they joined them.

"I hope that's alright?" Dahyun asked anxiously. "Somi said Lisa was coming, so she wanted to
check it out too because she knows you and Ella, and she strung us along for more crowd support
as she put it."

"Of course it's alright! The more the merrier as I say!" Lisa crowed, slinging an arm around
Dahyun and Somi and trying madly to reach for Chaeyoung too, who smartly stepped out of reach.

"The whole gang's here, Daddy's girls in the house! Make way for my harem!" she bellowed,
earning a few shocked stares and frowns from people around them.

Jennie stepped behind Jisoo to hide, muttering apologies to anyone in the vicinity with her face
tinted pink as Jisoo merely laughed and waved cheerfully, calling out Nyongan! for extra measure.
Jennie wanted to fall through the earth and never come back again.

"Why must she cause a scene everywhere she goes?" Jennie lamented.

"To make up for the attention she didn't receive as a child." Jisoo said serenely, earning a glare.
"Not helping, Jisoo! And stop encouraging her," Jennie hissed exasperatedly. Her eye twitched as
she glanced around them nervously. "They're gonna kick us out. They'll think we're drunk."

"Nah. At most, they'll just think we're a bit cuckoo in the head."

"That's even worse!"

"Excuse me babe, but I thought we were exclusive?" Rosé demanded indignantly, hands on her
hips and her face twisted in a frown.

Chaeyoung guffawed when Lisa's smile was wiped clean off her face. She quickly let go of the two
girls she had collected in her arms, practically shoving them aside in her haste.

"No no of course we're exclusive, I was just joking!" Lisa sputtered, "old habits die hard you know,
it's just a little joke, you're my one and only, I swear!"

"Hmph!" Rosé whirled away with her nose in the air, a giggle threatening to shatter her act. Lisa
looked on in dismay as Somi and Dahyun snickered behind her and even Jennie's pursed mouth
quirked at the corners.

"Not looking so hot now, are we?" Somi drawled. "And here I was meaning to congratulate you for
getting together."

"Baby, I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you," Lisa said miserably to Rosé's back. Her bottom lip
trembled, her eyes watering on the verge of tears. "I won't do that again, never ever ever ever-"

"Oh hush," Rosé chuckled, turning and cutting her off with a finger to her lips, "you're too easy
sometimes."

"Rosieeeeeeee!"

"Lisaaaaaaaa!"

And just like that, Lisa's smile returned, blinding enough to rival the spotlights that illuminated the
school grounds. She threaded her fingers with Rosé, swinging their hands and laughing, both
enclosed in their own bubble as they gazed into each other's eyes that sparkled with mirth.

"Ah young love," Chaeyoung pronounced dreamily.

"We're standing right here, but I might as well be dead for all they care," Somi sighed, "and she
hasn't once called me Mimi, or brat. I feel a little bittersweet, truth be told."

"How so?" Jennie asked curiously.

"Well, we have her, and her. Alone." Somi said with extra emphasis on the last word.

She pointed at the two girls as Rosé whispered something in Lisa's ear and Lisa threw her head
back, giggling as though Rosé had uttered the funniest joke in the world. Now that she had
apologised, Jennie felt strangely at peace watching her sister interact with Rosé, no lingering
animosity lurking in her gut.

Jisoo had been right: letting go was always the hardest first step but now, things should come
easier.

"Well, what's wrong with them?" Jennie asked with a furrowed brow.
"I can see what's happening," Somi smirked in sing-song.

"What?"

"And they don't have a clue."

"Who?"

"They'll fall in love and here's the bottom line," Somi sighed, "our trio's down to two."

"Uh if you're including me and Dubu, that should be a quintet," Chaeyoung pointed out.

"You're quoting Lion King!" Jisoo said triumphantly as Jennie stared, gob-smacked.

"Somi really? Quit the drama," Dahyun laughed.

"Ze sweet caress of twilight," Somi wiggled her eyebrows, snagging behind them and springing out
in turn, "there's magic everywhere-"

"She's not taking this very well, is she?" Jisoo chuckled.

"-and! with all this romantic atmosphere, disaster's in the airrrrrrrr..."

Jennie coughed. "Well, quite an ominous note to end on but nice rendition I suppose, better than
when you were drunk screeching at the party. You missed out, Dahyun."

"Drunk screeching? Excuse you! You were the one squawking on stage and I even have proof!"
Somi fired back.

"You what? I did what?" Jennie gawked at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh I thought you remembered? You sang on stage," Jisoo giggled. "You karaoke-d like there's no
tomorrow, Jen."

"You're joking, right? I know I drank a lot and let loose and yeah I danced and sang but...but not on
stage?" Jennie spluttered. She wasn't liking the way everyone around her was wearing wicked
grins.

"You heard me! You were caught in 4K singing your lungs out!" Somi held up her phone
triumphantly. "Here Dubu, lemme show ya."

Jennie paled when the unmistakable sound of her throaty drunk singing reached her ears.

"Delete it."

"No."

"Delete it!"

"Never!"

"Mimi I swear-"

"Not gonna lie, you were kinda singing drunk at one point," Lisa chimed in suddenly, inserting
herself in the conversation with a smirk. She seemed to be done simpering over Rosé. "All of us
were. We missed you, Dubu."
"From what Chaeyoung told me you seemed to get along pretty fine," Dahyun chuckled as Jennie
and Somi bickered about the fateful video in the background, "congrats on getting together with
Rosé, finally."

"Wait where's Rosé?" Jisoo asked.

"Gone in to see Ella, they'll start letting us in soon," Lisa explained, "Seulgi came for her."

"Never thought I'd see the day where Lisa settles down, did you Jen?" Somi winked, looking extra
pleased with herself as a dejected Jennie slunk back to Jisoo's side. It was clear that Somi had won
and got to keep the video.

Jennie looked at Lisa, her glum expression replaced with the hint of a smile. "No, I never thought
so either but I suppose things can change," she said, making Lisa's grin broaden.

"Lisa got her girl," Chaeyoung beamed and waggled her eyebrows. "You know what that means."

Dahyun nodded solemnly. "We can finally sing."

"Sing?" Lisa said warily.

Chaeyoung snapped her fingers and Dahyun and Somi chorused: "Lisa and Rosé sitting in a tree,
K-I-S-S-I-N-G-"

They didn't get to finish the rest of the verse because Lisa took one forceful step forward and the
three of them scarpered, laughing.

"I thought I heard extra loud noise, like a gaggle of geese have gathered, and thought it might be
you girls. I wasn't wrong," Irene chuckled, joining them and greeting Jennie and Jisoo. "Where's
Rosé?"

"Thank goodness, you're here!" Jennie exclaimed. "Maybe they'll all calm down now."

"Well it's not like they listen to me either but we can pretend we don't know them together," Irene
smiled. "Have you seen Seulgi?"

"Present," said a low voice from behind her and Seulgi appeared, looking very smart in her pencil
skirt, shirt and blazer.

"What, don't tell me you've been waiting for her to show up before you joined us?" Jisoo accused
with a smirk. "Felt embarrassed huh?"

"Guilty as charged," Seulgi laughed, "I've a reputation to keep unfortunately so...can't have myself
carted off the grounds along with the rest of you lot." She turned to Irene, eyes softening. "Hey
Hyun."

"Hey," Irene replied quietly. "You look nice."

"Thanks, you too."

"How are you?"

"I'm okay, had a little headache earlier but it's cleared up."

"Maybe stress."
"Maybe."

Jennie watched them keep a respectable distance from each other and hold polite small talk. She
suddenly understood the reason for their distance.

This was different than Somi's party. Professionalism and people's prejudices wouldn't allow for
conscientious people like Seulgi and Irene to show their affection openly.

She glanced at Jisoo and found her looking back at her, apparently having come to the same
conclusion as well. Jisoo gave a small resigned smile, as though pained by the notion of hiding or
so Jennie fancied, and quickly picked up a conversation with the two women.

But Jennie couldn't shake off that brief flash of pain on Jisoo's face, making her wonder for the
first time what Jisoo had gone through in exchange for being so open about her identity, the price
of being frank and fortright with her sexuality.

Jennie wasn't naive to think it had all been rainbows and sunshine, but Jisoo had always been so
cheerfully nonchalant about the whole issue that it never caused Jennie to question her journey,
until now.

She inched a little closer to Jisoo until they were standing shoulder to shoulder, her hand hanging at
her side. She inserted herself in the conversation at times but her attention was elsewhere.

Her knuckles grazed the back of Jisoo's hand, little finger brushing slowly, searching for its twin.
Jisoo carried on talking but Jennie noticed how her breath caught in between one word or another.
Jennie pressed on, finally succeeding in hooking their little fingers together and making her
inwardly cheer.

Jisoo faltered for a moment but then her finger held tighter on to Jennie's as she continued
speaking, making Jennie smile.

Holding Jisoo's finger was a small thing to show her solidarity and support, but she hoped Jisoo
would be able to read her intention, as she had gotten so good at doing.

>

"Baby breathe, it's going to be okay," Rosé soothed, trying hard not to sound frantic in front of her
daughter as she rubbed her back.

"I don't think I can do it," Ella said miserably, gulping in air as she hyperventilated. "I feel like
puking. Or peeing. Or both. Mom please, can I sit this out? I can't play, my hands are too sweaty!
They'll slip and I...I can't play..."

"It's okay, it's okay, come here sweetheart," Rosé murmured and hugged her close, rubbing her
back consolingly as she silently prayed for Ella to calm down in time.

Seulgi had discreetly come to fetch her earlier, reporting that Ella was getting anxious with stage
fright, but though Rosé had tried every trick in the book to soothe her daughter's nerves before
taking the stage, nothing seemed to be working.

They were backstage and already, she could hear the sounds of the noisy auditorium as families
filed in and took their seats, their voices carrying to where Rosé and Ella sat like the roar of waves
breaking on shore.

Other little kids backstage were in varying states of excitement while harried teachers scurried past,
shouting some last minute commands or tending to costume accidents and boisterous children.

Rosé and Ella had managed to find a quiet little corner by themselves for Rosé to try and console
her daughter but time was pressing-Mr Lee's class of junior performers were going to be one of the
first acts of the evening. Far too soon, she heard the school principal take to the stage to address
the auditorium with his opening speech.

The pressure was proving to be overwhelming for her daughter and Rosé was quietly at her wit's
end.

"There you are!"

Her heart immediately leapt at the sound of Lisa's chuckle behind her and she whirled around in
disbelief. "Lisa?"

"Present," Lisa grinned, "got bored so I thought I'd find my girls before the show starts. What's the
hold up?"

"How did you get in? You're not supposed to be here," Rosé said in hushed tones as she glanced
around nervously but nobody was paying them attention. "If somebody catches you..."

"No way they will, I snuck in like a spy," Lisa said proudly, "I was like the penguins of
Madagascar on a stealth mission, I was so cool!" She peered around them, nose scrunched up. "But
holy bagels, ain't it hella dusty and dark in here! It's like a batcave, only it has pretty ladies instead
of bats."

Ella giggled, making hope unfurl in Rosé's chest at the sound.

"Aww what's up, kiddo? Not feeling well?" Lisa said in concern, noticing Ella's red eyes and dried
tear streaks on her face.

"Got a little bit of stage fright," Rosé explained, brushing Ella's hair.

"Aww. You good now?" Lisa asked sympathetically. Ella shook her head dolefully.

"I'm scared I'll mess up and everyone will laugh at me and Mr Lee will yell at me," she sniffed.

Lisa hummed thoughtfully before she crouched level with her chair. "Hey, wanna know a secret?"

Ella's eyes grew round. "What?"

"Promise you won't tell anyone?" Lisa said solemnly. Ella held out her pinky finger and they did a
pinky promise, the sight warming Rosé's heart.

"You know, I get some of that pesky stage fright sometimes too, before my boxing matches," Lisa
confessed. "I start shaking like mad, my legs turn to jelly." Ella looked at her in disbelief.

"No way you don't!"

"I do! Rosie, tell her I do!"

"Uh...you do?" Rosé said, puzzled.

"Yeah, it never gets old. My hands get all sweaty and clammy and I think that I gotta go pee, even
though I had just peed. Everyone gets stage fright. But tell you what, let's make a deal, shall we?"
Lisa winked. "You go out there, show them who's boss. And after that, we'll go get McDonald's
later. Or any kind of burger really."

"McDonald's?" Ella squealed, forgetting her fears in the blink of an eye. She leapt to her feet
excitedly. "Oh Mommy can we? Please please say yes! I haven't had a Happy Meal in
foreverrrrrrr!"

Rosé couldn't help but laugh at the sight of two eager faces in front of her waiting hopefully for a
positive answer. Who was she to deny them? "Alright, we'll go to McDonald's-"

"YAY!" Lisa and Ella cheered, fistbumping each other and Rosé shook her head fondly, pleased to
see her daughter in better spirits.

"So, is that a deal then? You play the piano and we get burgers as a reward?" Lisa said at last.

Ella nodded firmly, even though she never stopped wiping her palms down her front. "Po the panda
was also scared sometimes, but he was still a good kung fu warrior and fought. I'm gonna be like
that."

"Atta girl, go get'em then!" Lisa encouraged with a pat to her head. Ella hugged her mother one
more time, waved and darted away to join her group, leaving the two women smiling as they
walked out.

"So...McDonald's, huh?" Rosé commented, her heart light with relief. Lisa had been a life-saver
once again and for that alone, Rosé wanted to smother her with kisses. It would have to wait
though since anybody could catch them and she wasn't too keen on having her private life exposed.

"Figured a little reward might distract her for a while. And it's always a good time for a burger, I
say. You did mention you like them too, so it's a win-win," Lisa grinned.

"Hmm. I like the way you think." Seeing that the coast was clear, Rosé took the opportunity to
press a grateful kiss to her cheek, lingering close enough to whisper: "Thank you for talking to Ella
and calming her down."

"Of course babe. I have a way with the Park women, it's a gift," said Lisa smugly. Rosé could only
shake her head and laugh as they hurried to the auditorium.

>

"Jisoo, you outdid yourself," Lisa said happily as she waved her neon glowstick. Five more
colourful glow sticks fashioned like bangles slid up and down her arm as she waved energetically.
"See, I told you we should have lightsticks Rosie! Lucky for me, my unicorn buddy came
through!"

Jisoo merely smiled as she distributed the glowsticks amongst their group. Seulgi had gone
backstage so Irene sat with them as well, though both her and Jennie did their utmost to distance
themselves from the noisy group. However, once Jisoo started handing out lightsticks, they
grudgingly took one of their own.

Several wary parents had watched them curiously until Jisoo offered them for free, after which
they eagerly helped themselves and Jisoo, having bought quite a stack, generously handed over a
couple to whoever asked.

Soon, a sizeable number of people around them had glowsticks to wave around as the night
progressed. The children loved it, sometimes getting distracted from their routines to wave back at
the audience. It made Lisa roar with laughter and Rosé watched her with a little smile, savouring
her laughter, but she was too tense to join in as she waited with mounting trepidation for Ella's turn.

Lisa seemed to have cottoned on to her anxiousness because she secretly clasped their hands
together, holding it close when Ella's act was announced.

When a visibly nervous Ella walked on stage towards the baby grand piano, Lisa leaped to her feet
whooping and calling her name until Jennie forcibly pulled her to sit down, apologising profusely
to their neighbouring seatmates even though some joined Lisa in cheering for Ella.

Ella on her part waved, her eyes widening when she saw the glowsticks and spotted Lisa waving
her arms like a windmill, with Rosé waving next to her. Her smile widened to a grin and she settled
herself on the piano with more ease to start playing her piece.

Rosé felt the tears well up as she watched her baby perform, joy mingling with the memories of all
the hardships she had gone through for Ella to be up on the stage shining like a star. Seeing Ella
confidently pull off her performance with a dash of flourish had her sniff and dab her eyes as her
emotions crested like a wave and spilled.

She was beyond proud-sitting in a gloomy auditorium next to the girl she was falling in love with
every day and watching her daughter do something she loved felt like the pinnacle of all Rosé's
sacrifices had finally paid off.

"Oh baby, hey hey, hands off the face or you're gonna look...like...oh," Lisa trailed off. "Oh
baby..." she dug into Rosé's purse for a tissue, tutting lightly as she dabbed carefully at Rosé's eyes.

"I look like a panda now don't I?" Rosé laughed, well aware she had smudged her eyeliner.

"Well, Ella likes pandas and so do I," Lisa winked as the applause for Ella subsided around them
and the next kid walked across the stage.

But Rosé didn't notice, she was too busy drowning in Lisa's eyes that sparkled with mirth in the
dark auditorium, reflecting the spotlight on stage.

Their faces seemed to be inching closer and closer, and Rosé felt her heartbeat pound in her ears.

"Thank you," Rosé whispered, "Ella did it because of you."

"No," Lisa said softly, "she did it because of you. I just gave the final push. You have been there
since the beginning Rosie."

"I want to kiss you," Rosé husked.

"Me too," Lisa rasped back as new strains of music reached their ears, "but is it wise to do it in
front of everyone?"

Rosé licked her lips and almost said I don't care, her core wound tight with desire, when the voice
of reason showed up at the last minute and she drew back reluctantly as clarity returned.

No, it wouldn't be wise-society at large was still judging, she would not have her thirst be the
reason Ella gets targeted and bullied. Besides, she had to be careful of Yang's henchmen and
informants.

They could be anywhere and ever since the night of Seokjin's attack, she was wary, checking over
her shoulder when walking outside. She still hadn't gotten the chance to question Yang about what
had happened of the old Seokjin that she knew. The night's events had her thinking for days but she
could not figure out any logical reason for his mysterious reappearance.

Rosé shut the lid on her lust and sat back with a quiet sigh. "No, I suppose not."

Lisa squeezed her hand as a consolation. "Aw, turn that frown upside down. I hate seeing my baby
all pouty...even though it's kinda cute," she cooed. "My cutie chipmunk, my baby baby Rosie!"

Without meaning to, Rosé smiled and her mood lightened with each endearment Lisa whispered as
the concert progressed. She couldn't stay glum for long, not with her girlfriend around.

>

"You guys should really tone down with the thirst show you had going on," Jennie said peevishly
afterwards as they were filing out of the hall, "we're in public."

"We can do what we like, actually," Lisa said loftily. She paused at a tap from Rosé on her
shoulder.

"No, she's right," Rosé said quietly, surprising Lisa and Jennie. Even Jisoo was silently nodding in
agreement.

"Once you declare your status and sexuality, some people will care for little else. They judge you
for it," Jisoo told Lisa. "I can tolerate it, but you have to also be mindful of how it will affect other
people around you, and if they're okay with that. Hence why when I was seeing Rosé, we tried to
be discreet, per her request."

Rosé took a deep breath, figuring she and Lisa needed this conversation sooner or later. "I was
getting ahead of myself back in there. But they're both right, Lisa. It's not wise to...to be kissing and
stuff out in the open. In front of friends it's okay, I don't mind the PDA, but if there's other
people...I'm not comfortable with it and also, because of Ella. I don't want people targeting and
bullying her because their ignorance blinds them to the feelings you and I have for each other."

She smiled nervously at Lisa. "So...hope you'll be okay with that, going forward?"

"Yeah I get it... but does this mean we can't hold hands while we're out?" Lisa said sadly. "Or
kisses on the cheek?"

"Oh no no baby, those are perfectly fine, everyone does them," Rosé comforted, taking Lisa's hand
as she spoke. "There, see? Is that better, grumpy?"

Lisa nodded happily, swinging their arms energetically even as they all met up again with Somi,
Chaeyoung and Dahyun and waited for Ella outside in the school grounds. She was going to be
picked up by Seulgi from backstage, along with Irene who went in search of her.

"Well, what's y'all's plans for tonight? Chaeng, Dubu, you wanna come over to my place or should
we hit the town? I can call up some friends. Anyone else wanna join?"

"Sorry Mimi, me and Rosie got plans," Lisa said importantly. "I'm taking my girl and Ella to
McDonald's. My treat!"

"They grow so fast," Chaeyoung said emotionally, pretending to wipe tears. "I remember a time
when you didn't even want to visit your future girlfriend!"

"How the tables turn," Dahyun mused.

"McDonald's?" Somi scoffed. "For a first date? Couldn't you pick somewhere classier, you got
some money to splurge now."

"Mind yo business, brat! Rosie likes burgers, Ella likes burgers, I like burgers so it's settled." Lisa
stuck her tongue out. "When you hook up with Daehwi oppar, you can splash out somewhere fancy
for all I care."

"Aha! She doesn't care about you dating Daehwi now that she's taken," Dahyun noted.

"Of course she doesn't," Somi snorted, "she was just worried I'd get to date before she did."

"Shut up!"

"Well, what about you Jen? Jisoo? You can come hang out with us too, we had a blast at my party."

"Actually, Jendeuk and I have plans too," Jisoo announced.

The other girls stared, their eyes darting in between them, full of questions.

"A...a date?" Somi said eagerly. Her face fell when Jennie shook her head.

"Just gonna watch a movie at her place," Jennie muttered bashfully.

But before Somi or anyone else could speak again, Ella finally appeared. She ran full tilt towards
her mother, catching her in a hug around the middle. Seulgi and Irene brought up the rear.

"Mom! Mom! I did it, did you see I did it, I played it all, I did it! Didn't I play well?" Ella cried.

"Sure did baby!" Rosé laughed in reply and hugged her close even as the others drew around them
to congratulate Ella. "I'm so so so proud of you sweetie!"

"You did it kiddo. Next stop, McDonald's!" Lisa announced as she fistbumped Ella. "Atta girl!"

"I saw the lightsticks!" Ella said excitedly, pointing at the colourful sticks still clasped around their
wrists and arms. "Where did you get them? I want some too!"

"So that was you guys, I should have known," Seulgi remarked. "There was a bit of an uproar
backstage, every kid wanted to see your lightsticks all at once."

"Sorry," said Lisa sheepishly.

"We handled it. If anything it was actually a great distraction for the kids, their nerves all but
disappeared."

Jisoo rummaged in her bag and miraculously found three sticks left over. "I knew I made the right
choice saving them. Here you go El, now you're one of us."

"Yay!" Ella cheered as Somi bent down to help her fashion bracelets.

"Ella don't forget to thank them now," Rosé reminded before she raised her head to nod gratefully
at Jisoo. "That's really sweet of you, unnie, thanks."

As everyone was still fussing over Ella, Lisa edged subtly closer to Jennie standing by herself at
the edge of the group.

"What?" Jennie asked in an undertone when Lisa was standing next to her.
Lisa grinned. "Nothing. So, movie night huh?"

"Don't you start as well-"

"I'm not, I'm not! It's just...things seem to be progressing, hmm?"

"It's not what you think," Jennie said. She took a deep breath. "At the park, Jisoo and I talked about
you and me. And with her help, I'm going to try and give you space, to give us space. I'm going
to...to try and find out what I am and what I can do when I'm not focusing solely on you.

Who am I when I'm not your trainer 24/7? Who is that Jennie? What does she like to do? What
hobbies does she like? What movies? Likes, dislikes? I'm going to try and find out, because I
barely even know myself. It's been grind grind grind for the past few years and...well, I didn't
notice how much of myself I don't know yet."

Lisa nodded slowly. "But...we're still going to be seeing each other..."

"Don't be silly." Jennie actually smiled at her. "Of course we are. You do know you shouldn't stop
training entirely, right?"

"I know," Lisa said despondently. She scratched at her pink cast, realising she was unconsciously
trying to click her wrist. "I like the movie night idea. And I'm glad Jisoo was of help."

"She is. She always is..." Jennie trailed off before she abruptly turned to Lisa again.

"Lisa, I just..." she shut her mouth, rethinking, before speaking again. "Do you think Hwangssabu
would be mad at me?"

"Why?"

"We...fought."

"We squabbled all the time, remember? He was used to that," Lisa pointed out. She pulled a face.
"Remember he used to press our faces into his armpits to get us to stop fighting? Eugh."

Jennie snorted at the memory. "Until you got cocky enough to flip him."

"Well, let him stick his face in his own smelly armpit and see how he likes that!"

Jennie was openly chuckling now before she sobered up, watching Jisoo say something and having
the rest of their group laugh as Ella clamoured to be let in on the joke.

"We're still outsiders, in a way," Jennie said, her voice so soft that Lisa almost didn't hear weren't
she standing close. "Always looking in from the shop window, like we did when we went to the
mall with no money in our pockets."

Lisa rested a hesitant hand on her shoulder. "It doesn't have to be like that, Nini. I've got Rosie and
you...Jisoo is good for you. She's stuck by you."

Jennie smiled wanly, training her gaze on the group once more and it struck Lisa how much like
Hwangssabu her sister appeared, his invisible imprint made flesh in the way she pursed her lip and
her gaze narrowed as she focused on the scene in front of her.

Though she wasn't his daughter by blood, there were echoes of Hwangssabu that manifested in
Jennie, which Lisa noticed sometimes, especially when she was missing him.
During such times, all she had to do was look for Jennie and there he was, her mentor and father
figure compressed in the petite build of her sister.

Hwangssabu appeared in Jennie's dry wit, in the way she held herself back, aloof and calm, the
way she planned and went over tactics, the way she spoke precisely, calculating her moves like a
cautious chess player, the way she didn't deal with emotions and had near meltdowns under
extreme stress, the way she wasn't afraid to grit her teeth and do what needed to be done for her and
Lisa, the way she was closed off from everyone...

As Irene or Matt (Lisa forgot who) had put it once, Jennie was Hwangssabu's kid through and
through.

"D-Hwangssabu would have wanted you happy," Lisa said finally. "You know he always trusted
you to do the good thing and lead me when he wasn't around. So I'm sure he wouldn't want you
beating yourself up either for every misstep."

"Chu said something along those lines," Jennie said thoughtfully. "Maybe you're both on to
something."

A lull fell in the conversation, making Lisa realise how much quieter the school grounds had
gotten as most people had left save for a few families still catching up.

Her gaze met Rosé's, who was watching them intently. She raised an inquiring eyebrow but Lisa
shook her head and Rosé relaxed, nodding in understanding before she turned back to the
conversation, where Somi and Jisoo seemed to be narrating the events of the party to Dahyun. At
one point Irene groaned out loud and everyone laughed.

"Let's join them?" Lisa suggested. "Unless you got something else on your mind?"

Jennie shrugged. "How are you going to get to McDonald's?"

"I'm sure Jisoo will drop us there if I ask nicely."

"You got cash?"

Lisa stopped short, biting her lip. She didn't need to pat her pockets to know they were pitifully
empty. She hadn't grabbed any cash when she left the Vault earlier. "Ah..."

Jennie opened her small purse and handed Lisa a wad of bills. "Don't go throwing it about now,
you don't want to get mugged, especially with this," and she tapped Lisa's cast. "That should cover
for food and taxi fare. Have fun but be careful okay?"

Lisa's eyes sparkled. "You're a life-saver! I could hug you right now!"

"Maybe we should try doing it more often," Jennie said. Lisa's mouth dropped open as her eyes
widened.

"Holy bagels, what the hell did you and Jisoo talk about?"

"Shut up and hug me before the moment is gone," Jennie said gruffly. She stiffened when Lisa
embraced her but Lisa didn't let go of her and soon Jennie had loosened up considerably.

The only thing Lisa could think of was that right now, Jennie resembled a grumpy cat wary of
affection but at the same time savouring it-rarely had they hugged for the sake of hugging, as other
people do.
"Enjoy your movie," Lisa said once they parted. She knew better than to comment about the hug
any further. "What are you going to watch anyway?"

Jennie shrugged. "A surprise."

Lisa tilted her head. "Funny name for a movie."

"It's not the name, you idiot. I meant Jisoo didn't tell me because she wants it to be a surprise, but
she said it's a cinematic masterpiece. For some reason, that has me even more concerned."

Lisa simply clapped her on the back with a wide grin. "Have fun, don't get too freaky, the
neighbours will hear you."

"It's not like that!" Jennie called exasperatedly but Lisa had already darted away.

>

There weren't many people at McDonald's when Rosé, Lisa and Ella walked in. Certainly they
were the only family present, but nobody knew that.

Yes, they were practically a family already. It felt so right to say it-the way Lisa fit in so seamlessly
with their little unit made it natural, even though it had been barely a week.

"Rosie, let me," Lisa said as she gallantly pulled out a chair for Rosie to slip in. "Now hold tight
while we get the orders. Mommy deserves a break now and then, don't you think so, El?"

"Yeah!" Ella tipped her chin up. "We got this Mom. I know your order, come on Lisa unnie!"

"You know kiddo, you can drop the unnie now, your mom and I are dating," Lisa joked.

"Ok Lisa, come on!" Ella said without missing a beat.

"Right behind you!"

Rosé smiled as she watched them go stand beneath the display boards and engage in earnest
conversation while low music played throughout the store as she waited at the table. From time to
time, Lisa would glance back at Rosé and pull a face or wink, eliciting a smile.

When Lisa did finger guns at her, Rosé answered in kind, chuckling when Lisa dramatically
clutched her heart as though mortally wounded. She could see even the person at the counter taking
Lisa's orders was trying to hide their smile at her antics.

Then Lisa discreetly sent her a flying kiss, which Rosé caught and pressed to her heart. She didn't
care that the gesture was cheesy and that they looked like a pair of flirty teenagers-it was Lisa
behind the gesture, and her every action made Rosé's tummy flutter.

Though she had agreed with Jennie about keeping their relationship lowkey, Rosé longed to show
her affection for Lisa openly without a care in the world, to kiss her and hear that addictive giggle
without checking over her shoulder, to flaunt Lisa and make sure everyone knew she belonged to
the tough blonde boxer, so that no other guy would dare hit on her again.

Her exuberant mood dipped as reality seeped in again. It was a wistful fantasy to wish for such a
life where she was entirely free, where she and Ella lived with peace of mind alongside Lisa in a
blissful existence full of nothing but laughter, warmth and love.

Love...
Rosé pondered whilst she watched Lisa and Ella trade excited gibberish.

It was early days to say for certain whether their relationship would progress far enough, but Rosé
knew with a certain conviction that the seeds had already been sown.

Despite her secrets, she wanted to make everything work somehow, to juggle her new relationship
with her double life without her boss getting to know about Lisa, especially since he seemed to
harbour a special interest in her.

The question was, could she do it without ruining everything in the process? Or could she hold out
on Lisa's promise of staying even when she came clean about everything that was happening? Lisa
would lend her strength, would be her rock...wouldn't she?

Rosé shook her head. It was early days, she might scare Lisa away, if she told her at all.

Every moment with Lisa was precious and selfishly, Rosé wanted to savour their time together
before delving into talking about something so heinous as her job as a runner for a crime boss, all
the felonies she committed and the money she stole from innocent people.

Deep, deep, deep down, far too deep to perhaps even be aware, Rosé had a foreboding feeling that
ultimately, things wouldn't work out the way she wanted, because that's how life had always played
out for her.

Lisa would leave and run as far away as possible upon discovering the web of lies, and Rosé
wouldn't blame her.

It was probably inevitable, but what Lisa didn't know couldn't hurt, right?

Rosé sighed, battling with her dilemma. Secrets never made good foundations for a steady
relationship, but in turn, honesty might cost her everything.

Besides, she frowned, remembering Lisa's uneasiness with questions regarding her
background, she wasn't the only one with secrets. She didn't want to pressure Lisa, but wondering
about why Lisa kept such a tight lip on her childhood wouldn't help ease her worries.

Rather than facing a storm head on, Rosé wanted to hang on desperately hoping that somehow,
things would turn out alright and she would get to stay in her little fantasy indefinitely. Dreams
were dangerous to have, but her wish to be with Lisa had already come true-maybe if she was
smart and clever enough, she could keep up the happy illusion.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Lisa's voice broke her out of her pensive thoughts and Rosé shook her head with a small smile, her
face lighting up at the sight of the tray filled with burger boxes and fries and soda.

"I was thinking that I was feeling very left out," she pouted.

"Well I hope that a Bacon Super Deluxe will make up for it?" Lisa laughed as Ella busily dug into
a Happy Meal and whooped when she came up with her toy.

"I got the blue one!"

"Kiddo, you'd said you'd wait for me!" Lisa complained, hastily digging into a second Happy Meal
bag.
"You got a Happy Meal too?" Rosé said in amusement. "Babe, it's for kids."

"Yeah well, I wanted the toy so I told the people at the counter that Ella had a big appetite," Lisa
winked, finally pulling out her own toy. "Aww man I wanted the yellow one!"

Rosé couldn't help but laugh at Lisa's immense disappointment. "Aww I'm sorry baby, maybe they
can swap it out for you?"

"Eh it's whatever. Let's dig in, I'm starving!"

They dug in, enjoying their burgers in between Ella regaling them with stories from school and
telling Lisa about Leo and Lego's shenanigans. The atmosphere was jovial and Rosé was on cloud
nine, rubbing shoulder with Lisa every so often and savouring her daughter's happy face as they
talked. Lisa even entertained Ella by having the toys battle in a Mega Epic Battle.

The battle got a little too boisterous, ending with Ella's spilled soda. Undeterred, Lisa coolly
mopped up the spillage with napkins and even gave Ella the rest of her soda to sip on while Rosé
looked on with approval.

Lisa sometimes had her forget she could be so thoughtful and considerate but here she was,
practically rocking the parent role and making Rosé swoon.

"Rosie, you got some sauce here, lemme get that."

Rosé blinked awake from her thoughts when Lisa dabbed her cheek with the napkin, tongue
sticking out in concentration.

"Was there even any sauce? I'm sure I ate carefully."

"Good excuse to do this," Lisa grinned and without warning, she poked her cheek. "Boop!"

"Lisa!" Rosé swatted her head but Lisa ducked away chuckling.

And if they weren't in public, in full view of people and their daughter, Rosé would have either
thrown her fries at her girlfriend or tackled her with kisses.

Either way, she would have done both with a laugh.

>

"Door locked? Check. Movie on standby? Check. Popcorn? Check. Lights out? Check. Pikachu
plushy for snuggles? Check."

"Can we just start the movie already?" Jennie said, dwarfed by the giant Pikachu stuffed toy sitting
next to her. Dalgom made a noise that sounded suspiciously like an exasperated groan.

"One grumpy girl and one grumpy dog waiting on the sofa? Check." Jisoo grinned as she joined
them and took up the remote.

Imperial music started playing on the dark screen as text scrawled upwards, very much like the
Star Wars introductory text scrawl at the beginning of the movie.

But they weren't watching Star Wars, they were watching...

"Spaceballs?" Jennie repeated."What's Spaceballs?"

"Only the bestest best movie ever!" Jisoo exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Never heard of it."

"Well then it's my pleasure to introduce it to you! Get ready to have the greatest cinematic
experience of your life that will blow. Your. Mind! I'm jealous that you get to watch Spaceballs for
the first time."

Jennie smiled now as she recalled how Jisoo had fussed to prepare "to set the cinema vibe" after
they arrived from Ella's concert. She glanced to her side, watching Jisoo hold Pikachu's paw as she
munched on popcorn from the bowl that sat between them, eyes glued to the screen.

It was an endearing sight, enough for Jennie to turn her eyes back to the screen to pay proper
attention to what was going on.

They had talked at length at the park, with Jisoo having suggested movies as a good place to start
finding out what kind of person Jennie was and help give the sisters some space.

"Consider this as an intro to Jisoo yoga," Jisoo had winked.

"I thought that involved actual yoga."

"You thought. But what you think and what is might actually be different," Jisoo giggled. Jennie
had narrowed her eyes suspiciously but let it go, for now.

Even if the movie might turn out to not be to her taste, at the very least Jennie owed Jisoo respect
for going to all the trouble of putting up with her and helping her.

To Jennie's surprise, however, she found herself immersed in the movie, which was a Star Wars
parody and never took itself too seriously, which was the best part. The puns and innuendos came
thick and fast and although Jennie understood there were many references to Star Wars that flew
over her head, she could still appreciate the farcical comedy on screen.

Jisoo laughed many times, hearty belly laughs that had her writhing on the ground, wheezing.
Jennie didn't laugh, but she snorted and chuckled far more than she expected over the course of the
two hours, partly because seeing Jisoo laugh was somehow infectious. Laughter bubbled in her
throat without warning and though the old reflex of swallowing down her mirth kicked in each
time, Jennie still thoroughly enjoyed herself.

She wasn't sure if it was because the movie's gimmicky humour or Jisoo's contagious laughter, but
Jennie felt just as relaxed as she had at the park, wrapped in comfort and safety, able to breathe
freely without the heavy stone sitting on her chest. Its weight had actually lightened ever since she
spoke with Lisa, easing up on squashing her under guilt and shame.

"Sooooooo what do you think?" Jisoo beamed when the credits rolled. "Awesome right?"

"Yeah," Jennie nodded, "I have to give it to you, you started off pretty solid Chu."

"Just pretty solid? What about mind blowingly brilliant! Come on, wasn't it?"

"Guess so," Jennie conceded, enjoying how Jisoo pouted at her. "I think my favourite character
was Dark Helmet."

"Because he's short like you?"

"Jisoo!" Jennie gasped and Jisoo stuck her tongue out at her. "Well let me guess, yours is Barf?"

"What makes you think that?"

"He's a dog-person, and you're a dog person. Match made in heaven, I say. Or should that be in the
stars?"

"Witty, very witty," Jisoo huffed, hiding a smile as Jennie giggled. "It's sad Lord Helmet doesn't
like yogurt, unlike you. You could have been soulmates."

"Jisoo," Jennie groaned in between snickering.

"I'm serious! He's got that whole evil vibe going on, I'm sure you could roll with that."

"Roll with this," Jennie retorted. Next second one of the couch pillows hit Jisoo square in the face
and she tumbled off the couch with a yell followed by the popcorn bowl. Dalgom joined in,
yapping excitedly.

"Man down, man down!" Jisoo cried dramatically, flailing amongst the golden kernels.

"I'll save you!" called Jennie, equally dramatically, throwing herself down as she scrabbled to reach
Jisoo. But once she hovered over her, Jennie flashed a smirk and Jisoo knew she was doomed.

Jennie's fingers came down hard, tickling a helpless Jisoo until she was squealing and shrieking
and squirming out of reach. Dalgom joined the fray, his furry body smothering Jisoo as she lay
trapped in Jennie's clutches while Jennie tickled her mercilessly.

"Jendeuk, stop stop I'm gonna pee myself! Please!" Jisoo gasped. "Please!"

Jennie finally relented, both girls flushed and panting hard from exertion as they grinned at each
other.

"What...was...that?" Jisoo wheezed.

Jennie just shrugged. "I have my playful moments."

It had not escaped her how close they were, with Jennie propped on her arms while on her knees,
bracketed by Jisoo's legs. By the lightwash of the TV screen, Jennie could count Jisoo's eyelashes
framing wide eyes.

Jennie's own eyes skipped down to Jisoo's heart-shape lips and her heart pounded the longer they
sat there, caught in each other's gaze, unable to move, not wanting to move.

I should get up, Jennie thought distantly, I need to get up for Jisoo to get up, I need to move first.

But her body didn't react, frozen and stuck in place. Dalgom lost interest now that the action had
come to a standstill and Jennie saw him disappearing out of the room from the corner of her eye.
She still didn't move, as though her limbs had forgotten how to function.

"Jen?" Jisoo said and damn, Jennie felt that husky timbre ignite her core with just one syllable. All
Jennie could see beneath her was a vision from her deepest, darkest fantasies that she would never,
ever even dare to ponder during the day: Jisoo splayed out beneath her, waiting for her with a
sinful smile on her lips.

"Jen," Jisoo said again. She smiled, reaching out carefully with one hand to hook a strand of hair
behind Jennie's ear, knuckles brushing her cheek tenderly. "You're so beautiful, Jen."
Jennie would never admit it, but she loved the way Jisoo said her name, any variation of her name.

In Lisa's mouth, her name sounded like duty and hardship. In her ex's mouth, her name sounded
like pain and rage.

In Jisoo's mouth, her name sounded gentle, an entreaty of adoration, almost like a worshipper
uttering a prayer.

Jennie's mouth ran dry but she licked her lips and managed to blurt out something vaguely
coherent, naked in its vulnerable longing: "I want to kiss you."

Jisoo nodded, careful. "Okay," she said simply.

Jennie struggled, fingers clenching. "I don't want things to change."

I'm straight, I'm straight, I'm straight, chanted the old mantra in her head but it was weak and
pathetic now, a silly flippant excuse.

No, she wasn't straight, not when it came to Jisoo. That was't the issue here. The chanting voice
faded, replaced with the omnipresent fears that had her shrink away and lock up her heart.

The fear of being hurt, again.

The fear of being left behind, again.

The fear of not being enough, never enough.

The fear of losing, always losing.

Fear kept her walls up until Jisoo, until the stubborn girl who insisted on learning about her and
break down the door to her heart, even as Jennie chased her away, but Jisoo came back, relentless.

"Things don't have to change. We're still Jisoo and Jennie. We're still friends," Jisoo said gently.
"But change isn't always bad either. It's all up to you Jendeuk."

She looked up at Jennie, a note of sadness in her voice. "We can get up right now and pretend this
never happened."

But Jennie shook her head. No, she had gone too far to go back to skirting around the question of
what she wanted from Jisoo. She was done running.

And she could sense that Jisoo, despite doing her utmost to stay calm, was also slightly shaking,
from anticipation or nerves Jennie couldn't tell. The tension between them simmered and flared
with each blink of the eye.

It was a showdown, each daring the other to move first: to back away or lean in and shatter the
stalemate once and for all.

"I don't want to lose you," Jennie whispered in the deathly quiet that followed.

She closed her eyes and a hot tear escaped her eyelid, her admission stinging raw as all her
shortcomings flashed in her mind's eye. "Every time...each and every time I care about someone...I
lose them somehow. I can't lose you too. I can't."

A soft, cool hand delicately wiped her tear away and Jennie opened her eyes. Jisoo cupped her
face, her eyes asking to bear her pain. "Let go, Jendeuk," she said softly. "I will be here, no matter
what happens."

"You're just saying that."

"I can prove it, if you'll let me," Jisoo said earnestly.

Her eyes fluttered rapidly when Jennie leaned down, stopping a hair's breadth away from their lips
touching. She could almost taste the butter on Jennie's breath but her attention flickered back and
forth from Jennie's feline eyes to her lips.

"You already have," Jennie whispered. "But I'm selfish for more."

And then Jennie was kissing her, and Jisoo was kissing back, and they were both smiling, and they
didn't stop kissing even as Jennie sat back on her heels and pulled Jisoo up with her, hands
clutching Jisoo's hips tightly as she whispered in her ear, a litany of desperation and desire
composed of just one word: Jisoo, Jisoo, Jisoo, which was followed by a blistering kiss that rapidly
multiplied in force, in passion, in urgency, in want.

"Bed," Jennie choked out, her eyes hooded, pupils blown wide. Jisoo merely nodded, too far gone
for words as Jennie latched on to her neck.

And Jisoo's eyes rolled to the back of her head as she looped her arms around Jennie's neck and
held on tightly, tight enough to feel Jennie's pulse throbbing beneath her touch, tight enough so that
their chests brushed against each other, spikes of pleasure rippling throughout her body making her
moan. Her ankles hooked around Jennie's back at the same time as their centres brushed, making
Jisoo release a shuddering breath.

Jennie must have felt it too; she sighed in Jisoo's ear, making Jisoo shiver, before her mouth was
back to tasting her skin along with her skilful fingers kneading flesh beneath her shirt.

Likewise, Jisoo could not keep her mouth off Jennie now that the fuse had been sparked. Her lips
and tongue had to be in constant contact with Jennie-she was a junkie, high off the feeling of
ecstasy that surged in her veins with every quiet groan that escaped Jennie, with every sharp tug to
her hair-

Jisoo's head was spinning until stars flashed in front of her eyes and it had been so long since she
felt oblivion about to swallow her up but she was ready, goddamn she was so ready.

Jennie strained and grunted but finally stood up, holding Jisoo from her thighs as Jisoo clung to her
before making their way to the bedroom and barging in, unceremoniously dropping Jisoo on bed
and clambering on as well, kicking off her shoes.

Jennie kissed her sweetly, and both smiled against each other's mouths in unison, breaking the
breathless kiss only to dive back in for more, hands clutching at each other as their mouths grew
frenzied, hunger consuming them faster than they could tear off their clothes.

Jisoo took the lead, a mutual understanding flashing between them as Jennie pulled her down and
they toppled over each other, bed creaking in protest but they didn't care; the sensation of feverish
skin on skin made their hearts seize for a split-second before they became pure movement, hands
and fingers mapping the uncharted areas they could reach.

Jisoo hovered over Jennie, adoring the vision of perfection that lay on her pillows. Jennie's half-
lidded eyes gleamed by the glow from Jisoo's night-light, her chest rising and falling rapidly and
her face flushed pink as she took in Jisoo's body.
"You're beautiful," she said bashfully and Jisoo almost melted on the spot. She lowered herself
down, careful not to squash Jennie and rested their foreheads together, stalling to bask in the
moment of anticipation, drinking in Jennie's soft whines of impatience urging her to continue.

"We can stop any time," Jisoo said firmly in between pants, retaining enough wits to confirm with
Jennie before she did anything else. She drew back far enough to peer into Jennie's eyes,
marvelling at their beauty that had her enthralled from the first day they met. "Any time. I promise.
Just say so."

Jennie looped her arms behind Jisoo's head, pulling her down to connect their lips again, her
answer brave and certain as her fingers dug into Jisoo's shoulder. The scent in the room intensified,
the earthy smell of their bodies and sweat mingling as the heat between Jisoo's legs threatened to
blaze when Jennie met her gaze head-on, eyes hazy with lust and want.

It took all of Jisoo's strength to not take her right there and then.

"I know. I trust you not to do freaky stuff." Jennie paused, thoughtful. "Well, not too freaky for a
first time with a girl, that is."

"You have my word," said Jisoo solemnly against her lips, swallowing her sigh. "I'll take good care
of you, Jendeuk. You can trust me. Let go."

And Jennie did, pretty whimpers falling from her lips accompanied by needy cries of more,
please and breathy moans yes there, right there followed by oh god Jisoo, don't stop and her body
meanwhile arching and writhing beneath Jisoo, curving like a bow, pliable and soft, hard and
unyielding at the same time.

The last vestiges of clarity had them simultaneously reach out and seek each other in the midst of
their frantic desperation for release, clasping hands and holding tightly as they crested closer and
closer to a blistering finale.

Jisoo Jisoo Jisoo, Jennie sobbed, and Jisoo's name was a prayer for salvation in her mouth, a
plaintive cry for release as Jennie threw her head back, overwhelmed by the myriad sensations
taking over her body.

Hearing Jennie say her name had Jisoo's heart leaping each time, their mouths tangling together as
she keened and replied with a prayer of her own: Jennie Jennie Jennie...

They moved as one, fluid and undulating like a wave as it rolled towards the distant shore,
tumbling over stones faster and faster, unstoppable as it swept everything from its path.

"Jennie," Jisoo rasped. "Look at me."

Tell me you feel what I feel. Tell me this is real, she thought, searching Jennie's face, tell me my
search for love is over.

They locked gazes one last time, Jennie's tear-stained eyes piercing deep through Jisoo as they
rocked against each other, moans reaching a crescendo, but they never looked away. Jennie held
Jisoo's gaze fiercely, rising to the challenge and surpassing it.

It was the peak of intimacy, baring not only their naked selves but their very souls to each other at
such a vulnerable moment of truth, and Jennie revealed all without uttering a single word, without
perhaps even realising herself.

But Jisoo saw it all and she smiled, satisfied. Thank you, Jendeuk.
With Jennie's panting echoing in her ears, Jisoo let herself come undone and fell into oblivion.

>

Rosé and Lisa with Ella riding piggyback on the latter were making their way down the corridor to
Rosé's apartment when Lisa suddenly stilled and tilted her head, listening intently.

"Hear that?"

"Hmm?" Rosé asked as she fiddled with keys. "What?"

Lisa stood for a moment longer then shrugged. "Dunno, thought I heard someone cry out. Like
a...uh, having fun in the bedroom kinda crying," she said meaningfully, her cheeks rather pink.

Rosé giggled in understanding and finally got the door open. "Oh, I see. Nice save, baby, I
appreciate it. And no, I didn't hear anything. Good for them whoever they are, I suppose."

"Oh Mom! Mr Lee wanted to talk to you about something earlier. He told me to tell you after the
concert," Ella piped up sleepily. She stifled a yawn and rested her cheek on Lisa's back again.

"Really? And you're just now remembering, sweetie?" Rosé said with a fond shake of her head. She
didn't even have the heart to get worked up, not with the adorable scene of Lisa carrying her
precious baby made her heart do somersaults.

Seeing Ella so taken by Lisa and being so comfortable with her and Lisa so happy to be involved
with Ella had Rosé feeling happy beyond belief. Testament to her contentment was the growing
number of photos on her phone capturing moments of Lisa and Ella together.

"Hey, lay off the star of the hour ma'am, the kid needs her beauty sleep," Lisa joked, pretending to
block Rosé like a security guard. She strolled into the apartment before tapping Ella's leg. "We're
home El."

Rosé nodded to herself. Home. It sounded so good hearing Lisa say it for all of them. She pecked
Lisa on the cheek as she helped Ella get down and stand up.

"Today was the best day ever," Ella said, looking up at the adults with a wide smile. A yawn
overtook her again as she rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Where's Pogo Yogo?"

"Right here kiddo." Lisa handed over the toy she had been holding on for her. "I hope you keep it
as a reminder of this day."

"I will I will! Today was the bestest best day ever!"

"Really? I thought it was when Lisa and I got together the other day?" Rosé chuckled. She took
Ella from the shoulders and steered her to the bathroom. "Let's wash our teeth and get you to bed,
baby. And we need to take off the glowstick bracelets now, I'm afraid."

She looked over her shoulder at Lisa. "Wait for me? Help yourself to anything from the fridge if
you like. I'll be back soon."

"I'll be waiting," Lisa smiled, sitting at the counter.

"Mom, is Lisa staying over?" Ella asked sleepily.

"I don't know baby, I still have to ask," Rosé said carefully, stroking her hair. "Is it a bother if she
does stay? I don't think I'll be able to sneak in and sleep in your bed if she does."
But Ella had already nodded off, a little smile on her face as she hugged Flora and her new toy to
her chest. Rosé stroked her head one more time before she bent to kiss her head, whisper goodnight
and i love you before slipping out of the room, noiseless as a cat.

Rosé walked back into the kitchen, straight into Lisa's waiting arms.

"I've been holding my arms open like that for the past twenty minutes," Lisa mumbled in Rosé's
hair.

"Have you now?" Rosé giggled, sighing contentedly when she felt Lisa's broad hands skimming
her back. "Mmm, baby..." She pulled down Lisa's chin to press a proper long kiss to her girlfriend's
lips. "I missed you."

"Babes I was practically glued to you the whole night," Lisa chuckled.

"I know...but I couldn't touch you like this...or this..." Rosé explained, demonstrating with her
hands as she trailed her pointer finger teasingly slow up Lisa's chest, "and I couldn't kiss you. I
wanted to kiss you so many different times."

"Me too," Lisa admitted with a sigh. "Who am I kidding? Whenever I saw you smile, I wanted to
kiss you. Hearing you laugh? Kiss you. Watching you worry over Ella? Kiss you. Hearing you
compliment me? Kiss you. Sitting next to you? Kiss you."

"That's an awful lot of kissing," Rosé smirked, "why don't we catch up?"

"You read my mind," Lisa grinned as she turned them around so she had Rosé backed up against
the counter. She bent to lift Rosé up from under her thighs and gently placed her on the counter
top.

She moved to stand between Rosé's legs but her eyes never left Rosé. "I also distinctly remember
you offering to take my shirt off?" she grinned.

"Kiss now, talk later," Rosé said against her mouth as she pulled Lisa closer from her collar. "And I
dare not."

"Why?" Lisa waggled her eyebrows. "Too hot to handle?"

Rosé nodded and gulped, already picturing the abs she'd seen before. "I'm not sure I'd be able to
stop," she said almost inaudibly but Lisa heard every word and froze, blinking at her. The air
between them turned from playful to uncertain in a heartbeat.

"Oh...you're serious?" Lisa said, eyes wide.

Rosé giggled. "Why? Weren't you?" She straightened when Lisa ducked her head, mumbling under
her breath.

"Hey.Hey." She took Lisa's hands to make her face her again, eyes solemn. "I wouldn't do anything
you're not comfortable with. I'll always ask for your permission and if you're not comfortable to get
to the next step yet, that's more than fine. I enjoy us this way too. Okay?"

Lisa cheered up, nodding vigorously. "I like us this way too."

"Good, now kiss me," Rosé said playfully.

Lisa easily obliged, caressing her face with her injured hand as her good hand braced her when she
leaned in and let herself drown in Rosé's scent as they kissed.

It was quiet in the kitchen except for the humming fridge and their stolen breaths whenever they
surfaced for air. Rosé sighed into Lisa's mouth, content to let her lead them.

They kissed slowly, making up for lost time earlier as Lisa's mouth captured hers over and over,
hands squeezing Rosé's hips when Rosé boldly angled her lower body closer. Their noses brushed
as she tilted her head to deepen the kiss and tangled her hands in Lisa's hair, dragging her fingers
down her spine

She smiled to feel Lisa shiver, her wandering hands suddenly gripping the counter and her face
resting on Rosé's shoulder as Rosé stroked down her back.

"Feels good?"

"Yeah," Lisa croaked, her voice hoarse. Rosé let up with her teasing touches and held her close
instead, stroking her head and grinning in delight when Lisa practically purred against her neck.

"What was that about Mr Lee?" Lisa said at length when the heat between them gradually ebbed.

"Ella doesn't know what he wanted. Probably to brag about his degrees or take credit for tonight's
concert, he usually does that at parent-teacher conferences. If he wants something, he'll get in touch
again."

"It's not because he has the hots for you, is it?" Lisa said casually but her fingers tightened around
Rosé's waist.

"Oh definitely not babes," Rosé reassured, "not every guy that crosses my path is after me, you
know. Mr Lee had a girlfriend as far as I know, she was sitting with him tonight as well."

"Oh alright then," Lisa said, relaxing. She kissed her forehead. "Thanks for tonight. I had a
fantastic time with you both."

"I should be the one thanking you," Rosé replied, "I had a wonderful time tonight as well. Maybe
we could go out just the two of us, sometimes?"

Lisa nodded enthusiastically. "I'd like that! Oh and I don't think I asked but, Jennie and I are going
to a spa sometime soon, we do that sometimes when we get some money, have a day of pampering.
Maybe you could come with? I don't know if kids are allowed in spas though..."

"That sounds good babes." Rosé yawned. "We could figure it out...tomorrow..."

"Speaking of Jennie, I wonder if she's gone back home?" Lisa wondered out loud. "Knowing her
she'll have refused Jisoo's offer to take her back and gotten an Uber or taxi or something. Maybe I
should call her...or not. It's pretty late by now."

"You could always send a text from my phone, if you like," Rosé offered, stifling a yawn.

"Are you gonna sleep on me?" Lisa chuckled as Rosé snuggled against her, stuffing her face in the
crook of Lisa's neck. "Did you brush your teeth? Let's get you to bed."

Rosé hesitated for a moment before she tugged on Lisa's wrist. "Will you stay?" she asked
hopefully. "It could be like a sleepover. I don't like to think of you out alone at this time of night..."

Though neither spoke, they both knew what she was referring to as their eyes inevitably drifted to
Lisa's pink cast.

"Okay," Lisa said softly. "Uhm...I'll take the couch then?"

Rosé shook her head with a chuckle. "What's wrong with sleeping in my bed? It's big enough so
don't you worry, and it'll be like a sleepover. I'll even throw in a few goodnight kisses as part of the
deal."

"Sweet! I've never been to a sleepover before," Lisa beamed as Rosé stepped down from the
counter and led Lisa to her bedroom. "Have you got an extra toothbrush by any chance?"

"Coming right up with some jammies," Rosé winked. "Do you want to shower as well? I'll grab
you some towels."

Having showered, called Jennie but got no response so she sent a text and finally gotten ready for
bed, Lisa loitered at the door, clutching the edge of her shirt with an air of awkwardness about her.

"Uhm...which side do I take?" she asked bashfully.

Rosé shrugged. "Doesn't make much of a difference to be honest. How about you try the right side
tonight?"

"That's implying we'll have more sleepovers?"

Rosé crossed her arms. "And you're opposed to that?" she asked, challenging.

Lisa's face dissolved into a grin. "Unless you're the type to be kicking me out of bed, nope, not at
all!"

They lay in the gloom facing each other, identical tired smiles and droopy eyes on their faces as
they quietly reminisced over the events of the day.

Lisa slid her cast hand forward across the sheets and Rosé's hand met hers in the middle where
they clasped lightly as they carried on their muted conversation.

"Thank you for everything Rosie," Lisa said softly. "I had a grand time today. Thank you for
letting me be a part of it."

"Of course. And I'm happy you were there too, as my girlfriend especially." Rosé kissed her injured
hand tenderly. "I wouldn't have it any other way. You saved the day and improved it a hundred
times over."

"You saved my day too, when I came over because of Nini." Lisa exhaled, her breathing starting to
even out as sleep tugged at her eyelids. "We should sleep..."

"Yes," Rosé agreed, fighting off sleep herself. "Goodnight baby."

"Mmm, night." A beat of silence followed before Lisa's hesitant voice reached Rosé once more.
"Can we cuddle?"

"Of course!" Rosé said, a little too eagerly.

Her brow furrowed when Lisa turned on her side, facing away from her. Her heart immediately
gave a pang of hurt, confusion swirling in her head because she couldn't understand what she did
wrong until it clicked: Lisa wanted to be held.
Heart fluttering anew, Rosé carefully shifted closer, snuggling up to Lisa and draping her arm
around her stomach. It was different than holding Ella, who was tiny in comparison to Lisa's lofty
build but nevertheless, Rosé felt the same warmth flit through her bones as Lisa exhaled, content.

"I just wondered what it would be like to be the little spoon. It's nice," Lisa said by way of
explanation, her voice slurred. She yawned again and rested her hand on Rosé's hand around her
waist. "I can be the big spoon next time. Night, Rosie."

Rosé smiled and tenderly kissed behind her ear. "Sweet dreams, baby."
 Waking Up

Like clockwork, Dahyun woke up to Jackson's morning text. Before nine, as the time on her phone
indicated, he always sent her a brief but cute message.

And every time, Dahyun would sigh, ignore the fluttering threatening to erupt in her stomach, type
a reply and get on with her search for a suitable apartment in Incheon, preferably situated close to
Rkive.

She was even intending to dip into her family's emergency funds for this purchase, risking their ire.
They had always voiced their disapproval over her choice of degree to pursue, making it clear that
she was the disappointment of the family.

The girl she was before when she got entangled with Momo and this whole affair might have felt
anxious, but now Dahyun was past caring what her family thought—if there was one good thing
she had learned from Momo and Jackson, it's that she should go for the things she wanted without
listening to those that held her back.

And that's exactly what she was doing, all by herself.

Because in the end, nobody would be there for her, but her own self.

Dahyun owed herself to finish what she started, satisfy her curiosity and discover the damning
secrets that were hiding in plain sight before more atrocities claimed innocent lives that would
disappear forever from the face of the earth.

Her plan to investigate the establishment was slowly coming together and she had no time to waste
pondering over her lukewarm, awkward friendship status with Jackson. He had never mentioned
the notebooks so far, seemingly only wanting to genuinely keep in touch.

Dahyu could keep him at bay for now, keeping up the pretence of still being the naive girl who
dreamed of photojournalism and took pictures for her instagram page. She had grown proficient in
acting. Jackson was but a small nuisance for now, kept at arm's length. She would not fall into his
trap again.

She was't sure if she should tell Momo about her next moves.

On the one hand she wanted to get away from all the memories that still lingered at the edge of her
conscious, but on the other hand, venturing away into potentially hostile situations meant being
vulnerable. Having someone be aware of what she was doing just in case something happened
would be wise.

She would just have to decide when the time came.

>

When Jennie woke up, the first thing that registered was how comfortable her mattress was today,
so much so that she felt like sinking into it and never waking up. Jisoo cuddled next to her was a
bonus.

Wait what?

And then, as in a dream, she remembered, and her face ignited as their night of love-making played
back in her head.

Jennie currently lay naked beneath the sheets they had pulled over themselves some time in the
small hours of morning. Their bare legs were tangled together and Jisoo's head of raven black hair
tickled Jennie's nose as she slept, snuggled up with her chest pressing to Jennie's side.

Her cheeks warmed at the sight of a prominent red mark on Jisoo's shoulder.

I did that, and who knows how many more, Jennie gulped. In the grey light of morning, she could
make out several articles of clothing scattered around the bedroom floor and her cheeks flushed
anew.

Her body felt rubbery and boneless, as though she had been melted over a powerful fire and then
molded back together like clay. Her head was surprisingly clear and calm; she was safe, she was
comfortable, she was free of doubts or regrets.

Lingering traces of pleasure floated in her veins, sweeter than any sugar rush an energy drink could
give her.

Jennie tried not to move too much, fearing she'd wake Jisoo, but the other girl was dead to the
world. Angling her head, Jennie couldn't help but smile at the sight. She almost brought her hand
up to stroke Jisoo's cheek but decided against it, fearing she'd wake.

They would have time to talk later. Right now, she wanted to have the serene moment to herself for
a little longer, to savour the afterglow. It was a new concept for Jennie, to lie quietly and listen to
the sounds of morning as the world slowly woke up while having a warm body nestled against her,
little breathing noises punctuating the silence.

She closed her eyes, emptying her mind of the nagging thoughts that were starting to emerge and
focused on Jisoo's rhythmic breaths, the sensation of skin caressing her side like a cosy blanket,
protecting her from the cruel world outside of Jisoo's bed.

There had been no room for tenderness with her ex. Cuddling was alien to both of them when they
spent so much time lashing out and taking out their repressed anger on each other through violence,
as though punishing each other for daring to exist.

Not so with Jisoo. She had made good on her promise to take care of Jennie and she did with a
kindness that made Jennie's numb heart shake and her eyes pool with gratitude.

Nobody would ever see her cry as Jisoo had last night, and nobody would console her as Jisoo did
ever so patiently. Though their movements were frenetic, Jisoo checked continuously with Jennie,
who rather than being put off by the constant checking, found herself overwhelmed by Jisoo's
consideration.

"It's okay. Let's stop if it's too much," Jisoo said softly whenever they paused to catch a breath,
cupping her face and kissing her tears away. But Jennie shook her head, the powerful fire tearing
through her demanding to be fed.

"No, I'm good. I'm just...this never...I didn't know," she managed at last, inwardly kicking herself
for being so affected by a minimum showing of decency during such a vulnerable moment that she
was crying like some touch-starved virgin and probably putting Jisoo off.

But Jisoo merely cradled her close and bent down to mouth along her jaw.

"You deserve to be taken care of, Jendeuk. Everyone does. I truly believe so," she said sincerely
and Jennie pulled her up to kiss her full on the mouth because Jisoo had once more understood.

Jisoo grunted in her sleep making Jennie's hand bounce in shock, hitting her shoulder hard. She had
been absently stroking it while reminiscing.

"Huh! Who! What!" Jisoo jerked her head up, gazing blearily down at Jennie before her confusion
melted into a sleepy smile. "Jen?"

"Sorry, you startled me," Jennie said meekly, waiting for the scolding. But unlike with her ex, it
never materialised: Jisoo merely reached out to push locks of hair out of Jennie's face, as though
she wanted to see her better.

"S'alright," Jisoo hummed. She took in their close proximity and Jennie's cheeks tinting pink. "Ah,
I'm sorry, I must have rolled over in the night. I usually cuddle with a plushy..."

"I don't mind. It's nice actually," Jennie reassured. "I never really got the appeal of cuddling before
but...now I do."

Jisoo smiled, her eyelids drooping as she nestled against Jennie again. "I'm glad Jendeuk. Nothing
beats morning cuddles, I tell you, if it's not too hot and sticky that is."

"Thank goodness for the AC then."

"Right?" Jisoo grinned, stifling a yawn.

Jennie stroked her tousled hair. "Sleep, it's still early. Unless you have somewhere to be?"

"I'm all yours," Jisoo said as her eyes closed again, unaware of the way Jennie's heart kicked in her
chest. "Are you in any hurry to go?"

"No," Jennie said softly. "I'm...I'm good like this." She couldn't even begin to describe how good
but she trusted Jisoo to understand.

Jisoo smiled lazily, propping her chin in her hand as she continued to gaze at her. "You look
beautiful by the way."

"Thank you?" Jennie said, amused. "I'm sure I have amazing bed hair."

"You do. That's why I said you're beautiful. No need to return the compliment, I know I look
fabulous too," Jisoo grinned as she stretched, toes grazing Jennie's legs.

Jisoo's actions might have been wholly innocent since she soon sank back to doze against Jennie,
but Jennie remembered the spark of lightning that brewed between them with every touch of
Jisoo's hands and lips, how her body caught fire in their wake of their trail as they marked her skin,
and now she couldn't think of anything else.

Arousal flared up in her core, catching Jennie by surprise at the sudden slick wetness she felt
pooling between her legs, the distant ache that demanded to be sated returning with a vengeance

"Uhm, Chu..." she said hoarsely.

"Mhm?"

Swallowing hard, her common sense rapidly losing to her growing desire, Jennie wordlessly took
Jisoo's hand and pressed it to her nipple, rubbing slowly as she bit down on a moan and waited,
nervous.
To her relief, Jisoo was alert enough to catch on to her ministrations. Her eyes snapped open and
she glanced up at Jennie with a raised eyebrow.

"You sure?" Jisoo asked, her voice even huskier than last night. She didn't sound remotely
displeased that her snooze was disrupted—if anything, she wore a rather hungry expression that
pierced through Jennie and made her shiver in anticipation.

At her timid nod, Jisoo flashed a delighted grin and moved to cover her body with her own, their
lips meeting in the middle naturally as though they had done this thousands of times before. Jennie
sighed against her mouth when Jisoo's fingers slipped between her legs.

"Did I ever tell you that according to science, morning sex is the best time to be making babies?
Preferably around 7am, that's when sperm count is supposed to be at its peak," Jisoo said, busy
kissing down Jennie's neck.

Jennie couldn't help but roll her eyes.

Jisoo never failed to pull through with her random comments, and she shouldn't have expected any
different even when they were about to bone again.

"Well, how unfortunate that neither of us owns the other half of baby-making equipment," Jennie
deadpanned.

"Yeah a real shame," Jisoo sighed. "But we'll make do I suppose."

"Try not to sound so disappointed, Chu," Jennie chuckled, inhaling sharply when Jisoo kissed the
hollow at her throat and made her forget what else she was about to say.

"Your wish is my command, Jendeuk," Jisoo winked as she disappeared down her body.

>

When Rosé stirred, it was because someone was running a hand through her hair in soothing
motion. When she finally blinked her eyes open, Lisa was watching her with the softest smile,
propped up on her arm. It instantly pulled a smile from Rosé.

This is what I want to wake up to for the rest of my life. The thought was swift and firm and
natural, and Rosé didn't fight it as she gazed up dreamily at Lisa.

"Morning, gorgeous."

She laughed when Rosé scrunched her nose in disagreement and then bent to peck her on the
forehead. "You're beautiful any time of the day, baby." Her voice was still scratchy from sleep.

"What time is it? You're up early," Rosé asked, hiding her shyness behind a hand as she yawned.
The room was still quite dark although faint light streamed in through the window.

"Like five? Jennie and I usually wake up early for our morning run," Lisa explained. "But since I'm
here..."

"Since you're here, you'll go by my rules," Rosé grinned lazily as she twirled a lock of Lisa's hair
around her finger.

"And what would those rules be?" Lisa said gamely.

Rosé's eyes closed intermittently as she fought off sleep to say her piece. "Here's what we'll do.
We'll sleep in and you don't wake me before nine."

"Sounds tempting, I don't ever remember sleeping in. Anything else?"

"And then, we'll have a healthy breakfast, none of your coronary-artery-on-a-plate bagels for
today," Rosé went on, wagging a finger as Lisa grinned ruefully, "and then a pilates session like
we usually do, on the cadillac. How's that?"

"No chance of any bacon at all?" Lisa pouted.

"None whatsoever," Rosé said firmly. "Do we have a deal?"

In answer, Lisa merely snuggled up against Rosé again, eyes closing the moment she hit the pillow,
a smile still stamped on her face. Rosé stroked her hair, admiring the tawny blonde colour. Her
own hair had become rather faded, her blonde colour washed out and brown roots emerging.

Maybe it was time to dye it again, or she could leave it brown. Would Lisa like her as a brunette?

Rosé drifted off to sleep again cradling Lisa's head to her chest, welcoming the pleasantly heady
sensation of a warm body occupying her bed with no rush to leave.

In the days of her hurried hook ups with Jisoo, there had never been a good time to stay and cuddle
in Jisoo's bed (they never hooked up at Rosé's apartment because of Ella). The very few times they
did linger in bed felt strange, as though forcing more interaction than what was necessary.

She had thought something was wrong with her at the time, despite Jisoo's reassurances, but now
she knew the truth: it had simply not been the right person to sleep and wake up with.

Rosé and Lisa were next woken up by a muffled shriek, both girls startled awake as a small
pyjama-clad missile fell out of the air in a heap of flailing limbs and excited squeals.

"Lisa Lisa you're still here! You're still here!" Ella squealed happily.

"I am," Lisa laughed, sitting up against the headboard. "Your momma's bed is really comfy, way
more comfy than my own bed. She convinced me to try it out."

Ella was a ball of energy as she bounced on the bed like a kid on Christmas morning. "Mommy can
Lisa play with me please please please I don't have school or homework now! We can watch TV
together!"

"Baby, slow down," Rosé mumbled sleepily, unable to contain her smile despite being rudely
awoken. "What's the time?"

"Eight," Lisa answered. She stretched like a cat and swung her legs out of bed. "Guess it's time to
wake up then. What are we watching, El?"

"Noooooo," Rosé grumbled, burying her head under the pillows. "More sleep."

"Early bird catches the worm, you know?" Lisa grinned as she drew back the curtain, letting more
sunlight bathe the room. Ella sprawled on the bed, splaying her arms and legs like a starfish.

"You traitor. We were supposed to sleep for another hour," Rosé complained. She felt the mattress
sink down as Lisa sat down again.

"You know what I'm thinking El? I'm thinking Mommy needs a little wake up call," Lisa said
mischievously and Ella giggled.
Suspicious when silence followed that statement, Rosé peered from beneath the pillow covering
her head. "What wake up call?"

She squealed when two sets of hands attacked on cue, tickling her anywhere they could reach.
Rosé shrieked with laughter, rolling away from them but Lisa held on tightly, stopping her from
falling out of bed. Rosé kicked and squirmed as she gasped for air, desperate to avoid the relentless
ticklers.

"Get her kiddo!"

"No stop stop!" Rosé cried mid-laugh, "I'm gonna pee myself! I'm gonna explode!"

"Tickle monster doesn't stop," Ella said gleefully, scrabbling at her mother's armpits and sides.

"El no! Stop! Lisaaaaaaaa!"

"Okay okay, timeout," Lisa chuckled, easily pulling off Ella and setting her on the ground, "will
you be a good girl and go check on the cats for me? Fill their bowls with food but not too much
now, okay?"

"Okay! But will you watch TV with me later? I want to show you Kung Fu Panda!"

"I will," Lisa nodded and Ella skipped out, calling for the cats.

Lisa chuckled and turned back to Rosé who had rolled on her back as she panted and recovered
from the surprise attack.

"You okay, baby?"

"Don't you 'okay baby' me, you traitor," Rosé said disgruntled, turning away from Lisa with a huff.
She hid a smile when Lisa sidled up against her and kissed behind her ear as she hauled her into her
arms. Rosé sighed and relented, turning in Lisa's arms to the latter's delight.

"Oh my baby is upset, that's not good," Lisa tutted, taking the opportunity to prod her cheek. "Will
kisses be enough to make you stop being upset with me?"

"Hmph. Maybe. But first, trip to the bathroom. My mouth tastes like poison."

"But kisses after?"

"Definitely. And don't you think you're let off from pilates now either babes," Rosé said primly,
wagging a finger. "I'm gonna work you extra hard."

"I look forward to it," Lisa smirked as she scooped a squealing Rosé in her arms.

"Lisa, what are you doing?!"

"Taking you to the bathroom since you're being all grouchy, babes."

"Your arm! You'll get hurt, put me down!"

But Lisa merely laughed and made a beeline for the bathroom.

>

When Jennie next opened her eyes, Jisoo was quietly shifting to sit up in bed, her hair falling like a
coal curtain across her milky back. Jennie was tongue-tied for a moment, mesmerised until she
realised Jisoo had wrapped a pink nightrobe around herself and stood up to leave.

"Chu?"

Jisoo froze then turned, her face guilty. "Ah, I woke you up."

"S'alright," Jennie said groggily. "What's the time?" The room had grown lighter, light enough for
shadows to pool in the corners of the room and for yellow sunbeams to fall on the sheets.

"Still early," Jisoo said softly. "You can sleep."

"Are you leaving?" She didn't mean for her question to sound like a petulant whine but Jisoo didn't
seem to mind as she shook her head, smiling ruefully.

"Was going to make you some breakfast in bed as a surprise, but I ruined it."

"Chu," Jennie said, at a loss. "That's so sweet. You don't have to."

"I wanted to. You were sleeping so soundly I didn't want to wake you and I thought...well, some
breakfast in bed would be nice?" She shook her head as Jennie looked on, fidgeting with the knot at
her waist.

Finally she cleared her throat and made her way to the door. "I'll give you some space to get
cleaned up. Find me in the kitchen."

Touched by Jisoo's thoughtfulness, Jennie came to a decision—she disliked seeing Jisoo

crestfallen, even for something minor.

"Hey uh...I could pretend I didn't know, if you like," she offered bashfully. "Nobody's ever made
me breakfast in bed and well...if you wanna do it then we still can. I can still act surprised."

She couldn't understand why she was so eager to go along with whatever Jisoo said.

Maybe it had to do with her infectious enthusiasm and zest for life, something Jennie had all but
forgotten before Jisoo came barging into her monotonous routine. Maybe it had to do with the way
Jisoo's eyes lit up, her smile making Jennie's heart skip a beat. Maybe it had to do with the kernel
of fondness that nestled within Jennie, tentatively biding its time to bloom.

"Oh," Jisoo said, growing excited, "okay, that works! Hang in there Jendeuk, I'll whip up
something quick! You can use the bathroom meanwhile of course. I'll be right back!"

"Wait, you're forgetting something," Jennie called, pulling up the sheets to her chest as she sat up.
She ran a hand through tousled hair, her cheeks igniting when she met Jisoo's fond gaze.

"What did I forget? Morning kisses?" she asked teasingly. She laughed when Jennie blushed.

"Not exactly," Jennie muttered, suddenly shy of the gorgeous girl she had practically pounced on
last night and seduced again earlier. In the morning light, with her rumpled hair and flushed
cheeks, Jisoo looked enchanting.

"Uhm, come here."

Jisoo approached gamely, her smile wide as she sat on the bed. "Like this?" She made no move
towards Jennie, which had Jennie's heart swell further—despite all that transpired, Jisoo still was
unselfish and gave her space, allowing her to lead at her own pace.
Jennie beckoned with her finger. "Closer, I need you up close."

Jisoo leaned closer, her brows furrowed. "Jendeuk, I'm not sure that's wise, I get such bad morning
breath and—"

Jennie reached out to cup her face and pressed a soft, chaste kiss to her cheek.

"Thank you, Chu. For everything," she said shyly. For waiting for me. For showing me a glimpse
of love. For trusting me.

Jisoo beamed, understanding what Jennie wanted to say without the need for words. She nodded
and skipped out of the room, cheerfully calling for Dalgom as she went.

Feeling the delicious aches flare up all over her sore body had Jennie lie down again, luxuriously
stretching as she revelled in the vast ocean that was Jisoo's bed and sheets. She wanted to stay in
their nest, away from the problems and questions and doubts that waited to pounce on her beyond
the safe haven of Jisoo's apartment. The sheets smelled musky, but Jennie didn't mind.

She had discovered an oasis, untainted, and she wanted to extend her stay for as long as she could
before she had to face the music.

Where did they stand now?

S hould they pretend it was a one time thing?

Pretend that all the unspoken feelings that were translated by their eyes and lips and tongues and
hands and bodies were a figment of their imagination?

Should they try friends with benefits? Hooking up once in a while? Dating?

Should they tell Rosé and Lisa? Or their other friends?

Would it even work out? Maybe Jisoo would tire of her, grow weary and disappointed when she
found out just how messed up Jennie was.

Jennie groaned, her head suddenly buzzing. Briefly, she remembered all the details she had not yet
told Jisoo about herself and Lisa.

No. Not right now. Shut up.

She covered her eyes with her arm, suddenly restless to get away from her thoughts. Vigorous
activity helped keep her thoughts at bay, but now as the day began properly and the light grew
brighter, she could no longer hide.

With a sigh, Jennie picked up the second nightrobe (black) that Jisoo had thoughtfully laid out and
traipsed into the bathroom. After freshening up somewhat, she was about to head out to the kitchen
when she remembered their agreement to have breakfast in bed so she climbed back in after
picking up her clothes that had been flung around the room.

Jisoo's clothes: these she hesitated to touch. Despite having hooked up, picking up Jisoo's clothes
felt like crossing into unknown territory of domesticity. She couldn't claim to be close enough to
the other girl to do so—it felt like a violation of Jisoo's privacy, laughable as that sounded when
she had her mouth all over her earlier.

Still, she didn't pick them up.

Loud clanking noises sounded from the kitchen as Jisoo moved around, singing to herself as she
cooked breakfast. Jennie couldn't make out the words but she was pretty certain Jisoo was stringing
up words and even inventing some too as she went along.

It made Jennie smile, and then her smile faded when she caught herself thinking of how pleasantly
homey it felt.

A chance glance down at her sore chest revealed a generous portion of her cleavage littered with a
constellation of dark bruises, a remnant of their passionate night.

The sight had Jennie staring in awe, warmth filling her face at the memory of looking down on
Jisoo's head as the raven-haired girl diligently worked on her breasts.

A stab of arousal had Jennie crossing her legs as she pushed away more memories that were
clamouring to remind her of how good Jisoo made her feel. She quickly secured the knot at her
waist to cover her chest from view and tried to rein in her lust.

When had she turned so hormonal? Jisoo had awoken something carnal within her that had lain
dormant for so long without her notice, and now it begged to have one more taste of that
pleasurable high.

It was worse than puberty, she didn't remember being this horny, especially not at the sight of a
few hickeys.

Daylight sobered her up when she pushed back the curtains and applied the brakes on her spiralling
thoughts. Reckless lovemaking without establishing boundaries would get them both hurt—she
needed to talk with Jisoo first.

Maybe Jisoo did this with every girl she slept with. Made them breakfast and all that jazz. She
shouldn't feel so special.

Jennie pressed her hands to her temple, willing the loud thoughts in her head to settle.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Jisoo called as she kicked open the bedroom door and carefully edged
in holding a tray in her hand. Dalgom trotted in after his mistress, wagging his tail when he spotted
Jennie. He hopped on the bed and wagged his tail some more as Jennie patted his head.

"Sorry for kicking you out last night Dalgomie," Jennie said repentantly. In the midst of their
furious kissing, they had kicked the bedroom door shut, blocking Dalgom from entering to sleep in
his basket.

"Don't worry, he has a second bed out in the living room. I think he already had his breakfast, he
cleared up all the popcorn we spilled," Jisoo chuckled.

Jennie felt her cheeks grow warm. "Oh my gosh, I'm so—"

But Jisoo waved a hand. "Eh, no big deal. Like I said, Dalgom cleaned up after us. Now, let's
have our breakfast." With a grand flourish, Jisoo set the tray down and did a bow. "Ta-daaaaa!
Room service for madame."

"Wow, you made quite a spread in so short a time," Jennie said, impressed. "I hope that'we re
sharing this? No way I can eat it all."

"It's very generous of you Jendeuk, but I was actually going to make myself something later so help
yourself."
"Nope, we're sharing," Jennie insisted as she picked up chopsticks. "Here, this omelette pancake
is pajeon right? I still know my Korean dishes."

Jisoo's eyes disappeared into half-moon crescents as she smiled and happily accepted the piece
of pajeon that Jennie held up for her. Jennie nodded satisfied while Jisoo chewed and then picked
up a piece for herself. Her eyes grew round as the burst of tasty flavours on her tongue left her
senses tingling.

"I'm sure I already mentioned, but you're a really good cook, Chu," she complimented as she
chewed. "Did you learn all by yourself?"

"You get tired of take-outs," Jisoo shrugged, "I got fed up enough to seriously apply myself and
started out small, trying out stuff from Youtube. It wasn't easy. There were some two, no three was
it?—little kitchen accidents that involved me going to the ER but otherwise, I'd like to think I'm a
dab hand in the kitchen now."

"You are," Jennie reassured through a mouthful of kimchi. "Mmm, this is a nice change from
bagels, but don't tell Lisa I said that."

"Your secret is safe with me," Jisoo winked. "If you like, I could teach you during one of our Jisoo
Yoga sessions."

Jennie raised her eyebrow but didn't comment about it. She had given up on learning some actual
type of yoga through Jisoo Yoga.

"Wouldn't it be a waste? I don't even have an oven at the Vault."

"No skill learned is ever a waste Jendeuk."

"Fair enough," Jennie conceded as she fed Dalgom a morsel and fondled behind his ears.

Jisoo dug into the food as well, ravenous, until at one point she slowed down and looked up,
frowning when she saw Jennie's plate almost untouched as the girl absently pushed rice around.

"Hey Jen, not hungry anymore? You okay?"

Jennie blinked and nodded quickly, smiling though it looked strained.

"You sure?" Jisoo probed. Jennie hesitated, biting her lip, her eyes conflicted. Jisoo saw her glance
at the floor where articles of clothing were still scattered and quickly added up things in her head.

"You're overthinking everything, aren't you?"

Jennie turned away. Unperturbed, Jisoo put her plate on the tray, gently took Jennie's and
scrambled to sit cross-legged in front of her with their knees touching.

"Jendeuk, talk to me. What is it that you're worried about exactly? I'm here to dispel any worries
and let you know that everything will be okay." She patted her knee, rubbing in circles. "We'll
figure it out together."

Jennie looked at her, gaze wavering but her voice was steady. "I just don't want things to change,
Chu."

She was gripping the edge of her robe tightly until Jisoo gently covered her hands with her own.

"That won't be a problem. It doesn't have to happen again," Jisoo reassured sincerely. Her heart
gave a dull pang yet she still managed to smile at Jennie's disbelief.

"But...I liked the sex," Jennie said slowly.

"Fantastic, so did I! And great news, friends with benefit is a thing," Jisoo beamed, hope returning.

"But...I thought you wanted...more?"

Touched, Jisoo almost wavered but recovered quickly enough to say: "What I want is rather
irrelevant right now. I know what I want, but right now we're talking about you. I want you to sort
out your feelings and come up with your own conclusions of what you want, free of any bias."

"Oh."

"So, we established that you don't want things to change and we both liked the sex. So again,
friends with benefits is a thing that might be a suitable arrangement for our situation. It's worked
for me before so I can help guide you in any way you wish."

Jennie looked uncertain. "But..."

Jisoo couldn't help but trap her bottom lip beneath her teeth, eagerly anticipating Jennie's imminent
epiphany. "But?"

She inhaled sharply, losing all traces of mirth when Jennie timidly slipped her hand in hers.

"But I...I don't know. I feel like I want...more," Jennie said quietly.

There it was, the nub of encouragement Jisoo was waiting on to reveal the truth.

Jisoo's heart skipped and she squeezed Jennie's hand.

"Then...what about dating?" she asked softly, barely able to keep the excitement out of her voice.

Jennie's eyes were bright. "Maybe? But...but I don't want people to know..."

"Secret dating then, got it. I'm cool with that, yeah." Jisoo nodded eagerly. "We can be really
stealthy, like ninjas. Use code words too, it will be fun!"

"Ninjas?"Jennie giggled and then sobered. "What if somebody asks about us?"

"By somebody, I'm guessing our friends and your sister?" Jisoo grinned. "Well, we could say
something like: 'we're not together, but we're not interested in dating anybody either,'" she
suggested. "How's that sound to you?"

"I like that," Jennie nodded. "Yes, that could work."

"And to think that all this time I was planning to have secret dates with you through Jisoo Yoga
until you eventually fell for my charm," Jisoo mused. "How the turns tabled."

"I think it's 'how the tables have turned' and I knew you were up to something," Jennie accused.
Jisoo merely laughed, holding her arms up in surrender.

"Guilty as charged, but I have no regrets, your honour."

Now it was Jennie's turn to chuckle, making Jisoo smile as well.

"Well we...we could still do those," Jennie muttered as Jisoo perked up. "Um... the Jisoo Yoga
dates I mean...as long as it's nothing too outlandish."

"Just you leave it to me, Jen, I got this," Jisoo said excitedly, "you won't regret going out with me!"

"Jisoo, hold on. I'd be happy doing anything with you," Jennie told her, "doesn't have to be
anything grand or extraordinary."

She played with their interlocked fingers. "When we jumped around in the plushy room...when you
took me to the park yesterday, and we were just lying there...it was fun. So you see, it's okay, you
don't have to try too hard to win me over like other girls."

Jisoo raised an eyebrow. "Other girls?"

Jennie gestured vaguely. "Well you know, the girls you uhm...had a thing with? Like uh like
uhm...Rosé and...and Soojoo—"

Jisoo pressed a finger to her lips, her own mouth pulling up into a smirk.

"Remember I told you Jisoo Yoga is a special unique type of yoga that only Dalgom and I know?
That's because it is. You'd be the first girl I'm going to date properly, Jendeuk. Only Dalgom
knows my plans."

Jennie's eyes grew very round.

Jisoo went on. "My hangouts with Rosé were platonic besides hooking up, my hangouts with
Soojoo were mostly sexual, as were the ones before her. With you, I want to try something
different. I want to have the best of both worlds."

And then Jennie smiled, her lips pulling back into that bright gummy smile that had Jisoo
mesmerised.

"Really?" Jennie whispered. "I'm...your first proper girlfriend?"

"Really," Jisoo smiled back, her eyes fond as she raised Jennie's hand to her lips and kissed it
tenderly. "Anything for you, Jendeukie."

Jennie blushed and they sat grinning at each other in silence, still hand in hand, letting their new
arrangement sink in.

"So...we're really trying this out, huh?" Jisoo said a little breathlessly, unable to think of anything
else but Jennie's radiant face and her gummy smile. It was even more beautiful than she
remembered.

"We are," Jennie said firmly.

"Should we shake hands on it?"

"I have something better."

Jennie pulled her in for a soft kiss, her fingertips cupping Jisoo's cheek as the other hand slid up to
cradle behind her head. Jennie's lips were soft and slow and searching, giving Jisoo a heady rush as
she scrambled to recover her wits and kiss her back.

It was a quiet, tender kiss that sealed the deal and marked their new beginning.
"Thank you, Jisoo. I'll do my best to make this work. I know how much you've been waiting for
me to catch up," Jennie said softly once they parted. "Thank you for helping me understand what I
want."

Jisoo closed her eyes and hid her face in Jennie's neck as they hugged, the uncertainty that she
might be terribly wrong about Jennie's feelings all but erased. A lone grateful tear rolled down her
cheek.

"No, thank you Jennie," she whispered.

For being brave. For trusting me. For choosing me.

>

"Well, that's weird," Lisa frowned as she took a sip of orange juice. "You sure Jennie still hasn't
rang?"

"Maybe they're still sleeping?" Rosé suggested while spooning some yogurt into a bowl. "Ella,
more yogurt, baby?"

"Yes please!"

"Yeah maybe they are...but that's not like Jennie at all," Lisa said thoughtfully. She shrugged. "Eh
whatever, maybe they did hoo—uh, you know."

"Know what?" Ella said immediately. Rosé pursed her lips, raising an eyebrow at Lisa.

"Uh, you know, hooting it up with the owls," Lisa invented. "You go to a window at night and hoot
until an owl shows up and you play with it. Maybe they stayed up late and now they're sleeping
in."

"Hooting it up with the owls? People can do that?" Ella said sceptically. Rosé snorted, disguising it
as a cough.

"Of course! We can ask them later too," Lisa said hastily, desperately looking to Rosé for help.

But Rosé merely smiled sweetly. "Do you often hoot it up with the owls too then? What's it like?"

Before Lisa could retort, the landline started to ring.

"I got it," Rosé said.

She patted Ella who was busy devouring her yogurt and bent to press a quick kiss to Lisa's temple
as she walked past. Lisa returned the smile, watching her girl sway her hips as she walked and
remembering how overwhelmed she had been the first time they met.

She remembered wanting to smack her butt so bad, even almost fainting in the presence of such a
mouthwatering sight.

Rosé looked over her shoulder and smirked, biting her bottom lip teasingly, her eyes smouldering,
locked on to Lisa and Lisa alone.

If they had been alone in the apartment, and the phone wasn't ringing off the hook, Lisa wouldn't
have hesitated to take Rosé's invitation to pin her up against the nearest wall and devour her.

The sight was too much for Lisa who ducked her head to gulp some juice, cheeks growing warm
when Rosé's airy laugh gradually faded and she finally picked up the phone.

She had been well aware that Lisa was checking her out and actively revelling in it this time, unlike
that first time when she scolded Lisa.

Times had changed; Lisa still couldn't even believe her luck. To have gotten together with someone
amazing like her girl...it was a dream come true.

She slipped into a daydream, a stupidly wide grin spreading across her face as she remembered the
back hugs and neck kisses she showered Rosé with while the latter was cooking breakfast earlier.

Ella was thankfully preoccupied watching some morning cartoons in the living room, because
things certainly heated up in the kitchen.

"Can you talk to owls, Lisa?" Ella asked curiously.

"Well uh, I can't say I'm any good at it, to be honest," Lisa said, scratching behind her neck.
"Maybe Jennie is better."

"Jennie unnie is so cool and tough," Ella gushed. "Can she really talk to owls? Do you think she'll
teach me, like boxing?"

"Hey, I'm cool and tough too!" Lisa exclaimed. She flexed her arms. "Can Jennie do this? Or this?
Or how about this?"

She picked up a squealing Ella and raised her high up in the air, grinning as the girl flapped her
arms like a bird and laughed.

"I'm flying I'm flyingggggg," she giggled as Lisa walked around the kitchen still holding her up.
"Lisa you're the best!"

"Yeah I am," Lisa said smugly, "and I can keep holding you up there for the whole morning too!"

"No way!"

"Yes way! I'm pretty strong, I can even do it with one arm, easy-peasy," Lisa bragged.

"But what if I need to go to the bathroom?"

"Well, I'll have you flying back up in no time so don't you worry—"

Their giggles abruptly cut off when Rosé stalked back into the kitchen wearing a displeased
expression and dropped in her chair with a loud sigh.

"Oh sorry, Ella and I were just...playing," Lisa said lamely, lowering Ella.

"Hmm?" Rosé looked up, confused. "Oh no baby it's okay, it's not you. What were you playing?"

"Lisa can lift me up so high I can almost touch the ceiling!" Ella gushed.

Lisa chuckled and slipped into her own seat before squeezing Rosé's hand. "Hey, everything okay
baby? Who was it on the phone?" she asked gently.

"Mr Lee." Rosé rolled her eyes. "That man...he thinks he's humanity's gift on earth, I tolerate him
because he's actually a decent music teacher. But heck if he isn't infuriating."
"What did he say? Did he harass you?" Lisa said tightly. But Rosé waved her hand dismissively.

"Oh no no baby I told you, it's nothing like that. It's just that he thinks everyone is expected to drop
everything and go meet him whenever they are summoned or something."

When Lisa looked confused, Rosé sighed again. "Remember Ella said he wanted to talk to me
yesterday? Well, he called now, asking that I meet him at school in an hour for a chat about Ella."

"She's not in trouble, is she?" Lisa said anxiously.

"Am I in trouble?" Ella said in a small voice.

Rosé took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down because it was affecting them both.

"Sweetie, no, you're not in trouble at all," she assured Ella. "If anything, I think Mr Lee wants to
congratulate you, and then harp on about how your success was possible because of him and his
achievements, to waste all of our time. He could have done that on the phone instead of asking me
to go meet him."

"Well uhm...that...doesn't sound like such a big deal? It's just a meeting," Lisa said carefully. "Why
are you...upset?"

"Because I don't fancy wasting my morning listening to a man bragging about his achievements,"
Rosé said sulkily. "I had other plans. After a quick session of pilates with you, I was going to go
grocery shopping and some other errands. If I don't go early, all the good produce will have been
snapped up and I'd have to go yet another time."

She sighed. "I'd rather not, but can't be helped. I also wanted to hang out with you and Ella."

"Aww, I'm sorry Rosie," Lisa comforted, at a loss on what to do. She settled for rubbing Rosé's
back, who seemed to appreciate the gesture as she leaned against her with eyes closed and a pucker
in her brow.

"Mommy?" Ella piped up.

"Yes baby?" Rosé said with eyes closed.

"What if Lisa comes with me instead?"

The two adults looked up in shock.

"Huh?" Rosé blinked.

"I know the way to school," Ella pointed out. "Lisa can come with me on the bus because I need an
adult with me, and you can go shopping."

"Hey, that's an amazing idea El!" Lisa said eagerly. "Can we do that, Rosie? The kid makes a great
point, it's a win-win for both sides."

"Oh but we couldn't possibly..."

"Please?" Lisa and Ella said in unison.

Rosé smiled and turned to Lisa, hope unfurling in her chest. "Well I...I know this might be moving
fast and it's totally okay if you don't want to but...would it be okay for you?"
"I'd love to!" Lisa said, thrilled.

Rosé pretended to consider. "Well, okay then."

"Yay!" Lisa and Ella cheered, fist bumping each other.

"As long as you don't get lost and keep in touch with me, I'll give you a phone I keep for Ella. And
Lis, don't let her sweet talk you into buying candy, you hear me?" Rosé instructed. "I'll write you
directions in case Ella gets a bit confused. Hold each other's hand at all times, especially when
walking with other people around and keep an eye out for...for..."

She paused, seeing that neither Ella nor Lisa were listening. Ella was explaining something and
Lisa had that hyper-focused glaze in her eyes as she nodded and listened fiercely to whatever Ella
was saying.

Rosé didn't even have the heart to feel offended for being ignored; the sight was too endearing.

"—and then once we get to the school gate, we have to put up our hands, like this, and say hello to
the sun."

"You have to do that every day before you enter school?" Lisa said wide-eyed. "But what if it's
raining?"

"Well then you say, hello rain and thunder! It's to help the flowers be less afraid of the loud noises,
you know."

"Cooooolll, I never knew that before," Lisa said in amazement. "Hey Rosie, did you do that too
when you went to school?"

Rosé pursed her lips, trying not to laugh. "Hmm not really. Ella baby, why don't you go get
prepared? Don't forget to brush your teeth!"

Catching on to the warning note in her mother's voice, Ella scarpered with a giggle as Lisa looked
after her in dismay.

"Wait but she still has to tell me about the secret password—"

Rosé kissed her full on the mouth, unable to hold back on her laughter any longer.

"What? What's so funny?" Lisa frowned.

"Baby, take her words with a pinch of salt, m'kay? School isn't as fantastic as you're probably
making it out to be."

"What are you saying?"

"Never mind, you're too cute. I can't break the illusion just yet." Rosé kissed her again, cupping her
face and Lisa forgot everything else as she sank into it.

"You sure you'll be okay going instead of me?" Rosé murmured once they parted. "Is this moving
too fast? I promise, it's not a big deal if you don't want to go."

Lisa tilted her head. "Moving too fast? How?"

"Well, it's like you're standing in for me as Ella's parent and maybe that level of responsibility isn't
what's expected after we've only been dating for a couple days-"
Lisa cut her off with a hug. "Rosie, I want to be involved with you and Ella. I want to do this
because I really want to do this. I want to be there for you in any way I can. And I'm happy you're
trusting me to go. We'll be fine, Ella and I."

Rosé kissed her again, heart fluttering with joy at her words and tears almost leaking. Again and
again, Lisa willingly rose to the occasion to play the part of a parent to Ella and Rosé was on cloud
nine.

She took Lisa's hand. "Alright then. Let's get you something fresh to wear. And we're sitting down
to have a chat on the do's and donts so you get to school in one piece."

"I can't wait!" Lisa cheered.

>

Although Lisa had already been to school for Ella's concert, she hadn't really gotten a chance to
take a proper look around—there was more to see in broad daylight.

Since they had thankfully arrived early after navigating around with buses, Ella took Lisa on a
short walk around the premises. The school was devoid of students since it was closed for the
summer but some teachers lingered in their offices, though Seulgi was not one of them, to Lisa's
disappointment.

"Do teachers stay here all summer?" Lisa asked as they walked.

"Nobody knows," was Ella's mysterious response.

There was no end to Lisa's questions and Ella answered as best as she could. She showed Lisa the
gymnasium, the canteen, the lockers, and then finally the classrooms.

"Lisa we better not be late, Mr Lee hates it when we're late," Ella urged as Lisa pressed herself up
against a classroom window to peer in.

"We got ten more minutes, we're fine," Lisa replied. She drank in the rows of desks and the
colourful posters hanging on the wall, squinting to read what they said. "This is so cool, look at all
the little dinky desks! Where's your classroom?"

"Not on this floor." Ella came to stand next to Lisa, watching the blonde goggle at the garish decor
within. "You really have never been to school before?"

"Well, I might have gone when I was very very little, but I barely remember," Lisa sighed. She
finally peeled away from the window, looking wistful. "I wish I had gone though. Even Jennie had
more schooling than me. I would like to wear a school uniform. I never got to do that."

"Why didn't you go to school?"

Lisa shrugged. "Stuff came up. Let's go meet Mr Lee."

They made it on time, knocking on the music room door and entering when they heard a 'Come in!'
from inside.

"Ella, there you are!" called the smartly-dressed man once they walked in. He got up from behind
his desk to greet them.

"Morning, Mr Lee." Ella said politely.

Mr Lee was still on the young side but a good few years older than Lisa herself. He had a bowl-
cut, was almost as tall as she was and spry, with keen eyes and long fingers.

"Thank you for coming at such short notice, I wanted to talk to you and your mother about..."

He glanced to Lisa with a puzzled expression and turned back to Ella. "Ah...your mother couldn't
make it?"

"She said she might drop in later, she had some errands," Lisa began, holding her hand out for a
handshake, but Ella beat her to it.

"This is Lisa, my soon-to-be second mommy!" she announced proudly.

Lisa froze and to his credit, Mr Lee only blinked before he recovered.

"Is that so? Then I must congratulate you on your engagement, Lisa," he smiled warmly, shaking
her hand vigorously. "I thought I saw you two last night at the concert. I hope you and Ms Park
have a blissful marriage and life together."

"Yeah...yeah uh...thanks," Lisa said dazedly.

"No need to be shy now, I understand you might have reservations about being public with your
engagement given our conservative culture but I assure you, I honestly don't care and I'm not one to
blab. Everyone minds their own business, is what I say." He eyed Lisa's pink cast. "Though I do
have to ask, I hope you're alright with that injury? Seems to have been quite nasty."

Ella was beaming and Lisa could only manage a nod, her tongue still stuck to the roof of her
mouth. She was still too stunned to act and Ella had to pull her to sit down from her sleeve when
Mr Lee gestured for them to sit.

Engaged. Engaged to Rosie. Engaged. The thought had her mind explode in fireworks and she
couldn't form a comprehensive thought.

"Speaking of, let's get to business," Mr Lee said and promptly launched into his monologue
detailing his achievements, just as Rosé had predicted.

Ella fidgeted in her seat as he droned on and on, stifling her yawns politely but Lisa didn't notice:
her mind was still churning over the idea of marrying Rosé, narrowing down on that one thread
that ran circles in her head like dogs chasing rabbits as her daydreams took flight.

Rosie confused yet happy when she sees the romantic candle lit dinner Lisa set up.

Rosie's mouth falling open when Lisa gets down on one knee.

Rosie tearing up when presented with a ring and the most important question of all time.

Rosie jumping into her arms and kissing her.

Rosie saying yes yes yes. Ella playing up a storm with the synthesizer, Jennie crying waterfalls of
joy, Jisoo and Somi and the rest whooping as they emerge from their hiding place to celebrate.

Rosie walking up the aisle in a church looking simply enchanting in a white dress and beautiful
smile.

Rosie crying, both of them crying, so happy and in love when they say i do, forever and
ever. Confetti raining down on them as everyone claps when she tips Rosie over, one leg in the air
like the movies, and kisses her—

"Lisa?"

She blinked, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, you lost me a bit there but might I say, you are very
talented to have achieved so much."

Mr Lee puffed up proudly and Lisa breathed out, thankful for Rosé's suggestion to compliment him
if she ever zones out.

"Yes, and despite what many people say, I still do aspire to stay humble," he added, waving around
the room. "You might ask, if I have so much talent, why waste it being a teacher? But that is
precisely my calling. I find no joy, no satisfaction in playing for the bored masses that pile into
famous concert halls. Their applause is empty, artificial. No, Miss Lisa, bringing out the potential
in kids, that is what invigorates my soul."

"Oh," Lisa said in awe, taken by his evident passion for his craft, "you really do love your job,
huh?"

Ella was staring at Lisa like she grew an extra head but Lisa was hooked now, impressed by the
man's zeal.

"I am," Mr Lee nodded, "and this is precisely why I wanted to have a chat with Ella today. Over
the course of the summer, I have come up with an intensive music program for any of my students
with musical aptitude. This is only for a select few, since I want to be as involved as possible and
give them the attention each tailored to individual need. This is very much an experiment but if
successful, I think we could make something wonderful out of our current batch of pupils. Maybe
they might even be eligible for scholarships later on, if they so wish to continue under my
tutelage."

"Are you saying...?"

Mr Lee beamed. "Ella was fantastic last night—"

"Hell yeah she was!" Lisa exclaimed proudly, patting a blushing Ella on the head.

Mr Lee chuckled. "I understand she got a bit of stage fright but that happens, it's very normal. Even
I still get nervous—"

"See! Told you everyone gets nervous!" Lisa said triumphantly. "Oh uh I mean, sorry, for
interrupting, sir," she mumbled when Ella nudged her a little hard in the side.

"It's alright," he said genially, "it's wonderful to see parents, eh, parent-to-be, being so supportive
of their children, I approve."

Lisa and Ella glanced at each other, wearing identical grins, and Mr Lee smiled to see their
interaction. Though he couldn't fathom who Lisa was, yet even he could see she genuinely cared
for Park's daughter.

"Now, the main thing is, you carried off the performance beautifully, Ella, and I knew you could
do it. So I would like you to join our summer program. Think of it like summer school, but it's
music. There will be myself and six other kids. Some of them are a bit older than you, but don't
you let that worry you. I'm here to help anyway I can. What do you say?"

"It sounds fantastic, honestly. El, what do you think?"

"Do you think Mom would be okay with it?"

"But would you want to?" Lisa asked.

"Yeah!" Ella nodded eagerly. "I get bored all day at home anyway."

"Awesome!" Lisa beamed and looked up to Mr Lee again. "We'll talk it over with Rosie too and—"

As though on cue, a knock on the door interrupted them before Rosé burst in. Her hair was done in
a plait sitting on her shoulder, with a few stray wispy strands hanging out.

"Sorry I'm late," she panted, "what did I miss?"

"Rosie you made it!" Lisa said, thrilled. They had agreed that unless Lisa called to let her know
that the meeting had ended, Rosé would finish her errand and meet them at school.

"Hey ba—I mean Lisa," Rosé nodded, closing the door behind her. "Mr Lee, excuse my tardiness."

"That's quite alright, we've been getting to know each other. Which reminds me, congratulations!"

Rosé stared warily. "Huh?"

"Congratulations for your engagement."

Rosé's eyes bulged in her head. "HUH?"

She whipped around to gawk at Lisa but Lisa shook her head frantically.

"I didn't say anything, it was Ella!"

"But Mom, I just said the truth," Ella insisted, "Lisa is my soon-to-be second mommy, isn't she?"

"And you didn't correct her?" Rosé asked in disbelief as she rounded on Lisa again.

"I er uhm..." Lisa bowed her head. "I blanked."

Unable to decide how to deal with that answer, Rosé finally turned to Mr Lee who was still
watching the scene unfold with a baffled expression.

"There seems to have been a misunderstanding," Rosé said in a measured tone. "Lisa and I...we're
not engaged. We...we just started going out together actually," she added faintly.

"But you said you could get to be married eventually!" Ella insisted as Mr Lee chuckled.

"And how long do you think 'eventually' is, missy?" Rosé asked, hands on hips.

Ella rubbed her nose in thought. "Like end of the year maybe? Christmas? I don't know, I'm not the
adult here!"

That had all three adults present chortle.

"Well then my apologies, I was the one who jumped to conclusions really but still, congratulations
on getting together. As I told Lisa here, I don't care who gets together with who. It's not my
business and I'm not one to blab."

Rosé nodded gratefully as she took a seat next to Lisa. "Thank you Mr Lee. Now, what did I miss?"
>

Jennie and Jisoo were sitting in the Vault, talking languidly, moving from topic to topic with ease
as they enjoyed the newly-fixed AC that had sputtered and died after Jennie cranked up the setting
just a notch higher than usual. It hadn't taken long to fix because Jennie was now used to her
temperamental old air-conditioning unit.

They had eventually made their way to the Vault after a shower that lasted for longer than Jennie
thought showers could last, but with Jisoo kissing up the inside of her thighs as warm rain flowed
down their bodies in rivulets, Jennie concluded there could be no fast and hard rule for the duration
of showers.

They weren't in any hurry—none of the usual gang had spoken about showing up after having a
late night so the Vault was empty when they arrived and opened it.

Jennie didn't mind—now that she had taken a new step with Jisoo, being the sole object of
attention was gratifying, even if that meant enduring spiels of dubious trivia that Jisoo always had
ready at hand.

"You know Tutankhamun, the boy king of Egypt? He was crazy about ducks."

Jennie shook her head and smiled as she sipped from her energy can. "No, I didn't know. Tell me
more?"

And Jisoo's eyes lit up as she launched into her mini-lecture while Jennie basked in her happiness
until she was quite drunk on the feeling.

Nothing had changed, just like Jisoo promised. They were still talking back and forth about
mundane things (well Jisoo was mostly talking while Jennie listened and drank her energy drink)
but Jennie still felt as though she was breathing for the first time in a while.

She couldn't help but shake her head at her past self, suspicious of Jisoo's bluntness and impatient
with her weird randomness.

Thankfully, that side of her was a thing of the past.

Despite the hot weather, she had her hair down, hoping to hide Jisoo's hickeys, though she secretly
had admired the marks stamped on her skin in the bathroom. She just hoped Lisa would be too
busy mooning over Rosé to notice.

"Jisoo," Jennie said, swirling her can, "do you know the owner of that dusty-looking blue car that's
always parked close to your place? It just...always seems to be there."

"It hasn't been towed yet?" Jisoo asked from her reclining spot on a bench. "Honestly I never
noticed. I don't know the other stuck-ups that live in our building that well. That hag Soojoo, it's
definitely not her car, the last I saw she had some fancy white Lexus. Pasta might be able to tell
you better, some of the neighbours go to her pilates studio."

"Every time we've been over recently, I kept seeing it around." Jennie shook her head. "Maybe I'm
getting paranoid. I still can't wrap my head around Rosé's attacker. He...just disappeared."

"Probably some lecherous bastard who knew better than to cross our Lisa again," Jisoo chuckled.

"Maybe," Jennie returned, still deep in thought. Over the past few days she had puzzled over the
events that transpired the night Lisa saved Rosé, and though she hadn't confided with anyone,
Jennie's unease lingered. Something felt off about the whole thing.

"Rosé and Lisa are on their way," Jisoo announced at length. She waved her phone aloft. "Pasta
said they had gone to meet with Ella's music teacher."

"They'll probably ask a lot of questions about us not answering our phone," Jennie said. "We'll just
say we fell asleep and didn't hear anything cos we slept pretty deep."

She was confident Lisa wouldn't poke and prod too much. It was Rosé she was rather wary of.

"Jendeukie?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"We'll still have movie nights right? Apart from Jisoo Yoga?"

"Sure, I'd love that," Jennie nodded. "I liked Spaceballs."

"Great! I got lots more campy stuff to show you then," Jisoo said enthusiastically.

They swivelled around, sliding away from each other as the doors to the Vault swung open and a
blast of sweltering hot air entered.

"Play it cool," Jennie muttered.

"You're on, Jendeuk," Jisoo grinned back. She waved in greeting at the three figures approaching.

"Hello my greasy har—I mean, hey guys!" Lisa greeted chirpily. "Aww, everybody slept in I see,
man this place is so empty."

"Hey Lis, Rosé, Ella."

"Hey Lisa! Hey Pasta!" Jisoo beamed. "And hello to you too Ella!"

"Aunty Jisoo! I have something important to ask," Ella declared as the trio approached. "Well
mostly it's for Jennie unnie though."

"Me?" Jennie raised an eyebrow.

Rosé was smirking while Lisa looked stricken.

"Uhm Ella..." she began uncertainly but Jennie cut her off.

"Well go right ahead El," she chuckled, "don't leave us hanging with suspense."

"I'm not sure that's wise," Lisa said anxiously as Jennie sipped her energy drink.

"Will you teach me how to hoot at owls so I can play with them?" Ella asked eagerly.

Jennie spluttered, energy drink spraying from her mouth as Jisoo's jaw dropped. Rosé was
discreetly giggling behind Lisa while Lisa herself looked defeated.

"What?" Jennie yelped. "Hoot at owls? Where did you get that idea? Jisoo, did you tell her
something?"

"What? What would I tell her?" Jisoo yelped back. "This is news to me too! You can hoot at
owls?"
"Lisa told me," Ella revealed, unaware of the chaos she unleashed. "So, will you teach me unnie?
Lisa said you're way better than she is."

"Huh, Lisa seems to know a lot about what I do, doesn't she?"Jennie said, glaring at Lisa.

"I uh...I can explain," Lisa chuckled weakly.

"Go right ahead," Jennie said, voice dripping sarcasm as she folded her arms. "This should
be fascinating."

Lisa glanced at Rosé pleadingly but her girlfriend merely shrugged.

"You started it, you finish it, baby, I'm sorry."

Frantic now as everyone waited with mounting curiosity, Lisa was at her wits' end.

"Well?" Jennie said, drumming her foot in a show of testiness. "What's your explanation?" It was
clear to anyone watching that she was relishing her sisters panic.

"Uhm hooting at owls means uh..." Lisa held up two fingers of one hand and two fingers of the
other hand, then hesitantly rotated one hand and inserted them into each other, her ears red.

Rosé gasped in shock, swatting at Lisa before she covered Ella's eyes. "Lisa!"

"How else was I supposed to explain?" Lisa cried while Jisoo roared with laughter, holding her
sides. Jennie meanwhile stood dumbfounded.

"You could have warned me!"

"I'm sorry I'm sorry, I panicked okay!"

"You told that to a kid?" Jennie croaked at last.

"No I didn't, I was trying to cover up the actual word," Lisa squeaked over Jisoo's laughter. "Jisoo,
please, it's not funny!"

"But that doesn't have anything to do with owls, does it?" Ella frowned.

Rosé pinched the bridge of her nose, then decided to come clean, otherwise Ella would keep asking
and maybe even learn from the wrong sources.

"It's a naughty gesture for adult stuff that you're not allowed to know yet. Please don't use it around
other people, baby."

"Oh you mean scissoring? I know about that," Ella shrugged as her mother stared, mortified.
"That's when two girls do It, right?"

Jisoo laughed so hard she rolled off the bench and hit the ground with a thump, tears streaming as
Lisa stood by helplessly next to a similarly thunderstruck Jennie.

"Ah, so you know," Rosé murmured, her voice dull. There go my efforts to preserve her innocence.

"My friends told me. I'm big now, Mommy, I know a lot of stuff," Ella said, chin in the air as she
squared up with her skinny arms akimbo.

"Hmm that may be so. But tell me, are you too big for the Tickle Monster?" And Ella squealed as
Rosé scooped her up, tickling her and laughing.

Lisa, Jisoo and Jennie smiled seeing mother and daughter laugh again.

"So, did you actually hook up? You guys didn't answer our calls at all, that's really unlike you Jen,"
Lisa said slyly.

"Give it a rest, of course we weren't," Jennie said smoothly. "We watched a movie, it's called
Spaceballs. I think you and Mimi would enjoy it too. And then we fell asleep, I slept pretty deep.
Real beds are very comfy."

"Oh my gosh right?! I slept in Rosie's bed too—nothing happened, I swear—but man, it's so much
more comfortable than a plain mattress for some reason, I wonder why but I felt like I was floating,
it's the best feeling!" Lisa gushed, forgetting all about Jennie and Jisoo hooking up. "It was like
sleeping on feathers."

"Speaking of Rosé, where were you guys?" Jennie asked, picking up her abandoned energy drink.

"Oh, we went to meet Ella's music teacher," Lisa said nonchalantly, "and I found out I was
engaged."

Jennie spat out her drink again. "What?"

"Oh didn't you know?" Jisoo said mildly. "I'm walking Pasta up the aisle myself."

"WHAT?"

Jisoo and Lisa burst into laughter as they did their special handshake in front of a flabbergasted
Jennie.

"That was awesome! It's like we planned it!" Lisa chortled.

"Figured I'd mess with Jendeukie while the ball was rolling," Jisoo grinned.

"Lisa what the hell do you mean, you found out you're engaged?" Jennie demanded, her fist
clenching around the can. "What nonsense have you gotten yourself into?"

"Slow down before you bust a vein, Nini," Lisa snickered. "It was just a funny misunderstanding."

"Funny misunderstanding?" Rosé called teasingly, having let go of Ella. "I thought you said you
blanked when Ella made her blunder and didn't even correct her, you just went along with it."

Now it was Jennie's turn to titter as her sister went pink in the face.

"Oh Lisa, Lisa, Lisa," Jennie smirked, cupping a hand to her ear, "do I hear wedding bells already?
Sunmi might have something to say to that."

"Oh for the love of bagels, let it go!" Lisa groaned. Rosé sidled up close with Ella and pecked Lisa
on the cheek.

"Sorry baby, you're just too cute to not tease," Rosé smiled. "Now aside from that, we have good
news everyone. Ella impressed Mr Lee enough to have a place in his summer school music
program."

"That's wonderful!" Jisoo cheered.

"Well done," Jennie smiled, patting Ella's head. Ella beamed up at the adults, chest puffed up in
pride.

"And at the end of summer, they will have another recital to show what they learned," Lisa put in.
"I'm sure you'll do a great job just like last time, El."

"Thanks Lisa," Ella murmured, hugging her mother's side as she turned shy.

"I think it's time we returned home, we still have to get lunch, and I'm sure the cats will have
ripped all my furniture by now," Rosé said after patting Ella fondly, "we came here right after the
meeting."

She looked at Lisa, her eyes quietly inviting. Lisa gazed back longingly, reading her intention.

"Are you two going to stare at each other for the rest of the afternoon?" Jennie sighed. "Lisa, if you
want to go to Rosé's, go ahead. I'm not stopping you."

Lisa's eyes sparkled. "I'll catch you later Jen!"

"Yeah yeah yeah."

"Hold on," Jisoo said, "Rosé, don't you have your shift later tonight?"

Rosé grimaced. "I do. Will you be okay to babysit Ella?"

"I can do that actually," Lisa volunteered firmly.

Rosé looked hopeful. "You'd do that?"

"Anything for you, baby," Lisa said warmly. Jisoo winked at Jennie, entirely satisfied with the
changes. Jennie had to admit herself impressed at her smooth maneuvering in their favour.

"We can watch cartoons!" Ella cheered. Rosé kissed Lisa on the cheek and smiled apologetically at
Jennie.

"Sorry for stealing her away, Jen."

"Oh well, guess it gives us room to grow without each other," Jennie said lightly, surreptitiously
nudging Jisoo who was grinning a bit too wide. "And I'll see you in the morning? We ought not to
skip too many days with training."

"Of course of course," Lisa nodded.

"You ought to take toiletries with you then. I can help prepare a travel bag," Jennie added.

Lisa looked thoughtful. "Actually, you know what? I'll come back later Rosie, I'll spend some time
with my sister for now and then meet you later in the evening. Jennie's right, I don't wanna slack
off. I'd like to get some training done."

She patted her stomach. "I been slacking off after the match with Seulgi and I ate a lot yesterday.
Don't want to lose my bad boy six pack."

"Or what, you think I'll turn you away?" Rosé said in jest. "As you wish, baby. You better not use
your injured hand though."

"I promise I won't."

"Mommy can't I stay? I haven't done boxing in so long," Ella begged.

"Not today sweetie, Jennie and Lisa have some work to do," Rosé said contritely. "But don't look
so down now. Guess what, I brought enough ingredients to make some carrot cake! Won't you help
me?"

Ella's eyes sparkled. "Carrot cake!" She turned back to an amused Lisa. "We're watching Kung Fu
Panda for sure this time when you come around, Lisa."

"I'm counting on it," Lisa winked, ruffling her hair. "Take care now kiddo. You too Rosie."

Rosé leaned in to kiss her, which kiss went on long enough for Jennie to fidget and turn away while
Ella pulled a face and made gagging noises. It was when Jisoo wolf-whistled that Rosé and Lisa
broke liplock.

"I thought you didn't mind us kissing, El," Lisa chuckled.

"Not for so long though," Ella mumbled. "Mommy didn't kiss Aunty Jisoo half as long, I saw. Can
we go make the cake now?" she added impatiently, unaware of Rosé turning pink and Jisoo
cackling.

"Oh better be on your toes Nallalisa, the kid's watching you," Jisoo laughed. "I suppose I can take
you back then, I'm not in the mood to work up a sweat in this heat," she added to Rosé and Ella.

She waved at Jennie. "I'll put in the order for the AC we talked about Jendeuk. So long."

"AC we talked about?" Lisa repeated when Jisoo, Rosé and Ella had left. "Don't tell me..."

Jennie sighed. "Jisoo kept pushing about buying us a new AC since our current one breaks down so
often. Consider it a part of her helping us, I guess."

She avoided her sister's gleeful smile. "Yeah yeah, you're welcome. Now about that training?"

"On it!" Lisa giggled as she tore up the ladder to change into workout clothes.

Jennie breathed a sigh of relief, running her hand to the side of her throat where her most
prominent hickey resided. The others had faded after whisking them with a literal whisk, proving
that Jisoo was actually full of good ideas, even though her sources were dubious at best.

Jisoo had been stubborn on whisking their hickeys away and out of curiosity, Jennie had followed
her instructions and surprised herself.

She shook her head. She shouldn't think of Jisoo right now. There was work to be done, to make
sure Lisa stays in shape for the matches in the next season. She set her jaw and climbed into the
attic.

>

It was just as Jennie was stripping out of her clothes that she heard her sister gasp.

And then she remembered all too late: her back was riddled with marks and scratches. Since the
sisters were used to stripping in front of each other because of the lack of space, with their backs
turned to preserve what little privacy remained, Jennie had forgotten all about covering up.

She stopped stock still, her mind churning desperately. She had to deny, find some plausible
excuse.
"Jennie," Lisa's voice was shaky, "what happened..."

Then all at once fury settled in her voice, cold and hard like steel. "Who did this to you?"

Jennie's eyes widened and she spun around, naked except for her bra and panties.

"It's not what you think—"

Her second mistake. Lisa's jaw dropped as she scanned Jennie from head to toe, taking in the red
and purple bruises. Her face darkened as she looked up at Jennie, jaw clenching.

"Jisoo," Lisa growled. "She did this, didn't she? She was with you all the time. It couldn't have
been anyone else."

Jennie had swallowed her tongue, unable to respond—Lisa's anger on her behalf rendered her
speechless.

"She—she touched you?" Lisa growled again, disbelief and betrayal barely concealing an ominous
undercurrent of menace in her voice. "How dare she?"

Lisa was up on her feet before Jennie could react, reaching for the trapdoor.

"Lisa what are you doing?" Jennie cried, unsettled by her sister's ferocious expression.

"I trusted her," Lisa snarled, "we trusted her! And she dares lay her hands on you? I'll tear her apart
limb from limb—"

"Lisa no!" Jennie threw herself at her sister, pinning her down with all her strength as Lisa
struggled. "Are you even hearing yourself? Jisoo is our friend!"

"Momo was our friend too!" Lisa yelled. "But look how it turned out!"

"It's not Jisoo!" Jennie insisted.

"Then which bastard was it?" Lisa demanded. "Who hurt you?"

"Nobody! I tripped and fell!"

"Don't lie!" Lisa's eyes burned but Jennie took comfort in the fact that they didn't turn that hateful
shade of yellow. "I know bruises. Someone did this to you!"

"It wasn't Jisoo!"

"Why are you defending her?" Lisa shouted. "Get off!"

"Listen to me, it's not what you're thinking! It's...it's..." Jennie swallowed, left with no option but to
confess. "We hooked up. Lisa, we hooked up, that's all, we had sex. I wanted it, Jisoo didn't do
anything I didn't ask for. It was consensual, I promise."

Lisa's movements ceased entirely as she stared gobsmacked into Jennie's eyes.

"You and Jisoo..." she said hoarsely. Jennie nodded, sitting back on her knees to allow Lisa to sit
up, wide eyes fixed on her figure.

"I started it. I kissed her and everything...escalated," Jennie said quietly, hands resting on her bare
thighs. "But I don't regret a single thing. Jisoo...took good care of me."
She paused, expecting a barrage of teasing—she had more than earned her share, especially for
giving Lisa hell about dating Rosé.

But instead, Lisa broke out into a thrilled smile.

"Jen," she said emotional, "but that's...that's wonderful!" Her brow puckered. "You said you didn't
hook up, before..."

"We wanted to keep it low-key and not have you guys breathing down our necks," Jennie sighed.
She played with her fingers, smiling as she remembered Jisoo's soft kisses. "We were going to have
a go at the dating thing, keeping it covert until we're sure that this is what we want to do."

She glanced up, startled but not very surprised to see Lisa's eyes were watery.

"Oh Jennie." Lisa folded her into a fierce hug that squeezed the breath out of her. "Jen, I'm so
happy for you, you have no idea."

"I might have an inkling."

Jennie couldn't help the stab of guilt piercing her heart, thinking of how different the circumstances
were when Lisa confessed to her feelings for Rosé.

But Lisa was good, too good for her—she was ecstatic for her sister, not even thinking of holding a
grudge against her happiness.

"Holy bagels," Lisa sniffed in her shoulder, "this is fantastic, this is amazing, this is a miracle, this
is—"

"A one way ticket to the afterlife, if it exists," Jennie wheezed, black spots dotting her vision. Lisa
immediately released her, worried.

"Nini—"

"It's okay, it's okay," Jennie puffed, grinning shyly up at Lisa, "I'm happy too."

"I can't believe it though, yet look at you." Lisa looked at Jennie in awe. "I should have known.
There was something different when we came into the Vault. You were like, more relaxed? I don't
even know how to describe it. But you had like a calm, peaceful atmosphere around you. You're
usually always...always tense and sour and moody. Even when you used to sneak back in after
meeting the guy, it was never like today."

"I think people call that the post-glow," Jennie smiled knowingly. "And you may be right. I haven't
felt this good after sex since well, forever. Jisoo knows her stuff."

"What was it like?" Lisa asked breathlessly, prodding her sister's skin with unabated fascination.
Jennie hissed upon contact, still sore, and Lisa immediately withdrew her hand, concerned.

"You okay? Do you want some salve? I still have some of Rosie's salve, that might help."

"I'm good. It was...nothing like I ever did before," Jennie said finally, suddenly eager to share her
experience with someone and gush about it, just like schoolgirls huddled in a circle sharing secrets.

Lisa proved eager enough for the task as Jennie gave some sparse details, enjoying how Lisa
gasped and giggled and her eyes grew round with every new embellishment Jennie slipped in.

"Did it hurt?"
"A little, she likes it rough, as you can see." Jennie shrugged. "Nothing I couldn't handle, and I
think I returned the favour. She was always checking with me, I appreciated that. And then when
she went down on me...game over."

Her eyes turned half-lidded and distant, her lips curling in a secret smirk.

Lisa couldn't help but feel envious of Jennie, but something nagged at the back of her head as she
traced the loud weals decorating Jennie's torso, peeking over her bra as well.

"She could have gone a little easy on you, seeing as it's your first time with a girl," Lisa frowned
but Jennie patted her arm affectionately, moved by her protectiveness.

"I wanted go all in, I wanted Jisoo to go all the way, be rough if she wanted to. As long as she
checked with me, I was fine. We had breaks too. Chu was so sweet, letting me set the pacing."

Lisa raised an eyebrow. "Sweet? More like freak."

"Don't say that," Jennie reprimanded.

"Well, I mean I heard she liked to play but damn Jen, did you see yourself?" She paused
thoughtfully, her pupils dilating. "Did Rosie go through this too? How am I ever going to
compare?" she whispered.

Jennie snapped her fingers in front of her. "Snap out of it! First of all, hold your horses and stop
jumping to assumptions. Maybe Rosé doesn't enjoy being...marked. And second, don't call Chu a
freak. She likes sex, she has her thing but she was constantly checking with me. You don't know
how much I appreciated that, I was a crying mess because it felt so nice that someone was being so
considerate," Jennie explained. "She never pushed me beyond what I wanted. I promise, I was
perfectly safe."

"Unlike with him?" Lisa said softly. She didn't mention names, but Jennie knew she was referring
to her nameless ex.

Jennie nodded. "If I had know that this is what intimacy is all about, I would have never let myself
settle for anything less."

"You hadn't known," Lisa said softly before her face lit up with a mischievous smile. "Okay okay,
let's get to the important question: what score do you give Jisoo, out of ten?"

Jennie scoffed. The answer was easy, obvious. "Eleven."

Lisa whistled, or attempted to but what came out was a wheeze. "Holy bagels. Who would have
thought? No wonder you didn't answer my calls and messages."

"Please don't tell Mimi or even Rosie," Jennie begged. "I...I want to try this...but give me space,
please?"

She hugged herself, rubbing her arms up and down. "Chu has been...so good to me. I don't...Lisa, I
don't want to hope too much and...and having everyone's hopes up would make it even more
devastating if in the end nothing happened," she said quietly.

Lisa reached out to stroke her arm comfortingly.

Jennie had gone through a lot, lost so much and feared any good thing that entered their lives
would lead to ruination, one way or another, mostly because of the precarious secrets they juggled,
but also because Jennie thought it was her fate to have everything she cared about seized from her
grasp.

"I get it. And you have my word, I won't tell a soul," Lisa nodded solemnly, hoping to reassure her
sister, though deep inside she was still screaming with joy.

Her sister finally opening up to the prospect of trusting another person beside herself and dating,
this time with much more tender feelings attached, was cause for celebration.

She had to find a way to thank Jisoo without breaking her word and a way to capitalise on the turn
of events to win her bet with Somi.

('I bet it will take them till Christmas to hook up', Lisa had said after the party; 'Ha! You're too
blind. They'll be together by the end of summer,' Somi had challenged. The closest guess would be
the winner).

"Hypothetically speaking," Lisa said thoughtfully, "if I bet that you and Jisoo would get together
by Christmas and Somi bet that it was the end of summer, would you guys be okay revealing
you're dating at like around the middle of autumn, maybe? So say...Halloween? Hypothetically
speaking, of course."

Jennie's nostrils flared. "You bet on Jisoo and me getting together—"

She broke off with a weary sigh."I mean, who am I kidding? Of course you would have done that.
Yeah okay, maybe Chu and I can reveal our status around that time if things work out. Maybe we'll
do it later, who knows."

"Not later than Christmas. You're the best." Lisa's mouth quirked up at the corner. "But you know,
you might need to work on your stealth a bit more, especially if this," she gestured at the bruises,
"might turn out to be a regular thing."

"Understood." Jennie nodded solemnly. "I'll try not to strip in public, but no promises."

Lisa burst out laughing, making Jennie smile.

 Jjimjilbang Day

The man inside the cell was waiting with his arms folded in front of him on the table. He looked up
when the metal door creaked open and the tall detective slipped in.

"Fifteen minutes," he told the guard at the door. "Make sure the cameras are recording."

"We'll be on standby."

At this, the man at the table scoffed audibly before schooling his features back into a neutral
expression when the detective glared at him.

"It's just absurd, Chanyeol," the man muttered softly. "I am unarmed, pot-bellied, alone. Where
would I run?"

"Enough," Chanyeol snapped. His eyes were rimmed with fatigue as he pulled the chair back and
thumped down in it with an irritated clench of his jaw. At the same time, he dumped folders down
on the table in between them.

"I don't have time for pleasantries for crooks like you," Chanyeol began abruptly, "so I'll keep
things short. You make sure you answer or you'll pay."

The other man lifted an eyebrow. "Two minutes into a surprise interrogation and you're already
threatening your source of information? Chanyeol, this is not what I taught you—"

"Save it," Chanyeol gritted. Locking gazes with the man he once considered his idol, the man who
fell from grace after he betrayed the whole ideal of justice in return for money, was more than he
could bear. It almost made him vomit the acid in his stomach, vile hatred choking him.

It was one of the reasons he had not visited throughout the years. He thought he was made of
stronger stuff but reality proved otherwise—despite all the time that passed, he was still wounded
by his mentor's betrayal.

What was worse was that Lee Sooman had not changed, had not morphed into a monster with a
villainous laugh. When Chanyeol looked at him, Lee Sooman still had the air of a quiet,
unassuming man.

If Chanyeol allowed himself the luxury of reminiscing, he would find buried memories of his
mentor's proud glint in his eye, of his tireless encouragements when they were working around the
clock to solve a case and of his belly laughs as they downed whiskey and soju on their rare days
off.

Chanyeol grimaced and pinched the bridge of his nose. The days leading up to this scheduled
interrogation had been rough, rife with doubts, troubled dreams and gnashing of his teeth. Going
back to Sooman, despite being his best shot in the dark chasing this mysterious Tiger King, soon
felt like a vice was gripping him from the throat.

Was it worth dredging up old ghosts for the sake of a wild goose chase that might finally catch him
the notorious criminal he'd been chasing?

"Have you been resting well?" Lee Sooman asked with a furrowed brow. "You look tired. I always
told you to take things easy—"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Chanyeol said quietly, his voice soft as a snake's hiss. "You
don't get to...to care about my well-being. That was before. We all made our choices. Now we live
with them."

Lee Sooman closed his mouth and nodded. "That's true. What is that you want from me? Help on
some case?"

He reached out to one of the folders but Chanyeol quickly slammed his hand down on the
documents, blocking him.

"Wait until I tell you to speak," Chanyeol gritted. He pointed at the folders. "I have with me here
case files on Yang Hyun-Suk. I want you to look me in the eye and tell me if you ever spoke with
him, conferred on some business or associated with him in anyway."

"As I testified before, I have not," Sooman said. He seemed to have given up on appealing to
Chanyeol's judgement and settled for answering the questions set for him.

"Good." Chanyeol leaned forward in his seat, keen eyes fixed on Sooman. "Have you ever heard of
Tiger King before?"

The reaction was satisfying: Lee Sooman's eyes widened and he gripped the edges of the table.

"How do you know about that?" Sooman said urgently, glancing over his shoulder uneasily.
"Chanyeol, that's not—"

"I'm asking the questions here," Chanyeol said tight-lipped. "Tell me anything you know about
him."

"But...but..."

Lee Sooman looked almost afraid. His eyes briefly slipped over to the one-way mirror behind
Chanyeol, where he knew other police officers would be recording every word. He gulped and
closed his eyes.

"It's...a delicate matter," he said quietly. "Id' prefer if...if we weren't being recorded. I can tell you, I
can trust you Chanyeol...but I don't trust anyone else. Please...just this once...listen to me. You can
keep the cameras on if you like but turn off the recording."

Chanyeol was about to yell at him before Sooman held up his hand.

"Please," he said softly. "If I ever meant anything, listen to this one request. Let them watch all
they like, but don't audio record."

Chanyeol frowned at the earnestness in Sooman's voice and mulled over the request.

"Fine," he said, getting up, "wait there."

After personally turning off all audio except for video recording equipment and dismissing the
personnel as an extra measure, Chanyeol returned and sat down again.

"Thank you," Sooman told him gratefully.

"Don't thank me just yet," Chanyeol said grimly. He held out a pocket recorder, the kind journalists
use, and pressed a button. "Now talk."

>
"Come on Lisa, what's the hold-up?" Jennie hissed. "We need to go shower."

"Not so loud!" Lisa hissed back. She peered over her shoulder at the changing rooms where Rosé
and Jisoo were still stripping out of their clothes and putting them in their assigned lockers before
gesturing at herself.

"I'm naked."

Jennie raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, so? We're in a jjimjilbang."

"I know that! It's just..."

"We've been naked in a sauna together before, with Somi and Momo too, what's gotten into you?"

Lisa shifted from one foot to the other. "But it's...there's Rosie..." she muttered bashfully.

Jennie stared at her for a few seconds before she sighed.

"Really? You're gonna turn shy because your girlfriend will be checking you out? I thought you'd
already be past this point. Haven't you been feeling each other up?"

"It's different okay? We...we haven't...you know... not like you and Jisoo."

"Alright alright," Jennie sighed, "I'm feeling generous today because I know we're in for some
good pampering so when they join us, stand behind me till you're comfortable enough. It's not like
you got much tits to look at anyway."

"Hey! At least I got guns and abs!" Lisa protested, automatically flexing to prove her point. Jennie
merely smiled sardonically.

"You wanna stay behind me or what?"

Lisa grumbled some more but nodded and followed after her sister.

"Let down your hair to cover your chest if you're feeling extra shy," Jennie suggested kindly as
they walked into the communal shower area. Other women, some even wrinkled and bent with
sagging chests, were busy showering in cubicles or sitting on stools and helping each other rinse
off.

"Too hot to let my hair down," Lisa said. She had her hair up in a bun.

Jennie shrugged. "Suit yourself. Here, sit. Let me wash you first." She was likewise wearing her
hair up. Her skin was clear of hickeys; she had made sure to keep Jisoo at arm's length in the run-
up to their day at the jjimjilbang, which proved to be difficult for both of them, but necessary.

"Don't get water on the cast," Lisa said over her shoulder. "Or my hair."

"I won't. We'll cover your cast with plastic," Jennie promised, smiling a little to herself as she
turned the lever. A jet of water hit Lisa square in the back and she yelped, bouncing off the stool.

"Really? Freezing cold water?" Lisa gritted.

Jennie shrugged innocently. "Thought you might want to cool down. Thinking of Rosé has you
getting a little too hot."

Lisa glared and Jennie promptly sprayed water in her face, cackling as Lisa spluttered.
>

"Ahhhhhhh nothing like stretching in the nude," Jisoo groaned with satisfaction as she shook her
arms out. "I can't wait to hit the baths! And goodness, I haven't had jjimjilbang eggs for years."

She turned back with a bright smile. "Pasta, you done? Jendeuk and Lisa are waiting."

"Jisoo, this is...embarrassing," Rosé mumbled. Her head poked out from behind the curtain, her
wide eyes swivelling back and forth nervously. "Do we really have to walk around in the nude?"

"What did you think a jjimjilbang was?"

"Well, Lisa kept going on and on about a spa so...I thought it was a regular spa?" Rosé muttered.

"I'm assuming you've never been before? Must be a bit of a shock, huh?" Jisoo asked gently as she
tugged Rosé out. "Come, you don't have to be shy of me. If you really can't stick it, you can go to
the common area, clothes are okay there. But I'm afraid you'll skip out on an essential part of the
experience."

Rosé grimaced but followed her out into the open. She covered her chest and crotch with her hands.
Her cheeks were painted a healthy rosy blush and she averted her eyes as other naked women
paraded by in groups, laughing and talking.

Rosé watched them retreat, doing her best not to stare at the ample flesh and buttocks on display as
her face flushed pink.

"This...this is..."

"Heavenly," Jisoo smirked gleefully. She laughed when Rosé's eyes widened. "Lighten up Pasta.
This area is strictly sex-segregated. The only danger is some raging hormonal lesbian like myself,
someone having a runny nose, or athlete's feet. Nobody's gonna judge you for any jungle you're
growing between your legs—"

"Unnie!"

"—unless you got some communicable disease you're good, so honestly, chillax, unwind, drink in
the scene. Where else are you going to find a place besides a convent where there's not a man in
sight? Bask in all the womanhood energy, embrace the feminine aura surrounding us and feel it
empower you."

"Is there such a thing as getting too much into yoga?" Rosé wondered.

Jisoo chuckled and patted her arm. "Let's go make sure we scrub off and get squeaky clean before
we jump into any tub, okay?"

Rosé's pupils suddenly dilated. "Wait, Jennie and Lisa are going to be naked too, right?"

"Yeah? That's kind of the point?"

Rosé stopped stock still, her brow furrowed before she pressed her lips together in determination.
"A-Alright, lead the way."

Jisoo smirked and obeyed, tugging Rosé from her arm.

This was going to be fun.

>

"You made it! I was beginning to think you got lost," Jennie said as Jisoo and Rosé approached.
She smirked as she took in Jisoo's body, blatantly letting her eyes roam. "Nice."

"I could say the same for you Jendeuk," Jisoo replied easily, winking. "Hey Lisa!"

"And Rosé, hello," Jennie smiled, spotting the latter's blush. "First time?"

"Culture shock," Jisoo nodded sagely. "She nearly bolted when she saw all the women in the
showers. All that feminine aura must have been overpowering."

"I'm fine," Rosé's voice hitched and she bravely stuck her arm out to wave at Lisa, her chest
covered by her long hair. "Hey Lisa."

"Hi..."

Lisa seemed to be desperately looking everywhere but Rosé, making the latter confused at her
girlfriend's distant greeting.

"Is it your first time too? I thought you came here before?" Jisoo frowned, noticing Lisa's strange
behaviour and the way she was sidling up behind Jennie.

"She has, she's cool. She's just a bit nervous to see her girlfriend's naked hot bod—"

Lisa stepped hard on Jennie's foot and cleared her throat. "So, where do you guys wanna start? We
usually start from the hottest baths, you stay in them like 15 to 20 minutes and then you go to the
next bath and they get cooler from then on."

"We like to start from the 42⁰C bath," Jennie put in.

"Works for me," Jisoo nodded. "The baths have extra stuff with them?"

"Stuff?" Rosé asked curiously.

"Yeah. Some are infused with charcoal, to help cleanse impurities from your body," Jennie
explained as they all slipped into a bathtub, the heated tiles of the bath a welcome sensation under
their soles. Rosé sucked in a breath, letting herself acclimate to the hot water. The smell of wet
stone and distinct traces of aromatherapy infusions permeated the air.

Jennie politely nodded at some neighbours before she turned back to continue her explanation. "So
charcoal for impurities, then there's also ginseng to help enhance the metabolism and then there's
jade, for relaxation."

"Oh and no splashing, it's against the rules," Lisa chuckled as Rosé accidentally laid back and her
foot powered up, breaking through the surface and earning a few glares from a couple of old
women nearby.

"Sorry," Rosé blushed. She was distinctly more comfortable now with her body hidden
underwater, though she jumped when her chest grazed Jisoo's side. Jisoo merely laughed.

"Here, sit with your girlfriend, maybe you'll be less jumpy," she said kindly, switching places and
pushing Lisa next to her. "There we go."

Lisa looked at her shyly. "Hey baby," she said, her eyes soft.
Rosé smiled back, longing to kiss her. "Hi. Your hair up suits you."

"Yeah? Thanks, yours too. I missed you."

"I missed you too."

"And I still miss you."

"I know."

"Excuse me, we're still here," Jennie drawled. "Wow, switching places was all it took for you two
to loose your bashfulness?"

They all chuckled and settled back to relax in the warm water, idly chatting and catching up on the
days of absence since they last met.

Rosé was busy juggling her new night job, Jennie was still working at the diner and also running
the Vault for whoever popped by, Jisoo updated them on her order of a working electric oven she
had ordered for the Vault and Lisa recounted some past anecdotes of the time she and Jennie had
been to the jjimjilbang.

"It's a bit weird, like I'm sitting in a giant cup of tea," Rosé giggled at one point.

"Well, you should try the hanjeungmak (dry sauna room) it feels like you're baking in an oven,"
Lisa winked. "I like to go there."

"For the muscles?" Jisoo asked and Lisa nodded fervently. "I heard they're good for tired muscles.
Can't say they're my thing."

"They're not mine either," Jennie shrugged. "I stay long enough to make her the sheep hat with the
towel and then I end up playing games while I wait for her."

"Sheep hat? Oh that rolled towel? I know of them," Rosé giggled, picturing Lisa wearing it.
"Cute."

"You play the games too?" Jisoo said thrilled. Her eyes were practically in heart shapes as she
gazed at Jennie, making Lisa snicker.

"Yeah sure. The common room," Jennie nodded at Rosé who looked a little lost, "it has a lot of
stuff. Food, drinks, retro computer games, places to sleep. Even massage chairs. I think you'll like
it. You get your outfit and just lounge about there. There's even a kids area, in case you want to
bring Ella some other time."

"And having her mix with everybody here, naked? No thank you," Rosé said primly. "She's still
young."

Jisoo laughed. "The kid already knows about scissoring, what's she got to lose?"

"I know, but it's still a leap," said the disgruntled mother, remembering her mortification when her
daughter revealed she wasn't as innocent as she looked.

"It's our culture, it could be good to have her connect a little more to her roots," Jennie shrugged.
"We all got the same parts anyway, what's there to be shy about?"

"Easy for you to say when you've already seen you-know-who naked—" Lisa's words caught in her
throat as she went rigid while Jennie smiled serenely next to her. Jisoo, who had learned Lisa knew
about their secret, merely chuckled, guessing that Jennie had pinched her to stop talking.

"You were saying, Lisa?" Jennie asked, her voice sickly sweet.

"You know what, how about we move on to the next bath?" Lisa said hastily.

"Aww already? I was getting used to this," Rosé pouted.

"Well then, why don't we divide into pairs? You and I could go more slowly, Rosie."

"Excellent idea," Jennie and Jisoo chorused as they swam away. "See you guys later! Don't get
caught!"

"Caught what?" Rosé said puzzled but Jennie and Jisoo had already disappeared to the next bath.

"Ignore them. There's a body scrub that I like to get afterwards, if you wanna try," Lisa said as she
propped herself up against the edge of the tub, her gleaming collarbone drawing Rosé's attention.
"It makes your skin feel soft as a baby's."

"No wonder you like this place. It has a lot to offer for pampering," Rosé said as she copied Lisa
and propped herself up against the side. She felt Lisa's hands close over hers beneath the water and
squeezed in return.

Daring herself to go further, she leaned on Lisa's shoulder and shut her eyes, enjoying the small
bubble of privacy they shared as Lisa nuzzled her head in the steaming water.

"Tired?"

"Mhm. Extra shift last night. I hate when it's unscheduled."

"Night shifts huh?" Lisa stroked her head, pensive. "Nini used to wear herself out to the bone but
she's better these days."

"Not stressing about you must be good for her," Rosé smiled, unable to stop her self from thinking
about her job.

It was all the usual haze of flitting into bars, finding the customers, bargaining and trading,
handing over suitcases of money or drugs and hustling under cover of darkness before some cop
raid or road block caught them and then finally stumbling into her flat.

Jisoo had been on babysitting duty due to the short notice and Rosé couldn't be more thankful for
her friend. Yang was still not over her little stunt to hide Lisa's information and kept true to his
word of working her harder.

He probably took a perverse pleasure in surprising her with extra gigs. Rosé could do little else but
obey, fearing harsher repercussions especially now that Ella was going to summer school but he
would hopefully keep his word about easing up on monitoring her while she's in school. She
resolved to confirm at their next meeting.

She also needed to speak to Yang about the mystery of Seokjin's return but lately, Yang seemed
distant from all the usual operations. She spotted him from a distance, discussing with the Jays and
barking out orders as per usual, but he never looked her way.

She was not looking forward to the confrontation but the mystery weighed on her mind, especially
every time she saw Lisa's cast (now wrapped protectively in plastic).
"That or Nini's found something else to occupy her time," Lisa said meaningfully.

"Well, she and Jisoo seem to be getting along nicely," Rosé chuckled. She hummed contentedly as
Lisa stroked up her back.

"Hey, come sit in front of me, let me give you a massage."

"Really? I can't say no to that," Rosé said gratefully as she shifted positions to sit in front of Lisa.
She bit back a groan as Lisa's strong hands kneaded up and down her spine, distracting her from the
fact that she was practically embraced by Lisa's thighs. "Oh right there, mm, hits the spot, yes."

Lisa bent forward to push away locks of hair and dropped a discreet kiss on her shoulder blade.
"Right there, baby?" she asked tenderly.

Rosé nearly leaned back to melt against Lisa but checked herself just in time and shook her head.
"Not...not the right time," she said reluctantly.

"You're right, we said we'd keep it lowkey," Lisa agreed, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's
stomach. "Rosie?"

"Mhm?"

"I'm glad you're here."

Rosé smiled contentedly, her hands resting on Lisa's. "Me too."

>

"Jen?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Jennie said idly.

"I was thinking of calling Jinyoung," Jisoo said thoughtfully.

Jennie gasped and lost her grip on the edge of the tub, splashing headfirst into the water. She
popped up like a cork, spluttering.

"You really gotta warn a girl before you go and say something like that," she gritted, grabbing
Jisoo's arm and pulling her out of the tub, apologising to the other women as they went by.

"Jen what's the—"

"Wait, just wait." Jennie pushed her into a new tub which was unoccupied at the moment. She
grimaced as the cooler water made contact with skin, shivering as she waded back and forth to
acclimate. Jisoo likewise shivered and followed in her lead, wisely deciding to wait for Jennie to
speak first.

"I don't want to talk about that slimy rat in front of everyone. Or at all, to be honest,"Jennie began
once they had gotten used to the cooler temperature.

Jisoo sighed. "Look, I know what you think of him and I get it. I know he's shady."

"Understatement," Jennie muttered sullenly.

Jisoo paused for a moment before she swam up to Jennie and firmly wrapped her arms around her
neck.
"C'mere," she said softly before she lowered her lips down on Jennie's. Jennie sighed, tension
seeping out of her shoulders as she melted into the kiss.

"Should we really be doing this here? Someone could come in," she mumbled.

Jisoo flashed her a mischievous grin. "No we shouldn't, but I want to and I'm assuming you want as
well?"

"I do."

"Great. Besides, we could pretend I was trying to get something out of your mouth."

"With your tongue?"

Jisoo shrugged. "These things happen."

"Chu," Jennie giggled before locking lips again, feeling blissful heat warm up her skin as Jisoo
caressed her lower back.

"I missed that," Jennie mumbled with a grin once they parted.

"Me too," Jisoo smiled back. Her eyes sobered when she cupped Jennie's cheek. "Should we forget
about Jinyoung for now? I didn't want to start anything before I told you, because I didn't want you
to think I was trying to manipulate you to soften the blow."

"Jisoo," Jennie said, touched as she pulled Jisoo to sit closer in her lap in the water. She traced up
her sides, feeling the gooseflesh in her fingers' wake. "I know you're not like that."

"Just making sure," Jisoo shrugged, pecking her lips tenderly. "I missed you, Jendeuk."

"Me too. We've been busy."

Jisoo chuckled. "You've certainly been busy, keeping me away and driving me crazy."

"It's only been a few days. I couldn't be seen in here with hickeys now could I? Someone might
think I got assaulted, like my idiot sister."

"Thank goodness you stopped her in time, I could have been six feet underground right now," Jisoo
chuckled but Jennie shook her head gravely.

"It's not funny. She really was out to kill you."

"She cares about you," Jisoo said softly. "I'm glad you got to see that and be reminded."

Jennie bowed her head. She had told Jisoo already, but she couldn't help go over the scene stamped
in her head, of how Lisa beamed so widely and hugged her tight when she revealed their new
relationship.

"She was so happy for me, even though I gave her so much grief for wanting to be with Rosé," she
mumbled.

Jisoo smiled and cupped Jennie's face. "Lisa's such a kid. I don't believe she knows how to hold
grudges. I mean, look at her attitude to Momo, or even Seulgi. She wants to be friends with
everyone if possible. I would have loved to swap my sister with yours, we would have had a blast
together, Lisa and I."
"You would have either terrorised or flirted with half of Seoul by the time you both were twenty,"
Jennie chuckled. She bit her lip, tracing Jisoo's jaw as the familiar heat between them turned
tangible enough to sense on their frigid skin.

Jisoo noticed and took the opportunity to lower her mouth to Jennie's neck, pressing open-mouthed
kisses to the skin. "Hmm, feels like I haven't done this in months."

Jennie swallowed, feeling reason starting to ebb. Jisoo's mouth worked wonders and affected her a
little too much. "Don't be so dramatic, it was only a week ago."

"Do you know how wet I am right now, Jendeukie?" Jisoo's eyes glittered beneath the ceiling
lights. Her sultry rasp made Jennie shiver, but she wasn't going to buckle down just from a few
words.

"We're in a full bathtub Jisoo, I would have been majorly concerned if you weren't wet. I'd be
wondering if I was dating some mutant freak from those X-men my idiot geek sister is always
yakking about."

Jisoo's chirky laugh made Jennie smile.

Smiling came so easy now. Going about her day without worrying about Lisa and instead having
her head filled with thoughts of Jisoo, and the few Jisoo Yoga dates Jisoo had sneaked her on was
delightful. They hadn't hooked up again since that first night and Jennie could feel the sexual
tension thrumming between them, threatening to explode.

Jennie yelped in surprise when a sharp pain jolted her from her thoughts. The culprit was Jisoo,
busy nibbling at her collarbone.

"Warn a girl, remember?" Jennie gritted out, desperately fighting the moan bubbling in her throat.

"Sorry," Jisoo apologised but the smirk on her face said otherwise. Jennie shook her head but
eagerly leaned back to let Jisoo carry on, stroking her head while she kept an eye out for
newcomers.

"Come to mama," Jisoo purred, lovingly rubbing Jennie's breasts and dropping kisses on them. She
squeezed and took one breast into her mouth, suckling gently as Jennie sighed, breathy gusts
escaping her whenever Jisoo sucked a little harder.

"Good?" Jisoo glanced up, thumbing at Jennie's nipples.

"Don't stop," Jennie mewled.

"Sweetheart, we can't have you be marked up. We're in a public bath, remember?"

Jennie groaned which made Jisoo smile and kiss the frustrated girl.

"How about I show you how good I am at holding my breath, instead?" she winked.

Jennie stared at her, trying to gauge if the statement was truly as innocent as it sounded.

"Okay..." she said, highly suspicious and highly aroused.

Jisoo smirked, took a deep breath and immersed herself. It wasn't long before Jennie realised what
Jisoo was up to when the latter started pressing her lips in an irresistible trail between her chest and
down her abdomen, all underwater.
Meanwhile, Jisoo's fingers trailed up the inside of Jennie's thighs as well. It took all of Jennie's will
to keep from squirming.

The sensation was curious, a contrast between the cold water and Jisoo's warm tongue on her skin
firing off conflicting signals. It was a gentle tickling sensation, pleasurable but not unbearable, at
least not yet.

The faint sense of danger, of being caught in the midst of an indecent act, was simultaneously
thrilling and terrifying. But around Jisoo, Jennie found herself not caring about the consequences
very much, not when it felt so good to let go. She trusted in Jisoo and it was exhilarating to keep
testing boundaries.

She remembered one of their last dates had started out innocent and mundane enough, a movie
night at the cinema. Jisoo had surprised her with tickets and the excuse of more 'Jennie research' in
their search for what genre of movies Jennie enjoyed.

The movie probably wasn't that bad, but she couldn't remember because nestled in their dark quiet
corner, she made out with Jisoo for the better part of the two hours and even successfully got her
hands in Jisoo's pants (with full permission naturally, if Jisoo's low impatient groans in her mouth
were any indication) and rubbed her to completion just as the credits rolled.

Jisoo was a blissed-out mess in her seat as other patrons passed them by on their way out, while
Jennie sat breathless with tousled hair and a big gummy grin on her face, feeling very
accomplished. She was well aware that probably everyone else could deduce what had happened
but she didn't care one bit. Jennie turned in her seat, absorbing the beautiful visage of Jisoo, dazed
and still recovering. They were the only ones left in the theatre.

"Wanna get out of here?" she asked Jisoo.

"Five more minutes," Jisoo exhaled, eyes shut. "I need...five more minutes. That was...intense.
Jendeuk, you're a natural. I see great potential."

"I have a great teacher," Jennie chuckled in return and took Jisoo's hand to lead her out of the
darkened theatre, but not before sneaking a few more kisses before they emerged out on to the
street.

Voices woke Jennie up from her reminiscing and she froze when three women entered the same tub
she and Jisoo were currently in. They nodded at her and took up residence in a further corner of the
tub, chatting idly amongst themselves.

Jennie kept her eyes down to avoid interaction while she frantically smacked Jisoo's head
underwater.

Jisoo surfaced with frenzied splashing, very red in the face and startling the other women who
immediately started tittering.

"What?" Jisoo said breathlessly, water dripping from her face and hair as she rubbed her eyes. "I
was just about to start—"

"—tickling me underwater?" Jennie interrupted loudly. "We said no tickling, remember? You were
gonna cheat just because you can't hold your breath as long as I can?"

"Hey, you cheated first, trying to poke me in the ear," Jisoo replied, cottoning on, "let's see you
trying to hold your breath in an ice bath."
"You're on!"

They quickly exited after exchanging polite nods with the befuddled women and then leaned
against the nearest wall once they were at a distance, giggling and dripping water.

"That was close," Jennie said, shivering.

"I was close too," Jisoo mumbled as she dodged Jennie's smack, "darn old grannies."

"Another time," Jennie reassured, skin still tingling, "maybe it's a good thing too." She took a deep
breath and took Jisoo's hand as they walked to their next bath. "Let's talk about Jinyoung? You
want to arrange a meet-up with him?"

Jisoo quickly masked her surprise. "I...yeah. It's been some two weeks now, I don't want him to
give up completely. Jen, I could be able to wrangle something useful out of him."

Jennie shrugged. "I don't believe there's much I could do with any information you might get. It's
not like he personally did anything to me, and I'm not some detective or—"

She paused when Jisoo pressed a finger to her lips then quickly scanned their surroundings, waiting
for a pair to pass them by before turning to gaze at her again.

"Jennie," Jisoo began softly, making Jennie stand to attention, "I know you and Lisa...are involved
in something. You implied as much, once. I haven't forgotten."

She held up her hand when Jennie's eyes widened. "No, let me finish. It's okay to have your secrets.
I can respect that. I truly do, as long they're not of particular consequence. Of course, I'm still
curious. But I won't let that come in between us, in between you and me and what we could
potentially make of it." She squeezed Jennie's hand and covered it with her other hand. "I like you.
I trust you, and I trust that you will tell me when you are ready, or if there is ever any need for me
to know, just like we agreed before, right?"

Jennie nodded mutely. Her heart hammered wildly in her chest.

Jisoo went on. "I have a feeling Jinyoung might be connected to Lisa, even if you both aren't
aware. But his interest in Lisa and Seulgi at their match was uncanny. I want to find out more what
that was all about, and why he was so insistent on helping out. Since I'm the point of contact, I
want to help you. I want to get you anything that could be possibly useful to you and Lisa. So with
your permission, I want to meet with Jinyoung."

Jennie's lips trembled, a surge of gratitude washing all over her and she pulled Jisoo into a hug,
heedless of the fact they were both slippery and wet. All that she cared about was Jisoo being there
for her, unfailingly and without question, doing her utmost to understand without ever pressuring.

"Wow, I should have mentioned meeting with Jinyoung sooner," Jisoo joked but nevertheless, she
hung on to Jennie tightly.

"I don't deserve your trust...but thank you," Jennie whispered, cupping her face. "For everything."

Jisoo grinned, eyes crinkling. "Wanna go to the next bath and turn into an icicle while we discuss
what to do about Jinyoung?"

"I'd like that," Jennie chuckled. "I wonder what the others are up to."

"I bet they're getting cuddly."

"No, they're still pretty shy," Jennie mused as they walked away. "Most likely, they're geeking out
over something and squealing like seals."

>

"Do it again! Do it again!" Lisa squealed, clapping like a seal.

"Or naur! Cleor!" Rosé mimicked, and they both dissolved into giggles, heedless of the strange
looks they were attracting from other people.

"It sounds so funny and I don't know why!" Lisa gasped. "Tell me more!"

"If you think that's funny, you should see the actual thing. I really need to find that show again,"
Rosé said dreamily, "maybe Ella will like it too. We could watch it together."

"Can I join?"

"I was assuming you would," Rosé smiled. "But if you try tickling me again one more time, you're
banned."

"Oh come on, I said I was sorry!" Lisa groaned. She had surprised Rosé earlier while rubbing her
back with a surprise attack of tickling. Lots of squealing and splashing ensued, which had some
bath attendants approach and make them leave.

"I don't forget tickle traitors!" Rosé smirked, booping Lisa on the nose.

"Okay so it was...discomfiting, but nothing out of this world," Lisa countered. She smiled wide
when Rosé paused and tilted her head.

"New word?"

"Mhm! Means 'embarrassing'," Lisa nodded proudly. "I've been learning so much!"

"That's great babes, I didn't know what that meant either," Rosé praised, making Lisa preen.

Conversation had flitted from topic to topic and at one point, Rosé mentioned that she was fully
expecting a mermaid tail to appear because she had never stayed in the water for so long, which
then led to her reminiscing about a TV series she enjoyed watching as a kid called h2O: just add
water.

"Papa had put a special setting on the TV remote so that I could find it easily on TV," Rosé
narrated, "so that I didn't have to wake him up to put it on for me. It used to broadcast early on
Saturdays, and Papa tended to...sleep in a lot."

"That's sweet of him though. You were close?"

"In a manner of speaking," Rosé said wistfully. "I don't think I ever spoke about him with you,
have I?"

When Lisa shook her head, Rosé took a deep breath, willing herself to open her chest of memories
that she usually suppressed. "His name was Youngbae. The closest I ever felt to him was when we
sang together while his stereo played his CD's."

"Like you do with Ella?" Lisa said softly. Rosé nodded, her smile sad.

"Just like that. It's his stereo too, though I added my own CD's to the collection. He used to sing
more, before we came here to Seoul. He just...became more distant as time wore on. I think it's
because I reminded him too much of my mother but he also....well, he was also stressed from his
job. He was a security guard of some type."

Lisa edged in closer, seemingly sensing her discomfort as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
"It's okay, baby. You don't have to."

Rosé shook her head. "I want to, and I need to. Being scared to talk about my past would only have
me being a prisoner of my own fear. I want...I want to share all of myself with you, Lisa, as much
as I can and I hope you'll...understand."

Lisa curled an arm around her waist underwater. "I'll do my best, baby."

Rosé wished she was having this conversation somewhere more private but now that she started,
she couldn't stop. Having Lisa's attention once again, she picked up her story. "Papa...had his
issues and alcohol didn't help. It's not that he treated me badly...well no, actually he did. He hit me,
if he was angry enough. Which was frequently. But I got better at evading him, thankfully."

Lisa frowned but let her continue.

"He got worse when we moved here. It didn't help that he had more memories of my mother here
in Seoul, but his job required him to move. He couldn't really refuse. It's what was keeping us
afloat." Rosé breathed out as she remembered his angry roars. Lisa's body next to her was tense but
her gaze was intent, focusing wholly on her tale.

"I remember the sounds of him swinging at his punching bag. If he wasn't drinking or sleeping or
out, he was punching like mad at it and I tried to drown out the sounds with music."

She didn't mention her suspicions, that her father was frustrated because Yang's search for Tiger
King seemed to be a pointless shot in the dark. She didn't mention that her father was also likely
drowning steadily in the piling debt and feeling helpless—venting out his anger on the punching
bag and herself and drinking even more was his way of coping.

"That's why you didn't like the punching bag," Lisa realised. "It reminded you of him."

Rosé nodded, her throat tight. "I started picking up odd jobs when I came here, helping out in
restaurant kitchens mostly."

"Wait, weren't you a bit too young for that? How old were you?" Lisa frowned.

"I was a papergirl back in Melbourne, where we lived. And then we moved to Seoul when I was
about ten? I looked tall enough for my age and I was hard pressed for funds so...I wanted to do
something about it, even if it was just earning a few pounds to buy candy."

"Or comics."

Rosé smiled wider before she sobered. "Papa sometimes was so out of it that he didn't buy food. He
just drank or worked out or stomped around angry."

She shook her head, leaning on the edge of tub, lost in her reminiscing. "I had to look out for
myself, even if it was scary but...I was lucky people let a kid help out, even though it was hard,
thankless and sweaty work. But what could I do otherwise? I was skipping school and didn't have
friends to speak of. I left everything behind in Australia."

Her voice took on the familiar bitterness whenever she remembered her lost childhood. "Papa was
no father. But...I can't bring myself to hate him as much as he deserved. Because...because deep
down, I know I'm partly responsible for his unhappiness. Maybe if my mother was alive,
things...would have been different."

"Rosie no," Lisa said softly. She laid a hand on her shoulder. "Things happen. You can't help it. It
wasn't your fault."

"My mother died birthing me. He did get help to raise me until I could walk and talk but after that,
he'd...he'd leave me behind in the house, all by myself, even though it's dangerous, even though
anything could have happened. But he didn't want to father me. I gave him plenty reason to hate
me, and honestly? I can't find it in myself to blame him," Rosé said flatly.

She rested her chin on her arms, sinking into a brooding state. "Sometimes, when he was really
drunk, I'd hear him call for my mother in such a heartbroken voice that I couldn't take it. Lisa, I
took her from him, and he never forgave me for that, especially since the older I got, the more I
started to resemble her in appearance. I bet he was waiting for an excuse to turf me out and when I
got pregnant with Ella...that was the straw that broke the camel's back."

Lisa was quiet behind her, digesting her words before she tentatively wrapped her arms around
Rosé's waist.

"I don't really agree with the blaming yourself part," Lisa said quietly. "You were just...trying to be
born. He was wrong to blame you. You were innocent."

She hugged her closer. "I'm sorry. You didn't deserve any of that. If...if I was in your dad's place, I
would have loved my baby daughter, since it would be my last reminder of my beloved, the gift we
created together. I would take care of my baby and love it as much as I loved my wife, maybe even
more desperately. Because losing the love of my life would show me how fragile and fleeting life
is and...and I would need to hang on to the baby to make sure I don't lose myself in the grief. The
baby is helpless, and innocent, and deserves love. It lost its mother, and only has me left in the
whole entire world. I couldn't not love it."

Rosé's jaw fell slack, struck by Lisa's compassionate words, her heart stuttering in her chest as it
tried to keep up with the swarm of butterflies choking her.

"I'm sorry. You deserved better," Lisa said, "maybe your dad was in pain, but taking it out on you
and blaming you was wrong and...and I'm sorry. You're so amazing, how could he not see that?"

"Lisa," Rosé whispered, emotional. "That's...that's so sweet."

She couldn't see Lisa's face but she heard the shy smile in her voice. "Yeah? Well, it's what I think.
You deserve the world."

Rosé sighed as unwrapped Lisa's hands from around her waist and turned around. "I don't need the
world. I have you now," she smiled, holding Lisa's hands to her cheek. "I wish I had met you
earlier."

"Me too." Lisa almost pulled her closer but stopped just in time, remembering they were in a public
bath. She settled for stroking Rosé's cheek with her thumb instead, pushing a lock of hair behind
her ear. "We'll make up for lost time."

"I look forward to that," Rosé said happily, her heart light. Sharing a part of her past with Lisa
served to have them bond closer and she hoped this was only the first of many instances where
they could open up and learn more about each other.
She wondered about Lisa's own parents, wondered if she had grown up surrounded by love to have
such a positive outlook on her situation.

"Lisa...can I ask about your parents?" she said quietly. She feared she overstepped a line when Lisa
stiffened then slowly drew her hands away with a gentle sigh.

"I...I don't remember a lot about my mom and dad," Lisa said, sounding wistful. "They died when I
was pretty young. I told you, didn't I?"

"You said they died in front of you," Rosé whispered, mouth suddenly dry when she remembered
Lisa crying in her arms.

Lisa nodded, her face devoid of any expression. "Disease. I don't remember much, but it took them
away both in a blink. And even now, my memory of them fades little by little. I don't have anything
left of them."

Saddened, Rosé squeezed her hand. "What do you remember?"

Lisa brightened. "I do remember that Mom sang, though I can't remember what. But I think she
sang all the time around me. That's what I remember. If I focus hard, when I think of Mom, I
distinctly remember a singing voice. And oh! I think she baked me sweet stuff, I always feel
sweetness in my mouth when I think of her."

"That's adorable," Rosé chuckled. "What else?"

Lisa pursed her lips, squinting tightly. "Dad is even more faint. I think I remember someone
picking me and flinging me up, playfully. I still feel warmth when I think of him. That's a good
thing, right?"

"Absolutely," Rosé nodded vigorously. "Those are beautiful memories Lis, no matter how hazy.
They must have loved you so much."

"Yeah, I suppose..."

Rosé recognised the dampened mood and sneaked a quick kiss to her cheek. "Thank you for telling
me about them. I would have loved to meet them. And I'm sure they'd be proud of who you are
today."

"A meat-head boxer?"

"No. A smart, hard-working, funny and witty girl with a heart of gold and the most beautiful
smile," Rosé said tenderly. "And I am lucky enough to call her my girlfriend."

Caught off-guard, Lisa opened and her closed her mouth several times before she finally smirked.

"You got the whole package, huh."

"There's that smile," Rosé laughed. They paused for a while when other bath-goers settled near
them. Lisa tugged her hand as she inched away, putting a safe distance between them and the other
women busy prattling.

"You know, Hwangssabu was actually starting to feel like my actual dad until...well until he died,"
Lisa revealed softly. Rosé stroked her arm comfortingly.

"How did he die?" she dared to ask.

Lisa took a deep breath. Her eyes were half-shuttered when she replied: "Gang fight. He got caught
up in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Rosé leaned her head against Lisa, shy of kissing her shoulder, and didn't say anything save for a
squeeze of the hand in commiseration.

"He was a lot like Jennie. Or, Jennie is like him," Lisa chuckled softly.

"He had an energy drink addiction too?"

"No that's just Jennie. I mean, he could be strict and tough-loving too, like she is. And he never
really talked about touchy-feely stuff, or even, you know, girl stuff—Jennie was the one to tell me
about periods and stuff like that. But he worked hard to get money, and he tried to be fair when
Jennie and I fought. To get us to shut up, he'd press our faces into his armpits until we promised to
stop fighting. Just peak dad material, really."

Rosé was happy to see the light return to Lisa's eyes and was content to listen to her story.

"One time, I remember we had shrunken some clothes at the wash, we mixed up the steps. And we
were so scared he'd be mad cos' those were practically all the clothes we owned. Jennie had even
proposed we run away and hide for the day. But in the end we still went back.

But he wasn't mad. He just told us to go to sleep, and everything will be okay. In the morning we
had brand new stuff, thrift store stuff but new. He didn't tell us where he got the money, but Jennie
said he had probably sold or pawned off his mother's necklace. He always wore it, but he wasn't
wearing it that day, and he never did again. He didn't tell us, and we pretended we didn't notice."

"Oh my. Were you really that hard-pressed for money?" Rosé said worriedly.

"It was a rough patch, I think he had been in-between jobs at the time."

"But...what about friends? Couldn't he have asked them for a loan or something?" But she already
guessed the answer even before Lisa shook her head.

"Something else he and Jennie share in common is their stubborn pride," Lisa said wryly. "He
wouldn't take charity, would prefer working himself like a dog than ask for help, much like Jennie
does now."

"Awwh," Rosé pouted. "Well, I'm glad Jennie is breaking away from that kind of mentality then,
it's harmful."

"I guess so. She just doesn't want to be dependent, since you know, money was her family's ruin."
Lisa drew her knees up, pensive. "You know, Hwangssabu...he had told me I shouldn't get together
with people. Like, dating."

"What? Why not?" said Rosé, startled.

Lisa shrugged. "Remember long ago, I said I had some uh, anger management issues before? Well,
he had told me until I got stronger, I shouldn't try having relationships because I'd hurt people,
myself included."

"Though I can understand his logic, isn't that a bit too...drastic?" Rosé said at last. Then her eyes
narrowed. "Jennie thought you weren't ready either, didn't she? That's another reason she was so
opposed to us getting together in the first place."
"There was some of that thinking in play, yeah. Hwangssabu was okay with me experimenting, as
long as it was a no strings attached affair. Jennie continued in his footsteps."

"Well, you've grown past that and you're mature enough now," Rosé said loftily.

Lisa smiled widely. "Yeah? You think so?"

Rosé rolled her eyes. "Well obviously not always, but you're mature enough to hold down a
relationship, at least."

"Thank you."

Lisa was quiet for a few moments and Rosé was content to lie in the cool water next to her, even
though she could feel her skin shrivelling like a prune.

"We should head out soon, I don't think it's good for the skin to be in the water for so long," Lisa
said, voicing Rosé's thoughts. "But before that..."

Rosé lifted her head, hearing the mischief in her voice.

"I got an idea," Lisa said, eyes glinting playfully, "let's play rock-paper-scissors."

Rosé raised an eyebrow. "Okay and...?"

"Whoever loses has to go into the coldest pool." Lisa pointed at the tub adjacent to them, which
was notoriously empty—few people at a time entered the coldest bath.

"Oh you're on!" Rosé retorted immediately, psyching herself up for the showdown, "best of three?"

Lisa smirked, challenging. "Ready when you are."

>

After three thrilling rounds of rock-paper-scissors and one abrupt icy dip later, Rosé didn't have to
wait long to find out more about Lisa.

"Lisa! Haven't seen you around in a while," greeted one of the younger uniformed staff at the
massage area. She was a tall slender girl with warm eyes and honey-coloured hair hanging to her
side over one shoulder. The badge she wore declared her name as Miyeon.

"Oh hey Miyeon, long time no see," Lisa chuckled, "did my sister come by here already?"

"Jennie's here? She must have gone in with Aeri." Miyeon rolled her eyes and Lisa sucked in a
breath.

"Ah the old biddy, but at least Nini doesn't mind her much. Still got a stick up her ass?"

"You know it," Miyeon said and they shared a grimace.

"What's up with your hand?" Miyeon asked in concern, tutting as she picked up Lisa's cast to
inspect. "Bad hit?"

"Something like that yeah. Whacked it pretty hard."

Miyeon sucked in a breath. "Shame. That can't be good for your matches, huh?"
"I'll manage," Lisa reassured. "Got friends to back me up."

"Well, you never had problem making friends now, did you?" Miyeon tittered. Rosé's eyes
narrowed at the heavy implication. She decided she didn't like this Miyeon very much.

"Oh stop," Lisa laughed awkwardly.

"Hi there, bet you never seen abs like mine. They're 100% real, you can touch if you like," Miyeon
said in amusement, as Lisa turned red, "perfect opener for a conversation, really. Just oozing
charisma."

Rosé cleared her throat pointedly.

"Oh! Miyeon, I'm with Rosie today," Lisa said hastily as she pulled Rosé next to her. "Rosie, this is
Miyeon, she's in charge of assigning people to their respective massage-y persons."

"How many times do I have to tell you, it's masseuse, honey," Miyeon giggled with a flip of her
hair and a tap to Lisa's forehead. "It's looking pretty empty upstairs, unlike what you're packing
with the rest of you," she added with an approving sweep of Lisa's physique. Rosé didn't like how
her gaze lingered, hungry.

"My body's a temple," Lisa bragged, flexing her arms, "but I'm taking care of the brains
department too now! Right Rosie?"

Miyeon chuckled as Rosé's frown deepened.

"You seem to know each other pretty well," Rosé commented lightly and was answered with
another giggle from Miyeon.

"Oh you could say that. We're very very good friends aren't we, Lisa? We go some way back,"
Miyeon purred with a conspiratorial wink that Rosé didn't like at all.

"Ah yeah, yeah, you could say that," Lisa said, rubbing the back of her neck as she glanced
between a scowling Rosé and Miyeon apprehensively. "We run into each other often whenever
Jennie and Somi and Momo and I come here."

"Ah yes speaking of, where's my favourite Japanese peach? Haven't seen her in a minute."

"You know how it is. Momo's always busy with stuff," Lisa said vaguely.

Miyeon nodded, finally turning to Rosé with a broad smile. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Rosie," she
said as she extended her hand with a sickly smile.

"It's Rosé actually," Rosé said, shaking Miyeon's hand stiffly. "So, what's the next step?"

Miyeon waved at the cubicles behind her. "I can assign you to your masseuses and you can specify
if you want a short or long session. You can have individual or dual sessions, meaning you share a
room."

She batted her eyelashes at Lisa. "I'm assuming you'll go for the individual like usual, cutie? I'll be
sure to check in."

"Oh no, we're going together," Rosé jumped in immediately, threading an arm through Lisa's.
Something about the staff's behaviour around her girlfriend made her suspicious and anxious to
keep Lisa close. Miyeon's brow furrowed but Lisa was already nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, I'll take the dual with Rosie today."

Rosé tried not to smile too widely when Miyeon pursed her pearly lips.

"But I haven't talked to you in so long," Miyeon pouted, twirling a strand of hair around her finger
with her eyes fixed wholly on Lisa, as though Rosé didn't exist.

"I know, but...the thing is, I'm seeing someone, Miyeon," Lisa said gently, "I'm not interested right
now."

"Oh? Who are you seeing? Her?" Miyeon said suspiciously, turning to scrutinise Rosé with
narrowed eyes. Rosé stared back ferociously, daring Miyeon to say something else, to give her
reason to kick her into oblivion.

"Uh well uh, Rosie is...well she's my..."

"Friend, right? I get it, you want to show her around, because she certainly ain't your type," Miyeon
simpered, sidling closer to her, brushing shoulders. "Then I'm sure if you ask nicely she can keep a
secret, hmm? Won't you Rosé?" She grinned but her eyes had regained a hopeful glint as she
preened in front of Lisa. "Alright, if not now, maybe I can see you later after hours? What do you
say?"

"Miyeon, I don't think that's a good idea," Lisa said, her mouth extremely dry. One the one hand,
Rosé's words about keeping their relationship status lowkey rang in her ear but on the other hand,
Miyeon was being relentlessly persistent, to the point of upsetting Rosé.

"Why? What's the problem?" Miyeon coaxed. She trailed her fingers down Lisa's cast, wetting her
lips with her gaze fixed on the blonde girl in front of her.

Lisa swallowed. Out of the corner of her eye, she had seen Rosé turn away when referred to merely
as a friend, obviously wounded, if her hunched shoulders and downcast eyes were any indication.
Miyeon continued to flirt shamelessly, ignoring Rosé despite her obvious discomfort.

Lisa couldn't take it anymore and swiftly made her decision as she snatched her arm away.

"The problem is you're standing in front of my girlfriend, Miyeon," she said abruptly, her voice
steady. She brushed aside Miyeon's gasp of disbelief and didn't wait to see Rosé's expression as she
took her girlfriend's hand and went on. "I'm afraid I can't see you anymore. We can still be friends
though?"

"I'll show you to your room now," Miyeon said stiffly, her sugary tone changing to hostile in a
blink. "Locker key number, please."

>

"Look, I'm sorry you had to see that," Lisa sighed, "I forgot to warn you, she completely escaped
my mind."

They were standing in the seshin changing rooms and Lisa had grabbed the opportunity to speak
with her girlfriend and clear the air before more time passed and the bubble of silence between
them grew even more uncomfortable.

"Well, it seems like you two are very good friends that go a long way back," Rosé replied
sarcastically, still smarting as she replayed Miyeon's shameless ogling. "Who am I to get in
between two very good friends catching up?"
She considered herself a reasonable person, but never had she fathomed the sheer irritation that
would bloom in her chest just from seeing a complete stranger that shared history with
Lisa fawn all over her.

She sighed, shoulders slumping. Lisa watched her with doleful expression, making guilt well up in
Rosé's chest to replace her jealousy. It was no use taking out her annoyance at Miyeon by lashing
out at Lisa, who had actually drawn the line and put Miyeon in her place once she realised the girl's
ulterior motives.

"Let's...let's talk after?" Rosé said quietly. "They're waiting for us."

Lisa nodded but before Rosé could turn away, she caught her wrist and pulled her close to whisper
in her ear.

"Rosie, don't forget that no matter what, my future is with you," Lisa reminded softly, and kissed
her forehead. "Let's go."

Comforted, Rosé's dank mood lightened as they both lay down and let the staff do their job. Lisa
had her face turned towards her, eyes soft and a small smile on her lips as she gazed at Rosé
without breaking eye contact. Rosé could pretend they were back in her apartment, waking up in
her bed across from each other.

They had done it a couple times after Lisa volunteered to babysit Ella. Rosé was still amazed she
had come back to an intact apartment after the first night and then smiled to see both Lisa and Ella
passed out on the couch as a movie played on the screen. Although she was exhausted, helping her
sleepy daughter and her sleepy girlfriend into bed amused her to no end.

She must have dozed off at some point (the massage and body scrub did wonders to dissipate the
tension from her body) because the next thing she knew was Lisa's low voice gently rousing her.

"Baby, time to go," Lisa said softly. She wore a white robe and Rosé had one of her own waiting
for her to slip on.

Lisa hung on a little tighter to Rosé's hand when they walked out, even as they passed by Miyeon's
desk. Her eyes avoided Miyeon, her face blank. Rosé, however, couldn't resist craning her neck
back and smile winningly to see Miyeon's sour expression. She made sure to rub in her victory by
sidling closer to Lisa and leaning on her shoulder as well.

It was petty and Rosé considered herself reasonable (there was no reason to consider Miyeon a
threat, she trusted her girlfriend above all else to be faithful), but she wasn't going to let any of
Lisa's past conquests get their hands on her girl.

Aside from Miyeon, the seshin had been a wonderful experience. Her body felt rubbery and soft
just as promised. Lisa pressed an apologetic kiss to her temple after they emerged from the
showers.

Rosé acknowledged the gesture with a hum and squeeze of their hands.

After dressing up in their red cotton pyjamas, Lisa led her to the dry saunas. Rosé felt like a baked
egg after a few minutes inside but found herself surprisingly enjoying it as she flopped down on her
back on the stone floor and closed her eyes.

"Rosie, I need to make your sheep hat, we need to protect your hair," Lisa said as she got busy
folding towels.
"I want to stay in here like this," Rosé said dreamily. She laughed as Lisa came into view, upside
down, the lamb head towel sitting on her head.

"We can stay till we're hardboiled."

"I'm serious! I'm regretting not coming before."

"Wait till you try the food they got here, the sikhye is to die for," Lisa chuckled, "but we also gotta
talk."

"Yeah," Rosé said reluctantly as she sat up. "So..."

"So..." Lisa sighed, clasping her hands. "I...I want to say sorry for spilling about us but Miyeon was
being relentless and you looked sad and I couldn't take it—"

She was cut off by a gentle peck to her lips and Rosé's hands cradling her face.

"I'm sorry for lashing out at you," Rosé said softly. She didn't take her hands away. "You weren't to
blame, she was. And as for telling her about us...it's okay. It's more than okay, actually, because I
didn't like the way she was looking at you. I'm glad you told her."

"Oh...but what about keeping it lowkey?" Lisa said, perplexed but relieved.

"Lisa, I was mad at that...that girl trying to flirt with you, even though you turned her down and
made it clear you weren't interested," Rosé pointed out. "Besides, she seems to be gay, or at least
pro-gay. Unless she's the spiteful type, I don't think she will be judging or treating us differently,
right? She knows that she should back off now."

"Hmm, you're right, yeah," Lisa said thoughtfully. She hesitantly threaded their fingers together.
"So, we're good?"

Rosé smiled and squeezed her hand, though they had to let go because of the sweaty heat.

"Yeah, of course we're good. Is it okay if I ask about you and her?"

Lisa sighed. "To be clear, we didn't date. We weren't girlfriends. It was more of a casual thing,
Jennie didn't even know. Miyeon and I...well we didn't fool around, but you could say we got close
to? There was definitely um...a lot of kissing involved."

"On the job?" Rosé gawked. "She risked her job in broad daylight? I'm sure there's some ethical
dilemmas involved with that..."

Lisa winced. "I mean...well, she did sneak in to see me sometimes, when I was having an
individual body scrub session. She'd swap with the massage girl and come finish my massage
herself..."

"I see," Rosé said, a flare of annoyance igniting in the pit of her stomach at the thought of Miyeon's
hands running up and down Lisa's muscular body. Maybe they had even gotten bold enough to—

She shook her head, driving away the disturbing images of two slippery, sweaty bodies writhing
against each other on the massage bed.

Lisa was quick to notice Rosé's jealousy and took her hand.

"We only met at the jjimjilbang," Lisa said softly. "And I promise you, kissing and touching was as
far as we dared go. Even at night."
Rosé's mouth fell open. "Night?" she echoed.

"Sometimes, Jennie and Momo and I stayed for three nights here at the jjimjilbang," Lisa
explained heavily. "You're covered when you pay at the door, they got places for you to sleep and
then you wake up and it's another day of pampering. Since we didn't come all that often, we made
the best of it. So, when the day staff finished their shift, I'd meet up with Miyeon and...well, you
know. Stuff happened."

"Hmph. So that's how you got so good at kissing." Rosé accused lightly.

"Guess so...Rosie, I swear, there's nothing going on now, I had completely forgotten all about her,"
Lisa said in a rush, "and it just caught me by surprise, I would have definitely told you if I had
known—"

Rosé cut her off with a lingering kiss, drawing back far enough to look at Lisa.

"It's okay really, I trust you. It's in the past now."

"So it doesn't bother you?" Lisa said, relieved.

"I can't pretend that it's all dandy watching her making moves on you," Rosé scowled. "But you
drew the boundary line, and that's what matters. I can't very well control who you kissed in the
past. I mean look at me, I got drunk and slept with the first guy that looked my way and boom, I
got pregnant. You didn't judge me for that."

"Stuff happens," Lisa shrugs as she finished folding Rosé's towel and placed it on her head. She sat
back to admire her handiwork, chuckling when Rosé posed. "There. Hmm, bit wonky, I wish Nini
was here to make them."

"Did Jennie ever suspect about what you were up to?" Rosé wondered aloud.

"No, but she did know that Momo was up to her shenanigans. Momo kept my secret." Lisa paused,
thoughtful. "I think Momo and Miyeon had a fling going on as well."

"No way!" Rosé laughed.

"Yes way, Momo was the ladies' girl. Miyeon told me all about it as well, they had a threesome
one time. How none of them got caught is still a mystery to me but Momo could multi-task like
that..."

"Weren't you...upset?" Rosé asked carefully.

Lisa shook her head. "Why? I only asked for Miyeon to make sure to stay clean is all. I'm not that
stupid, and it's the least she could do, for both of us. Otherwise, it's not like she was my girlfriend
right? Think of it like...like I was practising. At least, that's what Momo said."

Lisa trailed off, turning sombre.

"Hey, you okay?" Rosé asked in concern. "Is it the heat? Should we get out?"

Lisa shook her head, the ears of the towel whipping back and forth with the movement. "No I'm
good. I was just...remembering all the good times with Momo. I called her Kami, you know, cos
her name in the ring was Kamikaze."

"You miss her," Rosé said softly into the cavern, her words wrapping around them.
Lisa nodded, gaze fixed on a spot in front of her. "I know it's stupid, and I shouldn't miss her,
because she really was a jerk, and a player, and a bad influence. Jennie had often told me to ditch
her but...she was fun to have around, and so confident. She was my friend. I wanted to be just like
her. She had girls falling for her left and right. I wanted to have that."

"So you tried to copy her," Rosé mused. "You got your groupies."

Lisa chuckled. "Yeah, she gave me tips on how best to show a girl some lovin'. Some of those tips
were questionable when I think about it now."

"Well, do the rest of the tips work then?" Rosé asked, despite herself.

Lisa grinned. "Well, I don't seem to be doing too badly so far, I mean, here we are. So I'd say yeah,
yeah they do."

"Lucky for you," Rosé breathed as she leaned in to kiss Lisa again, this time pulling her close from
the waist, heedless of the heat that surrounded them.

>

Jennie lounged on the mat besides Jisoo, surrounded by all the food Jisoo had gotten, as much as
her arms could carry.

There were ramen and mandu and baked eggs and corn on the cob and noodle buckets and all
manners of snack packets. Jennie had feared Jisoo would trip, or that everything would fall out of
her clutches on her way back but thankfully, Jisoo had survived the trip back to their designated
corner in one piece.

She had refused any help, citing that other people might take their spot if Jennie didn't park herself
there.

Indeed, a group of elderly women with toad-like faces had been eyeing the vacant area and now sat
several steps away, shooting disparaging glances their way every time Jisoo laughed or told some
joke. They also tittered and clicked their tongues whilst they watched Jisoo waddle back and forth
as she ferried enough food to feed a sizeable army.

Jennie almost got up to tell them to mind their damn business but she didn't want any trouble and
with any luck, Jisoo hadn't heard them as she prattled happily about any subject that struck her
fancy.

Jennie nodded at the old women politely before very pointedly turning her back on them whilst she
and Jisoo ate, doing her best to ignore the hushed whispers that erupted before she had even turned
away. Her ears grew warm but Jennie focused on Jisoo and soon forgot about their disagreeable
neighbours.

Being both ravenous, they opted to go ahead and dine without waiting for Rosé and Lisa—there
was no way of contacting them, and no way of knowing how longer it would take them to
complete the tour of the jjimjilbang.

"Jendeukie, how do you crack the eggs?" Jisoo asked, pulling Jennie from her thoughts.

Jennie blinked. "Uh, I just tap them on the plate until the crack and then shell them. Why?"

Jisoo smiled airily as she picked up an egg with flourish.

"This is how I crack the eggs," Jisoo said confidently and before Jennie could stop her, she
smashed it against the side of her head.

"I think you cracked your skull, not the egg," Jennie sighed when Jisoo howled in pain and
dropped the intact egg to hold her head in her hands.

"Ow-w-w-w," Jisoo whimpered. "That's a really hard egg."

Jennie sighed again but reached out to gingerly massage her head.

"It usually works," Jisoo sniffed.

"I'm sure it does," Jennie soothed. She had to fight the grin threatening to erupt all over face
because pouting Jisoo was adorable, but lethal for her heart.

The flurry of annoying titters and disapproving clucking that erupted with Jisoo's questionable
method to crack the egg had subsided but Jennie was still very aware of the piercing beady eyes
trained on them intently.

She decided to keep rubbing the hurt spot in silence after offering the invalid her own shelled egg,
which Jisoo sulkily accepted and munched on as she lay draped across Jennie's lap, both of them
watching the hum of activity that surrounded them while they waited for Rosé and Lisa to show
up.

"Jen?"

"Mhm?"

"What are you thinking?"

"Nothing much. Why?"

Jisoo squinted up at her. "I thought you looked distracted. Is it because of Jinyoung?"

"Amongst other things," Jennie conceded. There was no evading Jisoo's sharp eyes.

"I promise, I won't fall for him or anything like they do in K-dramas. We've been over this."

They had indeed hashed out details of how to go about arranging a meeting, preferably in an
unromantic setting close to Jisoo's home, and with Jennie possibly lurking around for any sign of
trouble.

"Chu, I trust you, don't worry," Jennie reassured absently. "It's him I don't trust."

Jisoo touched her hand, bringing her attention back to her. Jennie's ears turned hot when she heard
muttered slurs behind her coupled by titters. She nearly pulled her hand away but fought the urge.

"Ignore them."

Jennie looked down at Jisoo. "What?"

"The halmeoni clique. Ignore them," Jisoo said softly, gripping her hand tighter, almost pleadingly.
"They're not worth it. They won't cause any trouble." Though she was still smiling, Jennie noted
the light in her eyes had dimmed. It pained Jennie more than she cared to admit.

"You heard them?"

"Since they sat down next to us," Jisoo nodded. "Just ignore them Jen. It will pass."

Jennie frowned, unable to resist from turning around and throwing the offending group a dirty
scowl before facing Jisoo again.

"Is this what it's is like...being out?" she asked hesitantly, remembering Jisoo's pinched expression
when they spoke with Seulgi and Irene at Ella's concert, remembering Jisoo's warning she offered
Lisa and Rosé about keeping their relationship under wraps. "Are people always gonna be bugging
you if you so much as indicate that you're not straight?"

Jisoo grimaced. "I've had worse. I'm sure Lisa can relate?"

Jennie shook her head, frowning. "I never really noticed, but then again, she never really strayed
far away from our friend group, or was very open about her preferences unless it was with her
groupies. I had no idea..."

It wasn't as if she and Jisoo were being forthcoming about their relations either, but their closeness
seemed abnormal to the old women.

Jennie wondered if this was how it was always going to be now, being judged simply for existing,
being held in suspicion if she appeared more close to a girl and shared more intimate skinship than
what was considered acceptable.

She snorted at her train of thought. For heaven's sake, everyone had been naked in the tub, bathing
together in close proximity! Why was it that all of a sudden their actions were placed under a
microscope and scrutinised, even as they sat fully clothed?

"Do you suppose they saw us?" Jennie said, trying to be reasonable. "We aren't doing anything that
friends wouldn't do."

Jisoo shook her head. "I was careful. These aren't the same group that was with us in the bath
either. Besides, they're probably just pissed we took their spot so they're clucking about that."

"They keep hissing and huffing whenever you touch me," Jennie said thoughtfully. "I think they
know, somehow. They got a better gaydar than mine for sure."

Jisoo turned serious. "Hey. I get it. If it bothers you, we can leave," she said quietly, almost
timidly. "I'll carry the food."

Jennie stared at her before she huffed out a laugh. "What? You think I'm scared of them? Scared
they'll make me rethink about being with you?"

She shook her head vehemently. "Chu, I'm not gonna give up on you or our spot because of some
bullying grannies who think they know it all. They're welcome to try and chase me off but I'm not
doing anything wrong. In fact, I have a good mind to tell them to screw off! Bunch of annoying,
ignorant, prejudiced, spiteful old—"

"Jennie," Jisoo said calmly as she sat up, "it's not worth picking a fight over. Leave it."

Jennie bit her lip, on the verge of saying more before she relented with a sigh. "Fine. I'm too full to
keep arguing, I feel a food coma coming on."

Jisoo chuckled, the sound restoring Jennie's good spirits.

"Me too. If I wasn't so full, I might have tried messing with the delightful grannies myself," Jisoo
snickered. "A cup of hot chocolate over their heads, a noodle accident staining their clothes, some
sticky sikyhe to ruin their day. The possibilities are endless."

"I thought you said no picking fights?" Jennie said with a raised eyebrow.

Jisoo smirked wickedly. "Yeah, but I didn't say not to mess with them, did I? Can't have myself
lose my touch now, I still have a reputation to maintain as a weirdo."

"I suppose...?" Jennie decided not to question it further. As long as Jisoo was back to smiling again,
she was satisfied.

Jisoo's face softened and she flopped down to lie next to Jennie, propped up on her elbows. Her
eyes were trained on Jennie and Jennie alone, making a familiar heat creep up her spine.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing." Jisoo shook her head and to Jennie's surprise, she looked almost shy. "It's just...nice to
finally be able to be myself, with someone who is themselves and who has my back, out in public."

Jennie was speechless for a few seconds before she carefully found Jisoo's hand and hooked her
own little finger around it in a silent show of solidarity, just as she had done at Ella's concert. This
time, there was more than just sympathy laced into the gesture.

This time, Jennie was standing with Jisoo.

Jennie still didn't say anything, but Jisoo's eyes sparkled in understanding.

"Thank you, Jendeukie. It means so much to me," Jisoo said gratefully and Jennie's heart kicked in
her chest.

"Yo Jisoo!"

They looked up and were greeted with Lisa's energetic waving as she and Rosé approached. Rosé
had already gotten her hands on some sikhye and was blissfully slurping the sweet rice drink as she
hung on to Lisa's arm, still wearing her sheep head towel.

"When do we tell them about Jinyoung?" Jisoo wondered. "We gotta let them know, right?"

Jennie wavered, her eyes sliding to Rosé who laughed at something Lisa was saying, throwing her
head back without a care.

"Wait till they sit. But don't...don't mention anything about us," she said, nodding at Rosé
meaningfully. "I don't know how much Rosé knows yet. I don't want her...getting worried."

"Roger, Jendeuk. My lips are sealed," Jisoo promised.

>

Chanyeol scribbled furiously in his notepad.

Sooman had given him so much, more than he could possibly had dreamt of.

At first, he had been inclined to suspect that his old mentor had been trying to snare him with some
concocted story but the level of information that went into building Sooman's story of Tiger King
could not have been the creation of some lonely incarcerated former policeman.
Chanyeol had listened through it all, sceptical at first before his instincts started piecing together
information, intent on catching Sooman in his lies.

But it was no lie—Lee Sooman had been in the eye of the storm, at the height of Tiger King's
operations, and he knew far more than Chanyeol could have hoped.

"Regular people aren't supposed to know about Tiger King," Sooman said.

"Why?"

Sooman raised an eyebrow. "Think, like I taught you."

Chanyeol bristled but knew Sooman was right—to truly understand, he had to figure things and
come up with his own conclusions, not being spoon-fed information like a gullible child.

"If the general public knew about Tiger King, there would be chaos," Chanyeol said slowly. "The
people that owned him and used his services needed to protect what they had and keep it a secret if
they wanted to keep things working in their favour."

Sooman nodded, sober. "Tiger King was a key player in shaking up the market back in the late
2000's whenever he struck."

"How? I thought he was just an assassin?"

"An freelance assassin for the wealthy, criminal or otherwise," Sooman said heavily. "Tell me
Chanyeol, what do you think happens when the few elite people at the top of the food chain start
fighting to be the top dog in the industry and wield a weapon capable of taking out your
opponent?"

Chanyeol couldn't stop his eyes from widening as Sooman nodded. "All those rich ruthless people
were all pitted against each other, trying to take out smaller competition by planning a few well-
placed murders that would destroy the foundations of a corporation and weaken it, allowing them
to take over and stake a foothold in the market.

The beauty of it is that, to our knowledge, anyone that could afford Tiger King could employ him.
One day you could be paying to take out competition, the next you're the target yourself.

Tiger King also took out some mafia gangs. Whoever Tiger King was, there was no side for them.
I only knew that they refused to harm any political people in the Blue House. Probably would get
too much exposure and attract attention if they did, and upset the whole system. They wanted
ordered, controlled chaos, not widespread instability."

"How do you know all this anyway? Did you ever...." The question hung between them but
Sooman looked Chanyeol directly in the eye.

It was the ever-present integrity that had Chanyeol grudgingly respect his old mentor—when
directly questioned, Sooman didn't lie. If he looked you in the eye, you knew you were going to be
dished nothing but the blunt, sometimes brutal and earth-shattering, truth.

It had been that way when Chanyeol accused him of being a sex-slave trafficker.

"No, I never was involved thankfully. My crimes never crossed over to murder, but I did hear
rumours," Sooman said softly. His pinched eyes indicated the passage of time—he had been talking
and telling Chanyeol every detail he could remember from his time working on catching Tiger
King.
"We know about Tiger King's methods of execution because of patterns. Additionally, a couple
terrified business owners came to us for protection. In return they told us what they knew, which
wasn't much, mind you. A lot of it sounds far-fetched and there were conflicting points that we
couldn't verify, thereby leaving us more confused.

However, we knew enough to understand that this could be a matter of national security, and that
the issue was possibly bigger than it looked. We suspect the organisation behind Tiger King had
international help. We didn't dismiss the possibility of terrorism but it was never taken to the next
level of commitment. I doubt that even the Blue House were aware."

Chanyeol cleared his throat. "And what about these business owners? How many where there?"

Sooman lowered his eyes. "All five of them were taken out, despite our best efforts," he confessed
quietly. "It was maddening but what was more infuriating is that they were taken out by common
sniper assassins. We caught them but they killed themselves before we could extract anything
useful. We never could find out if they had been affiliated with Tiger King or else hired privately."

"Where can I find the files for all this?"

"You won't. It's classified military grade information."

"What?"

"Chanyeol, we're talking national security here. You think you, a mere Detective, can just log into
the main database mainframe and find this sort of information? Be reasonable. It won't even be
accessible on there."

Chanyeol bristled at the patronising answer. "Fine, how do you know all about this military grade
classified information then, if you weren't in cahoots with your criminal friends?" he said
sarcastically. "The friends that helped you ferry around thousands of
innocent children and women like fucking cattle? What kind of depravity could push you to do that
to the most vulnerable section of society that depended on you for protection?"

He gritted his teeth, fighting to tamper his anger as Sooman only looked at him, pained.

"Chanyeol..."

"Answer," Chanyeol snarled, "the damn question."

He would never forget nor forgive Sooman, not after he had looked up to him and practically
worshipped the ground he walked on, not after he had defended his mentor against early
accusations and was forced to face the same humiliation as his closest apprentice.

Not after he was basically informed how his close association with his mentor damaged his
chances of climbing up the ranks faster, and he had to watch his other colleagues scale up easily
over the years, leaving him behind in the dust, all his hard work for naught.

"I was the Assistant Deputy to the Senior Superintendent General. I was personally in charge of
the task force that was checking in with those persons that entered the witness protection program
and I was briefed alongside my superiors by some top military brass, warned not to open our
mouths. I was given clearance to access what information they have, which was scant at best, but it
was better than nothing."

"Couldn't you have grabbed a bunch of other business people and interrogated them?"
"This is a matter of stealth. It could possibly endanger innocent people and alert Tiger King that
we're on to his game if we randomly started pulling in people into our investigation. It was a
delicate operation."

"You still ended up with a cold trail," Chanyeol pointed out.

Sooman sighed. "The military didn't act fast enough and didn't actually invest much effort into
tracking Tiger King. They had more pressing problems up north with hostile behaviour from
Pyongyang. We had several ongoing international military operations trying to find out more about
Tiger King, but these were dismantled when nothing was dug up. The top brass deemed it a failure
and withdrew funding as Tiger King's appearances faded and the panic subsided somewhat. It's
honestly a miracle the media didn't pick up on it. That would have been a PR nightmare."

Chanyeol tapped his pen, restless. "So that's it? A closed case."

His former mentor watched him intently. "It's my turn to ask questions now. Why do you want to
know about him Chanyeol? Where did you even get the name? It's dangerous to even know of his
existence."

Chanyeol paused, debating with himself before he settled on the truth. "Word on the street is that
he's back. People are looking for him and there's a bounty involved. Big, big money. Crooks and
their mothers are mobilising to snuff him out. They seem to think he's here, hidden somewhere in
Seoul."

Sooman paled. "Not again."

"There's more." Chanyeol leaned over the table. "I have a hunch that finding Tiger King could be
the key to bringing down some top criminals that have been getting away with everything in our—
my—city."

His eyes burned with feverish intensity. "You know who I'm talking about. Yang Hyunsuk seems
to be involved with this Tiger King fellow particularly closely, and very eager to get his hands on
him. I might be finally able to wrangle him if I find Tiger King. He's gone unchecked for too long."

He banged the table with his fist, almost choking on the sudden violent hatred that seared through
his being as Yang's scarred face surfaced in his mind, sneering at him.

Sooman watched the outburst in silence, his face creased with concern. Chanyeol hated that
expression, because his old mentor had no right to look worried about him, not after he betrayed his
trust.

Chanyeol had planned to pressure Sooman into giving him information. Little did he know how
fast that resolution faded away. He was just a young idealistic trainee again, blindly following in
Sooman's steps, looking to him for guidance.

He hated that feeling.

"There's possibly one person that could help you," Sooman said quietly. He rubbed his eyes tiredly
but his gaze was steady when he blinked at Chanyeol again.

"He was not with the top military officials, but he was ranked higher than your average sergeant
within the hierarchy. The military won't give you clearance of any sort to investigate further unless
you're of a certain rank, as well as a soldier. They can be cagey and extremely bureaucratic with
that kind of classified information. But this guy I'm talking about was one of the main campaigners
on the Tiger King case. I think he was a colonel. He urged his superiors to keep searching and he
believed it was of vital important to get a hold of Tiger King. He even led many of the operations
abroad, searching ceaselessly."

Sooman shook his head, his shoulders slumping. "His work was not taken seriously and when they
kept running into blanks and dead ends, he was ridiculed for all his talk about Tiger King being a
super soldier produced in a lab. In the end, he was excused from duties."

"What? A lab experiment?" Chanyeol's eyebrows shot up. "You didn't mention that before."

"Nobody took him seriously. His superiors didn't believe him and I was not privy to know what
evidence he provided to support such outlandish claims. I just heard rumours."

"You never talked to this guy?"

"The top brass discharged him from the military with early retirement because they deemed the
whole operation an embarrassment and a failure, a waste of money. They wanted to keep it hushed
up. He was considered a disgrace. Last I heard, he had moved to New Zealand."

It wasn't much, Chanyeol thought, but it was a start nevertheless. "What's the guy's name?"

"He goes by Hwangssabu."

"Hwangssabu huh?" Chanyeol was sure he heard that name somewhere. It floated tantalisingly out
of reach. Absently, he started flipping through the file he had in front of him.

"What is it?" Sooman said. "Did something happen to him?"

Chanyeol didn't answer but his brain was whizzing at top speed, searching urgently for the name.

"He's connected to Yang," Chanyeol said shortly as he flicked through reports and papers hastily, "I
just need to check something."

"Yang? When? How?"

"I said I'm checking," Chanyeol barked before he went back to scanning Yang's reports going back
years.

"Do you know where Yang got his scar?" Officer Kim asked. "It was no gang fight. Tiger King was
there."

A light bulb flashed in Chanyeol's head as the memory played in his mind. He skipped all the case
files and went straight to the report about the night Yang earned his dreadful scar.

"Found him," Chanyeol said grimly as he selected a single piece of paper out of the file and passed
it to Sooman.

A copy of a death certificate with Hwangssabu's name on it.

Sooman didn't bother hiding his distress. "No...how?" he whispered. "I've missed too much..."

"Four years ago, seems like our man had been caught at the wrong place and the wrong time when
a gang fight supposedly broke out," Chanyeol said, skimming through the accompanying report.
"He was supposedly returning home from work, according to his daughters, when he supposedly
got caught in the cross-fire."

"That's a lot of speculation," Sooman said with narrowed eyes. "Is the report not clear?"
Chanyeol huffed with frustration. "It's more like there's a lot of holes and not enough information
compiled. The whole thing reeks of incompetence."

"Hang on, he married?" Sooman asked. "He had kids? How old are they?"

"Huh?"

"You mentioned daughters. Did they give a statement?"

"That's one of the things that isn't clear," Chanyeol said grimly. "Everything is very slapdash,
there isn't even any proper declaration, and I bet there wasn't even any autopsy done!"

"He always struck me as the lone wolf type," Sooman said, more to himself than to Chanyeol.
"Now he had kids? That's quite a leap."

Chanyeol referred to the document again, scanning for further information. "His remains were
cremated and scattered at sea so even if he was exhumed, nothing can be gleaned from an
autopsy." His ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "It's like someone was trying to cover his
tracks."

"They let slip something important though."

"What?"

Sooman only looked at him, reminding him to think with his own head. "Don't let your frustration
get the better of you Chanyeol. Settle down and think."

This time Chanyeol heaved a great sigh and obeyed without further prompting. His gaze skimmed
over the report again.

"The daughters," he said at last. "They're the connection."

Sooman nodded, pleased. "I think they're old enough to be able to talk with you. Does it mention
their names? Anything at all? Maybe an address?"

"There's not even the address for Hwangssabu," Chanyeol said grimly. "But...I do have names for
the daughters. Just their first names though. Jennie and Lalisa. They were the last people to see him
alive. They gave the statement about his usual daily routine."

Sooman raised an eyebrow. "Foreign names."

"That's what I thought too."

"Perhaps he had a thing for those, because he lived in New Zealand."

"Perhaps."

They were silent for a few beats, each man lost to his musings.

"Why does the report have you doubting that a gang fight took place?" Sooman said at last.

"One of my officers seems to be a fan of Tiger King and follows conspiracy theory forums. He
thinks it wasn't a gang fight that Yang was involved in when he got this scar." He showed Yang's
photo to Sooman, who took it and frowned.

"That's new. I don't remember ever seeing it."

"You were incarcerated when it happened. And unfortunately I was not on that particular case at
the time. Otherwise I would certainly have done a better job at documenting the facts." Chanyeol
sniffed. "No wonder the media holds us in such low contempt if this is how shoddy things are."

"Well, now you can act on rectifying them," Sooman pointed out. He tapped Yang's photo and
Hwangssabu's death certificate. "Remember what I used to say, any lead is a good lead unless
proven otherwise, no matter how strange or unbelievable it might look. There's always a logical
explanation buried somewhere and maybe this is the case. Hwangssabu being on site where Yang
allegedly had contact with Tiger King...something feels fishy. Nonetheless,going by the dearth of
information you have, I'd still say there might be a connection."

"I'll take it. It's more than what I had when I walked in earlier." Chanyeol took the photos and
documents back, slipped them into the file and closed it. "I might try to pursue this link and
investigate those sisters, if I have time."

"A lot of cases piling up?" Sooman said sympathetically.

"Yeah. They all seem be singular, stand-alone crimes but I think they're all connected as well. But
they take time to untangle and I can't—"

He stiffened when he remembered who he was talking with and quickly pulled up his steely
exterior, clearing his throat as he stood up. "Well that will be all for now, Lee. Thank you for your
co-operation. I suppose a small reward for your services to the state is in order. Nothing too
extravagant, you understand."

Sooman smiled faintly, clasping his hands together sheepishly. "I don't suppose I could have some
whiskey? It gets boring and I haven't touched a drop of alcohol in a while."

"I'm sure that can be arranged," Chanyeol said grudgingly, remembering his mentor's fondness for
liquor.

Sooman beamed. "Thanks m'boy. And best of luck."

>

Chanyeol stepped outside the facility, barely noticing his surroundings as he churned over two
names burned into his mind's eye. He could still see the words, tracing them mentally, the letters
stamped in black ink on white paper, the tantalising mystery of their identities sucking him in the
longer he thought about them.

Jennie and Lalisa.

Jennie. Lalisa.

The missing link. The hidden connection.

The key to bringing down Yang Hyun-suk once and for all.
 Conversations

previously: jenchulichaeng had fun at the jjimjilbang, jensoo called jinyoung (offscreen), rosie is
working extra nights to make up for her refusal to bring Yang information about lisa, dahyun was
looking to move closer to Incheon to investigate Rkive.

warning: some mature stuff discussed, i guess

"Hurry up," Jennie hissed in between teasing nibbles to Jisoo's neck.

"I'm trying, I'm trying."

Jisoo fumbled with punching in the code, her forehead wrinkled since she had to input it a second
time because she was too distracted to focus. Jennie's sultry hums and wandering hands had Jisoo's
nerves frayed with the tremendous effort she exerted not to take Jennie right there in the corridor.

Then again, it might have nosy Soojoo back off for good. Jisoo had noticed her hovering close
recently, eyes narrowed filled with unspoken suspicions whenever they passed by.

As though reading her mind, Jennie took the opportunity to whisper: "Are we waiting for Soojoo to
show up?" she asked with a teasing lilt.

"Hell no," Jisoo said harshly as she redoubled her efforts, unaware of the brunette's grin.

Jennie and her exquisite sighs of satisfaction, her whimpers and throaty whines when pleasure tore
through her—those were for Jisoo's enjoyment only.

Both breathed out in relief when the door finally opened and they tumbled inside Jisoo's apartment.
Jennie kicked the door shut as she pounced on Jisoo and kissed her, hard.

But Jisoo recovered swiftly. She pushed Jennie up against the door as she trapped her hands above
their heads and kissed back furiously, hungry for her taste. They were two magnets pressing
together with no space in between, hot blood singing sharp with desire as Jennie struggled to yank
her hands free from Jisoo's grip but Jisoo didn't relent. Jennie felt her smirk against her mouth,
which maddened her all the more.

"Chu," Jennie moaned desperately.

Jisoo brought her hand down to caress Jennie's hip before hoisting her leg around her waist,
pressing their lower bodies even closer together. The increased friction had Jennie throw her head
back in pleasure, hitting the wood behind her with a hard thud, but she didn't notice, lost in her
pleasure as Jisoo chased her lips to seal the gap again.

"I could take you right here," Jisoo growled, making Jennie shiver at her husky voice. She looped
her free arm around Jisoo's neck, bringing her close.

"What's stopping you?" She whispered right in Jisoo's ear and was rewarded with a satisfying
groan.
Jisoo's movements turned frantic as she fumbled with the button of Jennie's shorts, Jennie's leg still
hooked around her waist. But Jennie didn't let her work—she clung to Jisoo with both arms looped
around her neck and hoisted herself to cling on to her waist.

"I think you'll work faster in bed," Jennie remarked.

Jisoo's eyes darkened and without another word she clasped Jennie securely to her body, turned and
tore through her apartment, waving hastily at a perplexed Dalgom as they shot past, Jennie's
giggles ringing clearly.

Once inside the bedroom, Jisoo made sure to shove the door shut with her hip and gently drop
Jennie on the bed. She hovered over the petite girl beneath her, mirroring her grin.

"Now, where were we?"

"I can help jog your memory," Jennie offered mischievously.

"I think I recall..." Jisoo's hands snagged on her waistband and tugged sharply, pulling off the
shorts in one go, tossing them aside. "They looked good on you. I'm glad you liked my present."

Jisoo had casually bought her an outfit that Jennie had been eyeing when they passed by a shop, as
well as a small makeup kit, having heard the stories of Jennie and Lisa trying on makeup samples
at the mall when younger.

Despite having a healthy amount of money left to spend, Jennie was still prone to stinginess when
it came to treating herself and withdrawing extra money outside of the budget she had worked out.

She had been hesitant at first, worried that Jisoo would think she was a gold digger if she started
accepting such presents regularly, but Jisoo pointed out that as girlfriends, they can spoil each
other. And when Jennie pointed out that she didn't have any stable income to do that long-term,
Jisoo took her hand and simply said: "your time is all I need, Jendeuk. No amount of presents can
substitute for that."

Jisoo was watching her with that fond look in her eyes that made Jennie bite her lip, suddenly shy.

"You didn't have to."

"I wanted to. You deserve some spoiling, and I'm happy you let me. You can pull off anything and
make it look good. I mean it," Jisoo said sincerely, caressing her face, "especially now that we're
getting more food in you. You're drop dead model gorgeous, Jendeuk."

Jennie's cheeks and hips had swollen, lending her a far more shapely figure now that she had
money from Lisa's Purge win to buy more than salads and noodles, and was also eating heartily
anytime she was over at Jisoo's. Jennie blushed but couldn't stop her smile from widening.

"So your whole plan is to fatten me up? Is this some hidden kink of yours, hmm?"

"What? No!" Jisoo yelped, appalled. "I'm just glad you're looking healthier than ever, not that you
didn't look beautiful before don't get me wrong but sometimes you had me worried but I didn't
want to butt in and make you think any less of yourself, I like you just how you are but—"

"Chu, I'm teasing. I know it's not like that, I know it's because you care," Jennie soothed in between
giggles. "Come here."

Jisoo gladly leaned down to kiss her, eyes fluttering as she savoured Jennie's lips closing over her
own.

"The shorts look good on you but you know something?" Jisoo said with a smirk when they parted.
"They look way better on my bedroom floor."

She smiled to hear Jennie's little giggles. Jisoo dipped down to kiss her again, letting herself be
consumed by those intense brown eyes that sparkled.

"One of these days I'll get a proper laugh out of you, Jendeuk."

Jennie merely grinned in challenge and pulled Jisoo down from her neck. "I look forward to it."

>

This was the first time in days since their steamy jjimjilbang encounter that Jennie was staying
over, and she couldn't get rid of Lisa fast enough before she fell into bed with Jisoo. Luckily, Lisa
was all too eager to spend time with Rosé and Ella before the former left for her night job so
slipping out of the apartment unnoticed with Jisoo was easy enough.

Jennie had been a bundle of nervous energy as she fidgeted in Rosé's apartment, very much aware
of Jisoo's secret smile, brimming with heated promise. But she wasn't the only one impatient to
leave: Jennie noticed Jisoo crossing her legs every so often, her eyes so piercing that Jennie
shivered, excitement building up in her core.

She resisted the urge to send Jisoo a teasing text—the others would notice something was up if
they caught them texting and smiling at their phones.

Still, she settled on biting her lip ever so subtly and running her hand through her hair, ever aware
of Jisoo's smouldering gaze. It made Jennie relish this newfound power.

Jennie had transformed from a demure, repressed girl into a horny, guileless seductress. But with
Jisoo, she felt free to nourish this dormant side to herself and revel in it.

Her libido showed no signs of slowing down, evidently making up for the last few barren years,
and Jennie had zero misgivings about this latest turn of events.

If anything, it was welcome—relinquishing control after so long was like finally releasing a rubber
band that stretched taut, only there were no consequences once it was launched. Jisoo was a safe
place to explore and discover more about herself and her burgeoning sexuality.

They had spent hours talking on this particular topic the few times that Jennie had been over, with
Jisoo pulling up information as they cuddled in bed and watched videos or discussed some points
that Jennie struggled to piece together.

Every stumbling block was an opportunity to learn, and Jisoo was her guide, rewarding her with
sweet kisses and gentle reminders. Jennie would then relay what she learned back to Lisa, who was
happy to impart her own experience to help Jennie.

Though she was on some level aware of certain sexualities, there were yet as many that she hadn't
heard of before that raised a whole spectrum of discussions. A whole new world of possibilities
opened up to her and Jennie found herself immersed, debating on what label fit her better.

"Maybe I'm bisexual like Rosé," Jennie would often muse, pondering her sexuality. "Or
demisexual. Or some kind of graysexual. But there's so many people in the world, how can I know
if I wouldn't like a non-binary person or a trans person? I never met such a person before. So
maybe I'm pansexual. Or panromantic? How about omnisexual? There's so many..."

"You don't have to label anything for now, or at all," Jisoo reassured her each time, "it's okay to not
know entirely. It's a journey with no deadline."

Jennie nodded. "When did you know you were gay?"

"Everyone's experience is different but for me, we had this sweet maid at home. She was still
young, a teen really. And I remember being very captivated by her. It helped that she was nice to
me too. I was ten, always stuck inside the house since I was homeschooled. She'd sneak me treats
from the kitchen."

Jisoo smiled as she reminisced. "I remember being so lonely when she wasn't around and then
being happy when she was. You could say she was my first crush. I was still a kid, but I made her a
valentines card once and even managed to sneak some of my mother's fancy expensive chocolates
to give to her..."

Her smile dropped. "They thought she had stolen the chocolates. I tried telling them it was me but
they wouldn't hear. Nobody believed me. The girl, she didn't blame me either. Just gave me a hug
and said she loved my card before she left. I dreamed she was my hero knight for many days after,
rescuing me like a princess from the high castle prison and of course, we kissed too. A knight gotta
kiss the princess."

"Wow."

"I know," Jisoo chuckled.

"Sorry about the girl being booted out unfairly though."

"Can't help that. I never heard from her again either," Jisoo sighed. "How about you? Did you ever
think you could be not-straight?"

"Me?" Jennie shrugged. "Up until you came to the Vault, I never even considered I could be
anything but straight."

"Ha! I knew it, I knew you liked my pickup line, that one's a killer! It brings in all the ladies!" Jisoo
said triumphantly.

Jennie didn't have the heart to tell her that she still cringed at the memory, because Jisoo grinning
happily was an adorable sight and too precious to ruin.

>

"You know, I've been thinking we could watch a thriller tonight," Jisoo mused as they lay now
amongst the rumpled bedclothes after an afternoon of passionate lovemaking. She smiled when the
lump wrapped in the sheet next to her didn't stir.

It had been a good couple of rounds before Jennie finally fell asleep, sated and exhausted. To her
credit, she had plenty stamina, and it was impressive that she lasted multiple rounds, but Jisoo was
far more experienced.

However, Jisoo was certain that some more time was all it would take before Jennie would match
her in endurance—she was strong, she learned fast and she didn't back down easily from
challenges.
Jisoo couldn't help but smile at the thought of many more days to come waking up next to Jennie
like this—the girl had wormed into her heart and made a home there. She fervently hoped Jennie
would stay for a long, long, long time, maybe even forever.

Jisoo leaned over to kiss her uncovered shoulder and patted the mass of hair strewn across the
pillow before she got up, picked up her discarded clothes, dressed and left to cook a late dinner.

She was done with the sauce and had just finished straining the pasta when a yawn announced
Jennie's arrival in the kitchen. Jisoo's heart gave a happy little kick seeing her girlfriend had pulled
on a shirt from her drawers and let her eyes shamelessly feast on the vision standing in her kitchen.

Her girlfriend, her secret girlfriend. Jisoo stifled a gleeful squeal.

Jennie walked up to the kitchen island in just the oversized shirt, running a hand through loose,
tousled hair and fighting the sleep from her eyes as she stretched and let out a satisfied grin.

"Hey Chu."

Her bare smooth legs made Jisoo's mouth water before she remembered she was still holding a
boiling pot and hastily turned away to set it down, lest she dropped their dinner and splashed
scalding pasta water on herself.

"Hi, you're just in time sleepyhead," Jisoo teased as she fetched plates. "Hungry?"

"Starving." Jennie sniffed the air. "Mmm, something smells good."

Dalgom wagged his tail as she lifted him in her lap and scratched behind his ears. "Or
scrumptious, as Lisa would say."

She surveyed the plate Jisoo set down in front of her with interest. It contained a mountain of
spaghetti smothered with shrimp sauce.

"This looks delicious," Jennie complimented and her mouth tugged up at the corner. "But I better
not hear you complain about fish breath, later..."

"Ouch, you think I'd sink so low?" Jisoo laughed merrily as she joined her at the table. "If you must
know, I was actually thinking of watching a movie, before."

"A thriller, I heard you in bed." Jennie swallowed down a mouthful of pasta and a moan of delight
escaped her throat. "Chu, this is incredible!"

"Rosé's not the only one who can serve up a mean dish," Jisoo said smugly as Jennie devoured her
spaghetti.

"Aww is someone jealous because Lisa wouldn't stop gushing about her cooking?" Jennie teased in
between bites of food. "Well, you're my favourite cook if it makes you feel better."

Jisoo beamed. "At your service Jendeuk and thank you, it does. So, you're down for a movie?"

"Sure. What's it called?"

"Dead Men Tell No Tales."

"Sounds ominous."

"Oh it is! It's got a spine-chilling mystery, which is why I recommend you grab a plushy, you'll
need it." Jisoo's eyes glittered when Jennie groaned.

"Chu not this again."

Jisoo had been asking her to choose a different plushy each time. Jisoo would pout, just as she did
now, and Jennie felt her resolve crumble as easily as a sand castle. She didn't want to hurt Jisoo's
feelings so brushing aside any silliness, she'd sigh and follow a skipping Jisoo to the plushy room
and then pluck off the nearest plushy as Jisoo told her all about her the soft toy she had chosen.

It had become kind of a ritual and despite herself, Jennie couldn't help but warm to the idea of
having a special routine with Jisoo. It cemented the fact that whatever they had going on was
solidifying into something tangible, something potentially long-lasting, and Jennie liked the sound
of that very much.

Girlfriends sounded nice to think about, even though they hadn't even talked about calling each
other any endearments or giving each other pet names or even officially calling each other
girlfriends, since they were taking things slowly and enjoying spending time together, with the
unspoken understanding that they would talk about it whenever they felt like it.

What she liked most about Jisoo was that the other girl was letting her lead and meeting her in the
middle whenever she asked, giving her the freedom to navigate and explore her new reality. Jennie
knew that whatever they needed to talk about would come up in conversation naturally, like water
flowing down a mountain in summer.

Jisoo was blasting her with puppy eyes too now so without further ado, Jennie put her plate in the
dishwasher and followed her skipping girlfriend to the plushy room.

>

The meeting had gone smoothly, too smoothly for Rosé's liking.

Jay-J stood by, stealing furtive glances between them while Yang merely perused her list of
monthly expenses, grunted, made small remarks about her gigs and what he expected of her,
reminded her to toe the line and confirmed he had once more lifted monitoring on Ella.

"I was frankly pissed that you opted to lie instead of being more direct with me, Rosé," Yang said,
puffing on his disgusting cigarette. He blew a plume of smoke and Rosé suppressed the urge to
snap off his hand. "I offered you integrity and honesty, but you turned your back at the first
opportunity to shirk your duties."

Rosé didn't trust herself to answer back and rile him up. She wanted him to be calm when she asked
about Seokjin. "I apologised, and I apologise again now, but I had been tied up with a previous
engagement."

"Partying is not an applicable engagement."

"I got that now," Rosé said dryly. "Jotted it on my not-to-do list."

"Hmmm...I suppose amends were made, you certainly have been pulling in more favourable
numbers with your gigs."

"It's summer. More parties, more people are after product."

"Jay-Z reported that some clients were even more enterprising than usual too, and you were
allowing them."
Rosé swallowed the bile that rose up her throat at the memory of how she had gone above and
beyond enticing Yang's roster of clientele with her old bag of seduction tricks to try and have them
work more favourably with her when offering deals and brokering offers on Yang's behalf.

Two of the more sleazy regulars—Doni and Coni she called them in her head, because she couldn't
care less about their names—had gotten more daring the more she allowed them to get close.

Jay-Z was lately more sober and alert, probably chastened by Jay-P's departure but Rosé always
signalled him to stand by and let the disgusting duo paw and leer at her to their hearts' content for a
few moments.

She could handle their breaths stinking of liquor and their suggestive comments, the lust oozing
out of their pores and their probing hands sliding down her body in plain view of everyone, if it
meant they would agree to her deals, if it meant Yang was happy, if it meant she and Ella and Lisa
were safe.

Her heart squeezed every time she thought of Lisa finding out what she did at her night job, how
she was practically cheating on her girlfriend while Lisa innocently waited for her at home,
unaware how men touched her.

She tolerated it all by imagining it was Lisa's loving hands running down her thighs and gripping
her butt, but the illusion always shattered too easily because the men possessed none of Lisa's
gentleness or care and their cologne was too invasive, their reek of sweat too pungent for her to
stay immersed for long.

With a flick of her hand, Jay-Z would be at her side, firmly brushing off the men's disgusting
advances and fending off their complaints with a cool glare. She would almost weep with relief,
her nerves shattered by the time she made it back home, eager to wash off the filth she imagined
clinging to her skin, sloughing it off with scalding hot water to make sure any trace of them was
gone before Lisa touched her.

She did all this to appear in her boss's good graces, enough for him to hopefully mellow down and
forgive her shortcoming.

And now that Lisa was in the equation, she had to be even more careful.

Rosé pursed her lip. "Yang...sir, I wanted to ask you...something."

"If you're taking in another cat, that's a no," he said flatly.

"Oh no it's nothing like that." She hesitated, taking back the papers she showed him. "It's...Seokjin.
You remember him?"

"The one who harassed you. Tall, lampy boy, too good-looking that it went to his head, and talked
like a chatterbox," Yang grunted. "What about him?"

Rosé took a deep breath. "The night of my...misdemeanour, I was attacked. And I have reason to
believe it was Seokjin." She was watching Yang carefully as she spoke but he never gave anything
away, mirroring her wary eyes with a calculated expression.

"Really," he said thoughtfully. "You seem less worse for tear."

She gritted her teeth. He hadn't confirmed, but he hadn't denied or laughed, or insisted she had
hallucinated.
"I-I thought he was dead."

Yang fixed his eyes on her, his scar dreadful. "Did I ever say so?"

Biting her lip, Rosé had to admit that while Yang had indeed said he'd take care of him and Seokjin
never appeared again, her boss had never once said he killed him. That had been her own terror and
fear blinding her, jumping to conclusions without any proper basis for such a leap.

"W-well, where is he?"

Yang didn't answer. Instead, out of nowhere he asked: "Do you still think of your loverboy?"

"If by loverboy you mean Taehyung, then no," said Rosé flatly, tamping down the irritation that
flared and made her clench her fists. Yang was needling her, but she would go along. "He's not my
loverboy. I want nothing to do with him."

"He was absolutely devastated you wanted nothing to do with him. Went quite cuckoo in the head
if you recall."

"It's not my fault," Rosé said coldly. "He's responsible for his own actions. Me leaving him was no
excuse for harming other people."

This was one issue she never buckled down over whenever Yang tried attacking her: that she was
somehow responsible for Taehyung losing his mind and committing horrible crimes just because
he was so devastated, to borrow Yang's description, by her departure.

"Of course, of course, I never meant to imply that it was because of you. A man should be held
accountable for his actions, much like Seokjin and Jimin were," Yang said smoothly, as if to pacify
her. Rosé almost lifted an eyebrow—her boss was being very agreeable today but he was also a
snake. Bringing up Taehyung out of nowhere meant something.

"Now as you know, he was committed to an asylum."

When Rosé nodded silently, he went on. "But with the help of some friends, I interceded to have
authorities give him a second chance, so he was released from there." He had the faintest trace of a
gloat in his voice. "My friends can be very persuasive, you see."

The world seemed to fall out from under Rosé and she held her breath.

Yang waved his hand. "All my errant workers are sent to a special place of rehabilitation. It is not
taken lightly. You want such people to stay loyal without jeopardising operations and smearing
your reputation when they are traced back to you, of course. Such places will help straighten them
out. Think of it like an unofficial correctional facility."

He eyed her, mouth turning up into a sickening smile. "Taehyung ended up in there after he ran
amok. So did Seokjin. So did Jimin. So will any other of the Jays that don't toe the line."

Jay-J shifted uncomfortably, avoiding his boss's piercing gaze.

Meanwhile, Rosé could only stare in horror.

All this time she believed herself safe from her ex due to the fact that he was locked up behind high
walls that kept him away from her and the outside at large. Now it would seem he had been outside
of the asylum, hiding away in plain sight at some shady facility?
 Seokjin was in the same place. Something had happened in there that twisted him, disfigured him
into something unspeakable, almost inhuman.

Even if he didn't say, Yang was perfectly aware of what this supposed rehabilitation program did
for its residents. The quirk in his smirk told Rosé everything and made her break out in cold sweat
as fear mounted.

How had Seokjin been allowed out to roam free? Had his outing been approved by the relevant
administration? Had he escaped? Had they found him? Or was he still roaming around?

And if Taehyung was in the same place as Seokjin, would he also have undergone whatever
Seokjin had? Would he also be as monstrous? How safe was he to people around him?

Who knew if he'd follow in Seokjin's footsteps and find a way back to her and Ella?

Would he track her down, just like Seokjin did? The thought of Taehyung following Ella and
hurting her made the breath catch in Rosé's throat.

Who's to know what he'd do, especially if he finds Lisa? He had been possessive enough as it was,
snarling whenever a man glanced in her direction, even though he had no qualms with sidling up to
girls.

Fear snarled at her senses even as she struggled to stifle her true feelings. "H-How long will he stay
in there? Has...has Tae been in there all this time?"

"Haven't been keeping up," Yang shrugged, frustratingly vague. Rosé frowned.

"And...and Seokjin?"

"Same, no? If he's been on the mend and rehabilitating well, they'd notify me to see if I want to
employ him again. I suppose the same will go for your Taehyung."

"He's not mine. He's nothing to me. Not anymore." Rosé said again, deathly quiet.

Yang eyed her and Rosé thought she spied a flicker of glee in his gaze.

"Incidentally, I now recall asking if he was rehabilitated enough to rejoin my ranks. Quite recently
too." His scar looked uglier and harsher the longer Rosé stared, seething on the inside, unable to
stop herself from taking the bait.

"And?"

"Not rehabilitated enough. Could be better. Requires more observation, you know how these
doctor people speak." Yang waved his hand vaguely. "They gave me another rehabilitated Jay to
fill in the gaps in my workforce so, all's well when you've got a supply of labour. They did wonders
with him."

Rosé didn't trust herself to speak, her mind working very fast.

"Rosé, relax. I told you, Seokjin is still locked behind bars. Or at least he was as far as I know.
Whoever it was you encountered, it can't be him. If you truly want to see for yourself, why, I'd be
more than willing to show you around the facility and take you to meet our friend myself."

"No. Forget it," Rosé cut in as she stood up, exasperated with Yang's lack of cooperation. But then
again, what had she expected? Getting straight answers from the snake in front of her was less
likely than hell freezing over.

"So flippant," Yang observed. Rosé cursed herself inwardly and took up her usual meek
expression.

"I mean, thank you but it won't be necessary Yang, sir. You're probably right. It must have been
someone else."

"Good girl. Run along now, Jay-J will escort you and give you your money. I have business to take
care of." Yang waved, shooing her from the office. When Rosé chanced a glance back, she found
his piercing, calculating gaze on her. Yang Hyun-suk bared his teeth and she hurriedly turned
away, the wheels in her mind spinning.

Rosé followed hot on Jay-J's heel, certain of two things:

a) the man that attacked them had been Seokjin, 100% no doubt anymore;

b) Yang had sent him.

The question was....why?

>

When Rosé entered the apartment, she found Ella and Lisa curled up on the sofa, watching the
second Kung Fu Panda movie.

Rosé smiled. They had been spacing out the movies in the trilogy to allow for build up towards the
finale, per her suggestion.

The panda on screen looked defeated as it clung to a plank that moments earlier had been part of
the ship's hull, blasted to smithereens by cannons. The sky was red as blood. A tiger floated in the
water nearby, fur singed and looking similarly exhausted. Their enemy, a white crane, sneered and
gloated from high up on the prow of his armada as he surveyed the chaos before him.

"Oh no, is Po gonna make it?" Lisa said stricken, her eyes glued to the TV as she anxiously
chewed, clutching a fistful of popcorn. "He's gotta make it! He can't let Lord Shen win!"

"Ssssh," Ella shushed. "This is the good part!"

"Okay okay..."

Rosé quietly sneaked up to the sofa and leaned on the back, unable to stop a fond smile from
spreading across her face.

"How are my darlings doing? Can I have a kiss?"

"SSSSSHHH!" Lisa and Ella hissed together without turning around.

Rosé lifted her hands in surrender and backed away with a low chuckle. "Got it, I'll go shower
then."

They didn't reply and Rosé left with another laugh, the thoughts that plagued her on the drive back
pushed at bay for the moment.
Alone in the shower, they surged back to the surface even as Rosé closed her eyes and focused as
much as she could on the cheers she could hear from the living room to drive away the anxiety that
cloaked her heart.

But she couldn't help it. Yang's words replayed in her head, in what she took to be a thinly veiled
warning. Relaying that Taehyung was housed under the same roof as Seokjin seemed to be Yang's
way of warning her: what happened with Seokjin could happen again, this time with Taehyung, she
was sure of it.

It had to be the reason Yang brought him up in conversation, to nettle her, make sure she didn't
step out of line.

Yang had kept quiet about Taehyung all this time just to use him as ammunition when the
opportunity presented itself. It undermined Rosé's recent attempts in rebuilding her confidence, just
as exactly as Yang intended.

Because if Taehyung were indeed to find her, and Yang let him, did that mean she had finally
outlived her usefulness?

Was it even real? Was it all just a bluff to mess with her head? Was it a threat?

Questions and more questions piled up but finally Rosé took a deep breath as she turned off the
water and stepped out to towel herself dry.

She would worry about those questions tomorrow. Tonight, she wanted to focus on her girlfriend
and her daughter.

Instantly, she felt her nerves settle when she thought of the two people she held closest to her heart.
She pulled on a determined face and strode out of the bathroom, brushing her wet hair as she made
her way to the living room.

The movie had ended and Lisa was dutifully cleaning up the area of crumbs as Ella took the empty
popcorn bowl back to the kitchen, trailed by the kittens and Bori.

"Hey baby," Lisa called excitedly. She put aside the dustpan and rounded the sofa to envelope
Rosé in a hug, kissing her full on the lips.

Rosé melted, all worries vanishing as Lisa held her close, strong hands gripping her waist carefully
but firmly. She slid her arms around Lisa's neck and would have stayed there kissing her all night
weren't they rudely interrupted by their urgent need for air.

"Well, I could get used to this," Rosé smiled as she leaned into Lisa again with a giggle.

"Me too. How come you're home early? Not that I'm complaining," Lisa said hastily.

Usually, she arrived late, late enough for Lisa to be sleeping on the couch or else having already
retired to bed, on Rosé's insistence, so they didn't have much quality time to spend together.

Recently, Lisa had doggedly stayed awake waiting up for her, which warmed Rosé's heart. Both
would be tired—Lisa from her day of workout, Rosé from her job, so besides a few sleepy
goodnight kisses, they never stayed up for long enough to do anything together.

Being greeted with a proper kiss and hug rejuvenated Rosé.

"Well, it seemed like it would be a slow night. Boss told us part-timers to head out since there was
not much to do otherwise so, here I am. It's just this one time though, probably." The prepared lie
slipped out easily, a faint twinge of guilt being the only reminder of how wrong holding back from
Lisa was.

"Shame. I had ideas," Lisa rasped in her ear and Rosé giggled harder when Lisa attempted to nibble
at her earlobe.

"Lisa! Careful with your hand—oh...." She broke off with a soft whine when Lisa mouthed a trail
of wet kisses down her neck. "Hmm, baby..."

But before Lisa could progress further, they heard Ella entering and quickly sprang apart, doing
their utmost to appear nonchalant. Rosé was glad for the cover of darkness.

"The cats are all in their basket." Ella seemed none the wiser of the atmosphere in the room.

"Atta girl," Lisa praised.

"Did you enjoy the movie El?" Rosé asked, crouching to meet Ella for a brief hug and kiss. "I wish
I had been here earlier."

"You already know how it ends," Ella shrugged. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. "We can watch
the third one together?"

"Right now? No baby, it's bedtime for you. Besides, I thought you were spacing out the trilogy,"
Rosé pointed out. She stroked her hair. "Oh, did you two try braiding again?"

"I'm getting the hang of it better," Lisa said proudly.

"That's wonderful, you have to try on me tomorrow," Rosé grinned before turning back to Ella who
was attempting to stifle a yawn. "Alright sweetie, let's get you to bed."

"'M not sleepy yet," Ella mumbled. "I can watch another one."

Lisa chuckled as Rosé kissed her forehead. "You have to be up early tomorrow either way for
music class don't you? Go wash up, I'll come tuck you in soon."

Rosé turned back to Lisa when Ella went away. "Are you tired?"

"Nah I'm good."

"Well, how about we watch a movie then? I'm not very tired tonight either," Rosé suggested,
pleased when Lisa perked up.

"Really? What movie?"

"I was thinking I could finally show you X-Men: First Class? I think it's their best origin movie,
you get to see how Magneto and Professor X came to be," Rosé said hopefully.

Lisa beamed. "Yes! Yes please! I thought you'd never ask!"

"Alright then," laughed Rosé, "can you make some more popcorn while I go tuck Ella up and dry
my hair?"

"You got it! It's a date!" Lisa said happily and hustled into the kitchen to prepare the best popcorn
she had ever microwaved.
>

"Now before we start, I have to warn you, the movie starts off with some pretty heavy hard-hitting
scenes of the Holocaust so brace yourself," Rosé warned as the movie began.

"Magneto loses his mom right?"

Rosé nodded silently and took her hand. "I'm right here, just in case. Okay?"

She didn't want to be overbearing, but given Lisa's background she wanted to make sure to comfort
her if emotions got too much to bear.

Lisa sat rigid, eyes glued to the screen as she watched young Erik struggle to move the coin while
the heartless doctor before him simply counted down to zero with the gun aimed at his mother.

When the shot echoed, Rosé sensed Lisa flinch and she gripped her hand tightly but Lisa didn't say
anything else until the scene was over.

"That was sad...and he let that vile man hold his shoulder?"

"I think there were very little options. He didn't know how to control his powers, he was probably
afraid and felt helpless too," Rosé explained as the movie shifted to present day.

All throughout, Rosé was struck by Lisa reactions, her statements sometimes seeming to hint at
something deeper which Rosé couldn't quite understand.

When Erik, or future Magneto, declared himself Frankenstein's monster on the hunt for his creator,
Lisa shook her head.

"The villain makes another villain," she said pensively and glanced at her injured hand, flexing her
fingers.

"He wants revenge," Rosé said.

"Yeah I know but...is it really a good thing?"

Rosé considered her question. "That's a good question. Many people will argue that no, revenge
only begets more violence. The best thing is to accept and make peace with what happened and
then move on as best as you can."

It's what she was trying to do with Tiger King, she realised suddenly. Where before she wanted
revenge, now she was more inclined towards closure, not violence.

"Well, what do you think?" Lisa asked.

"It's easy for me to say accept and move on," Rosé said softly, "I haven't been in Erik's shoes. He
went through extreme trauma. I'm not saying that justifies what he does but...maybe in different
circumstances, I might feel like him. And you?"

Lisa frowned, eating popcorn. "No killing. Killing is bad. Killing doesn't make you happy, it makes
things worse."

Rosé sighed. "It's a very complicated thing. Sometimes someone is unstoppable and nobody is
capable of controlling them, so they could harm a lot of people—"
"No killing," Lisa said firmly. It sounded final, like a parent admonishing a child, and Rosé felt all
the ethical arguments die on her tongue before she could utter them.

"Baby, life isn't black and white though, you know. What would you have as a compromise?
Instead of killing?"

Lisa shrugged. "Locked up?" she ventured.

"Justice then. A good compromise," Rosé nodded.

Another memorable moment that struck Rosé was during the scene where Mystique was washing
her teeth and mocking a woman they had met in a bar.

"Mutant and proud?" Mystique spat, disdain oozing from her voice. Then she looked into the
mirror, wearing normal human skin instead of her actual blue skin, and quietly said: "If only."

Lisa nodded solemnly and once more glanced at her injured arm, her expression sober.

"Baby are you okay? Is your arm hurting?" Rosé asked worriedly.

"No no I'm good. It's just, Mystique is right, you know? Nobody...nobody would accept a freak,"
Lisa said heavily. "People would be scared."

"Oh sweetie." Rosé snuggled up against Lisa, bringing their joined hands up to kiss Lisa's
knuckles, fresh bruises littered over her skin. "I'd like to think that if someone I knew was some
sort of mutant—which won't happen mind you, that's the stuff of sci-fi—but I'd like to think I'd
accept them. I know they wouldn't mean any harm. They'd still be the person they were before,
only with awesome, dangerous powers that they need to master. It would be cool actually."

"Yeah? You think so?" Lisa asked hopefully.

"Absolutely. I'm not saying there wouldn't be an adjustment curve to get used to the new changes.
But it wouldn't, and shouldn't, change a thing otherwise."

Lisa's grateful kiss to her cheek surprised her but she welcomed it all the same without question as
her girlfriend held her close and nuzzled her temple.

As though sensing her tension, Lisa rubbed little circles on her hand using her thumb as they
continued to watch the movie. There were funny moments when both of them had a good chuckle,
and when Rosé excitedly pointed out Wolverine, Lisa commented that he looked just like
Wolverine in the comics.

"Hugh Jackman was made to play Wolverine," Rosé agreed.

Then came several emotional scenes, some heart-stopping action sequences leading to the epic
finale, and Lisa slowly shaking her head as Erik completed his transformation into Magneto.

"A villain makes another villain."

"Is he a villain though? He kind of had a valid point to lash out at. Humans were still going to turn
on them," Rosé pointed out.

"He shouldn't kill." Lisa said resolutely. "Killing is bad. It only makes you into something worse if
you kill. A monster."

She shuddered and grimaced as she glanced at her arm again.

"Forgiveness doesn't come so easy," Rosé said softly. "He lost a lot, has been hurt so much, saw so
much horror. It's called grey morality, baby. There's no real right or wrong, black or white. Life is
too messy and complicated for that."

Once again she couldn't shake off the feeling that somehow, Lisa related more to the movie than
what she would consider normal.

Then Mystique chose to switch sides to be able to reveal herself and walk with her head held high
as a mutant amongst regular people. Lisa was thoughtful during this scene.

"She wants to be seen out in the open as a mutant," she observed.

"Yes."

"Because she doesn't want to hide and be scared anymore," Lisa said, "but that's because there's
more of them now. It's not so easy to do that by yourself."

"I suppose not," Rosé said, "but remember, mutants were an allegory for marginalised people in
the comics, like Jews and queers? It's a matter of finding your people and standing with them I
think. It's not easy, but when you join hands with someone like you and you accept your identity,
you're stronger."

"Yeah?"

"It's what I believe. I'm not saying there isn't risks, especially with so much hostility still around
today towards queer people for example...but I have you and the other girls to be comfortable in
my own skin, living my truth," Rosé explained. "I don't care how the rest of the world sees me, so
long as the people I care about know my truth and still love me for who I am."

"So you're saying, you'd side with Mystique and Magneto?"

Rosé considered. "I don't agree with them harming other people unprovoked, or that they should
dominate over mankind. But I do agree that living in secrecy and under surveillance wouldn't be a
life. I'd rather there was a third option, where everyone minded their own business, but
superpowers are hard to ignore.

Everyone would be out there with their agenda to fulfil and it's not always with good intentions.
Queer people had to suffer by risking to live their truth but it's because of their efforts that
acceptance today is more of the norm."

Lisa was listening intently, her eyes glazed the way they did any time she concentrated fiercely.

Rosé chuckled. "Sorry, too many big words?"

"No, I got it, I think. And I guess you make a point, I like the middle-ground idea too." Lisa
grinned. "I also like when you pull out big-brain Doctor Park."

"Do you?" Rosé smiled teasingly, already sensing the changes in the air between them as Lisa's
gaze dipped down to her lips more than once. "Well, I like when you turn all focused. It's...
intense."

"Yeah? And do you like...intense?" Lisa asked, leaning in ever so imperceptibly. But Rosé noticed
and she put down her bowl to turn her full attention to Lisa. The ending credits had long finished
rolling and now the lightwash from the television joined the dim glow of the room.
"I like it yes. Seeing you like that, so attentive, so interested...flatters me. Makes me
feel...important. Interesting. Attractive. Wanted," she murmured, drawing out the last word.
Excitement coursed through her veins when Lisa's eyes narrowed, licking her lips.

"You don't have to worry about any of that with me," Lisa informed, voice husky. Her throat
bobbed up and down. "I always want you."

"Oh?" Rosé raised a challenging eyebrow, arms folded. "Show me."

But Lisa smiled, lips quirked up in mischief as she held out a finger and wagged it disapprovingly.

"Ah ah ah, baby, that's no fun. Make me show you."

Mildly surprised by her assertiveness, Rosé hummed. "Oh? Is that a challenge?"

Lisa gave a lazy smile. "I'm not a pushover. You gotta work to make me work, babes."

Patience wearing thin, Rosé released a low growl and grabbed Lisa from her shirt, pulling her down
on the couch and kissing her hard. Lisa wrapped her arms around her, her body settling on Rosé's as
she kissed back, warm lips crashing against each other, at first frantic to feel, then slowing down to
savour better, taste better, explore better.

Though Lisa was on top, it didn't remain that way for long.

Rosé shifted, holding Lisa from the small of her back as she clung on to her waist when Lisa
followed the movement and rolled over to her knees on the ground in front of the couch. Her bangs
were already mussed, her eyes coloured hazy with arousal, lips swollen and cheeks on fire but she
grinned at Rosé, her expression hungry as her hands slid around her hips to pull her close again.

Rosé pushed on her shoulder slightly to make her focus again, playful as she tilted her head to the
side.

"How was that for a taster?"

Lisa returned her teasing remark with a smug grin, still on her knees. "Oh baby, it will take more
than some admittedly awesome kissing to bring out the legendary Thai Tornado."

"We'll see about that," Rosé smirked.

She leaned in, gently tugging out Lisa's hair tie before she slotted their mouths back together,
coaxing out a groan from both of them as they sank deeper into the kiss, heated bodies rivalling the
cool air-conditioning of the apartment.

The need to be closer to Lisa, to push away all remnants of the past, all the bad memories, all the
weaknesses she felt pressing up under skin, willing to escape—Rosé was willing to trade them all
for a night of oblivion in Lisa's strong and capable arms.

She could just imagine those delectable long fingers tracing the sinews of her body, exploring all
the hidden crevices and Lisa's mouth kissing every portion of skin with care.

Passion arced up her spine, desire slamming into her so powerfully that Rosé simply let go, letting
her body react and move along with Lisa, letting her lead as her head fell back when Lisa kissed
her oh so delicately behind her ear.

She was supposed to make Lisa show her how much she was wanted, but Lisa seemed to have
forgotten their game and was doing all the work herself, her hands kneading Rosé's hips and
moving lower as their bodies pressed together, brushing tantalisingly.

Unbidden, Taehyung rose from the depths of her mind, his terrifying leer almost jolting Rosé out
of the passionate embrace (she faintly registered Lisa picking her up as she wrapped around her
bulky frame) but Rosé, as always, looked the other way and ran to the nearest distraction to keep
her newly reformed nightmares at bay.

It mattered not that she wanted to devour Lisa whole—for now, she wanted to be consumed first, to
be cleansed of her fear and pain before she could act on her lust.

"Lisa," Rosé croaked and it sounded like more, please, more.

"Rosie," Lisa panted in return and it sounded like I'm here, I've got you, I'm here.

One word, her name, uttered with such agonised longing, had her undone.

She sounded so utterly wrecked that Rosé felt all the fine hair on her arms stand on end, her nerves
frayed with such terrible want that blazed up furiously like an inferno.

Rosé cupped Lisa's face and brought their lips back together for a deeper kiss, drunk on this new
feeling, of being wanted wholly.

Lisa wanted her.

And she wanted Lisa.

She wanted her, she wanted her so badly, wanted Lisa to kiss away all the invisible scars on her
heart and make her forget.

The spring of the mattress beneath her had Rosé gasping, finding Lisa hovering over her and
waiting for permission to touch, hands poised next to Rosé's head on the bed. Lost to her brief
troubled thoughts, she hadn't even registered that Lisa had gone to the bedroom, presumably to be
more comfortable.

Her heart warmed at Lisa's thoughtfulness, followed by a fresh burst of excitement. It was dark in
the room but Rosé could make out Lisa's smile in the gloom as her eyes settled.

"Is this okay?" Lisa whispered, leaning in close.

Rosé rose up to meet her in an instant, scrabbling to lift her shirt off as she captured her lips. "Lock
the door and turn the lights down low, babygirl," she husked, "I want to see you."

She smiled winningly when Lisa shivered visibly at the endearment, knowing she had hit
bullseye.

Lisa backed away from the bed, locked the door and switched on the lights before dimming them,
setting the atmosphere nicely. She turned back to her girlfriend, who was waiting. Lisa's eyes were
dark, raking up and down Rosé's body appreciatively as she stood in just her sleep shorts, her chest
heaving with a slight shiny sheen that made her skin glow beneath the dim lights.

To Rosé, Lisa looked like a sculpted goddess come to life, making her mouth water. She beckoned
with an index finger and flashed Lisa a sultry smile for bonus seduction as she stretched languidly
in the middle of the bed like a siren on a sun-drenched rock.
Lisa approached like a mesmerised sailor, slave to an enchanting song that only she could hear,
reaching out for Rosé to take her in her embrace.

They fell together in a heap of tangled hearts and crumpled sheets, hungry mouths fitting together
like puzzle pieces as hands pressed and roamed restlessly, the sudden frenzy to get rid of all
barriers between them rendering them efficient with their fingers as Lisa helped Rosé take off her
own shirt before diving in to capture her lips once more whilst Rosé threw arms around Lisa's neck
to bring her even closer, gasping when their naked chests touched.

Everything was happening at breakneck speed. Feverish skin pressed to feverish skin. Low groans
of pleasure, visceral and throaty, mingled together as one. Hoarse voices, sharp inhales, clash of
clumsy but enthusiastic kisses all crowned by the gentle fire that blazed hotter and hotter as their
upper bodies melded together.

Chills rippled through Rosé when Lisa brushed against her nipples over and over, stoking her
desperation to be touched that rose like the incoming tide, ready to take her under.

Chest to chest, with arms wound around her so tight it almost hurt, Rosé couldn't help but latch on
to Lisa's shoulder, nails digging in her shoulder blades. Lisa started at the sensation of lips
fastening to her skin, eliciting a guttural sound which faded into a whimper when Rosé released her
shoulder with a wet pop and lovingly laved the area with her tongue, pressing a kiss to the mark as
well.

"Sorry, got carried away baby."

"S'alright. You like that huh?" Lisa inquired, voice raw.

"I dabble—oh!" She squeaked, eyes rolling back when Lisa latched to her neck to return the
favour. "Oh my god right there!" And Lisa sucked harder, making Rosé clamp her jaw shut as she
squirmed, pinned beneath the supple body trapping her.

Perfect bliss, the kind where all thoughts disappeared and her mind narrowed down to one goal—
pleasure. She wanted Lisa to keep going, to take her, to make her forget, to make love to her over
and over and stamp out her fears, to give her distraction so good that for a moment, just a moment,
she could forget the black cloud hanging over her life.

At the back of her mind, the small voice of rationality was calling, pleading for her to think before
she hurt them both by using Lisa to forget her pain, but the voice was faint and Rosé was lost in a
confusing haze of want and need.

Lisa didn't stop kissing her, and Rosé couldn't stop the soft sighs that escaped, or her toes curling in
pleasure, or her wandering hands clutching Lisa's broad shoulders, nails digging into the flesh.

She was wound up tight like a spring, the slick wetness growing between her legs. As Lisa was
preoccupied kissing her collarbone and tangling her hair into knots, Rosé sneaked a hand down
between their bodies, impatient to move the action along as she cupped her girlfriend's crotch over
her shorts.

But all at once, everything fell still when Lisa's cast hand gripped Rosé's wrist, stopping her.

"Rosie?" Lisa croaked tersely. She propped herself up, blinking as though she had woken up from a
deep sleep. Her eyes darted uncertainly, awkward silence seeping in as she took in their state of
undress. She cleared her throat and met Rosé's baffled gaze. "Uhm, I...uhm..."

"What is it?" As fast as it blazed, her arousal cooled, letting rationality finally sweep in and make
Rosé break out in cold sweat.

Had she pushed Lisa too far? She should have checked in more frequently!

If there was anything she learned from her time with Jisoo, it was frequent checking in to make
sure every party involved was on the same page, of one mind and intention, to be clear and vocal
of their goals, to communicate any changes, any shift. Jisoo had always insisted on this issue
sometimes to a fastidious degree, but Rosé had secretly been grateful that Jisoo practised such a
habit when it came to intimacy.

Rosé felt like slapping herself. She had been so focused on her own pleasure she forgot all about
speaking with Lisa.

"Baby, it's okay, it's okay. Talk to me. What is it?" Rosé said urgently as she scrambled to sit up.

"Don't...don't get mad but uhm..." Lisa fidgeted, absently reaching out to click her wrist before
Rosé stopped her, cupping her face.

"Lisa, look at me. I won't be cross or mad, no matter what you say. I'm sorry for making you
uncomfortable, I should have talked with you and we should have set down boundaries but—"

Lisa gently took her hand from her face, making Rosé's heart momentarily sink, only for relief to
wash over her when Lisa tenderly kissed the inside of her wrist.

"I should have been more open with you too. I was having so much fun, I swear on bagels. It
slipped my mind that I should have told you about it but I hadn't thought things would escalate to
this point, although of course they would, I'm too dumb to think that everyone is like me and
would stop there and—"

"Lisa, slow down. Now, what did you want to tell me exactly?" All sorts of thoughts ran through
Rosé's head, each more terrible than the last. "Do you...do you have an STD?"

"No." Lisa shook her head violently. "I'm not like that. I would have told you before we even
kissed the first time."

"Alright then," Rosé said, relieved, "well, whatever else it is, it can't be really that bad, baby."

She patted the spot next to her as she scooted aside to make space and drew up the sheets to cover
her chest. Lisa slowly slid next to her, also covering her chest and avoiding Rosé's eyes.

"Lisa, if it's that hard to say..."

"No no, it's really...I mean it's not that big of a deal honestly..." Lisa trailed off with a sigh. Rosé
tentatively stroked her hair, encouraged when Lisa didn't flinch away from her touch.

"Well, you take all the time you need to tell me, yeah?"

"Yeah uh..." Lisa curled her knees up under her chin and hugged them close to her body. "It's just
that...well you see, I never...mm, I never..." She screwed her eyes shut beneath Rosé's watchful
gaze, willing herself to spit out the words.

"I never had sex before," Lisa blurted.

They sat in silence, letting her words sink in as Rosé blinked.

"Huh?"
"I never slept with anyone. I...don't know how stuff works," Lisa said helplessly. "So I'm sorry if
you were expecting something amazing or mind-blowing but please don't compare me to Jisoo, I'm
sure she had been amazing but I don't think I can live up to expectations and I don't...I don't know
how to do it. I just pretended to know. Fake it till you make it, you know? I picked up ideas from
what Momo used to describe and...yeah, I ran away with it and people assume I know all there is to
know, because I'm the player type."

She hid her face in her hands, her face burning hot from humiliation and her lips quivering, trying
hard not to cry. "I know I should have said something before and...and if you're mad and want me
to leave I get it but...please don't be too mad," she added in a small voice. "And please don't break
up with me."

"Oh sweetie."

She was stunned to hear Rosé's bright chuckle morphing into a giggle next to her and hurriedly
looked up, frowning at the sight of her girlfriend gazing fondly at her.

"Baby, is that what had you so worried? Goodness," Rosé cooed as she gathered Lisa close. "Do
you want to know the truth of what I think?"

"What?"

"I couldn't care less if you were a virgin or a seasoned veteran," Rosé told her softly, "well okay,
maybe the last one would be a little more concerning health-wise but otherwise...why should I care
how much experience you have? Why would I break up with you over your sexual inexperience?"

Lisa frowned. "You're not mad?"

"Not in the slightest, although I am rather surprised. I thought you were pretty used to this."

"Nope, never slept with anyone. Playing around, like I told you at the jjimjilbang, that's as far as I
could take it." Lisa shifted, uneasy. "Hwangssabu said sex was a no-no and Jennie always made
sure I didn't sleep with anyone."

"Well, I guarantee you'll catch up pretty quickly baby. And if you like, I can show you what I
know as well! We'll learn together," Rosé said cheerfully to lighten Lisa's mood, who still seemed
nervous.

"But I don't...I don't know how...how to make you feel good...like Jisoo."

Rosé waved her hands. "Alright, let's straighten some things out. First of all, no comparisons. Got
it? I don't want to hear you comparing yourself to Jisoo, or Momo, or anyone, and making yourself
insecure, all because of sex. Sex isn't the be-all and end-all of a relationship. Sure it's great, can't lie
about that, but there's much more to a relationship than being a sex machine in bed.

I promise you, Lisa, I want you more than just for sex and that in itself changes a lot of things. I
won't be judging you on your inexperience, I won't be comparing and putting you down over such a
small aspect of our relationship."

She cupped Lisa's face. "Baby, you forget I'm here to help you in anyway you need. If you ask me
to help you with this learning curve, I'd be more than thrilled to help. We'll learn together and have
fun together."

"But...but..." Lisa took a deep breath, looking into Rosé's patient eyes. "I don't want to be a
burden."
Rosé kissed her sweetly, lingering to gently peck at her jaw. "You're not a burden. You're my
girlfriend and everyone starts out somewhere. You already have the groundwork too. Do you
finger yourself?"

Lisa drew a sharp breath in surprise but nodded once, slowly.

"Did you trib with Miyeon?"

"Trib? You mean scissoring? No."

"What about fingering? Did Miyeon or anyone else finger you? Rub you until you came?"

Lisa nodded timidly on both counts, expecting Rosé to huff and get upset at the mention of her
fling.

She was astonished when Rosé smiled instead and even more surprisingly, leaned in to brush their
lips together.

"Baby, you've had sex." Rosé announced.

"What?" Lisa drew back, baffled. "No I didn't. I didn't sleep with Miyeon. How is fingering sex?
It's just fingering."

"For me it is," Rosé explained. She gestured at themselves and their state of undress. "For me, sex
doesn't mean you have to be in bed, naked, kissing and grinding bodies together. If you came when
somebody else was doing something for you, I consider it sex."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better. It's okay, I get it."

"Nope. I really do believe that. Before Jisoo, I thought sex was just the penetrative kind, you know?
But then you open your mind some more, and it really doesn't have to be so restrictive."

She smiled. "That's the beauty of it. I learned that there are so many variations to intimacy but they
all fall under that umbrella. Baby, you've only experienced one version of sex, is all. But then
again, that is just my view. You can have your own opinions of course but in my eyes, you had a
form of sex."

Lisa's eyes were wide as saucers, the epiphany leaving her jaw hanging which Rosé gently pushed
shut with a giggle.

"Wow and Jennie never told me she was learning all this," Lisa muttered.

"Learning all what?"

"Oh you know, sleeping with Jisoo and all, she never said that bit about sex being the umbrella
term for all sorts of things and—" Lisa stiffened. "Oh no."

"Huh?" Rosé asked, puzzled. "What's—"

"Forget I mentioned about Nini and Jisoo sleeping together," Lisa said hastily, "they're keeping it a
secret so please don't say anything until they say so, please please please! I have a bet with Somi
riding on this, and my own life! Jennie will kill me if she finds out I spilled!"

She stared when Rosé scoffed.

"Well, it's gotta be the worst kept secret ever. I've known they were hooking up since the day after
Ella's concert. I didn't say anything because I thought they were going to tell us themselves. They
were so obvious."

"They were?" Lisa wondered.

"Yes they were. Even that nosy hag Soojoo must have noticed, she's been loitering near Jisoo's
door again, snooping around probably. I gotta tell Jisoo about that. Now can we turn back
to us, please?"

"Hmm, of course Rosie," Lisa murmured as she settled back against the bed frame, considerably
far more relaxed now that they had cleared up the air between them. "Now what?"

Rosé slid down the mattress to lie down beneath the sheet and Lisa copied her, mirroring her
position.

"I won't ask you to pick up where we left off tonight," Rosé said softly. "It doesn't feel right to do
so but next time, I promise I'll show you everything I know. We'll take it nice and slow."

Lisa grimaced. "I'm sorry I ruined the mood."

Rosé's hand stroking her cheek made her pause.

"No, it's not you." She sighed. "I realised...I wasn't going in for it with clear intentions either, and
that's not nice on the other person, to have sex without being clear. So it's on me."

Seeing Lisa's brows furrow as she tried to follow her reasoning, Rosé went on. "Of course I was
turned on and everything, but above all, I was going in for it to distract myself. I haven't..."

She broke off with a shake of her head. "It's been a long night. I can tell you better in the morning."

"Nope," Lisa said adamantly, bringing her in closer.

When Rosé drew a sharp breath once their chests touched, Lisa abruptly threw back the cover and
sprang out of bed, hurriedly gathering Rosé's shirt and handing it back to her as she pulled on her
own shirt before climbing back in bed, missing the adoring look her girlfriend was giving her.

"Okay now you can talk," Lisa said a little breathless, having cottoned on to Rosé's discomfort of
lying naked talking about something serious. She was answered with a small kiss to her cheek.

"I love how you're so thoughtful and considerate," Rosé sighed, unaware of how Lisa's face
warmed at her compliment, "but really, I don't want to keep you up with my woes."

"This is a 50-50 relationship, right?" Lisa said. "I told you my problem, now you tell me yours too.
I can handle it. I can handle anything for you."

Rosé nearly wept at that innocent statement, uttered with such sincerity that had her heart nearly
break. But she was made of sterner stuff; she had to be, otherwise she would have broken long ago.

"C'mere, let me hold you tonight," Lisa coaxed when she took Rosé's silence for hesitation. She
cuddled up close, slung an arm around her waist and kissed her forehead. "I'm here baby. What
happened?"

Rosé sighed, mind churning over how best to bend the truth, her heart squeezing. "I received
some...disturbing news. About my ex."

"What about him?" Lisa said quietly.

She didn't know much beyond his name being Kim Taehyung and that he had hit Rosé and after
she left him, was subsequently locked up after he had gone on a rampage of rage and raped several
girls, but that alone was enough to have her blood burn black at the mention of him.

"He...seems to have been moved from the asylum he was being kept at and moved elsewhere...I
don't know if it's closer or further but...I don't know anything about the new place either. How
secure it is, what's his treatment, how long he'll stay in there. It seems like he had 'friends' in high
places who helped him switch to a less strict place."

Lisa's arms tightened around Rosé, who suddenly felt tiny and fragile as china.

"You're scared he'll come after you and Ella if he ever gets out," Lisa said softly in understanding.

"And you," Rosé whispered. "Lisa, what if he finds out and comes after you..." she broke off and
hid her face in the crook of Lisa's neck. "I can't stop thinking, even though it's irrational. I haven't
seen him around for years. I haven't heard from him. He never contacted me, and I didn't contact
him either. He doesn't know where I am, he can't know, he can't get out. You and I are both careful
when we're outside together."

Lisa hugged her close, barricading her from all the fears that threatened to hurt her. "It's okay. Like
you said, he can't know you're here. And we can try to act even less like a couple in public too.
And I'm sure wherever he is, he can't get out that easy, no matter how many 'friends' he has. And
I'm here. I'll protect you and Ella with my life if it came down to it."

Rosé's hand grazed over the cast but her eyes never left Lisa's. "I know. And it scares me that...if
something were to happen and I'd lose you like that..."

There was real fear in her eyes and Lisa sought to soothe her as she kissed her forehead softly.

"You won't lose me. Thai Tornado doesn't go down that easy. I'm still here, alive and kicking,
aren't I?"

She watched Rosé closely. "Hey, you don't think the guy that attacked us...it wasn't him, was it?"

"No. I saw his face. That wasn't Taehyung. That was...something else. A monster." Rosé bit her lip.
"But I couldn't help think..."

"That they're connected?" Lisa said shrewdly. "I know! Maybe we could have Jisoo hire a private
investigator or something and get to the bottom of this—"

"No," Rosé said softly. "I don't want to stir up trouble. Thank you for the idea though."

"Okay..."

They lay in the silence, only night sounds of distant cars and their breathing punctuating the lull in
conversation. Rosé had tucked her face in Lisa's shoulder while Lisa held her close, their legs
tangled together beneath the sheets. The scent of strawberry shampoo that Lisa adored helped her
calm down the longer she breathed in Rosé's tufty strands tickling her nose.

"I don't think I ever told you about...about Taehyung and I?" Rosé said at length. Lisa shook her
head, not particularly eager to hear about this dark stain on Rosé's past, yet at the same time
curious to learn about her girlfriend's first love. It also seemed important for Rosé to get it off her
chest.

"He was several years older than me," Rosé began quietly. "But of course, I had no clue about
what's appropriate, at the time. I was young, starving for affection, and he had always been good-
looking, the heartthrob type of guy. I saw him just one time when I sneaked out to go to a party at a
club because I overheard some of my older co-workers talk about it.

And I saw him and fell for him, pathetically so. He saw me and introduced himself, got me some
drinks, danced with me. Made me feel on cloud nine that I had bagged such a handsome guy right
off the bat. I was also drunk and didn't think things through at all. I just wanted to have him. And I
did, for better or for worse."

"He didn't stop you either. He wasn't responsible," Lisa made sure to point out.

"Doesn't make a difference." Rosé's head darted up, eyes shining with unshed tears. "I still regret
my impulsive actions, even though I wouldn't exchange Ella for the world. When I got to know I
was pregnant, I was terrified. I had started dating Tae and he was...nice enough. In hindsight, the
cracks of his true self were beginning to show themselves but I was still too naive to understand,
still ignorant about preserving my dignity—my father hit me so I didn't know any better language
for love. I would have run miles in the other direction to get away if I knew how things would turn
out."

Lisa combed her hair soothingly whenever Rosé paused to draw a breath, patient as she waited for
her to spill out all of her story. Vaguely, Lisa wondered if she were the first person that was
hearing Rosé's life story.

"When I finally told my father about the pregnancy, he simply kicked me out. Told me to never
darken his doorstep again. Said that I was good for nothing but whoring myself out."

"No."

But Rosé wasn't finished yet. "I didn't know what to do. Taehyung was my last resort and
surprisingly enough, he took me in to live with him."

This was news to Lisa. "He really did that?"

"Not only that, he was thrilled that he was going to be a father. Hugged me and kissed me so much,
he was ecstatic, genuinely excited that I was pregnant. He asked all sorts of questions and started
researching stuff on the internet and massaging my back in the later trimesters. He even did some
basic cleaning and cooking later on when I started getting tired and sick more easily. He spoiled
me so good that I think I fell for him harder at the time."

Rosé's voice was tinged with sadness so acute that Lisa had to refrain from squeezing the breath
out of her.

"That was...kind of him," Lisa offered, still processing this surprising revelation.

"He never had a proper family. He was already fending for himself," Rosé explained, "that's why
he was so thrilled to have formed his own little unit, have a family to call his own. It had
me...hope. Hope that we could actually make it work together, despite our stark differences,
despite his brooding moods and occasional outbursts."

"I feel like there's a 'but' in that sentence," Lisa said delicately.

"There is," Rosé said, her words heavy. "His enthusiasm was fantasy, short-lived. As soon as Ella
was born and the hard reality of parenting settled in...he found out he didn't want that. Couldn't deal
with it, as he put it. I wasn't very experienced at handling Ella, had to learn through trial and error
on how to handle an infant but he didn't help at all.
He kept distant from Ella and said he didn't like how she looked squishy and kept crying and she
smelled weird. All my hopes of actually being a stable family together fell apart when he started
staying out late and wanting to go out partying and having fun with other girls while I was stuck at
home with our daughter.

She cried often and we had neighbours complain as well, threatening to evict us. It didn't help that
Taehyung didn't like the sound of Ella crying either, it irritated him to no end. Once he was so fed
up that he grabbed Ella out of her cot and was about to start shaking her hadn't I intervened.
Another time, I caught him crushing pills in her milk. Tranquilizers, to get her to sleep. I never
trusted him near any of her feeding bottles again and I feared leaving her in his care if I needed to
step out even for a few minutes. I had to take her with me."

Lisa could only stare in horror as Rosé shook her head.

"But I stayed with him. I stayed, because I had nowhere to go and not much money to support me.
How could I leave and raise Ella with no job? I stayed with him, hoping that maybe as Ella grew
up, he'd start to warm up to her. It...never happened. It got worse when he started hitting me."

Lisa cuddled her. "It's okay. You don't have to..."

Rosé gave her a wan smile. "There's not much else to say. I got out, because I found the right
people to help me out of that situation and I will be forever indebted to them. And I thought he was
a relic of the past but...seems he could still be a threat now."

"Not if I can help it," Lisa vowed. "I'll protect you always Rosie. You and Ella both."

"I can't ask that of you—"

"I'm your girlfriend," Lisa said stubbornly. "You're both important to me, and I couldn't bear
thinking you could be hurt in some way. So...if you see hide or hair of him, let me know, right
away. I'll keep you safe."

Rosé stroked Lisa's cast, pensive. "You can't be in two places at once, baby. I worry for Ella most
when she's not by my side."

"She's with her friends in school and she travels with the bus that picks up the kids for summer
school. I hardly think he'd try something so publicly," Lisa reasoned. When Rosé didn't reply
again, she patted her head. "It will be okay, baby. We can let our friends know to keep an eye out, if
you like. There's strength in numbers. You don't have to get in detail on all the nitty-gritty, we'll
just ask them to be on the alert. I'm sure they'll understand."

She pressed her lips to Rosé's forehead. "You're not alone anymore. It's okay to lean on me, on all
of us. That's what friends do."

Rosé sighed, pulling back to look up at Lisa with a smile. "You always know how to make me feel
better. How do you do it?"

She expected Lisa to flash a cocky grin but she merely smiled sleepily.

"It's my charm, babe, remember? I have that effect on Park women."

Rosé huffed out a laugh then softened. "Thank you for listening."

"Thank you for telling me." Lisa yawned hugely and Rosé kissed her jaw.
"Let's sleep baby, it's been a long night and we got some pilates to work on tomorrow."

"Oh the joy."

Rosé batted her shoulder indignantly as Lisa chuckled.

"Gosh babes, and you say I'm the one that's easy to tease," she grinned, pecking her on the cheek.
"You know I enjoy pilates now, especially with my hot instructor being my girlfriend."

Rosé could only shake her head, her smile hurting her cheeks. "Goodnight, you dork."

"'Night, chipmunk," Lisa mumbled and her eyes closed, breath evening out almost immediately.

Rosé waited a few minutes before she carefully extricated herself from the hug and propped herself
up to gaze down at Lisa.

Her heart beat slow and steady and sure the longer she stared at her sleeping girlfriend, the longer
her eyes lingered over Lisa's soft features, the slope of her nose, the line of her jaw, the swell of her
cheeks and the plushness of her lips.

Her heart beat with deep fondness the longer she replayed the entire night's conversation with Lisa
in her head until she found herself ending up at the same spot, where affection overflowed and she
was unable to contain it, unable to tame the wild emotion that prowled within her ribcage, restless
to be freed, impatient to escape.

Three words seared through her mind, burned on her tongue and stuck in her throat.

Maybe it was too soon, but Rosé was sure that whatever she felt for Lisa was powerful, an
intoxicating emotion that strengthened and overwhelmed at the same time.

But she couldn't bring herself to speak her truth. There was so much she had as yet to show of
herself, so much she had to learn from Lisa as well that speaking it into existence could potentially
ruin everything.

So under cover of near darkness, Rosé allowed herself to lean down and press her lips to Lisa's
forehead, mouthing the words she didn't have the courage to even whisper out loud just yet.

I love you.

>

"No wait but I'm so close to figuring this out!" Jennie exclaimed, bent forward over her knees with
her keen gaze glued to the screen.

She was breathing rapidly, excitement mounting as she snapped her fingers and muttered to herself.
Jisoo could practically see the gears and wheels turning in her head and couldn't help but smile to
herself, pleased that Jennie was so taken by the movie that earlier, she had even ignored her
advances.

Jisoo always tested Jennie's interest in the movie by casually sidling up to her midway and
initiating some light kisses to her neck, or leaning on her shoulder and lightly stroke her thigh.
Until tonight, Jennie had always responded almost immediately, her attention snatched by Jisoo's
ministrations more than what has happening on screen.
But tonight, Jisoo had made an important discovery: thrillers with a mystery hooked Jennie like an
energy drink in the morning.

"Not now Chu" and "That's nice, Chu," and "Soon, Chu, soon," were some of the responses Jisoo
got when she tried ramping up her efforts with a few whines and sultry whispers thrown in but
Jennie was immovable as a mountain, focusing solely on the story. In the end, Jisoo gave up but
not before mentally congratulating herself on her choice of movies to watch.

She sat back to listen to her girlfriend's deductions as the movie wound up to the climax. Jisoo
could almost imagine her standing next to a noticeboard with pins and ribbon connecting the whole
picture together.

"It's so simple," Jennie said, gesticulating feverishly, "the butler has the motive but the old
detective is the one that stands to lose the most BUT he knows he needs to cover his tracks so he's
framing the maid, who was sleeping with the young gardener, but the detective didn't know that
the gardener knew that he knew about the affair between the guards, so that means they were able
to be bribed and so removed before the murder took place and so the gardener told the maid but she
was accused of stealing the jewels when in reality it was the family cat stealing them on behalf of
the old nurse to the family!"

"So the culprit behind all this is...?"

Jennie turned to Jisoo with a triumphant smile. "The dead heir, who was not dead at all! The old
nurse was devoted to him and wanted to restore his rightful treasure."

Jisoo chuckled and clapped as the reveal happened on screen and Jennie whooped and punched the
air ecstatically, Dalgom joining in with yapping.

"You cracked the case, detective," she complimented and Jennie beamed, her gummy smile on full
display.

"I did!"

"Congratulations, you get a cookie," Jisoo laughed. "So now this means we can move on to try
something else besides movies. We know what kind of music you like more or less, so now I was
thinking we should try something more active."

"Oh? And what did you have in mind?"

Jisoo grinned. "Jennie Kim, will you go rollerskating with me?"

Jennie stared. "Rollerskating," she repeated slowly.

"Yep," Jisoo nodded vigorously, "it's really fun! Will you? We can make it a date."

"Jisoo...I'm not sure I can rollerskate. It seems a bit reckless and I don't want to break my hand—"

"We'll be fine, I'm a pro. I'll hold your hand, okay?" Jisoo took her hand to emphasise her point and
squeezed it, eager. "Say yes Jendeukie. I promise, we'll have the best time. I'll take care of you.
You'll be whizzing around the track in no time, I bet."

Jennie sighed. "I'm not sure. Maybe I'll come and just watch you."

"That won't be any fun though," Jisoo pouted. "Did you ever try rollerskating before?"
"No and I admit it does look fun but it could also be dangerous. Can we sleep on it?"

"Okay okay. Another time then. What else is there that we could try?"

"I thought you were full of ideas."

"But seeing as we're still finding out more about you, maybe it's better to try things that you want to
try, instead of me dragging you around to places. So a few adjustments to my Jisoo Yoga plan had
to be made. What would you like to do?"

Jennie smirked. "I have an idea."

"Anything," Jisoo said promptly. Jennie leaned in to whisper in her ear and she stiffened in
surprise.

"Show me what you're hiding in that black shoebox under the bed," Jennie murmured, making
Jisoo inhale sharply.

"Ah hmm...I wasn't intending...ahm...maybe it's a little to early to get into...those kinds of things?"
Jisoo laughed shakily. But Jennie didn't budge, merely watching with her lips curled.

"Dammit Jennie, don't make that face at me," Jisoo groaned and Jennie giggled, knowing she
would win at this rate. Lisa's puppy face came in handy when having a girlfriend, she had learned.

"Why? It's just a bunch of bedroom toys isn't it? That's what it is, right? Everyone has those. Well,
except me and Lisa probably, cos we didn't spend on those kind of things."

"Yes they're toys but..." Jisoo turned away. "I...don't use them anymore. They're...they're weird."

Jennie turned her face around, suddenly losing all traces of mirth as realisation dawned as to why
Jisoo was so reticent. "Soojoo made you feel bad about it, didn't she?"

Jisoo didn't lift her eyes. "She just...made up rumours. Dumb ones, nasty stuff. Her friends lapped
it all up. They loved hanging around when I came back home and have their little school bully
routine."

"They're pathetic."

"I know. They don't do that anymore since you kicked Soojoo's ass though. She kept her distance
and so her posse does too."

"I'm glad." Jennie raised Jisoo's chin, noting the crease in her brow. "Chu, I didn't mean to be
pressuring. I was curious that you never brought them up is all. You...you didn't use them with
Rosé?"

Jisoo shook her head. "Rosie was my first real friend who somehow didn't care about what Soojoo
proclaimed about when she first came around. She was kind to me as a neighbour and backed me
up too. I...I didn't want to scare her away. And besides, we never really progressed to that point of
intimacy, you know? It wasn't really about having fun together and spicing up sexy times, we just
wanted a little comfort now and then."

She raised her eyes. "Am I boring you already?" she asked lightly but Jennie caught on to the hint
of insecurity in her voice.

"No way," Jennie reassured. She cupped her face. "Listen to me Chu. Forget what Soojoo said. I'm
still here, aren't I? I was honestly just curious and wondered if you would ever bring up the subject
sometimes."

Jisoo sighed. "Well...I suppose if you're up for it, we can use them. They're sanitised and all."

Jennie caught her hand. "Not like this. Chu, what's wrong?"

Jisoo shrugged. "Nothing, it's just...they bring bad memories now."

"Then of course we won't use them," Jennie said immediately, "I wouldn't do something at the
expense of your discomfort."

When Jisoo nodded but still looked downcast, Jennie bit her lip, unsure of how to reassure her until
a lightbulb went off in her head when she spotted the fluffy and furry chonky soft toy sitting next to
her.

She grabbed it and put it in between them, holding its floppy arms up. The bulk of the plushy hid
her from view, just as she hoped, but she could still peek over it shoulder to get a glimpse of her
girlfriend.

"Kim Jisoo, you know Nini would never, ever hurt you, right?" she said in what she hoped was a
passable imitation of the cartoon character's voice, if it had one at all.

Jisoo stared before chuckling. "Yes I know, Arcanine."

"Good. Jennie wants you to know that even if she doesn't always say, she cares about you a lot and
doesn't want to see you sad. She's sorry she brought up bad memories and wants to make up for it."

"It's okay really, she's not to blame either," Jisoo smiled. "She didn't hurt me in the least. But I'm
interested, keep talking."

"She says she'll go rollerskating with you, no conditions needed, and that she won't bring up the
shoebox again."

"Yeah? You'd really go, Jendeuk?" Jisoo asked, so thrilled that she forgot they were roleplaying.

Jennie lowered the plushy, coming face to face with Jisoo's endearing smile and hopeful eyes.

"Of course," Jennie said softly. "And if I end up falling on my butt, or if I break my arm, you are so
getting your ass whooped, Kim Jisoo, girlfriend or no girlfriend."

Jisoo burst out laughing heartily, not in the least bit intimidated as she shoved out a hand between
them for a handshake. "Deal!"

But before Jennie could take her hand, the sound of Jisoo's phone going off had them pause.

"Now who can that be?" Jisoo wondered.

"Prank caller? I hope it's not a family emergency," Jennie said in concern. "It's pretty late."

"They wouldn't call me," Jisoo shrugged as she climbed to her feet to fetch her phone."They have a
doting son and a dutiful daughter to call anytime they want."

"Maybe Lisa then? Why didn't she call my phone?"

"Maybe she wanted just me. Pretty late for a unicorn buddy link up," Jisoo called over her
shoulder. Jennie resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Fine, Rosé then."

"Pretty late for a booty call."

"Heck, both of them then."

"Pretty late for a threesome."

"Jisoo!"

Jisoo's bright laughter streamed out of the other room, making Jennie shake her head at Dalgom
who lay on the carpet looking very used to the boisterous display.

"Your mother's wack," Jennie sighed before Jisoo returned, holding her chiming phone and
furrowing her brow as she stared at the screen.

"Chu? What is it?" Jennie stood quickly, concern etching lines in her forehead. "What's wrong?"

Jisoo looked up. Her expression was unreadable.

"It's...Jinyoung. He called back."

>

Hey! Just wanted to let you know i made quite a breakthrough today, things are going good with
research! :D also dat photo of the trains—beautiful, makes me rly nostalgic.

Dahyun quickly pocketed her phone when the manager rounded the bar counter and nodded at her.

"Boss will see you now."

"Coming," she said, her mouth very dry.

Here it came, the reason Namjoon, the manager of Rkive, had called her aside and told her to wait
to speak to the boss around closing time. When she inquired why, Namjoon said it was customary
for the owner to do a casual interview and get to know the staff in his establishment whenever he
popped by.

But she wasn't so sure it was as simple as that.

Dahyun wondered if she was about to be the first person to have the shortest career as a waitress,
barely lasting a night at Rkive. Had her performance been that abysmal in the eyes of the owner?
Had she committed some grievous mistake she wasn't aware of?

Her skin prickled with the far more harrowing option that made her legs shake at the knees when it
crossed her mind: they knew she was here to infiltrate Rkive and find out what she could that might
implicate Jinyoung Junior Park, so they were going to get rid of her somehow, but in a much more
bloody way than simply firing her.

She gulped, unhooked her apron and hung it up in the staff room before following after Namjoon.
>

She had gotten the job through sheer luck.

After settling in at her tiny-run-down apartment that was set to be her new home for the summer
(she hadn't dared shell out for a more comfortable dwelling), Dahyun had gladly trudged out into
the sunlight, strolling aimlessly and exploring her surroundings.

Nobody knew of her whereabouts—neither Somi, nor Chaeyoung and ultimately neither Momo.
She had told all three of them (truthfully) that she was heading to the coast for a summer job. It's
what she had told Jackson as well, with promises of sending him pictures.

She and Jackson had built up to a friendly rapport again but Dahyun stayed wary, alert for any sign
of Jackson trying to weasel information out of her. She still hadn't forgotten about his mysterious
notebooks, with the damning photos on her phone being practically branded in her mind's eye by
now.

Dahyun took off through the manicured avenues, veering away from the more densely packed
tourism resorts, the spectacular casinos, the lush parks, the looming gleaming architecture and
ultra-modern skyscrapers to the more traditional seedy areas that were tucked away from tourists'
eyes lest they tainted the lavish cityscape.

She had walked and walked, scoping out her surroundings and taking mental note of shops and
establishments she could visit later. And then when the scent of the sea and petrol grew stronger, as
well as the sound of gulls and foghorns reaching her ears, she knew she had made it to the actual
coast, away from the crowded beaches and fancy marinas.

Some more walking as she followed the special map she had uploaded on her phone and
superimposed on google maps revealed Rkive's location at last.

Jinyoung's mole, Jay-LX had been very thorough, erasing Rkive from existence in the
cybersphere. Some of his work had been undone when Momo had discovered his true identity but
as yet some of his blocks remained.

Yet Rkive was real enough, going by the sizeable sign on the front that proclaimed its name in a
bold, modern font. It was an unassuming squat building situated on a pier close to the docks,
structurally sound and well-maintained for its apparent age. Dahyun estimated it had been around
for a few decades going by the 70's style architecture it seemed to emulate.

In blazing daylight, it certainly didn't look like some villain's evil lair, or even some place where
shady plots where concocted.

Yet appearances do deceive, as she had learned when dealing with Momo and Jackson, so she
wasn't about to pass judgement before she investigated further.

Checking to see if the establishment was open and curious to see what sort of people frequented
this place, she felt her heart skip a beat when she saw the Staff Wanted—Ask Inside notice taped to
the open door.

It seemed like destiny. It seemed like the universe was finally listening to her prayers. It seemed
like all her gambles were finally bearing fruit.

Maybe Jinyoung himself would be waiting for her inside, like the final boss in a videogame, but
she discarded the idea quickly—what would a multi-million pharma CEO mogul be doing on the
docks at a place like Rkive on a sweltering summer weekday afternoon?
She had lately even started dreaming of him, his black eyes and black hair and when he smiled,
sharp pointed black teeth lined his mouth and ugly claws ripped at her as she fought the demon of
her nightmares.

The cool air circulating within the interior beckoned and Dahyun shuffled inside, lowering her
sunglasses to survey her surroundings. The fans whirred lazily, chairs were stacked upside down
on tables and the strong smell of detergent and wet floor invaded Dahyun's nose. The place was
otherwise deserted, windows shuttered against the glare of sunlight outside.

"Hello?" she called. "Uh...Anyone here—"

"Sorry, we're not open right now, miss." A tall man materialised behind the counter, wearing a
black polo shirt and a cigarette dangling from his mouth. "We were just airing the place out."

"Oh I'm not a customer," Dahyun rushed to explain. The guy seemed polite enough but she didn't
want him to think she was trespassing. "I'm here about your notice outside? You need staff?"

His face cleared. "Oh! Sure, come on over then. Mind your step, I just finished mopping."

"Sorry for cutting your cigarette break short. I can wait," Dahyun offered when she had hopped her
way over to the counter.

He chuckled, the sound deep and rich. "I like you already kid. What do you call yourself?"

"Dahyun. Kim Dahyun."

"Pleasure," he nodded and shook her hand tightly as smoke drifted from the cigarette between his
teeth. "The name's Namjoon. I'm the manager of the bar, but I'm not the owner."

She was slightly intimidated by his height—Jackson had been tall but this guy cleared him by a
good few inches and was built even broader, with slicked back hair and hints of inky tendrils
wrapping tantalising around the hollow in his throat. He was probably in his early thirties and
Dahyun had to wrench her gaze away, wondering why every stranger she encountered seemed to be
handsome, with a hint of danger surrounding them.

"When you say you're not the owner, you mean..."

"I mean that when you start working, you'll answer to me but regardless, I am not the actual boss. I
just manage the place."

"Okay got it...wait what, when I start working?"

Namjoon shrugged. "You said you wanted a job? You got it. Unless you got other stuff lined up?"

"No I can start right away—"

"Awesome, then you got the job," Namjoon said simply, flicking his cigarette in an ashtray. The
smile never left his lips even as Dahyun reeled.

"Wait but what about asking me some basic questions? Are you guys that desperate for people?"
She swallowed. "I...I mean..."

"You meant what you said." Far from being put off, Namjoon merely grinned. "Hey, you'd be
doing me a solid, at least for tonight. I do need some extra help. We can get to more personality
test questions later if you last but honestly, all I need to know is that you can understand Korean
and basic Japanese. Everything else will come later."

"You didn't ask me if I know either language."

Namjoon tilted his head. "You didn't notice me switching languages and you replied anyway. I got
my answer."

Dahyun's jaw dropped and he laughed. "Alright, here, let me set your mind at rest. As long as
you're not some pickpocket or criminal, I couldn't care less. You might look young, but trust me, I
can tell when someone's a minor and you're definitely not. Are you?"

"No but—"

"See? You'll pick up stuff as you go along. Can you start at eight? We close around midnight, a
little later on weekends. If you know basic English, that's a bonus, but not a strict requirement."

"What about handling orders and drinks?" she said desperately, aware she was shooting herself in
the foot. But she couldn't quite believe that she was being handed a position on a silver platter. It
was too good to be true.

"Think fast."

Before Dahyun could blink, Namjoon's hand flicked away one of the shot glasses lined up on the
counter but she caught it in the nick of time.

"Nice," he smiled.

"That was a fluke! It has nothing to do with—"

He promptly flicked off another glass which she caught as well.

"Please, it doesn't have anything to do with—" Helpless, she caught the third glass as well, a
fraction of inch before it toppled over the edge and shattered on the ground.

"I can go on all day you know," he informed her. "Are you sure you want this job? You sound
pretty eager to blow it off."

"I just never had much experience before," she pleaded.

"Title of your sex tape," Namjon said automatically before he paused, looking sheepish for the first
time. "Oh wait sorry, lame joke."

Dahyun raised an eyebrow. "Is that a B99 reference?" She couldn't help but smile at this unlikely
man who wouldn't have looked out of place as a bouncer at some high-end club knowing about a
police comedy show. He brightened at her query.

"Kinda? You watch it too? Phew," he laughed, "I didn't wanna get sued for harassment when we're
going so good. My favourite is Gina and Rosa, they're so badass and funny. How about you?"

"Uh, I like Rosa and Jake most," Dahyun said, a little dazed.

"Let me guess, you crush on him?"

"No I don't!"

"Oh hey no judging, I am quite particular to Rosa myself," Namjoon chuckled. "What are your
thoughts on the last season though? I thought they could have focused on the crime solving a little
more to be honest."

Things were indeed going well, with Dahyun smiling her first real smile in days as she chatted with
Namjoon. It didn't feel like an interview, and it didn't feel like Namjoon was in any way her senior.
He was not snobby or tight as she expected, which was good but also, he was too laid-back for her
liking, not like a manager at all.

She was expecting him to be strict and a pain in the neck to deal with later when the ball was
rolling and the pressure of managing made itself known. People always reacted differently under
stress, and Dahyun didn't want him to think she duped him into hiring a dunce for the job.

"Namjoon...sir, I just want to make sure I'm competent for the job," Dahyun said, trying to redirect
the conversation back to her hiring interview.

He laughed. "That's a new one. Usually people jump at the opportunity and then worry about
whether they're competent later."

He bent under the counter and tossed a black apron. "Don't worry too much. People will be here
for the booze, not so much the service. We're not the Shilla or the Westin Chosun so relax. Your
shift mate will show you what to do. See you later. Don't be tardy!"

"Where's the staffroom?"

"Round about the back." Namjoon tapped his cigarette with a wink. "Follow the cigarette fug, you
won't miss it. Any more questions? And it's not that I'm not having fun talking to you, trust me it's
been a while since I had a lark, but I got some bookkeeping to do."

"Just one more, for now."

"Fire."

"Um...why Rkive?" Dahyun asked.

Namjoon smiled widely around the cigarette, his eyes likewise smiling. "Have a guess," he said
over his shoulder as he sauntered out the door at the back.

>

Dahyun took a deep breath and knocked, as instructed.

"One moment," answered a male voice after a few seconds. She had heard his rumbling and
deduced he was busy taking a phone-call.

Namjoon had left her at a nondescript office door on the third floor in an empty corridor so she was
all alone in the stifling quiet, madly thinking of all the choices that led up to this moment and her
recklessness in thinking she would be able to pass by under the radar whilst she investigated.

As the night progressed, she had been utterly disappointed to discover absolutely nothing relevant
that would imply Jinyoung was behind some shady conspiracy, meaning it would take her longer to
sniff out possible clues. She had kept a sharp eye out for any unusual business but nothing of the
sort happened.
The bar had teemed with ordinary people, some dressed up, some looking for cheap booze and
some straggling tourists that stumbled upon the place and paid Dahyun with foreign coins. It had
been an ordinary, hectic night. She had messed up some orders but her shift mate, a lanky boy with
hair falling in his eyes took her mistakes in stride and corrected them with little fuss. Namjoon too
had patted her on the back and encouraged her, saying she had been doing better than most new
people on the job.

So why did the owner of Rkive, whoever he was, want to meet her? She didn't buy Namjoon's
excuse, it was too ordinary and mundane.

"Come in," said the same male voice.

Dahyun summoned her courage and opened door, cautiously stepping inside a spacious well-lit
minimal office.

"...and thank you for being so understanding, Soo. I can call you that right? Right, so thank you for
not giving up, I've been rather busy, literally up to my neck in...hm? Oh no I haven't been anywhere
near the Slammer since I last ran into you, no..."

The man behind the desk swung around in his chair and raised a hand in acknowledgement before
he focused back on his call.

Dahyun froze, her breath catching in her throat.

Jinyoung Park looked exactly as polished as the photos painted him. Wearing a casual but smart
outfit, he seemed far removed from the man that hid so many secrets behind his enigmatic smile
and cool exterior presented in photos that Dahyun had saved in various files.

"...yes, see you then. All the best, and don't be a stranger, alright? See you." Jinyoung put the
phone down and turned his attention to Dahyun standing in the doorway.

"Kim Dahyun is it?" he called pleasantly. "Come come."

He stood up from behind his desk and reached out for a handshake. "Namjoon told me you just
started working here?"

She returned the handshake, still processing that Jinyoung Park was standing in front of her and she
had to admit, she was a little starstruck. The photos didn't really do him justice.

"Uhm, yeah...I mean yes, sir."

"Very good. Joon was a bit slammed so forgive him for being eager to hire you this morning, we
happened to be rather short-staffed as it were. Holidays and all. Not many students come this side
of the city so we have to make do." He sat back against the desk, his boyish smile keen.

Despite him being cordial, Dahyun still sensed a menacing undercurrent in the way his eyes
hovered over her, studying her, picking her apart.

She had ignored her gut instinct when it came to Momo and Jackson but she wasn't going to do that
mistake again, especially when she remembered all the shady schemes he plotted that brought
down her arrogant, cocky ex-girlfriend tumbling down from her pedestal.

"You might be wondering why I called you in here. Consider it as your formal interview that you
ought to have had earlier." Jinyoung crossed his arms. "I may not be around as much, and I do trust
Namjoon's judgement, but I also like to know who exactly is frequenting my establishment, staff or
otherwise. I like to get to know people that are working for me, to make sure I weed out the
suitable ones from the...undesirables." he said slowly, his piercing gaze making Dahyun gulp. "Is
that a problem, Miss Kim?"

"Not at all sir, it's actually admirable you seek to be...present, despite your other, ah, schedules."

He nodded. "Are you in any hurry? Do you have a bus to catch perhaps?"

"No, but I have a roommate who doesn't really appreciate me being late."

He smiled, baring his teeth which were thankfully a normal white and not pointed at all. For a
moment, Dahyun pictured a shark and feared he had seen right through her lie. If he did, he didn't
comment about it.

"I see. This won't take long. Now, let's start from basics. Name? Age? Occupation?"

It went on like a regular interview. Dahyun was careful to keep neutral answers as much as
possible, especially when Jinyoung showed interest in the fact that she was studying journalism.
On the whole, she thought she fared well but Jinyoung's face gave her no clue.

"By any chance," Jinyoung said casually as he wrapped up the interview, "do you know a Jackson
Wang?"

Dahyun's pulse stuttered but her answer was smooth. "As a matter of fact sir, I did. He attended my
college for this semester but he left now."

"Small world indeed. I thought your name sounded familiar," Jinyoung smiled.

"He...he told you about me?" Dahyun could have kicked herself for the stammer but he didn't seem
to care.

"He mentioned you here and there. And I imagine you heard of me through him as well?"

Vaguely uneasy, she debated lying but decided to come clean. "Yes sir, I did. He spoke quite
highly of you actually."

"Did he? Well, it's nice to know he made friends during his brief stay here and you look like a nice
girl so I'm thankful he was in good company."

Though meant as a compliment, the words sounded insincere to Dahyun but she brushed it off with
a tight-lipped smile. "We're still in touch too. He helped me...be more confident."

"That's nice." Jinyoung tapped out a rhythm on the wooden surface. "Well, it's been a pleasure
getting to know you and I hope you have a good experience working here, Dahyun. Joon will show
you the ropes better as the days go on. Do you have any questions for me?"

So many I don't even know where to start.

Dahyun cleared her throat. "Just one."

"One? And I thought you said you were studying to be a journalist? Where's the thirst for
knowledge? The endless questions? The urge to research?" Jinyoung chuckled but his roving eyes
chilled her to the bone. They were devoid of mirth.

"I prefer to not be so direct, sir. More the sleuthing type, if you will."
Jinyoung held her gaze for a second too long before he nodded. "Interesting. What's your
question?"

Dahyun took a deep breath. "Why Rkive?"

Jinyoung's eyes widened, losing some of their iciness. "That's all? Why, didn't Namjoon tell you?
He's of a scholarly bent—don't let those tattoos and his hulking physique fool you—and he simply
took the word Archive and stylised it into something akin to modern slang. Rkive with an R was
born. He felt it was fitting, since this is quite an old building too."

Dahyun bowed, disappointment tasting bitter in her mouth. "Thank you so much, Mr Park sir."

"Please, Mr Park is my father. Call me Jinyoung," Jinyoung said amiably, and his eyes flashed oil
black.

>

When Dahyun left, Jinyoung settled back in his chair, smiling to himself.

Truly, what a small world indeed.

Jackson had been worried that his little fling could potentially cause problems for them because he
caught her riffling through his notebooks, yet here she was, waltzing right into their arms where
they could keep a close eye on her.

Jinyoung couldn't believe his luck. He had been reluctant to expend resources on monitoring the
girl but fate seemed to be on his side.

He didn't believe her excuse of finding a summer job away from the city, and he already knew she
was lying about having a roommate—his line of work mandated that he be good at reading people.
It always gave him an edge to know when someone was being untrustworthy and Kim Dahyun
ticked all the boxes.

She was utterly alone, and probably nobody knew she was in Incheon as well—she struck him as a
determined if rather naive girl with a thirst to prove herself.

He had glimpsed her shock when she entered and upon learning her name, it made sense why. She
hadn't been expecting to meet him, here of all places.

Well, he was more than willing to teach her a lesson and show her that she should not be poking
her nose in people's business.

Jinyoung reached for his phone to call the Jays that were probably skulking around in the
underground bunker, deep beneath Rkive.

"Hello Jay," he said when someone picked up the line, "I have a job for you. I want you to keep a
close eye on a little friend of mine that I just got acquainted with tonight. Listen closely..."
 Outing
Chapter Notes

a little filler, next one should continue on from this one regarding events :P and
hopefully we'll dive back into the plot properly after that.

picture is by pangkangaroo from twitter

The day before Jisoo's meeting with Jinyoung, Jennie woke up first.

On some days she'd tiptoe out of bed, dress quietly and go for a jog, and then drive back to the
Vault with Jisoo and open early, purely out of habit's sake, because otherwise she would open the
Vault whenever she made it back from Jisoo's place, or when Jisoo dropped her off to check in at
work.

Irene and Seulgi usually would pop in only on Mondays but more often than not had elected to laze
about in their beds (or shared a bed, as a blushing but happy Irene once informed Jennie) before
Irene left for work.

Somi also took advantage of summer holidays and preferred lazing in bed and going out with her
circle of dancer friends, stopping by the Vault later in the day. Matthew basically followed his
daughter's schedule like a faithful dog, though he did apparently pick up more work in summer so
he didn't really come in for gym very much either.

Jennie wasn't sure if Somi suspected about her relationship with Jisoo but so far she hadn't yet
heard Lisa shriek of defeat like she usually did whenever she lost a bet to her. Chaeyoung had gone
with her parents to Busan, Somi informed her, and Dahyun had moved to Incheon for a summer
job.

"We're all drifting apart," Somi had whined. "Now Seulgi's gone to visit her parents, Jennie's
having sleepovers with her new bestie every other night, Lisa has basically moved in with my ex-
pilates instructor, Chae and Dubu have abandoned me, Dad is busy with work because
summer...where does that leave me?"

"The audacity of forgetting your grandma, young lady," Lisa scolded.

"Excuse me, I'm not a grandma!" Irene said indignantly as Lisa and Somi chortled. "And yeah,
how dare you leave me out of your thoughts?"

"Face it, you're our granny and we love you," Somi tittered. "I was pulling your leg. How could I
ever forget you? Oh wait, I'd have to be dead."

"Well as your granny, I suggest it's high time you focused on your own love life instead of
your...unhealthy obsession with ours."

"What an idea! Now's the perfect time to pair up with that Daehwi oppar then," Lisa had winked,
"have your smoochy scorching summer het romance and all. We're well into the holidays now,
what you waiting for? Him to propose?"

Somi had merely shot Lisa a withering look, but Jennie didn't miss the way she smiled after, as
though actually considering the idea.

Jennie had a secret suspicion that Somi was actually already romantically entangled but she was
just stringing Lisa and the others along as payback for not telling her about their own
relationships...

On some other days, Jennie would wake up to soft kisses on her shoulder, her neck, her spine; or
else it would be warm lips softly brushing her forehead as Jisoo nuzzled her.

Jennie couldn't always catch what she was mumbling, but one time she thought she heard Jisoo
say 'jagiya'—darling—and Jennie nearly melted right through the bed.

More often than not when Jisoo woke her up like that, Jennie would turn to face her properly and
they'd make love, slowly and softly, languidly exploring each other's bodies.

It was becoming something of a ritual for them—slow, tender lovemaking in the morning, when
everything was still dreamy and sleepy, and then passionate lusty boning in the evening, hard and
exhilarating.

They had even progressed to strap-on's now after a lengthy conversation to make sure Jisoo was
truly okay to try those toys again, which took the experience to even more thrilling heights.

But on this day, Jennie woke up and didn't move out of bed. She didn't try reaching over to kiss
Jisoo or wake her up either.

Jennie lay still, gradually growing aware of how their bodies lay snuggled together, listening to the
gently rhythm of their breaths.

Last night, they had fallen asleep after talking about Jinyoung and planning their moves with care,
without getting down and dirty. The very memory of Jinyoung appearing in any capacity in her
mind soured Jennie's mouth.

But what had her mood improve was, as usual, the sight of Jisoo, sleeping soundly next to her.

Jisoo slept on her back, her elegant face turned to Jennie, with her lips buried in Jennie's hair. One
arm curled around Jennie's head, holding her, protecting her. The other arm was draped over
Jennie's waist, keeping her close. Jennie's head lay on Jisoo's collarbone area, Jisoo's heart beating
steadily a few inches away from her cheek.

Even in sleep, Jisoo was reluctant to let go of her, and it had Jennie's nerves settle the longer she
stayed in that cosy embrace. She put her arm around Jisoo and closed her eyes. Her girlfriend
hummed in her sleep.

"Jendeukie," Jisoo mumbled as she automatically shifted to cuddle her closer. "Mmm, jagiya..."

Jennie smiled, content.

>

"I'm a bit anxious about unnie meeting this Jinyoung guy," Rosé told Lisa over breakfast. "Jennie
doesn't trust him one bit and that alone makes me feel...I don't know."

"They'll be careful. I'll be on standby, on the phone with Jennie all the time. And besides, Jisoo
said it was a casual dinner. Jennie will be...loitering nearby," Lisa reassured, chomping on the
bagel she had persuaded Rosé into cooking from scratch.

"New word?" Rosé smiled. "Don't talk with your mouth full, baby, the bagel isn't going anywhere."

"It's just so goof," Lisa said thickly then swallowed. "Holy bagels, I wanna eat your bagels for the
rest of my life! The fried egg? Fabulous. That bacon? Delectable. That cheese? Mouth-watering.
Them buns? Heavenly. The sauce? Extraordinary. "

Rosé's tinkering laugh was interrupted by the cats' impatient meowing.

"Oh I'm sorry babies, I'll get you the food," Rosé fussed as she jumped to her feet. "Wash up for
me babe? I think I'll shower and get ready after I'm done with the cats."
"Sure thing babe," Lisa grinned as she also stood up and collected their plates. Rosé pressed a kiss
to Ella's head as the latter passed her by and bounced into the kitchen, all fresh and dressed up with
a backpack swinging in her hands.

"I'm ready to go! Let's go let's go!" she said excitedly. "I wanna go rollerskating!"

"Soon kiddo, go play with Leo and Lego meanwhile." Lisa bent to ruffle Ella's hair and chortled
when Ella complained and went to find the cats.

A buzz from her phone alerted Lisa to a new message from her sister.

Just had breakfast. Where you at?

Lisa set the plates in the sink, wiped her hands down her pants and carefully started texting.

She was proud that she had actually gotten the hang of their new smartphones (courtesy of Jisoo)
faster than Jennie had. It was so much easier having a keypad than having to press a button
multiple times just to swap out a letter on Jennie's old Nokia.

About to wash plates. we ll meet u soon, Lisa texted.

It's not that. r u alone?

Yes.

Seconds later, a call came in from Jennie and Lisa picked up.

"What's up?"

"Are you close to a window on the street, south side?" Jennie asked. Lisa could almost picture
her frown—she sounded on edge.

Lisa cast her eyes out the window in front of the sink. "Yeah I am actually. What is it?"

"The car I mentioned," Jennie said tersely, "it's there again. Faded blue, a bit dusty. Third
one after the silver. I can't tell if it's occupied from here, it's too far. Have you noticed the
windows are tinted too?"

Lisa's brows furrowed as she squinted to single out the said car. "You sure it's the same one?"

"Positive,"Jennie said.

She had told Lisa about the suspicious car that she always seemed to notice around the condo, and
which gave her a faint uneasy feeling of being watched. She also said the car seemed to change
colour a couple times but it was always the same make and feel to it.

Lisa took her seriously—she always took Jennie's gut instincts seriously.

Jennie had told Jisoo about the car too, but Jisoo had no clue if it belonged to anyone living in the
condo or the vicinity. When Rosé was asked whether any of her pilates clients or their neighbours
owned such a car, she didn't know either.

However, Lisa caught a brief expression of alarm cross her face when Jennie mentioned it seemed
to be always sitting outside the condo, observing their comings and goings in plain sight, though
she quickly schooled it back into a mild expression of concern.
"I wish we knew for sure," Jennie said in a low voice. "I feel like I'm being paranoid for no
reason and yet...just weeks ago Jinyoung was jumping to have you and a juiced up Seulgi in
his clutches. Just weeks ago you were provoked into showing a reaction by fighters under the
influence. And now that attack by that big guy..."

Lisa didn't say anything, merely letting her speak. It was clear the matter was weighing on her
mind and Jennie had nobody else to talk it out with except her sister.

"I keep trying to connect the dots," Jennie said slowly. "Whoever is out there... maybe they're
scared they've been too reckless, trying to reveal you."

"So they're just gonna monitor us now?"

"Possibly..."

"Nini, that's making some pretty big assumptions. You think the fights, Jinyoung, the attack and
this car are connected?"

"Yes...?"

"The big guy was after Rosie though," Lisa reasoned, unconsciously clenching her fist at the
memory.

"True. But...I don't know, something feels off about it," Jennie said, "like there's something
deeper at work here."

"Jen, I think you're being a bit paranoid about that big guy attack," Lisa said carefully. "Maybe
you're right about the others, but I think if he was after me, he would have tried to snatch me and
take me away. Kinda like Jinyoung tried to do apparently."

"I know. It's odd, and I don't like it," Jennie muttered. "Everything is unpredictable. I won't
rule out Jinyoung being involved somehow, not unless proven otherwise. He was too shady."

"You also think he's gunning to take Jisoo from you," Lisa pointed out.

"That's besides the point,"Jennie said stiffly then sighed. "Remember what Hwangssabu said?
Keeping you a secret from everyone is their priority as well, otherwise it would turn even
more complicated for them to handle."

"Well if trying to reveal me in front of an arena of people is their idea of subtle, I'd hate to see what
their idea of publicly exposing me is," Lisa said dryly.

She heard Jennie sigh again over the phone.

"I wish we didn't have to keep living with secrets," Jennie said wearily. "I wish we could just
enjoy ourselves with our girlfriends and get on with life."

Tentatively, Lisa brought up what she had been pondering for days now, especially after that
particular late-night talk with Rosé weeks ago, when they had watched X-Men and Rosé opened up
about her ex boyfriend.

"Nini...if we told Jisoo and Rosie the whole truth..."

"Oh yes. I'm sure Rosé would welcome you with open arms and blindly trust you with her
kid after you're done explaining, especially when she's fearing the return of her ex," Jennie
said, for she had been informed about the possible reappearance of Taehyung. Her tone held no
bite, only weariness. "Face the facts Lisa, and I swear, I'm not trying to be mean, it's just...I
don't want you to get hurt. Believe me, I feel bad holding back from Chu too, when she's been
nothing but understanding. But we can't just tell them...it would change everything."

"Would it really?"

"People mean well, Lisa," Jennie said quietly. "But sometimes, they can't keep the promises
they give, as much as they might want to. Fear changes people, twists them up. I...I don't
want to lose what we have..."

Lisa closed her eyes, understanding the trace of pain in Jennie's voice.

Hwangssabu's promises, gone up in smoke.

Jennie herself, fearing her sister and holding her at arm's length on a leash.

Jennie had hit home. Lisa's biggest fear was Rosé fearing her and staying away after learning about
her background.

She had said she wouldn't do such a thing during the X-Men movie they watched, making tentative
hope bloom in her chest. But real life was different than movies. Real life was scarier and messier
than fiction.

"I want to believe that Rosie and Jisoo are different," Lisa said abruptly, "but for now, we'll wait
for a little longer before we tell them. And if you won't, I will."

"Lisa..."

"Do you really think Jinyoung is involved somehow?" Lisa asked finally.

"Hopefully we'll get answers tomorrow, when Chu goes..." Jennie trailed off and Lisa cottoned
on to her palpable worry.

"She'll be fine Jen. It's a just a dinner outing. He wouldn't try do anything at a restaurant, right? I
think...I think he's just lonely and he wants a friend. Jisoo did say he was always alone, just with his
body guards. And it's difficult not to like unnie."

"Lonely? Huh! Guys like him can get girls by the dozen. He's not lonely, he's bored. I bet he
thinks Jisoo is some quirky manic pixie dream girl," Jennie scoffed.

Her voice turned thoughtful. "He's always alone, except that one time. There was a guy with
him one time. Gave me the creeps. He had some sort of awful scar on his face."

Jennie broke off with a shudder before resuming. "I don't know Lisa. I hope you're right. I also
think the people after you might lie low for now, just watching us because, well, you're
injured and you're out of the Grand Slam, so you'd be useless in their eyes. So we gotta keep
that cast on for a while longer than we planned. It might turn out to be a blessing in disguise
after all."

"Ah man really? I was looking forward to taking it off. It's looking mighty raggedy."
"Hang in there for now. Think of it like protection. It's protecting you, and also Rosé and
Ella."

"I should stop coming over then. I don't want to endanger Rosie and Ella," Lisa gritted, her heart
pinching in protest even as she said the words aloud. "We need to throw them off."

"No, we can't show them we're on to them," Jennie decided. "They haven't made any moves
again, I think as long as we stick together, and make sure Ella is always around other people,
we'll be safe for now."

"How can I warn Rosie? I want her to be on the alert too."

"Not yet. We can't have everyone panicking when it might even turn out to be a false alarm."

"I don't think it's a false alarm. I trust your gut instincts, Nini. I believe you when you say
something is fishy."

"Let me think about this some more, okay? Unnie's got this," Jennie reassured. "After Jisoo
meets up with Jinyoung, we'll talk again. Let's just...have fun rollerskating today. And act
normal. Forget all this for a while. Have fun."

"Don't forget the aquarium and Everland later! It's a jam-packed day," Lisa grinned. She heard
Jennie give a low groan before she hung up, signalling her (lack of) enthusiasm.

A little rattled by her conversation with her sister but still determined to push away all her worries
for the mean time and enjoy the fun day out all four girls planned to have with Irene, Somi and
Ella, Lisa suddenly grew aware of an insistent buzzing of a phone other than her own.

Rosé's phone was ringing on the table before it stopped then gave two short vibrations, indicating a
message had come through.

Curiosity got the better of Lisa as she approached the table before she even registered what she was
doing.

She didn't usually poke around Rosé's electronics, knew that it was wrong to do so, a major no-no
of the Good Girlfriend Code, but she was curious as to who would be messaging her girlfriend.
Maybe a pilates client?

"No Lisa, you gotta wash the plates," she admonished herself and pulled up her sleeve,and cover
her cast with the usual plastic bag. Yet the nagging thought wouldn't leave her alone as she glanced
back at the phone again, biting her lip.

During the past weeks, she had glimpsed Rosé pick up her phone whenever a random text came
through during the day.

It could be in the morning, afternoon or evening. Her face would momentarily sour, lips tugging
into a thin line, brows pulling into a frown, then she would put her phone away and carry on,
always hugging Lisa a little extra tight after.

It befuddled Lisa but she wasn't one to question other people's private affairs.

Except they were girlfriends. Rosé would tell her if something was bothering her, right? Rosé
could be open with her, she had told her about her father and her ex when Lisa herself hadn't really
given her much back.
Maybe that's why Rosé was hiding whatever she was doing on the phone, Lisa thought suddenly.
Maybe she thought Lisa didn't trust her enough. What if she was talking to someone else? What if
she was being threatened somehow and Lisa wouldn't know because Rosé didn't think her capable
of protecting her?

Lisa shook her head.

She could still distinctly hear her girlfriend singing in the shower and the sound made Lisa's lips
curl. She did love hearing Rosé sing.

While the coast was still clear, Lisa came to a decision. Just a quick peek, she promised herself.
She wiped her hands dry and hurriedly checked Rosé's homescreen for the text notification.

Tomorrow @ 10pm. Call me when you see this.

That was the entirety of the text message, making Lisa frown. The contact number gave no
indication as to their identity at all: it was listed as Unknown.

Who was this person and what did they mean by that mysterious message?

All sorts of thoughts ran through Lisa's head, the most dreadful being that Rosé was cheating
behind her back but she dismissed that idea as soon as it formed.

Rosé wouldn't cheat, she cared about her. It was ridiculous to even think so.

But then what did this message mean? Was it simply a case of a wrong recipient? What did the
sender want from her girlfriend? What was happening tomorrow at 10pm?

"Hey baby, I'm all done! Your turn," Rosé chirped as she walked into the kitchen, drying her hair.
Lisa nearly jumped out of her skin because she hadn't heard her walking in.

"Whoa, it's just me, what's got you all jumpy?" Rosé laughed. The chuckle died in her throat when
she spotted Lisa glancing at her phone on table.

Rosé swallowed a curse and forced herself to smile instead. "Lisa?"

Lisa shook her head. "I uh...you got a message."

"Yeah?" Rosé said casually as she picked up the phone. She was aware of Lisa's eyes on her and
inevitably, her smooth act slipped on to mask her trepidation. "Oh yeah, that's my boss from work.
He's giving me a new gig tomorrow night." She even pulled a face to keep up the act. "Yaaaayy."

"Oh it's your boss?" Lisa said, greatly relieved. "You better call him back then."

"Eh, he can wait," Rosé shrugged, putting the phone aside and moving to rest her hands around
Lisa's hips. "You okay?"

Lisa nodded vigorously then slowly shook her head, giving a shaky laugh. "I...I'm sorry it's stupid
but I didn't even think it's your boss at all. I thought...I thought it was...I'm sorry..."

Rosé understood. She kissed her firmly, swallowing Lisa's doubts as the boxer sank into her arms.

"I'm dumb," Lisa mumbled. Rosé smoothed her hair.

"Sorry for the scare baby, but I promise you, it's just my boss. He contacts us personally when he
wants to give us extra gigs. You seriously think I'd give up all of this," she added with an
exaggerated emphasis as she peppered little kisses all around Lisa's neck and collarbones, making
Lisa giggle, "for some random person? After I waited so long to get your attention? After I waited
so long to kiss you? Not a chance, baby. Not. A. Chance. I'd be hella crazy to do that, after
everything we shared together."

Hearing Lisa's little giggles had Rosé's heart nearly splitting in two, because Lisa believed her so
blindly, trusted her so innately without further questioning, that it had guilt almost choke her.

"Mooooooooooooom when are we gonna go?" Ella said loudly as she trailed into the kitchen with
the kittens and Bori at her heels. "Aunty Jisoo and Jennie unnie are waitinggggg."

"Soon darling, Lisa and I are having a moment," Rosé smiled without looking away from Lisa.

"You have too many moments," Ella pouted, "you'll go kissy kissy in a bit and then we'll take even
longer to get going."

"Someone's a little impatient, hmm? Well, you gotta live with it kiddo, I love your momma very
much so I gotta show her with plenty of kisses," Lisa chortled.

"You love me?"

Lisa froze, realising what she said. She raised her face slowly. Rosé was gazing at her with an
awestruck expression. Even Ella quietened, understanding that something big was happening.

"You love me?" Rosé asked again, quietly. Her hands gripped Lisa's waist tighter.

"I...yeah," Lisa answered, just as quietly. She scratched her head, wholly unprepared for romantic
confessions but the words tumbled from her mouth in a stream and she knew it was her heart,
confessing the truth.

"I...I can't imagine a future without you in it, Rosie. You've done so much for me, you make me
feel so happy and whole and...and human, just by being your beautiful, kind, caring self. I've never
felt such strong feelings for anyone before and...I love you, Rosie. I'm in love with you. I've been
falling for you all this time and...maybe I didn't realise that it's been love all along. I only hope you
can maybe at least feel a fraction of what I'm feeling and that I can work on making you as happy
as you make me."

She was shocked to see Rosé's eyes swimming in tears. Lisa held her, warily gauging her reaction.

"Baby? Was that...too much?"

Rosé gave her answer when she threw her arms around Lisa's neck and kissed her hard. "I couldn't
ask for better," she sniffed once she drew back. "You make me feel happy and safe when I'm with
you. I love you too, Lisa. So much."

Thrilled, Lisa picked Rosé up and whirled her about, pulling her mouth down to hers to kiss her as
Ella clapped and cheered.

"So you'll get married now?" she asked eagerly. "I want to be the bridesmaid! And are the kittens
invited? We could have them in a travel box, so they won't feel left out."

"Sweetie," Rosé murmured, stifling a groan. Lisa laughed and put her down before she crouched in
front of Ella.

"Marriage is a big step El. We talked about this." She couldn't resist slipping in a wink. "When the
right time comes, who knows? We'll take it slowly for now."

"Baby don't encourage her," Rosé said faintly because the idea of waking up next to Lisa as
officially her wife sounded like a dream that she was liking too much for her own good.

She remembered Mr Lee's misunderstanding, and the way her heart gave a kick in her chest when
he congratulated her on being engaged to Lisa, and how she hated her rational side for stepping
through to correct and clarify the confusion, and how that same night, she had dreamed of walking
up the aisle to a beaming Lisa waiting for her at the altar.

"Can we go already then?" Ella sulked and marched out to the door to Rosé's amusement and
exasperation.

"I know the teenage years are going to be a handful, but she's barely a tween and already giving me
—us—attitude," she lamented. Lisa kissed her cheek.

"Baby, she's just excited to get going. She'll settle down once we move out, you'll see."

"Hmm, that reminds me, go clean up, I'll wash the plates. We'll meet you at Jisoo's, maybe Ella
will settle then."

"Okay." Lisa leaned in to peck her on the lips. "You know, I wanted to do this better."

"Hmm?"

"The 'I love you' thing, I mean. I wanted to take you out somewhere swanky, and give you roses
and have a candle-lit dinner under the stars, like the Lady and the Tramp movie? Maybe there
could be someone on the piano or a guitar for that extra romantic touch, you know? And maybe
even have a little dance after? Would you like that?"

"Why baby, I had no idea you're such a romantic," Rosé giggled.

"None at all? I thought Nini told you all about my teenage proposal."

"Ahh yes, the infamous Vegas elopement, I really need to ask Jennie about that one," Rosé
grinned, making Lisa sigh.

Rosé snuggled against her chest. "But hey, having a restaurant date sounds like a lovely idea, who's
stopping you from doing that? I'd love to have a date night out, just the two of us. I love Ella to bits
and I enjoy hanging out with Jisoo and Jennie...but I'd love to have some time alone with you. We
haven't had that for a while. Unless you count pilates, but I prefer not being sweaty for once."

"So it's definitely a yes?" Lisa said excitedly, making Rosé chuckle and nod. "Alright then, I'll tell
you about it one day soon, once I got it all figured out. I'll wine and dine you like a
queen. My queen."

Rosé shoved Lisa away with a laugh, heart fluttering. "Go, we'll never get going otherwise."

Lisa grinned, mouthed 'I love you' one more time then fled for the bathroom while Rosé turned her
back to wash the dishes in the sink, a grin splitting her face in two.

Only the momentary reminder of Yang's text message darkened her mood.

>

"Irene come onnnnnnnnnn," Somi whined, pulling at Irene's arm whilst a resolute Irene shook her
head furiously.

Behind Somi, scores of rollerskaters careened past in a blur, lapping around the circuit at various
speeds. The arena had a retro theme to it, with vinyls and posters of vintage period acts decorating
the walls.

Lisa, Jisoo and Ella were having the time of their lives, messing around and chasing each other
while Rosé smiled from the sidelines and took pictures as best as she could while also calling out
for them to be careful.

She had done a couple laps, having proved herself to be a fairly skilled skater which had Lisa
demanding to be brought up to speed.

Ella picked up pretty quickly and she was off racing with other kids she befriended while Rosé
pulled Lisa along from her hands in the slower lanes to the side until Lisa's confidence increased
and soon, she was doing laps hand in hand with her girlfriend, pleased as a monkey in a crate of
bananas.

Something similar happened with Jennie and Jisoo, the difference being that Jennie was a more
vocal but less proactive pupil.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

"Jendeuk it's okay."

"Why am I moving? I didn't do anything!" Jennie said fearfully, frozen with eyes bulging. "Jisoo I
can't stop moving! Help!"

"You have wheels," Jisoo said, failing miserably to stifle her giggles. "You're just moving forward
because—"

"Chu I can't do this, I'm gonna fall!" Jennie panicked and nearly keeled over weren't it for Jisoo
catching her just in time and cheerfully leading her out to the floor.

Jisoo sat her down on the benches that lined the wall and patiently put on her helmet, elbow and
knee pads as well as wrist guards.

"There, now you're all ready. I'm right next to you. Stand up."

After many shenanigans, with Jennie's knees shaking and Jisoo trying very hard not to laugh at her
terrorised girlfriend, they started a slow circuit of Jisoo skating backward slowly and holding
Jennie's hands.

"See? This isn't so bad," Jisoo said encouragingly. "You're doing fine, Jendeukie. You'll find your
balance."

"I ought to get a medal for this," Jennie muttered darkly but by the fourth lap, she had relaxed
enough to reply to Jisoo's small talk.

"How's it going?" Somi called as she skidded next to the pair, also an old hand at skating. She
laughed at Jennie's stiff posture. "Jisoo looks like she's moving a grumpy statue. Do you need a
push?"

"Don't you dare," Jennie gritted. She growled low in her throat but didn't move a muscle when
Somi teasingly pulled up behind her, as though any movement would have her keel over.
"Here we go," Somi said gleefully, smirking when she spotted Jennie glancing apprehensively over
her shoulder. She lifted her hands to push. "And a 1, 2,3—"

"Jisoo!" Jennie squealed, propelling herself into a chortling Jisoo's arms and nearly bringing them
down together. Luckily, Jisoo's balance held out as she held her thrashing girlfriend securely until
they stabilised. Somi was meanwhile laughing her head off at the display.

"Ok Somi you had your fun now, go pester someone else," Jisoo chuckled, amused.

Somi laughed again and went to pester Irene who earlier had opted that she would only stay on the
sidelines and watch, but she hadn't reckoned with Somi's pestering.

"One more round?" Jisoo asked Jennie. "Tell you what, how about I turn around, and you hang on
to my waist, and I'll pull you around, eh?"

When Jennie looked uncertain, Jisoo squeezed her hand and was about to reassure her that it would
be okay to sit it out when Jennie nodded.

"Just one lap," she requested.

"One lap," Jisoo nodded happily.

The arrangement seemed to suit Jennie who was content to not budge at all after her scare with
Somi and just allow herself to be dragged along in Jisoo's confident wake.

"You okay?" Jisoo said over her shoulder. "Sorry about blocking the view."

"What are you talking about? You are my view," Jennie said, secretly grinning to herself.

"Aiish, Jendeuk, you've really come far in the flirting department. I taught you well," Jisoo
chuckled. "We're halfway done by the way."

"I'm getting better like this."

"Awesome, hang in there."

The whole set-up felt suspiciously romantic for some reason, as though they were the two of them
enclosed in a bubble despite there being plenty other people around them.

And suddenly, Jennie remembered a Taiwanese movie she and Jisoo had watched called Our
Times, where the main couple had gone roller-skating.

Things were making more sense now.

"So, this is part of Jisoo Yoga huh?" Jennie said close to Jisoo's ear. She smiled when Jisoo
laughed.

"I thought you knew that," Jisoo smiled over her shoulder.

"No, you suggested going rollerskating as a group when everyone was deciding what to do for a
whole day out together, how could I assume that it was because you had previously asked me to go
rollerskating with you?"

"Well, it was an excuse to spend more time with you, of course," Jisoo said and then she added
teasingly, "I thought you were a detective?"
"Well, I deduced you might ask me to go again, this time alone," Jennie retorted.

"Well, would you want to?" Jisoo challenged. A short pause followed as Jennie deliberated.

"Maybe?" she said quietly. "You being here...it's not so bad."

"Good enough for me," Jisoo said cheerfully and led them on the final stretch of their lap.

But Jennie wasn't done yet. She sidled up closer to Jisoo and whispered right in her ear.

"Is this how people fell in love back in the day?" Jennie said, "'cos I think I'm getting it."

Jisoo's concentration deserted her all at once— her foot thrust too hard and she flailed, legs flying
out from beneath her as crashed to the ground with a yelp and a hard thud, bringing Jennie down
with her.

"Ow! That one's gonna bruise," Jisoo laughed shakily, her mind still running over Jennie's
statement.

She turned to the girl behind her, almost cooing at her puppy-eyed expression. "You okay?"

"It hurts," Jennie pouted making Jisoo laugh again, almost leaning in to kiss her before she
remembered where they where.

"Next time I'll get you a pillow to tie around your butt."

"You guys okay?" Rosé asked, rolling up to Jennie and Jisoo. "Chu, why don't you give Jennie a
break to recover? Sit with me, Jen."

Grateful for the suggestion, Jennie clasped Rosé's outstretched hand and hobbled as best as she
could whilst Jisoo saluted and took off to join Lisa with a whoop.

"Having fun?" Rosé asked, tongue in cheek.

"Define fun," Jennie snorted. Then she sighed. "Jisoo's doing her best but I'm just not comfortable
enough to let go. I don't think I will." She grimaced as she shuffled alongside Rosé, still feeling the
aftereffects of her fall as pain radiated in small bursts.

"Take a break and try again later."

"Yeah. Or maybe Jisoo will give up," Jennie said hopefully.

"Not a chance," Rosé laughed.

"Hey Jen," Irene greeted when they approached, finally putting her phone down (Jennie suspected
she had been texting Seulgi non-stop). "I saw you and Somi back there. Nasty shock huh?"

"You don't say," Jennie huffed as she sat down and took off her helmet. "Phew, she nearly gave me
a heart attack."

"Somi is a handful," Irene sympathised, patting her shoulder. "Want something from the café?"

"We'll all head there for lunch soon and recharge a bit before we head to the aquarium," Rosé put
in, "but I got some bottles of punch, if you like?"

"You're a lifesaver," Jennie said thankfully as she gulped down the orange punch.
"I'm a mother. You gotta be prepared," Rosé chuckled, "I got a first aid kit with me too. Hopefully,
we won't have any need for that."

They chatted for a while as Jennie rested, watching the other girls zoom around to their hearts'
content.

"Mom did you see me, did you see? I was going so fast! We need to come here more often!" Ella
exclaimed once the skaters all rolled up to go to the café. "It's so fun!"

"I have to disagree," Jennie muttered, earning her a hard nudge from Irene.

"Ah shut it you sour puss," Lisa snickered when Jennie glared.

"Whoa there baby," Rosé laughed at her daughter, "tell me, you got plans to be a pro skater then?"

"Why not? I'm pretty good at it!"

"She's quite the little speed demon out there," Jisoo praised, patting her head.

"Yeah, she even beat Mimi—"

"She did not! That's because I was only—" Somi paused, realising Ella was still within hearing
range and she did not want to invalidate her victory by revealing she had let her win. "I had a stone
in my skates!"

Everyone laughed before taking off their skates and gradually migrating to the cafeteria. Jennie
was just thankful to be on solid ground again that did not roll out from under your feet without
warning.

"What does everyone want? I'll get it, my treat," Jisoo said generously when it came to order food.
Jennie had tried asking her to cut back on spending like that, but Jisoo shrugged and said the
money would otherwise merely sit in vaults.

"I'm trading money with valuable happy memories," Jisoo had told her. "It makes me happy
knowing I can provide for my friends and treat them."

The idea of freely buying whatever one pleased was still a concept Jennie was trying to wrap her
head around, that her girlfriend was that rich.

"Honestly Jen, you're wasting time not jumping on that sugar mama," Somi said as she slid into the
seat next to her. She nodded at Jisoo talking to the cashier at the counter some distance away.
"She's young, she's smart, she's funny, she's pretty, she's loaded, and you got good chemistry too,
all you need is to—"

"Aha! I see what you're doing!" Lisa pointed, eyes narrowing. "No cheating Mimi. If my sister
wanna stay single and just friends, that's her choice. You don't even know which way she swings."

"Well as wise philosopher Doja Cat once said, never knock it till you try."

"Guys, I'm right here," Jennie said.

Somi stuck her tongue out and sat back sulking to Irene and Rosé's amusement. The latter two were
by now aware of the bet Lisa and Somi had going on, but Somi didn't know yet.

"Mommy, what's a sugar mama?" Ella frowned. Irene shot a furious glare at Somi as Jennie and
Rosé collectively sighed whilst Lisa looked quite taken aback.
"Uh....well it's uh...well it's like when your grandma gives you money?" Somi said weakly.

"Was grandma a sugar mama then? And why sugar mama? Did she like sugar that much? Mom?"
Ella asked Rosé, who seemed torn between laughing and face-palming.

"You're making it worse!" Irene scolded Somi. "Ella, honey, forget what Somi unnie said, okay?
She spouts gibberish sometimes."

"Yeah she does," Lisa echoed.

"Thanks for nothing," Somi muttered.

"Well you're the one who started it!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Jennie tuned out their bickering, turning her attention instead to Jisoo at the counter. She debated
going up to her but decided against it. They were in public, and as such, they had decided to keep
their relationship under wraps for now.

Yet, Jennie found herself wishing she could sidle up to Jisoo and hug her from behind. Could that
act really be understood as too intimate for a couple of friends?

Jisoo called her Jendeukie, jokingly referring to her supposedly clingy tendenices, but truly, Jennie
was starting to grow faintly anxious whenever Jisoo strayed from her side.

Since when had she gotten dependant on another person? It was a fine line waiting to be crossed,
waiting for Jennie to hurt herself and lose someone precious all over again.

"Hey, is that girl at the counter flirting with her?" she heard Somi say.

Jennie blinked, breaking out of her reverie to see the staff at the counter seemed to be indeed
having a very animated and lengthy conversation with her girlfriend.

Seeing the other woman chuckle and even touch Jisoo's arm multiple times had Jennie frowning.
Something acrid and bitter clogged her throat and her fingers curled at the sight of the cashier girl
giggling and batting her eyelashes at her girlfriend, practically swooning at something Jisoo said.

She didn't like it when Jisoo returned the smile, and she didn't like it when the cashier girl
beckoned her closer and whispered something in Jisoo's ear who blushed and smiled but shook her
head.

Jennie's annoyance was now a sizeable stone sitting on her chest, crushing her. She never noticed
Lisa shooting uneasy glances in her direction, her vision tunnelling to focus only on Jisoo at the
counter.

But she couldn't blame Jisoo, could she? They had expressly agreed that they would pretend to be
single, just not interested in dating. And though Jisoo seemed to going along with the flirtatious
cashier, she hadn't initiated any teasing touches herself.

Maybe she was only being polite.

"Is she a friend perhaps?" Irene wondered. Jennie realised that even her friends had cottoned on
that something was unusual.
"I don't think so. It's not like this is one of Jisoo's haunts, she usually hangs only with us," Rosé
observed. "Maybe an ex?"

Jennie's nostrils flared and she stood up. "I'll go get her."

"Knight in shining armour going to save her damsel in distress," Somi tittered.

But the other adults could read Jennie's grim expression and her displeasure with the girl chatting
up an oblivious Jisoo.

They only shared curious looks, wondering how Jennie was going to react and what she would do,
but they didn't stop her, trusting her enough to know she wasn't the type to cause a scene.

But before Jennie could go and pluck Jisoo away, Jisoo herself finally pried herself away from the
counter and returned to the table.

"Yerin will come around to take our orders so if you want to take a last look at the menu and
change your mind, now's the time. They do servers for big groups like us that want to eat proper
food," Jisoo said, picking up one of the menus.

"Yerin?The counter girl?" Jennie said casually. She shifted in her seat, hating herself for the easy
jealousy that spiked. "You seemed to...get along pretty well."

"Yeah you were gone awhile, we thought you had forgotten all about us," Somi chimed in then
jumped when Jennie kicked her.

"Yeah, she seems nice, she liked my earrings and blouse."

"Did she now?" Jennie said lightly.

"Yeah and she was quite helpful too."

"Hmm, was she now?"

"Yeah, she told me we can play a loophole and get the family discount and kids under 10 have a
discount too so that's great, for our Ella," Jisoo replied, blissfully oblivious to Jennie's scowl.

She looked up, beaming at Jennie. "You still want the tteobokki, right Jen?"

Jennie felt her irritation evaporate.

How silly of her to think Jisoo would look at anyone else and entertain their advances! And how
hypocritical of her jumping to conclusions about the nature of Jisoo and the other girl's
conversation.

"Yeah still tteobokki," Jennie said at last.

"Awesome, I'll have some too then," Jisoo said happily and Jennie couldn't help but smile back.

But when Yerin came around to take their orders, it was clear her intentions were anything but
platonic.

Jennie gnashed her teeth, willing herself to slap away Yerin's hand when the latter spotted some
apparent cat hair on Jisoo's shoulder and brushed it off, her fingers grazing bare skin. It was
summer and Jisoo was wearing a loose summery yellow chiffon top that slipped down one
shoulder.
Under Jennie's stony gaze, Yerin flirted shamelessly, her attention focused all on Jisoo even as she
wrote down the orders. She didn't seem to notice the awkward air at the table, nor the shifty
glances Somi, Irene, Lisa and Rosé were sharing.

Jennie gripped the edge of her seat and glared as Yerin simpered at Jisoo. If looks could kill, Yerin
would have been dead several times over.

At one point, Jennie felt Lisa's hand land on her thigh, stopping her from charging Yerin and
strangling her when the girl bent down to pick up the pen she apparently dropped because of her
'quirky' clumsiness and dared brushed her chest against Jisoo's side as she climbed back to her feet.

"Oops my bad, I'm a little unsteady in the presence of pretty girls," Yerin giggled. "Well, see you
soon."

Meanwhile, Jisoo flushed pink and waved bashfully at Yerin.

"Oh, got yourself an admirer there," Somi tittered when the staff had retreated behind the counter.

"Shameless," Irene snorted, "does she do that with every girl she sees? What is this, a pick-up
place? She's supposed to be professional. I have a good mind to report her for harassment."

"Guys you're blowing it out of proportion, she was just being over-friendly," Jisoo said.

"Over-friendly?"

Jisoo swallowed, her eyes finally settling on Jennie's upset face. "I...yeah? What else is there?"

"Chu, I'm the first to admit I'm not exactly a bright spark but c'mon, that girl is obviously
interested. She was all over you," Lisa said in a hushed tone. "I thought you're usually good at
sussing out someone's intentions?"

Rosé didn't say anything, her curious eyes flitting back and forth between Jisoo and Jennie.

Jennie's eyes flashed dangerously but she schooled her expression into neutrality. "Did you enjoy
the attention?" she asked Jisoo who shook her head.

"Hey you guys, drop it now, it was nothing, just a waitress trying to get my attention," she
muttered. "I'm not interested. I'm too busy hanging out with y'all anyway."

"Well, maybe it ain't a bad thing, if you decide to pursue it," Somi said thoughtfully, unaware of
the other women's alarm. "We'd start coming here more often, play more often and Ella can really
go pro with the skating. We'd get discounts on food....it's a win-win. I'm willing to jump ships
since my ship seems nowhere in sight."

She wiggled her eyebrows even as Lisa frowned disapprovingly and Irene sighed.

"Drop it Somi, we all were uncomfortable, don't rub it in. I hope someone else gets the food, or at
least I hope she comes to her senses and sees she was overstepping the line."

"Lighten up, it's just a suggestion," Somi retorted.

>

Jisoo couldn't understand what had Jennie so upset.

It was true that maybe she could have fended off Yerin's advances more firmly and assertively but
she worried that the girl might mess with their food out of spite if Jisoo annoyed her in some way.

So Jisoo smiled and grinned politely, going along with the flirting to an extent just to appease the
staff. This method obviously backfired—she gave the wrong impression to both Yerin and Jennie,
encouraging one and upsetting the other.

If they had been alone, Jisoo would have taken the opportunity to apologise a thousand times and
make up for her shortcomings but under Somi's watchful eye, Jisoo could only squirm in her seat
across from Jennie.

Jennie had asked for secrecy, and Jisoo faithfully followed her instructions to a tee: she had
informed Yerin she was indeed single but not looking to date when the girl brazenly asked. Still,
Yerin apparently took it as invitation to still try her best shot at capturing Jisoo's interest.

But how could Jisoo be interested when she had everything she could ever ask for in Jennie? She
had a good mind to message Jennie on her phone, maybe ask to meet up in the bathroom, but
hesitated.

Jennie's eyes were too cold, too distant, avoiding Jisoo's pleading gaze steadfastly.

Did Jennie feel threatened? Was she intimidated by the possibility that Jisoo would lose interest in
her?

Preposterous! Jennie was mature and above those petty insecurities.

Yet, Jisoo now remembered how unreasonably jealous Jennie had been of Rosé, because she feared
her sister would ultimately abandon her, and Jisoo suddenly felt guilty for forgetting how hurt
Jennie had been in the past.

You don't get over past hurts overnight, or just because you have a lover. Now more than ever,
Jisoo desperately wanted to check in with Jennie and apologise for her thoughtlessness.

Jennie was sitting too far for Jisoo to touch her hand, too far to reach out and whisper in her ear or
give her a little peck. Sending Jennie a text for a private talk would look suspicious.

Jisoo was aware of the bet Somi and Lisa had riding on her and Jennie's relationship and though
she didn't necessarily mind, it was proving to be exasperating at this point, hindering her from
communicating with Jennie at such a crucial moment in time.

Their friends all seemed to be giving her the cold shoulder except for Rosé's sympathetic glances
her way. Irene and Lisa looked disappointed which had Jisoo feeling even more guilty.

She was too deep in her brooding to notice she was currently the topic of conversation between the
group (minus Ella, who had moved to industriously plait Lisa's hair after tangling her mother's
locks into knots).

"Jisoo just has her natural charisma that pulls you in," Irene said in an attempt to dispel the unusual
tension between the girls.

"Jisoo is very charismatic," Rosé agreed.

"Yeah, my unicorn buddy was just being nice and polite, she just didn't wanna run away like some
rude person," Lisa put in, wincing because Ella was tugging hard sometimes in her effort to make
the perfect plait.
"You guys!" Somi laughed. "You all sound like you're trying to make sure Jennie understands that
Jisoo didn't cheat on her or something. Lighten up, it's not like nobody has ever flirted with her
before."

Jisoo stiffened. Nobody had anything to say to that but Jennie finally spoke.

"I think that girl tried to flirt with Jisoo because of...the gay face," she ventured, thoughtful. She
ignored her friends' astonished expressions and pressed on. "I guess it's what makes people ping
you on their gaydar, so to speak."

"Huh, never heard that one before," Somi said, interest piqued. Lisa and Rosé shared mystified
looks with Irene, all three wary of what Jennie was going to say next. Jisoo was most confused of
all.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yerin approaching laden with plates of food, but Jisoo
ignored her—there were more pressing matters at hand, such as the discovery of this supposed gay
face she owned.

"I have a gay face?" Jisoo asked, perplexed.

"I'd say you do," Jennie nodded as Yerin finally arrived, "I saw it in between my legs plenty times,
so yeah, I'd say your face is pretty gay."

The result was explosive.

Somi spluttered and fell off her chair with a shriek, Rosé squealed and reached over to clap her
hands to Ella's ears, Lisa howled "you promised you wouldn't tell!" and Irene gasped, punching
Jennie's shoulder with a face red as a tomato. Yerin tensed, lips pursed into a thin line like she was
force-fed lemons.

The commotion caused several tables around them to take interest in the noise as well and look
over, curiosity etched on their faces.

Jisoo stared in open-mouthed astonishment as Jennie sweetly accepted the plates of food Yerin
banged down on the table. The waitress' flirtatious disposition had clearly taken a 180 turn as she
stalked off with a huff and without even a second glance in their direction.

Jennie merely smiled triumphantly when she looked over at Jisoo, raising an eyebrow at her
girlfriend as if to say "well?"

Jisoo could barely hold back her delight—their relationship was no longer secret because Jennie
had just blasted the gates wide open.

"Well in that case, I'd say you have a pretty gay face too, Jendeuk." She couldn't help but return the
jibe, mildly wistful of the days when Jennie used to view her humour as too weird but oh, how
times had changed.

For Jisoo now knew love.

And Jennie smiled at her, eyes disappearing into crescents as Somi finally surfaced from beneath
the table and screamed for the whole café to hear: "I KNEW IT! LISA PAY UP!"
 Outing Pt. 2
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, if you excluded all the ruckus that Lisa, Somi, Jisoo and
Ella caused between them during the visit to the aquarium that had Irene at her wits' end while
Rosé merely followed them around, smiling as she snapped pictures:

Lisa piggybacking Ella as they wandered around through the dimly lit corridors awash with blue
light and solemnly discussing the manta rays that looked like Mr Ray, Nemo's teacher from
Finding Nemo;

Somi and Lisa bickering over whether the specimen in view was a shark whale or a whale shark
and then betting each other and ended up looking glum when the attendant informed them it was in
fact a beluga whale;

Lisa and Jisoo's impromptu penguin waddle dance that earned the group weird looks and guffaws
from onlookers as well as exasperated clucks from mothers with kids who immediately tried to
mimic them;

a very reluctant Irene being forced into a shark onesie alongside Jennie and being immediately
inundated with kids demanding to take pictures with them, thinking they were the aquarium
mascots. The culprits (Lisa, Somi and Jisoo) looked on gleefully;

Ella and Somi wearing matching head bands and throwing up peace signs, Lisa and Jisoo
photobombing them from behind, pulling zany faces;

Jisoo and Jennie contentedly walking arm in arm, conversing quietly and showing off their
matching fish tattoos that they got painted on their hands;

Irene's face scrunched up in a grimace as Lisa and Somi kissed her cheek from either side;

Lisa and Ella playing a clapping game with Somi when they were in queue;

Jennie and Jisoo posing in front of the penguin tank, the turtle tank, the shark thank, the manta ray
tank, the dolphin tank and many other tanks;

Lisa listening intently when the aquarium attendant answered Ella's inquiry about dolphins'
bedtime habits;

(Rosé's personal favourite): several snaps of Lisa and herself sneaking a private kiss in the penguin
observation dome, surrounded only by inquisitive penguins watching them have a quick makeout
session away from the rest of their group;

Jisoo and Jennie performing a little skit for Ella in the souvenir shop where they pretended to have
a pair of cuddly soft toys cling to their arms, unable to let go ("stroke them El, maybe they'll fall
asleep—aha! Great teamwork!)

All in all, it was a fun afternoon well-spent, and the group was also quite spent with all the walking
and touring and laughing, arms chock-full of aquarium souvenirs and soft-toys as they piled into
Jisoo's SUV.
"Next stop: Everland!" Lisa announced from her seat next to Rosé, bouncing excitedly along with
Ella as Jisoo drove. "I wanna go on all the rides!"

"All of them?" Jennie arched a brow in the overhead mirror. "Even the T-Express one? The one
that goes super fast and makes you throw up?"

"I heard it goes so fast that some people leave half of their souls behind," Jisoo said solemnly.

Lisa blanched. "Well uh..."

"Chicken," Somi snickered.

Lisa's nostrils flared as she rounded on Somi. "Oh it's on, you little brat! I bet—"

"No more bets," Irene said firmly. "Pipe down and take a nap. Save your energies for later."

Lisa and Somi immediately took her up on the suggestion, vowing to sleep and recharge in order to
beat out each other at all the games they intended to play later at the theme park.

"You'd make a good mother, Irene," Rosé chuckled at length with Lisa passed out next to her and
Ella sleeping in her lap. Somi had her headphones on in the seat in front of them, head lolling
against the headrest.

"I just manage to convince them to shut up sometimes," Irene sighed. Her face softened when Lisa
snuggled closer to Rosé, watching as Rosé tenderly brushed some stray tendrils of hair away from
her face.

"I'm really glad Lisa got to know you," Irene said and she gestured at Ella, "this might not be my
place to say but...I think you three look good together. Like a little family. It's natural, like it was
meant to be that way."

Rosé blushed. "Thank you. Lisa means a lot to me. I...I love her."

Irene smiled. "Does she know?"

Rosé returned the smile with a shy one of her own. "Yes. I told her today, but she told me first."

She remembered their confession that very same morning in the kitchen, how Lisa's eyes shone and
how she picked her up and whirled her out of happiness. She wanted to see that happy glint in
Lisa's eye, always.

"I could tell something was different. She was sticking closer to you than usual and sneaking little
hugs and cheek kisses when she thought we weren't looking," Irene said, sounding wistful.

"You were spying on us, unnie," Rosé said playfully.

"Guess so. Got to pass the time somehow." Irene sighed. "I miss Seulgi."

"It must be hard hanging out with us. I hope you're not feeling too left out," Rosé said
sympathetically but Irene shook her head.

"It's alright. It's good to get a break from each other too, make sure we're not being too co-
dependant. After all, we're our own person. But I...I still miss her. We don't even have be to talking
all the time. Even if she were to be just here holding my hand, it would be enough."

"Would you like to hold mine and pretend it's Seulgi?" Rosé joked.
Irene's mouth quirked at the corner. "No offence but your hand is too smooth to be Seulgi's. You
wouldn't believe the amount of calluses and blisters she got from all her PFB training."

"Oh trust me I know, I got Lisa..."

They kept chatting intermittently, talking about their respective relationship and sharing anecdotes
with each other.

Rosé couldn't believe there was a time when Irene used to judge her for her teenage pregnancy
because now they spoke like old friends laughing about their respective girlfriends and sharing
fond moments.

Like the time Irene came home from work and found Seulgi had slaved away all day in the kitchen
to make her the perfect dinner from scratch.

A happy, sweaty Seulgi with sizeable stains on her clothes greeted her at the door with a cat under
either arm (because she didn't trust them not to ruin her masterpiece set on the table with candles)
and showed her the amazing spread she had prepared to show off her prowess in cooking under
Irene's tutelage.

"I rewarded her well afterwards, of course, in the shower and in bed," Irene giggled, blushing like a
school girl, "we complement each other. She helps me in areas I'm unfamiliar with, and I do the
same."

"That's really sweet."

"It's how relationships work, isn't it?"

This story reminded Rosé of her own promise for Lisa. They hadn't spoken about sleeping together
again, hadn't really found time to discuss the issue properly since Rosé came in late and mornings
would be hectic waking up to prepare Ella for music school.

But that didn't mean that Rosé stopped thinking about it, anticipation buzzing in her veins and
making her rein in her desire at ungodly hours of the morning when she'd be roused by Lisa's
breath crashing too close against her sensitive neck, or Lisa's body pinning her down as Lisa slept
obliviously on Rosé's chest, the aching need to be touched leaving her unable to sleep as she did
her utmost to banish the heat pooling down south.

It was close to torture, wanting very much to have Lisa entirely, to touch her and worship her and
shower her with adoring kisses, yet having to put on the brakes for the time being, waiting
patiently for Lisa to catch up.

"You haven't done it yet, have you?" Irene whispered.

"Unnie!" Rosé blinked at her, wide-eyed and hurriedly glanced in Jennie and Jisoo's direction up
front, but those two were too busy talking or else too busy holding hands.

She would never had guessed that stiff, straight-laced Jennie could turn into such an effusive
person just because of another girl.

Then again, Jisoo must have worked miracles to get to this point.

"No, we haven't," Rosé said softly. "Lisa...she wants to take it slow."

"It's great that she's being so serious about you instead of messing around like she did with her
groupies," Irene nodded, "I approve. Besides, you have a lot of time to get to know each other until
you feel truly ready. Everyone has their own time. But I'm assuming you're rather...frustrated?"

Rosé was quiet for a few moments, watching the landscape change as skyscrapers towered above
them then shrank as they drove on through traffic. The sun was thankfully hiding behind some
clouds, otherwise the muggy heat would be unbearable.

"Can I ask about you and Seulgi?"

"Of course."

"Uhm...when did you..."

Though Irene was now decidedly more open than before to discuss such private matters candidly,
she still blushed.

"Well...I mean, I think you know by now that the thing about sleeping with someone like that...you
know I had my ideas and beliefs."

When Rosé nodded, Irene continued. "I'm not saying I threw those beliefs away entirely. They're
still what made me. I still don't agree with one night stands. I still don't like the idea of young
people hanging out at bars. I still don't approve of teenagers sleeping together—no offence, Rosé."

"It's okay, I understand and I fully agree."

"But the thing is...I think when you meet someone you like and you're in a steady enough
relationship, you might be willing to be more flexible about your beliefs."

"How do you mean?"

"I'm saying, you talk about what you want and see if they meet you half-way to compromise. I
think if you're both mature adults ready to go to the next step, you'll know."

Irene smiled down at her lap. "Ddeulgi came up to me one day some weeks ago. She said,
Hyun, sit down. So I did. And then she said, we need to talk. And I was a bit apprehensive at first
but she sat down next to me, cupped my face and said, I want you to know that I'll wait for you as
long as it takes but whenever you're ready, I'm ready for you, because I want you.

"Her major worry was that, in telling me, she worried that I'd be forcing myself to sleep with her
because I felt guilty. It had taken her a lot of courage to step up and speak so frankly like that. I had
noticed her fidgeting all week."

She turned to Rosé with a smile. "It was enough for me. She had informed me she was ready and I
know her enough to know she was never going to pressure me like that. Not my Seulgi. But the
truth was, I had been trying to think of a way to ask her as well. Because I wanted to go for the next
step in our relationship too, I just didn't know how."

"What did you do?"

"I told Seulgi, I want you too, but I want our first time to be special and perfect. And Seulgi smiled
at me and said, special how? And it struck me then. What did I even mean, special and perfect?

"I'm not one for romantic gestures or setting the atmosphere like rose petals on bed or scented
candles. Yes they all sound nice but...none of that even registered in my head when I thought of
Seulgi and I together.
"So Seulgi smiled and said, you know my idea of perfect? Just you and me together, and all the
time in the world. And that can be any time we say so."

"That's really sweet," Rosé said wistfully and Irene smiled in agreement.

"And it hit me then, that I was just looking for a fantasy. Waiting for the perfect moment would be
ridiculous. There is no fantasy perfect moment, with romantic candlelight and rose petals. There is
do or don't.

"The perfect moment is when you both want to be together, and that can be any time available.
Although not out in public," she added hastily making Rosé chuckle, "that's one other thing I can't
picture...." she broke off with a shudder.

"Thank you," Rosé said, "I needed that. Lisa...is my first real relationship. I'm still learning how to
go about it."

"My advice? Just tell her, like Seulgi did with me," Irene said sagely. "If you talk, I'm sure you'll
get a better idea of whether Lisa is ready or needs some more time. Just make sure you don't push
her. And...just be there for her."

"Always," Rosé said hoarsely, interlacing her fingers with Lisa's.

>

"One fish-cake to go, with extra sauce just like her highness requested," Jisoo said over the noisy
screams coming from the rides as she arrived next to Jennie. She chuckled as she flicked the panda
ears Jennie wore, matching her own.

"Oh thanks," Jennie said absently, taking the fishcake. Her eyes were on Lisa, Rosé and Ella on the
merry-go-round, while Somi and Irene had gone to get candy (or rather, Somi had dragged Irene to
buy her candy).

It was a balmy summer night, with fairy lights and powerful spotlights illuminating the park as
people and families milled about, eating or laughing as they played games or queued up for the
rides.

"They seem to be having fun." Jisoo pointed at Lisa and Ella as they laughed and threw their hands
up, with Rosé in between them, snapping pictures. "Have you decided what to ride next? We
already did the Turbo Twister and the Pancake Flip, what say we give the T-Express a go for
real?"

"Yeah sounds good."

Jisoo looked at her girlfriend. "Or I can go jump off the Mountain Coaster, that ought to be a thrill,
especially if I get a matching cast with Lisa."

"Yeah, cool."

"Hmm, you know what, maybe I'll go on the Spinning Tops, I feel like puking up everything
again."

"Yeah sure."

"Jendeukie, what is it?" Jisoo asked softly. Jennie blinked and turned to face Jisoo hastily.
"Oh n-nothing, sorry I blanked out. You were saying?"

When Jisoo simply kept staring at her, Jennie's shoulders slumped.

"I'm just...keeping an eye out, that's all," she said quietly. She gestured at the busy park. "I really
don't want to be paranoid but...someone could be following us around."

She fidgeted some more and when Jisoo went to take her hand, she flinched. Jisoo tried not to feel
hurt by that reaction.

"I'm sorry. It's unreasonable of me to do that when I was okay earlier," Jennie said, firmly taking
Jisoo's hand of her own accord and squeezing tightly. "But...maybe I didn't think this through
properly when I announced that we're together. I...I just was so irritated."

"Jen, just because now our friends know we're together doesn't mean we have to be all showy in
public, you know."

"I know. But I also know that you like it when I hold your hand or kiss your cheek like this,"
Jennie smiled as she leaned in and kissed Jisoo's cheek, who blinked in surprise. "Who am I to
deny you such pleasures?"

Jisoo bit her lip to hide her grin, failing miserably.

It was true, she had been secretly envious of Rosé and Lisa's freedom to kiss whenever and in front
of whoever they pleased, able to casually touch or be intimate if they so wished.

Though Jisoo hadn't minded keeping her relationship with Jennie secret, the more time passed the
more she longed to walk in the street and hold her hand, or kiss her when Jennie smiled, or hug her
and pull her close, or wrap her arms around Jennie's waist from behind.

She was free to do all that now, except for the fear of being spotted by some bigot, or seen by the
source of Jennie's fear...

"I just don't want anything bad happening to you because of whoever is out there," Jennie said
softly, "because they'll know you're with me now if they see us like this. And maybe I should have
thought more about that earlier but I wanted that girl to bug off and leave you alone. And I want
people to know that we're together because I'm proud that you're my girlfriend, Chu."

"Even though I dumped my shaved ice on that attendant creep at the Ferris Wheel?"

"Especially because you did that. He had it coming and he deserved worse for being a perv."

"Got us banned from the ride though. And my bingsu," Jisoo said dolefully.

"Who cares about some ride? And I'll buy you some more bingsu." Jennie rubbed her thumb in
circles over Jisoo's knuckles. "Your knack of spilling things saved the day and that's worth any
crummy ride. If Lisa was around, I'm sure she'd have punched him into next Sunday for trying to
catch a peek at my chest."

"I would have punched him too, if you didn't hold me back. The boobs are mine," Jisoo muttered
but a smile took over her face when Jennie chuckled.

"Easy there, Rocky," Jennie snickered, "or I'll replace you with Lisa in the ring."

"I'll have you know I throw a mean punch."

"For a limp noodle, sure."

"Hey!"

She let it slide, partly because it was true and partly because hearing Jennie's giggle was music to
her ears.

She was determined to have her laugh somehow and seemed to be inching towards that goal little
by little each day as Jennie's chuckles and giggles grew gradually louder.

The moment passed however as Jennie soon settled back in a pensive mood, scanning their
surroundings restlessly. Jisoo nudged her, reluctant to have Jennie clam up on her again.

"Who is out there, Jen?" she asked tentatively. Jennie's face betrayed nothing but Jisoo had gotten
to know her well enough to read her eyes, and she saw a glimmer of fear.

"I'm not sure," Jennie said tightly and looked away. "But I can definitely tell you that it's not me
they're interested in..."

Jisoo followed her gaze, landing on Lisa who was hollering at the top of her lungs while Rosé
laughed and Ella yelled with her.

Jisoo squeezed Jennie's hand. "Jennie, please...I can help. I want to help, that's why I'm meeting
with Jinyoung tomorrow, right? I won't leave, no matter what it is. If it's some mafia thing or loan
sharks or—"

"I told you, I never went to loan sharks," Jennie said sharply, her voice ringing with warning.

Jisoo wilted. "Sorry..."

Jennie didn't say anything else but she didn't let go of Jisoo's hand. If anything she squeezed
tighter, silently begging Jisoo to stay, making Jisoo inwardly cheer up.

Jennie lashed out out of fear, not malice, which Jisoo could take. It was only the fact that Jennie
didn't fully lean on her, always keeping her guard up without trusting that had Jisoo saddened,
because she thought she had done all she could to earn Jennie's trust.

"It's okay," Jisoo said softly, in answer. "I never meant to imply that you did but I should have
watched myself better. Sorry for that. I just...want to keep you safe."

Jennie looked at her thoughtfully for a long moment then wordlessly stepped up in front of her, her
shoulders hunched as though squaring up for battle.

"Hug me," Jennie said, voice terse. Her eyes never looked away, challenging in their intensity, as
though she had stepped out of her clothes and now waited for Jisoo to join her.

Jisoo didn't pause to question: she put down her food on a nearby bench and wrapped her arms
around Jennie, holding her close and relishing her fragrance, the curves of her body pressing
against her, her scent beneath it all that Jisoo had gotten to know so intimately.

Jennie didn't react at first, keeping stiff as a board but then she thawed like ice, leaning her face
closer next to Jisoo's with stray locks of hair tickling Jisoo's cheek.

Jisoo's heart fluttered when she felt Jennie's hands skimming the band of her jeans, but the
circumstances didn't call for excitement. Jennie's movements were pondering and careful, as
though Jisoo would shatter to dust in her hands.

And it suddenly struck Jisoo that this was the first time they were hugging publicly.

Yes they had bumped cheeks and brushed chaste cheek kisses and strolled arm-in-arm, but hugging
felt like a far louder declaration of their status, to everybody and nobody at the same time.

Jisoo couldn't help the uncontrollable fondness that swelled in her chest for her fearful yet
determined girlfriend.

"I'm safe," Jennie said softly next to Jisoo's ear and leaned against her shoulder, nestling cosily in
the crook of her neck like she did when they were locked away in the bedroom.

Jisoo swore softly, making Jennie chuckle.

Unbeknown to them, hidden away from the glaring lights, a camera aimed directly at the pair
clicked once, twice.

>

"Yikes, I think I'm getting old," Lisa huffed, bent over her knees as she held her back with Ella still
sitting astride her. "Alright, off you get kiddo. Piggyback ride is over."

"Already?" Ella said sadly, pouting.

Lisa crouched down in front of her, in full view of Rosé and made a big show of secretly passing
Ella some money bills and putting her finger up to her lips to indicate secrecy, which had Ella perk
up.

"Go to the others and play games for a bit. We're gonna have a quick break."

"To kiss?"

Rosé flushed but Lisa merely laughed. "Amongst other things."

Ella took her cue and quickly left with the money, skipping up to Somi who grinned and sent a
thumbs-up their way when Ella handed her the money.

"Smart girl, our Ella," Lisa grinned and Rosé agreed, loving the way Lisa referred to Ella as their
kid. She could get used to that.

Lisa flopped down in the seat next to Rosé, away from the hustle and bustle of the theme park. She
looked to the side at her patient girlfriend, waiting for her with a cloud of candyfloss in either hand
and the softest expression on her face.

"For me?"

Rosé nodded, her smile tender. "Just for you, baby. You deserve it."

"Aww, thank you!" Lisa happily took her candyfloss and started tearing into it. "Gosh, Nini is
gonna have me benching for days to get rid of all the sugar I ate today."

"Ah ah ah," Rosé giggled, putting a finger to Lisa's lips and pausing her candy devouring frenzy,
"we agreed no health talk today. It's a cheat day so enjoy it while you can. I know I will."

"You sure did! I like a girl who pays so much attention to her burger to the point that I felt left out."
"I have you every day, babe. I have burgers once a month."

Lisa gripped her heart. "Ouch, darling, that was lethal."

"Should I kiss it better?"

"How daring of you, but you know I'd never say no."

"You like it."

"I love you," Lisa winked and Rosé blushed, unable to quip back other than a soft: "I love you
too."

It was almost unfair how a small simple statement left her reeling but she couldn't complain, not
when it came to Lisa.

They both sat quietly enjoying their candyfloss and each other's company while Ella and the others
were pre-occupied with winning a game across from them. Cries of frustration or cheers of
jubilation broke out at intervals from the group while Rosé and Lisa bet on who was winning.

Rosé turned to watch Lisa's profile, loving the soft smile that curved her girlfriend's lips as she
watched Ella high-five Somi.

"What are you thinking?"

Lisa turned to look at her, eyes deep and dark. "That I'm so lucky to have you, and Ella and
everyone. It's been a blast, starting from this morning with...you know," she said, suddenly turning
shy. "I want to keep this memory forever."

Rosé smiled and sidled closer, laying her head on Lisa's shoulder. "Ditto. I'm lucky too," she
sighed, humming contentedly when Lisa nuzzled her lightly.

She felt comfortable enough to be closer to Lisa out in the open even though they could be
potentially spotted, but she deemed it safe enough—they were a little ways away from all the light
and noise.

Few people came walking around this area except for the odd couple now and then seeking some
privacy, like themselves.

Jennie's report of a car that seemed to be consistently in the neighbourhood had Rosé on high alert,
guarded about kissing Lisa anywhere near the windows and double-checking their distance any
time they walked outside together.

She also made sure to always follow a little while after Lisa when going out of the condo, never
walking together unless Ella was with them.

She had been right not to trust Yang and she intended on getting to the bottom of this new
development in his repertoire of tactics to intimidate her, maybe confront him about it tomorrow
before her gig.

Nerve-wracking though it might be, she was banking on her fury at his blatant disregard of his
word to help her face him.

Deep down, she worried that he was keeping close watch because of his suspicious interest in Lisa
and her apparent connection to Tiger King, which had her torn more than ever over confessing
everything, especially with how her relationship was going so well.

"I love you," Rosé blurted out of nowhere, because now she could say it freely instead of
imagining it in her head.

She interlocked their fingers together and Lisa rubbed her thumb over Rosé's hand, making the skin
heat up on contact. She shivered beneath Lisa's fond gaze.

"I love you too, baby," Lisa said then sighed.

Rosé raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound very enthusiastic."

"I just...in movies, this would be the perfect time to kiss," Lisa began. "We confessed our feelings
this morning, we're having a romantic moment away from everyone else...but I don't want to upset
you or endanger you in any way."

"Is this about the car Jennie saw watching the condo?" Rosé asked carefully, trepidation making a
home in her heart.

"Yes...and more..."

"More? What do you mean exactly, more?"

Lisa fidgeted absentmindedly, stroking her pink cast. "There's some things in my past that I
haven't...properly explained before."

Rosé tensed, waiting on edge. She had suspected as much, especially with the way Lisa and Jennie
always skirted around their childhood during the twenty questions game or Hwangssabu's death,
and especially now that she knew they were both undocumented migrants: there was something
more to their story than they let on.

But Lisa ducked her head. "Not tonight though, but I'll tell you soon. I...don't want to spoil tonight."

"It's okay," Rosé told her softly, stifling her disappointment. "They didn't conquer Korea in a day."

Lisa glanced at her with an adorably confused expression. "Huh?Who conquered?"

"It's a saying...oh never mind. I'm just saying, take your time and tell me when you feel like it."

Lisa seemed to be struggling to say her next words, her eyes wide and vulnerable.

"Rosie, if anything happens...I just want you to know that I love you and Ella so so much, and you
both have made this little woman here happy beyond words."

She squeezed Rosé's hand. "I want you to hold on this moment, in case...in case something happens
to me, okay?"

"What will happen?" Rosé asked, her mouth suddenly dry.

Lisa sat silent and thoughtful for an agonisingly long moment before she exhaled. "Let's just
say...I'm always afraid of the past catching up to me," she said at last, her brow furrowed. "And I'm
not sure what will happen when it does."

"The past..." Rosé repeated.

The memories that haunted, the deeds that tormented. She could relate.
Just what had Lisa been involved in?

All manners of conspiracies hurtled through Rosé's mind, ranging from mild felonies to more
serious crimes but she shot them all down.

Worrying before Lisa even told her would do her no good.

Lisa squeezed her hand, making her break out of the spiral.

"I'll tell you one day soon, I promise. Once I find the right words," Lisa said softly, "I just want to
be selfish...while I still can. I want to hold on to you..."

She stared when Rosé shook her head.

"Don't talk like you're saying goodbye," Rosé said fiercely. "Our story together is just beginning.
I'm not letting go, not after I found you. We'll have many more moments to remember when we're
old and grumbling and complaining, and we'll wake up each day next to each other when Ella
barges into our bedroom and she'll give us both grey hairs when she starts going out on dates.

"And I want to read comics and watch movies with you and play the guitar and sing with you and
do pilates with you and learn new words together. And once your arms heals, I want to box
together. And I want to raise the cats together and cook together and go out on dates together and
celebrate birthdays together..."

She had to believe in the little big dream she told herself to get through every night she spent in
bars running errands for Yang. Even with all the mess of her double life she was leading, Rosé had
to believe she would one day escape Yang's clutches and leave it all behind to be free with Lisa and
her—their—daughter.

It was dangerous to hope but with Lisa by her side, it seemed like any obstacle was breakable, no
matter what had happened before.

"I want a life with you in it, Lisa, because I was so lonely before you came into the picture. I'm not
even sure how I was coping," Rosé finished.

Lisa was watching her dreamily. "Ah, babe...that sounds just perfect to me, growing old together.
I'll be sure to hide your walker, you're so cute when you're trying to be mad. I wonder if you'd still
chase me around?"

"I don't even chase you around now!"

"Oh yeah? What about when Ella and I hid your guitar, hmm? I remember a very mad chipmunk
stomping around the apartment shouting Lisaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"You guys are just mean," Rosé pouted.

Lisa smiled fondly, caressing her face. "Then I'd kiss you to make you smile again, and also
because you're cute when you blush."

It took everything in Rosé not to kiss her senseless on the spot. She swallowed. "You better be
around to do that then, or I'll come kick your ass in the afterlife."

Lisa's smile was crooked but the hopeful glint in her eyes inspired hope in Rosé's chest as well.

"I'll never stop fighting to be with you, Rosie," Lisa vowed solemnly, "you're the only one for me.
I promise."

And Rosé nearly leaned in to kiss her weren't it for rustling noises and movement at the corner of
her eye. She whipped around just in time to see a shadow ducking back behind a shop's wall.

Rosé was immediately on high alert, about to reach for Lisa but before she could grab her attention,
Ella ran up to them instead.

"Seulgi's here! You gotta play now please please please Lisa!" she begged, tugging at Lisa's hand.
"You promise you'd play if we form a team to beat Somi!"

"Huh? She's here?" Rosé said, distracted. She caught sight of Lisa's smirk and her confusion
cleared. "You knew."

"I may or may not have...persuaded Seulgi to cut short her stay with her family, yesterday," Lisa
admitted.

"It's her family, how could you?" Rosé scolded but Lisa shrugged.

"She didn't seem very reluctant when I floated the idea of surprising Irene. She mentioned being
tired of her parents nagging her about her lifestyle or something."

When Rosé glanced back at their friend group who were gathered around the newcomer, she spied
Seulgi wearing a big grin with Irene wrapped around her arm, and conceded that maybe Seulgi
being there was the right thing after all.

"Stop talking and come play!" Ella whined. "I want a fluffy unicorn!"

"What happened to 'please' and 'thank you' ?" Rosé scowled disapprovingly and her daughter
instantly turned meek.

"Sorry Mom. Lisa, I'd like a fluffy unicorn, please, the big fat one with the rainbow wings."

Lisa grinned and ruffled her hair as she got to her feet. "My little pie-eater has excellent taste. One
fluffy unicorn with rainbow wings coming right up or my name ain't the Thai Tornado. Race ya,
kiddo!"

"I'm not kiddo!"

Lisa laughed and caught a squealing Ella in her arms. "What's this? You're so tiny, I don't think
you're even a kid. I think you're still a baby!"

"I'll be tall as mommy soon, or even taller than you!" Ella gasped in between laughter as Lisa
tickled her.

"As long as I'm carrying you, you're my kiddo," Lisa pronounced as she tossed the squeaking girl
over her shoulder in a fireman toss and walked towards their friends, leaving Rosé to follow in a
daze, still replaying Lisa's endearment for Ella.

Having Lisa be so open and accepting of her daughter and already addressing Ella as though she
were her biological daughter only had Rosé keep falling harder and deeper, more than she thought
was even possible.

Rosé's heart melted, all protests for Lisa to be careful because of her hand dying on her tongue as
she followed, forgetting all about the shadow that had been spying on them.
>

The night was advancing but sitting in his dark lonely office room in the top floor of Rkive,
Jinyoung had no intention of leaving just yet.

There were many pawns moving across the chessboard and he had to make sure he was keeping
track of them all and pushing them in place for his plans to work out.

The mastermind, people on the street called him. Jinyoung smiled to himself. He liked the sound of
that. It gave him more credit than he was owed.

But he liked to think of himself as the game master. He thought it suited him more.

Because really and truly, he was merely the one setting the whole operation in motion, moving the
chess pieces, putting the puzzle pieces together and shaping them to fit.

He was playing many games at the same time, controlling some and masquerading as a player in
others but ultimately, it was all his game.

He had many pieces in his hands and it was a matter of carving them to his liking, moulding their
old form into something better, transforming them to fit into his vision.

Life, as it were, had the tendency to indulge him with interesting puzzle pieces, like right now as he
frowned at the computer screen loading photos from the Jay on patrol that was stalking the group
of girls at Everland.

"Well, well, well, what have we here..."

Jinyoung rested his chin on top of his hands, propping his elbows up on the table as he studied the
succession of photos that blinked before his gaze, replacing with new footage each time.

"She still has the cast," Jinyoung sighed to himself, "that doesn't look good. That old fart said it
should be off by now. I wonder if she's weaker than he thought..."

Shaking his head, Jinyoung tapped a pad next to him, entering a code and ringing a secret number.
The recipient picked up after several rings.

"Password," rasped a voice.

"Jay B."

"Oh it's you."

Jinyoung stifled a nasty laugh. "Don't sound so disappointed. I won't bother you for too long."

"Skip the pleasantries, I'm a busy man as it were."

"Doubtless. But I have some updates."

"Unless you have Tiger King, I'm not interested to hear."

"It's related."

A pause, an exhale, a rattling breath. "Go ahead."

"Jackson is on the verge of a breakthrough with the serum. Yang Hyun-suk has procured a number
of the substances Jackson needs to replicate your formula, he should be passing them on to me
tomorrow night. We should be ready for testing soon so I'd suggest you have your test subjects
ready and chosen in advance."

"Don't tell me how to do my job, boy," barked the man on call, "I've been at this for longer than
you have. I will be prepared. They are, in fact, already on stand-by and receiving their doses. What
else?"

"Mr Elordi, the private investor from Australia, is very interested in our projects and is already
brokering a personal meeting to see results for himself once all systems are good to go.

"We're in the process of courting the Pentagon, and Beijing . Meanwhile, my team is establishing
connections with Moscow and Pyongyang, but early indications tell me they are already immensely
interested in what we have to offer once we develop the serum for mass production."

He couldn't help but gloat over his progress.

Since when had one single individual stolen the coveted attention of the world's most powerful
military organisations?

"Hmm hmm. And what of the mob boss with a personal vendetta? He's turning into a problem,
from what you tell me. Getting too many ideas for his own good."

"Yang Hyun-suk will be taken care of by the police. I have left them some trails that should lead
them to him, without disclosing our connection to him, naturally."

There was a pause as he waited for the axe to fall, for his words to register.

"Fool," seethed the man, his voice ringing with fury, "bringing in the police into the mix? Are you
out of your senses? They will find you and shut down the whole operation. Are you out of your
senses? You will bring disgrace to the company. Your legacy will be a failure."

"Rest assured it will not be so. The moment the authorities get too close, I will deal with them. I am
confident in my abilities, Father."

"Impudent as always," his father sneered. "Is that any way to show respect to me? The nerve of
you."

Jinyoung closed his eyes, imagining himself reaching through space and strangling the bastard.
Unfortunately, he was an important piece of the puzzle that he couldn't quite get rid of.

Yet.

"Apologies, sir."

"Hmph."

Jinyoung turned his gaze out towards the dark neighbourhood, illuminated by streetlights and
skyscrapers in the richer district, congratulating himself for still keeping his emotions on a tight
leash.

The last thing he needed was for his tempestuous outburst to be heard all the way down to the
restaurant floor because talking with his father always had his meticulous control snap.

"A mediocre report so far," the annoying drawl of his father's voice brought him out of his
thoughts.

"There's more. The girl still is wearing her cast. I thought you said she should have healed by
now?"

"Maybe she's taken a liking to it. If she's smart, she'll keep it on to throw you off. That's what I'd
do," his father sneered but it ended in a hacking cough and a rattling inhale of breath.

"Put your mask back on, old man," Jinyoung said calmly, "and stop working yourself up."

"You little cocky brat," gritted his father, more muffled now with the oxygen mask back on his
face.

"This little cocky brat is trying to bring back glory to JYP Pharma and succeeding in ways you
haven't before while cleaning up the mess you left behind," Jinyoung said.

His voice was pure venom now, breathtakingly cold. "Let me know if you still think of me as the
runt of the family once we have the whole world owning armies of Tiger Kings and bowing down
to me as a god.

"Let me know if you still think I am the black sheep of the family when the global medical
community will pledge itself to fund research for the groundbreaking technology and medicines we
will develop thanks to Tiger King."

"Tiger King is mine," his father snarled. "I made it. I created it. Don't you get all high and mighty
on me. You'd be nothing without my knowledge. When I get my hands on that..." he broke off with
a violent bout of coughing.

Jinyoung laughed cruelly. "Yes, you created it, and look where you are now. Wasting away."

He leaned closer, his voice mocking. "You work for me now. I call the shots. You will die, but not
before you will see what I can do. Not before I extract every ounce of knowledge from you. Not
before I make you pay."

His eyes were brimming with fire. "Seoul will be mine, and anywhere beyond that I wish, and that's
more than you pathetic old geezer could ever dream to accomplish."

"You ungrateful brat," his father gritted. "Jaebom died so you—"

"You're the fool for giving it all up without even putting up a fight," said his son coolly. "Now
excuse me, I still have work to do. I'm a busy man, as it were."

"You—"

Jinyoung couldn't help the little smirk that curled his lip when he cut off the call.

Taunting his father always felt satisfying, repaying all the years that he used to obsess about his
work in favour of spending time with his family, all the years he used to ignore Jinyoung in favour
of his older brother, Jaebom.

Jinyoung continued to peruse through the photos he had received, because there were numerous
more that the Jay had sent whilst he had been speaking with his father. At one point Jinyoung
paused, eyes widening.

"Jisoo...and Jennie Kim?" he said out loud in amusement. "No wonder she was so territorial when I
 gave Jisoo my card. Now that's interesting...I should congratulate her tomorrow."

Jinyoung printed out the photo of the two girls caught in a tender embrace.

But no sooner had he lifted his eyes up to the screen again, he was greeted with another romantic
moment caught on camera, this time between Yang's drug runner and the boxer. They were sitting
on a bench on the outskirts of the park, shoulder to shoulder, heads leaning against each other,
blissfully unaware of the world around them.

He blinked, caught off-guard.

Certainly Jinyoung had suspected something was up between the two based on the reports he had
received, but he had dismissed it as a casual summer fling, nothing truly relevant for his puzzle.

He needed concrete connections—demanded them, even—to ensure the whole operation ran
smoothly when it came to manipulation tactics.

But whatever these two had, it had never looked so serious, so intimate, so tender.

More puzzle pieces falling right into his lap, more threads to pull and play with. Life was really
spoiling him at the moment.

Jinyoung printed that one too and sat staring at the two photos, marvelling at how much easier they
were making his job by revealing themselves out in the open.

"Did nobody tell you how dangerous it is to show your hand, Jisoo? Jennie? Rosé? Lisa?" he
inquired of the photos. "Because you just gave me the most crucial piece of the puzzle: your
weakness."

Jinyoung couldn't help it: once he started smiling, he couldn't stop until he was full-blown
laughing.

Chapter End Notes

ooopsies my bad i realised i never uploaded this one, yikes!!!!!! my memory is going
down the drain :P
 Sunlight & Cuddles
Chapter Notes

warning:mature scenes

Faint and gentle rhythmic thumps against her ear roused Lisa from her sleep. As her senses slowly
woke up to a new day, Lisa grew aware of the warm body she was hugging on the bed, and of a
tender hand combing through her hair accompanied by soft hums, which morphed into a giggle.

"Lisa?"

The hand in her hair stopped moving and Lisa almost whined. Rosé's melodious voice came closer.

"I can see your eyes fluttering, you know."

"No," Lisa mumbled, "still sleeping." She snuggled against Rosé to make her point, grinning when
she felt Rosé chuckle beneath her.

"Did I wake you up baby? I'm sorry."

"S'alright," Lisa rasped. "Your heart was beating loud."

"You heard my heart?" Rosé said in amusement. "Do I secretly have a wolf for a girlfriend or
something?"

"It was beating pretty loud and fast," Lisa said, eyes still closed. She yawned, the remnants of sleep
tugging at her eyelids. Though her body was all revved up to go and barely feeling any of
yesterday's exhaustion from their day outing, she wanted to stretch out the morning cuddle as much
as possible before starting out the day, so she didn't budge.

"Hmm it's just, I couldn't help myself. I woke up and I see this gorgeous girl sleeping on top of me.
Can you blame me for having my heart all aflutter?"

Lisa couldn't help but grin wider as she felt the other girl trace her mouth. She tried to bite Rosé's
finger but Rosé was quick to draw it back with a giggle. Lisa finally opened one eye, immediately
assaulted by blinding sunlight streaming through the window and Rosé smiling radiantly down at
her.

"Morning baby. Slept well?"

"Mmmh."

Lisa burrowed against Rosé and with a bright chuckle, her girlfriend happily obliged to her
wordless request to be held. Rosé's arms wrapped around the nape of Lisa's head, playing with the
baby hairs there and Lisa sagged against her, practically purring out of contentment.

Morning cuddles were an essential to start the day and Lisa often found herself wondering how she
had been going through life before without waking up in Rosé's arms.
"No hurry today," Rosé said softly as she dropped a sweet kiss on top of Lisa's head. "Ella has
already left for school. We can sleep in, I'm still totally wasted after Everland yesterday. Good
thing I didn't schedule any pilates."

Delighted at the prospect of a longer snooze cuddled up with her girlfriend, Lisa lifted her head and
puckered up for a kiss, whereupon Rosé easily answered, cradling the back of her head as they
kissed, soft and slow, savouring each other's touch as hands slipped under shirts roaming over
warm skin.

When the kiss ended, Rosé had a wistful expression that did not escape Lisa.

"What is it?" she asked softly.

Rosé bit her bottom lip, making Lisa swallow shallowly at the action before Rosé seemed to come
to a decision.

"I want you."

She went on when Lisa stilled. "I love you, I love what we have and I want to make you feel good,
I want to feel you. If...if you're still not on-board that's okay, I can wait. But I'm ready for you, for
the next step."

Lisa closed her eyes and released a shaky breath, nervous energy thrumming in her veins at the
million and one thoughts that raced through her head.

"Baby?" Rosé's voice dropped momentarily, concerned. "Hey—"

Lisa raised her face again and reassured Rosé with a quick smile.

"I'm ready," she said softly, a note of excitement creeping into her voice the moment she saw the
shift in Rosé's eyes, from tenderness to dark desire that had the ache between Lisa's legs intensify.

She had silently endured her body's reaction to Rosé lying next to her every night they shared the
bed since their talk, doubly aware of the sizzling tension they ignored and quite frankly, Lisa had
been quietly going insane, especially if Rosé happened to be the little spoon, pressing up against
her front with Lisa doing her utmost to stop her mind from ending up in the gutter.

Rosé nodded once before they paused, memorising the moment of anticipation with mirroring grins
on their faces before together, they surged forward to claim each other's lips.

When Lisa had imagined her first time with Rosé, she had pictured some X-rated moments, ideas
that mostly stemmed from Momo's tales of her conquests.

What she got instead was something far more perfect, because it was Rosé;

What she got instead was warm sunlight falling directly on the bed, bathing the space like the
hallowed hall of a sacred temple;

What she got instead was Rosé tenderly undressing her, mouthing kisses down her neck, her
collarbone, the valley of her breasts, circling her nipples and teasingly licking, making Lisa arch up
from the bed, begging for more;

What she got instead was Rosé sexily taking off her own shirt and shorts in a prolonged striptease
that had Lisa panting and Rosé herself smirking as she crawled forward to continue with her
torturous exploration;
What she got instead was divinity personified in the form of Rosé, skin glowing bronze and
glistening with a light sheen of sweat, hair mussed and falling to the side over her shoulder, eyes
locked with her own, burning with passion that had Lisa shiver as Rosé straddled her;

What she got instead was fire arcing up her body as Rosé rocked against her, slipping her hand
between their bodies and swallowing Lisa's whines, roughly tugging on her bottom lip;

What she got instead was Rosé moaning in harmony along with her own strangled grunts, Rosé
leaning over her and burying her face in the crook of Lisa's neck, attacking the patch of skin there
with bruising kisses as she quickened her hand movements, twisting her wrist and plunging her
fingers into Lisa's heat as Lisa bucked against her hand, coaxing her towards a blistering release;

What she got instead was the love of her life whispering a soft command right in her ear, quietly
desperate: "Come for me, sweetheart, come." ;

What she got instead was a mind-blowing climax that made Lisa momentarily see white as she
threw her head back and came undone. Lisa stiffened, her mouth dropping open in a silent cry, all
circuits spazzing out momentarily as pleasure struck her in consecutive waves.

And then she was floating, a hazy cloud detached from its anchor, aftershocks still making her
twitch as she came down from her high. Rosé kissed her neck and jaw tenderly, smiling down at
Lisa when the latter finally opened her eyes again, vision bleary.

"Holy bagels," Lisa croaked when she could speak again. "That was..."

"Good?"

Too overwhelmed to string coherent sentences together, Lisa could only nod vigorously.

Rosé smiled, pleased, and kissed her gently. "There's more where that came from babygirl, if
you're up for it."

Lisa inhaled sharply at the suggestive tone but Rosé rubbed her arm reassuringly.

"Sssh, let's take a breather okay? There's no rush," Rosé soothed as she lay on her side, idly
running her hand up and down Lisa's abs. "Do you want to sleep again baby? Are you cold?"

Lisa shook her head on both counts. The fire beneath her skin was still smouldering and besides,
she wanted to make Rosé feel good too.

On impulse, Lisa lifted her hand to reach over and cup Rosé's breast but Rosé caught her fingers
instead and brought them to her lips, kissing the knuckles.

"That's the injured hand baby—"

"Not injured," Lisa mumbled. It hadn't hurt her in weeks and she couldn't wait to officially take off
the cast.

But Rosé didn't relent and merely crawled to hover over her, smiling fondly. Her roots were turning
dark, the blonde dye wearing off, but Lisa found her no less beautiful, quite mesmerised as she
stroked Rosé's hair.

"Gorgeous," Lisa complimented. Rosé smiled shyly.

"Let me take care of you, babes," she said, nuzzling Lisa's neck.
"You already did? It's my turn now."

"Hmm, I think you could do with a little more rest, don't you think?" Rosé grinned.

So saying, she bent forward to mouth at her earlobe, making Lisa shiver. Her skin was hyper-
sensitive to Rosé, reacting to the littlest touch.

"You were such a good girl for me, baby. So pretty when you came. I can't wait to taste you, I'm
sure you taste amazing," Rosé whispered and Lisa whimpered, arousal taking over her senses.

Rosé's trail of kisses down her throat turned insistent, harsh and urgent, making Lisa's eyes roll
back in pleasure. She felt boneless, without any strength to push Rosé or flip them over, still
recovering from the wonderful rush of endorphins that flooded her system. All she could do was lie
there and let Rosé pleasure her, sending her to seventh heaven with her skilful hands and tongue.

"Rosie...please..."

She cut off when Rosé bit down on her nipple. Lisa mewled wretchedly.

"Hmm?" Rosé hummed teasingly, ignoring the girl squirming beneath her. "Patience now, we're
only just getting started."

She laughed when Lisa attempted to lift herself off the mattress, only to collapse back again,
winded. "Look at you. Utterly wiped out from just one round of sex." Rosé's smile turned wicked.
"Thai Tornado is down."

"No," Lisa puffed, never one to back down from a challenge.

"It sure looks like it. Look at you, such an adorable pillow princess. Who knew?"

"Hell nah, I'm not a pillow princess!" Lisa exclaimed. "I'm Thai Tornado! I'm Super Gay! And I'm
going down on you!"

Rosé squealed when in a flash, Lisa rolled them over, breathing hard as she scrambled to pin Rosé's
arms down on the bed.

Rosé blinked up at her, surprised, but she didn't fight back.

Lisa hovered over her with hair falling around her face as she did her utmost not to move
carelessly. She was sure that her skin would catch fire if she were to brush against Rosé silky
centre, damp curls glistening invitingly.

Lisa wrenched her gaze up to find Rosé watching her with a knowing grin, eyes glittering.

"Oh? What's this?" Rosé purred, giggling when she saw Lisa gritting her teeth. "You're so cute
trying to be dominant, baby, you're barely holding it together. Are you sure you're up for it?" She
fluttered her eyelashes.

"I'm sure. I want to make you feel good too," Lisa blurted. "It's my turn now."

"And what will you do to me, hmm?"

Lisa leaned in. "Make you see white, like you did me," she promised huskily.

Rosé chuckled. "Well, here I am all yours to play with, babe." When Lisa stalled, Rosé's eyes
softened, breaking character for a moment. "Need some help?"
Lisa shook her head. "Just...tell me what feels good?"

"Of course. Take it nice and slow, no pressure. And remember, we can stop anytime, okay?"

Trembling slightly, Lisa carefully lowered herself enough to kiss Rosé, releasing one of Rosé's
arms to hold her face instead. Rosé sneakily wrapped the free arm behind Lisa's neck, bringing
Lisa down so their fronts melded together.

Lisa groaned into Rosé's mouth, taken by surprise.

"Pay attention, sweetheart," Rosé smirked before she was back to kissing Lisa, wanton desire
making her arch up against her girlfriend, begging for her touch.

And Lisa gradually picked up pace, dutifully following Rosé's example as she traced a path
downward, stopping now and then to make good on her promise to focus on making Rosé feel
good, which had Rosé writhing beneath Lisa, toes curling.

Seeing the effect she had on her gave Lisa a much-needed confidence boost, enough to grow
daring, even venturing south of Rosé's navel and looking up at the last minute for permission.

"You sure you want to try that already? It's not for everybody," Rosé told her, stifling her needy
moan as Lisa blew gently on her centre, aching for attention since they started.

But Lisa was sure, more than making up for her ineptitude with her enthusiasm. Rosé even guided
her at times, directing her to improve her technique until Lisa took over and it was all Rosé could
do except hold on as Lisa took her sex into her mouth, lapping passionately.

"God, yes, just like that, don't stop," Rosé cried, tugging on a fistful of Lisa's hair.

Lisa flicked her tongue over and over against Rosé's clit, her nerve endings stimulated to the point
of pain. But it was a good pain, enough to take over Rosé's senses and leave her a babbling mess as
she cried out Lisa's name and gasped for breath against her relentless assault. Lisa buried her face
between Rosé's thighs and pulled Rosé closer from her hips, drinking her in as though she were
dying of thirst.

Rosé didn't care who heard her the wanton sounds that escaped her while she rocked against Lisa's
mouth. The familiar burst of heat swelled in her groin, rising all too soon and before she could
warn Lisa, fire exploded and flooded her system.

Rosé cried out and collapsed against the mattress, whimpering as Lisa cleaned up sloppily.
Weakly, she aimed a smack at Lisa's head to stop her from torturing her over-sensitive clit and Lisa
relented right away.

Rosé recovered enough to prop herself up on her arms and came face to face with a smug Lisa.

"Good?"

"You...uh...wow..." Rosé puffed.

Lisa understood and grinned happily, licking her glistening lips.

That was the last straw for Rosé. Summoning her remaining strength, she rushed forward to kiss
her, crashing into Lisa's chest. Lisa caught her and automatically wrapped her arms around Rosé's
back.
"Whoa, careful, baby. You okay?"

Rosé gazed up dreamily. "Me? Never been better."

Lisa smiled and bent to kiss her, cradling her head as she leaned over her. Rosé closed her eyes and
let touch and sound guide her as she memorised the shape of Lisa's face and revelled in the
afterglow of their union, soft and warm and in love.

"I love you," Rosé said when they finally drew apart. Her eyes were damp and she noticed Lisa's
were misting over too, but she didn't panic—they reflected all that she was feeling right back at her,
like a mirror.

"I love you too," Lisa breathed. "I never thought I'd be able to have this...and with you...it feels so
good."

Rosé pressed one more sweet kiss to her lips before she pushed on Lisa's shoulders, gently guiding
her to lie down. Lisa didn't fight back, her eyes trusting as Rosé crawled over her body, her long
hair tickling Lisa's chest. The mood abruptly shifted however when Lisa spotted the wicked smile
taking over Rosé's face that had a coil of heat tightening in her belly.

"We're far from over, baby. And I think a reward is in order for your amazing performance back
there, hmm? Allow me to...return the favour."

Lisa gulped as Rosé smirked one last time before she bent her head and got to work.

>

Thoroughly sated, they dozed on and off well into the morning. Thankfully both their phones were
switched off so nobody bothered them. Rosé cuddled up against Lisa's chest, holding her from her
waist while Lisa's arm encircled her back, holding her close as Lisa nuzzled her forehead.

They exchanged soft kisses and drowsy smiles often as they lay sprawled in a heap, their limbs
tangled, too spent to attempt anything else more energetic for the moment as the sun rose steadily
higher and the sounds of the morning filtered into their little oasis.

They only got up because it turned physically impossible to ignore their complaining stomachs.

Lisa insisted for Rosé to shower first, declining to join her girlfriend in the shower much to the
latter's secret disappointment.

But then again, as Rosé reflected whilst underneath the stream of hot water (she still took hot
showers in summer) just because they had sex she couldn't expect Lisa to jump into the shower
with her right away—Lisa might still be adjusting to the idea of intimacy.

Maybe eventually they would get there, and Rosé would wait willingly, but in the meantime, she
wasn't going to push.

Besides, Rosé smiled contentedly as she wrapped her bathrobe around her body after turning off
the shower and savoured the delicious aches that flared when she moved, they had finally had their
first time together and Rosé was still walking in a blissful haze of afterglow, the ghostly imprints of
Lisa's kisses still fresh on her skin when she closed her eyes and replayed the earlier moments of
their lovemaking.

Lisa wasn't in the bedroom when Rosé went out of the bathroom but her momentary confusion
cleared when she heard a commotion in the kitchen, accompanied by a distinct smell of burning, as
well as low cursing.

Rosé shuffled into the kitchen, arms folded. She was met with the sight of Lisa struggling with a
pan and its contents (eggs from the smell), her back to Rosé as she muttered and threatened the pan
to cooperate.

"Come on, you piece of flat iron, how hard can it be to heat some eggs? Do you really want to
show me up when I'm trying to pamper her? Huh, do ya? She deserves it you know, so work with
me here or I'll turf you out, I swear I will!"

Unable to hold back her amusement, Rosé swiftly reached out to wrap her arms around Lisa's waist,
hugging her from behind and pressing a fond kiss to her neck.

Lisa had stiffened in surprise but now she slumped, defeated as Rosé chuckled and turned off the
stove to save her from further humiliation (and save her pan too.)

"What are you doing?"

"Uh...making you breakfast," Lisa mumbled dolefully.

"I see, and that involves threatening my favourite frying pan?" Rosé chuckled, holding back a sigh
when she spotted the blackened pan.

That was going to take a while to scrub out.

"I just wanted to make you breakfast for a change," Lisa mumbled. "Nini said Jisoo made her
breakfast—"

"I appreciate the thought baby but remember what we said about comparing yourself, hmm?" Rosé
interrupted.

"Yeah yeah, but it's not that, I just thought it would be nice," Lisa sighed. Rosé took her hands.

"Oh come on now, can't have you so grumpy. It's a beautiful day and I'll whip up breakfast before
you're even out of the shower."

On sudden inspiration, Rosé coudn't help but ask: "Is that why you skipped out on showering with
me? You wanted to make me breakfast?"

Lisa gave a silent nod, making Rosé's heart flip.

"Well, I guess I'll go shower now," Lisa said, a little downcast. "Sorry for the total fail. Please don't
tell Somi or anyone that I tried cooking, I'll never hear the end of it."

"Your secret's safe with me," Rosé laughed and pressed a sweet kiss to Lisa's lips, lingering long
enough until she felt Lisa smile against her mouth.

"I love you," Lisa said when they parted, eyes hazy.

"I love you too," Rosé said with a smile. "Now go shower, breakfast will be ready soon."

"Actually..."

Rosé's eyes narrowed when she saw the glint in Lisa's eyes. "What?"

"I think I'm too hungry to wait..." Lisa's hooded eyes darted down to Rosé's mouth, her intentions
crystal clear.

"Oh," Rosé said hoarsely, backing up slowly against the counter as Lisa edged closer into her
personal space, her gaze predatory. "Lisa..."

Unbelievably turned on even after their morning romp, Rosé felt arousal slam into her when Lisa
put both hands down on either side of her on the counter and wedged her thigh in between Rosé's
legs, moving it ever so slightly and making Rosé's mouth fall open.

"Lis..."

It was a losing fight, there was no way she was going to say no, not with Lisa's harsh breath
crashing against her throat, turning her bones to jelly. Lisa's mouth trailed fiery open-mouthed
kisses down her neck, making her shiver.

"I...hmm...never did it...outside the bedroom...ahh..." Rosé breathed.

She almost cried out in disappointment when Lisa hurriedly withdrew her leg and pulled away,
leaving Rosé hanging.

"I'm—I'm sorry I got carried away, it's probably not a good idea yeah so I'll just go shower," Lisa
gabbled.

Before she could run away, Rosé had clutched on the collar of her bathrobe fiercely and pulled her
down, smashing their mouths together.

"Don't you dare stop," Rosé growled against her lips.

Recovering remarkably quickly, Lisa took her up on the command; her strong hands wrapped
around Rosé's thighs and lifted in one powerful motion, setting her down on the counter top, the
cold surface making Rosé hiss on contact with her hot skin.

Her gaze collided with Lisa's, who was watching her with awe.

"Look at you," Lisa said reverently. "You look...like the perfect pre-jentacular snack."

Rosé blinked non-plussed. "Huh?"

Lisa grinned. "It means 'relating to breakfast'."

Rosé rolled her eyes. "Showoff."

Lisa's eyes darkened, making Rosé's desire flare up worse and she moaned when Lisa bent down
and unfurled her bathrobe, revealing her bare chest. She preened under Lisa's hungry gaze, her
voice cracking as Lisa pressed wet kisses to her breasts, paying special attention to her nipples.

"You learn fast, baby," Rosé panted, growing hotter and hotter with each flick and curl of Lisa's
deft tongue, clenching her thighs together in a desperate bid for relief.

Lisa grinned up at her. "I have a hot teacher."

She dodged Rosé's hand swatting at her head and continued her way southward, finally reaching in
between Rosé thighs and kissing all around the area without actually landing on where Rosé
needed her most.

"Lisa, stop teasing," her girlfriend gritted before crying out the next second when Lisa latched on
to her clit and sucked furiously, without even giving Rosé a chance to process the sudden attack.

She bucked up against Lisa's face but Lisa held her down, fingers gripping her hips tightly without
ceasing her relentless assault, filthy noises echoing and joining in symphony with Rosé's groans
and curses falling from her mouth.

"Oh my god, Lisa!"

All she could do was moan as pleasure mounted, her arms trembling with effort to hold herself up.
She glanced down at the crown of tawny hair between her legs hell-bent on sucking the life out of
her and their eyes met, sizzling electricity flickering between them.

Kiss me, Rosé wanted to beg, but she was close, so close to that glorious release, the momentum
already carrying her like a wave and she couldn't afford to lose the build-up.

"Don't stop," she moaned instead.

Lisa was a generous lover and didn't tease. Her hand squeezed Rosé's thigh reassuringly, diligently
lapping without pausing for breath, and Rosé clutched on to one hand, needing to feel Lisa close
when she came. Lisa threaded their fingers together, silently sensing her need for connection even
in the midst of her licking frenzy, which had Rosé's heart swell.

And soon, Rosé felt the tightening coil south of her belly snap and she let go with a scream,
collapsing forward. Lisa caught her just in time and propped Rosé up from the small of her back.
Rosé shivered from the aftershocks still racking her body before she melted against Lisa,
breathless.

"Okay?" Lisa asked softly, bringing her down from her high by rubbing gentle circles on her sex.
Rosé weakly pushed her hand away, overstimulated and exhausted as she panted against Lisa.

"Yeah. Just...give me a second." Rosé lifted her tired head from Lisa's shoulder only to find Lisa's
eyes clouded hazy with desire.

"Oh no no no, don't give me that look, we need to slow down now," Rosé said firmly, secretly
reluctant to stop because now that she had a taste, she craved more. But unfortunately, somebody
had to be the responsible adult between the two of them.

"I still have to clean the counter, cook breakfast and get cleaned up all over again. If you try
anything again, I'm going to keep you in bed and then Ella will come home and see us and I'll die
of embarrassment for good," Rosé said matter-of-factly even as Lisa giggled.

"Well, we can take care of the cleaning you up part together. I'll take you up on that shower, if the
offer is still available," Lisa said, flashing a roguish wink. She laughed when Rosé's mouth
dropped open.

"I think I unleashed a root rat," Rosé whispered, shaking her head.

"A what?" Lisa said, puzzled.

"Never mind. Just carry me to the shower, I can't feel my legs yet. And then we're cleaning the
counter and then we re having breakfast, no ifs or buts."

"No butts at all?" Lisa smirked as she cradled Rosé to her chest. Without warning, she whirled on
the spot and took off running through the apartment, laughing as Rosé clung to her neck and
squealed.
"Lisa I'm gonna kill you!"

"With shower sex?"

"Lisaaaaaaaa!"

>

For Jisoo and Jennie, it had been a quiet day until it was time for Jisoo to meet Jinyoung for their
evening dinner. Jennie was trying hard not to associate 'date' with Jisoo's appointment.

An uneventful drive later, they had arrived at Rkive.

"You sure this is the right place?"

"There's a sign there." Jisoo parked the SUV and turned off the ignition. "And that's what GPS is
saying."

Jennie nodded but didn't look at Jisoo, instead critically eyeing the brightly-lit establishment
buzzing with activity.

"Looks...nice."

"Were you expecting a dump?" Jisoo chuckled but Jennie didn't smile, making Jisoo sober up and
squeeze her hand.

"I'll only be a text away," Jisoo said softly, cottoning on to her girlfriend's anxiety.

Jennie looked at her, biting her lip. "I know. I'll be waiting, reading."

Jisoo had lent her some books to find out what genres she favoured and she had brought one along
to kill time whilst waiting for Jisoo to come back.

"I know."

Neither girl moved, reluctant to untangle their fingers. The silent dark interior made Jisoo smile,
nostalgia reminding her of a time when Jennie hadn't even wanted to be brushing against her side
whilst sitting in the same space. She rubbed her thumb in circles, comfortable in the silence that
overtook them.

Not so the brunette next to her, who was nibbling her bottom lip non-stop.

"Rosé and Lisa hooked up this morning," Jennie blurted out of nowhere.

Jisoo blinked. "Oh. That's nice. First time then?"

"Yeah."

"No wonder they didn't pick up our calls."

"Mhm."

"About time really. Lisa held out a long time."

"Yeah."

"Did she have any hickeys?"

"Don't start."

"Excuse me, I'm just continuing the conversation that you started, Jendeuk," Jisoo countered,
smiling when she saw Jennie's anxious face soften into a faint smile.

"Yes she had, but either way, she told me the moment Rosé left, along with a disturbing and
graphic play-by-play of the whole...hook-up. Also something about officially being in the V club
now, whatever that means." Jennie shuddered. "I never needed bleach so much in my life before."

"V...club?" Jisoo held up two fingers in a V-shape, then laughed when she understood what Lisa
had been referring to. "Oh look at you, turned into a prude so quick. Come on, so you didn't brag
about us at all, hmm? I'm disappointed."

"She's a perv, she doesn't mind hearing about me, she even asks, actually. But some of us aren't as
interested in other people's sex lives and no, don't even think about it: I'm not going to repeat what
she told me," Jennie said grimly. Jisoo looked at her in amusement.

"I see, I see..." she said, deducing the reason of this whole conversation—Jennie was stalling,
trying to buy more time before Jisoo left.

Jisoo decided to play along. She was in no hurry either way, it was still early for her meeting.

"Do you suppose the menus are only in English?" Jisoo murmured. "This area is full of tourist
restaurants so maybe..."

"Send me photos if you get stuck," Jennie offered, "or...ask him, I suppose."

"Well as long as there's some form of chicken on there, I'm good." Jisoo smiled and tucked her
phone into her purse as she ran a hand through her hair and smoothed her smart black dress. Well
aware of Jennie's gaze drinking her in, she flushed, the heat igniting her cheeks.

"Something on my dress?" she asked lightly. Jennie's eyes, reflecting the lights from Rkive,
narrowed.

"No Jisoo. It's more like there's not much of the dress in the first place."

She had already voiced her disapproval back at the apartment but quietly let Jisoo have the final
choice.

"You prude. It's only just above my knees."

"Still too much," Jennie said unhappily.

"You didn't mind my short dress at the park," Jisoo pointed out.

"You weren't hanging out with a guy then. And mind you, it's a shady guy who possibly has the
hots for you, so excuse me for being...prude."

Jisoo laid a comforting hand on Jennie's thigh. "I can take care of myself. One wrong move, and
he'll end up with a plateful of hot soup in the face, along with scalded balls. I don't care if it causes
a scene."

Jennie had to smile, losing some of her nerves as Jisoo tenderly patted her cheek.

"I'll be going then."

Jennie tugged on her hand again. "Chu...be careful."

"I will."

"And don't drink alcohol," Jennie said anxiously. "Stay alert."

Again, Jisoo nodded. "I'll only have water."

"And remember, don't tell him about us." Jennie's lips pursed. "If he tries anything fend him off
but...don't tell him about us. He's the last person I want to know."

"I remember," Jisoo nodded.

They had discussed various topics that would be off-limits to talk about, namely anything to do
with Jennie and Lisa's personal relations. Jisoo would have to walk the fine line between fishing for
information yet at the same time holding her cards tightly to her chest.

"Don't worry. I'll see you later, jagi. It will be fine," Jisoo reassured, "you'll tell me about the book
as we drive home and then you can take this dress off me and we can cuddle in bed and kiss lots.
Okay?"

Jennie swallowed but finally let Jisoo go.

>

Jinyoung was waiting, already seated at a table removed from the more central busy area. He had
chosen a table next to one of the clear windows overlooking the sea.

Jisoo had sized up the people frequenting the restaurant when she entered and as she had guessed,
many of them seemed to be well-off foreigners, though discreet—the flash of an expensive Rolex
watch, the cut of cloth—it was all in the details.

Nobody was here to show off, unlike at the odious business parties Jisoo's parents had her and her
siblings accompany them to sometimes.

Although she never did like mingling with the wealthy elite, Jisoo found herself thanking her luck
—she didn't feel out of place as she feared in her modest attire. All she had to do was stick her nose
in the air and walk confidently, as though she owned the place. People gravitate towards someone
that exudes confidence.

The haze of cologne and perfume was drowned out by the aroma of food and Jisoo suddenly found
herself hungry. Her host, a guy who introduced himself as Namjoon when she entered Rkive and
told him who she was meeting, bowed and left her alone with Jinyoung who had stood up to greet
her with a wide smile.

"Jisoo! Long time no see," Jinyoung said brightly, "sit sit, I took the liberty of asking for the
menus already, you're probably hungry?"

"I am actually," Jisoo nodded as she took her seat. She noticed the table was actually set for four,
with two extra chairs as well, which piqued her curiosity.

"Will other people be joining us?" She asked, pointing at the chairs.

"Hm?" Jinyoung looked up from his menu. "Oh, maybe? I wasn't too sure what time they'll be
here. They're work colleagues. I can introduce you if you like, but we'd probably be finished by
then. Besides, it would be impolite to discuss business affairs in front of you."

"Oh...alright."

Interesting, Jisoo thought as she picked up the menu. So he really must not be interested
romantically, to dismiss me so casually. Or else he's that inept at impressing a date.

She was relieved to find hangul descriptions of the various dishes. Her stomach growled as she
took in the mouth-watering pictures, trying to commit the fancy names to memory. Maybe she
could recreate them for Jennie later.

Jennie.

She was already missing her girlfriend's steady presence by her side. It reminded her what she was
really here for, which set her thinking on how best to pick up a discussion that would give her
answers.

"Choose whatever you like, my treat," Jinyoung said generously as she flipped pages, "anything
you want to drink for starters?"

"I'm driving, so I'll just have water please."

Jinyoung flashed her a boyish grin and snapped his finger for a passing waiter to ask for water. He
seemed to be even more animated than usual, his eyes gleaming when he turned back to Jisoo,
which was a little disconcerting from his usual dour demeanour.

"I know you might find this whole meeting up for dinner thing strange but I thought it would
be...nice to hang out and get to know each other."

"As friends?"

"Absolutely as friends," Jinyoung nodded, "you did mention your ah, tendencies. And I do assure
you that I don't mind either way."

"It's nice to meet people who are open-minded," Jisoo shrugged.

"We can always use more of those," Jinyoung agreed.

Jisoo thought she was holding out well, answering with polite and neutral, short answers as Jennie
asked.

"If you talk too much, you could accidentally give something away," Jennie had coached her, "you
need to show him you're not some manic pixie dream girl. Rein in the weird as much as possible.
Don't be the friendly, wacky, adorable Jisoo for tonight. Act like...act like other people."

"You think I'm adorable?" Jisoo asked with a broad grin.

Jennie rolled her eyes. "Yes you are but please focus, this is important."

"I get it, I get it. I'll be Daddy and Mommy's perfect little girl tonight," Jisoo sighed, "had plenty of
practice, they dragged me to bigwig parties for a while before they gave up on me."

Jennie patted her back sympathetically. "Think of it like being a spy," she suggested, smiling when
Jisoo perked up.

"Hey, that could work! I like spies. You're a genius Jendeuk."

Jennie pretended to flip her hair but then turned serious."When he sees you're an average person
like anyone else...maybe he'll lose interest. Or maybe he'll start talking AND that's when you get
the juicy info."

But how could she get the juicy info, Jisoo wondered while Jinyoung started some inane small
talk, when he was clearly in his element and held the upper hand?

She needed to disarm him. The question was, how?

"Jisoo?"

She blinked as the waiter presented her with her glass of water and in a flash, Jisoo had her answer.

With practised reflexes, Jisoo knocked the glass of water, splashing Jinyoung as she reached to
take it.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed. Jinyoung glanced down at his drenched shirt as the waiter stood by,
struck dumb. The commotion had some nearby tables look over, curious. Jisoo was unfazed by the
attention—her gaze was fixed squarely on Jinyoung, waiting for his reaction.

For a split-second, she thought she saw a flash of annoyance cross his face before he quickly
smoothed his expression, slipping on the good-natured mask easily as he waved his hand.

But Jisoo, accustomed to people switching expressions whenever she confronted them with the
spilling trick, had caught it and noted it, mentally filing the change away for later.

He wasn't as slick as he liked to pretend—Jisoo had seen people be surprised or shocked, with
annoyance coming in as a secondary reaction because of the ruined item of clothing. It was
interesting for Jisoo that annoyance would be his primary reaction, instead.

Almost as though he knew it would happen, or as though I threw him off his groove.

"It's nothing, just an accident. I'll live," Jinyoung said at last with a chuckle. "I will have to change
though so if you will excuse me, Jisoo, I'll be right back."

"Of course, I'll choose my order meanwhile," Jisoo returned sweetly.

 Curiosity (Killed the Cat...)
Chapter Notes

previously: chaelisa had sexy times for the first time, jensoo went to RKIVE for jisoo
to meet jinyoung, jisoo splashed jinyoung with water.

For what felt like the thousandth time, Jennie checked her phone, dropping her head back with a
sigh when she saw that only another five minutes had passed.

Gloomily she picked up her book again, idly flipping pages, her eyes skimming without really
reading the words. She glanced every so often in the direction of the lights from the restaurant.

It had already been half an hour (which felt like more), yet not a whisper from Jisoo.

Which, alright, Jennie supposed that Jisoo must be playing her part and gathering information, but
she couldn't help but feel faintly miffed to hear no word from her girlfriend at all.

It was true that they hadn't agreed to be in constant contact with each other, but maybe a quick
secret text reassuring that all was well would have been nice.

Jennie's eyes strayed back to the restaurant, studying the faint shadows moving within sight of the
windows. None of them fit Jisoo's profile and Jennie couldn't help but scoff in annoyance.

Jinyoung must be keeping her entertained.

No, Jennie berated herself. Stop that. Jisoo is doing all this to help you, because she cares for you.
It has nothing to do with Jinyoung. So what if she hasn't replied? Since when did you get so clingy?

But try as she might, she couldn't go back to concentrate on the story she was reading. Putting the
book aside, she sat back in her seat to observe the various patrons that entered or emerged from the
establishment, wishing she could be like the couples that strolled by, walking arm in arm with
Jisoo along the pier she had seen on the drive to Rkive.

Jennie grabbed her phone to check for texts again and when she found none, had the thought of
flinging herself out of the car and run into the restaurant but stopped herself short.

She was being irrational, acting paranoid just because she didn't trust Jinyoung. She wasn't about to
blow their cover just because of her impatience.

That being said, Jennie was sure she couldn't stay cooped up in the car for longer. What was
stopping her from taking in some sea air? Such an opportunity was hard to come by.

On sudden impulse, she stepped out, making sure to take the keys with her and locking the SUV up
securely, immediately relieved and shaking her legs out as she stretched, thinking about her next
steps.

Her attention unwittingly shifted to Rkive again, looming over her, taunting her puny presence.
Jennie clenched her fist.
Slipping in with people going inside wouldn't work—with her casual outfit, she'd stick out like a
sore thumb and besides, Jennie didn't want to risk being seen and potentially have Jinyoung be
alerted to her presence. It would have him be suspicious for sure so being covert was top on
Jennie's priority list.

Peeking in through the windows would also potentially spook patrons and have her be escorted off
premises so Jennie definitely wasn't going down that route, which left her with precious little
options.

Stumped on her next course of action, Jennie finally gave up on actually catching a glimpse of
Jisoo. Instead, she thought of scouting out the area and explore this Rkive place as best she could
since, from what Jisoo had reported, it seemed to belong to the pharma CEO himself.

Who knew if he might be hiding some of his secrets here? The notion of finally getting some
answers had Jennie come to a quick decision.

Jisoo was meeting Jinyoung to find out what she can, but she, Jennie, could also help out instead of
sitting idle in the car, by conducting her own investigations while Jinyoung was preoccupied.

Jennie couldn't believe she was only now thinking of this stealth mission.

The area itself didn't seem to be heavy on security despite Jinyoung's status—if anything, Jennie
thought it was rather discreet and low-key, which was to her benefit at the moment—she would be
able to move about more freely.

She moved quickly, sneaking around the perimeter and keeping to the shadows, walking as
nonchalantly as possible especially when she encountered scores of people approaching or areas
illuminated by street lamps.

The first object to catch her interest where the several black vans she spotted parked behind Rkive,
clustered together in one direction, all parked in an orderly manner.

The parking space was shrouded in darkness and reserved for Rkive staff according to the sign on
the entrance to the enclosure. Empty and quiet, the eerie sight had Jennie frown as she tried to
place the unsettling feeling that had made a home in her stomach.

Nobody was in sight, though the distant hum of machinery and AC units and the chatter emanating
from the restaurant itself helped to ground her back in reality. Jennie turned her attention back to
the vans, daring to approach closer as curiosity won over.

It looked for all the world like she stumbled upon a graveyard for black vans, but from what she
could see they were all in pristine condition. There was little light to see the license plates and
Jennie hesitated to use her phone—the air seemed to be holding its breath in anticipation, as though
something were about to happen.

Jennie was half expecting someone from the staff to catch her sneaking around but so far, her luck
seemed to hold out. She dared to peer closer, hoping to catch a glimpse of anything that might
answer some of her burning questions about Jinyoung, when the low hum of an approaching
vehicle had her look up sharply.

As she watched, a new black van noiselessly joined the fleet, some three cars down from Jennie,
swiftly slotting into its own space between two other vans. The driver killed the headlights and
Jennie was once more surrounded by shadows.

Heart thumping in her throat, Jennie sank to the ground and quietly snuck to the side of the parking
lot, hoping to slip out of the enclosure unseen. Yet, her curiosity was stronger, making Jennie linger
as she watched three figures emerge from the van.

They were too far away to make out and they spoke furtively, but Jennie guessed that it was two
men and a woman. One of the men, the leader, was built like a truck and he loomed over the
woman, a slender and graceful creature with an updo. The second man who emerged from the
driver's seat was wiry and immediately fetched what looked like a suitcase from the van's truck,
handing it to the woman who carried it with ease.

Jennie watched them, trying to breathe as quietly as possible while her mind churned.

Who were they? Relatives of Jinyoung? Colleagues? Shady business friends? Dealers? VIP's?

Jennie's eyes narrowed. Something wasn't clicking.

They passed her in silence, walking one after the other with the leader at the front, the woman
following like his shadow and the driver bringing up the rear. To her surprise, they headed towards
the front of the restaurant until the third man unceremoniously broke away from the trio and
headed on towards the back of Rkive.

The others kept on walking without looking back, making Jennie think that either they were used
to this scenario or else they had agreed beforehand.

Now her curiosity was certainly piqued. Briefly, she spotted the back of the woman as she walked
in a smart black dress, blonde hair sitting on her head as she swung the suitcase.

She looked vaguely familiar to Jennie but they were headed towards the entrance and she certainly
couldn't follow there. Regretfully, she had to let them go.

But it still left her the driver, still within sight.

Jennie swiftly padded after him as silently as possible, making sure to keep a good distance
between them. Although she was covered by darkness, she didn't want to alert him to her presence
and have him veer away from wherever he was heading.

At first she thought he might go in through the staff backdoor, or else smoke a cigarette, or even
take a leak.

But the man kept walking determinedly, clearly with a specific destination in mind as he followed
the perimeter of Rkive.

Jennie followed like a faithful shadow.

Eventually, he came to a stop and gave a quick glance around him as Jennie shrank back behind a
wall, doing her best to regulate her breathing and take stock of her surroundings.

The night was quiet except for the faint sounds of the sea close by. The only illumination she had
was the glare of ships' spotlights from the water.

Rkive was built in a polygonal shape, not your typical square or rectangle. Jennie hazarded that it
was a hexagon, and she was currently behind the wall at the opposite side from the restaurant's
entrance. She heard no bright restaurant chatter, saw no warm light.

The restaurant was clearly only a small part of the edifice.

Jennie peered around the wall, relieved to see the man she was tailing was still around. But to her
bemusement, he was standing stock still, arms at his side and seemingly staring at the wall in front
of him—his face was in shadows.

A sudden pulsing red light flashed, scanning him from head to toe as Jennie looked on,
incredulous, when she heard the wall rumble and saw a gaping hole open. The driver strolled
inside like it was any ordinary door and soon enough, Jennie heard the same low rumble as the
hole closed behind him, the bricks aligning back in place.

Jennie blinked and blinked again.

All was still and silent as before, but the man had disappeared behind the wall.

She was even more wary now, edging forward cautiously and expecting some alarm to trip up and
reveal her. Mercifully no such thing happened. She was also counting on the darkness to hide her
features if there were security cameras around.

If this set-up did indeed fall under Jinyoung's hand, he was far more sinister than Jennie had
imagined—what she had just observed came straight out of some villain's lair in a B-movie.

Stealthily, she drew up to the same position as the man, wondering if he had uttered some
password to activate the sensor light, or if he had to press a particular brick, or whether there was
some inbuilt sensor that activated when somebody stepped up to the wall.

The wall looked solid enough upon closer inspection, but there was no knowing for certain unless
she touched.

But before Jennie could decide, she picked up on a faint sound—distant laughter, muffled as
though from behind glass.

It also seemed to come from somewhere close to her feet.

Jennie crouched down, keeping close to the wall and straining to hear, not daring to move or
breath. To her delight, it came again—a quick smattering of a group of people laughing, this time
also joined by the faintest masculine grunt.

Jennie inched forward, fingertips barely brushing the wall, breath coming out in short gusts and her
eyes glued to the ground. Her pulse quickened when she saw what appeared to be a faint yellow
glow emanating from under the wall.

The source turned out to be an ordinary basement window. Jennie's insides fizzed with excitement.

It was at such an innocuous angle that unless you were staring fixedly at the point where the
ground ended and the wall began, you would have missed it for sure.

Was this where the mysterious driver had disappeared after going in through the wall?

What could Jinyoung be hiding down there? An underground factory? A secret club for his posse
of shady friends?

Throwing caution to the wind, Jennie got to her knees and bent down, cheek pressed against the
dewy ground as she squinted through the window.

It was no larger than the width of her hand, but twice as long as her arm so Jennie got plenty of
view. The glass was thick and frosted, warping her vision, but she could make out a huge
cavernous space, with a lot of figures in black milling about below.

But whether they were working on something or simply chilling, Jennie had no clue.

The place was well lit and the rumble of voices was clearer now, though still muffled. Sometimes a
laugh reached Jennie's ears. There was no hum of machinery to indicate some underground
manufacturing plant.

Jennie's curiosity burned.

Who were these people skulking around beneath Rkive? Was Jinyoung aware? Was this some
hideout for his criminal friends? Who were the two people heading into Rkive? Were they in
league with Jinyoung? Did they know about this secret basement, about where their driver was
headed? Was this all some conspiracy?

Whatever she had stumbled upon, Jennie could feel it was something bigger than she was
expecting. There was that vanishing doorway in the wall for starters, and the driver's furtive
movements suggesting he had something to hide.

Jennie sat back on her knees, intending to grab her phone and shoot Jisoo a quick text to inform her
of her findings when the back of her neck prickled, warning Jennie of a presence behind her.

She whirled around.

Hands shot out from the dark and grabbed Jennie, clapping a hand to her mouth and dragging her
away before she could shout.

>

When Jinyoung had returned after the spillage mishap with a new clean shirt, he had sat down and
casually picked up a conversation again after they had finally given the waiter their orders,
launching straight to the point.

It left no doubt in Jisoo's mind that Jinyoung was subtly trying to show that her act hadn't thrown
him off in the slightest.

"So, how did you get to know Jennie and her Thai Tornado? Lisa wasn't it?" Jinyoung asked after a
graceful sip of his wine, while Jisoo sipped her (new) glass of water. "You seem like a tight
bunch."

"Looking to join the gang?"

Jinyoung laughed, showing his pearly whites. "Well, I'm not sure our mutual friend Jennie would
agree to that. Between you and me, she seems to have, ah, reservations about my integrity.
Unfortunately, I never got to set the record straight."

"It bothers you?" Jisoo asked despite herself. Jennie's warnings flashed through her mind but she
pushed them aside, for now. She knew she was treading a fine line, fishing for information and
making sure she didn't show her piqued interest or giving away details.

"Well, I'm sure that you have had experiences where your integrity was questioned just because
people had a certain impression of you. And I think you can imagine what it feels like to have
people constantly bring you down for something that you are not," Jinyoung explained, his gaze
never wavering from where it held Jisoo in thrall. She couldn't help but nod along to what he was
saying because she knew just what exactly he was talking about.
The memory of Soojoo's sneers and her pathetic posse's taunts and jabs still lingered at the back of
her head.

"Many people think that because I have money, then regular people problems don't apply because I
can make it all vanish away with the snap of a finger." Jinyoung shook his head. "I'm not saying
I'm losing sleep about what Jennie thinks of me but...I was wondering if somehow I could have her
at least change her mind."

"Jennie's not the type to change opinions so easily, not unless you prove yourself genuine in her
eyes." Jisoo bit her lip but Jinyoung nodded earnestly.

"I respect that. I've followed her work ethic at the Slammer. She might seem strict and demanding
but she has pulled consistent results with Lisa. It's admirable."

"Really? Compared to others? I mean, what about fighters who actually won the Grand Slam
then?" Jisoo asked, eager to divert attention away from Jennie.

Jinyoung shrugged. "Sure they all had their merits, but I have a soft spot for the underdogs. If it
weren't for Lisa's unfortunate disqualification, I'm sure she would have been one of the top
competitors this year, maybe the strongest contender even. I was looking forward to see her win."

"Oh Lisa wasn't disqualified, she—" Jisoo paused sharply then shook her head. She was slipping
up alarmingly frequently and it was worrying how easily she found herself keeping up with his
flow of conversation as he effortlessly drew her in.

Jennie's warning returned and this time, Jisoo made a mental note to keep her mouth shut.

Jinyoung thankfully didn't seem to notice because he spoke up again after another sip of wine. His
cheeks were already tinting a rosy red.

"Let me tell you a little something about myself, Jisoo. When I was young, my father was a busy
man and barely had enough time for my brother and I. And the little time he spent with us, he doted
on my older brother instead."

Jinyoung took another gulp, his face souring.

"What is your brother's name?" Jisoo ventured to ask.

"Was," Jinyoung said softly. His gaze bore into Jisoo's. "His name was Jaebom."

A million questions erupted in Jisoo's head but she tamped them down in favour of letting Jinyoung
talk.

"Father had his own nickname for him. Jay B. It was their thing. The little time we had together as
a family, Father made no effort to hide whom he truly favoured between us. I wasn't a legitimate
son after all, just a lowly runt born out of an affair with some maid," Jinyoung said darkly.
"Jaebom's mother wasn't around. I'm sure she would have hated me too, but she obviously didn't
care since she had long left...

"Sometimes, I wonder why Father bothered with having me included in the family in the first
place. But it all clicked into place when one day, he told me how my brother had some incurable
blood disease that was slowly killing him. It's genetic too...meaning chances are that one day, out
of nowhere, it might strike. I've taken tests, I'm a carrier. Father is..."

More wine, more pinched facial expressions, as though the next part of the story physically hurt
Jinyoung. Without even realising, Jisoo reached out and laid a hand on his, squeezing his knuckles.

"It's alright. You don't have to," she said softly.

Jinyoung grimaced but didn't pull away. "I'm sorry for dumping this on you."

"It's alright," she said again. "I'm sure you don't get to vent a lot, in between juggling your
responsibilities and people's expectations. I know a little about that, feeling hemmed in with
nobody to turn to."

He nodded, smiling gratefully. "You see? You are already proving to be more sympathetic than
probably half of the staff on my detail. But it's just...you're not my date so I have no fear of scaring
you off and...I just want you to understand who I am, what informs my ambitions and goals in life."

He took a deep breath. "Father's time also came in the end—he has succumbed to the disease and is
living out his final days as we speak. I have had to step up in his role more and more."

Jisoo floundered for an appropriate response. "Oh...Jinyoung..."

He waved his hand, poured some more wine. "It's fine. There's no love lost between us."

"How...how come your father lived this long..."

Unperturbed by her timid question, Jinyoung replied: "Jaebom's variant of the disease was more
aggressive because we used to live abroad in exotic countries and constantly moving around
because of Father's line of work. He had always been rather sickly, I don't think the hot climates
agreed with him. And so, having a compromised immunity system must have been the perfect
grounds for the disease to flourish.

"Father had been working all those years to find a cure for his beloved sickly heir and just as he
was on the brink of success...he ran out of time. It was too late for my brother so...Father had his
backup heir. That's all I was. A second-rate, second choice.

"After Jaebom died, Father only spoke with me about things concerning the running of JYP
Pharma. Even in death, my brother ruined any chance of a relationship between my father and I yet,
strangely enough, I don't resent him for it. It's what gave me the determination to succeed and
make my own destiny instead of standing in the shadow of a dead boy."

Jinyoung's eyes hardened. "I vowed I would never be a second choice again. I vowed to take
myself to the top and prove myself to everyone around me that I'm worthy of being the first choice.
So you see, Jisoo, I am drawn to stories of the underdog like that of our mutual friends Jennie and
Lisa, because I know what it's like to rise up against the odds: from a place of insults and neglect,
to the shiny golden pedestal itself."

And then he tilted his head. "Don't you think Jennie in particular would relate?"

His teeth bared in a smile and Jisoo shivered.

>

"He said he will have a guest with him and that we should wait for a signal before we approach
them," Yang murmured.

He leaned back against the wall and blew plumes of smoke, his eyes following the smoke that
drifted upwards. "Darn boy, he should be grateful I managed to get the product for him. But he
does like to do his so-called power trips."

Not having much else to say as they loitered close to the entrance waiting for the signal to enter,
Rosé merely nodded, clutching the suitcase tightly to her chest. The nightly chill with a fresh
breeze blowing off from the sea made her shiver but otherwise, it was a nice change from the
sticky heat of the city.

"Thorn."

Rosé looked up from her mindless scrolling on her phone. "Yes Yang, sir?"

Yang glanced her way then looked back up at the night sky. "Do you think of him?"

Rosé's mouth turned dry, mind running through the possibilities of who her boss was referring to.
"Uhm...who?" she asked tentatively.

"Tiger King. Do you think of him?" Yang sounded uncharacteristically wistful tonight.

Rosé had been noticing the changes lately, how he turned broody and quiet in her presence, had
heard the Jays talk of how their boss seemed more reserved than usual. Jay-Z had been particularly
helpful in divulging all the details whilst she pretended not to care as he drover her around.

Even during their drive to Rkive, Yang Hyun Suk had spent most of his time staring out of the
window and barely spoke, a far cry from before when he would toy with Rosé mercilessly.

She and Jaehyun had even shared a glance, both silently agreeing that their boss was acting
different. Rosé tried not to think much of it but the strained silence was difficult to ignore, although
much more bearable than his barbed taunts.

"Not as much as before...sir," Rosé said at last. "I'm so busy at times, it completely slips my mind."

"Hmm..."

Rosé waited to be addressed again as Yang took another long drag.

"I have a feeling in my bones that when we do find and confront the beast, I might not live," Yang
said at last. "I have been coming to terms with that. He's a vicious brutal murderer. No doubt he
will make sure to kill what should have been dead long ago."

Rosé's mouth dropped open in shock. Hearing Yang easily conceding defeat, and to her of all
people, disarmed her.

"What are you saying?"

"That doesn't mean I won't put up a fight, of course," Yang went on, talking to himself more than
he was talking to her, "but the odds are slim, is what I'm saying. And when you feel death so close
at hand...it does something funny to you.

"I have had my brushes with death before, but none felt so...so real, as this one, when he nearly
clawed my eye out. We were eye to eye for the briefest second but I swear, I stared death right in
the face. I still remember those yellow eyes."

Rosé could only blink, utterly speechless.

Yang turned to look at her. "I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, Why is he telling me
this? Well, I don't know..."
He exhaled, smoke drifting from his lips as he spoke. "I've seen the questioning looks I've been
getting from the Jays. I heard the rumours too. Yang has lost his fangs, he's getting old, new blood
is needed. I heard it all and I don't care. It's the norm in this business, people are always looking to
replace you once you show the least bit of vulnerability.

"Why am I telling you? Probably because out of all people, I know you won't try to take advantage
of it. You're too scared to try. You'll carry my confession. Because if you do talk...well, I'm sure
you wouldn't like the consequences."

Whatever shred of compassion had lit up in her heart for the monster in front of her immediately
died out when he brought up the veiled threat hanging over head, hardening her heart.

Yang must have seen the change in expression because he gave a low chuckle. "Ah, transparent as
ever. You can't hide from me, Rosé. Maybe you won't hide from me even when I'm dead."

She gritted her teeth when he chuckled again.

"Like father, like daughter," Yang said at length. "How much do you remember your late father?"

He was in a chatty mood, Rosé noted grimly.

"Well enough, sir."

"I don't believe you knew his other side, Taeyang, though? The man who worked for me, how well
did you know him?"

He's bored, Rosé realised suddenly, he doesn't have anything else to do but wait around and
smoke.

The thought sent a thrill down her spine. Bored men talk—they would spill state secrets if they
were bored enough. They were worse chatterboxes than the elderly aunties that haggled at the flea
markets and swapped gossip like loose change.

She had never bothered to understand the side of her father that worked with Yang, the side that
was as much a mystery to her as the identity of Tiger King. All she knew was that her father had
racked up a debt and she was lumped with it. She hadn't cared to learn about the side that her father
hid from her for so long.

But curiosity sparked within her.

She was bored too. She wanted to know now.

"I didn't know him, no..." She waited with bated breath when Yang sighed.

"He was a direct contrast to you. He had been in my employment long before your mother and he
got together. He whisked her away to Australia, wanting to start over with her. I suppose he loved
her that much to try and be a changed man or something sappy like that."

Rosé remembered the nights her father drank and cried for his dead wife, or the way he couldn't
look his own daughter in the face the older she got.

"Then when he came back, well not much had changed. Hot-headed lad he was, loud and joking
around with the other men. Quite the mood-setter at the table. He was quick on the draw and threw
an easy punch. And you could tell right away if something displeased him—his face gave away a
lot, more than yours does. And then he would follow that up verbally and physically."
She knew that side of him. She had endured his beatings and volatile moods for years.

"The problem with Taeyang is he didn't know when to stop," Yang said quietly. "It's what had him
rack up his debt. Gambling and drinking and getting into fights. And then with Tiger King..."

Rosé stiffened. At last, was she finally going to learn how her father met his demise?

The situation seemed unreal, Yang's voice carried away into the vast inky night, empty and hollow
as Rosé felt. She felt unprepared, but at the same time was thirsting to know, to have closure.

"We had apprehended a guy that a tip-off said knew about Tiger King's whereabouts, or possibly
even harboured him," Yang began. "We were interrogating him, me and my chosen group,
Taeyang—Youngbae—amongst them. The guy was refusing to cooperate and Taeyang was getting
all riled up, punching him to a pulp. I think he had knocked the guy unconscious, or even killed
him on the spot, but we never got to check. And then...Tiger King himself made an appearance."

He looked over at Rosé.

"Taeyang was first to die. Tiger King attacked him and just...tore into him, like some animal.
Taeayang would have never seen it coming, never been ready. Neither of us were. But I keep
thinking that maybe, just maybe, if he hadn't been moving at all, maybe it would have been any of
us that Tiger King targeted first. It's like when you face down a wild animal. It will attack
whatever is moving and in this case, it happened to be your father."

Yang inhaled one last time before he threw down the cigarette and trod on it, unaware of Rosé
standing very still as she processed his words.

"Then again, maybe if it weren't for Taeyang, we wouldn't have retaliated fast enough. He bought
us a sliver of time to fight back." Yang smiled grimly. "I'm alive thanks to your father, Rosé. I
owed him to take you in and keep you safe. Well, as safe as this line of business allows, of course."

He closed his eyes and Rosé was seized with the sudden urge to strangle him right there and end
the madness. All her nights of turmoil and terror would stop and the future loomed up, freedom
hanging teasingly within reach.

But she didn't move, struck dumb by his audacity to claim he was taking care of her because of a
life debt to her father. After all the pain he constantly heaped on her, was he expecting some
measure of forgiveness from her? Was she supposed to be thankful for the hell he had her trapped
in? For all the fear and guilt and the dirty crook jobs she had to do?

Visceral hatred burned in her veins but still, she did not move.

"The father died for me." Yang opened his eyes, keen gaze fixed on Rosé as though he could see
right into her soul. "I wonder about the daughter."

Unable to trust herself for a second longer under his scrutiny, Rosé turned away.

"I may be my father's daughter, but I'm also me," she said quietly, not knowing where she got the
strength to answer back. "Don't confuse the two."

Translation: I won't die for you. I'll be the one to kill you.

A beat of silence passed as Rosé waited for the blow to fall.

"So I see," said Yang HyunSuk.

 ...But Satisfaction Brought It Back
Chapter Notes

previously: jennie got snatched, jinyoung told jisoo his villain origin story, rosie and
yang were waiting around and got talking about rosie's late dad.

With a massive grunt, Jennie finally flung off her attacker, both sprawling on the ground. Jennie
immediately jumped to her feet again, beyond enraged, both at herself for letting her guard down,
and at the attacker.

They hadn't dragged her too far, since she had put up a terrific struggle even when they clapped a
hand to her mouth to stifle her shouts.

Jennie backed up now, arms up and ready to fight despite the dim light, heart thundering in her
chest.

"Come fight me you little shit—"

"Shut up they're gonna hear ya—"

With a snarl, Jennie charged, heedless of anything but the person before her. Lisa may have been
the actual fighter out of the two of them, but Jennie could still throw a punch when needed.

And right now, she really really needed to blast apart the guy who had the audacity to try and
kidnap her.

They dodged Jennie's fists, face hidden in shadows as they attempted to trap Jennie's arms. Jennie
pushed and pulled frenziedly, striking out and successfully hitting the shins of her opponent who
gasped out in pain.

"Jen, stop it—"

"Huh?" In the midst of their scuffle, Jennie paused at the call of her name and dropped her arms.
The figure bent over, panting.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?"

"It's me, ya idiot. Momo."

"What?"

The girl raised her face and Jennie stared, now recognising the silhouette and cut of hair—her
attacker was no random guy or one of Jinyoung's minions, but her and Lisa's estranged friend.

Jennie's mouth dropped open. "What the—"

"Let's get outta here and talk somewhere else, before someone sees us," Momo said curtly.

"Momo what the hell are you doing—"

"Not now," Momo hissed and simply tugged her away, marching quickly with her head bent down.
Jennie had no choice but to follow suit, still trying to comprehend the turn of events.

They walked past the vans in dead silence, with Momo only letting go of Jennie's wrist once they
were closer to Rkive's entrance.

"Are you alone?" Momo asked abruptly as they walked. "Is Lisa with you?"

"Why do you care?" Jennie snorted. "Last I remember, you promised to beat my sister to death."

"Things are different now, work with me here," Momo said tersely. Hearing the edge in Momo's
voice, with none of her usual snark present had Jennie relent.

"No, Lisa isn't here. I'm waiting for someone else. Momo, what the heck is going on here? And
why did you try to strangle me?"

"I wasn't strangling you, I just needed to pull you away for a sec," Momo said. "I've got my car,
let's talk there."

Jennie hesitated then followed after the skulking girl, figuring she had plenty of time left before
Jisoo showed up again. She couldn't help but stare at Momo's back, wondering how she hadn't
immediately recognised her.

Nothing much had changed about the Japanese boxer—she still had her hair in a bob, though now
that Jennie looked closer in the light, it seemed whoever cut it did a poor job—the hacked strands
stuck out in all directions, like Momo had just rolled out of bed. Jennie found it unusual, not least
because she remembered Momo and Lisa earnestly talking about the best methods to keep their
bangs in place when engaging in boxing or workouts. Momo also used to fuss a lot about keeping
her bob tweaked and sleek.

But that wasn't the only difference—Jennie was disconcerted to note that Momo seemed to be
sporting a little paunch now as well, hidden behind her loose T-shirt.

It didn't look like a pregnancy belly but Jennie couldn't help wonder just what had Momo been up
to exactly in the months that they hadn't spoken. She wasn't walking with her usual carefree cocky
stroll either, instead hunched over and briskly marching ahead.

Once locked inside Momo's car (that was discreetly parked a good five minutes away from the
restaurant) they both sank back in their seats and exhaled, relieved that they escaped uncaught.

"You go first," Momo said at length. "What are you doing here?"

Jennie wanted to argue and demand Momo to go first but figured that it would take longer to get
her answers if they squabbled back and forth.

"I'm with Jisoo. She was meeting Jinyoung for dinner, you know the Slammer sponsor guy? The
son of that pharma tycoon, JYP? I was waiting for her to come back."

"Jisoo?" Momo frowned. "And what? She's meeting him? Why? And why were you mooching
around then?"

"Oh that's right, you wouldn't have known. Jisoo...is a friend, at the Vault. We got to know her
after you left."

"And she's hooking up with that snake?"

"No," Jennie said sharply, more than she intended. She pursed her mouth. "She's just trying to find
out stuff about him."

"Such as?" Momo seemed very keen, her gaze intent on Jennie.

But Jennie held up her hand. "I told you about me. Now you, what are you doing out here?
Hooking up with some new chick?"

Momo scowled then looked away. "I'm here to keep an eye out for Dahyun."

"You don't seem very thrilled about it—wait, Dahyun's working here?" Jennie said incredulously.

"Yeah, didn't ya know? Summer job or something, she said." Momo shook her head. "Always
poking her nose and getting into trouble dammit, she needs a leash."

"What sort of trouble?" Jennie said, recalling Somi mentioning Dahyun getting a summer job in
Incheon. What were the odds of her actually working at Rkive, of all places?

"She's looking into Jinyoung," Momo revealed. "He's a nasty piece of work, Jen. Your Jisoo better
watch out."

"I know that." Jennie kept her eyes forward, eyeing the entrance. "A while back, Jinyoung wanted
to take Lisa and Seulgi—I mean, the Bear—to a hospital after a brutal match they had. They were
both out of it and he acted all worried about them. He was being very insistent, coming on at us
with his innocent, concerned sponsor routine, but I didn't buy it for a second. He was up to
something."

"Good on you. That really is unusual for sponsors to get so involved."

Jennie glanced at her. "What do you know about him?"

"Nothing that you don't."

"Don't lie, you clearly know he's up to no good, he's got you all antsy. I would't be too surprised if
he's the reason you suddenly got into PFB at the Slammer," Jennie pointed out. "What's his deal?"

Momo exhaled. "Fine. Remember I was practically the CEO for Hirai Motors? Yeah, it's game
over for me, I'm practically broke now. All because of fricking Jinyoung Park and his dear old
dadda. I was looking into him, tryna dig up the dirt they sweep under the rug, but that snake got to
me."

"How?"

Momo gestured at the restaurant. "That guy you saw back there? He's one of Jinyoung's lackeys.
Jay, he calls them. They all go by that alias, then add a bunch of letters to differentiate. Jay-LX,
Jay-GH, Jay-KV...you get the idea. It keeps them anonymous. Anyway, Jinyoung had planted one
of them as a mole in my company.

"They screwed me over real good and I was kicked out of the clan as a result, losing all my
birthrights to the family business. Been keeping a low profile ever since. Now my girl has gotten
mixed up in this shit as well even though I told her to back off so...I'm keeping an eye on her."

A beat of silence passed and Jennie blinked. "When was this? Is it why you didn't go into the
Purge?"
"Yeah, it was around that time. Fell right into a deep dark place. And then Dubu came along and
told me she's gonna investigate him. I warned her to stay away but she's stubborn as a donkey. So
now here I am...babysitting."

"I don't think you're doing much difference sitting out here," Jennie said wryly.

"Like you're doing anything more."

"Well, I don't know what threats you think Dahyun is facing, but Jisoo and I are in contact and the
minute she lets me know something's up, I'm in there."

"Threats? You think I don't know what threats there are?" Momo tossed her head back with a
mirthless chuckle. "Jennie, you saw that guy disappear behind a wall, and you saw their little
underground bunker they have. I scouted out that spot weeks ago. You found their little nest, where
all the Jays go before Jinyoung calls them up to go on his errands. Wasn't about to have you trip up
and alert them. All my work would go to waste."

"What do they do down there? Does Dahyun know?"

"We're not in contact. She doesn't know I come out here and she's not gonna know," Momo said
with a warning note in her voice and Jennie understood: Momo and Dahyun still weren't on civil
terms with each other.

"But she might know something—"

"It would mess up things. I'm fairly positive she would have told me if she did find something. She
knows about my situation, she came to me with theories."

Momo ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "I don't know what they do down there, I haven't
been able to find out, or even sneak in. I'm also not very equipped to do that right now. No
resources whatsoever. I'm waiting on Dubu to uncover something."

"Did you see those two people that came with that Jay?"

"Yeah a man and a woman. They had a suitcase with them."

"You think they're with Jinyoung?"

"Positive. They came in all sneaky with the Jay. I wanted to take a closer look at them but then I
saw you sneaking after the Jay and I had to stop you."

"You're saying it's my fault then," Jennie deadpanned.

"Yeah pretty much."

"Charming as ever, Hirai."

"Only for you, Kim."

"What do you think is in that suitcase?" Jennie wondered.

"Could be anything. Drugs. Money. Papers. Did you get a look at the people at all?"

Jennie shook her head. "Not really. And I don't know if they even went into the restaurant or not.
Had you seen them before?"
"Nope, nor did I see someone similar. Usually, it's just a Jay by himself, or a group of Jays, they
ride in those vans. I tried following after one of them once, driving around. But he lost me, and then
I was scared he'd note who I am and come after me or...or after..." Momo's hand clenched on the
steering wheel.

Jennie changed the subject. "So Dahyun...why did she want to look into him, exactly?"

Momo sat quiet for a few seconds, enough for Jennie to know she was thinking of a lie when she
responded.

"Fraud."

"Bull."

"Well, one of the felonies he's got going on is fraud. I should know, I've seen what he does,"
Momo argued.

"That's not what I asked," Jennie said sternly. Some instinct was warning her, whispering in her ear
that whatever Momo was going to say was no good. But knowing Jisoo was inside talking with a
potentially dangerous man had her insides squirming.

She took a deep breath.

"Look, you want the dirt on Jinyoung, I want the dirt on Jinyoung. I thought he was shady, but this
racket or whatever is bigger than I thought. I think it's wise if we join forces and work together.
The more eyes we have on him, the better, so we should talk to Dahyun too, although if she's in
any danger we should convince her to pull out."

Jennie didn't know where the suggestion came from—working with Momo was the furthest idea
from her mind, up until Momo had pounced on her.

But now things had changed and hanging on to old grudges seemed unnecessary when they were
facing up against a common enemy with a murky agenda. Jennie's mind whirred busily, already
thinking of a gameplan.

It was what she did best after all.

"Since when did you get to be so mellow and agreeable?" Momo wondered after the silence
stretched out. "Or wait..." A small smile stretched across her face. "It's that Jisoo girl, huh? Nice,
nice. Who would have known that Jennie Kim would finally meet her match? Now that's a love
story. Does Lisa know? She must have been over the moon."

"What would you know about it anyway?" Jennie grumbled to hide her bashfulness—she had
forgotten that for all her arrogance and brawn, Momo could be quite perceptive.

Momo smiled faintly in the lightwash from the restaurant. "Because Dahyun does the same thing
for me. Welcome to the L Club, Jen."

She took a deep breath. "Okay I'll...I'll tell you what I know."

Jennie tensed on the edge of her seat in anticipation, freezing up entirely when Momo said: "Have
you ever heard about someone called Tiger King?"

>
"That's our cue," Yang grunted with relief as his phone went off. "Stick with me."

As if I have anywhere else to go, Rosé thought wryly but she didn't say anything and obediently
followed in his wake, eager to sit down and eat.

However, upon entering the restaurant and being directed to Jinyoung's spot by the host—who
introduced himself as Namjoon—all thoughts of food flew out of her head as Rosé froze on the
spot.

Jisoo was sitting and talking with Jinyoung, daintily cutting up a piece of roast chicken and looking
for all the world like she belonged in this place, in front of Jinyoung, blending like a chameleon as
she nodded and replied to something Jinyoung had said.

She didn't seem ill at ease. She didn't notice Rosé gaping at her from the doorway.

Rosé felt her eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.

Jisoo was gay, she was dating Jennie...wasn't she? What was she doing with Jinyoung?

Wait, she and Jennie had mentioned Jisoo was going to meet with some Jinyoung who was a
sponsor at the Slammer...this was the same Jinyoung? The sly and powerful man in cahoots with
Yang on the trail of Tiger King? Did Jisoo know the danger she was in? Was Jennie around? What
if they saw her?

Yang noticed her shock and nudged her. "Thorn?"

"I can't," she whispered urgently, "code orange."

Immediately, Yang's gaze snapped back to Jinyoung's companion. He frowned but nodded, heeding
Rosé's warning.

"What is he playing at..." Yang muttered, brows furrowed, but Rosé didn't care as she shrank
behind him, desperately wishing the earth would swallow her up.

They had numerous codes for a variety of emergencies. Code Orange signified that people close to
Rosé were around, which meant a lot of complications if she was seen with Yang, and that was
definitely something neither Rosé nor Yang wanted.

Yang quickly took charge after recovering. "Alright, change of plans. Namjoon, take her out back
to meet your boss's middleman. I'll handle Jinyoung and his missus. Thorn, don't let the suitcase
out of your sight until they tell you the password."

And in a blink, Namjoon whisked Rosé away before anybody could notice.

>

"...and believe me, that wouldn't be the last time. How's the chicken by the way?" Jinyoung asked
as his latest anecdote came to a close. His nose was turning red but his movements weren't sloppy
as he neatly sawed his sirloin steak into pieces before forking them up one by one.

"Very good, thank you," Jisoo said sincerely.

She was thoroughly enjoying every morsel and only wished she could have Jennie for company
instead of Jinyoung. He wasn't a bad host by any means but the surreptitious glances he kept
shooting in her direction whenever he thought Jisoo wasn't looking kept her on edge.
The story with his father and brother had captured her interest, and the way he kept casually
inserting Jennie's name into the conversation was certainly suspicious.

At one point, he had even commented how lucky Jennie must be if she'd ever consider dating
Jisoo.

"I mean, you two are already tight and I noticed her being extra protective of you when I was
around so I was wondering when things would go from friendly to—"

"Jennie and I are just friends. She doesn't swing that way," Jisoo informed stiffly.

"Oh, I'm losing my filter," he chuckled sheepishly, raising his wine glass. "Excuse my careless
remarks. Well, do you have anyone else you got your eyes on?"

"None whatsoever."

They had moved on from that topic to something more light-hearted: unlucky dates, of which
Jinyoung had plenty to spare, if his stories were to be believed

Now, Jinyoung glanced to the side just as Jisoo noticed a lumbering figure at the corner of her eye
making his way towards them.

Jinyoung perked up, recognising the man. He waved him over. "Yang-ssi! Sit sit, I've been
expecting you! Sorry we were just eating, would you like something for yourself?"

Jisoo observed the older man that joined them. The first thing she noticed was the jarring scar that
disfigured half of his face. He didn't seem to be insecure about this fact at all, nor did he glare or
shy away from her shocked stare. He merely gazed back, equal parts curious and wary.

"Jinyoung-ssi," spoke the man, Yang. His voice was reedy and thick from smoke. "I didn't know
we'd be having company. I would have waited—"

"No no it's alright, we were just having fun and we lost track of time, didn't we, Jisoo? Jisoo, this is
a business partner of mine, Mr Yang. And Yang-ssi, I'd like you to meet my friend, Kim Jisoo."

"A pleasure," Yang said crisply but he didn't give her his hand. His eyes were now fixed on
Jinyoung, mouth pursed in displeasure. Jisoo went back to her chicken, quietly wondering how she
could excuse herself from the sudden tense atmosphere that enveloped the table. Only Jinyoung
seemed to be unaware, serenely launching into some inane one-sided conversation with Yang who
sat like a stony statue.

The classic bathroom excuse, Jisoo thought quickly. Maybe I'll fake cramps.

"Would you excuse me?" Jisoo asked politely as she picked her purse, "going for a quick trip to the
bathroom."

Jinyoung gestured behind him. "Two doors down past the bar, you can't miss it."

>

"What are you up to, boy?" Yang hissed the moment Jisoo had left but Jinyoung raised a finger to
his lips as he made a quick call.

"Joon, my good man, could you have our lovely newest staff member go down to the basement?
Thanks."
Yang's fist clenched the single fork laid out next to his cold empty plate until Jinyoung finished
and pocketed his phone. "What are you playing at?"

"Always so impatient, Yang-ssi." Jinyoung smiled wider when he noted Yang's knuckles turning
white. "Did you get me my product?"

"They're with Thorn. I sent her ahead seeing as you're busy romancing your next slut, who, for your
information, also happens to be her neighbour."

Jinyoung chuckled. "My next slut? Hardly, my friend. She's already taken, you would have noticed
that if you weren't so busy glaring at me. We're simply friends. As for her status as your runner's
neighbour, I'm perfectly aware."

"You knew? You could have jeopardised the whole situation if she saw Thorn! Thankfully, Thorn
noticed just in time!" Yang snarled under his breath. "What the hell are you doing, you half-assed
piece of—"

"I'd watch your mouth if I were you," Jinyoung said placidly as he poured himself some more
wine. "This isn't the wisest place to go up against me."

Yang set his jaw. "Were you banking on Jisoo seeing Thorn? Why?"

"Now you're thinking! And why do you think? To spice things up with the girlies! But don't worry,
I have something else planned."

"What are you talking about?"

Jinyoung inspected his glass, swirled the wine inside it leisurely then took a thoughtful sip.

"Let's just say that maybe Thorn better keep her eyes peeled. The night is still young."

"That phone call," Yang said slowly, piecing things together, "it had something to do with your
plan, didn't it?"

Jinyoung merely smiled, baring his teeth.

>

"Dahyun, Chef Silva said he's nearly out of scallions, get some from the store please? A crate will
do. You can lift a crate right?" Namjoon said as he bust inside the staffroom unceremoniously.

Dahyun nodded as she gulped down her water. It had been a busy night at Rkive but Namjoon had
been keeping strangely scarce. She supposed he was busy directing the staff and seating people.

"Sure, how heavy can a crate of scallions be?"

Namjoon smiled, dimples showing, and checked something off his clipboard. "That's my girl."

He left, leaving Dahyun with warm cheeks as she shook her head and flung her water bottle into her
locker and slammed the locker door shut.

Get a grip, you fall for anyone who smiles at you, she scolded herself.

She had been warming up to the gangly manager who incredibly, still kept up his good humour on
the job despite the veneer of professionalism he maintained on the floor.
Though Dahyun hadn't been remotely interested in the job itself beyond seeking to unearth
information on Jinyoung, she found herself getting involved and interesting herself when Namjoon
would call her over to the bar during a lull to explain about wine lists and wine pairings or coach
her to handle herself better with patrons.

"We're not some top business hotel but it's still our bread and butter so we gotta make sure we give
our best. Everyone likes money, we like to get paid, don't we?" he had said.

Namjoon always corrected her in such a proactive but encouraging manner that Dahyun wondered
why Rkive wasn't absolutely booked with other staff. He was easy going and but firm, handling
difficult patrons with grace whilst cracking jokes when they gathered in the staffroom later after
shifts.

Dahyun shook her head and made her way to the storeroom. Getting distracted whilst she was on
the lookout to infiltrate the seemingly impenetrable wall Jinyoung protected himself with was
laughable.

The storeroom was in the recess of Rkive beneath the kitchens and Dahyun easily found the crate
of scallions.

But just as she was heading back up the stairs, she heard voices beyond the the exit door, from
where they brought in supplies.

And both voices—a male and a female speaking tersely— sounded suspiciously familiar.

The old spark of curiosity returned for Dahyun who quietly put down the crate then approached the
door, feeling her way carefully in the dim light until she felt the cool metal against her fingertips.

She leaned against it and listened.

>

Rosé was still on high alert after she had been nearly discovered by Jisoo. Her nerves were jangled
as she did her utmost to breathe and calm down.

If Jisoo had looked up...

She had a job to do before she could finally escape and go back home to Lisa and Ella and climb in
bed with them and cuddle. She had left them with a heavy heart, as she always did when she had to
go, despite trying to remain upbeat and cheerful for both of them.

Lisa had kissed her for a longer time than usual, squeezing her close and whispering seductively in
her ear.

"Do you have to go? Can't you phone in sick?" Lisa said, tenderly kissing the inside of her wrist in
a move so subtly romantic and sexy at the same time that for a moment Rosé stuttered.

"I-I can't," she said breathily, vaguely trying to remember why. Lisa overpowered her, but she went
along with the flow just as willingly. Lisa kissed her neck and Rosé's knees almost buckled.

"Baby, please," she pleaded, not for lack of enjoyment. "Ella's here, and my boss—"

"I'm sure he'll understand," Lisa coaxed, "I'll be a good girl and behave while we watch the
movie...until later."
"Oh no you don't," Rosé said, taking enormous amount of willpower to break out of the lusty haze
and reluctantly push Lisa away, giggling as she did so. "You've gotten so naughty."

"Can't help it, I had my eyes opened and now I can't get enough," Lisa grinned before she leaned
in and kissed her softly. "Have a good shift baby, I'll put Ella to bed and wait up."

"You don't have to," Rosé said, hopeful. She melted against Lisa when she hugged her and kissed
her cheek.

"But I want to. I love you. If I'm asleep, wake me."

Rosé shook herself out of her thoughts when she heard approaching footsteps and instinctively
stiffened when a taller man peeled away from the shadows and came to stand in front of her, the
single light above their heads illuminating his face.

"You are not going," the man said. Rosé immediately relaxed and nodded in approval—the man
had passed his first test by using that sentence, which initials of every word formed the word
'Yang'.

She brought out the suitcase from behind her back and tapped it three times. The man immediately
tapped his brow three times then two times in reply. The second check.

Yang had always been fastidious with these checks and passwords, changing them frequently, and
he expected the people involved in the trades to keep up as well. It helped him weed out moles and
impostors many times.

"I'm Jackson, you must be Thorn?"

"Yes. Password please."

It suddenly occurred to Rosé that she was completely unarmed and unguarded. If the man wanted
to hurt her, he could. But she wasn't as worried—this was a pre-paid transaction so no money was
involved.

"Tiger King," said Jackson.

Rosé nodded and was about to hand him the suitcase when she paused, frowning as she squinted at
him.

"Have we met?"

She didn't mean to blurt it out, really there was no need for any more talking after the transaction
was over, but ever since he had stepped into the light and opened his mouth, Rosé was struck with
the uncanny feeling that she had crossed paths with him before, and it was't while on the job.

Jackson on his part instead of shrugging dismissively or giving some non-committal answer,
paused and averted his eyes, his grip tight around the suitcase handle but Rosé didn't let go.

"We have met," she said, searching his face.

"It's a small world," he said tightly, "maybe it was somebody else at the hospital."

He clapped a hand to his mouth just as Rosé released the suitcase in shock.

"You...in the hospital..." It all came flashing back: the friendly phlebotomist that drew Lisa's blood
and entertained Ella. Jackson didn't move as she stared at him in horror.
"Were you there because Yang asked you to?" Rosé whispered. "Is...is everyone around me..."

She inhaled sharply as Jackson suddenly pushed her back against the door, thumping against the
metal.

"What—"

"Don't ask too much. Or you'll be in trouble," Jackson whispered urgently, "but know this: they're
after your girlfriend."

"Why are you telling me?" Heart drummed in her chest, ominous and foreboding.

He stilled and Rosé thought he wasn't going to reply but his shaky breath was loud next to her ear
and she could smell his faint musky scent, so jarring from Lisa's smell.

"Someone's listening," he whispered right in her ear, "behind you."

Rosé didn't know if it was some random person or one of the Jays but she wasn't about to leave it
to chance. Carefully, she edged forward just as Jackson stepped backwards until they were standing
a good few paces away, and then they embraced simultaneously.

"Were you followed?" Jackson whispered next to her ear. Rosé in turn rested her head on his
shoulder and whispered back as well. The shape and feel of his body against her was all wrong, a
far cry from Lisa's comforting hold.

"No. I checked. I didn't come out from that door. It's the restaurant storeroom."

"Leave them to me and go," he said tersely.

"Why did you tell me about Lisa?"

She had to know. Jackson hadn't seemed insincere or vague or calculating, like Yang or Jinyoung.
Appearances deceive of course but Jackson was currently pressed up against her body and Rosé
didn't feel as much unease as when Yang or Jinyoung were anywhere remotely near, which spoke
for something.

"I thought I was creating something amazing. Something phenomenal for the betterment of people.
I was willing to...make sacrifices," she heard him sigh. "I'm not so sure anymore..."

>

Dahyun was breathing hard, still processing the incoherent mumbles and the voices outside, just
beyond the door. She was rooted to the spot, the crate of scallions that she was supposed to take up
to the kitchen all but forgotten as she scrambled to make sense of the snatches of the terse
conversation she overheard.

All she knew for sure was she heard Jackson, heard him stating his name.

Jackson, who was supposed to be out of the country.

Jackson who was up to something shady, talking to a woman that she knew, before they had fallen
silent or walked away.

But Dahyun was positive that she had heard that female voice before, she just needed to think—

The door behind Dahyun gave way and she fell back, caught completely off-guard as she slammed
to the ground and then blinked up as Jackson loomed over her. He was holding a suitcase and he
didn't look happy.

"Hi," Dahyun said stupidly. "Fancy seeing you here."

Jackson didn't smile but looked up just as Dahyun heard a pair of footsteps approaching hurriedly.
Arching her head up to get a better look, she spotted Namjoon's silhouette making its way towards
them as he maneuvered his bulk past the shelves. He crouched down beside Dahyun.

"Are you hurt?" he asked then glanced at Jackson, frowning. "This place is off limits," he said
sternly, "leave before I call security."

Jackson gave Dahyun one last look before he melted away into the night.

"You didn't show up. I got worried," Namjoon said in concern as Dahyun stood up and stiffly
dusted herself.

"I'm fine."

She wasn't fine.

"You sure? He didn't attack you?"

"He was just standing out there talking to someone. And then he pulled the door open because he
heard me or something."

She wasn't fine. Jackson was here again, at Rkive, at the place where his cousin was plotting
something devious, and she had as yet to make a breakthrough, to find proof, a scrap of evidence
that would prove she wasn't going crazy and that what was going on was far bigger than she could
have possibly imagined or theorised.

And it turns out that Jackson had been lying all along, because of course he was.

She had been stupid to believe him. Had he ever even spoken a lick of truth?

What had been in the suitcase? What was he working on? She had caught so little of their
conversation, except for the woman's shock for recognising him somewhere. A hospital?

And just like their fateful last meeting, Jackson had caught her and then disappeared without
answering her burning questions.

"Dahyun."

"What?" she said, a little more sharply than she intended as she slammed down the crate in its
corner. Namjoon didn't flinch and raised his voice over the noisy sizzling and shouts in the kitchen.

"We need to tell the boss about that guy. Do you know him? He was loitering on the premises. I
didn't even know that the basement door wasn't locked, someone forgot. It could be a serious
breach of security. I need to let him know—"

"You know what?" Dahyun said as she came to a decision and fixed with Namjoon with her best
poker face. "I'll tell him about it myself when we're done here. He's dining out there right now, but
later he will go to his office won't he? I'll tell him then."

She had learned his routine, knew that he stayed late in his office, but could never find a good
enough time (or excuse) to sneak in and sniff around.
The time had come to confront Jinyoung, because she was tired of waiting, tired of digging to find
answers. That method had gotten her nothing but more questions and sleepless nights and
exhaustion.

Her frustration only mounted whenever Jinyoung glided past her like the snake he was, serene and
smug and untouchable as he smiled and nodded at the staff like a benevolent god while as she
restrained the urge to throttle him.

Her reckless curiosity might just get her killed, but if she gets the satisfaction of actual answers,
well, it might just bring her back too, like the proverbial curious cat. Her hands were suddenly
clammy and she wiped them down her front absently.

"But it will be late, your bus..." Namjoon, ever the gentleman, seemed unable to take a hint.

"I've got this," Dahyun said tightly. I've got this, I've got this. "I'll call my roommate for a ride, it's
no big deal. And I'm sure I won't be long, it's just a report, isn't it? I'll be in and out before you
know it."

Momo. I should tell Momo. I should...

Namjoon gave her a long piercing stare before he shrugged, resigned. "Fine. Back to work ."
 Lights Out, Dahyun

Momo had just finished explaining about Tiger King leaving Jennie reeling, torn between disgust
and panic, when her phone rang.

"Jisoo? You okay?" Jennie asked, meeting Momo's gaze.

"I'm fine. I'm in the bathroom at the moment, needed to get away from the table for a sec.
Some friend of Jinyoung's came over and suddenly it was suffocating." Jisoo blew a
breath. "I'll fake having cramps or something. I'll be back soon, Jendeuk."

"Okay, see you Chu," Jennie said automatically. She raised her eyebrows when she cut the call and
caught Momo smirking at her. "What?"

"Jendeuk? Chu?" Momo tittered.

"Don't even try," Jennie warned but a small smile made its way to her mouth. "Well, are you
coming to meet her or what?"

Momo's mouth fell open as Jennie shrugged.

"Where is Jennie Kim and what have you done with her?" Momo demanded.

"Maybe you're not the only one who's gone through changes," Jennie said and got out of Momo's
car.

>

"Jennie!" Jisoo said brightly as she climbed into her SUV. Without giving Jennie a chance to speak
or greet her, she cupped her face and kissed her full on the mouth, releasing her with a sigh. "I
missed you. Did you read anything? You'll have to tell me all about it and god, I can't wait for you
to take this dress off me and—"

Jisoo stiffened when someone from the backseat cleared their throat. Jennie rolled her eyes when
the woman spoke.

"Well, shut the door and screw me naked, Nini really came over to our side."

In the gloom, Jisoo couldn't make out her features but the woman sounded like she was smirking.
Before she could launch herself at the stranger and yell for Jennie to run, Jisoo felt Jennie's
reassuring pat on her arm.

"Don't worry, she's not a car robber," Jennie said, reading her intentions. "It's just a stray I picked
up."

"Hey!"

"What's going on?" Jisoo frowned.

"Jisoo, this is Momo. Lisa's friend, remember?"

Momo the Japanese boxer and CEO. The serial womaniser and playgirl. The one who broke
Dahyun's heart. The one who hurt Lisa and insulted Jennie.
"And what is she doing in my car? With my girlfriend?" Jisoo said in a hard voice, trying to keep
calm.

"I see my reputation precedes me," Momo said easily, "I would show my face to greet you properly
but I don't want to draw attention by using the phone light. I promise, I'm not after Jennie, she's the
last girl I'd get involved with. I'm here for Mr Smug Snake."

"Jinyoung?" Jisoo said, dumbfounded.

"It's best if we move," Jennie put in softly, patting Jisoo's arm again. "I'll explain along the way."

"Jen, I got my car still parked back there," Momo said.

"We just need to get out of Rkive's immediate vicinity, for now. We can park somewhere else and
talk," Jennie said and nodded at Jisoo. Once they had found a suitable parking spot out of sight of
Rkive, they all collectively exhaled and tension in the car lifted.

"Alright, so I'm guessing you didn't spend your time reading then?" Jisoo said cautiously.

Jennie bit her lip. "No, I wanted to take a closer look..." Quickly, she relayed what she had seen,
finishing off with her meeting with Momo.

"A disappearing door? An underground bunker thing?" Jisoo said in awe. "Wow, that's straight out
of a movie! I wish I'd been there! Though I don't appreciate you nearly strangling Jennie," she
added grimly.

"For the last time, I wasn't strangling her! I just grabbed her and okay, I could have been more
careful but I needed to take her away before she blew her cover," Momo insisted.

"Okay, and why are you here then? What did Jinyoung do to you?"

"Jinyoung screwed her over and she lost her clan's favour as a result so she got cut off and dropped
like a stone," Jennie said, "she had been investigating him before...but got too close."

"Damn right," Momo said darkly. "And why am I here at Rkive specifically? It's because of
Dahyun."

"What?" Jisoo burst out. "He's kidnapped Dahyun? Oh my—"

"Excitable type, aren't you?" Momo drawled. "And no, he didn't kidnap her, she's just working
there because she's investigating him. I'm just...trying to make sure she doesn't get in trouble."

Seeing Jisoo on the point of busting with questions, Jennie took the opportunity to explain.

"Momo and I have decided to let bygones be bygones. We're going to...talk together more if we
find something suspicious or gives us reason to be concerned."

"Can we trust her?" Jisoo said doubtfully.

"Good question. You know, you're lucky she doesn't have a thermos in here right now," Jennie told
Momo, "you'd be drenched." To Jisoo's delight, she sounded like she was tempted.

"I'll have you know I drenched Jinyoung," Jisoo added, elated when she felt Jennie squeeze her
hand and nod approvingly.

"Really? Must have been a sight. You're quite something," Momo said, sounding grudgingly
impressed. "And hey, I know I've been a jerk, but come on Jen, I told you about Tiger King, I
thought we reached a mutual agreement. I can even fix things with Lisa if you want."

"I'm not sure if that's wise. Are you going to start hanging out at the Vault again? We're barely
there these days, to be honest," Jennie said doubtfully.

"Lisa isn't at the Vault?" Momo sounded puzzled. "Then where she at? I thought she exclusively
lived there."

"Like I said before, maybe you're not the only who'e been through changes," Jennie said evasively.
Momo didn't let go so easily.

"No freaking way," she said slowly. "Don't tell me...she got a girl hasn't she? Tornado has got a
freaking girlfriend at long last? Did they get down and dirty? Do you have the receipts? Man I've
missed so much!"

"It's not my business to tell," Jennie said firmly.

"They totally have! That's why she's never at the Vault! She's got herself locked up in some BDSM
dungeon with some sex-crazed cougar, girl gone and threw herself in at the deep end! I can't
believe this," Momo crowed triumphantly. "That little baby virgin ain't a baby virgin no more, jeez
christ, I never thought I'd see this day! Good for her. What about that spoiled brat Somi?"

"Hey," Jisoo said sharply. "She's not a spoiled brat."

Momo paused then mellowed down from her initial outburst. "Sorry," she muttered.

Before silence engulfed them, Jennie spoke up. "Well, I don't know if we can go back to just
talking to each other all together like before but...maybe I can tell Lisa you're good now. She...she
really did miss you."

"Yeah yeah I screwed up. Just...tell her I'm sorry I guess and I'm not gunning to hurt her, or you...or
anyone."

Jisoo listened in silence. She didn't know the woman, but she knew enough that she flip-flopped
brazenly between one promise and the next. Yet, something about the Momo she heard about and
the Momo sitting in her car was different, a discrepancy that made her wonder what had happened
to change her.

"Well, we'll see. It's not like we need to keep in too much close contact anyway, except for sharing
information I suppose," Jennie mused. She nodded at Jisoo. "Did you find anything?"

Jisoo was dying to ask about this Tiger King that both Jennie and Momo seemed to now, but she
resolved to ask later when they were alone.

"Well, nothing that has anything to do with Lisa and the Bear, or that's any interesting, if you don't
count his childhood sob story and daddy issues. Seems like his father favoured his brother over
him so now, he's made it his mission to excel. And he kept mentioning you, Jen," Jisoo added.

"Me?"

"Yeah, something about you relating to him. He seems to think you...are similar in some way."

"Yeah no," Jennie said decisively and shuddered. "I'd rather be similar to Momo than him."
"The bar's really that low, huh?" Momo commented.

"On the ground," Jennie agreed. Jisoo looked at Momo then at Jennie, then back at Momo.

"If you're wondering how come we're slagging each other so easily like this after not talking for a
while, that's because you're largely the reason Nini here has gone soft in the head," Momo said
shrewdly. She pushed the door of the SUV open. "Anyway, good talk I s'pose. Let me know if ya
hear anything."

"You as well, check on Dahyun. Don't wait till it's too late," Jennie called. Her gaze was thoughtful
as she watched Momo slink away in the dark before she threaded her fingers together with Jisoo's
and turned to her. "Hey," she said quietly.

"Hi," Jisoo said, equally softly. Now that they were finally alone, it felt like a proper greeting.

Jennie took a deep breath. "I'm sorry if I startled you. It was unexpected and I just was going crazy
in here doing nothing, and then I met her and she told me a bunch of crazy stuff and...it's been
eventful. Did you have a good time in there at least?"

"The food was okay. It would have been nicer if it was just you and me." Jisoo suddenly perked up.
"Oh, I forgot to mention! Remember Jinyoung's friend I mentioned joined us at the table? He
seemed to be a shady type, I'm talking like mafia. I bet he was the guy you saw in the parking lot!
He was big and bulky, like you described. But...there was no blonde woman with him."

"Oh? Did he say who he was?"

"Jinyoung introduced him as Mr Yang. He had this scar on one side of his face, rather gruesome to
look at. He doesn't seem fazed by it at all."

"Yang," Jennie said thoughtfully. "I don't know any men called Yang. But...hang on! One time, at
the Slammer, Jinyoung did have a guy with him, he had a scar down his face too. Maybe it's the
same guy....but I don't know him."

"I doubt he'd be someone that ran in your circles," Jisoo said as she reversed out of the parking and
took to the road. "Let's go home, jagi."

Her jaw tightened when Jennie rested her hand on her thigh, and swallowed dryly when Jennie's
hand inched higher underneath the hem of her dress. Arousal flooded her system, making Jisoo
clench the steering wheel tightly.

"Do you want me to crash, Jennie?" she choked out, not daring to glance at her girlfriend, who she
could see was smirking out of the corner of her eye. She knew full well that those dark eyes would
be brimming with desire. One look was all it would take for Jisoo to completely lose it, park on the
side of the road, pin Jennie up against the window and devour her.

"I'm sorry. I'll behave," Jennie pouted, withdrawing her hand. "I just thought someone was eager to
get the fun started is all..."

Jisoo groaned but smiled to hear Jennie's giggles.

"I suggest stepping on the gas," Jennie teased before settling back in her seat and winding down the
window to enjoy the cool breeze that wafted in.

>
Sated after a brief but passionate interlude where their bodies and hands and mouths spoke in lieu
of words, they lay entangled, stealing drowsy kisses now and then.

"I need to go to the pet store tomorrow to buy Dalgom's food," Jisoo remembered suddenly, "and
I'm getting the itch to buy a new plushie but I don't know what yet, I did see that new League
merch line, maybe you could come along and we'd get you your first official plushy..."

She paused when she heard Jennie's giggles, heart warming at the sound.

"What?" Jisoo said, smiling.

"We just had some amazing, mind-blowing sex and you're thinking about dog food and plush
toys?" Jennie chuckled. "It's like we're some old couple already. Next thing you now, you'll be
doing the grocery list in your head whilst I'm going down on you."

"I apologise for my unsexy thoughts," Jisoo smirked. "But speaking of groceries, I do think we're
out of eggs. How will I be able to whip you your favourite pancake for breakfast?"

"I can always eat yogurt. Or I an run to the corner shop and get energy drinks if you're really out of
everything."

"Jendeuk, you need proper nutritious food to start the day, if there's anything yoga has taught me,
it's the importance of eating a good breafast and starting your day right!"

"Fine, we can get bagels then. Love me some bacon, it's been a while now." Jennie licked her lips
but Jisoo shook her head.

"With all due respect, that's a coronary artery on a plate."

"McDonald's and all the other fast food places would go bust if everyone was counting calories
like you and Rosé."

"That's the idea, they're all just evil corporate soul-sucking machines anyway."

"They've got Happy Meals."

"They start indoctrination young."

"It's an uphill battle, Chu."

"Well then, maybe I'll enlist the help of our friend Super Gay Lisa, I'm sure she'd be more than
willing to join the fight against evil junk food corporations."

"She's a die-hard bagel-arian and she does love her Happy Meals. They got a toy, you know."

"Don't worry, give Rosé some more time to convert her, soon she'll be preaching the wonders of
tofu."

She loved to hear Jennie's giggles, always inching closer to having her laugh outright.

"Sorry for nagging, guess that's a little too unsexy of me," Jisoo grinned.

"You don't have to apologise. I didn't say that I mind." Jennie sidled closer and pecked her on the
lips. "Don't you ever change, Kim Jisoo. You're perfect, just the way you are."

Jisoo wanted nothing more than to drift off to sleep with Jennie's words branded in her mind, but
she had questions that needed answers.

"Jen, who's Tiger King?" Jisoo asked, propping herself up as she combed Jennie's hair.

Jennie sighed, all good humour instantly vanishing. "A myth but according to Momo, Jinyoung
seems to be a dedicated believer."

"What did she say?" She could sense Jennie's reluctance to talk, how she paused to choose her
words carefully.

"It's all speculation that she and Dahyun did. Tiger King was apparently a sort of super assassin for
hire for the mega rich a few years back, to kill off rivals and competition. Usually politicians were
untouched. And you couldn't just kill your next door neighbour, it didn't work like that..."

"Does it have to do with you and Lisa?" Jisoo asked quietly, feeling Jennie stiffen beneath her
touch for an instant before her shoulders sagged.

"Why do you ask?"

"Intuition?" Jisoo shrugged. More silence before she heard Jennie exhale.

"I was hoping you wouldn't ask," Jennie said softly, "because I don't want to lie to you."

Jisoo bent her head to kiss Jennie's temple. "Is it that hard to say what you guys are involved in?"
she asked, equally soft. "I promise, I won't judge."

"I know..." Jennie didn't speak for a minute before she snuggled closer to Jisoo and buried her face
in the crook of her neck. Jisoo held her.

"In the past, before I met Lisa," Jennie began, her words caressing Jisoo's ear in the dark, "I don't
really know much of what she has gone through but I know she had it rough. The things she's seen,
not even you and I can imagine. Sometimes, she'd get night terrors and it was terrifying, seeing her
claw at her arms and face and body, fighting whatever she was seeing so furiously, so savagely.

"Hwangssabu would practically have to wrestle with her to wake her up, she was so far gone. And
then to be able to process whatever it was she dreamed about, he'd make her go punch the
punching bag for hours. I'm talking literal hours of non-stop punching, just thumping away at it. I'd
lie in my sleeping bag just listening to the echoes in the Vault and try to block out the sounds but it
didn't work. Hwangssabu often stayed up to be with her too, watch over her, he said. And
sometimes I watched over her in his place, especially if he had work to get to.

"After all the punching, then she'd be fine, for the most part. Hwangssabu said it would tire her out
because she had too much pent up energy which manifested in those dreams, think like stress
dreams."

"Jen, it sounds more like PTSD nightmares to me," Jisoo frowned. "She needed to see a therapist."

"Even if she did need a therapist, did you think we could even afford one?" Jennie said quietly.
Jisoo bit her lip and Jennie continued.

"Call it what you want, but at least making her punch stuff till she was all worn out worked. It's
when Hwangssabu had the idea of putting Lisa on a strict regimen of exercise and boxing that the
dreams gradually faded away and she hasn't had them for the longest time now. It helped her a lot,
helped settle her moods and outbursts. Anyway, back then, it haunted her, whatever she's been
through. I could see it in her eyes."
"Did...did she ever say what it was?"

"Not much. All I know is that her parents died in front of her. And Hwangssabu picked her from
the streets. So I'm sure it's been rough."

"What?"

"Yeah," Jennie said heavily, "she's from Thailand, an orphan, all alone. So...you tell me how she
ended up in the streets of Seoul."

"Jennie..." Jisoo's mind spun with conspiracies and theories, some more horrific than what she
could bear.

"Chu, promise me you won't tell anyone about this," Jennie pleaded.

"Of course I promise. But I don't understand something. You had mentioned...I thought there were
people after you and Lisa. And what about this Tiger King then?"

"Remember the part where I said I don't know what exactly happened in Lisa's past? In between
being born in Thailand, her parents dying and Hwangssabu finding her wandering around, your
guess is good as mine. But even Hwangssabu had reasonable suspicion that someone was keen to
get Lisa back. And I know you're going to say paranoia, but it's not. I can't prove it but...trust me
when I tell you that we know. As for Tiger King...I just heard...rumours. Whether Lisa had
anything to do with him or not, I don't know but maybe they did cross paths, before."

"Is he after her?" Jisoo's eyes were wide now.

"Tiger King is a myth."

"Jinyoung and Momo think otherwise."

"And pigs might fly."

"Jennie."

"Maybe he was real before, but not now. People would have heard, even authorities would have
caught on by now. The people after Lisa don't have anything to do with him."

"Well if there were people after her, why put her out in the open and have her publicly participate
in boxing matches?" Jisoo said in frustration.

"Life doesn't stop, Chu," Jennie said wearily. "We had to make money somehow. We took a risk,
and it fit in nicely with Lisa's strict boxing regimen. PFB is still very much an underground sport,
you saw how unregulated it can be. Lisa was able to direct all her energy to something and bring in
money. Maybe I could have had her wear a mask like Seulgi did...but we felt safe enough at time,
and we were a bit desperate for money. I wasn't...I didn't think things through enough."

"Hwangssabu approved of this?" Jisoo frowned.

"He died before he ever got to see Lisa fight at the Slammer," Jennie said quietly, "but he had been
planning for Lisa to enter either way. I simply picked up where he left off. Lisa had been eager to
join too, she fancied that older PFB fighter Sunmi at the time."

"Still...okay, what about the guy that attacked Rosé and Lisa?" Jisoo said suddenly. "And the car
you saw outside the condo?"
"We do suspect that it's the people after Lisa," Jennie said softly. "But we didn't want to alarm
you...especially without you knowing about Lisa."

Jisoo was left speechless before she hugged her tightly and Jennie clung on to her.

"It's a mess, I know," Jennie said sadly, "but you took a gamble on me, trusting me even when I
told you so little. I felt so guilty every time, roping you into this. I keep thinking of how I can tell
you in return. Every day I try to avoid it but I can't keep you in the dark forever, it's not fair and I'm
well aware. Lisa has been asking me to come clean to both of you but I keep saying to wait. I
just...I'm scared Chu. Even knowing about this is dangerous. I can't lose you but...I'll understand if
you don't want to get involved, with me," she finished in a small voice.

"You won't lose me. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere," Jisoo said, tenderly stroking her
cheek. "You're braver than you think, jagiya. Thank you for telling me. We'll figure something out.
I could always tell the police that I feel harassed and maybe it would deter those people from
stalking out the condo."

"I think that would work. Thank you for understanding, Chu," Jennie said gratefully, her nose
brushing Jisoo's. "One day, I'll tell you more."

"A little at a time is better than nothing," Jisoo said. "And Jen? I didn't take a gamble on you. I
specifically want you, with all the good and bad. I chose you, and I'll keep choosing you."

"Jisoo..."

Jisoo felt Jennie's cheek turn wet beneath her palm so she leaned in to kiss her, wondering if it was
too early to say the three little words perched on the tip of her tongue.

>

"Sssh Bori, go back to sleep, I'm not going anywhere," Rosé whispered as the cat winded around
her legs. She gave up trying to urge the cat to go back to her basket so she let her follow as she
wandered into the living room where the pilates equipment was assembled.

Rosé knew the area blindfolded but she still walked carefully, feeling for the edges of furniture
until she had made her way to the window and peered out. The night was warm but Rosé wrapped
her arms around her body, unable to shake off the chill that penetrated her bones.

They're after your girlfriend.

Jackson's (if that was even his real name) words echoed in her head. It was confirmation enough
of her suspicions, so at least, she could stop feeling crazy for thinking that Seokjin attacking them
was anything else but a direct threat against Lisa. Briefly she wondered about Jackson's role in the
whole plot yet he was but a minor thread in the whole web so she quickly dismissed him to move
on to more pressing questions.

Why did Yang and Jinyoung want Lisa? Was it because of Tiger King? What did she have to do
with him? How long till they applied even more pressure or worse, carried Lisa off to torture her
and interrogate her? Would they really go that far?

And something that had Rosé's head pound and her breath catch in her throat: were they aware that
Lisa and her were girlfriends? If Jackson knew, he must have reported that to Jinyoung. The notion
that the sly man knew about them had Rosé break out in cold sweat.

She had quickly showered when she arrived home, then slipped into bed and sank into Lisa's
welcoming embrace, snuggling up to her sleepy girlfriend.

"Rosie?"

"Hi baby. Sleep, I'm back," Rosé said softly, stroking Lisa's hair spilling all over the pillow. Lisa
scrunched her nose before burrowing against her and breathing in her scent, relaxing against her
chest, unaware of the raging tempest in Rosé's head.

Rosé didn't relax. After lying with Lisa for a good hour, she got up and tiptoed to Ella's room. Her
daughter was fast asleep, cuddled up with Flora the bunny. Rosé brushed a tender kiss on her
forehead as she stroked her back then pulled the sheets up over her and adjusted the AC.

Her family was safe...for now. But how much longer until her past well and truly caught up to
them all? Would Jennie and Jisoo be roped into this mess as well? Did Jennie know anything about
Tiger King and Lisa's connection to it? Maybe she could try asking her, go behind Lisa's back,
betray her even more...

Rosé now leaned against the window, her heart heavy. No. Not yet. Better wait for the right time.
Just a little longer.

Just a little longer, always asking for a little more time, reluctant to let the skeletons out of the
closet.

But waiting for the right time only made it more difficult to reveal her past to Lisa as she fell harder
for the blonde boxer. Waiting for the right time made it harder to step down from the high pedestal
Lisa had placed her on, harder to betray Lisa's trust and slap her in the face with the terrible facts.

"Meow."

Bori was adamant on getting some attention tonight so Rosé picked her up, fondling behind her
ears as the cat snuggled in the crook of her arms. Soft pit pats sounded behind her and Rosé smiled
as a warm familiar body pressed up against her back.

"Can't sleep?" Lisa asked softly. Her arms wound around Rosé's waist, her cast arm resting on top
of the uninjured one. She pressed a kiss to Rosé's cheek and rested her chin on her shoulder.

Rosé nodded and leaned back against her chest. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"Eh, I missed you. I think because I didn't hear your heart," Lisa murmured, pressing kisses down
her neck. Between the body draped over her and the warm furry cat in her arms, Rosé felt the chill
in her bones slowly seep away. Lisa held her close, not speaking, just standing with her arms
around her, soothing Rosé beyond words.

"She's been in an attention-seeking mood all evening," Lisa said, scratching Bori's ears as the cat
purred. "I think she missed you too."

"I have been rather busy, haven't I?" Rosé told Bori apologetically. Then she tilted her head to look
at Lisa. "I used to rock Ella like this when she was a baby, and stand at the window of our
apartment back then too, watching the lights till she fell asleep. It was hard, walking endlessly. She
didn't sleep right away. And Tae...wasn't there when I needed him. It got lonely and I was so
young..."

Lisa's arms tightened at the mention of her ex. "I'm sorry I wasn't there, too."

"Lisa, you have nothing to be sorry for. We didn't even know each other."
"Yeah, but I wish I did. You shouldn't have been alone and I'm sorry for that."

"Did you watch something sappy on TV tonight?" Rosé chuckled then softened. "It's okay. That's
life. Main thing is that we found each other now."

"Yeah." Lisa kissed the side of her head. "Rosie?"

"Yes baby?"

"Have you ever thought of...um...maybe having a sibling, for Ella?"

"Well, it's always been just me and her, really. I was always thinking of how to support us and of
course I wasn't dating anyone so it's not like I could have their kids." She smiled to herself, wistful.
"Ella did ask me sometimes, when she was younger."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm, she talked to the other kids at school of course, and she'd come to me and ask, can we ask
Santa to get me a little brother for Christmas? I want a little brother!"

"Holy bagels, that's adorable. Bet you were just fine with one kid though, huh?"

"Why are you asking all of a sudden?" Rosé asked, curious.

Lisa exhaled. "I know this might sound a little crazy but...I don't know."

"You can tell me," Rosé encouraged, trying to turn around and see her face. Lisa kissed her neck.

"It's nothing much. I was just sitting with Ella earlier in front of the TV and I was kind of missing
you. And I pictured you sitting with us on the sofa and...and holding a baby. Like a family, you
know?"

"Oh," Rosé said, her throat locked tight.

"I know, we can still be a family, us three, and it's crazy to think like that when we're only just now
getting used to being together and neither of us got stable income, and I don't want you to think
that I want a baby or something from you, not at all, I don't see you that way, I know babies are a
great strain and I'm nowhere even good enough—"

"Slow down."

Rosé crouched to let Bori hop out of her arms then straightened to face her girlfriend. In the dark,
illuminated only by light from street lamps that filtered in through the window, Lisa's eyes
gleamed. Rosé cupped her face, tracing over her cheekbones.

"Are you asking me to have a baby together, Lisa?"

"I..." Lisa fumbled helplessly. "I don't want you to take this the wrong way..."

"How could I possibly take it the wrong way?" Rosé asked softly as her heart drummed in her
chest. She couldn't help but trap her bottom lip between her teeth in amusement, endeared when her
girlfriend launched into a hasty spiel.

"Because I know it's crazy to be thinking this right now. But I... I love you and...you've given me a
taste of what a family looks like and..." she exhaled. "And I love Ella too, I promise, but it's
like...having a baby with you...it would be like, ours? I know, a baby isn't an object, it's a precious
human, and then you gotta worry about a sperm donor and all that isn't easy and hell, I'm not even
sure I'm cut out for parenting so that's why I don't...ugh, you know what, forget what I said, it's too
—"

Rosé cut her rambling with a sweet kiss. It was insane to be thinking of such a distant impossible
dream when she was drowning in guilt yet once the idea took root, she couldn't stop it. She
pictured Lisa, tenderly holding a baby in her arms. It would have her eyes, and the same blonde
locks, and the smile that stole her heart, and Rosé felt herself falling all over again.

"I'd love that, one day. It sounds beautiful," Rosé breathed, tenderly stroking her face.

"Yeah? You...you don't think it's crazy?" Lisa said carefully.

"I didn't say that."

"Rosieeeeee."

Rosé chuckled and kissed her again. This time Lisa held her closer and kissed her back with just as
much fervour.

"Right now might not be the ideal time to be having a baby but...it's not bad to talk about the future
and dream together. Dreams change, they don't have to be fixed. But I like this dream you speak of,
even if it might seem crazy. Maybe...maybe one day it might not be so crazy, actually."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Especially if I have you with me," Rosé said softly, lacing their fingers together.

Her traitorous heart gave a tight pinch but she didn't care because it was the truth—having a family
with Lisa sounded like the pinnacle of happiness, the final piece to complete the puzzle. It was one
more unattainable dream, but that's what her lifeline was made out of after all—fickle hopes and
dreams— and Rosé grasped on to them desperately, unwilling to let go.

Lisa clutched her hands and leaned in to connect their foreheads. "I'll be there Rosie, for you and
Ella and...and the baby, if we ever decide to go there. I know this might be moving fast but I just
thought I'd see what you think..."

"I want to dream with you, Lisa. That's what I think." Rosé looked directly in her eyes. "This might
be too early to say but life is too short to wait. Yes, we're young and everything, but I want you to
know: I want it all, with you, because I love you."

Lisa beamed and hugged her so tight to the point that it hurt but Rosé found that she didn't care, as
long as it numbed out the guilt in her chest. She buried her face in the crook of Lisa's neck and
hugged her back, kissing the pulse point tenderly as she sought to drown herself in her scent. And
as usual, she pushed all thoughts of impending doom to the back of her head.

"Take me to bed," she whispered, smiling when Lisa shivered. It filled her with pride that she was
able to affect Lisa with just a few words.

Lisa hoisted her up in a bridal lift and pressed soft kisses to her lips, wordlessly imprinting her love
over and over. Rosé hungrily swallowed all that she offered, like Lisa's kisses were air and she was
suffocating. She wound her arms around Lisa's neck and kissed her back, drawing away only
momentarily to let her maneuver past the furniture in the dark before they were back to kissing her
all the way to their bedroom.
>

"I understand there was an incident that you wanted to report directly?" Jinyoung asked once
Dahyun came into hi office. He was flipping through files and didn't look up at her. "Namjoon
gave me his side of things already so I know there was a trespasser."

Dahyun steeled herself and slowly approached his desk. Her shadow fell on his papers, but he
didn't even look up, making her grit her teeth. He was already pushing her buttons with his
seemingly impenetrable safe that houses his secrets, but not even acknowledging her presence
when he spoke to her pushed Dahyun over the edge.

She was tired from the shift, exhausted with her fruitless search for answers and her patience wore
thin.

"I went to the store to get a crate of scallions and I heard voices outside the door. I listened for a bit
but I couldn't hear well. And then he opened the door and found me and Namjoon came."

"You weren't hurt, assaulted, attacked or harassed at all?" Jinyoung drawled, flipping a page.

"No."

"Alright then. Thank you, I'll see to it."

He flinched when Dahyun dropped her fist rather hard on the table, finally glancing up at her. It
gave Dahyun pleasure to shake him for just a moment and break his slick composure, because there
was nothing more she wanted to do than shake him hard and strangle him.

"I forgot something," Dahyun said quietly. "I know who the trespasser is. Jackson."

"Ah really?" Jinyoung said lightly, his smile returning.

"Isn't that the name of your cousin? The same Jackson Wang I know? I thought he was abroad."

"Well, seems like he came back."

"Or never left at all," Dahyun gritted.

Jinyoung was unperturbed. "Oh? And what business is it to you what he does? "

"I know you think you're playing some smart game with me but I don't care if you fire me,"
Dahyun said, "I'm tired of being a pawn here. I'm tired of guessing games. I thought Jackson was a
friend but clearly he's not."

"What are you implying?" Jinyoung said mildly, folding his hands. This time he was giving
Dahyun his full attention, but she didn't buckle. It was what she had been waiting for since the
moment they faced each other for the first time.

"I want to know what's going on here," Dahyun said firmly.

Jinyoung blinked. "What's going on?" he echoed. "I am a co-CEO of a KOSPI 200 company and in
my downtime, I oversee my little restaurant RKIVE here that I run with Namjoon's help. Whatever
tiff you have with my cousin is between you and him."

It took all of Dahyun's willpower not to scream 'LIAR' in his face. "Then let me speak frankly: I
don't think Jackson being behind the door was a coincidence. And neither me being there to catch
him."
She had been thinking about it up until Namjoon dismissed her a little before closing time to go see
Jinyoung. She had been ruminating and turning over the incident in her head, playing with all
possible angles so that when she finally faced Jinyoung, she would come out swinging with her
strongest hit, just like in boxing.

It had been some time since she felt the rush and adrenaline of a pre-fight but she was definitely
feeling it now as she stared down her most formidable opponent yet.

"Those are some unexpected conclusions you're drawing. Where's your proof? And why couldn't it
be just a harmless coincidence?"

"It could be, but I know it isn't," Dahyun insisted. She decided to play one of her cards,
consequences be damned. There was a table between her and Jinyoung so if he tried to lunge for
her, he wouldn't reach her as easily.

This wasn't about exposing Jinyoung's shady conspiracies anymore—it was about her burning
curiosity.

"I know Jackson was working on something for you. Something to do with serums and
pharmaceuticals. Something not legal at all. That's why he was using a freaking student lab at
university, because nobody would ever check that."

Jinyoung still had his knowing smile. "I assumed that's why you came to work here. When I saw
you in my office, I knew you had found his notes, unlike what you had claimed. And I was pleased
you came to us."

"Why?" Dahyun demanded. She had her pepper spray in her pocket and made sure to leave the
door ajar just a crack to provide a quick getaway if needs be. But she wasn't moving an inch before
she got her answers. Some would call her foolhardy, but Dahyun had reached beyond the point of
no return and threw caution to the wind.

"Well this way, I could keep a better eye on you in case you tried to snoop around and cause
trouble," Jinyoung said conversationally. The nonchalant way he was answering her questions, as
though this were a mere Q&A session with a professor instead of an exposition, infuriated Dahyun
further.

She put both palms on the desk, commanding his attention as she threw down her most important
hand.

"I know about Tiger King and your plans to recreate him and follow in your father's footsteps. And
I'm not working alone so whatever you do to me, it won't work, because all your secrets will be
exposed. They know I'm talking to you right now."

"Is that a threat?" Jinyoung said mildly. "What happens if I feel like I don't owe you answers?"

He wasn't threatened at all and that was probably the most insulting gesture to Dahyun, the fact
that he dismissed her entirely as some mere annoyance, because he didn't believe she could be
dangerous to him.

"You know what happens. The authorities get involved." Dahyun levelled her gaze with his
without batting an eyelid.

"And you think they will believe you?" he asked, without a trace of condescension but rather,
genuine curiosity.
"I think I have enough information to warrant them searching you very thoroughly and ignore any
benevolent bullshit you spout. Your days are numbered, Park Jinyoung. Or should that be JYP?"
Dahyun sneered.

She didn't know where she got the confidence from but knowing all the crimes and felonies the
man sitting in front of her committed all under the guise of improving the pharmaceuticals industry
for the betterment of people had her summon all the courage she possessed to face him and get the
load off her chest.

Incredibly, Jinyoung sighed, shaking his head as though disappointed. "I was afraid you'd say that.
Unfortunately, this complicates things." His gaze settled on someone behind Dahyun.

All too late, Dahyun noticed the shadow behind her that had entered and crept up without her
notice. It was a tall strong shadow that quickly seized her up in a chokehold and pressed a
handkerchief to her mouth and nose. Dahyun bucked and struggled in his grip, her cries muted. His
tight grip hurt but his betrayal hurt worse, like a stake through the heart.

Yet another person to use her...

"Namjoon," she choked out. His gaze had met hers for an instant but she saw nothing except for
steely resolve. Red circles spun in front of her eyes and her nose burned. Dahyun gagged as
blackness swallowed her whole. Her last thought was regret, fighting against her helpless rage.

Not like this, it can't end like this, she hadn't even got any answers...

"Lights out, Dahyun," Jinyoung said from far away and Dahyun sank like a stone to the bottom of
the dark ocean.

>

Sweltering in the heat of a bright new sunny day in Seoul without even a trace of dust for once,
Detective Chanyeol Park stood before the shabby building and looked down at the scribbled note
in his hands to check he was at the right address.

The 'Vault' , a warehouse-like building that he had a strong hunch would give him clues about
Jennie and Lisa's whereabouts, was currently closed. There were no first floor windows and the
doors were metal and locked. The place looked deserted.

It hadn't been easy to track The Vault down, but Chanyeol considered it his biggest breakthrough
yet. Aside from keeping up with his roster of cases, he had set aside time to tackle this interesting
case of Tiger King more closely. Since he couldn't find out about Jennie and Lisa, Chanyeol
referred to Hwangssabu's old colleagues and friends that served in the military, hoping to glean
insight into Hwangssabu's life.

Of the five people he interviewed, only a certain Matthew Douma Jeon provided the most
interesting information. He was a widowed and retired military captain whom people pointed out to
have been close friends with Hwangssabu and served in the military alongside each other, before
Hwangssabu got promoted later on and they followed different paths.

While other people freely gave information about their acquaintance with Hwangssabu, Matthew
Douma Jeon was far more cagey and guarded, giving only short basic answers and stating they
didn't keep in touch because both had gone on with their lives and he had moved abroad as well.

It had Chanyeol's detective senses tingling: this man knew more than he let on.
But Chanyeol didn't want to scare him away. No, he could find out what he wanted with a little
digging and pulling some favours here and there with the IT departments at the Bureau. Was it
ethical? Not really. Was it necessary? Chanyeol would say absolutely—his hunger to bring down
Yang had him chasing down any scrap of information. By hook or crook, he was going to bring
down the man.

That would make everyone stop laughing and take the police's work more seriously.

His long hours of searching late at night finally yielded fruit when poring through one of Matthew
Douma Jeon's bank statements, he stumbled on a property in a seedy neighbourhood of Seoul
entitled simple 'Vault'.

"That's its name," Matthew Douma Jeon had said simply when Chanyeol confronted him again. "I
don't understand what your questions regarding Hwangssabu have to do with my property,
Detective."

"I understand your distrust but the nature of my investigation is very delicate. I'm afraid I can't
reveal too much but you have to work with me here."

"With all due respect officer—"

"Detective," Chanyeol said, slightly frustrated.

"With all due respect, detective, don't you have more important work to do?" Matthew Douma Jeon
said bluntly. Chanyeol pinched the bridge of his nose, trying hard not to lose his temper.

Patience, Chanyeol, Lee Sooman used to coach him. Put yourself in the man's shoes—he has no
idea why you're asking him about his personal business.

Chanyeol knew that transparency would likely give him more results but he also had a duty to
uphold confidentiality and protect people as well. If word got out about some bizarre assassin plot,
there would either be a case of mass hysteria that deters the investigations or else people will laugh
at the police force, like usual.

"It used to be a gym," Matthew Douma Jeon had revealed grudgingly after being pressed for
answers. "I don't use it now. It's probably falling to bits. Nobody lives there."

This last detail caught Chanyeol's attention, because he had never implied that people actually
occupied this property. Matthew Douma Jeon had volunteered that information all by himself,
leading Chanyeol to believe that the man was hiding more than ever.

Which was why on his next day off, Chanyeol decided to make use of the time to get out of the
office in his plain clothes and take a look at the place for himself.

Disappointment couldn't begin to describe what he was feeling as peered up at the decrepit building
with peeling paint and rusty window bars. It had obviously seen better days. The walls were
summer-scorched and faded. Briefly, he wondered if Matthew had got in touch with any possible
occupants and advised them to make themselves scarce, whoever they might be.

He had a hunch the ex-military man knew about the girls but kept mum, and held up well under
Chanyeol's scrutiny.

Chanyeol huffed unhappily, unwilling to give up but the heat of day was intensifying as the sun
climbed higher overhead. He decided to come back and visit another time, or even find time to
keep a watch on the place, just in case. As he walked back to his car in pensive thought, he was
already running through options on how to proceed and fish for new leads.

Matthew Douma Jeon had a daughter, Somi. From the files, he saw that she attended university,
making her of legal age to be interrogated. Maybe when classes resumed again after summer break,
he'd find an excuse to pay her a visit and find out what she knows. By now he was convinced that
the daughter would break the deadlock in his search for Jennie and Lisa.

Unbeknown to Chanyeol, there was a Jay sitting in the car, sent there by Jinyoung to keep an eye
on the Vault. The Jay was observing him cautiously and communicating over the radio as he
fingered his Zapper collar.

"I've never seen him before and he's not from around here, he came in a car. And he definitely isn't
someone who knows the area, he was scouring the place until he found the Vault. Should I
engage?"

"Find out if he's a cop but do not interact," came the clipped command. "Don't let him notice
you, Jay-T, that's imperative."

"Roger that," Jay-T said.

The man crossing the street in front of Jay-T was tall, wiry and wore plain clothes, with his most
noticeable feature being his ears sticking out from underneath his hair. There was no indication to
his occupation.

But Jay-T had a plan.

Though he was in plain sight, he reckoned on pulling off his intentions quickly enough to avoid
detection. Sliding off the seat as much as he could without taking his eyes off the man, Jay-T
carefully opened the car door inch by inch, holding his breath as he opened it wider and wider until
a person could wriggle in comfortably. Then he tugged it shut as hard as he could, banking on the
sound being loud enough to attract the man's attention.

The man's hand flew to his waist on reflex, grasping at thin air at the same time as he froze and
glanced around him, startled.

But Jay-T had seen enough and when the man got into his car and drove off, he noted the license
plate down before radioing his superior.

"Definitely a cop in plain clothes. He tried to reach for his gun when I made a noise."

"Finally, they're catching up," Jinyoung said, a smile clear in his voice. "Keep an eye out for
this one, will you? He looks like he will be interesting. And a word of warning, don't let Yang
know about this development."

"Yes sir."
 Phone Calls

"Lisa! Lisa! Lisa!" Ella shouted as she ran into the bedroom. Lisa bolted up in bed, startling Rosé
awake too.

"Wha-a-at? What's going on?" Rosé said sleepily. Lisa's heart did flips she watched her girlfriend
rub the sleep out of her eyes. "Ella?"

Ella jumped on the bed, holding Lisa's ringing phone in hand. "Jennie unnie is calling you."

"Oh okay," Lisa shrugged and flopped back on the pillows.

"What an excellent idea," Rosé chuckled, also lying back and cuddling up with Lisa. "Ella, want
some cuddles? You don't have school today, do you?"

"But Jennie unnie—"

"She can wait some more, just hang up," Lisa said, not wanting to leave the cocoon of warmth just
yet to face whatever her sister wanted. She had been halfway in a blissful dream, walking hand in
hand with Rosé as Ella held her baby brother's hand. He had just learned how to walk and it filled
Lisa with immense joy to see Rosé so happy, without the shadow of sadness that seemed to appear
on her face at times when she thought Lisa wasn't watching her.

"I love you," she told Lisa in the dream, kissing her."I'll be with you, always."

"Morning, my babies," Rosé chuckled as Ella snuggled between them after hanging up, still clad in
her pyjamas. She smiled up at Lisa as well before kissing Ella's temple. "Why didn't you get Flora
with you?"

"Lisa's phone woke me up, it was on the kitchen counter, and I came straight here," Ella shrugged
then shivered. "Why do you have the AC so cold in here Mom?"

"Sorry kiddo, I run a little hotter than the average person, I guess," Lisa said. She didn't miss the
way Rosé rolled her eyes when she smirked at her, but Ella didn't notice this interaction as she
cuddled closer to her mother, eyes dropping shut in contentment.

"What do you suppose Jennie wanted?" Rosé yawned. She smiled when Lisa combed her hair,
humming appreciatively as all three snuggled together.

"Don't know, we'll find out soon enough—"

On cue, the phone on the bedside table lit up once more and Lisa groaned as Rosé and Ella
giggled.

"Can't I have a peaceful morning for once?" Lisa lamented.

"What are you talking about? It's not like Jennie phones you every day."

"Yeah but we actually got to sleep in and Ella is with us too today, we don't often get that," Lisa
grumbled as she picked up the phone. She peered at the screen, thoughtful. "Do you think she'd be
mad enough to come over if I hang up a second time?"

"I don't think that's wise, babe," Rosé said with her bottom lip trapped beneath her teeth.
"Jennie unnie gets a bit scary sometimes," Ella added in concern.

"Oh well, I like to live dangerously," Lisa said cheerfully, hanging up and placing it back on the
table. "Now, where was I? Oh, that's right!"

She tackled Ella, tickling her as the girl shrieked and kicked out.

"Mom! Mom! Make her stop!"

Rosé only responded by joining in the tickling fest and Ella squealed, fighting back with all her
might until the sheets were all on the floor and they were pelting each other with the pillows.
Eventually, Rosé patted Lisa's arm and Lisa relented right away, leaving them all a breathless,
dishevelled and panting mess, grinning at each other.

And Lisa's phone rang again, the buzzing insistent. This time a collective sigh did the rounds.

"Holy bagels, she really doesn't get a hint," Lisa groaned.

"You better get it," Rosé said reluctantly. "I hope it's nothing urgent."

"She would have tried calling your phone if it was urgent," Lisa reasoned.

"Mom can I have a mango smoothie today please?" Ella asked.

"Of course baby, I'll be along soon," Rosé nodded. "Don't start cutting up anything before I get
there!"

"I won't! I'll give the cats their breakfast!"

Lisa caught Ella's arm before she bounced out of bed, making her squeal.

"Relax I ain't gonna tickle you," Lisa chuckled. "Gotta give my girls a good morning kiss."

She brushed a sweet kiss to Ella's forehead, the first she had shared with her. Ella giggled,
suddenly bashful, before she pecked Lisa's cheek and bounded out of the room, leaving Lisa
blushing and on cloud nine.

She could get used to the feeling of waking up like this.

"And a good morning kiss for my other favourite girl, of course," Lisa smiled, turning to a beaming
Rosé who willingly leaned in for her kiss, smiling against her lips. The kiss threatened to escalate,
especially as Lisa tried sneaking her hand up Rosé's sleep shorts, skirting around the back and
daringly dipping her fingers below the waistband before Rosé reluctantly took her hand and gently
pushed it away with a shake of her head. The phone was still buzzing insistently.

"Tell Jennie I kept you," Rosé hummed against her mouth, diving back in to steal another kiss
before she got out of bed. "Now I better get going before Ella chops off a finger."

"Noooooo don't leave," Lisa complained, reaching out for her dramatically. Rosé only shook her
head with a chuckle and went into the bathroom, leaving Lisa no choice but to finally pick up the
call. She held the phone at arm's length and braced herself.

"What's up Jen?"

"What's up? You cut me off two times, that's what's up," Jennie barked. "What could have
been possibly more important than picking up the phone? That's what they're for!"
Lisa winced. "Maybe I was busy."

"Busy doing what—oh." Jennie sounded like she regretted asking.

Lisa laughed. "It's not a 'what I'm busy doing' but more like a 'who I was busy doing'."

"Eurgh, spare me details. Well, are you still?" Jennie said, mollified. "I thought you were just
sleeping."

"Let's say you ruined the mood," Lisa smiled wickedly. She wasn't going to let Jennie live this one
down.

"Ugh, whatever, it's nearly 10am anyway, you're getting way too lazy—"

"Did you phone me up just to nag?"

"Ok ok ok I'm getting sidetracked. Listen, Matt called."

Lisa's smile fell off her face and she sat up straighter, her eyes darting to the closed bathroom door
and the distinct sound of Rosé singing beneath the shower.

"What? What does he want?"

"Nothing. He just..." Jennie exhaled. "He said a cop talked to him about the Vault and
seemed to be immensely interested in Hwangssabu. The cop never said why though."

It was like a bucket of ice had fallen on Lisa. She fought the tidal wave of worry that threatened to
consume her.

"But...but...why? Why now? And how come? Did he mention us at all?"

"No nothing about us, but I don't get it either..." Jennie paused for a few seconds. "Maybe the
car that sits outside the condo was a cop keeping watch?"

Lisa pinched the bridge of her nose. "Why the hell would they wanna keep watch on us?"

"I've been thinking," Jennie said thoughtfully. "Maybe...maybe it's not us. Maybe it's someone
else they're after, the people that sit in the car. It's a possibility, the condo's full of other
people. I mean heck, I wouldn't mind having Soojoo carted off to a jailhouse or something..."

"Well, now what do we do? Should we still go back to the Vault?" Lisa said anxiously.

"I don't know. I feel like we'd be imposing if we were to stay here all the time..." Jennie said
worriedly.

"We already sorta do that," Lisa pointed out.

"I know but still. I don't want to make it look like I'm moving in or something, we're not
there yet."

"Hey, I'm sure Jisoo wouldn't mind. Or Rosie. But I'm sure if we're careful, we can figure out
something and be on the lookout if we see something suspicious."

"I suppose," Jennie sighed, clearly not sharing her sister's optimism.
"You sound stressed out," Lisa said lightly. She expected to get chewed off for that needless
comment but Jennie only snorted.

"You haven't seen the news yet, have you?"

"I just woke up so no."

"Remember Chu had that damned meeting with Jinyoung at his stupid restaurant last
night?"

Lisa stilled. "Wait, is she okay? Are you home?"

"We're fine, we're here next door. But...look, check the news when you can. We'll see you in a
bit, come over when you're done with breakfast."

"Jen—"

But this time it was Jennie who hung up unceremoniously, leaving Lisa shaking her head in
disbelief.

"Is everything okay?" Rosé asked, emerging fresh from the shower with hair still damp and a
bathrobe tied around her middle. She smiled teasingly when she saw Lisa's gaze rake up and down
her body longingly. "Eyes up here baby. Are Jennie and Jisoo alright?"

"I don't know, she said to check the news," Lisa said, wrenching her gaze away to type furiously on
her phone, pulling up news websites as Rosé sat on the edge of the bed and leaned over her
shoulder to see. "Something about Jisoo and Jinyoung....oh."

They both gaped in shock at the picture of Jisoo sitting at a restaurant table with Park Jinyoung
dominating the morning buzz. The photo was plastered all over the news portal with the
headline: An unlikely real life drama: Seoul's most eligible bachelor CEO has found love at
last?

"What the hell?" Lisa exclaimed.

>

The morning had started out normal enough for Jisoo and Jennie as they had breakfast and planned
out their day, until Jisoo's phone rang and Jisoo picked up without much thought. Jennie watched
as her eyes grew round.

"Eomma? What do you mean?" Jisoo stammered.

Jennie stared at her in concern, aware that Jisoo and her parents weren't in close contact too often.
She was about to stand up and leave the room to give them privacy when Jisoo gripped her arm
impossibly tight and tugged her close enough to hear the woman on the call. Jennie looked at her
curiously but Jisoo merely nodded to give her permission to listen, tight-lipped.

"...and when were you going to tell us? How long have you been meeting up? We need to be
involved in these things Soo-ya, you know that," reproached Jisoo's mother.

Jennie couldn't help but compare their voices. Mrs Kim had the same husky voice as Jisoo, but the
register was higher-pitched and sharp, unlike the comforting cadence of Jisoo's voice caressing her
like a warm hug in bed.
"Eomma, you have it all wrong, it's not like that," Jisoo blustered. Though Jennie felt a twinge of
disappointment that Jisoo had to cover up their relationship, she knew it would be the wisest move.
Jisoo had told her enough to glean that her parents, though aware of their daughter's sexuality,
hadn't been too thrilled about it.

But how did Jisoo's mother find out about them dating?

"Sure, you kids these days always say 'it's not like that' and go on dates with no strings
attached but Soo-ya, you've caught the eye of possibly the youngest CEO in Seoul, and one
with an impressive rank too. Are you saying you're willing to skip out on such an
opportunity?"

Wait, what?

Jennie tore herself away and just stared at Jisoo, who looked as shell-shocked as she felt. But Mrs
Kim wasn't done yet.

"Your father and I are very happy you're finally growing up and looking to move up in the
world. Mr Park really must be someone special to overlook all of your quirks, I do hope you
won't mess things up and make us lose face. When can we meet him?"

"Eomma, you have it all wrong. It was just a friendly date. I'm sorry for getting your hopes up but
you know where my interests lie," Jisoo said quietly. She glanced at Jennie, colour returning to her
cheeks as she smiled. "It hasn't changed."

Jennie blushed just as Mrs Kim's loud exasperated snort interrupted her trail of thought.

"This again. Now I recall why we gave up trying to whip you into something presentable to
society."

"How do you know I was out with him?" Jisoo frowned, ignoring her mother's jab.

"Oh, haven't you seen? It's all over the news, you caused quite a stir."

"What?"

"Mrs Ho and Mrs Kong had already called to congratulate me, they were green with envy,
now I suppose I'll have to tell them it was a false alarm."

Jennie didn't hear anymore as she was already on her phone to check news sites whilst Jisoo
frantically told her mother she'd call back and hung up.

To Jennie's dismay, the celebrity and entertainment section was buzzing with the news of
Jinyoung's date 'with the mysterious, youngest Kim heir who retired from the public eye a long
time ago'.

Jennie couldn't help the prick of jealousy that sparked in her chest as she scrolled through the
surprisingly high definition photos, especially that one photo that captured Jisoo looking at
Jinyoung earnestly, her hand on top of his on the table. It looked straight out of a k-drama and
Jennie loathed to admit that they looked good together, the perfect power couple with the good
looks to boot.

"Jennie," Jisoo said quietly from behind her. Jennie turned to face her, realising Jisoo had seen the
photos over her shoulder as she scrolled. Jisoo's eyes watched her with something akin to
helplessness.

"Jennie, you have to believe me, it's nothing what they're saying. It's not how it looks," Jisoo
pleaded, chewing her lip with worry. "They're blowing it way out of proportion, I didn't mean—"

Jennie cut her off with a tight hug. "Chu, I know. I trust you. I know they completely misread the
situation," she reassured, savouring the way Jisoo hugged her back and exhaled, tension
evaporating from her body. "Were you worried I'd be upset?"

"Aren't you?"

"A little bit," Jennie admitted, "but it's just my jealousy and insecurity talking. I know the media is
just blowing things out of proportion. I mean, it's me you took home afterwards, isn't it?" she
added, pleased to see Jisoo's smile return. She took up her phone again, scrutinising the photos as
Jisoo got up to pace back and forth.

"I need to call Jinyoung and tell them to back off," Jisoo fumed. "I hope they don't find out I live
here and come snooping, I don't want you to get involved in this mess because it gets really messy.
But I'm confident they won't go that far, it's more likely they'll have questions for Jinyoung since
he's the more accessible and important out of us."

"You sound like you have experience."

"Tell me about it," Jisoo said wryly, "my siblings and I were kids, but they come hounding you
with cameras and we'd have to be escorted to the car with security detail."

"Wow, your family is that important huh?"

"That only really happened sometimes, when something big happened, like my dad scoring some
colossal deal or getting into some litigation case with another rival, and the media lap that sort of
thing up and want the scoop on all the ins and outs of a person. Kids are a good place to start. They
shout questions at you and stuff like that, trying to get answers."

"I had no idea."

"Well, I try to not dwell on it too much. Hakuna matata and all that."

When Jennie looked blank, Jisoo gaped at her.

"Don't tell me you haven't watched Lion King?"

"Oh that's where it's from? Forgive me for not remembering every single cartoon," Jennie
deadpanned, smiling when Jisoo pulled a face. "Chu, I was wondering...so you never saw anyone
with cameras in the restaurant? Like, there wasn't some big event, like a corporate dinner or some
family celebration happening?"

Jisoo frowned. "No. It was full, but everyone seemed to be just chilling, minding their business, no
bigwigs or big fancy celebrations either. I honestly don't know how—"

Jennie's phone rang. They both stared at it like it was a venomous snake about to strike until Jennie
picked up and was relieved to see the contact.

"Hey unnie."

"Jen? Seulgi and I just saw the news," Irene said. She sounded confused. "Um...are you okay?
I thought you and Jisoo were together..."

"Morning Irene," Jisoo called playfully, "don't believe everything you see on TV."

"Oh, Jisoo?" They heard her chuckle. "You're right, I should have known better than to
believe some article. But what's all this about then? Was that really you with him?"

"It's a bit complicated—"

"Jennie," Irene said severely. Jisoo was curious to see Jennie wilt at the admonishment.

"Fine, it's that sponsor guy, Jinyoung, from the Slammer. Remember we told you he was acting
real shady around Seulgi and Lisa when they had their match? Jisoo and I were going to try and
investigate, because he seems to have taken a liking to her but now everyone thinks they're dating.
Oh and in other news, we met Momo."

"Wait what?"

"Call you later," Jennie burbled and hung up. "Ok, we were saying you didn't see any cameras,
right?"

"I didn't really scope out the place though," Jisoo admitted.

"I'm only asking because," Jennie said slowly, "don't you think the photos are a little too good for
like, a random phone photo?"

"Phones these days have good cameras. And you could do editing?"

"I'm not convinced," Jennie frowned. "These photos look professionally shot, with the intention of
framing it romantically, with all the lighting too. And look at all the photos of you, looking at him.
No hurried movements or blurs, they always waited until you were perfectly positioned."

"Well I do have a killer profile, just saying," Jisoo smirked.

"Focus Chu. Here's a theory: what if it's Jinyoung who hired people to shoot these photos and then
leak them to news sites?"

Jisoo blinked at her. "Huh?"

"Jinyoung's a conniving snake. I have a feeling this wasn't some random celebrity spotting by
random people. All this was an intentional set-up," Jennie concluded, certain in her deductions.

Her phone buzzed yet again and Jennie picked up with a sigh.

"Mimi?"

"YOU TRAITOR, HOW COULD YOU LET HER GO!" Somi bawled, making Jennie reel
back and almost drop her phone, unprepared for the gale-force scream, "I was rooting for you, we
were all rooting for you, and Lisa hasn't even paid me for my bet yet, is this some kind of sick
revenge because we bet on you and Jisoo? You're so so so SICK in the head—"

"The lack of faith people have in me and Jennie staying together is astounding. Truth be told, I'm a
little wounded," Jisoo said dryly.

There was a long pause and then a sheepish Somi spoke. "Oh uh..."
"Yeah," Jennie said wearily, "it's all a misunderstanding. Jisoo and I are good, Mimi, I promise."

"Oh um...ok then, carry on."

"Take care," Jennie said and put the phone aside. "I wonder when Lisa will call."

"You didn't tell Somi about Momo?"

"She'd interrogate me to death if I did or yell at me for even speaking with her, I'll do it later."
Jennie's face now turned serious. "I'm standing by my theory that Jinyoung either tipped off the
photographers or had photos taken and then leaked them."

"But why? What has he to gain?"

"I don't know," Jennie said, frustrated. "More exposure?"

"Like he needs it."

"You're right. Then it has to be about us." Jennie looked up at Jisoo, her expression grim. "What if
he knows about us? Or that we're trying to investigate him? Having the spotlight on us would make
it more difficult to try and sniff out stuff about him."

"Whoa whoa your mind's running!"

"I thought you were the one who likes conspiracy theories."

"I didn't say I don't agree," Jisoo smiled, "that theory would honestly make sense. You could really
be a detective, Jendeuk."

Jennie beamed at her before she sobered. "What are we going to do?"

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do," Jisoo said darkly, "I'm gonna call up that jerk and tell him to
clear the air with the reporters and then back off and never contact me again. I can't have you
suffering the fallout if something bigger happens and you get caught in the middle."

"Don't worry about me, I can handle it. I'm tough."

"Yes you are. But I'm not," Jisoo said quietly as she landed on the couch next to Jennie and leaned
against her shoulder, "not when it comes to you. I can't bear to see you hurt."

"Oh Jisoo." Jennie didn't hesitate to hug her close and caress her back, struck by her words. "I...I
don't want to be your weakness."

"You're not," Jisoo mumbled. "I don't consider loving a weakness."

Jennie stiffened, hardly believing her ears but Jisoo casually withdrew from the hug, kissed her
stunned girlfriend on the cheek and got up with a sigh, muttering under her breath as she took out
her phone and stalked off to the fridge.

Jennie goggled at her back, cheeks flaming.

"Did she just confess to me? What was I supposed to say?" she whispered urgently to Dalgom. He
was more interested in his chew toy, leaving Jennie to her swirling thoughts. But before she could
consider her own feelings, Jennie's phone rang yet again.

She had expected it to be Lisa, but instead, it was Matthew.

"Matt? This is a surprise, hi," Jennie said. He rarely ever contacted them since he usually saw them
face to face.

"Jen, I need to talk with you, are you alone? It's about Hwangssabu."

Jennie straightened, throwing a glance at Jisoo who had her back still turned as she talked on her
phone. "I'm alone yeah, for the moment."

"I'll make it quick. A cop called me to his office recently. Said he was a detective. He was
immensely interested in Hwangssabu and the Vault."

"Did he say why?"

"No, he kept going on about how his investigation is delicate and he can't reveal details."

"Investigation?" Jennie's mouth went dry, her mind numb as her fears threatened to escape their
confines she had so carefully constructed to contain them. "Why...why now?"

"I don't know. I didn't tell you right away because I thought nothing more of it and he didn't
ask about you two or the immigration thing. But now I've been thinking, and I checked in
with other colleagues and he called them up too, asking about Hwangssabu."

Jennie sucked in a breath. "If he finds me and Lisa..."

"I'll vouch for you," Matt promised, "it's a good thing you're not at the Vault very much
lately, and that you're not active at the Slammer. Lie low for now, that's the best way to go
about this."

"Hopefully he'll give up."

"He seems to be a pretty persistent fellow, this Park Chanyeol. I have no idea what he could
possibly want," Matt said. "Be safe."

"Thanks Matt, I'll tell Lisa."

>

"Well now what are you going to do?" Lisa asked. She and Rosé had gone over to Jisoo's with Ella
right after breakfast, figuring that the couple might need their time alone to come to terms with the
morning's events.

"I called him," Jisoo said flatly. "He said he's sorry I got involved, that he'd find out who invaded
his property and took pictures without permission, and that he'll flush out the rats. His words, more
or less. He said to lay low for a while but he's positive reporters won't come for me and he'll
answer any questions himself."

"Well that's good then, right?" Rosé said tentatively. "People will forget about this in three days
tops."

"The thing is...Jen, you explain."

"This whole media shebang could be Jinyoung's doing," Jennie picked up, leaving Jisoo to pace
around the kitchen, where they had all congregated. Ella was entertaining herself with Dalgom in
the yoga room (after Rosé expressly forbade her from touching anything, especially the drapes).
 It struck Rosé that she had never seen Jisoo this agitated before, but the little glances the raven-
haired girl kept throwing in Jennie's direction every now and then as Jennie spoke obliviously had
Rosé deduce why she was so worked up.

"Unnie," Rosé called softly and went to her side, taking her hand. "Hey, what is it? Jinyoung said
he'll take care of it so it's okay now, isn't it?"

Jisoo exhaled sharply. "The more time passes, the more I think Jendeuk has a point. We were
trying to get the upper hand on him but I think he saw through it all and wants to get back at me
and prevent me from digging around too much. Now I'm wary of hanging out with him and
perpetuating the rumours, or have people suddenly be interested in my private life, it would prevent
me from getting anything useful out of him. I shouldn't have pushed to do it, I don't want Jennie or
you guys involved."

Rosé pulled her close in a hug, tightening her hold as she remembered her narrow escape the night
before when she spotted Jisoo at the table. Terribly enough, she was almost glad that maybe
Jinyoung did indeed set up this situation to deter them from investigating. She wouldn't know what
to do if the other girls found out about her truth.

Jisoo hugged her back almost immediately, oblivious to Rosé's thoughts.

"Pasta?"

"Mhm?"

"I love her," Jisoo said quietly. Rosé knew right away whom she was referring to.

"It's the real deal huh?"

"Mhm."

Rosé glanced up at Jennie who was animatedly telling Lisa about the night's escapades, unaware of
her and Jisoo.

"She's lucky."

"I haven't told her yet."

Rosé smiled. It was so unlike Jisoo to not speak out her feelings frankly. "How come?"

"I want to be sure she's on the same page as me. I wanna do things right. It might have been fun
before, watching her react every time I told her I liked her, but this is more serious," Jisoo said.
"Please don't tell her. I'm still waiting for the right moment."

Rosé chuckled. "Your secret's safe, I promise. For what's it worth, I think she's crazy about you
too."

And Jisoo smiled against Rosé's shoulder.

>

"Wait. You met Momo and you're only telling me now?!"

"Sit your ass down before you break your arm again—"

Lisa waved dismissively, impatient to know more. "How? When? Why?"

"Long story short, we ran into her at Rkive. She's still... she seems to care about Dahyun a little
extra and is keeping an eye out on her, cos' Dahyun is working there."

"She is? What did Momo say? Did she mention me?" Lisa asked hopefully.

"Yeah she did. She seems ready to let bygones be bygones," Jennie said thoughtfully. "She's done
some mean stuff and hurt Mimi and Dubu, and I never liked how she was influencing you to be a
fuckboy basically, but all things considered, we could use her help with investigating Jinyoung. So
maybe you might see her around."

"When? Is she coming back tomorrow?" Lisa asked hopefully.

"I don't think it would be a good idea," Jennie said gently, "you think you can go back to
everything like it was normal?"

"It's been a long time now...I'm sure she won't do anything like that again," Lisa said in a small
voice. "I know you guys don't like her, but I forgave her a long time ago. She's Kamikaze and we're
the dream team."

"People change Lisa. Momo isn't the same as she used to be. Let's take it day by day and sometime
soon we'll figure out what to do, okay?"

Lisa sighed and slumped on the table. "Okay. About Jinyoung are you still..gonna look into him?"

"It will be harder, but I can't get that man disappearing behind a wall out of my head." Jennie
tented her hands and rested her chin on them. "He's gotta be hiding something. Besides, Dahyun is
there. Maybe we can get in touch with her somehow, but only Somi knows her number and if we
tell her, she might get suspicious..." Jennie had taken off, churning ideas to select for their plans to
move forward.

"Well, you better wait a bit longer before you go ahead with your detective work." Lisa glanced at
Jisoo and Rosé who were still preoccupied and then leaned in closer to Jennie. "What about the cop
checking about Hwangssabu?"

Jennie shook her head. "I have no clue, but he only means trouble, especially if he discovers us. For
now...we gotta stay vigilant and hope for the best. When we go for your training at the Vault, we
need to keep both eyes open."

"Hope for the best huh?" Lisa asked, knowing her sister wasn't the most thrilled when it came
down to being optimistic.

"There's not much else to do," Jennie said grimly.

"Ok let's turn those frowns upside down!" Jisoo called, startling them. "Since Jennie and I are stuck
in today, maybe you two could run errands for us! And when you get back, I have the perfect game
in mind to play, since I obviously can't just game on PC by myself."

"Wait I had a game in mind too! Can I go first?" Lisa interjected. "Ol' pal, ol' unicorn buddy eh?"

"You're in my apartment so I get the right to choose first," Jisoo smirked.

"Ah come on!"

"Go shop for me first and I might reconsider."

Lisa quickly jumped to her feet. "Let's go Rosie come on, get Ella, Ellaaaaaaaaaa we're going
shopping! We're playing Hangman if it's the last thing I do!"

"Hangman?" Jennie asked curiously.

"She took a liking to it, she and Ella play it a lot," Rosé explained, shaking her head. "Since she's
learning words with the dictionary so...Hangman."

"Sounds like it was...interesting."

"Well she exclusively plays Hangman now."

"Maybe if you get her a bunch of comics she'll sit this out," Jennie said hopefully but Rosé shook
her head.

"She's past comics and X-Men, right now it's Hangman."

"Just like a child,"Jennie muttered as Lisa scurried around preparing to leave, followed closely by
Ella, "and with Jisoo around, it's going to get extra noisy."

Rosé chuckled. "Maybe if they wear themselves out, the afternoon will be quiet enough to take a
nap."

"Sounds like a plan. Hey Chu, what did you have in mind to play anyway?"

"Twister!"

"Oh?" Jennie asked warily.

Jisoo grinned. "It's gonna be fun, you'll see!"

>

"Wake her up."

Dahyun came to her senses with a jolt, her chest tight as she struggled for a few seconds before
realising that she was bound to the chair she was sitting in and making her stomach drop to her feet.

The memories came back: her conversation with Jinyoung late in his office, Namjoon making her
sleep, falling into blackness and then nothing.

The room she was in smelled musty, and was dark except for the blinding light aimed at her that
made Dahyun squint. Three figures beyond the light source loomed, watching her.

Her body ached, she was thirsty, her wrists tied behind her back chafed with the slightest
movement and her feet prickled from falling asleep. How long had she been out? Where were was
she? And more importantly, what were they going to do to her?

"What, is this some torture session?" Dahyun said, her voice cracking, from disuse or fear she
wasn't sure. A tight knot of anger formed in her chest when Jinyoung stepped forward, smiling
serenely as always.

"How morbid." He leaned down level with her, blocking the light and offering her a manner of
reprieve as she blinked up at him. He smiled, baring his teeth. "First comes an interrogation, then
comes the torture if the one being interrogated doesn't comply."
How she hated that smile.

"What medieval shit is this?" she scoffed. "You really think you can intimidate me?"

Jinyoung ignored her, as he had always done, infuriating Dahyun, and nodded at the two other
men. One of them dragged up a wooden four-legged chair and Jinyoung turned it around, sat
astride it then propped his chin in his hand on the back of the chair.

"I just want to have a chat about what you seem to think about me," Jinyoung said
conversationally. He had lost the suit and tie and now was dressed in a simple shirt and pants,
lending him a softer boyish look. The walls of the room were reassuringly free of manacles and
torture devices but the gloomy atmosphere wasn't helping to quell her uneasiness.

"You could have a chat with me being untied. I don't think a chat is all you're looking for," she
spat.

"Cornered, but she's still fighting," Jinyoung sighed. "Listen, it's been a long day, and trust me
when I say I could have done without your little snooping in my business. I have better things to do.
But since we're here now, well, I should find out how much you're involved, and who else is
working with you. If you comply, I'll be lenient. I promise, causing trouble is the last thing on my
mind."

"Can I get some water?" Dahyun said quietly.

Jinyoung nodded at one of the figures, who left and returned soon after with a glass. When he
stepped forward to hand it to Jinyoung, Dahyun's lips trembled, wordlessly forming his name.

Jackson.

A brief pained glance was all he spared her before silently slinking back to his post next to the tall
man, whom Dahyun now recognised to be Namjoon. His face was a stoic mask, and he looked
almost bored.

Another pang of hurt made her almost miss Jinyoung calling her name as he held up the glass for
her to drink, her teeth clinking against the rim.

"I should warn you that bathroom breaks will be limited," Jinyoung said lightly as she greedily
gulped down the water, "and you won't get one before we've finished talking."

He set the glass aside and fixed Dahyun with his calm gaze. "Let's start now, I have to be
elsewhere soon. Joon, if any reporters show up, tell them I'll be along shortly. If Jisoo calls again,
redirect to voicemail, I'm not going to deal with her anymore today."

Jisoo? Were they looking for her? A spark of hope ignited in Dahyun, cementing her resolve that
rescue would come soon.

Namjoon nodded and left, leaving Jackson standing by himself, watching the proceedings. Dahyun
refused to pay him any more attention so she focused on Jinyoung.

"Do your worst," she gritted, "you can't keep me in here forever. People will start to wonder,
people will start to look for me. Jisoo and the others already are."

"Jisoo? She didn't call about you," Jinyoung chuckled. "I was hoping you'd have seen us at Rkive
last night, or perhaps Rosé."
"Huh?" Dahyun furrowed her brow. "Why were they..."

The woman Jackson had been talking to, with a familiar mellifluous voice.

"Rosé met Jackson?" Dahyun said, her jaw on the ground. "Is...is she involved with you guys too?"

"In a way," Jinyoung said mysteriously, smiling. Dahyun wanted to punch the smug smile off his
face so badly in that moment. Her thoughts were speeding a mile a minute even as betrayal burned
within.

Rosé had played them all, pulling off the innocent single mother disguise effortlessly. Was Ella
even her child? Was she one of the Jays that Momo had mentioned? Or was it Jisoo? What about
Jennie and Lisa? Were they aware? Were they also working with Jinyoung?

Who was the enemy?

Dahyun remembered Jinyoung was sitting in front of her, watching her reaction with amusement
and she scowled when he laughed.

She needed to get out fast and warn Momo that Jinyoung's spies were everywhere.

"I can practically see all the gears turning in your head," Jinyoung drawled. "Don't try to
understand, it's none of your business anyway. Let's get back on track."

"I'm not talking before you tell me what's going to happen to me. We can sit here all day and you
can starve me if you want to but just you wait. I'm not working alone. The moment my friends don't
get their daily texts, they'll know something is up. So will my parents," Dahyun invented.

Jinyoung held a phone aloft. "According to your text message history," he said casually, scrolling
through her phone as she stared aghast, "you last called your mother a fortnight ago, and before
that, it was a month. And you last texted your friends and updated a photo to Instagram three weeks
ago. Your last text to Momo was at the beginning of summer."

He grinned at her. "Pretty weak password by the way. Jackson's birthday? Really? We got it after
five tries without any help from the technicians."

Humiliation made her cheeks burn but she dared steal a glance in Jackson's direction. He looked
back at her, his haunted gaze piercing into hers.

Help me, please, she thought pathetically. Jackson looked away.

Jinyoung was far from finished. "So I doubt they will come looking for you. I don't think you were
in close contact with anyone, Dahyun," he said, "I mean, things with your parents were never really
the same after you took up journalism, or so I'm told."

Dahyun seethed, glaring daggers at Jackson who never met her gaze. He must have known he'd
drop dead if he did.

She had told him so much about her family, more than she had told Chaeyoung and Somi or
anyone else, so of course Jinyoung would know everything. All her insecurities and hopes and
dreams, he had leeched so much information from her, giving it over to Jinyoung to use as he
pleased. It felt like the universe's worst joke and Dahyun was the punchline.

"And your ditzy womanising CEO lover. She's probably already moved on and found herself a new
toy to warm her bed."
The old scabbed wound on her heart ripped apart without warning, making Dahyun grit her teeth as
she relieved the irrational hurt she felt because of Momo's radio silence. She would never admit it
but maybe deep deep deep down she had hoped Momo would reach out, despite Dahyun having
told her she didn't need her.

If only she hadn't been so stubborn and prideful, if only she had thought more clearly about this
situation. If only she hadn't underestimated Jinyoung's desperation to keep her quiet, she would
have sent word to Momo.

"And your friends, Somi and Chaeyoung and the others. You always were the outsider weren't
you? Keeping to yourself and working on investigating me instead." Jinyoung shook his head
ruefully. "You shouldn't have concerned yourself with these things. It's not your business. You're
just a college kid. You should have been living it up with your friends and enjoying life."

"What, so you can continue committing atrocities right under people's noses? Do you think I'm
stupid?" Dahyun snapped. "Belittle me all you like, but it doesn't take away from the fact that you
—all of you involved in this dirty game—are all greedy monsters looking to make a quick buck
illegally."

Jinyoung shook his head. "What do you know about Tiger King?"

Dahyun pressed her lips shut.

"What about what Jackson is working on? The serum? Or maybe about my grand plans to take
over the world? Enlighten me on that, would you?"

Dahyun wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic but she still didn't speak.

"Really? You really want to go down this route?" Jinyoung demanded. "Dahyun, I'm warning you,
you don't want to cross me. I'm a patient man, but I have my limits, like anyone else. You don't
want to face me when I'm angry."

"I won't talk until you tell me what's going to happen to me after all this," Dahyun said firmly, very
much aware of the tight grip he had on the chair he was occupying. "I deserve to know that."

Jinyoung sighed. "It's complicated certainly, but I'm willing to work with you on some
compromise."

"Like paying me to keep my mouth shut? Covering up and keeping things hush hush? It seems to
be your speciality."

"I'm not above applying coercive measures," Jinyoung said with a warning note in his voice.

"You can't win Jinyoung," Dahyun said, ignoring the dangerous gleam in Jinyoung's eyes but
plunging ahead anyway, "people will find out eventually. You can't hide forever." And then to
antagonise him further, she added: "I have nothing to lose since like you said, I'm all alone."

"So, if hypothetically, something were to happen to any of your friends or parents, you wouldn't,
say, feel guilty about it at all? Are you that stunted to not care about someone's life? What if, say,
something happened to Somi. Can you live with that?"

The breath caught in her throat and for the umpteenth time she silently berated her inability to keep
her mouth shut. Jackson stood silent as a statue.

"What are you going to do?" she rasped.

"First I need my answers, then if they're satisfactory...we shall see," Jinyoung said.

He turned and nodded sharply at Jackson, who didn't move.

"Jackson," Jinyoung barked. "Get the trolley."

Jackson flinched, wavering as he eyed Dahyun. "Jin, interrogate her some more, it's too early for
this—"

"She's not going to co-operate until she sees I'm dead serious. Get the trolley. You have nothing to
do with her anymore."

Looking truly anguished now, Jackson only glanced one more time in her direction before he went
to the gloomier side of the room. Dahyun heard the squeak of wheels as he pushed a trolley
towards them. As he approached and stopped next to his cousin, Dahyun's mouth ran dry, realising
the cause of Jackson's turmoil.

Laid out on the shiny surface and gleaming by the light of the lamp was an array of sharp surgical
instruments, scalpels and pliers arranged neatly next to each other, like a surgeon's display of his
tools. Dahyun's stomach heaved.

"Not so cocky now, hmm? I thought they might help persuade you to co-operate better."

"You're mad," Dahyun snarled in disbelief. "Are you really going to torture me like some villain in
a B-movie?"

"Oh not me. Jackson here will the do the honours, if you prove difficult."

Dahyun stared, horrified, as Jackson stiffly pulled on gloves and an apron, his jaw set.

"You can't," she whimpered, the gravity of the situation slamming into her. She shook lie a leaf in a
storm. "Jackson, please, I don't...I...you can't."

"I'm sorry," Jackson said heavily. He was pale, perspiration shining on his forehead beneath the hot
light. It struck Dahyun suddenly that Jackson didn't want to do this, he didn't want to hurt her. He
was participating in this madness against his will but Jinyoung had him tightly by the scruff of his
neck.

Jinyoung had purposefully assigned Jackson to torture her, to torture and break them both in order
to establish his dominance once more.

"Why him? Why not Namjoon?" she blurted out desperately.

Jinyoung smiled but his expression was bitter. "Because Jackson here could do well to learn a
lesson about separating the heart from the head. Don't you, cousin?"

"Yes. It won't happen again," Jackson said numbly.

"Because of me?" Dahyun whispered. Jackson didn't reply but the slight tremor in his hand was
enough.

Dahyun shook her head vehemently, turning on Jinyoung. "You're just bluffing to make me break.
This isn't happening."

"Last chance Dahyun. We can do this civilly...or not."

Dahyun didn't reply, her mind swirling black. She felt so weak, so helpless, so alone. She wanted
to block out his hateful voice as her heart hammered in her chest, her whole body shaking as
Jackson fidgeted, never meeting her tearful gaze.

Help me, she pleaded silently, help us both and get out of here.

Jinyoung suddenly grabbed her face, making her blink up at him as he gripped her jaw tightly to
the point of pain. Jackson moved to stand next to him with his first torture tool of choice—pliers.

Trembling all over as Jinyoung sneered down at her, Dahyun summoned all her bravery not to
break down right away, even though of which there was precious little. She knew she'd break—she
wasn't some mentally tough marine who could withstand pain. She didn't have to hide, she had
nobody to protect, not really. And Jinyoung could easily make her disappear and she'd die a
painful, miserable death never getting the answers she had risked her life for.

But she'd hold out as long as it took even if they broke every bone in her body, because some
stubborn part of herself was unwilling to let Jinyoung have the satisfaction of seeing her break
easily, of letting him get away with whatever he wanted, of letting him abuse and exploit and
repeat history.

She was a lone, pathetic fighter in a one-sided battle against a powerful enemy that held all the
cards, but she'd prove him wrong and go down fighting.

Dahyun wrenched her face away and spat at Jinyoung.

"I'll take that as a no, then." He stepped back, letting Jackson take his place. The gleaming lethal
pair of pliers promised pain, agony, blood and tears. Dahyun instinctively curled her hands into
fists, her fingertips throbbing and her heart about to burst out of her chest.

Jackson's face was blank now, his eyes like hollow husks. He had retreated into some place within
himself that Dahyun had no hope of drawing him out from.

She was on her own.

"It's my job to figure out what you know and how to exploit it, Dahyun. You don't seem to want to
co-operate though, do you?" Jinyoung said. "But don't worry, I'll get what I want. I always do."

She saw his smile before Jackson's body covered him from view and nausea rushed over her like a
wave, but Jinyoung's voice still reached her: cruel, arrogant, smug.

"And believe me when I say, creativity is all it takes. Now, let's begin."
 Beavers and Penguins
Chapter Notes

previously: jensoo vs. jinyoung, dahyun kidnapped + tortured

For the third time of the week, Lisa's eyes flew open, the last remnants of her dream slithering
away into nothingness as her heart drummed hard in her chest and she lay for an indefinite amount
of time staring up at the ceiling, clutching the sheets and swallowing down the dread that crawled
up her throat like bile.

But gradually, she grew aware of Rosé's arm around her waist, and the soothing puffs of breath
brushing the back of her neck, and Lisa relaxed.

Rosé didn't know, but her presence anchored Lisa in time and space, banishing any reminder of the
bad dreams that lately had been plaguing her.

Carefully, she turned to face her sleeping girlfriend without removing the comforting arm wrapped
around her.

The position she loved sleeping in most was with her ear pressed to Rosé's heart, the regular
soothing throbbing lulling Lisa to sleep like a lullaby, but it couldn't be helped tonight—she didn't
want to wake her. Rosé needed the rest, especially with all the extra shifts she had been picking up.
Watching her with a drowsy smile, Lisa resisted the urge to stroke her face in case she woke her
up.

Lisa closed her eyes, snuggling closer until she was nuzzling Rosé's neck and Rosé stirred, gripping
her just a little tighter before she was back to breathing regularly, still fast asleep.

Sleep still took a longer time to arrive, but Lisa wasn't anxious anymore: Rosé was here, holding
her and protecting her.

Why had the dreams come back?

Lisa remembered how the first time she had gotten the dream mere days ago, she had woken up,
disoriented and distraught especially since Rosé hadn't been in bed, though Lisa distinctly
remembered her girlfriend climbing into bed with her. She went to search for her and found Rosé
with Bori at the window.

Seeing her was enough to make Lisa feel instantly better, especially seeing her smile when she
back-hugged her.

And then to stamp out the echoes of her nightmare, Lisa brought up the baby talk, surprising them
both especially since marriage had never even been mentioned, though it crossed Lisa's mind and
she had a hunch it crossed Rosé's mind plenty times before too.

But Lisa hadn't been thinking, only that she desperately needed to have something new to look
forward in the future, something exciting and stimulating and challenging, something bright and
big enough to obscure the past creeping up slowly slowly, ready to snatch her up the moment she
let down her guard.
Why had the dreams come back?

She had latched on to whatever Rosé was saying about Ella's younger days and blurted out a secret
far-fetched wish: to complete their little family. Thankfully Rosé seemed to be on the same page, if
her sweet whimpers later in bed as she squirmed beneath Lisa or her hungry kisses were any
indication.

Lisa hadn't told her about the dreams, and neither did she tell Jennie.

Her sister had enough on her plate, what with the Jisoo and Jinyoung situation, the cop
investigating Hwangssabu and the car keeping watch outside the condo and their own sticky
situation—no, Lisa figured it was just a bad week and the stress of everything was accumulating.

Was that why they came back?

Much as she hated to admit, Lisa had even considered that maybe, just maybe, this was what Jennie
feared—being around Rosé made Lisa dependant and vulnerable and now, at her weakest moment,
Lisa wasn't able to fend off the shadows of her past.

No. Her sister was wrong.

She was going to prove Jennie wrong all by herself. She was happy with Rosé, heart overflowing
with love every time she set eyes on her beautiful girl.

Rosé could be doing the most mundane action—

like stretching in front of her computer after a long typing session and rubbing her eyes after she
took off her glasses, or humming at the stove, or tapping her leg while she chopped vegetables, or
absently kissing Ella's head, or tickling Leo or Lego or Bori, or cocking her head and listening
carefully as she tweaked her guitar, or laughing with tears in her eyes when she belted out lyrics to
Taylor Swift and danced with Ella around the apartment, or muttering while she inspected the
Cadillac before their morning sessions to make sure it was ship-shape

—and Lisa's heart would do flips.

Spending time with Rosé felt natural, getting to know all her little tics and mannerisms,
understanding when she wanted some space to herself, and falling in love a little deeper each day
waking up next to her.

Ruining such bliss because of a stupid thing like a recurrent nightmare was stupid and making
mountains out of molehills. She didn't want Rosé or Jennie or Jisoo to worry, not when they had all
summer to enjoy before the true grind to fight in boxing matches started again.

Before she found the right time to tell Rosé about...well, everything.

So Lisa plunged herself into distractions, banking on tiring her mind enough to sleep deeply and
not dredge up old nightmares that she used to get years ago.

But try as she might the dreams still returned, and it seemed they weren't going to leave so easily.

>

"Yang, sir, I want to ask something. About last week's...events."

Rosé couldn't stop thinking about why Jinyoung would invite Jisoo to Rkive, and she had no doubt
that he knew just exactly who she was and her relation to herself.

So why risk their careful secrecy and operations to throw it all away? What was the reason?

Jinyoung was cunning and calculative, the mastermind behind the hunt for Tiger King. Surely, it
couldn't have been as simple as a fatal lapse in judgement?

Yang glanced her way, raising an eyebrow for her forthright question. Jaehyun and another Jay
walking with them stiffened but Rosé didn't care. This was the only chance she got to speak with
her boss before she was off for her night job. He had been absent all week, leaving her antsy about
their last run-in.

"What is it, Thorn?" Yang grunted, taking the cigarette out of his mouth to talk better. He was
smoking more these days. "Make it quick, Doni and Coni are expecting you."

"Did you talk to Jinyoung-ssi about why my neighbour was there and how he potentially could
have exposed me?"

"I did," Yang huffed, "I informed him how unhappy I was that he didn't consult with me
beforehand. He was his usual cryptic self. But from what he implied...it was on purpose. Keeping
her there with him and calling us in earlier. To what end, I have no idea how that would benefit
us."

On purpose. Jinyoung kept her there with him on purpose. He had wanted Jisoo and herself to
greet each other. If Jisoo had raised her head and seen her...

Rosé recovered quickly. "Why? It could jeopardise our search for Tiger King."

"That's what I said," Yang growled, "but that man is planning something, I feel it in my bones. I
just hope he knows what he's doing. But it's in the past now, so good call on foiling his grand
plans. He needs to be taken down a notch or two occasionally."

"Thank you, sir," Rosé said demurely.

And now she looked forward to spending the rest of the night churning over this new mystery to
try and understand Jinyoung's latest scheme. Was it connected with the Rkive photos that had been
circulating, the ones she suspected Jinyoung leaked to mess with Jennie and Jisoo and distract
them?

The thought of Jinyoung throwing her under the bus didn't surprise her, but it still made her blood
run cold at how casually he was prepared to bring everything crashing down in Rosé's world.

"Keep your eyes peeled like always," Yang ordered as they approached the car where Jay-Z was
waiting in the parking recesses of the headquarters. "And if it's a code blue—well, you know." He
gestured to the two Jays. "That goes for the two of you as well." They had their own errands to take
care of, carrying their own briefcases.

Code blue—the cops capture them with the briefcase of Yang's product.

Rosé nodded tightly, suddenly more aware than ever of the small capsule located under a secret
flap of fabric on her shoulder, which she could easily access even if she were tied up, simply by
lifting her shoulder and turning her head.

It was the routine to be fitted with this capsule every time she came to do her night gig, cleverly
adapted according to her clothing item of the night and fitted on by one of the Jays overseeing the
task for all runners.

She hoped and hoped she would never have any need for the minute white pill that the capsule
contained within.

>

After the nerve-wracking week she had looking over her shoulder every time she ventured outside,
Jennie started to relax when nobody seemed intent on approaching her or Jisoo.

It seemed that Jinyoung kept his word about diverting attention away and managing the whole
media circus that came with the leaked photos, which, in her opinion, only confirmed her theory
that it was all Jinyoung's doing.

"I'm glad nobody came," she reassured Jisoo, "but it just makes me think that he has all those
reporters on a tight leash doing his bidding."

"You still up to investigate him?" Jisoo asked as Jennie helped herself to yogurt.

"Yeah, more than ever. But I don't know what to try next. At the very least, maybe we could try
Momo. Lisa will be happy we got in touch."

"Sounds like a plan, right Dalgom?" Jisoo smiled and Dalgom wagged his tail as though he
understood.

"By the way, how's Nayeon and Yeri and the rest? It feels like I haven't spoken to them in ages
after Somi's party."

"Okay enough," Jennie shrugged. She had eased up on her night shifts at the café upon Jisoo's
insistence of covering her expenses. Jennie had stayed adamant that she would still be working
even if she won the lottery, but she did let Jisoo talk her into reducing her work hours to spend
them in bed with her girlfriend instead. "They all were curious about you and Jinyoung of course."

"Bet you didn't like that."

"Word had gotten around that we're dating, thanks to Somi of course, so they were extra curious. I
told them you were old friends...which doesn't make it any better."

"Oh Jendeukie," Jisoo crooned, pulling her girlfriend into her lap. "How can I make my poor boo
boo's boo-boos go away, hmm?"

She laughed when Jennie pulled a face.

"Shut up, you sound like Lisa when she's all over Rosé, it's disgusting."

"You lap it up, admit it."

"I don't!" Jennie protested but relaxed when Jisoo held on to her waist, pressing kisses to her arm.

"Jendeuk?"

"Yeah?"

Jisoo played with her fingers, uncharacteristically quiet. "Do you ever think about the future?"

Jennie's heart stopped, then started beating rapidly. "Why do you ask?" she said carefully.
"No particular reason. I'd just like to think you'd be in it somehow. Like penguins. Or beavers."

"Penguins or beavers?" Jennie raised an eyebrow at the abrupt shift in topic. "What about penguins
and beavers?"

"Penguins and beavers typically take a single mate their entire lives."

"That's a myth Jisoo. They're animals, they don't have that concept of monogamy in their heads,"
Jennie smiled, wondering if Jisoo could hear her heartbeat by now. She was sure Lisa and Rosé
next door could hear it as well.

"Sssh, don't spoil. Pretend it's real for a second. Isn't it romantic? Like two soulmates that found
each other and stayed together?" Jisoo said dreamily.

"You could say so..." Jennie peered down at her. "Chu, is this your way of...?"

"Not proposing," Jisoo said hastily.

"Not that."

"Not asking you to move in with me either."

"I basically already do," Jennie said soberly.

"I don't mind at all. I just wanna know..." she clasped her hands together tightly around Jennie's
waist. "What do you think?"

"Oh." Jennie knew exactly what she thought, even as her heart warred with her head. "Jisoo, I..."

She sighed, trying to think of the right words as Jisoo watched her hopefully. "I don't think I ever
believed in...in that kind of love," Jennie said quietly, and held up her hand at Jisoo's crestfallen
expression. "At least, I didn't think it was possible for me. Soulmates and romance and the fairy
tales they sell you, it was all a crap to me."

She broke off with a wistful chuckle. "Lisa always was the more romantic one between us,
believing in true love and all that. I always thought I was being realistic, just surviving. Hooking
up with my ex...well it's the only thing I had to refer to, which wasn't remotely healthy and it kind
of confirmed my world view. But then you came into the picture and suddenly, I found myself
questioning all that I thought I knew about...about beavers and penguins."

Jisoo drew a sharp breath.

"I've never been one to think of the future, or consider a future with someone," Jennie said
carefully. "When it was Lisa and me, I only thought about getting by, enough to pay off the next
wave of bills. Living day by day. Emotional attachments didn't factor in, not when I was trying to
make ends meet."

Jisoo was still looking at her, eyes so trusting.

"It's early days to think of the future, at least from my point of view," Jennie said, ignoring the
pinch in her heart, "but I will say this: we're both reading the same book about beavers and
penguins. You're just a few pages ahead. I'll catch up soon." She tucked a piece of hair behind
Jisoo's ear. "How's that sound?"

Jisoo beamed up at her. "I'll be sure not to spoil you. Don't want to reveal the twists and surprises."
"You better not, I feel very strongly about getting my reveals ruined." Jennie leaned in and kissed
her, smiling when she felt Jisoo chuckle against her lips.

Their kiss was broken off by the chime of Jennie's phone going off.

"Now who can that be," Jennie wondered as she slipped off Jisoo's lap and picked up her phone.
"Oh, Lisa? What's up?"

She listened for a few minutes before snorting. "You're asking me? You're the one who came up
with the idea, genius!"

"What does she want?" Jisoo asked curiously.

"Restaurant recommendations."

"Why?"

"For Rosé's date—hang on," Jennie said before she went back to Lisa. "Look, you can just go
online, use your swanky new phone and surf a bit. Read the reviews, see what food they got.
What? Matt's café? A romantic date there? No come on, you can do better than that. The café is
alright to get together but you might wanna upgrade. Treat your girlfriend right, don't be stingy."

Curiosity piqued, Jisoo leaned on the kitchen island across from Jennie, thoughtful.

"...and now you wanna talk about clothes, huh? What happened to the, 'I'm fine wearing my lucky
unicorn t-shirt and Hwangssabu's leather jacket?'" Jennie deadpanned. She rolled her eyes as Lisa
said something that Jisoo didn't hear.

"Yeah, yeah I'll go shopping with you. Haircut too? What next? How about a pedicure while we're
at it? Okay, okay if you insist. Huh? 'Ask Somi'? Are you hearing yourself? You're really gonna go
to her for advice for a romantic date setup, of all people? No, no she's capable enough, I bet she'd
have ideas. It's just that...how do I put this nicely? She's way too invested and she goes overboard.
Do you want her to pull some prank on you? Or do you want her to show up in some silly disguise
and gawk at you from behind the menu at the next table all night or something? I'm telling you,
the less she knows, the less likely you'll embarrass yourself. Deal with her later."

She paused when Jisoo touched her arm. "What?"

"Tell her to go to Rkive," Jisoo said.

Jennie stared, opening and shutting her mouth like a fish. "Huh?"

"Think about it. They can keep an eye out, maybe see things I didn't get to see."

"I'll call you later." Jennie put away her phone to face Jisoo. "Chu, you can't possibly be serious.
Sending them right into the lion's den?"

"Why not? The food was good, the ambience was nice for a night out, and it's not like Jinyoung
will be keeping his eyes peeled for Lisa and Rosé when he doesn't know them that well. He
probably won't even be at the restaurant. Honestly, there's nothing to lose by having them enjoy
their night out there."

"I don't know...Jinyoung knows Lisa..."

"I hardly think that he's in charge of taking reservations," Jisoo reasoned. "He can't possibly know
about every single person that goes to Rkive."

Jennie still hesitated. "What if he approaches them?"

"I doubt he's that petty. But if he does try something and ends up ruining their night, I'll take full
responsibility and pay for an all-inclusive couple retreat in Jeju for them, to make up for it."

"Huh. And why don't you spend that for us?" Jennie muttered. She blushed when she saw Jisoo's
smirk widen.

"Would you want to go?" Jisoo said sweetly. "I never brought it up because it had been an item I
wanted to include on Jisoo Yoga but you didn't seem so keen on me splurging out so I shelved the
idea."

"Well...I mean...we'd both be going so...it's alright then, I suppose."

Jisoo got up and pecked her on the cheek. "You're too cute. But to answer your question, yes we
can go. Just say the word. Obviously, we'd go at a different time than Rosé and Lisa. And yes, we
can still go even if their night goes off without a hitch. How's that for a deal?"

Jennie sighed but picked up the phone again to call Lisa. "You're getting scarily good at winning
me over."

"Jagiya, I'm not even trying," Jisoo grinned. "What do you want to do after you call Lisa?"

"I have an idea..."

>

As it turned out, Jisoo readily took up Jennie's very simple idea of 'making out until it's time to go
pick up Lisa for clothes shopping.' She had Jennie backed up against the kitchen island, furiously
kissing her breathless as she greedily swallowed the other girl's throaty whines.

The chime of Jennie's phone startled them both from their lusty stupor and they blinked dazedly at
the culprit that so rudely interrupted them.

"I thought you guys said you'll go in like two hours?" Jisoo croaked.

"Leave it," Jennie groaned. Her neck was flush with little nibbles, her lips swollen. "I'll give Lisa a
taste of her own medicine. Now come here." She pulled Jisoo in again, hungrily crushing their
mouths together as she played with the hem of Jisoo's shirt.

"Maybe it's not Lisa."

"I don't care, if you think about picking up the phone and leaving me hanging, I'm not strapping
you later."

"Jendeukie," Jisoo whined but Jennie held firm as she reached out and turned off the phone without
even checking who it is.

"If it's an emergency, she can call you but right now, all I want is you."

"I shouldn't have bought you that damned phone," Jisoo mumbled as she dived in to catch her lips
once more. She smiled to hear Jennie's giggle and drew back, making a show of squinting and
peering down at her.
"Why Jennie, is that a laugh I hear?"

"No but close," Jennie smiled, and she looked so shy and pretty and perfect in that moment that
Jisoo's feelings overflowed, unable to be contained.

"I love you."

Jennie's eyes widened but Jisoo carried on. "I'm in love with you. Like the beavers and penguins."

It was possibly the most unromantic declaration at the most unromantic of locations but it didn't
make it any less true. She hadn't planned for it at all, hadn't even thought that she'd go for it so
soon after their earlier discussion, after what she had told Rosé a few days earlier.

But deep inside, she knew she couldn't keep holding back on her feelings. She half-expected for
Jennie to pull away and break the tension they had been building up, but to her delight, Jennie
looped her arms round her neck and brought her down close.

"You promised there would be no spoilers twenty minutes ago," she said in her ear, voice gruff.

Jisoo grinned, so happy she could float straight to the ceiling. "The book was too good to not share,
and I'm not sorry for spoiling you. I'm in love with you and I needed you to know."

"I'm getting there too," Jennie confessed, "I'll be there soon so wait for me, okay?"

"Always."

She didn't comment about the way Jennie's eyes filled. Instead, Jisoo simply leaned in to slot their
mouths together and hold her close as her heart beat to the singular truth she had just uttered.

I love you I love you I love you

>

"Dolla bills dolla bills," Lisa hummed as she browsed the window display, "watch it fall for me, I
love the way it feels."

"Is that some new Taylor Swift song?" Jennie said next to her (she had been hearing all about
Taylor Swift). "Doesn't sound very Taylor Swift-y."

"That's because I came up with it! And it's actually more of a hip-hop rap song," Lisa beamed.
"Wanna hear the rest? I even got a beat." She started beat boxing but Jennie waved dismissively.

"Another time, we still got to get you some shoes, come on."

As promised, Jennie took Lisa to the mall to shop for some an outfit that she could wear for her
planned date with Rosé. It had been a while since they had both gone to Myeondong and the fact
that this time round they actually had money to spend made a big difference from their previous
visits. Lisa was all about running into the nearest shop to splurge but Jennie was more sensible and
took her time in choosing Lisa's clothes and something for herself as well.

It had been a productive morning. Jennie was thoroughly pleased, even graciously agreeing to have
lunch out instead of going straight back home. Since it was a breezy day, Jennie deemed it fine to
sit outside the small café of her choosing and people watch without worrying about the weather
being too hot. They found a table under the awning in the shade and settled to have their lunch.

"So what's the plan for your...Super Romantic Date Night, was it?"
"I haven't planned anything yet but I want to go for like a classy evening dinner, with roses and
candles and guitar playing. Maybe we can have spaghetti with meatballs like in Lady and the
Tramp," Lisa said in between bites of her bagel. She was eating it considerably slower than usual
and Jennie commented about it.

"This bagel ain't it, chief. How can you mess it up this bad? It's practically tasteless," Lisa
complained, squirting on it all the condiments available at their table.

"You're the one who wanted it."

"I just thought it tasted better than it looked," Lisa said dolefully, "and I'm hungry."

"Do you want some of my salad? And don't give me crap about not liking salads, it's all Rosé eats
so I'm sure she's got you hooked on it too. Have some, it's quite good."

Lisa hesitated until Jennie dumped a portion of her salad on her plate, whereupon she merely gave
her a grateful nod and started tackling it instead, smacking her lips in appreciation.

"Okay, so what about the venue?" Jennie picked up again.

"I liked Jisoo's idea. But I hope the restaurant is okay with you know, gay people?"

"I shouldn't think they'd care too much, they'll be happy if you pay them. Jinyoung was okay with
having Jisoo there, but wouldn't hurt to check a bit, I can do that. When do you think you'll go?"

"Rosie's still checking her schedule, she'll get back to me later but I was thinking Saturday?
And...is it okay if you guys looked after Ella till we're back?"

"Jisoo and I talked about it, we can keep her overnight too. I'm sure you two would want the
privacy. We won't die missing out on a night of sexy times." Jennie smirked when Lisa blushed
and rubbed the back of her neck bashfully.

"Well thanks yeah that'd be great."

"The things I do so my little sister gets laid."

"Shut up." Lisa barked out a laugh and although Jennie didn't laugh, she couldn't help but smile,
unable to remember when it had last been this easy and light between just the two of them.

But as always, it wasn't meant to last. Jennie saw Lisa's eyes widen before a shadow fell across the
table.

"Jennie?" said Momo.

Jennie blinked up at her and Lisa gasped.

"Kami!" She launched herself out of her seat and tackled Momo. "It's so good to see you! Where
you been? You have to tell me all that you been up to!"

"Oh there's not much to tell," Momo said after Lisa had stopped her affectionate attack. Her eyes
were still locked with Jennie. "I saw you guys here really by coincidence cos' I called Jennie earlier
and she didn't pick up. So I cam wandering here and...here we are."

"Ah so that was you. I thought it was Lisa," Jennie said. "Did you want something?"

"Mo, can I get you anything?" Lisa interrupted. "And oh, guess what, I got a girlfriend now! Her
name's Rosé and she's amazing! I'm not a baby virgin either!" She beamed, eyes sparkling but
Momo didn't share in her enthusiasm.

"That's great Lis, maybe we can catch up properly some other time but actually I'm here 'cos I'm a
bit...worried. About Dahyun," Momo added meaningfully in Jennie's direction, making Jennie sit
up straighter.

"Why? Did she contact you?"

"No..."

"What's going on? What are you talking about?" Lisa said, bemused. She glanced in between her
sister and a silent Momo. "Guys?"

"It's just about Dahyun, Lis. You know, I told you that she's working there and Momo is keeping
an eye out on her."

"Oh. Is she in trouble?"

Momo shifted from one foot to the other, glancing behind her shoulder now and then. She had on
dark sunglasses that took up almost all of her face and summery floral print shirt and pants that
blended well with what tourists wore.

"I'm not sure. I haven't seen her these past few days. Like at all. I haven't seen her go in or out of
Rkive...nothing. And still, radio silence from her end."

"Maybe she went home for a family emergency. I could ask Somi," Jennie offered.

"Or she caught some nasty bug and is stuck inside," Lisa put in.

Momo shook her head slowly. "I don't know, I just have a bad feeling..."

"Call her or text her," Jennie urged. "I can ask Somi, see if she talked to her."

Momo sighed. "Yeah thanks, that'd be great. I gotta run now, don't want to be out here for too
long."

"Why, scared the sun gonna fry you into a crisp?"

Momo's mouth quirked up at the corners, the ghost of a smile crossing her face. "Something like
that. Jen, I saw those photos Jinyoung leaked to the press. Are you gonna go after him again?"

"Switching up tactics a bit, but yes. If he thinks that would get in between me and Jisoo, he's
stupider than I thought."

"Don't underestimate that snake. He's playing a long game, he'll do anything to get Tiger King
back."

"Tiger King?" said Lisa.

Jennie froze. Her mouth opened and closed but no words came out. Momo didn't seem to notice as
she hiked her tote back more securely on her shoulder and gave them a little wave.

"Gotta go now. Lemme know what Somi says," she said and walked away until she disappeared
into the crowd.
Jennie turned carefully to look at Lisa, chewing on her lip when she saw the girl in front of her
sitting unnaturally still. She seemed to forget all about her reunion with Momo.

"You okay?" Jennie said tentatively.

"How..." Lisa began before swallowing. "Did you tell..."

"Of course not. She just knew, and then she told me what she knew," Jennie said. "And now we're
suspecting Jinyoung is up to something."

"That can't happen," Lisa barked, startling Jennie before she lowered her voice, quietly pleading.
"Nini, it can't happen."

"No of course not. But it's all speculation at this point. I was hoping Dahyun might have found
something but Momo seems to think she wouldn't share because they're not talking."

When she notice the distant glaze in Lisa's eyes, Jennie took both her hands. "Snap out of it. It's in
the past."

Lisa drew a shaky breath. "I know but...hearing the name again is..."

"A shock, I know. I felt the same when Momo talked to me."

"Why didn't you say something?"

"Because look at you. You've gone pale."

"So you thought I couldn't handle it."

"You're not really proving that you can," Jennie shrugged. "Listen to me, what you're not gonna do
is throw a tantrum at me about it, got it? Forget all that. We gotta think about your date now."

"Are you still expecting us to go to Rkive?"

"Why not? A few minutes ago you were all onboard."

"You gotta be kidding..." Lisa set her jaw. "You still want to send me and Rosie in there to...what?
Snoop around? Knowing full well that Jinyoung—"

"I wasn't going to make you do anything," Jennie said curtly. "I'm just saying, maybe it's worth
trying and besides, it's still a restaurant. So yes, it's unfortunately associated with Jinyoung but
what can he do, really?"

"Are you hearing yourself? Didn't you hear Momo? You're offering Rosie and me as some sick sort
of sacrifice!" Lisa said shrilly.

"Keep it down. And I'm not," Jennie hissed. "I just think the odds of anything happening to you
two, whilst being around other people, is extremely low."

"That's what Jisoo thought, but look what happened."

"You..." Jennie pinched the bridge of her nose. "You know what? Fix your own date."

"Maybe I will," Lisa said defiantly. "And a 'sorry' would be nice."

"Oh come on, it's not like I was deliberately lying to you," Jennie protested.
"You weren't being...transparent with the whole truth either," Lisa said and pushed her plate away.
"I'd like to leave."

Jennie sighed and flagged down the waitress for their bill. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you
everything but I just didn't want to spook you, okay?"

"By hiding from me? Jen, this isn't something you keep from me."

"Fine you're right, I wasn't thinking, is that what you want to hear? I've been paranoid all week
waiting for reporters and cameras to come pounding on Jisoo's door while you're living it up with
Rosé without a care in the world, so excuse me that it slipped my mind," Jennie gritted.

"Whatever."

"Yes go ahead and give me attitude, that always helps."

They glared at each other without even bothering to mask their hostility, such that even the waitress
meekly left the bill at their table and quickly scuttled away. As though of one mind, Jennie and
Lisa stood up, hauling their bags, with Lisa carrying the bulk of them. However, before she could
step away, Jennie's hand landed on her wrist.

"Truce?" Jennie sighed. "I really don't want to be fighting you right now. We...we were having a
good time."

Lisa's shoulders slumped. "I don't want us to fight either. I'm just..." She swallowed but Jennie
understood.

"It affects you a lot. It's okay. But we got this, right? You and me."

Lisa gave a tight smile and nod, but Jennie still saw the shadow of fear stir in her sister's eyes.
 Omens
Chapter Notes

previously: lisa has been getting bad dreams, jenlisa went shopping but squabbled over
date locations, jisoo confessed (her love) to jennie, momo is worried about dahyun and
asks jennie to intervene.

"Detective?"

Chanyeol lifted his head with an exasperated growl. "What now?"

The officer winced and Chanyeol couldn't blame him—he knew he looked rough. Working on the
Slammer security guards murder case, trying to hunt down Yang Hyunsuk as well as chasing leads
on Tiger King, Jennie and Lisa left him with little time to sleep except when his brain forcefully
clocked out on him.

"Uh, it's her again...you know."

Chanyeol glanced at the clock, which read just past 3 pm, rubbed his eyes and pushed his chair
back, grumbling. "I swear, the higher-ups keep pushing me just because of Sooman, hoping I'll
snap under pressure. And believe me they're not far off," he said bitterly as he followed after the
officer and stopped in front of the holding cell. "What is it this time? Surprise me."

"Uh, reckless driving under influence, sir."

"And how does that fall under my criminal investigation jurisdiction, exactly?" Chanyeol said,
doing his utmost to stay calm.

The officer shifted on his feet. "She...she asked to see you?"

"Of course," Chanyeol said sarcastically, "I bet she wants autographs too this time."

He barged into the room without another glance back and dropped into the chair unceremoniously.
"What do you want, Dasoni?" he barked at the woman sitting across of him. "I don't have time for
this shit."

"Channieeeeee hi, I missed you!" the woman burbled. As usual, she looked alert despite claims to
the contrary, or else she sobered up remarkably quickly. Her hair was in its usual sleek, shiny bob,
not a hair out of place. Chanyeol sometimes wondered if it was a wig—it sat too unnaturally
smooth on her head.

Chanyeol slammed his fist on the table. "Listen here, lady, I'm sick and tired of you barging in here
to interrupt me from my work. You've had your fun, now get out of my sight."

"Oh Channie, you're overworking yourself again. You look like a panda. And when was the last
time you shaved? You have a little 5 o'clock shadow," she tutted, breaking off with a giggle. "I
thought it's been a while since I visited so I dropped by. How are you doing, really?"

Chanyeol pinched the bridge of his nose before his good senses deserted him entirely.
Taunting him by flaunting the law and doing as she pleased was one thing, but deliberately
waltzing into police headquarters to flirt and then waltzing out again a few hours later just because
she had the money and power had him raving.

"We're done here."

"But you still have to write the DUI report and I got to have my bail bond to get me out," she said
innocently, though her smile was anything but innocent.

"You're not even drunk. I doubt there was a crash to begin with," Chanyeol grunted. "You probably
just bribed the officer on patrol to bring you in here."

"Always so smart, Detective Park," she laughed.

Chanyeol sighed and shook his head. According to records, she was around his age, and even
finished tertiary education so she wasn't dumb, but you wouldn't have guessed from her antics. She
was a weird one, probably got off on being handcuffed, or had some police fantasy, or a cop
uniform fetish.

He wasn't going to delve into all that, not when she preened and tried so hard to get him to look at
her, puffing her chest and tilting her head, eyes half-lidded in what she probably thought looked
seductive.

"I see you're just here to waste my time as usual. Let's just get the paperwork over and done with. I
don't want to see you when it strikes five. I'm a busy man."

She pouted but Chanyeol already had the sheaf of forms at hand and had sat down to fill in details.

"Don't you want to hear my account of the crash?"

"Nobody cares very much," Chanyeol replied, "since there probably was no crash. This is all for
records and standard procedure. Everyone knows what you are."

"And what am I, Channie?"

He had given up on making her show him some respect.

"A sleazy, spoiled brat with too much money and time on your hands and no job to keep you
occupied. Is there no boyfriend in your life? Or girlfriend for that matter."

"As a matter of fact, I might have left two of those back in my bed just to see you. I was awfully
bored, Channie. But maybe you can take care of that? I'll be a good girl and listen, I promise."

"Be quiet for a minute," Chanyeol said as he scribbled.

"Isn't it illegal to leave out my account of events?" she asked pleasantly.

"It's illegal to harass the authorities and waste our time, Dasoni," Chanyeol said sharply,
"particularly my time since the powers that be love to punish me and lump me with you, on top of
all the work I have."

"Because of that bastard Sooman, isn't it?" she nodded emphatically. "They're the losers for
underestimating you and your tenacity. You're so much more than Sooman's protege. You'll always
have that black mark on your record, Channie, and it's a real shame. We all get those in one form or
another. But don't let it get to you."
"I won't."

"You gotta keep at what you do and show'em what you're made of."

"I will."

He never knew what to say when she lobbed a strikingly accurate remark wrapped in what sounded
suspiciously like a compliment followed by encouragements.

But at such times, he was reminded that the woman sitting in front of him was not just some vapid,
ditzy bimbo but the heir of one of Seoul's eminent crime boss families, the Dasoni, and ten times
sharper than her father.

Whatever she did, there was always some underlying, calculating motive to her actions.

Which is why he couldn't fathom the reason she kept finding opportunities for them to interact.

"Why don't you ever say my name?" she pouted.

He didn't trust himself to speak. She sighed and stretched in her chair, leaning towards him to look
at what he was writing across from her.

"Oh you know my name, see! You always write it, and so neatly too. You have beautiful
handwriting."

"Can you just stop?" Chanyeol said tiredly. He didn't care that he wasn't speaking professionally
anymore. "I'm trying to do my job here. Why are you so aggravating?" He didn't have to ask but the
question slipped out inadvertently.

"Because you're so fun! So stuck up and serious, it's always fun to see you get angry, like a kitten
trying to hiss and meow," she chuckled. Then she tilted her head, frowning ever so slightly. "But
seriously Channie, you should sleep more. All work and no rest is slowly killing you."

"Having you around will certainly guarantee an early death," he said dryly. "And then nobody will
be around to entertain you."

"See, there you go again. All morbid and broody. Like Batman. Yet, you're still funny," she tilted
her head playfully. "Seoul's very own dark knight, they call you."

"Really? Or is it just you?"

"I'll leave that to your imagination. And I'm just curious, what it would take to have some fun
together, maybe I could help relax you a bit, you know sex is important for your overall health
right? How long since you got laid? Or maybe you're asexual and you don't really—"

"We're done here, Dasoni," Chanyeol said numbly. He stood up and gathered the forms, his limbs
like wooden sticks, and jerked away from her towards the door.

But she spoke again, and her voice had lost its obnoxious treble making him stop in his tracks.

"Chanyeol, I came to warn you."

He rolled his eyes but turned to look back and was momentarily surprised by her change in
demeanour. No longer was she donning her playful, flirty act but she was sitting ramrod straight
with her hands in front of her, her eyes stern.
She meant business.

"Warn me about what?" Chanyeol said roughly.

She stood up and Chanyeol knew he should order her to sit back down—her handcuffs didn't tie
her to the table. But even if he were to order her to sit, she probably wouldn't listen.

He stayed perfectly still as she approached. In the gloom, her eyes were tiny gleaming pinpricks
that gave him a dreadful sense for foreboding.

"There's a storm coming," she said softly. Chanyeol had spoken enough times with her to know she
was being entirely serious in that moment, no playful teasing or suggestive smirks. Only her voice,
laced with warning and...concern?

"What storm?" Chanyeol asked, mystified.

She arched an eyebrow. "Even I am truly not sure what it will bring. But I know that when it hits,
things won't be the same. Not in this city." She turned her head to the side. "Things will change."

"What are you talking about?" he said harshly.

"I think you know. You're working so hard that even some people have taken notice."

His mind working fast, Chanyeol threw caution to the wind, desperation making him lower his
guard around her. She seemed to know something important, something crucial.

"Is it about Tiger King?"

She didn't say anything for a long moment, but her gaze burned, making him uncomfortable. His
jaw tightened when she reached up to whisper in his ear, her cuffed hands ghosting his cheek.

"Don't bite off more than you can chew, my dark knight. I'd hate to see you get hurt."

>

"Hi baby, how was shopping?" Rosé called when Lisa walked into the living room. She had just
finished a pilates set and was on her way to the shower.

"Oh uh good, good. But you can't see just yet! You'll have to wait," Lisa said, hiding the bags
behind her back.

"Hmm? Wait for what?" Rosé smiled, blocking Lisa's attempt to kiss her with a little giggle. "Wait,
I'm all gross and sweaty. Let me take a shower."

She laughed and shook her head when Lisa looked hopeful. "No you're staying put, or else we'd
take too long. I do have a water bill to pay, you know. And Ella will be here soon, the last thing I
want her to know is that we do it in the shower too."

"Should I start on snacks then?" Lisa said helpfully.

"I'll be sure to give you extra-big kisses if you do! Don't cut your fingers."

"I won't!"

When Rosé emerged from her shower later, she found Lisa already attending to Ella and washing
their hands together. Rosé stopped and leaned against the doorway, internally cooing at the
endearing sight.

"...and do you know about tardigrades?" Ella was saying.

"Tardigrades? Sounds like something to do with school."

"No they're these tiny animals that live in water. They're also called water bears."

"Water bears? Wow! I gotta look that one up in my dictionary, I've never heard of them before.
What do they do?"

More than ever after Lisa put the idea in her head, Rosé was picturing Lisa with a baby: feeding it,
rocking it to sleep, changing its diapers, dressing it up, playing in the park, walking it to school,
hoisting it on her shoulders. She knew Lisa would be the best parent, probably even overprotective
to a degree, but she'd be the most supportive partner and parent, Rosé was sure.

Lisa glanced up and saw her, immediately breaking into a smile. "Looks like we got a curious cat
listening in, kiddo."

"Mom!" Ella ran to greet her.

"How was your day, baby?" Rosé asked, bending to kiss her forehead. "Any more advances with
the arpeggios?"

Lisa brought over the plate of sliced fruit as Ella launched into a story of how they tried feeding
the squirrels some rice balls during recess and how Mr Lee was pleased with her progress.

"At this point, if he doesn't put me in the end of summer recital, he's bonkers," Ella declared.

"Hey! We don't call teachers that," Rosé chided.

"Remember when you called Seulgi worse?" Lisa winked. "Now what was it again that you said?"

"What? Ms Kang? What did Mom say?" Ella said immediately.

"Oh no," Rosé groaned. She swatted at Lisa's head who dodged her, laughing. "Sweetie, it's in the
past. Mommy made a big big mistake but I also apologised, didn't I?" she added in Lisa's direction,
who nodded solemnly.

"That she did. I'm with Ella though, he's bonkers if he doesn't choose her to be in the concert."

"Lisa!" Rosé scolded.

"Will you come see me then?" Ella asked after they had a laugh.

"Of course, wouldn't miss it for the world."

"You sure?" Ella pressed her mother. "You're always so busy at night, and what if bad guys come
to get you if you don't go?"

"I will always make time for you baby, so I'll be extra sure to schedule the day off when the recital
will be held," Rosé promised, her heart pounding beneath her fingertips at Ella's slip. When she
chanced a surreptitious glance at Lisa, her girlfriend didn't seem to have cottoned on to anything
unusual.

Crisis averted...for now.

"Who's up for some TV time?" Lisa winked. Ella immediately scrambled out of the kitchen,
chased by the kittens and Bori who strolled staidly after her.

"You did that to get your kiss, didn't you?" Rosé asked as she stood up.

"I don't take promises lightly," Lisa winked.

"Then come over here."

Lisa grinned as she picked up a piece of mango and approached her girlfriend, feeding it to her and
then leaning in to catch her lips in a kiss to taste the sweetness. Rosé tilted her head for Lisa,
sliding her hands to wind around Lisa's neck and sink into blissful oblivion for a short while.

"Rosie?"

"Mhm?" Rosé mumbled, making an effort to ground herself in the present again after the kiss had
deepened enough to have her lose touch with her surroundings.

"When are you off this week?"

"Silly, you should know by now, except for the extra gigs."

"Tell me anyway."

Rosé raised her eyebrows but obeyed. "I'm off four days from now, Monday and Tuesday."

"Hmm...in that case..." Lisa took Rosé's hand and threaded their fingers together. Rosé loved how
they fitted comfortably, like jigsaw puzzle pieces slotting together.

"In that case, would you like to go out with me next Monday? As a date I mean, a proper date,"
Lisa added hastily. A faint blush dusted her cheek. "I still got to plan and everything but I already
got my outfit for the night! That's what Jennie and I were shopping for," she grinned.

"Really? We're going on a date?" Rosé said, thrilled. "Just us two?"

"Yes baby. So will you?"

"Yes of course, you dork!" Rosé pulled her in for a happy kiss. "I can't wait! Where are you
thinking of going? I'm sure you've got ideas of where to go, right? Or are you going to surprise
me?"

Lisa straightened with a sigh. "About that. Well, at first I was thinking...Rkive."

Rosé's smile dropped from her face. Jinyoung's shark smile swam in her mind and fear gripped her
heart as a chill swept over her, raising goosebumps.

"Huh?"

"Jennie was pushing me a lot to have our date there," Lisa said heavily, "she said we might even be
able to scope out the place instead of Jisoo."

"Do...do we have to?" Rosé said timidly. "After...after what happened with Jisoo and Jinyoung
there, I don't like the idea of going to Rkive."

"Me too. I told Jennie that. She kept insisting but I didn't back down. I think she kinda gave up in
the end and told me to fix the date myself."
"Good for you babe, you stood up to her!" Rosé cheered. She frowned when Lisa still looked
downcast.

"Yeah but I still don't know where I could take you now. I don't even know how to do reservation
stuff. Jennie does our spa reservations and deals with all that. I blew it," she said glumly.

Rosé pulled her in for a long, comforting kiss, long enough for the tension to melt from Lisa's
shoulders as she wrapped her arms around Rosé's waist. When Rosé drew back, she smiled at Lisa
and stroked her face.

"Well, how about it we do it together as a team, you and me? I'll get my laptop and we'll do some
browsing together. It could be fun to do on the couch while Ella watches Frozen for the millionth
time."

"Hey, Frozen is good though!"

"That's because you're not tired of it yet."

Lisa huffed but then her eyes softened. "I like the idea of doing it together, baby. But I'm paying,
okay? I've still got money—"

Rosé put a finger to her lips. "Let's both pool in."

"But...but I wanted to treat you, I gotta be the one to pay."

"Says who?"

"It's the right thing to do. When you want to treat someone, you don't ask your girlfriend to go
halfsies," Lisa frowned.

Rosé smirked and leaned to whisper in her ear. "Well you certainly don't go halfsies when you're
treating me in bed."

She giggled when Lisa stuttered. "Lisa, I just want us to have a fun time together, I don't care who
pays. But if you really don't want me to steal your thunder, I'll let you do as you please okay? Just
don't stress too much, no need to go somewhere big and fancy."

"But I want to have the best of the best for you!"

"The best of the best doesn't have to be some bomb-ass expensive restaurant. We're past the
impressions stage. I'm happy spending time with you at even the cheapest ramen shop."

Lisa didn't look convinced but she sighed. "Okay then. Just one thing though: I'm not letting you
choose some place common for our date. It's gotta be romantic and with candles and maybe some
guitar playing...you can see the lights from the city...let me woo you, Rosie. I want to do this."

Rosé laughed. "Alright, but just so you know, you do that already every day."

Lisa smiled. "I like the sound of that." Without warning she took off running. "Last one to the
couch will have to add 'poop' to their contact name on the phone!"

"Hey!"

Rosé rolled her eyes but couldn't help but follow her laughing girlfriend as she tore into the living
room to join Ella who complained loudly about the ruckus interrupting her cartoon show.
>

"So...I'm assuming things didn't go so well with Lisa?" Jisoo said as she ran her hand along Jennie's
side. In the dim light of the room, Jennie's body's outline fit perfectly against her palm, the skin
still warm from their recent bout of exertion.

"What makes you think that?" Jennie grunted, eyes closed.

Jisoo smiled. "You were...aggressive, earlier."

Jennie's eyes snapped open and she hurriedly propped herself up on the pillow. "Did I hurt you?"

"Jendeuk, I simply meant you were more dominant than usual, so I assumed you had some
aggression to work through. I'm fine, and I'm here if you want to talk."

Jennie sighed and flopped on the pillow again. "You're scarily perceptive sometimes but yes,
you're right of course. She... she didn't want to go to Rkive."

"Ah I see." Jisoo scooted closer. "Do we need to have another intervention?"

Jennie huffed. "No, we worked things out this time." When Jisoo didn't reply, Jennie relented.
"Well sort of. I just didn't push her more about it but I washed my hands of helping her set up the
date too. I was...disappointed and frustrated."

"It's natural. I'm a little disappointed too, it would have been an opportunity. But it's their date, we
can't force them to go against their wishes so...we'll have to find another way to snoop on
Jinyoung." Jisoo cupped her face and kissed Jennie soundly on the lips. "Good job Jendeukie."

"For what?"

Jisoo smiled in the dark. "For not forcing your wishes on Lisa when she said no and not running
away or backing up in a corner. Yes you might not have ended on good terms, but there's always
tomorrow to make up. I think you've learned a lot since last time so again, well done. I'm proud of
you."

Jennie hid her pleased grin in her pillow. "Yeah well. We're still back to square one with that snake
now." She sat up as a sudden memory hit her. "Oh, I was supposed to call Somi to call Dahyun
because Momo—we met Momo by the way— told me she's worried about Dahyun. Because she
hasn't seen her anywhere near Rkive these past few days."

Jisoo sat up, frowning as Jennie switched on the lamp and reached for her phone.

"Why doesn't she call Dahyun herself?"

"Because she's a prick who didn't get herself a Jisoo to teach her how to be a better person," Jennie
replied as she texted hurriedly, oblivious to Jisoo's grin. "I hope Mimi's still awake. Ah what am I
saying, if she's already asleep by now on a summer night, the world is ending."

Her phone pinged only seconds later. "There we go! Okay, she said she'll call her. I hope
everything is okay."

Jisoo leaned against her and kissed her shoulder. "I hope so too. I underestimated Jinyoung. He's
shadier than I thought."

>
There was a phone ringing nearby, and it sounded just like her ringtone.

Dahyun's head jerked up, searching for the source of the sound even though she could see nothing
through her blindfold.

She didn't even attempt to move her hands—they stung like a thousand angry bees at the slightest
movement, still very raw and tender after Jackson had been done with his wicked set of
instruments.

Even remembering the torture just now made Dahyun hiss in pain.

"Now who is it this time, I wonder. I need to remember to charge it."

Dahyun tasted blood in her mouth and instinctively shrank away from the approaching footsteps,
her nose catching a whiff of the familiar cologne that now invaded her fitful sleep.

"Ah, I see you were woken up," Jinyoung said.

"What day?" she rasped when he stopped in front of her.

She always asked every time he came in, but he never replied. It was curious how he seemed to be
the one tending to her but Dahyun was too tired to think of the reason. She had lost all sense of
time, being kept in the dark cell different from the torture room, with only a single lightbulb
illuminating the room. Whatever room they were keeping her in turned hot during the day but cold
at night, to the point that she was sweating one moment and shivering the next.

"Water," she croaked when Jinyoung stepped back with the blindfold in hand. She didn't know
why they bothered to blindfold her, but it seemed to be some sick power play on Jinyoung's part.

"I'll get you some in a moment. Let's see who's calling at this time of night and interrupting your
beauty sleep," Jinyoung sighed, making a big show of picking up. "Just as I was leaving too."

He held up her phone, which always sat on a table close by, and checked the screen. "Somi with
the flower emoji. Oh I know her, I think. Isn't she one of your friends, the dancer one? Her dad is
that ex soldier isn't he?"

Dahyun jerked in her seat, hissing. "Leave her out of this!"

"As you wish." Jinyoung shrugged and swiftly disconnected the call. Dahyun slumped in her seat,
out of relief or grief, she wasn't sure.

What would Jinyoung had done if she asked to speak with Somi anyway?

No, it was better that Somi wasn't aware and wouldn't get involved—Jinyoung was dangerous to
deal with. But at least, Dahyun had the grim satisfaction that her friends cared, that they probably
had noticed something was up and they were turning suspicious, just like she had told Jinyoung.

But was that a good thing? Jinyoung didn't seem bothered at all that her phone got texts and calls,
and he routinely informed her when Momo texted, which seemed to be a recent occurrence.
Dahyun had to sit in agonising pain as Jinyoung gleefully read her the frantic messages Momo
sent:

-Dahyun, pls I know you don't want to talk but I just need to know you're ok.

-Have you eaten?

-Don't work too hard.

-Be careful. I'm only a text or call away, ok?

-pls pls just call me when you can.

Very clingy, isn't she, Jinyoung had remarked. Dahyun merely hung her head so he wouldn't see the
tears stinging her eyes, because despite everything, Momo was looking out for her.

But then again she wasn't sure about what was real anymore: maybe Jinyoung was making it all up
as an elaborate ploy to raise her hopes up and toy with her when inevitably nobody showed up to
save her. Her spirits sunk lower and lower and visions swam in front of her eyes, a symptom of her
dehydration and malnutrition.

Sometimes Momo was looking at her in concern, sometimes she was screaming and frothing at the
mouth; at other times it would be Chaeyoung or Somi, or her mother. She missed her family
desperately. Her heart ached for not mending her relationship with them sooner. If she was going to
die, she would die with that biggest regret of all.

She wasn't sure why Jinyoung hadn't let her go, almost as if he expected to keep her like some
wretched pet.

"Water. Please," Dahyun whispered.

"You won't get to go to the bathroom until morning," Jinyoung warned as he poured her a glass.
Watching the water pouring from the jug had Dahyun licking her cracked lips in anticipation.

"Then just let me go entirely. I don't get why I'm still here, you jerk," Dahyun slurred, her trail of
thought cut off as Jinyoung fitted the cup to her mouth and tipped it so she could drink.

"You're here because I think you can be a useful catalyst for my plans. I've been looking for
something like you," Jinyoung said simply, like he always did, but Dahyun never understood.

The phone started ringing again but Jinyoung merely let it ring as he sat in the chair in front of
Dahyun, looking every bit as put together as usual.

"Feel like spilling some more about Tiger King?"

Dahyun gritted her teeth.

After pulling out her third fingernail, she had given in, the pain too excruciating to bear, to the
point of blinding her. She had prayed to mercifully pass out but nothing happened, her body
refused to shut down.

In order to stop the torture, Dahyun spilled bits and pieces that she knew, doing her utmost not to
name Momo as the other main investigator. She was half glad that Momo had expressed no interest
in joining her investigations into Rkive. But Jinyoung was still determined to get more out of her,
still not done with his ruthless tactics to wrangle information out of her.

"I have nothing else to tell you," Dahyun choked out. "How much longer are you going to keep me
here?"

"Until I wrap up my business and get Tiger King."

"You're mad."
He smiled tightly. "We all have our little obsessions, wouldn't you say? I just want to bring back
what is rightfully mine."

"Yours," Dahyun repeated. Wracking her hazy mind, the pieces slipped and brushed, connecting
painstakingly. "Ah, so I was on to something. JYP senior did create Tiger King. It's your legacy."

"You're clever, Dahyun," Jinyoung said, "but everyone underestimates you and shuns you, don't
they? They only realise your value once you're no longer with them. You're always lurking around
innocuous, observing and picking up information, but I see you. That's why I can't let you go, not
for the foreseeable future at least. You're valuable to me."

"And after you let me go?" Dahyun said roughly. "You know I'll talk somehow. You can't expect
me to just hold my tongue." She had to know her fate, even if it meant a grisly ending but it was
better than wondering endlessly, with her thoughts chasing each other around in her head in a loop.

"If you valued your life more, you might be inclined to do that. Keep quiet I mean," Jinyoung said
quietly. "If you love your family, you might want to do that, especially."

Dahyun gave a nasty chuckle. "The fact you're trying to intimidate me means you're hiding
something. And you want me to keep quiet? How am I going to to explain my absence? And my
injuries?"

"I'm the CEO of JYP pharma, Dahyun, one of the largest companies in Seoul and once a prime
player in restoring the country's economy alongside Samsung and SK and Hyundai," Jinyoung
said. "You think countries and governments are built on honesty and nicety? That's what they want
you to think. But let me tell you, for greatness to be achieved, you have to break some bones along
the way."

"You're saying I'm disposable. I'm just a by-product, a stepping stone."

"A terrible waste, I admit," Jinyoung sighed. "Already three days have passed yet look at you, still
quite sharp to keep up. I'm sincerely sorry it had to be you, Dahyun. But you're only a small gear in
the machine to keep it working. If it's any consolation, you're not the only one."

He leaned forward. "But I'm merciful. Which is why, I'm giving you the option of going free if
you're able to hold your tongue. As to your absence, we'll come up with something. I'll even pay
for any bills."

His lies disgusted her but it was a struggle to speak so she kept silent, conserving what little
strength she had to glare balefully at him.

He leaned forward and tipped her chin up with his hand but she turned her face away, making him
grip her jaw tightly to the point of pain and wrenched her face to look at him, holding her
apprehensive gaze with his hard stare.

"You have your whole life ahead of you, Dahyun. Your hand will heal. Run away and forget about
this. I can help you."

His voice was soft and reassuring, so temptingly soft, enough to have Dahyun shiver and for a split
second actually consider his offer. But the vice grip pinching her face and the memory of his
hideous shark smile as Jackson pried out her nail as she screamed herself hoarse wrenched her out
her momentary lapse and she shook her head violently, his touch nauseating her. Spurred by a
sudden burst of hatred, Dahyun straightened and met his unflinching gaze head-on.

"I don't care if you kill me," she said, quaking in her seat, "but people have been hurt by you and
your father and other horrible people for long enough. I'm a nobody, like you said, but I know
people out there care for me. And if they care that I die, then you can just kiss your stupid precious
Tiger King goodbye, because they won't stop until they finish you."

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Brave but foolish words. No wonder Jackson took a liking
to you. You're his favourite kind of toy. The stubborn stupid ones are his type, you see, because he
likes a challenge to wear them down. He was awfully grumpy his fun got cut short." Jinyoung
stood up, blindfold in hand. "Time to sleep now. I'll see you in the morning."

"Wait!" Dahyun managed to say, desperate to extend the time without the blindfold on. She
swallowed, choosing her words carefully. "W-when you get Tiger King...I want to see him."

If she was going to die, she wanted to see the reason for all this madness and pain.

Jinyoung smiled so wide Dahyun thought his face would split in two.

"It would be my pleasure to introduce you," he assured as he secured the blindfold back in place.

Her phone rang on and on, long after he left.

 Trouble in Paradise
Chapter Summary

previously: chanyeol is warned about snooping around too much, chaelisa discuss date
locations, jennie asks somi to contact dahyun on behalf of momo, dahyun is still
jinyoung's hostage, they have a chat and she asks to see tiger king.

The dream sequence went like this:

the chiming of a clock woke Lisa up. She heaved and coughed as though she had been submerged
underwater to the point of running out of oxygen, heart thudding like cannon fire. she had been
lying on a pavement somewhere, and people were beating her senseless, the blows cruel and
relentless, and she had been helpless to stop them. but more terrifying was the fact that when she
turned to look at the people beating her, they all stared back, wearing her face, yellow eyes glaring
balefully.

and that's when terror seized her and she woke up.

but her reprieve didn't last long as invisible arms slammed her to a chair and gagged her whilst she
struggled to escape, arms bound behind her back. Blood splattered everywhere (where was it even
coming from?) and they pulled a hood over her head as she screamed around the gag in her
mouth.

she thought she had left it all behind but they had caught up to her again. There truly was no
escape from the past. She thrashed furiously but the ropes only kept tightening around her until
she could no longer feel her limbs

then just as suddenly, the hood was ripped off and Lisa came face to face with herself, eyes
flashing yellow. Lisa tried to scream but no sound came out.

the other lisa only gave a single cruel smirk before she pulled her fist back and then she was
pounding her like no tomorrow, battering her face, her body, teeth rattling in her head as her nose
spurted fountains of blood and Lisa vomited with every kick and punch to the ribs, a gush of putrid
yellow acid splattering to the ground.

and Lisa could only sit there and take it, shouting herself hoarse but nobody came to save her. and
how could they? nobody could stop the monster that snarled and snapped beneath her skin, itching
for release.

she wanted to black out and fade away but the pain kept coming, rivers of blood pooling around
her legs and rising up as high as her shin as the other lisa beat her to a pulp and mangled her body
with her bloody fists as she splashed around in the sea of blood.

then the other lisa tipped her chair back with a powerful flying kick to Lisa's chest and she fell
back with a soundless scream. the other lisa tossed a cloth over her face and then the water started
to seep in, liquid dampness that had Lisa gasping gurgling and drowning as she thrashed and
squirmed....
she awoke with a cough and a heave, her heart pounding like cannons mid-siege with the vivid
echoes of her terrified screams still ringing in her ears.

then she noticed her clothes were soaked and the sheets on her bed were drenched clean.

Rosie, where was Rosie?

and then the powerful smell of fuel reached her nose and Lisa reeled. she was covered in
gasoline!

and then in the corner of the room, a figure cloaked in shadows stood, watching her, a smoking
cigarette between their fingers. Lisa couldn't see their face or make out who they were, but
somewhere deep in her bones, she knew: it was the same shadow of fear that whispered in her ear,
the shadow who once owned her, and the terror mounted.

"no no no this isn't happening you're gone, you can't hurt me, it's over," Lisa whispered but the
shadow didn't reply as it dropped the cigarette directly in a puddle of gasoline.

a wall of fire immediately bellowed out, rushing towards Lisa to engulf her with a roar.

Lisa leapt out of bed, fear transforming to anger as she frantically scanned the plain dank room for
Rosé. "where's Rosie? what have you done with her?" she thundered, but the blazing inferno
drowned out her shouting.

movement behind Lisa had her spin on the spot and give chase: out through a passage and into a
horribly familiar bleak corridor lit up by fluorescent light tubes that sparked and sputtered. at the
end of the corridor, a figure in white stood still, their back to Lisa, looking out into the darkness
beyond.

but this time Lisa recognised him right away: she knew that white labcoat anywhere, with that grey
thinning hair, that tall stature and she knew the round rimmed glass he'd be wearing and the grey
stubble he'd have on his face.

"M-Marco," Lisa choked out, terrified of what she'd see once he turned but desperate to see his
face again. "Marco?"

he didn't turn but bolted off like a horse. Lisa bounded after him, shouting his name as she ran
through the maze of corridors and soon, the hounds that infiltrated her nightmares appeared: big
black dogs with snapping teeth, transforming into hulking shadows that rolled after her like
oncoming waves, devouring everything in their path.

and Lisa ran for her life, heart pounding like it was about to burst out of her chest. she screamed as
the shadows fell on top of her, burying her alive as she cried and shouted in vain, because nobody
heard or was going to come and save her.

she sank through the muffled murky darkness, pummelled by invisible fists from all directions and
her brain was on fire, everything was fire and pain as she drowned....

"Lisa! Lisa wake up!"

Lisa came to with a huge heave, finally and properly awake as she gulped lungfuls of air and
flopped on her back, still shaking with her face wet as she sobbed. Rosé was leaning over her,
distraught. In the doorway stood Ella, wide-eyed in her nightdress and clutching Lego close to her
chest while Leo huddled at her feet.
"Ro...Ros...I...I..." Lisa choked out. She shrank away when Rosé reached out to touch her, her body
still thrumming like a livewire. Rosé withdrew her hand, failing to hide her hurt expression.

"It's okay, it's okay baby, it's just a bad dream. It's over now. I'm here, you're safe," Rosé soothed.
She sounded breathless, her face anguished as she looked down at her. "You were thrashing so
hard. I couldn't wake you up."

"You were shouting really loudly," Ella put in, cautiously approaching the bed. "Was it a
nightmare? I hate those."

"I...yes...I'm, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Lisa panted, still fighting to breathe, still unable to wipe
away the feeling of the hounds ripping her skin off with their white razor sharp teeth.

"It's okay. You gave us a little fright is all," Rosé said. She patted Ella's back. "Run along,
sweetheart, Lisa is tired and needs her rest, and so do you."

"Will you be okay?" Ella asked Lisa shrewdly. "I can give you Flora."

"What?" Lisa said, dazed. Rosé steered Ella out of the room.

"Go sleep honey, I'll take care of Lisa, don't worry. It's just a bad dream, like what I have."

"You don't scream so loud."

Ella finally went away and Rosé turned back to Lisa, who was rocking back and forth in distress in
the middle of the bed while she clutched her knees.

"Not again, not again, not again," she mumbled rapidly under her breath. She didn't dare look at
Rosé, fearing that her eyes were still that hateful yellow and that any second now, Rosé would see
them and run for the hills. "Rosie, did I hit you?"

"No don't worry about—"

"Tell me the truth," Lisa rasped harshly.

"A...A little before I woke up but don't worry, you didn't hurt me, you were just thrashing around.
I'll be fine," Rosé hastened to reassure when Lisa held her head. "Let me get you some water."

Lisa shook her head, her mind racing. "No...no I...I need Jennie."

"What?" Rosé was confused. "Baby, I don't think she—"

"I have to call her. I need to," Lisa whispered, curling into a cocoon. She squeezed her eye shut but
try as she might she couldn't shake off the terrible shadow of dread that had settled over her
shoulders, like an icy grip. "I need...."

"We'll see her in a few hours. It's okay, you're safe—"

"No I'm not!" Lisa burst out, startling Rosé. "Nobody is safe! Not while I'm here! I can't stay right
now, I need to go!"

"Lisa, it's the middle of the night. Where are you going to go?" Rosé tried again, bewildered.

"I'm sorry Rosie, not right now. I can't. I'm sorry," Lisa choked out, shoving on her shirt and
hopping into her pants, "I need Jennie."
>

Jennie's phone rang, jolting her out of her peaceful sleep and making her curse because she forgot
to turn it off after texting Somi.

Blearily, she reached for it on the bedside table, nearly knocking it over. When the screen lit up, it
almost blinded her but when she spotted Lisa's name, Jennie's eyes snapped wide open.

"Lisa?"

"Nini." Lisa's broken voice had Jennie immediately on the alert.

"Lisa, what's going on? What is it?"

"Jen?" Jisoo stirred and sat up, blinking sleepily. Even Dalgom stirred in his basket. Jennie merely
squeezed Jisoo's hand.

"I...I had a bad dream," Lisa said, distressed. She sounded like she had been crying. "It was
really bad, I was so scared..."

"A bad dream?" And then realisation dawned. "Shit. Who was it?"

"H...him."

Aware of Jisoo listening in, Jennie said: "the one in white?"

"And...and the other one."

Jennie sucked in a breath. The mysterious shadow man that tormented Lisa.

"Jen, what do we do? I thought I was past that. Why did it come back now?"

"It's okay, Lisa. Unnie's got this," Jennie said soothingly, taking charge to quell the faint but
familiar thread of fear from taking root. She needed to move, to keep moving and not stop at all or
else her thoughts would take over. "Meet me downstairs in ten, okay? I'll have a taxi come pick us
up and take us home. It's gonna be okay, I promise."

"Okay," Lisa said, none too convinced.

"See you soon." Jennie jumped out of bed the moment the call disconnected.

"Whoa whoa what's up? Is someone hurt? Do we need an ambulance?" Jisoo exclaimed as she also
hastened to stand. "I'm confused. Are Lisa and Rosé okay?"

"No it's just...a family emergency, Chu." Jennie went back to the bed and kissed Jisoo soundly on
the lips to pacify her girlfriend. "I'll explain in the morning, but I gotta go now."

"I'll come with you. I'll get the SUV out—"

"No. Stay put." Jennie grimaced at her curt tone and quickly apologised. "I'm sorry I just...this is
between me and Lisa. I'll see you later."

"Oh...okay," Jisoo said, crestfallen. "Be safe, let me know when you make it back."

"I will." And having dressed, Jennie darted out of the bedroom with her heart clenched with regret.
>

They didn't speak throughout the drive, mostly because of the taxi driver but also because Jennie
just didn't know what to say. Lisa sat rigid in her seat, flinching with every loud noise.

Wordlessly, Jennie slid her hand across the seat, nudging Lisa's own hand. Lisa jumped and nearly
hit her head against the car roof's interior but once she calmed down, she gripped on to Jennie's
hand tightly. Jennie didn't complain, not even when it hurt.

It was a small price to pay to comfort her shaken sister. There was no words she could say to
reassure her, only the promise of temporary relief once they made it back to Vault.

It was still pitch-black, around 4am, when they arrived at their gym. Jennie turned on the lights as
well as the new AC that dispelled the sticky heat. She sent a silent thank you to Jisoo.

Thinking of Jisoo only reminded her of the many secrets she was still hiding and how she now had
to figure out a reasonable excuse for Lisa's meltdown.

Focus.

She turned to Lisa, wordlessly taking her jaw in her hand and pulling her face down to see her eyes
better. On cue Lisa's eyes flashed yellow, then turned brown again in a blink. Jennie would have
said she had imagined it if she didn't know better.

"Rosie didn't see anything, did she?"

"If she did, she didn't say anything," Lisa croaked, hunched up over herself like a frail old man, so
different from the loud cocky and boisterous girl Jennie was accustomed to.

"Right, let's get to it then."

The familiar sight of the equipment lying around helped calm down Jennie's heart only slightly.
She rued her distraction that let Lisa slip up on her rigorous training—Jennie had grown neglectful
and now they were paying the price.

But thankfully, they had a quick fix for this problem that Jennie was hoping still worked,
something Hwangssabu had done in those early days when they brought Lisa to the Vault. And
Lisa remembered too, because she had not spoken a word or asked what Jennie intended to achieve
by bringing them back home, but her eyes kept darting to the row of forlorn punching bags
hanging, waiting.

"Don't forget to wrap your hand," Jennie said softly as she put down the travel bag she had hastily
grabbed. "Need help?"

"I can do it." Lisa waved her cast arm. "Can....can we take this off? Please?" she pleaded, her eyes
haunted like those of a wild animal pacing in its cage.

Jennie nodded. "Maybe it's time."

After some careful slicing, the cast was finally off and Lisa flexed her hand. She tied her hair back
in the usual ponytail than wrapped her fists in tape and stepped up to her favourite punching bag,
rolling her shoulders back. She lifted her hands up to her face, one foot out in preparation, then cast
one final glance at Jennie. There was fear in her eyes, but there was also something darker
shimmering in their infinite depths.
Jennie nodded, giving the go-ahead. "Knock yourself out."

And then Lisa let loose.

>

Hours later, Jennie was roused to the sound of a steady THUMP THUMP THUMP rhythm as Lisa
had still not tired out and kept hitting the punching bag. It was small wonder that it hadn't been
punched into oblivion by then.

She looked at her phone. 8:10 am. She had gotten lazy these days and the guilt weighed down on
her even more now that she was back at the Vault, where Hwangssabu's spirit was strongest. He'd
probably be doing somersaults in his grave seeing her take her sweet time to wake up, especially
when Lisa needed her.

No, a stronger voice said at the back of her head, and it sounded suspiciously like Jisoo, he'd be
glad you had a good, restful sleep to wake up refreshed and ready to tackle the problem.

Jennie sighed and sat up, stretching. The bench she had lain on was hard but despite the discomfort
and her racing thoughts, she still had managed to nod off.

Lisa however, showed no signs of stopping, her shoulders and shirt drenched in sweat. Parts of her
wrap around her knuckles was frayed, dirtied and unravelling, but Lisa surged forward without
noticing, punching and punching without faltering, intent solely on cleansing her mind.

Jennie winced with each powerful hit, but she didn't even dream of interrupting her sister right now
—Lisa was in the midst of an important and urgent therapy session. It transported Jennie back to
the time Lisa had first arrived at the Vault, how Hwangssabu had been quick and clever enough to
figure out what Lisa needed and had helped her and stayed by her side, even when Jennie had been
afraid.

But Hwangssabu wasn't here now; it was up to Jennie to support her sister through her crisis.

The best way to have Lisa vent out was to let her punch to exhaustion. In this unusual state of
mind, Lisa blocked out everything and could go on for hours at a time, hitting and punching to
keep her terrors at bay until they had significantly retreated back into the recesses of her mind.

Jennie took the opportunity to reflect on what happened and what to do going forward. But before
she could do much thinking, her phone buzzed nearby and in a flash she remembered she had
promised to contact Jisoo.

Jennie hastily ran outside to escape the deafening thumps and checked her inbox. 30 messages,
calls and voicemails, 12 from Jisoo, 18 from Rosé, both with varying degrees of urgency and
concern.

Jennie sighed and leaned against the wall, her mind whirring with excuses she could spew. In the
end, the best and simplest response was to give them a watered down version of the truth.

Feeling slightly more confident, Jennie texted Jisoo but only to receive a call mid-text. She picked
up, bracing for a round of scolding.

"Hey, uhm, I'm really really sorry I didn't call, I promise I was going to—"

"It's okay Jendeuk, I assumed you were tired and too caught up with Lisa as well," Jisoo
reassured on the other side. Jennie heard her exhale. "I just got a little worried."
"It's understandable, the way I ran out on you." Jennie took a deep breath. "I'm really sorry Chu but
I promise, we're both okay. It's just...I'll explain when I come over later. Thank you for being
patient with me."

"Shall I come pick you up instead? And what about Lisa? Rosé is here if she wanna talk—"

"Lisa? Baby, are you okay?" Rosé jumped in immediately. "Talk to me, sweetheart."

Jennie winced to hear Rosé's worried voice. "Rosé hey. Uh, Lisa can't come to the phone right now
but she's okay, working through her uh, bad dream. I'll explain when we meet you guys. We should
be okay to meet in the afternoon or so."

"Oh...but what happened exactly? I never saw her freak out so bad and it was just a
nightmare...right?"

Jennie took a deep breath. "Night terrors. You could say it's a symptom of PTSD, because of...from
her past. She would get them before when she was younger and now something must have
triggered it again. Did she mention being stressed at all?"

"Uhm...not that I remember..."

"It's nothing to worry about," Jennie reassured, hoping it was true. "A good strenuous workout
should help her get rid of all the stress that accumulated and could have triggered it. That's what
she's doing right now. She did it plenty times before, and I think it happened because she had
slowed down."

"But...but if she doesn't get rid of the stressor, it could happen again."

Jennie gritted her teeth, inwardly cursing that Lisa's girlfriend happened to be sharp and sceptical.

"Yeah, but I'l talk to her and get to the bottom of it, don't worry. Can I talk to Jisoo?"

"Wait but—"

"Yes Jen?" Jisoo said immediately and Jennie almost heaved a sigh of relief that her girlfriend
happened to be both responsive and eager to talk with her.

"I'll talk to you soon. Give Dalgom some kisses from me."

"I will. It was strange waking up without you," Jisoo said, sounding like she was pouting.

"I missed our morning routine too," Jennie murmured, hoping Rosé wasn't lingering around.
"Definitely down to catch up later."

"I like the sound of that. Have you got breakfast sorted out?"

"Yeah yeah don't worry about it. I'll do some quick workout myself, been neglecting lately. See
you, Chu."

"See you Jendeuk. I love you," Jisoo said softly, her tone snagging on Jennie's conscience.

"Me too," Jennie whispered but she was sure Jisoo had heard and for now, it was enough.

When she went back inside, she passed by Lisa without a word and went to rummage in their attic
to sort out breakfast, coming up with a couple cup noodles that hadn't yet expired.
Having grown used to Jisoo's more hearty, appetising fare, Jennie couldn't help but wrinkle her
nose now, wondering how she and Lisa were able to sustain themselves for so long. They had
merely been existing before, not living.

She heated them up then carefully brought the cups down the step ladder, set them down on a
bench and went to Lisa's side.

"Wanna eat?" she yelled over the thumps.

Lisa noticed her but didn't miss a beat as she shook her head. Her bangs were drenched in sweat as
she gritted her teeth. The punching bag had a noticeable indent from Lisa's repetitive hits in the
exact same spot.

"Come on. I got noodles. You deserve a break now."

Another shake of the head, a more firmer set of the mouth was the response she got.

"At least let me check your eyes."

Lisa frowned but started to slow down gradually. Jennie went to the bench and waited for Lisa to
join, her shirt sodden as she flopped down next to her and looked directly at her sister.

"All good," Jennie declared after a moment of deliberation. "You're done."

"For now," Lisa rasped, her voice hollow.

"Well, Hwangssabu never said there was an end either," Jennie shrugged nonchalantly, handing
Lisa a cup of steaming noodles. "Easy, it's still hot."

Lisa took the cup but didn't start eating right away. "How are you taking this so calmly?"

"You want me to say 'I told you so'? Because I can definitely do that...but it wouldn't help us much
either," Jennie shrugged.

Lisa nodded meekly then quietly started slurping the noodles as Jennie leaned back and surveyed
the empty gym. She spoke up when Lisa was halfway through her second cup.

"And besides, I'm the one at fault," Jennie said quietly. "I haven't been pushing you to keep up the
rigorous regimen, but I didn't think something like this would happen so quickly. It's not like you
gave up training entirely...but compared to what we were doing before...I guess that drastic change
didn't go down well."

"You guess?" Lisa said, the ghost of a smile on her face. She let out a terrific caveman yawn out of
nowhere, almost upsetting the noodle cup she had still been eating. "Sorry."

"Better head up and rest, you'll need it. I'll handle Rosé and Jisoo later. They called by the way,
and Rosé sent her love."

When Lisa's shoulders slumped at the mention of Rosé, Jennie just had to ask: "Trouble in
paradise?"

"No. Everything's great," Lisa sighed, "just peachy. I just...I just don't like keeping secrets from her.
It's eating me up on the inside." She turned to Jennie. "Jen, could it be that's why...?"

"Perhaps. Is there anything else bothering you?"

"Well, the fact there's someone keeping an eye on the condo, and with my arm being hurt by that
guy, and Jinyoung possibly being connected to all of this and being all shady with that Jisoo dating
rumour thing..."

"Your arm didn't hurt just now, did it?"

"Oh nah it's fine," Lisa said, flexing her hand. "Feels good to use it properly again. It doesn't click
anymore either." She lapsed into brooding silence, quietly swirling the soup in her cup.

"We'll get to the bottom of that car," Jennie reassured at length. "I'll go speak to them and clear
things up. Jisoo and I will look into Jinyoung too, just you wait. As for keeping secrets from
Rosé...believe me, I'm just as torn with Jisoo."

She stiffened when Lisa touched her shoulder and Lisa immediately withdrew her hand.

"Nini, we gotta tell them, and soon," Lisa said quietly.

Jennie bit her lip. "But what if they can't handle it? What if knowing puts them in danger?"

"They're in as much danger right now, being seen with us," Lisa said with uncharacteristic wisdom,
"but I think they care enough to stay. They won't run away."

Jennie stood up and turned away, not trusting herself to face Lisa. "How can you be sure they
won't run away when they learn about you?"

"Maybe you don't trust me because you still fear me, deep down," Lisa said evenly from behind
her. She sounded weary, sad even. "But I know Rosie and Jisoo trust me. Whether they're right or
wrong to do so is another story, but I'll take what I can get for now. I'll risk it. They deserve to
know."

"When will you tell her?"

"I'll tell Rosie after our dinner date," Lisa said stoically, "if things will go wrong, I want to at least
have that one last good memory of our time together. When will you tell Jisoo?"

Cornered, Jennie sucked in a breath. She willed herself to stop running, had been urging herself to
slow down and let Jisoo catch her for a while now, but the fearful instinct to flee always spurred
her on and she found herself still running, despite Jisoo giving her plenty of chances to slow and
even stop.

"I don't know..." she said at last, turning to face Lisa. "I don't...I can't lose Jisoo."

Lisa smiled tightly. "So you'd rather she lives in ignorance as long as she stays with you? Isn't that
selfish?"

"So what if it is? She's the one good thing I have," Jennie retorted sharply, "is it so bad I don't want
to give up on her? Oh I know she probably won't run. I've told her bits and pieces about you and
she was never scared. I'm the one that's scared, so excuse me if we can't all be fearless like you,
Lisa."

"I'm not fearless," Lisa insisted, "I just think they deserve to know the truth. It's about trust. I trust
Rosie and Jisoo. Clearly, you still don't trust your own girlfriend—"

"You don't know shit about how much I trust Jisoo," Jennie snapped. "Fine, I'll tell her the day
after your stupid date as well. Happy? Is that what you wanted me to say all along?"
Lisa shrugged, making Jennie's blood boil worse.

"Don't you dare shrug at me—if you ruin this one precious good thing I call mine, this one small
thing that means the world to me, I won't ever forgive you," she growled. "I forgave you a lot of
things, but this, this would be unforgivable. Mark my words, Lisa-yah. Are we clear?"

"Crystal, Jennie," Lisa gritted. Jennie could have sworn her eyes flickered yellow.

>

They met at Matt's cafe and Jennie was grateful for the hustle and bustle of the morning that
anchored her in normalcy after Lisa's scare. She wanted to take her mind off her sister for a while
and catch up with Somi so after texting Somi to meet up, she had slipped out while Lisa had gone
up to the attic to sleep after showering.

Acting like everything was normal came to Jennie like second nature and she pushed all thoughts
of Lisa to the back of her head to focus on her time with Somi.

"You two are always with your girlfriends now. Even Irene, that granny has forgotten all about
me," Somi complained. "Except when she sends me disgusting cute pictures of her girlfriend and
her cats. It's Gi this and Gi that and do you think Gi would like this? or I think she'll like this shirt
more or I think I'll try this recipe for her tonight. At this rate, I'll get diabetes before summer is
gone. Just kill me already and spare me all that sugary sweetness, ugh!"

Jennie smiled as she ate a forkful of salad. "Short on attention, Mimi?"

"Starved," Somi sighed. "With all this heat, I barely get hugs too."

Jennie put her fork down and opened her arms invitingly. "Come here. Bring it on."

When Somi stared, Jennie merely chuckled loudly, which had Somi's eyes bug out even more but
she readily went in for the hug.

"Your girlfriend is doing God's work and turning you into a normal human being again," Somi
mumbled against Jennie, "I can't thank her enough."

"Was I that stunted before?"

"You're even joking more too!" Somi exclaimed. "Soon we'll have you snorting and guffawing like
the rest of us!"

"Just because I'm not a perpetual clown like you or Lisa doesn't mean I'm stunted."

"That's debatable, any normal person would have become a clown by osmosis!"

"Osmosis?" Jennie repeated, mystified.

"You know, hanging out with us. Being influenced. Us rubbing off on you."

Jennie rolled her eyes as Somi cackled but she would never admit how much she missed the
younger's goofiness at times when the world felt too heavy to lift and her shoulders hung uselessly
beneath the weight. Somi's prattling helped lighten up the load, distracting her from the constant
slew of problems life threw at her. There was a time when she tired of the constant chatter but
lately, she had discovered a newfound appreciation for humour.

"Momo didn't try to contact you did she?" Jennie said, bringing up the real reason she had met up
with Somi. "She seems worried that Dahyun's workplace sounds shady." She carefully refrained
from inserting herself in the narrative, wary that Somi might start questioning her involvement
which would complicate matters.

"I know it's weird but Dubu had a habit of going off the grid sometimes, if she's hustling for a
deadline, or when she's upset. She did that when the break up happened. It's a bit frustrating, we
couldn't always get a hold of her if we wanted to meet up. So don't worry too much. And if Momo
is pulling off some creepy stalker shit, tell her to get lost or I will personally kick her where the sun
don't shine. And even though she's a girl, that still hurts like hell, I guarantee it."

"She and Lisa are good now, Mimi," Jennie smiled, watching as Somi stuffed her face with food as
though she had been starving.

"She's still not good with me," Somi snorted. "And how come you're all buddy buddy again now?"

"I ran into her recently and...well, I thought she seemed to have changed."

"Define changed."

"Well not entirely redeemed, if that's what you're after, but you could say she's...trying?" Jennie
ventured.

"Not good enough," Somi sniffed. "Last she was at the Vault, she talked down to me, threatened
Lisa, and then had the audacity to talk smack to you as well, on top of utterly humiliating Dahyun.
So no, it's gonna take more than 'changed' to be okay with her. You oldies forgive and forget too
easily. Lisa especially. Like heck, I thought she was enemies with Seulgi but they became buddies
in 24 hours! So yeah, somebody's gotta keep the grudges around here or they'll stomp all over
you."

"Seulgi turned out to be nice."

"She's an exception. Momo is a jerk."

"I'd have to agree on that," Jennie sighed, "but she does seem to be worried about Dahyun."

"If she's so worried, she can go and talk to her herself," Somi said flatly.

"You're right of course, but...look, if Dahyun doesn't want to talk with her, you can't force them."

"So I'm supposed to be some mediator now? Dubu is better off without that jerk in her life."

"I agree, but I'm not asking you to mend their relationship. I'm just saying, if Dahyun reaches out to
you, let me know because Momo has gotten paranoid that something is up with her."

"She's being a creepy psycho, is what she's doing. I don't believe she cares about anyone except
herself," Somi snorted. Then she paused thoughtfully. "Tell you what, just because you're my
favourite unnie—don't tell Lisa—"

"My lips are sealed," Jennie said, making a zipping gesture.

"—why don't I go talk to her myself in person and put both of your minds at rest? I know where
she's working at, some place called Rkive, in Incheon. She did at least mention that."

"What about where she's living? Shouldn't you start from there?"

"I would but she never mentioned. I could ask Chaeyoung but I don't think Dubu told anyone."
Somi slurped her smoothie. "She could be funny like that. Chaeyoung told me she wasn't on best
terms with her family, something about them being disappointed with her choice of studies and that
their frigid relationship led Dahyun to be cagey about details of her life, like what she was up to
and where she was headed. That's why I'm not too worried about her being radio silent. She does it
all the time."

"Well I hope you're right and that Momo's paranoia is just that, unfounded fears. Keep me
updated," Jennie said. She flagged down Nayeon doing her rounds. "Can I get two bagels for the
road please? I know it's technically lunch time...but Lisa is going to wake up ravenous as a wolf."

"Of course! You don't have to ask Jen, you're part of the crew. You get perks," Nayeon smiled.

"Even if you've practically forgotten all about us in favour of a hottie," Yeri winked as she passed
them by and sailed away behind the counter.

"See, everyone thinks you're hanging out with Jisoo way too much," Somi teased.

"Leave her alone you little brat. What's going on between you and that Dahyo or whatever his
name is anyway," Nayeon said, smirking when Somi squirmed in her seat. "A little birdie told me
you've been hanging out a lot."

"His name's Daehwi, and we're just friends!" Somi said, her face pink.

"Rightttttttttt," Nayeon drawled, "well hurry up and do something about it then, because I've got a
bet riding on you two getting together before summer is out. I've already made some nice money
off Lisa, as well as Jennie and her girl—"

"You were betting on me?" Jennie said, aghast.

"Oh sweetie, you think you were immune to our bets? That's adorable," Nayeon tittered as she
nimbly collected plates cleared up their table. "Jeongyeon and Joy got tired of betting on broken
glasses and you were just there, presented on a silver platter with a bow. Of course we bet on you.
Somi here helped give us updates."

Jennie rounded on a petrified Somi.

"You little—"

"I can explain!" Somi squeaked. "We missed seeing you around okay?!"

Nayeon swept away, snickering whilst Jennie shook her head.

"Just because you're my favourite dongsaeng—don't tell Lisa—"

"My lips are sealed," Somi said, making a zipping gesture.

"—I'll let it slide. Just this one time," Jennie added with a warning note in her voice.

"You love me," Somi smirked, not in the least bit intimidated, "you'll always let it slide. You can't
help it, I'm just that love-able."

Jennie couldn't help but smile.

 Pizza Time
Chapter Summary

previously: lisa had a meltdown after the return of an old nightmare, jenlisa argue over
long-held secrets, jennie and somi hang out, somi offers to go Rkive and check on
Dahyun.

Jisoo noticed something was up with the sisters once Lisa walked in. Jennie, who had been
wrapped around her on the couch with Dalgom snuggled on her side, stiffened for all of three
seconds before she peeled herself off Jisoo and stood up to go to her sister.

"Well, let's get this show on the road. Got lots of work to do," Jennie teased.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny Jen," Lisa retorted and then neither moved.

Jisoo turned from Jennie to Lisa, puzzled by their stilted attempts at conversation and how they
avoided each other's gazes.

"Is everything okay?" she asked bluntly—she wasn't one to beat about the bush after all. "I thought
you guys made up after your last little tiff."

"Just nerves Chu," Jennie said, elbowing her sister in the ribs. "Right, Lisa?"

"Yeah, yeah," Lisa chuckled feebly, rubbing the back of her neck. "I got a hot date to impress."

"And I'm nervous that this clown might embarrass herself in front of said hot date," Jennie added,
slapping Lisa's arm. "Well, let's get you ready then."

The tension was palpable, the very air itself stiff and brittle as both girls left the room. The space
between them as they walked out made Jisoo wince—she was sure she would have been able to
drive her SUV through.

She had assumed that they had resolved their latest argument about the dinner date restaurant
location but it seemed as though she had overestimated their ability to reconcile.

"Should I get involved?" Jisoo wondered out loud. She turned to Dalgom. "What do you think,
ahjussi? But then again, it's only a little disagreement. I had plenty with my sister and look at us
now—wait no bad example. But I mean, they're tight. Surely, it will pass? It's just a dinner date.
Maybe they're on their periods so they're extra irritated. But Jennie didn't use any pads..."

She frowned deeply, vaguely troubled that Jennie had managed to smoothly evade confronting
Lisa and managed to pretend that everything was fine, without Jisoo even twigging it.

"It's not that I don't trust her," Jisoo told Dalgom, who sat and stared at her, blinking every so often
as though he really was listening. "But...she keeps hiding and suppressing. I know it takes time to
open up and I don't want to push her but...I'm starting to really worry for her. And for Lisa."

Jennie had claimed Lisa's freakout was a symptom of her PTSD, likely triggered by a combination
of inner distress over something, but nothing that a good strenuous workout couldn't manage.
"I'm fine now," Lisa had shrugged when they met up again and clammed up when Rosé tried
asking. It had been strange to see Lisa so distant but thankfully, she soon was back to talking and
laughing and snuggling with Rosé as time passed.

Jisoo believed both girls wholly yet at the same time, the faintest trace of unease was starting to
form in her gut.

There was more to what Jennie said than she was letting on, and though Jisoo had gotten the bare
bones of Lisa's backstory, she badly wanted—needed—to know that Jennie and Lisa were safe. But
Jennie couldn't even bring herself to explain the full story, let alone guarantee their safety and from
what the little information she had gleaned, Jisoo had to admit that paranoia was slowly starting to
creep up on her, making her second guess people more than usual.

For instance, the day after Lisa's meltdown, Jennie had determinedly marched down to the
suspicious car that always seemed to be parked near the condo, vowing she was going to confront
the person and get to the bottom of the situation right away.

"I should have done this ages ago," Jennie had sighed as she prepared to go out. Jisoo's unease
seemed evident on her face because Jennie came and cupped her face.

"I'll be fine, Chu, it's just going to be a civil talk." She quirked her lips into a smile. "I can do civil,
I promise."

"Debatable," Jisoo teased back but she kissed her a little harder than usual before watching her
walk out. After an agonising eternity of fifteen minutes, Jennie returned looking quite relieved.

"Well?" Jisoo said anxiously. After Lisa's episode, her body seemed primed for an imminent threat
that she couldn't figure out.

"Apparently, it's a guy who used to live in the condo, but get this, his wife kicked him out recently—
he even showed me pictures and gave me his name, Kwang Soo-hyuk. His wife is Kwang Seo, do
you know her?"

"I'm not sure, I don't really know people in here. Pasta might," Jisoo said. "But come to think of it, I
think there was indeed a couple called Kwang living here."

"Anyway, he said he's sorry for the misunderstanding but he wants to get even with his wife
because he's suspecting she's having an affair and that's why he watches the building sometimes,
to see if she brings a lover back home."

"Isn't that still illegal? Stalking someone?"

"Not my business, not my problem," Jennie said promptly. "Not going to get involved in between
petty couples."

"Girl code, Jendeuk," Jisoo frowned.

Jennie shook her head. "No, it's called staying out of people's business. If things get ugly, I don't
want to get involved. I'm just glad it's nothing to do with us, at least, so we can forget about it."

Jisoo was less sure. "I don't know Jen...I still think that he shouldn't be doing that."

"Well, it's a closed case in my book and I don't have anything to do with him. We've got more stuff
to think about." Jennie moved towards her, eyes clouded hazy with lust and Jisoo felt the familiar
jolt of heat pooling down south. She soon forgot all about her fears when Jennie started kissing her
neck and just like that, obliterated all her worries.

After all, Jisoo knew Jennie to be even more sceptical and suspicious than herself. She trusted in
Jennie's judgement, like she trusted when Jennie told her she'd eventually explain about Lisa and
herself.

Yet that thread of unease always lingered at the back of her head.

Jisoo was jolted out of her reverie when Jennie and Lisa reappeared, with Lisa unconsciously
tugging at her pink tie, chewing on her lip and eyeing the door anxiously.

"We decided the restaurant together, but I do hope she'll enjoy herself," she said, almost to herself.
"I hope she'll like the food."

"You enjoy yourself too," Jisoo pointed out, "it takes two to have a dinner date."

Lisa cracked a weak smile. "Yeah."

Jisoo met Jennie's gaze and was curious to see her eyes were shuttered like windows. Jennie looked
like she was sending Lisa off to the gallows, not a date.

"Chu's right," Jennie said at last. "Don't forget to enjoy yourself. We'll take care of Ella so focus on
each other. When do you think you'll be back?".

"Oh uh I don't know...maybe like midnight? Or later?"

"Oh ho, bold are we?" Jisoo said sternly, taking Lisa by surprise. "Well as Rosé's friend, I'll need to
run over a few checks with you to make sure she's in safe hands."

"Uh...okay?"

Jisoo shook her head. "Lighten up, Lisa. I was kidding."

"Oh right right yeah," Lisa chuckled. "Sorry, am a little out of it."

"Well get your head in the game, it's game time soon."

"Yeah."

Jisoo couldn't understand what was happening with Lisa, whom she had never seen quite so broody
before. Jennie next to her merely had on a painful smile.

"Lisa, what's wro—"

A series of knocks on the door interrupted her and Jennie flew to answer without even checking
through the peephole.

"Hi guys!" Rosé smiled brightly, holding Ella's hand. "Well off you go then. Don't forget to brush
your teeth, I have your toothbrush and toothpaste in the bag. And Ella, be a good girl okay? I love
you."

"Moooomm stop embarrassing me!" Ella squirmed when Rosé gave her a quick peck on top of her
head. "You've been kissing me non-stop."

Rosé merely chuckled. "It's my job to embarrass you, darling. Now remember if anything happens,
call me, understand? You know my number. And I love you."
"I knowwwwwwwww, I love you too, go already!"

"El, didn't you get Flora?" Lisa asked, moving to crouch in front of Ella.

"Nope, I don't need her, I'm tough and old enough to sleep without her now," Ella said primly.
From behind her, Rosé winked and pulled out the bunny soft toy in question her purse. She quietly
handed it to Jisoo.

"Thanks so much for looking after Ella, you two," she said gratefully. "Don't let her walk all over
you, she's gotten over being shy, lately, haven't you?"

"You were always saying you're worried I'm too shy," Ella quipped.

"Hanging around Lisa certainly rubbed off on you," Rosé smiled fondly.

"Don't worry, it's no problem Pasta. You go and have fun. Jendeuk and Ella and I have got a very
busy date night ahead. Specifically involving pizzas, ice cream and Disney movies," Jisoo winked
as Ella whooped and clapped, tearing to the couch to greet Dalgom.

Rosé chuckled, turning quiet with awe and blushing when she took in Lisa standing and gaping
back at her, as though they were just now seeing each other.

"Holy bagels..." Lisa breathed, her eyes round. Ella giggled at her reaction and made loud kissing
noises but neither Lisa nor Rosé heard her.

"Hi stranger," Rosé said softly. "You look handsome."

Lisa turned a fetching shade of pink, matching the loose pink tie she had round the collar of her
billowing white button down shirt. Her hair was tied up in a half bun and she wore tight black
pants and shoes to complete the ensemble.

"Well, you look..." she scrunched up her face, thinking hard as the others waited, amused. "You
look...pulchritudinous."

"What?" said Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Ella from the couch.

"Beautiful. You look beautiful, Rosie," Lisa said softly, reverently tracing Rosé's figure with her
eyes. Rosé wore a little black dress that accentuated her long legs, with little black pumps. She had
on crimson lipstick and dark eyeliner, with her blonde hair (touched up only a mere day ago in
preparation for the date) in a low bun, with two strands hanging on either side of her face.

"Oh, thank you!" Rosé chuckled, pleased, "clearly, you've been making good use of your
dictionary." She held out her hand to Lisa, eyes sparkling. "Shall we?"

"Yes ma'am." Lisa took her hand, but not before turning to greet Ella one last time over her
shoulder. "Be good kiddo. Jen, don't let her talk Jisoo into giving her all the fizzy soda."

"Yes, and don't let her talk you into staying up past eleven," Rosé added. "Or having ten scoops of
ice cream."

"Leave it to me," Jennie grinned as Ella complained loudly and called Lisa a traitor. Jisoo felt her
spirits lift with that tiny interaction.

Lisa and Rosé smiled one more time then fixed their eyes on each other as they walked, almost
crashing into the wall next to the door as they did so.
"They're hopeless," Ella remarked amidst their embarrassed laughter.

"They are," Jennie smirked.

"The door is that way, lovebirds," Jisoo directed with an amused smile, "and try not to...undress
before you get to the restaurant," she added, making everyone gasp except Ella who clamoured to
understand what Jisoo said.

"Jisoo!" Rosé protested, blushing red as her lipstick.

"Hey I didn't say anything!"

"Go," Jennie urged, "have fun!"

>

Jisoo was dicing mangoes to go into the fruit salad for dessert when two arms wrapped around her
stomach and Jennie rested her chin on her shoulder, her body draped against Jisoo.

"Hey Jendeukie," Jisoo smiled before she went back to the task at hand. "Got bored of The Lion
King?"

Jennie sighed. "Ella's a sweet kid, but I was missing you. I think I'm getting too clingy. Is that bad?
I think it's bad."

"Never too clingy for me. You're finally living up to your name."

"Right." Jennie snuggled her, breathing in her scent deeply and lightly pressed some kisses against
her neck. "How long till pizza is here then?"

"Not very. Check the tracker on my phone."

"It's too far," Jennie mumbled, making Jisoo chuckle. She lapsed into silence as she worked, aware
that Jennie's silence meant something was on her mind. And soon enough, Jennie spoke up again.

"When are we going to have our own date?"

Jisoo smiled, imagining Jennie's cute pout. "Whenever and wherever it pleases you."

"So...if I say Jeju?"

"Love that. Jeju is great, there's a lot we can do. Have you ever been to Loveland?"

"The sex theme park?"

"I think you'd love it," Jisoo said, tongue firmly in cheek. "I've only ever been to Jeju once but we
do have our own property there."

"I forget you're loaded sometimes. Not that it's bad, I just don't want you to think I'm some gold
digger—"

"Jen, we've talked about this. If I want to spoil you, you're gonna let me, okay?"

"Yeah..."

"Where else would you want to go?"

"Uhm...some restaurant like—"

"No, think bigger. Bigger than Jeju, come on. Have you ever had some childhood dream
destination?"

Jennie took a little longer to reply this time as she thought carefully.

"Paris?" she ventured shyly. "City of love and all, you know. Cliché but...it looks nice in movies."

Jisoo almost cooed. "Taste. I've always wanted to visit. We could have dinner at the Eiffel Tower."

"We can?" Jennie asked in surprise. "There's a restaurant?"

"Yes. You just have to pay something extra and reserve well ahead."

"By something extra, you probably mean several hundred thousand won," Jennie snorted. "And
then some more for the actual food."

"Well, you're worth it."

Jennie groaned and pressed her forehead into Jisoo's shoulder, making the other girl laugh.

"What do I even say to that?" Jennie sighed. "You're too smooth sometimes."

"It's my skill," Jisoo smiled winningly as she dropped the mango cubes into the bowl then pulled
up a pineapple and started slicing it down the middle with little grunts. "Hey, wanna hear a fun fact
about pineapples?"

"Fire away."

"Pineapples are carnivores," Jisoo said gleefully.

"Oh boy," Jennie groaned. "I gotta ask...how?"

"You know that tingly feeling in your mouth or on your tongue when you're eating pineapple?"

"Yeah."

"That's the pineapple eating you," Jisoo said, "it produces this enzyme that can break down protein,
meaning like meaty stuff, so...it's kinda digesting your mouth. In microscopic quantities,
obviously."

"Jeez," Jennie shook her head. "I can't ever look at pineapple the same away again."

When Jisoo's laughter subsided and the kitchen turned quiet, Jennie didn't take long to speak up
again.

"Jisoo?"

"Mhm?"

"You know I trust you, right?"

Jisoo paused, her thoughts slamming to a halt.

"I know," she said at last. Then when Jennie didn't say anything, Jisoo took a deep breath and
turned around, still in her girlfriend's embrace.
"What is it?" Jisoo asked softly. She tipped Jennie's chin up. "When Lisa walked in, it's like...like
you shut down. Like you weren't functioning properly. You were acting weird. What's up with
that?"

Jennie didn't reply right away but Jisoo didn't hurry her either. The only sounds that could be heard
was Ella singing raucously along to the Lion King in the living room.

"We...we aren't talking properly at the moment. I'm...I'm kind of mad at her, but mostly with
myself too because for once, I think Lisa is right. And I hate that she's right," Jennie finally
admitted.

"I see. Maybe we need to sit down and talk this out together but it's just a restaurant—"

"What? Oh no we're past that," Jennie said. She took a deep breath. "This is...this is something
else. I haven't told you about it yet. It...it started three days ago, after Lisa's meltdown."

"Oh."

By the light of the kitchen, Jennie suddenly looked too pale, like she was about to step off a cliff,
making Jisoo worry.

"Jen, you don't look good, we better—"

"No just...listen. I need to say this. I've been running for a long time and if I don't face this head on,
I will never do it and when you hear it from someone else, you'll feel betrayed that I didn't tell you
earlier," Jennie croaked. She pulled Jisoo closer and rested her forehead on hers. "You trust me so
much, even when I give you nothing. It's eating me alive, just like Lisa felt not telling Rosé."

"Jen," Jisoo whispered, understanding dawning on her. Jennie's hands trembled around her waist.
Jisoo cupped her face, soothingly stroking her cheekbones.

"It's okay. Look at me. No, look me in the eyes. I love you, no matter what it is you're going to say.
I love you."

Jennie nodded and gulped. "I...I know. That's why...you deserve to know about Lisa, about
Hwangssabu and me and...and everything. Lisa wanted us to both tell you and Rosé tomorrow but I
was chickening out. That's what we fought about. Because I'm scared, Chu. I'm scared that you
wouldn't want to be tangled up and I wouldn't blame you if you don't but...but I'm selfish. You're
the best thing that ever happened to me and I can't lose you. I'm scared that knowing about us
means you'd be in danger too but Lisa made me see that...that it wouldn't be fair on you to live in
ignorance."

She bowed her head. "It's already too late. And so...I just want you to know, before anyone else. I
want to be the one to tell you, because I do trust you. I trust you with my whole heart."

Jisoo hugged her shaking girlfriend close, relief and joy sweeping over her before Jennie had even
begun her story. The fact that Jennie was ready to be open and vulnerable with her trumped
whatever terrible thing she was about to say.

"Thank you Jendeukie," Jisoo said gratefully.

"I didn't say anything yet," Jennie said, her voice muffled in Jisoo's shoulder.

"I know. But thank you for your trust. I couldn't ask for more. And I promise, no matter what it is,
I'm not running. You're stuck with me for good. I love you, Jennie," Jisoo said, tenderly cupping
her face.

Jennie's eyes filled then fluttered shut when Jisoo leaned in to kiss her.

The sound of Jennie's phone going off startled them, making Jennie jump back.

"Ignore it—"

"No it's okay, pick it up. It might be important," Jisoo said.

Jennie looked like she was going to protest further before she relented and pulled out her phone,
frowning at the screen. "Matt? What does he want at this hour?"

"Go ahead and see. We'll pick up the conversation later," Jisoo said softly. Jennie smiled, her face
lighter than Jisoo remembered before she walked away into the hallway to speak with Somi's dad.

"Hey Matt, what's up? Hmm? Somi? No I haven't seen her today..."

Jisoo turned to continue cutting up the pineapple when the door chime went off.

"Pizza time!" Ella screamed, bouncing off the couch followed by a yapping Dalgom.

"Hang on, I'll get it," Jisoo called. "Can you get plates out for me?"

"On it Aunty!" Ella ran to the kitchen with Dalgom hot on her heels. Jisoo chuckled, pleased to see
that Ella was in good spirits. Jennie was still on call with Matt, she could hear her voice.

After checking the peephole and seeing the guy's pizza uniform and the boxes of pizza he had in
hand, Jisoo opened the door and reached out to take the pizza.

"Thanks so much for the...Jinyoung?" she gasped when the pizza guy lifted his head. Her eyes
strayed down to the gun that was aimed directly at her chest and her blood ran cold. "What the..."

"Hello Jisoo," Jinyoung smiled, and fired.

>

"Holy mother of bagels, Rosie you gotta try this, it's incredible!" Lisa gushed, holding out a morsel
across the table for Rosé to taste. "I'm gonna marry this chicken!"

"What, you're going to elope?" Rosé gasped dramatically. "But the children! Ella and Leo and
Lego will be devastated."

"My love, I had no choice! It's just that good, see for yourself!"

Rosé leaned in and took the piece of chicken from the fork, chewing thoughtfully with eyes closed
before she swallowed and met Lisa's gaze, grinning broadly. "You know what, maybe I'll just have
to marry the chicken myself, actually."

"What!" Lisa exclaimed. "But I called dibs first!"

"Well I call double dibs!

"I call infinity dibs multiplied by black holes! Jisoo said that," Lisa grinned at Rosé's gobsmacked
face.
Rosé threw her hands up in defeat and Lisa pretended to cheer before she hacked off a generous
portion of her chicken and pulled Rosé's plate close to give to her.

"We'll share," she smiled, "I like seeing you eating. And don't tell me you don't want to, I've seen
you eyeing it."

"Well, it really does look delicious, baby. I was kinda sad I didn't get it for my main course," Rosé
smiled, eagerly picking up the fork. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," Lisa said, puffing up with pride.

It had been a wonderful evening of silly banter, flirting and holding hands underneath the table
whilst simultaneously trying to beat each other at footsie as they waited for the food to arrive. And
when the food did come, they both generously shared and swapped dishes, thus getting a taste of
more food and having an excuse to touch more freely by way of wiping mouths or grazing hands as
they passed around plates of pasta and antipasti.

Lisa had been at a loss on what to choose so she perused the menu with all the solemnity of a
monk, making Rosé coo at her as the waiter patiently waited and even explained some dishes when
Lisa asked.

The restaurant, a rustic Italian locale that they had both stumbled upon, was busy and bustling with
laughter and hearty chatter from other patrons making the two girls feel comfortable and
anonymous in the crowd, so they didn't worry too much about causing scenes with their dramatic
tendencies. There were lighted candles sitting in the middle of the white tablecloth-covered table.
There were even arrangements of roses decorating the alcoves of the restaurant.

"Okay, so tell me: bangs or no bangs," Lisa asked as she sipped on wine after they sat back, stuffed
to the brim but still waiting on desert. Rosé had given in and agreed to get red wine for the
occasion.

"Hmm I don't know, I kind of have a thing for girls in bangs, it seems," Rosé mused.

"Then I'm going to keep my bangs forever."

"Why? Do something daring. I dare you!"

"What do I get if I do?"

Rosé smirked and beckoned for Lisa to lean across the table so as to whisper her answer. When she
pulled back, Lisa's face was as red as the heavy silk curtains draped around the windows.

"You can't just say that here," Lisa grumbled, "we haven't even had dessert yet."

"What's the hurry?" Rosé said sweetly, swirling her wine. "It's not like you're going to go home and
chop off your bangs right now, hmm?"

Lisa huffed and Rosé threw her head back, chuckling loudly.

"Don't worry baby, we'll go soon, I do want to have some millefoglie before my actual dessert." She
smiled, enjoying the shivers that ran up her spine when Lisa's expression turned predatory.

"Oh really? Pre-gaming dessert, huh?" Lisa rasped.

"Exactly," Rosé said brightly, ignoring the hand that landed on her knee, stroking slow circles. Lisa
grinned and leaned on her other arm but kept her hand comfortably settled on Rosé's knee without
sliding up her thigh. Rosé rather wished she would, if only to see her girlfriend's reaction and blown
pupils.

She had been having the best date ever (the only one, if she were being honest) and she was glad
she had managed to stand her ground when she was asking Yang to keep the night empty. She
quaked and quavered as she delivered her request but he had done little more than grunt his
acknowledgement. He was too mysteriously preoccupied lately but Rosé didn't care.

"So, you were thinking of getting a haircut, then?" Rosé asked.

Lisa shrugged. "Well, I was just thinking about it. Maybe it's time to change things up, you know?
Change is good...right?"

"Depends on the situation but yes, I'd say so. As people, we're changing and growing all the time.
That's a good thing."

"Yeah?" Lisa withdrew the hand on Rosé's knee, suddenly nervous as she fidgeted with her
wineglass. "Rosie, what if I told you something that changed things between us?" she blurted out.

Rosé cocked her head and took a sip of her wine. "Changed things how?"

"I don't know. Maybe you got to see a bad side of me."

"From your past?" Rosé asked gently.

Lisa swallowed shallowly and rubbed her neck. "Y-yeah."

"Hmm. Well, I think I'd be okay with it."

Lisa pursed her lips. "That's it?"

"Lisa, we've all had our pasts. I won't judge you, because I know that whatever happened before,
you're a good person now. I trust you, and I love you," Rosé said.

Lisa nodded fervently, thankful.

The wine haze made Rosé spill out her inner thoughts, blurting them out in a rush. "What if I told
you something that changed things between us?"

"About your past?" Lisa said, mirroring her. Her eyes held nothing but compassion. "I'll say the
same thing you told me. You've grown and you're a good person now." She placed her hand over
Rosé's, giving it a squeeze. "I trust you and I love you too."

Rosé's lips trembled, guilt nearly making her choke on her wine. How she longed to come clean to
Lisa and hide away in her arms. But reality was vastly more complicated—Lisa thought that
whatever she had done was a thing of the past, not something she was still caught up in to the
present day.

Lisa wouldn't forgive her for all the lies.

No matter how much Lisa swore she'd be understanding, Rosé knew that her actions were
inexcusable, even if she had done it to survive. Lisa would run for the hills the minute she learned
of the many people she had swindled through pilates lessons, of the nightly gigs supposedly spent
waitressing but actually running in bars and clubs around Seoul to carry out transactions for Yang.
Her heart cracked at the idea of Lisa learning the truth and she quickly shook her head, banishing
the thoughts away as she always did.

"I was thinking of going to the vet some time soon, for the cats' checkup and shots. Would you
want to come along?" Rosé asked, changing the subject quickly.

None the wiser, Lisa beamed and nodded. "I've never been to a vet before. I'd love to!"

>

Dessert was brief, despite Rosé thoroughly enjoying her millefoglie, but both girls were antsy and
worked up enough to not linger around for more idle chit-chatting. They were tipsy and horny and
only looking forward to one thing now to cap off the amazing night in each other's company. After
paying for their dinner, they went straight back home, barely able to keep their hands off each
other in the cab.

"Ahhh, Lisa..." Rosé moaned as Lisa kissed up her neck and pinned her against the door of her
apartment, lifting her up from her hips and pressing her waist in between her legs to hold her
panting girlfriend in place.

Rosé's hands scrambled for purchase, one looping behind Lisa's neck and the other clutching Lisa's
tie and tugging her in to crush their mouths together. They made out furiously in the gloomy
corridor, heedless of being heard or seen as quiet whimpers and moans of pleasure escaped them.

Lisa almost lost her balance and toppled them over but managed to hold on to the wall in the nick
of time as they both burst into laughter before shushing each other. Rosé even hit the back of her
head against the door with a loud thunk because she was laughing so hard.

"Owwww!"

"Oh no baby, did you drop your purse? Here lemme get it," Lisa said, lowering Rosé down and
gallantly going down on her knees to search for her purse. She peered up at her girlfriend with an
adorably bemused expression. "I don't see anything."

"We're so drunk," Rosé giggled, helping Lisa stand up and then tapping her nose. "Did I ever tell
you that you have such a cute nose. A little round and turned up. Boop, boop!"

"You're gorgeous, Chipmunk," Lisa grinned tipsily and was rewarded with a fiery kiss that nearly
had her melt on the spot.

They made out even longer before Rosé finally managed to dig into her purse for her keys and
turned her attention to the door. Lisa launched a new passionate attack, her fingers sliding teasingly
up and down Rosé's hips before slipping bneath the hem of her dress at the same time as she
sucked on her nape.

"Baby hang on, I'm almost—agh, no wait," Rosé gasped, weakly batting away Lisa's hand. "You're
so naughty, I can't focus with you."

"You're just irresistible," Lisa pouted and then rested her chin on Rosé's shoulder as her girlfriend
tried and failed to insert the key several times. "I wanna make love to you all night long. Allllllll
night looooonng."

"You read my mind. Good thing Ella is staying at Jisoo's." Then Rosé suddenly raised her head
when she remembered something. "Oh, let's go say goodnight! I need to give Ella her goodnight
kiss! Can't forget that."
"What if Jennie and Jisoo are asleep? Or having sex?" Lisa frowned.

"We'll be quiet."

"How are we going to get in? Do you even know the passcode?" Lisa said, scratching her head.
"Cos' I don't."

"I used to come over, she had told it to me. I don't think she changed it since then. I'll remember,"
Rosé said confidently as she took up Lisa's hand and started marching blithely down the hall to
Jisoo's apartment, swinging their arms wildly as they walked.

But as it turned out, they didn't need a passcode to get into Jisoo's apartment.

"Huh? The door's ajar?" Lisa said puzzled.

"Weird," hummed Rosé. Through the wine haze cloaking her senses, the vague uneasy feeling that
something wasn't quite right made her squeeze Lisa's hand tightly as they slipped inside and closed
the door behind them.

"Jisoo? Jennie? Ella, it's me, Mommy."

The apartment was silent as a tomb, but the lights were all on. As they slowly walked into the
living room area connected to the kitchen, they saw the TV was on but the movie that had been
playing had ended. There was no sign of any of the girls, nor of Dalgom for that matter.

Rosé felt the hairs on her arm stand on end as she cleared her throat and called their names again.
"Jisoo? Jennie? Ella?"

"Huh, where did they run off to?" Lisa mused. "Ella? Are y'all playing hide and seek? Dalgom,
here boy! Maybe he's asleep..."

Rosé shook her head, trying to regain control of her senses and clear her head. The uncanny feeling
of something being out of place grew and grew.

She let go of Lisa's hand and went over to the kitchen island to splash water on her face. But before
she got there, she stopped dead in her tracks when she came across a pile of cubed mangoes lying
in a heap in a puddle of juice on the ground, apparently knocked off the counter. Judging by the
nearly dried up puddle, they had been sitting there on the floor for a while.

They were the only thing out of place in the whole area.

Where was Jisoo?

The sight of the yellow fruit made Rosé blink and slowly step back as though it was a feral animal
about to pounce.

"Lisa..." Rosé said slowly as Lisa came up behind her. "Something's not right."

"Yeah, something is definitely—ooh, pizza!"

Distracted, Lisa bounded over to the pizza box sitting on the edge of the kitchen island but Rosé
quickly followed and stopped her before she touched it.

"No, don't touch anything. Something's wrong." Rosé was thinking quickly, fighting off her
tipsiness. "What if some killer came in and they were hiding from him, and he's still in here?"
Lisa's eyes grew round. "We need to call cops!"

"Not yet! Let's check rooms."

"Us two against a killer?" Lisa said doubtfully.

"Baby, you're Super Gay remember?"

"Oh, yeah!"

"Right. So you can wham bam him into next week before he even jumps out at us," Rosé
reassured. "And I'll have weapons too."

So saying, she grabbed a handful of knives from the knife holder and held Lisa's hand. "Stay close.
Let's check Jisoo's yoga room first, it's this way."

Yet no sooner had they stepped into the hallway, they spotted a body lying face down and
frighteningly still, arms splayed out like a starfish. Lisa was the first to react.

"Jennie!" Lisa lurched forward, crashing to her knees by Jennie's head, crying frantically. "Jen,
wake up, wake up, oh please don't be dead!"

Rosé stood and stared with the knives in her hand as Lisa turned Jennie over and slapped her face
back and forth, shouting at her sister to wake up.

Jennie came to with a jolt, her eyes flying wide open with a gasp as she grabbed on to Lisa.

"What! Wha—I don't—you—" She patted down her chest and torso, her eyes wide and terrified.
"I'm not...dead?"

When her gaze finally settled back on Lisa and Rosé, Jennie trembled like a leaf in a gale, face
draining of colour in an instant.

"No. No no no no no no it's not real it's just a dream it can't be—"

"It's okay, it's okay, it's me," Lisa said, grabbing hold of her panicking sister. "Jen, what happened?
Did you pass out? Where's Jisoo and Ella?"

"He took them!" Jennie cried in anguish, startling them both. She thrashed in Lisa's grasp. "He
came and took them! I couldn't stop him, he shot me and I—"

"What did you say?" Rosé said faintly, her hands trembling. "Who came here?"

It can't be.

"Jinyoung," Jennie wailed. She clutched Lisa's shirt, breathing harsh and fast as she stumbled over
her words in between choked sobs. "Lisa, I was going to tell Jisoo, I swear, I was going to tell her!
He took them! He took her!"

Lisa could only hug her traumatised sister helplessly as she glanced back at a frozen Rosé.

"What does she mean, took them? Why...why would he? It doesn't make sense."

"I'm sorry, I never got to tell her, I couldn't stop him," Jennie wept, her voice muffled in Lisa's
chest.
Rosé's head spun, a dull roar filling her ears, blocking out Lisa's stupefied questions and Jennie's
crying. She turned on her heels as the knives dropped uselessly out of her hands, gritting her teeth
as all her fears multiplied and attacked.

He took them....he took Ella.

Her nightmare was unfolding right in front of her. It took all of her strength to reach the kitchen
island and grip hard on the counter before her feet gave way beneath her. Numbness stole over her
like a chill in winter and she could only replay her last moments with Ella as panic threatened to
wrench away the last vestiges of control from her grasp.

Her baby...gone in a blink without a trace. But why? How? Was this Yang's doing?

What did Jinyoung want with Ella and Jisoo?

Rosé forced herself to stop thinking of all the horrible torture they could be inflicting on her
daughter. Her vacant gaze settled on the pizza box close by and suddenly, she knew that within it
she'd have a clue, some sort of hint left behind by the perpetrators that would shed light on what
was happening and give her the next course of action.

Dread rising up her throat bitter as bile, she hastily flipped open the box. There was no pizza inside,
but there was Ella's forlorn toy bunny Flora holding down a page from a notebook.

Rosé first gabbed the toy and clutched it to her heart, gritting her teeth to stop the tears from
overflowing before she held up the note to the light with shaking fingers. It contained two words,
printed black on white, taunting her with its simple instruction, loaded with unspoken implication if
she dared ignore the message.

Introduce us.

The note fluttered from her grasp as Rosé sank to her knees still hugging the toy bunny and
screamed.
 Freefall
Chapter Summary

previously: jennie almost confessed the truth to jisoo, jinyoung attacked jisoo, chaelisa
were having the perfect date night until they found jennie passed out on the floor, with
jisoo and ella missing.

Jennie was in freefall.

The world crumbled at her feet as she looked on, helplessly caught in the eye of the hurricane. All
the memories came rushing back as soon as Lisa had slapped her awake.

Jisoo. Jisoo. Jisoo. Jisoo.

Gone. In the blink of an eye, Jisoo slipped through her fingers like sand and Jennie felt the panic
vortex open up and reach for her, consuming her whole.

She couldn't even scream—she had no strength to do anything other than cry.

"It's my fault," Jennie sobbed in Lisa's chest. "He took them, it's my fault, I shouldn't have involved
Jisoo. It's my fucking fault. I didn't stop him!"

"What happened?" Lisa said urgently, gripping Jennie from her shoulders. Her eyes were wide with
fear and through her sobbing haze, Jennie realised that Lisa had probably never seen her lose
control like this, not even after they lost Hwangssabu.

But remembering Jinyoung's shark grin and his voice, soft as a snake's hiss, had Jennie finally
clench her teeth and wrench herself out of the panic tornado.

"They came. Jinyoung and his lackeys," Jennie said in the deathly silence that suddenly filled the
apartment. Rosé lifted her head, dried tear streaks on her face as she scooted closer to hear Jennie.
Her eyes were bloodshot and red-rimmed, her hair sticking out at every angle.

"What did he do?" Rosé whispered. The venom that oozed from her voice made Jennie shiver. Lisa
tried putting an arm over Rosé but she didn't react, clutching the forlorn bunny toy to her chest as
she gazed at Jennie with a burning intensity.

"Jennie, what did he do?"

Jennie took a deep breath, her hands trembling as she recalled the whole sequence of events. "I, I
was on the phone with Matthew..."

Flashback

"Hey Matt what's up?

"Jen, have you heard from Somi lately?" Matthew asked.

"Hmm? Somi? No I haven't seen her today."

From behind her, Jennie heard the doorchime, which meant the pizza they had ordered was here.

"She left the house yesterday, said she was going over to some friend's," Matt said
anxiously. "But I didn't hear from her at all since. I texted and called but it's been radio
silent. I...I'm trying hard not to be overbearing, she's always telling me I do that and I was
—"

"Aunty!"

Ella's scream and Dalgom's spate of aggressive barking, abruptly cut off, had Jennie whip around,
phone still glued to her ear as she rushed out to the hallway and stopped dead in her tracks when
she saw the pizza guy with a gun in his hand step over the bodies of Jisoo, Ella and Dalgom.

All three lay frighteningly still and silent a few paces away from each other. Jennie felt the world
fall out from under her feet

"Jennie? You still there?"

The pizza guy raised his head at the same time as he raised his gun level with her chest and Jennie's
blood turned to ice.

"Cut the call," said Jinyoung quietly. He looked bizarrely out of place in the bright red pizza
delivery Tshirt and jeans—Jennie only knew him in his monotonous array of suits.

Her mind racing, Jennie obeyed, cutting off Matt's confused tinny voice before he cottoned on that
something was very very wrong.

Jinyoung gestured with his gun. "Now put the phone on the counter."

Hiding her trembling to the best of her ability, Jennie accidentally knocked over the container of
diced mangoes, which splattered to the floor as she blindly put the phone down; her eyes were
glued to Jinyoung's every move.

"What's going on?" Jennie said, trying hard not to focus on Jisoo's lifeless body behind him even as
her heart thundered away in her chest. She swallowed dryly. "You...you killed...."

"They're asleep, don't worry." Jinyoung replied as he stepped forward, his keen gaze never
wavering.

Behind him, hulking shadows separated from the darkness beyond the open door and poured into
the room. Jennie was stricken to see them pick up Jisoo and Ella and carry them out, silent and
swift as they had appeared. Dalgom, they picked him up and disappeared into the bathroom before
emerging back empty-handed and following after their shadowy companions.

"Why?" Jennie rasped, still held at gun-point. "What are you doing? What the hell is going on?
Where are you taking them?"

"So many questions. Let's just say, plans are finally moving ahead, Jennie. And lucky you, you're
getting front-row seats, if you care to join us of course." Jinyoung tipped his cap. "I came to
personally invite you. I'd recommend to bring your sister as well. And her girlfriend. That rounds
out the set nicely."

"Where are you taking Jisoo and Ella?" Jennie demanded.

"Watch that tone," Jinyoung said amiably, "or else I can't guarantee I'll go easy on your girlfriend.
If you don't wish her harm, you'll do as I say."

"My girl—how do you—you're crazy," Jennie said, fear settling in the pit of her stomach like a
cold hard stone that grew and grew, filling her with dread. Her hands were clammy at her side. She
wondered how much longer till Rosé and Lisa come back. "Whatever it is that you want from me,
we can talk it out. Leave Jisoo and Ella out of this."

"Oh I wish I could," Jinyoung said ruefully, "but you have something of mine that I'm sure you
wouldn't give up easily if I asked. So I'm left with no options."

"What about Ella, you psycho?" Jennie said, fury lending her boldness to even step up to Jinyoung.
"She's innocent. She's not involved in this mess. She's a kid for god's sake!"

"Ah that one is a special request from a friend of mine. Seems like he has unfinished business with
Rosé. You see, he has something he wants from her too. Something that she didn't give him. So
who am I to not indulge a friend in his vengeance plans?"

"So you kidnap people?!"

Jinyoung smirked. "I find it always works wonderfully as an incentive."

"Please, I'll do anything," Jennie burst out, distress making her fling her pride to the wind. "Just,
don't hurt Jisoo and Ella. They're innocent. Take me instead."

"Why don't you try begging?" he suggested, his lips curling in a sneer. The gun was still aimed
squarely at her chest.

Swallowing the bitter bile in her throat, Jennie slow dropped to her knees and clasped her hands
together, not even caring about humiliating herself in front of the heartless brute. If it would bring
Jisoo back, she'd do anything.

"Take me. Please," she pleaded. "Don't hurt her. I know it's me you're after. So take me. Do it."

Jinyoung seemed to actually consider as he tilted his head. But the look of mirth in his eyes gave
away his true intentions.

"Terribly sorry but my mind has long been made up. But it is quite a sight to see you beg like a
dog." He sounded far from sorry, if his repulsive sneer was any indication. "Get up, don't be so
pathetic. You should know by now, appealing to my conscience doesn't work."

Burning with despair, Jennie stepped back and climbed to her feet, wondering how much longer he
was going to play with her, like a cat playing with its food.

"I'll scream," Jennie warned. "Someone will hear, they'll hear and find you. I'll call the cops!"

"You'll do neither," Jinyoung said lazily. "The residents of this block are currently all knocked out
thanks to the vent system and a special sleeping gas we pumped into their rooms. As for the
cops...really? You'd actually alert the authorities to your illegal existence, Jennie? After all this
time keeping a low profile, you're going to undo all that work Hwangssabu and Matthew Jeon put
into hiding you and your sister? How irresponsible."

Jennie blanched. "Wha—how do you know?"

"There's many things I know about you. I've been interested in you for a while now." Jinyoung
raised the gun level with Jennie's chest. "Come find us at Rkive. We'll be expecting you within the
hour, no more, no less."

"No, wait!"

Jinyoung fired. Jennie staggered on impact then peered down at the dart that suddenly sprouted in
her belly. A wave of nausea crashed over her and she used the last of her strength to flash Jinyoung
her ugliest glare.

"Son of a b—"

Jennie slammed to the ground, darkness descending like a curtain. The last thing she saw before
her eyelids slipped shut was Jinyoung crouching down next to her.

"Sweet dreams, Jennie."

And then she was gone.

End Flashback

"I couldn't stop him, I just froze and let him talk and talk," Jennie finished, her head bowed,
gripping the fabric of her pants tightly. "I...I was so scared. Jisoo wasn't moving."

She looked up at Lisa, tears streaming anew. "Lisa...she's gone."

Her heart was torn in two, missing its other half with a wild desperation that rocked Jennie to her
core.

"We...we gotta call the cops," Lisa said at last, attempting to take charge as she looked between the
two distraught girls. "We need to tell them—"

"No!" Jennie and Rosé both chorused, and it was perhaps the first time they were so unanimous in
their decision. Jennie could have wept at the irony, but she felt all wrung out of tears, like a
bedraggled towel, lifeless and worn.

"We need to do as Jinyoung said to get them back."

"But Rosie, we need help! Professional help," Lisa protested. "The cops will handle it—"

"You think he won't know we snitched? He probably has this whole place bugged or something. It
would only endanger Ella and Jisoo. He probably has the authorities in his pocket, you saw how he
controlled the media to stop further speculation about him and Jisoo," Rosé said, speaking very fast
and low, as though she were scared somebody could be eavesdropping, "we need to leave, right
now, and go to Rkive. He said we only have an hour chance. How long had you been passed out,
Jen?"

Jennie frowned at the wall clock. "I...I don't know."

"Check her phone," Rosé ordered. "See when Matt called."

"It's not on the counter."

"Oh...here," Jennie mumbled, feeling it in her pocket. She let Lisa fish it out, her limbs refusing to
move, refusing to accept the nightmare they had woken up to.

"He must have put it in your pocket after you passed out," Lisa said softly but Jennie found that to
be cold comfort as Lisa thumbed through her phone.
"It...it was two hours ago," Lisa said at last.

Electricity slithered up Jennie's spine and she jumped to her feet at the same time as Rosé raced for
the door.

"Wait!" Lisa hollered. "NEW MESSAGE!"

Jennie and Rosé froze in their tracks and turned back.

"Who's it from?" Jennie whispered.

Lisa frowned. "Unknown number. It's a voice message."

"Play it."

"Wakey wakey Jennie, your girlfriend is getting tired of waiting," came Jinyoung's sing-song
voice, making Jennie clench her fists. "Would you like to say a word to her, Jisoo? Let her
know all is 'fine and dandy', as you say? No? Oh, I see. Sorry Jen, your Chu says she's mad at
you for not trying harder, and very disappointed you missed your appointment. But don't
worry, I'll keep her company till you come around. We can get to know each other...more
intimately, perhaps?"

Jennie vibrated with sheer anger, her teeth audibly gnashing together, but Jinyoung wasn't finished.

"I forgot to mention, there will be a car waiting for you three outside to bring you here, so
don't worry about grabbing a taxi. Isn't that nice? Also don't worry, we've given you an
extension. You now have an extra thirty minutes to make it to Rkive, as of the time you
receive this message. Also this message will disappear in 10 seconds. See you."

Nobody moved a muscle after the message ended.

"That little snake," Jennie spat, hopping on the spot, fear replaced with fury. "He better not touch
Jisoo, he's so dead."

"We have no choice but to follow," Rosé replied tiredly. "Jisoo and Ella are in danger. I can't..." her
voice caught in her throat and she ducked her head. "I have to get her back." She clutched the
bunny toy to her chest. "My baby."

"But what if they want to hold us all hostage?" Lisa said uncertainly. "And what did Jinyoung
mean, his friend wanting revenge? Do you know who he is talking about, Rosie? And what do you
have that he wants, Jen? I don't understand anything!"

"We'll get to the bottom of all this madness soon enough," Jennie said grimly. "I'm with Rosé.
Telling the cops right now would lose us time and complicate things. We need to get going."

"I'm going to change out of this outfit. Lisa you should too," Rosé said. "Let's meet downstairs in
five minutes. Bring any weapons you can hide on your person, just in case. The smaller the better
in case they do some body search. Hide it in your shoes if you have to. Actually, bring two and
hide one in an obvious place, so they hopefully won't look for a second weapon."

"Whoa whoa whoa," Lisa squeaked. "We...we're going to be fighting?" She cast a fearful look in
Jennie's direction. "Rosie, isn't that a bit..."

"If you won't fight, I will," Rosé said, eyes flinty. "I'm going to carve out every bastard's face that
dared touch my daughter, for starters. If you're going to be all timid and meek, then stay here, and
stay out of my way."

"He wants you both," Jennie reminded, stomach churning at uneasy possibility of just why he
actually wanted Lisa around. The thought that it had anything to do with Lisa's past almost had her
physically sick.

But hadn't Jinyoung claimed to know all about their illegal immigration problem? Hadn't he found
out that Jisoo was her girlfriend? And that Lisa and Rosé were together?

What other secrets had he managed to sniff out?

"Rosie, let's just be reasonable, of course I want to punch Jinyoung to the moon and back but we
could get seriously hurt if we tried—"

"Just trust me, okay?" Rosé snapped, making her girlfriend flinch. "We don't have time for this. So
beat it." She flounced out of the room still holding on to Ella's bunny, leaving Jennie and Lisa
staring after her in bewilderment.

"Go," Jennie said after an eternity, "she needs you."

"I doubt it," Lisa said in a small voice. "She's...she's scary right now. It's like I don't know her."

Jennie almost smiled. "I've been on the receiving end of that glare she gave you but yeah, scary.
Her only daughter just got kidnapped. I'd lose my head too."

Jisoo flashed in front of her mind's eye again, laughing and bending down for a kiss as she hugged
her and told Jennie she loved her. Eyes stinging, Jennie abruptly turned away.

"Go, I'll be right along in a sec. Gotta check on Dalgom."

When the door clicked shut behind her sister, Jennie managed to drag herself to the bathroom and
found Dalgom dumped on the fluffy white carpet next to the shower. His head lolled but he opened
his glassy eyes and thumped his tail weakly when she shook him awake, whining uncertainly.

"Let's get you to bed, buddy," Jennie said softly, relieved that he seemed otherwise unharmed.

He whimpered and Jennie held him close to soothe him—he was most likely confused that his
body was refusing to move. Jennie breathed in his fur, remembering how earlier that week she had
accompanied Jisoo to the groomer's and Jisoo had laughed to see Dalgom so glum and stiff in
Jennie's lap when they pulled up to the establishment.

"Ah ahjussi, it's not like this is your first time! Such a drama queen. Wait till he comes out all
sweet-smelling and prancing like a showdog. He acts like that to make all the groomer workers
spoil him. A real ladies' man, aren't you?"

Jennie's throat closed up when she carried him to his basket in their bedroom and Jisoo's scent
engulfed her all at once, a hollow reminder of how ghostly quiet their apartment was without her
girlfriend's presence.

Their bedroom. Their apartment.

She lost track of when she started to consider Jisoo's apartment as her home, but she didn't
backtrack in her line of thought.
Jisoo was her home, and she had been a fool to not admit that earlier.

It was through sheer strength of will that Jennie was able to tuck Dalgom and stand up again
without breaking down. All she wanted to do was curl up in bed to hide away and sleep and wake
up from the nightmare, safely wrapped in Jisoo's embrace.

But the nightmare wouldn't end unless she acted and brought Jisoo back.

Jennie pulled on her shoes because she had still been running around barefoot, and slipped out of
the room, slowly bracing herself for whatever was coming next.

She hadn't gotten to tell Jisoo the truth. They had been cruelly separated just when she had been on
the verge of revealing everything. And Jisoo had caught her before she even fell, always there like
Jennie's personal safety net, open and willing and so damn trusting.

And now because of me, Jennie reflected with gritted teeth, Jisoo is gone.

But she intended to tell her everything the moment she saw her again, because Jennie had just
gotten a taste of what it felt like to be truly lost and she knew then that she simply couldn't stop
fighting until Jisoo was back safe in her arms.

>

The ride to Rkive was fraught with tension, thick enough to cut with a knife.

The Jay driving them was no rookie—he had them stand with their hands to their heads as he
inspected them thoroughly and to Rosé's dismay, even discovered the small penknife she hid in her
shoe, along with the other knives Lisa and Jennie had grabbed. He also took their phones, which
Rosé decided hadn't been her brightest idea to bring along.

She heard him report his findings to someone on the car radio before ushering them into the back.
They were cut off from the Jay because the car that came to pick them up was actually a legitimate
limousine, with the panel separating them from the driver.

Rosé supposed it was a precaution, in case they tried to overpower the driver and hijack the car.

All three girls sat rigid and stiff, wary of sudden ambushes, not speaking and barely glancing at
each other, at least Rosé. The creamy white leather interior did nothing to impress her—she
recognised it right away to be one of Yang's fleet. This limousine he rode in whenever he was
feeling extra fancy and special.

She clasped her hands together, suppressing the slight tremor that started ever since they found
Jennie. She closed her eyes and attempted to stop her thoughts from running haywire, imagining all
the torture they could be inflicting on Ella.

More than ever she wished she had telepathic powers like Jean Grey. She longed to reach out
through space and somehow communicate with her daughter, to reassure her that she was coming
for her.

A warm timid hand gently touched her arm and Rosé blinked up at Lisa, who gave her a hesitant
smile.

"It will be okay," Lisa said softly. She squeezed Rosé's hand. "I promise."

But Rosé shook her head wearily. "This one time, you can't promise me anything, Lisa. I'm sorry.
It's out of our hands. You can't guarantee what will happen."

She hated how Lisa deflated and shrunk in her seat like a wounded puppy but Rosé was far too lost
to her fears to try and paper over the hurt.

This was it. Lisa was going to find out all her dirty secrets.

Their vows of love echoed in her ear, mocking her more than ever.

How had it gone so wrong so quickly, so unexpectedly? She licked her lips, still chasing the
ghostly imprints of Lisa's mouth tangling passionately with hers earlier.

No. Scratch that. Their lives had long been turned upside down—they just had all been blissfully
ignoring the signs. Rosé held her head. Dread stole over her like a suffocating blanket that chilled
her to the bone. Not only was Ella in danger but the thought of losing Lisa was ripping her already
bruised heart to shreds.

How would she be able to get over the love of her life, her soulmate, the other half of her heart?

Lisa, who made her laugh and smile and forget.

Lisa, who introduced her to life and friends, bringing her out of her shell.

Lisa, who gallantly came to her rescue.

Lisa, who loved her so openly and trustingly, without question, who welcomed Ella so willingly as
an extension of Rosé herself.

Lisa, who was being so brave and mature, keeping both her and Jennie from falling apart.

The guilt grew too overwhelming to bear and without even thinking, Rosé reached to take Lisa's
callused hand in her own. She smiled weakly when Lisa blinked at her, surprised but pleased.

"I love you," Rosé said.

She meant it with every fibre of her being, because in a way, she knew this would be the last time
she got to say it openly. Their hands fit together like puzzle pieces, Lisa's lean and big hand
caressing her own smaller, traitorous palms.

"I love you too," Lisa said tenderly. "We'll get Ella back, you'll see." She glanced in Jennie's
direction, who had been silent throughout the drive, looking despondently out of the window at the
passing scenery.

Lisa took Jennie's hand as well, firmly clasping both. "We'll get them back and give Jinyoung hell,"
she vowed. "Nobody takes our girls without serious...serious retribution."

"This isn't a game," Jennie said, voice hoarse from disuse. "That snake was mad enough to take off
with them and right now, we're at his mercy. Don't do anything stupid."

"It's okay. She means well," Rosé said softly. She allowed herself the luxury of leaning on Lisa's
shoulder and savouring her warmth for what was probably the last time. Her eyes closed, to stop
the tears from leaking.

It's all my fault.

>
Rkive was silent and dark, the establishment looming out of the darkness like an ominous mountain
as they approached and parked in its shadow. Rosé's apprehension grew.

"The little snake," Jennie said bitterly. "The place is closed so that he won't have any witnesses if
we cause a scene. Clever son of a—"

All three girls fell silent when the driver killed the engine, glancing at each other nervously as they
waited for the next move. Before long, the Jay came to the door and opened it. They stepped out
warily but found nobody waiting for them outside. The whole place was eerily quiet and deserted.

"Uh, where's everyone?" Lisa wondered, glancing around them.

"He knows we won't run," Jennie replied stonily. "There's too much at stake for us to try make a
run for it."

Rosé had a hunch where they were headed, but she didn't say anything. She confirmed her guess
when the Jay signalled for them to follow and took off walking towards the back of Rkive, passing
through the silent parking area filled with cars.

"You're taking us to Jinyoung's lair, is that it?" Jennie asked sarcastically but the Jay didn't reply.

"What lair?"Lisa asked.

"When I came with Jisoo to Rkive, I saw one of these guys go through a secret opening at the back
and they seem to have this gathering place underneath the restaurant," Jennie muttered to her sister.
Rosé could have told her she was right, but of course didn't.

"Oh. I didn't know that."

"Yeah it slipped my mind."

They didn't speak again and the tension returned. Rosé flinched when a hand brushed against hers,
seeking contact, but she clung on to it when she realised Lisa's intentions.

"Stick close," Lisa murmured softly. "I won't let anything hurt you."

Rosé nodded, unable to say it back.

>

To Rosé's surprise, Yang was the one waiting for them, not Jinyoung.

He sat in the high chair Jinyoung had previously occupied the last time she had been in this lair.
The Jays lined up the wall, all of them standing and alert to watch the proceedings.

"What is this?" Jennie spoke first, sounding incredulous. "Who are you? Where's Jinyoung?
Where's Jisoo and Ella?"

"She comes out swinging," Yang remarked. "Jinyoung was right on the money when he said you
were a fiery little thing."

Jennie clenched her teeth but didn't move from her spot next to Lisa.

Rosé swallowed shallowly, knowing Yang was going to amuse himself and draw out the meeting
unless she took the leap. She didn't let go of Lisa's hand as she spoke.
"We're here, like Jinyoung asked. Show us proof that Jisoo and Ella are unharmed and then we can
talk," she said bravely.

"Oh Chaeyoung," Yang sighed, "I know you talk tough game but must you turn everything into a
negotiation?"

Rosé balled her fists, refusing to acknowledge Jennie and Lisa's bewildered expressions next to her
and instead kept her hard gaze trained on her boss, refusing to betray her surprise.

"Rosie? Why did he call you Chaeyoung? Who is he?" Lisa whispered, confused. Rosé ignored
her, but Yang had heard.

"What? Rosé hasn't told you about me? We go back years!"

"Huh?" Now Lisa was bewildered. "Years?"

"Yes. I thought since you're lovers, she would have mentioned me at some point. I thought you
would have already gotten to know all about each other." He tutted and sneered. "I supposed you
don't know each other as well as you think then."

He stood up, hands in the pockets of his suit as he went down the steps and approached them,
stopping only a short distance away. The smirk on his face never went away as he appraised them
from head to foot.

"Listen here buster, I don't care what beef you got with Rosé," Jennie jumped in, "I just want Jisoo
and Ella back. Either you show them to us or it's no dice, we're out of here."

"Why so hasty? We haven't even been introduced yet," Yang said calmly, "that would be very rude
to up and leave without an introduction. Our mutual friend Jinyoung couldn't make it to help us out
so why don't we just get down to business? I'll go first. My name is Yang HyunSuk."

"I'm Jennie, she's Lisa. Great, now that we all know each other, where the hell are Jisoo and Ella?"
Jennie snarled.

"All in good time," Yang said. His hungry gaze had never left Lisa, who stared back uncertainly.
"But maybe we should start with a little context of how I know Rosé, or rather, Chaeyoung."

"I don't care," Jennie said.

"Chaeyoung is not my name anymore," Rosé gritted. Her heart pounded beneath her fingertips.

"Of course not, but I'm sure your girlfriend didn't know that. Did you now?" Yang cooed. Rosé
almost growled when Lisa innocently shook her head, her wide eyes swivelling over to meet hers.

"Rosie, what does he mean?" she said worriedly. Rosé swallowed but Jennie was quicker.

"She works for him," Jennie interjected, disbelief in her voice. "That's how he knows so much.
He's a mob boss and she's working for him. He owns her."

"Sharp," Yang smiled. "Yes, Rosé has been working for me as my drug mule for the past few
years, besides also snooping around and passing on crucial information about her client's
piggybanks. Her front as a sweet, charming and innocent pilates instructor has served me well. I
gave her the new identity when she practically sold her life to me."

"What? You...stole money? Rosie? But... you sold yourself to him?" Lisa said shakily, her face
crumpling. Rosé swallowed a second time.

"I'm sorry," she whispered miserably. "I never meant...I hate every second of it. But I had to do it.
For Ella. And for myself too. I'm so sorry."

"Well, as luck would have it, you're not the only one with secrets to hide," Yang said brightly, like
a magician showing off his favourite trick. "Why don't we ask the sisters to share some of their
own, hmm? Even out the scales a bit. Girls?"

When both Jennie and Lisa set their jaws, Yang let out a nasty chuckle. "Ah, it's easy to judge, isn't
it, when you're the one pointing the finger? But come now, Lisa. Your girlfriend's dark, dirty secret
is out in the open. She was out to scam you both."

"I wasn't!" Rosé burst out. She turned to Lisa in desperation, pleading with her. "I was going to in
the beginning but I couldn't keep it up. Please, believe me. You turned out to be a good friend and
then I couldn't do that to you. My feelings for you...they're real, Lisa. They're real. If you don't
trust anything else, trust in that."

"Then...then why didn't you tell me?" Lisa said with brows furrowed.

"You think I didn't want to?" Rosé said, frustrated. "How could I do that? I was so scared all the
time, but I couldn't help myself. You thought I was the best thing since...since bagels, and I didn't
know how to tell you, I was falling for you and I was selfish. If I didn't do as he wanted, Ella
would have...Ella..." She redirected her angry gaze to Yang. "Is this why you took her? Because I
didn't give you Lisa?"

"You're finally catching up," Yang smiled. "And the answer is....yes and no. It just so happened to
be the right time to act. And I had Jinyoung take Ella to make sure you complied and brought me
Lisa. It worked."

"Me? What do you want with me?" Lisa said dumbfounded. "I don't know you."

"Don't you?" Yang hummed. He pointed to his hideous scar, his lips quirked up at the corner. "Do
you know who gave me this scar?"

Lisa shook her head. Jennie next to her was non-plussed as well.

"I believe you. Memories tend to get scrambled," Yang sighed. "But this will take a little longer
then. I have a story to tell you, to help jog your memory. Rosé, why don't you start by telling them
how you ended up working for me?"

She wanted to scream and hide her face in Lisa's chest and wake up from the nightmare but the
nightmare was real and it kept getting worse. All eyes were pinned on Rosé, scrutinising her.

Rosé looked at Lisa, who stared back. It gave Rosé hope to see a spark of trust and compassion still
remained in Lisa's eyes amidst the uncertainty, wordlessly reassuring her.

"Go on, Rosie," Lisa said softly. "I trust you."

Those words nearly shattered her more than the revelation that she worked for Yang. Despite all
the shock and confusion she was no doubt still processing, Lisa still found it within herself to trust
in her.

Maybe there was hope for them making it out in one piece after all.
Schooling her expression, Rosé took a deep breath.

"My father worked for Yang. When he died, I inherited the debt he owed Yang and so, I forfeited
my life to pay it back. I couldn't work any other job because I had Ella and nobody else to support
me. Rent is so high and no job was going to take a teenage single mother with a baby to support.
Yang....he helped pay for what I needed at the time and even helped me get my pilates credentials.
I had, I had to do it for my baby. Living on the streets...I wouldn't have made it."

She shook her head, startled when Lisa took her trembling hand and squeezed it.

"You did what you could to survive," Lisa said softly. Her face hardened when she turned to Yang.
"And he's just a big bully, taking advantage of people and walking all over them as they try to
survive. I hate jerks like you, Mr Yang. Rosie is so brave and strong and loves Ella so much. You'd
never understand."

"What she said," Jennie put in. "I see your little game now. You're trying to get them to break up or
some shit like that. But I'm on to you, jerk. Whatever Rosie did, she did bad things because she
needed to survive evil, soul sucking turds like you."

Rosé's mouth dropped, her eyes brimming. "Guys..."

"Not so fast with the waterworks," Yang chimed in, "there's more to the tale. Keep going."

Rosé swallowed. "My...my father's death was no accident. He was killed. We...Yang had been
looking for the killer."

"It was no gang fight or brawl," Yang rumbled. "I was there, and I was the only survivor. My men
died and I escaped with just this scar. But I vowed to find him again."

He levelled his gaze with Lisa. "I was most anxious to speak with you, Lisa, since I was certain
you'd have the answers I craved. But Rosé kept you from me, repeatedly, despite pressure. She was
so adamant on protecting you. She had never done that before. Don't you feel special yet? It made
me all the more curious to meet you and see what had her so starry-eyed."

"Meet me? I still don't get what you want."

The wicked grin Yang flashed her had Rosé break out in chills.

"Do you remember the night Hwangssabu died?"

There was utter silence in the hall, not even hushed whispers or scuffling feet. The Jays were too
riveted to talk amongst themselves but Rosé saw them glancing at each other, burning curiosity in
their gaze.

"You...you know D—you know him?" Lisa croaked. Jennie looked similarly stupefied next to her.

"In a manner of speaking. We had been chatting with him when the killer attacked us," Yang said
amiably, as though he were discussing the weather, not a gruesome murder. "He was your
guardian, was he not?"

"What do you care?" Jennie said roughly, speaking out at last. "What's all this got to do with Lisa?
Stop being cryptic."

"Fine, fine. Just one more question. Where were you the night Hwangssabu died?"
Jennie and Lisa blanched, until Rosé feared they were both going to faint. Lisa was shaking ever so
slightly while Jennie's eyes had gone glassy, pure horror reflected in them.

"Cat got your tongue?" Yang chuckled, thoroughly relishing the power he held over them. "But of
course you won't speak of that night. It's too painful to recall, especially for you, Lisa, isn't it? After
all, seeing your father figure die in front of your own eyes would be enough to drive anyone crazy."

"What did you say?" Rosé rasped, her voice deathly quiet.

That can't be true. She hadn't heard right. Lisa...had been there?

"Oh didn't you know?" Yang said conversationally. His eyes shone with glee. "Lisa, why don't you
tell your girlfriend who you really are, hmm? She has been looking for answers for a long time
now. Let's cut the chase."

"What the hell are you saying?" Rosé snarled. "What twisted, evil mind game are you playing?
Leave her out of this!"

"Impossible," Yang replied. "Your girlfriend is at the centre of everything. This is why I was most
anxious to meet her." He lifted his eyes to Lisa again. "Go on."

But Lisa didn't react, mutely staring at Yang as though she had lost all ability to string words
together.

"Very well then," Yang said and drew out a shiny jet-black gun from inside his suit. He pointed it
at Rosé making Lisa inhale sharply. All the Jays moved back, receding as one like a wave and
making sure to stay well out of the gun's aim and range.

He planned this, Rosé thought faintly. This is all one big act.

Sweat broke over her brow as she stared down the barrel aimed at her chest. Would he really shoot
her? He had to be bluffing. Yang had said he was keeping her alive because he owed his life to her
father.

"Don't," Lisa growled in warning.

"Whoa whoa hang on now," Jennie spluttered, waving her hands, "let's just take a timeout—"

"I'm going to count to three," Yang said calmly, addressing Lisa and ignoring Jennie's stricken
gestures, "and if you haven't spoken by then, I will shoot your girlfriend in the heart."

"You're bluffing," Jennie declared, but her voice was higher than usual. "You're not actually going
to kill her—"

It happened too quickly—Yang pivoted around towards Jennie when she was mid-sentence.
Before Rosé could scream, there was a blur where Lisa had stood and at the same time, a shot
cracked through the air.

Suddenly Lisa was on top of Jennie on the ground, panting very hard as she glared at Yang, who
smiled and withdrew his gun.

"Still on top of your reflexes and thank goodness for that. I don't think Jinyoung would appreciate
me dirtying his floor," he remarked. He aimed the gun again. "I've got plenty more bullets you can
catch."
"No please—"

Yang whipped around and fired at Rosé before she could even react. The same thing happened—in
a blink, Rosé found herself flat on the ground beneath Lisa, who was shuddering and panting hard.
Somehow, she had managed to leap from Jennie just in time to knock Rosé out of the bullet's path.
It was as if she suddenly possessed superhuman strength and unnatural speed.

Almost like some X-Men character.

Rosé blinked up, gasping for breath but her confusion faded when she spotted a pair of eyes
flickering yellow above her.

"R-Rosie..."

"Lisa?" she whispered, a terrible sensation of dread building up in her chest. Lisa's eyes were
glitching between the familiar brown and the alien golden colour she had spotted at times before
but always put it up to be a trick of light.

Yet it was no trick of light this time.

Lisa ducked her head and climbed to her feet unsteadily. "Stop this," she told Yang, her voice
breaking. "I don't want any of this." The sudden burst of intense activity left her winded: she was
struggling to catch her breath, chest heaving.

"If you don't want anybody hurt, you'll do as I say," Yang said.

He took aim at Jennie's prone body. She had propped herself up but hadn't spoken, still stunned
from her near-death experience. Her eyes widened a fraction but she didn't move, frozen like a deer
in headlights as she stared down the barrel of the gun.

"No no ok ok I'll say it! I'll say it!" Lisa shouted wretchedly. "Point the gun at me!"

"You know what, maybe I will." Yang's face darkened. "I've been dreaming of doing that for a
while now. Speak."

"Lisa," Rosé whispered again. "Don't..."

It will change everything. If she didn't hear whatever Lisa was going to say, she could ignore and
pretend that the conclusion she was jumping to wouldn't be true.

But Lisa cast one final sad glance in Rosé's direction before she heaved a great sigh that rippled all
throughout the basement lair.

"I'm Tiger King," Lisa said quietly.

"Louder," Yang smirked. "Let the whole hall hear you. Hey Jay-TB I don't think you heard her
from back there did you?"

"Lisa..." Rosé said but Lisa never looked at her.

She balled her fists and gnashed her teeth, as though it caused her unbearable pain to spit out the
words. "I'm Tiger King. I'm Tiger King. I'm Tiger King."

Jennie bowed her head and Rosé could only look on in bewilderment.

"The killer?" she said dumbly.

"I...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I wanted to tell you. I was supposed to tell you tomorrow," Lisa choked
out miserably. "I never wanted to hurt you."

"But how?" Rosé turned to Yang, beyond confused. "Tiger King is a man! It's not...she can't..."

"It was Tiger King's secret. Since his identity was never known, it was the carefully crafted
assumption that he was a man," Yang said smugly. "Don't be so upset. Everybody was hoodwinked
to believe that, myself included. They crafted her appearance to perpetuate that lie, cut her hair like
a boy's, made her walk like a boy. Her appearances were scarce or at night, so who would have
known? And before you hit puberty, girl's bodies aren't that different from a boy's. Only a select
few knew the truth. It would have put people's belief in Tiger King in jeopardy if they knew. I
mean, think of it. A girl being the legendary bloodthirsty assassin? Preposterous."

"Yet there she stands, and she's as girly as any of us," Jennie croaked. She finally got to her feet,
her glare intensifying. "Everything is out in the open. Are we done playing games now?"

Rosé's legs wobbled at the knees but she fought to stay upright.

Tiger King was Lisa. Lisa was Tiger King. Lisa had been there. Lisa gave Yang his scar. Lisa was
the vicious killer who went on the rampage and left a bloody trail of hundreds in her wake.

Lisa was her father's killer. Lisa was the reason she sold herself to Yang to do his dirty business.
Lisa was the reason she had to leave Ella all by herself at home.

Lisa was the reason they met at all.

Lisa was the reason she fell in love.

The truth was laid out in front of her, plain as day, but all Rosé want to do was run from the tangled
confusing web of truths and keep running forever as the world vanished from beneath her feet.

"We're far from done. Rosé, why don't you explain why you were so keen to help out with my
search for Tiger King?"

Barely having the strength to speak, Rosé gulped once, twice. "He...Tiger King killed my dad."

"And because of Tiger King, she ended up in the dire situation she is today. Maybe if Tiger King
hadn't attacked, her father would still be alive and she wouldn't have forfeited her life to me," Yang
continued, relishing Lisa's aghast expression.

"No...no no no I didn't...I..." Lisa turned to Rosé in despair, wringing her hair. "I didn't know...why
would I...oh Rosie." Lisa sank to the ground and held her head, shoulders trembling. Jennie stood
by, just as helpless.

"Oh but wait, there's more," Yang called, "we still haven't gotten to the exact circumstances of
Rosé's father and Hwangssabu's death and the actual attack. Wouldn't you like to hear?"

"Frankly, no." Jennie turned to Yang, hatred clear in eyes. "We just want Jisoo and Ella back. But
it's clear you're not giving them back just yet, are you?"

Yang smirked. "I thought I had better explain why everything is happening and how you're all
connected together. But now it's my turn to tell you a story. You see, I had been searching for Tiger
King for a while. It had been rumoured that he escaped from the labs he was kept in—"

"Labs?" Rosé said hoarsely. "You were in a lab?"

All the instances of Lisa's reluctance to speak about her past came flooding back: when she spoke
of her parents, when she mentioned that boy Bambam, her fear of dogs, her fear of needles, the
nightmare a few days ago, her comparison to Xmen, even when she professed to hear her heartbeat
whilst asleep...suddenly all the puzzle pieces were coming together.

"She's a lab rat, an experiment. One of the successful freaks to come out of a test tube, aren't you?"
Yang jeered. Lisa visibly crumpled and hunched up like a kicked puppy. Rosé would have punched
him in the face weren't it for the fact that her feet were rooted to the ground.

"We received a tip about Hwangssabu. He was an interesting man to be sure. He had been on the
military task force charged with searching for Tiger King years before he was kicked out by
military brass who obviously didn't want such a precious asset to be confiscated. A superhuman
assassin who can fight and work for days on end! You'd be crazy to give something like that up.
And then who would have come into Tiger King's possession but the man that had been in charge
of the task force himself! What a very lucky coincidence, don't you think? Makes you wonder what
exactly was going through his mind, keeping something like that to himself."

Rosé could only stand and listen in a daze, words dancing around in her head and losing all
meaning, because her world had crashed and burned for good now and nothing made sense
anymore.

Her sweet, loving Lisa was a cold-blooded psychotic killer? She was still trying to process that
crucial piece of information, trying to reconcile what she knew with what she had just learned.
Nothing was making sense.

She remembered all the times Lisa had kissed her and hugged her, all the times Lisa had played
with Ella and snuggled with her, all the times she left Lisa with Ella alone at home, all the times
Lisa had made love to her, made her feel so safe and protected.

The wave of nausea and shudders intensified as paranoia kicked in. Lisa could have killed them.
She was a killer. She had blood on her hands. She murdered her father.

"We were interrogating Hwangssabu, my men and I. And you were watching, weren't you Jennie?
Lisa? You were there."

"We had followed him," Jennie croaked. Lisa didn't look up.

"Yes. And then Rosé's father here is what instigated the whole attack. Because he lost his temper
with Hwangssabu, who wasn't giving us answers, and he started to lay it on him, beating him to a
pulp." Yang's lips curled back. "Tiger King didn't like that."

Lisa's knuckles were pure white as she balled her fists but Yang didn't relent.

"I never got a good look at the attacker. It was only later we were able to piece the clues but by
then, there was nothing I could do. I was broken, I lost my most trusted men and had to turn to
other allies for help. And I despise help. I had no idea where to look. It's only because of Rosé here
that I was able to really kickstart the process."

He sneered in her direction. "You gave me Hwangssabu's name in exchange for not giving me
information about Lisa, but my dear, you gave me the key to solve her true identity. For that, you
have my thanks."

Jennie rounded on her, shock and betrayal clear in eyes. "What?"

"I had to," Rosé wept. "I was so scared for Ella, he was already threatening me and observing her
when she was anywhere outside home. Don't you understand Jennie? He owns me. How was I to
know some random name would...would..."

She clutched her hair, on the verge of screaming. But she couldn't back down from that decision. If
she had given Yang any information about Lisa back then, it was tantamount to a greater betrayal.
She wanted Lisa to at least look at her but Lisa kept her head resolutely bowed, as though in
permanent prayer.

"Don't be so upset, Jennie," Yang chimed in. "Rosé was trying to survive. Just like you and your
sister. But we all have to bear the sins of our fathers now, don't we? You know all about that."

Jennie's eyes narrowed. "About what?"

"Ah, I might know a thing or two about you and your real family," Yang smiled and winked, "but
we're not here to talk about you today. Perhaps another time."

Jennie trembled, with rage or fear Rosé wasn't sure, but her curiosity was piqued. What did Yang
mean? What did he know about Jennie?

"You're lying. You're making things up. But I'll play your game. How do we know it was indeed
Rosé's father that killed Hwangssabu anyway?" Jennie spat at Yang Hyun Suk. "You're just
messing with us!"

"Do you remember the name that he was called?" Yang said smugly. "Or did you conveniently
forget that detail? I'm quite sure I called his name, as did the others."

Jennie shook her head bitterly. "It was chaos. If you're butt-hurt about us forgetting about you
before, well, it was dark and we couldn't really see much in that alley. But you don't forget your D
—your guardian's killer's name that easily. Taeyang."

The ground fell out from beneath Rosé and she landed hard in a heap. "It's him," she whispered and
managed to raise her head, her eyes stinging as she looked at Jennie and Lisa. "My dad's name was
Youngbae, but his alias was Taeyang."

Jennie and Lisa's jaws both dropped, appalled.

"Your dad...killed my dad..." Lisa said slowly. "He killed him." Her eyes settled on that unnatural
golden colour and the ice-cold look she gave Rosé made her blood freeze.

She was going to die.

Rosé bowed her head and didn't deny. It sounded just like Taeyang to lose control and beat a man
to death, just as often as he had beat his own daughter. Life had played one of its many cruel jokes
on her yet again, taunting her by gifting her the most perfect girlfriend she could think of, only for
reality to smack her in the face.

Of course Lisa had to be some psychopathic lab experiment juiced up and primed to kill who lost
her guardian because he was beat senseless by her father and then killing him in return.

"Alright, this is getting sad now," Yang interrupted, "let's get back to the agenda. Jennie, Rosé,
you're free to go, we're done here. But Tiger King stays."

Lisa's nostrils flared but she didn't answer to the name. Yang noticed and gave a nasty chuckle.

"After years of searching for Tiger King, we've finally found you again. Deny all you like, but you
can't run from what you are," he drawled.

"She's not Tiger King anymore," Jennie said firmly.

"She doesn't answer to you anymore, Jennie. From this point forward, forget that you had a sister.
Forget Lisa." He aimed his gun at her as Rosé watched on breathlessly, but Lisa didn't even blink.

"Lisa was a fever dream," Yang intoned, "a docile mask that the killer standing before you wore.
You think you would have escaped her clutches unscathed? Sooner or later, when you're not
looking, the mask slips and then it's over."

Jennie paused, her fury momentarily evaporating. Rosé observed her expression and couldn't help
but have a terrible thought race through her mind: had Lisa ever attacked Jennie?

"Lisa is her own person, not just Tiger King. That was in the past. Move on," someone said; Rosé
realised it was herself. Some inner strength pushed the words to spill out of her mouth.

Yang set his jaw, nostrils flaring with displeasure.

"You think I'm going to just let her go? That I can just forget about what she did to me? That
brute monster killed my men, wrecked my face, ripped my reputation to shreds and nearly had me
collared by the cops. Jinyoung wants to keep her as his pet but I have better ideas. It ends here.
Now."

"Lisa, run!" Jennie screamed before Yang fired.

All at once chaos broke out around them as Lisa sprang into action, barrelling past the Jays and
zipping in between them as they all took out their guns and gave chase. Shots rang out, making
Rosé and Jennie fall to the ground and cover their heads.

Lisa ducked and weaved back the way they came, rushing like her legs were wings. She punched
any Jay that crossed her path, throwing them down like reeds, and disappeared into the tunnel that
had led them into the lair without ever looking back.

"Rosé, up! We gotta make it out of here before they notice," Jennie ordered as she crawled her way
over to Rosé. "Move!"

Rosé couldn't believe her eyes and ears: even after all the revelations, Jennie was helping her.

"Lisa—"

"She can handle herself, she can run forever. Let's just go," Jennie pleaded, helping her up.

"Not so fast."

Yang and a few remaining Jays all had their guns cocked and aimed at them, surrounding them.
Jennie growled low in her throat and subtly moved to cover Rosé behind her.

"You said you're done with us," Jennie said.

"And since when did you start to be so trusting?" Yang sneered. "How pathetic."

He motioned at the Jays. Four rushed forward, one of whom Rosé recognised to be Jaehyun. He
never showed any sign of recognising her back, his face blank. Jaehyun and another Jay took hold
of Rosé's arms firmly but she didn't struggle. The same happened for Jennie, only she was more
resistant.
"Watch it, mister!" She lunged and tried to bite at the Jays holding her but they simultaneously
punched her in the ribs and she doubled over, winded. Rosé could only stand by and wince,
helpless and hopeless. There was nowhere to run.

"Get up. Let's go check how far Tiger King has gone," Yang said, unperturbed that Lisa had made
a run for it. Rosé didn't like his sleazy smirk one bit.

"Let me guess, you knew this would happen," Jennie said sarcastically, a thread of uncertainty
clear in her voice. Yang simply shrugged and took the lead but the smugness in his voice was
undeniable.

"It pays to prepare."

 Last Girl Standing
Chapter Summary

previously: jenlichaeng headed to Rkive and met yang where all sorts of secret were
revealed, lisa made a run for it but chaennie were apprehended.

Jinyoung was in a good mood today, Dahyun noted. He had brought her food and she salivated at
the smell of noodles.

He didn't stop humming as he swirled the noodles and forked it up, feeding her like a toddler.
Thankfully, he didn't humiliate her by attempting some silly aeroplane tactic but she didn't care.
She was too hungry to care about her pride and hungrily scarfed down what he gave, past caring
that it could be poisoned. The spices made her blistered tongue scream but it invigorated her as
well, pushing up the lever on her alertness meter.

"What's up?" Dahyun wondered, after he gave her a glass of water. "You're very cheerful tonight.
Or is it morning?"

"Night. Or very very early morning, which way you look at it," Jinyoung said pleasantly. "I've been
busy so hopefully, the fruits of my labour will soon bear us fruit." He was in a plain red shirt and
jeans, very unusual for him.

"More kidnappings? Child trafficking? Illegal drug deals? Business shams?" Dahyun snarked. He
had the audacity to laugh.

"Already forgotten the reason you're down here and missing some fingernails?"

She gritted her teeth. The pain had dulled, but by no means had she forgotten. It flared up when he
mentioned it, after she had so carefully and painstakingly pushed it to the edge of consciousness.
Thankfully there was no threat of infection; Jinyoung had taken care of it, but he hadn't opted to
provide her with anything else to dull the pain.

Because he was sadistic bastard getting off on slowly killing her and driving her insane.

Jackson had never come to see her. In a way, she was glad because she was sure she'd simply erupt
and bring down all the curses she knew on his head. But a small secret part of her wanted to see
him again. Wanted to peer into his eyes, wanted to see if regret and guilt were eating him alive,
wanted to see if deep down, he had cared. Because if he had cared, that kernel of guilt might be the
reason she survives this mess and escapes.

But maybe that's why he never came back, because seeing her would cause him conflict. Jinyoung,
that bastard, he knew what he was doing.

A sudden burst of sound had Dahyun frown as she lifted her head and tried to locate it. It sounded
like gunshots. And it seem to come from behind the wall on her left.

Jinyoung heard it too. "Ah, the show has started. I hope they don't rough up my Jays too badly."

"What show? What's going on?" Dahyun demanded. She strained to hear. Strangled shouts and
urgent barked orders filtered through the walls, muffled and incoherent.

Jinyoung stood up and looked down at her, his eyes shining with manic energy by the light of the
candle. Dahyun looked up at him, wary.

"Would you like to meet Tiger King?" Jinyoung smiled.

>

Rosé's heart had taken up residence in her throat and refused to be swallowed down back in her
chest. She was barely breathing over the thundering dread that overwhelmed her as they emerged
from Rkive.

Headlights from cars surrounding the area illuminated the grounds around Rkive, their bright glare
making Rosé squint. But she still spied Lisa's unmistakable figure standing frozen in the centre of
the circle that cars had formed, hemmed in from all sides by Jays aiming their guns at her.

Why wasn't she running or fighting?

The unexpected answer came in the form of a terrified, high-pitched voice, horrifyingly familiar.

"Let go of me, I said! You're hurting me!"

Next to Rosé, Jennie turned to stone. "No," she whispered, shaking her head wildly. The Jays
tugged at her arms but she refused to move, eyes wide and unblinking.

"Alright everybody, let's all calm down," Yang called out, strolling calmly out into the circle. Lisa
half-turned, her face guarded and shrouded in shadows. She appeared unharmed and Rosé blew out
a breath of relief.

But when Lisa turned, the owner of the high-pitched voice also came into view and Rosé felt her
stomach drop.

"Mimi," Jennie croaked in horror. "What the..."

"Bring the girl here," Yang commanded. "And Tiger King, don't try anything funny, or I shoot to
kill."

"Don't hurt her!" Jennie burst out. "She....what the hell did you do, you sick bastard!"

"I took precautions," Yang replied easily as a struggling Somi was brought up to Yang. Lisa
watched it all in stoic silence, even as Somi cried and begged in confusion.

"Please, I didn't do anything, I was just asking about my friend! Is that a crime?" she gasped. Her
face glistened with tears, her clothes dishevelled as her hair.

"Oh dear," Yang crooned, "it must be rough to be caught up in this mess, hmm? I don't suppose
anyone ever thought to include you in on their secrets, did they?"

"What secrets? Lisa, what's he saying?" Somi asked tearfully.

"It's okay," Lisa rasped, pained, "it's okay Mimi. Just hang in there. We'll get you out of here."

"Let her go, Yang," Jennie gritted out bravely, even daring to step forward, though she was held
back by the Jays. "If you want to do something to her, do it to me. She has got nothing to do with
this."
"Yeah, it's me you want, not her," Lisa chimed in, her voice stronger as she stood up straighter.

Rosé wanted to back them up, she truly did, but her heart was beating too hard to let her speak.

Where was Ella? And Jisoo?

She scanned the area desperately, looking for a sign from either of those two. She frantically
pushed back on the panic making a home in her chest. Now was not the time to lose her head.

Jennie and Lisa were stalling Yang, buying them precious time to figure out an escape but their
options looked bleak.

"Ah, it's true I don't have any use for her, but she's involved now. To tell you the truth, I've known
about her existence before I knew about you two. The fact she is related to Tiger King was merely
a happy coincidence that I was able to leverage."

"What?" said Lisa and Jennie. Rosé held her breath as Yang gestured at her, dooming her on the
spot.

"Your precious girlfriend had of course passed on Somi's personal information when she started
classes with her. Poor Somi wasn't lucky enough to stir her conscience, hmm?"

Rosé couldn't retort, miserably letting Lisa and Jennie's disbelief wash over her because Yang was
right. She had been too scared to try and stand up to Yang at the time. Lisa had been the one to
imbue her with the strength she needed to put her foot down, even though it cost her dearly.

"And then she shows up at Rkive asking about her missing buddy," Yang drawled. "Jinyoung
didn't want to take risks. Besides..."

He tossed his head at Lisa. "She was good bait to catch me my fish."

"Great. So let her go now," Jennie said. "You got what you wanted. She'll keep her mouth shut,
won't you Somi?"

"You have a nerve to demand things out of me," Yang grunted, his patience running thin. Rosé
recognised the signs—flared nostrils, tight jaw— and held her breath as Yang advanced on Jennie,
who stood her ground despite her small stature. She blinked up at the crime boss, trembling but
determined.

"Be careful, Jennie Kim," Yang said quietly, "you may have the luck of the devil on your side, but
you might end up like your parents if you push me."

"What about my parents?" Jennie snarled.

Yang's lip curled and he stepped back. "Oh nothing. But if I were a fugitive on the run from loan
sharks, I'd recommend checking under the car diligently, even years later."

Jennie's face lost all traces of colour and she swayed on the spot. "It was you..." she choked out
incredulously. "You...you killed them? Why? How did..." She trailed off, at a loss.

"Strange coincidences, I assure you. I never recognised you until we started keeping an eye on your
movements and dug a little into your history," Yang said smugly. "But don't think I won't hesitate
to finish the job if you try me."

"Go ahead then," Jennie spat. "Do it, you piece of shit. Finish what you started."
"Jen, don't provoke him!" Rosé hissed fearfully, but Jennie didn't hear or if she did, she forged on.

"But you're not going to, are you?" Jennie said. "You won't dare move a single muscle before the
real mastermind shows up. Because if you step out of line, you're done for, aren't you?"

"What?" Yang barked, breaking composure for the first time.

"You're just blustering and throwing your weight around, threatening and talking and strutting like
some rooster," Jennie said relentlessly. "But you're not actually going to kill Lisa until Jinyoung
shows up. You're too much of a coward to do anything by yourself. What are you going to tell him?
That you killed his precious Tiger King? I bet he'll be really happy about that."

"Shut your rathole." Yang stormed towards Jennie but she wasn't finished goading him.

"Yeah, come at me. What are you gonna do? Jinyoung went to all the hassle of kidnapping Jisoo
and Ella. For what? I bet he wouldn't like it if you killed us all here. He wants Lisa. He wants me
and Rosé alive. Go on, I dare you!"

"Shut up!" Yang pulled the gun in front of Jennie's face. His eyes burned. "Hold your tongue or the
next words you say will be your last."

"Nini, stop it," Lisa called out apprehensively. "He's serious."

The Jays hung on grimly to Jennie but she ignored them all and glared balefully up at Yang. She
puffed out her chest, inches away from the deadly muzzle. "Go on. Do it if you're really the boss
around here. Do these men, the Jays, even answer to you? You're just Jinyoung's puppet."

"I'm not that boy's puppet! I'm my own man!" Yang screamed in her face. Rosé watched with open-
mouthed amazement as her boss fell apart right in front of her eyes, stamping his feet and shouting
as everyone stared. Jennie had unnervingly struck deep.

But she was also playing with fire.

"Then what are you doing waving that gun?" Jennie taunted recklessly, heedless of the danger.
Yang's tantrum injected her with a lethal dose of cockiness. "Aim and shoot if you're a man, you
fat brainless turd. Do it."

Yang violently backhanded across the face with his gun, throwing her to the ground. The sickening
thud of metal hitting bone made Rosé wince, the force of impact strong enough to send the Jays
that were holding Jennie sprawling.

"Jennie!" Lisa and Somi screamed.

Jennie didn't move.

And then Lisa exploded in movement, tearing towards Yang with a savage snarl. Her eyes gleamed
yellow as she leapt into the air. Somi screamed again and the Jays scattered, surging forward as
they fumbled with their weapons, barking orders and colliding like headless chickens in panic.

They never stood a chance against an enraged Lisa.

Rosé watched in a daze as Lisa cut a path through the hail of gunfire and bodies, bowling them
over like wooden toys. She never faltered and never stopped, her gaze locked only on the man
screaming blue murder as he unleashed a volley of bullets in her direction.
"Get her you maggots!" Yang screeched. "She's gonna kill us all!"

Men fell on all sides, shouting in pain and confusion as stray bullets found their (unfortunate)
mark. Rosé herself dropped to the ground and covered her head, the Jays holding her having let
her go as they stepped into the fray to help their friends.

"Come on! Die you monstrous fiend!" Yang spat, clenching his jaw as Lisa rushed inexorably
closer, slowed down somewhat as she dispatched the hapless men in her path with ruthless
efficiency, easily flinging them into the air as though they weighed nothing.

Rosé shivered at the unnatural display of strength, remembering how those same murderous hands
had caressed her so carefully and tenderly only an hour earlier...

Yang steadied his gun with both hands, forcing himself to calm down and take more careful aim.
"I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do," Rosé heard him say.

A bullet zinged past Lisa's head, nicking the tip of her ear. She growled and snapped her jaw in
irritation. More bullets were flying close, too close for comfort and Rosé knew that despite Lisa's
uncanny reflexes and luck, it was only a matter of time before a stray bullet hit true.

For all the people present Lisa was Tiger King, the legendary invulnerable killer, but to Rosé, she
was her Lisa, and all too human.

"We gotta do something," Rosé whispered, trembling. "We gotta save her."

But there was nobody to back her up. Jennie was groaning on the ground, trying to crawl away to
safety. Somi was nowhere to be seen. She was all alone.

It was deja vu all over again, that night in the alley as the brute strangled Lisa and she ran
headlong into danger without even considering saving her own skin.

Lisa needed her help, and Yang was standing practically next to her, focused only on Lisa, totally
vulnerable and open to attack.

She lunged for Yang's gun, throwing him off course just as he fired.

"Bitch!"

They went down into the fray, struggling for the gun but Rosé didn't let go, even as she was
buffeted from all sides from stray kicks and hits, bearing the brunt of the chaos with grim
determination.

She clung on for dear life even as Yang roared and kicked out, catching her in the shins. The gun
shook over and over as he fired, the recoil shuddering through Rosé like a shock wave. She
squeezed her eyes tight and kept it pointed away from her as she tugged and tugged.

"Let go!"

Yang dragged her up when he climbed to his feet but she clung on resolutely.

"Let go you damned bitch!"

"I'm not letting you hurt her!" Rosé cried. She gasped when Yang relinquished one hand from the
gun to grab her throat. He squeezed, throttling her.

"Your little bitch won't save you this time," he grunted as she choked, her grip on the gun slacking.
"I knew...it...was...you," she wheezed. Her lungs were on fire, the sounds of the fight and gunshots
muffling. It was that night in the alley all over again. But Lisa wasn't saving her now—she was on
her own and she was going to die.

Get him in the throat when he's open, Lisa's voice from memory whispered in her ear. Thumb
outside your fist, like I showed you. Do it.

Yang's face blurred but Rosé gritted her teeth and with her last bit of strength, managed to land a
kick to his ribs. He gasped, retracting his arm automatically and bringing Rosé within range. She
swung her fist and managed to punch him in his soft fleshy throat.

Yang choked and let go, doubling over. At the same time, Rosé blindly lunged for the gun,
snatching it from Yang's grasp as he coughed, easily overpowered.

When he finally straightened, he froze, staring straight at Rosé who stood holding the gun with
both hands, heaving. She lifted the weapon level with his chest, her face set and determined even
as her hands trembled. She could hear the remaining bullets rattling inside.

"Rosé...Thorn...steady now," Yang said, holding his hands up. His usually half-lidded eyes were
wide and, to Rosé's satisfaction, full of fear. It imbued her with the power that she craved and for
once, she was in control while her tormentor was at her mercy. The sensation was intoxicating.

"Tell me where Jisoo and Ella are," Rosé said harshly, her voice carrying despite the Jays'
shouting. "Or so help me God, I'll kill you where you stand. Do it."

"You won't kill me—" He cut off and raised his hands in the air when Rosé thrust the gun
threateningly. "Alright alright let's not be hasty now. You need me to find your kid," Yang
pacified, but his nervous movements as his gaze darted repeatedly to the shaking gun didn't make
him look convincing.

"You lying git," Rosé hissed. "Tell me right now! I swear, I'll shoot if you don't! Where are they?!"

"Okay, okay! Ella is...Ella is..." Yang suddenly gesticulated frantically. "Behind you!"

Rosé wheeled around. "What?"

She realised her mistake when Yang rammed into her, throwing her down. But she didn't let go of
the gun.

Flipping on her back, she aimed upward as Yang froze, looming over her. His perspiring face
wavered, terror stealing over his features as he looked down at his executioner. His scar stood out
in stark contrast against his pale skin.

Yang's words rang in her ear like a prophecy. The father died for me. I wonder about the
daughter?

Rosé's jaw tightened. I may be my father's daughter, but I'm also me.

Yang took one fatal step back when he saw his fate sealed in her eyes. "Rosé wait—"

Rosé screamed as she fired dementedly, residue raining down on her as she unleashed all her pain
and fury.

Yang's body flailed and danced limp like a ragdoll as the bullets ripped through him. Red blotches
appeared all over his front and sprays of red filled the air, splashing Rosé. With a sickening groan,
Yang finally crashed to the ground like a beached whale. He didn't move or make another sound.

Meanwhile, Rosé ran out of bullets, the gun clicking uselessly in her hands. But she couldn't stop
squeezing the trigger, eyes wild, determined to burn away every last reminder of her tormentor and
make sure he's good as dead. After an eternity, her arms grew tired and the gun simply fell back to
earth as her arms dropped by her side.

Dimly, she wondered why nobody had rushed to seize her after killing their boss. All sounds died
away and she could only hear the drumming of her heart, buzzing as fast as the adrenaline blazing
through her veins.

I killed him. I'm free. I killed him. We're free, we're free, we're—

"What's going on here?" thundered a new voice and just like that, Rosé's world jerked to a dizzying
halt.

She wasn't free. Not yet.

>

The shouting and gunfire had ceased by the time Jennie's head cleared enough for her to gain her
bearings. Yang had really whacked her good, almost knocked her out. She had heard the sounds of
the fight but was too dizzy and teetering on the brink of unconsciousness to do more than try to
find shelter from all the chaos.

Sticky blood oozed from her nose and she wiped it impatiently with the back of her hand but
thankfully, her nose seemed to be intact. Her whole jaw felt like it was dislocated and then pushed
back in.

There was the quick shuffle of the remaining Jays rushing back to form the perimeter of the area to
encircle it, hushed murmurs buzzing around Jennie as she slowly stood up and looked around her.
They all looked guarded and alert, but nobody aimed their weapons.

Why had the fighting stopped? Where was Lisa?

Fallen bodies lying in pools of blood emerged as the Jays fell back, clearing the area. The corpses
were illuminated by the car headlights, their faces shrouded in shadows, and it was just as well;
Jennie didn't want to have their dead contorted faces branded in her mind.

Their limbs were splayed at awkward, impossible angles and the smell of blood and other
excrement hit Jennie in a nauseating wave, almost making her double over and retch. Her cheek
and jaw area throbbed, still tingling.

Where was Lisa? And Rosé? Were they safe? Were they going to be killed? Jennie scanned her
surroundings as she rubbed her chin.

Lisa stood a few paces away, arms up and ready to fight. Her legs were bent in a stance as she
heaved, eyeing her surroundings warily. When their gazes met, Lisa instantly relaxed, the intense
yellow gleam receding. The biggest pile of bodies lay around her, many of them dead, but Jennie
didn't care. Lisa had managed to not lose utter control of herself.

Greatly relieved that her sister was alive AND had not gone on a total rampage, Jennie continued
looking.

She spied Rosé a few paces away, standing up with blood splashed all over her, looking none too
worse for wear. For a moment, Jennie panicked, thinking it was her own blood but then she spied
the bulk of the man lying in front of Rosé, and the gun on the ground, and the picture cleared.

Rosé had freed herself. Jennie saw the blonde glance around warily before staring ahead at a
newcomer approaching them.

She followed Rosé's gaze, her feet taking root when she recognised the man approaching them.

"Evening ladies. Sorry to crash the party," Jinyoung warbled as he pulled a smaller, stumbling
figure in tow. He was still in his ridiculous pizza boy outfit. "How's it going so far? Having a
blast?"

Jennie had to squint to see him against the glaring light, but she didn't doubt the arrogant smirk
plastered on his smug face.

"Oh, you took care of Yang for me? You didn't have to, that's so thoughtful!" Jinyoung gushed,
spying Yang's motionless body. "Who was it? Jennie, clever girl, did you do it?"

Jennie didn't have the strength to shake her head.

Rosé slowly raised her hand. "I did," she said dumbly. Jennie felt, rather than saw, Jinyoung's
smile grow broader.

"Well, well, well, how interesting! The beautiful rose finally turned deadly. Who would have
guessed?"

"Cut the crap!" Jennie exploded. "Give us Jisoo and Ella or I'll...I'll..."

"Just a moment," Jinyoung said mildly and he pushed the person accompanying him forward, By
the slight frame of the silhouette, Jennie guessed it was a girl. She was slightly shorter and skinnier
than Jisoo, but taller than Ella.

Disappointment welled up in Jennie's chest, followed by dread. Who was the poor girl and what
was Jinyoung intending to do?

"Tiger King, I picked up a fan here who risked her life to meet you," Jinyoung said nonchalantly,
as though he was holding a conversation across a dining room table, and not a bloody battlefield
with bodies strewn all over. He seemed to be scrabbling with the back of the girl's head until he
eventually pulled away a blindfold. "Won't you give her your autograph?"

With a hard kick, he shoved the girl to her knees in front of Lisa. She groaned and lifted her head
up. Jennie frowned, realising she had her hands tied behind her back.

Lisa immediately sank to her knees in front of the girl, cupping her face to help her up. She stopped
stock still, her shoulders stiff with shock when she looked at the girl's face up close.

"D-Dahyun?" she spluttered. Jennie clapped a hand to her mouth, reeling.

Momo had been right all along! She had sent Somi right into the lion's den to search for her and
doomed both girls.

"Lisa?" Dahyun said, equally astonished. She struggled to sit up straight, shaking madly. Her face
looked smaller than Jennie remembered, her cheekbones jutting out.

"How is this possible?" Dahyun breathed. "All this time...you...you're Tiger King? But how...what
the fuck—"

Blam!

"No!" Jennie screamed. Dahyun fell face-first into Lisa's lap and didn't move again, a dark red
stain blooming in the centre of her small back.

Jennie and Rosé could only watch on in speechless horror as Lisa clutched Dahyun's shoulders
helplessly, shaking her.

"Hey, hey Dubu! Wake up! Stay with me! Come on, you can't die yet! Jennie, help me!"

"She's dead, Tiger King. Let her go," Jinyoung said.

"No no there's still time, she's still warm...Jennie!"

Jennie sobbed, almost falling to her knees under the groaning weight of her guilt.

If only she had listened to Momo and taken her more seriously. She would have never sent Somi.
She would have stepped in and acted, done something, anything, to save Dahyun. The shy, timid
boxer now lay lifeless in her sister's lap and Jennie never even got to explain the truth Dahyun had
cruelly died for.

"You monster!" Rosé shouted, her voice breaking.

"She outlived her usefulness, and she was never going to stay quiet about all of this. She was too
dangerous to live. I had to do it," Jinyoung said simply. "No time like the present, right? I will miss
her too."

Through her tears, Lisa glared up at him ferociously. "She had nothing to do with this!"

"On the contrary," Jinyoung said coolly. "She was looking for you these past few months. She has
been working very very hard. Her and her whorish ex."

"Momo," Lisa whispered. She looked up at Jennie, despair swimming in her eyes. "You knew..."

Jennie swallowed, more guilt strangling her. Maybe if she had talked more with Lisa, things would
have been different.

Maybe....Maybe...

"Don't be so upset girls. It's the circle of life. She simply outlived her usefulness. A terrible waste,
but it is what it is." Jinyoung turned his bright smile to Jennie. "If only you had actually thought of
opening up to your friends, Jennie, maybe you wouldn't be in this predicament. It's all about
communication, isn't it?"

Jennie's nostrils flared, rage bubbling underneath her skin, propelling her forward. "Don't you dare
talk to me about—"

Jinyoung aimed the gun at Jennie and she stopped in her tracks, seething on the spot.

"We'll be wrapping this meeting shortly. Meanwhile, won't you say a few last words to your
friend?"

"What happens if I refuse?" Jennie said bitterly. Lisa was rocking Dahyun silently, hunched over
her as she held the dead girl in her arms. Jinyoung cocked his head.
"I'd say Matthew Jeon would be extremely disappointed to hear you refused to pay your respects to
his daughter."

Jennie blanched at the same time as Lisa's head shot up. Jinyoung's words weren't making sense.

"What?" Rosé asked shakily. "What are you talking about?" But Jennie saw the way her chest rose
and fell rapidly as panic descended on them all.

"What, you didn't notice your dearest friend missing? Such good friends," Jinyoung jeered. He
pointed to the side. All three girls followed, their gazes settling on a lone, feminine figure lying
motionless in a puddle of dark blood.

No.

Her heart imploded in on itself because no, it was impossible, she was seeing things, it wasn't
real, it couldn't be real.

"Is that..." Rosé whispered, gone suddenly far too pale. Jennie didn't hear the rest of her sentence.
A dull roar took over everything in her head and she was suddenly too far away to even raise her
foot and move towards the unthinkable scene in front of her.

No. No. No.

"Somi Somi SOMI!"

Lisa abandoned Dahyun's body and crawled to Somi, barely able to drag herself along. The sight of
Somi's still body robbed her of strength, rendering her incapable of standing. She gathered Somi in
her arms once she reached her, stroking her face and her hair. Lisa's voice quavered when she
spoke.

"Hey. Hey Mimi. Come on, you're just pranking me right? Well ha ha, you win, you got me good.
But you better wake up now. You won't get your chicken bucket if you do. And listen, I'll even
forgive the ones you owed me! How does that sound? But you gotta wake up, Mimi. Hey..."

Jennie's heart cleaved in two as she watched Lisa talk and cry, helpless as a newborn, still in denial,
still trying to bring her best friend back to life.

"Mimi come on! You gotta wake up. Don't make me give you mouth to mouth, I've got such bad
breath. I promise, I'll never call you a brat again and you can win all the wrestling matches till
we're old and creaky. We're partners in crime for life! But you gotta at least open your eyes, eh?
Come on. Hey. Hey. Are you listening? Mimi?"

"Lisa," Jennie muttered as she passed by Rosé in a daze. "Lisa, let her go. She's...she's not here
anymore." She's dead, and it's my fault.

"I know, I know, she was always such a heavy sleeper," Lisa chuckled, her voice too high-pitched.
"She's going to wake up in a second and give us all a big scare and then she—"

A short thwap! made Lisa still as a dart sprouted out of her shoulder.

"Huh?" Somi's limp body fell out of her arms as she frowned and pulled out the dart. She stared at
it in confusion and lifted it up for Jennie to see.

"Lisa..." Jennie rushed to her side, intending to...what? Shield her from Jinyoung's tranquilizer
darts? She almost burst out laughing.
Two more darts thudded into her shoulder and Lisa keeled over unconscious without even a
whimper, face down in the dirt.

"Lisa!" Rosé shouted. Jennie wheeled about just in time to see her run, trip and hit the ground as
well, a dart embedded in her side.

Jennie didn't dare move as Jinyoung calmly walked up to her, dart gun in hand. She didn't want to
risk angering him and making him switch guns. Jinyoung held true menace in his actions, unlike
Yang who blustered, and Jennie recognised it instantly. Jinyoung was the true mastermind.

She wouldn't dare goad Jinyoung, but though he killed Dahyun in cold blood, he still seemed intent
on letting her and Lisa and Rosé live for a while longer.

The thought brought her little comfort.

Powerful tremors wouldn't stop racking through her body even as she balled her fists and set her
jaw, looking defiantly right into Jinyoung's face. The Jays never said a word. They were silent
witnesses watching their master play with his prey like a cat, tormenting her.

"So, it's just you and me left," Jinyoung chuckled. "This sounds like the start of a pick-up line."

Hi, is your name wifi? Jisoo had said upon meeting her. Because I'm feeling a connection.

"Jinyoung," Jennie said tiredly, "what do you want from us, really? We're here, at your mercy.
Please, just...stop playing. I'm so sick of it all." She chewed her lip, refusing to break down and cry
in front of him. The fight had all but been extinguished from her spirit. "I just want my girlfriend
back."

All she wanted was to hide in Jisoo's chest and be wrapped in comfort and safety. She berated
herself for letting herself grow dependant. Here she was now, utterly lost without her other half to
keep her anchored. Yet she couldn't bring herself to regret tethering herself to Jisoo.

Dahyun and Somi...dead because of her. What if Jisoo was next? She'd never forgive herself. She'd
never be able to live again.

"I understand. It's been a long tiring night for all of us. You all need some sleep and maybe we can
talk another time. That's why I darted Rosé and Lisa," Jinyoung explained. "We'll take you three
home now."

Jennie gritted her teeth. "I thought you wanted Tiger King."

"I do," Jinyoung said. His teeth gleamed. "But when I get your sister, I want to own her. If I just
abduct her, that won't work. I need to have her Jennie. I need to own all of her. Do you
understand?"

"No. You're out of your mind."

"It's alright. You'll understand."

Her jaw felt tender to touch and her head was swimming. Too much had happened in too short a
time. Two deaths on her hands. Rosé worked for a crime boss. Jisoo and Ella were still missing.
Lisa and Rosé were down for the count, and they were all at the mercy of a madman. She was at
her wits' end, drowning in a vast black and stormy ocean, all alone.

"It will make sense soon," Jinyoung soothed, noticing her agitation. He aimed the dart gun at
Jennie but she didn't even flinch, her eyes glazed over.

"You have my number. Call me when you feel like talking. And don't worry, I'll arrange for the
dead girls to be transported." Jinyoung bent down closer to whisper, his voice sly. "I'm sure we can
arrange something between us, darling. I'll be waiting for you. Jisoo will be too. I'll take good care
of her, if you know what I mean."

Jennie inhaled sharply but before she could swing at his jaw, he fired. The familiar rush of
numbness stole over Jennie. She dropped to her knees at his feet, mustering the last of her
remaining strength to spit out her words.

"Son of a—"

This time, darkness claimed her before she could finish her sentence.
 Spiralling
Chapter Summary

previously: life-shattering truths are revealed, somi and dahyun are dead, rosie killed
yang, jinyoung is still at large.

Chanyeol's head shot off the desk. "Who's there?" he inquired of the gloomy office. Only the
phone ringing off the hook responded him; it's what had woke him up.

Chanyeol groaned, rubbed his eyes and picked up. "Detective Park Chanyeol of the—"

"Yang HyunSuk is dead."

Chanyeol stiffened in his seat, his jaw dropping. The man he'd dedicated his life to catch...was
dead?

"W-what? Who is this?" But even as the question formed on his lips, he had recognised her voice.
"Dasoni, this isn't funny."

"I just had the information come through a few moments ago," Dasoni replied before he had the
chance to slam the phone back in its cradle. There was a note of agitation in her voice that he hadn't
ever noted before. She wasn't playing around.

"But...what do you mean, dead? How?"

"I don't know the details," she replied smoothly, too smoothly— she damn well knew and his
hands tightened around the phone.

"Was it you that took him out?" he thundered. "I was going to catch him!"

"Much as I would have liked to finish him off, no, it wasn't me. It's someone he was working with,
someone with greater power who decided he's outlived his usefulness. The storm is upon us,
Chanyeol. Hurry and keep up."

"Wait wait stop talking in cryptic clues woman, damn it!"

"I can't afford to give you answers. Wall have ears," she said urgently. "I need to go. Don't forget
your original trail. It will lead you to him."

"Original trail? What do you mean?" Chanyeol barked, standing up in frustration. "Are you talking
about Jennie? Lisa? And lead me to whom? Tiger King?"

The call disconnected with a click.

>

"Unnie? Unnie, wake up!"

Jennie groaned, her jaw throbbing in steady pulses as her eyes fluttered open. "Can't it wait?" Her
mouth tasted awful and on top of that, her head was thumping as well.
"Unnie!"

Jennie's eyes snapped open, her jaw dropping when she found a tearful Ella at her side. All the
events of the night before came rushing back like a tornado.

"Ella!" She quickly scooped up the crying girl and hugged her close, rocking her as her own tears
fell. "Oh my god, am I dreaming? Are you okay? Where's your mother? And...." she looked up
expectantly, hopefully. "Jisoo? Chu? Are you here too?"

Was the nightmare over already? Had Jinyoung had a change of heart?

'Here' turned out to be the Vault, dark and gloomy and deathly silent. Jisoo was nowhere to be
seen. Lying a few feet away from her was Rosé's body, and still further away, Lisa's.

Neither was moving. They lay on their side, mirroring each other.

"Guys?" Jennie called, fighting to keep her voice even.

"Mommy won't wake up. She has blood all over her face and clothes," Ella sniffed. "I've been
yelling at her to wake up. I haven't tried Lisa unnie yet. Is she...is she..." she curled up in a ball and
Jennie thought her heart couldn't crumble further, but she was wrong. She hugged the girl tightly,
surreptitiously checking for any horrid bruise. So far, there seemed to be thankfully none.

If she found any, Jennie had been ready to march to JYP and burn it to the ground.

"She's probably really tired. She had a long night," Jennie said, dread clogging her throat as she
stood up. "We...we were up all night looking for you."

If Jinyoung was playing some sick game with her and killed off Rosé and Lisa as well...

Somi's still body and Dahyun's abrupt death flashed in her mind's eye. Jennie held her head,
gritting her teeth as her heart gave a dull pang.

No, Jinyoung wouldn't kill Rosé, or Lisa, or herself. It didn't make sense for him to do that.

Yet.

Jennie knelt next to Rosé and put two fingers to her neck. The knot of apprehension in her chest
dissipated when she felt a steady pulse.

"She's okay," Jennie breathed, greatly relieved. She tapped Rosé's cheek lightly. "Come on Rosé,
wake up. Don't make me slap you," she muttered. But Rosé slept on. The colour had returned to
her cheeks, smeared with blood. Jennie did her best to scrub it off, but even then, Rosé slept like
the dead.

Jennie tried hard not to panic. She didn't know the signs of a coma. Or was it a concussion? What
was the difference? Would Rosé never wake up? Would Lisa?

"Wait," Ella said suddenly, brightening. "I know how to wake mommy! You have to kiss her, like
in sleeping beauty!"

Jennie pinched the bridge of her nose, on the verge of breaking out in hysterical laughter.

"I don't think Jisoo would like that, sweetie. And I am definitely NOT kissing my sister either. No,
we need something a little more active than that. Oh, do you mean like CPR? I'm not sure if that
would work here. Or maybe I should let her sleep till she wakes up?"
Immediately she dismissed the idea. They all needed to talk and decide their next moves. Jisoo was
still in a madman's clutches and two people were dead. They couldn't wait around forever to take
naps.

"I know!" Ella said again, perking up. Without warning she pounced on her mother and tickled her,
scrabbling at her armpits and neck. "Tickle Monster attack!"

The effect was electric. Rosé jerked, her mouth opening in a choked laugh as though she had been
pretending to sleep all this time. She kicked and thrashed, turning on her back while Ella clung on
gleefully.

"Tickle tickle!"

"El, no, stop it! Stop it, I'm gonna burst!"

Rosé finally opened her eyes, breathless when Ella put pause to the tickling. She took in the girl
sitting on her stomach and her eyes filled. She covered her mouth, shaking.

"Ella? Is—is this a dream? Oh, Ella!" She shot up and gathered her daughter up in a hug, sobbing.
"Ella Ella my baby oh thank goodness you're safe, I'm so sorry, I'm so damn sorry! Are you okay,
did they hurt you? Fuck, I'm going to kill them all!"

"Mom, language."

"I don't care! Oh Ellie, baby, I thought I've lost you!"

Ella was crying again now, her small arms tightening around Rosé's neck. "It was so scary in the
dark, Mom. I don't wanna go back there."

"Never," Rosé said fervently, rocking her and kissing her temple over and over as she stroked her
head. "I'm not letting you out of my sight again. What happened? Did...did they hurt you?"

Ella squirmed and Jennie lingered, dying to know anything remotely related to Jisoo.

"When I woke up, aunty Jisoo was holding me. But the bad guys in black came and beat aunty
Jisoo up and took me away."

"They beat her," Jennie croaked. Images of Jisoo being kicked to the ground by big hulking thugs
whilst her pained cries echoed in the dark taunted her, piling on the guilt.

"Was—was she okay?" Jennie asked urgently. "Was there blood? Did they knock her out?"

"Jennie," Rosé reprimanded.

"I have to know! Ella?"

"I don't know. They beat her with big sticks. They kicked her too, and she cried," Ella said
anguished. "I tried to tell them to stop, I really did, but nobody listened. They took me away, I don't
know what happened after."

"It's okay baby. That was really brave of you. Can you tell us more about where they took you?"
Rosé encouraged as Jennie fought to maintain her composure next to her. Ella nodded, taking deep
breaths as she remembered.

"They took me to this small dark room and there was only a hard bed in it. It wasn't comfy at all
and I couldn't sleep. I was thirsty but I was too scared to ask the people at the door. I could hear
them there, keeping watch. I tried to sleep but I couldn't. After a long long long time, this man
came, tied my hands, tied a blindfold around my eyes and walked me to a car. Then—then they
gave me something weird to smell and...I woke up in here."

"It's okay, you're safe now. I'm never letting you go," Rosé vowed, sniffing as she kissed and
hugged her endlessly. But then Rosé raised her head,drawing a sharp breath when she spotted
Lisa's motionless body.

"Lisa?" she whispered. "No..."

"It's okay, she's probably just passed out like you were." Jennie was quick to put an arm out. "I'll
handle this. She—she might not be in her right mind to see you after..."

She didn't need to finish her sentence for Rosé to understand and nod silently, her crestfallen
expression plain to see. Jennie didn't have the energy to pity her—the guilt that threatened to crush
her alive was growing sharper and heavier as more clarity returned.

How was she going to explain to everyone what happened? Would she have to? Would cops get
involved? Would they take her to jail? Take Lisa away?

And then there was Jisoo. How was she going to get her back? Jisoo was counting her.

Jennie held her head. So much was counting on her. She felt as helpless as when Hwangssabu had
died, like a dying man clutching straws and sinking fast if she didn't act.

At least, they now had one less person to worry about. Ella was safe, somehow. But it only made
Jennie frown when she remembered Jinyoung flashing his sinister shark grin.

What was he playing at, returning one of his precious hostages? Had he come to his senses?

As she walked over to Lisa to wake her up, Jennie's phone buzzed. Her heart dropped when she
saw the caller's name.

Momo.

And it flashed again before her eyes: Dahyun falling face first into Lisa's lap, her mouth open in a
perfect O, and her eyes looked past Lisa, straight at Jennie, asking why why why—

Reality was catching up and Jennie couldn't hide forever, but she could delay it. She quickly
denied the call, shuddering at the thought of having to face a hysterical Momo. Then on impulse,
she checked her messages inbox.

There were clusters of texts from Irene, Momo, Matt, Irene, Chaeyoung, Nayeon, Yeri, Joy, Seulgi,
Jeongyeon...even scrolling through them had Jennie's breath quicken.

"What is it?" Rosé asked, crawling closer. Ella hung on to her shoulder, apparently fast asleep in
her mother's arms. She looked exhausted and Jennie was once more glad that she was safe.

"I think they've found out about the girls," Jennie said steadily. She lifted her tired eyes, seeing
Rosé's gaze reflect the haunted expression she wore. "I have to talk with them but first, let's wake
Lisa."

"Yeah. I hope she's okay..."

Just then, a new message popped into her inbox, startling them. Without even checking, Jennie
knew who the sender was. Some sixth sense told her, just as some sixth sense seemed to give
Jinyoung uncanny timing.

Consider the girl's return a token of my goodwill. This is just business, and I have no use for
her. She was Yang's revenge pawn.

Give my respects to your friends in my place too, will you? thanks.

Jisoo sends her love xx

Jennie gritted her teeth. Jinyoung was far from done playing with them.

>

Waking up Lisa went a little differently than she expected.

In the warm light of morning, Lisa looked like a peaceful sleeping angel, if you overlooked the fact
that her hands were caked with dried blood, making Jennie scrunch up her nose. Lisa herself
seemed to have escaped largely unscathed except for the nick to her ear when a bullet had flown
close.

Has she really killed people the night before? How many men had died in that senseless battle?
Did she exhaust that itching need to kill? Had she calmed down sufficiently? Were they in danger
by staying in the same room? Was she stabilised?

There were so many uncertain factors that Jennie considered just letting her sleep and deal with her
afterwards while she discussed with Rosé and checked the other messages she received.

But she wasn't prepared to face Matthew or Momo. She wasn't prepared to spin some new lie to
Irene. It left her with no option but to wake Lisa. Rosé was too anxious to wait too, her eyes
hovering over Lisa, brimming with anticipation. She had settled Ella to sleep on a bench and now
crouched by Jennie, holding her breath.

Jennie had barely tapped her sister's face before Lisa's eyes snapped open, gleaming yellow. In a
blink, she had pounced on Jennie and pushed her flat on her back, arms trapped above her head as
she growled menacingly.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Jennie yelped. "Lisa, it's me! It's me, you idiot, damn it, get a grip!"

"Lisa!" Rosé rushed over, pushing her off Jennie. "Lisa, it's okay, we're safe. We're home."

At the sound of Rosé's voice, Lisa went rigid all over. Jennie wasn't sure if that was a good sign. A
few tense seconds passed before Lisa shook her head and scooted away, backing up and curling in
on herself as she hugged her knees.

"Lisa?" Rosé reached out tentatively. "Hey..."

Jennie was quick to move and push Rosé's arm away. "Don't. Give her space. She's not in her right
mind at the moment. We all need to process what happened. And what we're going to do moving
forward." She glanced at Lisa and took a deep breath. "Lisa, go punch the punching bags."

"No," Rosé said, cold fury in her voice. "I won't have you chase her away. We need to talk it out,
all of us. She needs to be involved. We have to face what happened." Her hands were shaking. "I
killed Yang with my bare hands."
"You don't understand," Jennie insisted. "When she's like this, she's dangerous. She's as dangerous
as a hand grenade. Rosé, she's not entirely stabilised right now, she needs to let out all that pent-up
aggression and bloodlust. And to do that, she needs to punch the punching bags."

"You're treating her like an animal," Rosé retorted. "Lisa can control herself. She needs to stay. We
—I need her to stay. I..." She swallowed, desperately seeking Lisa's gaze. "Lisa?"

Lisa didn't even grace them with a response. Her eyes were suddenly dull and distant. She was too
far away to be reached by anyone as the yellow gleam receded away to her usual brown. But
instead of warmth, all there was left was an icy, alien emptiness.

"Lisa, we're here to help you. I still—I still love you," Rosé choked. "That will never change. I
never meant to hurt you. My feelings for you are real."

"Leave, Rosé. If that is even your name," Lisa said. Jennie bit her lip but Rosé looked positively
devastated, as though she had been slapped across the face.

"W-what?"

"I don't want to see you right now," Lisa said, completely devoid of feeling. "You hurt me. Hurt us.
Hurt everyone."

"I know." Rosé crumbled. "I thought...I thought...you understood..."

"Somi is dead," Lisa said in a dead voice.

"That one's on me," Jennie said firmly but Lisa forged on.

"Jinyoung knew because she provided them with all the information. They would have gotten her. I
couldn't save her. I couldn't save Dahyun. I couldn't save D—Hwangssabu. I can't save anyone. I
just kill kill kill." She turned away, her blood-caked hands balling into fists. "Leave me alone." She
sat down, curled up into a ball as she hugged her knees.

"She's not herself right now," Jennie said urgently, "please, you have to understand. The Lisa we
know, she's not in control right now. Don't let it get to you. It's not like we're entirely innocent
either, we had our secrets too. Lisa, go punch the punching bag."

"No, I need her to let it out. She can yell all she likes. I need to hear it, I deserve it," Rosé said,
resolute in her decision. "We hid our secrets for long enough, it's time we confronted them. Yang
took away the opportunity to do it on our own terms. So I'm not having you chase Lisa away. I
want to face the music."

"She's not in her right mind!" Jennie barked. "Haven't you understood yet? Lisa is Tiger King.
She can kill you. Didn't you see the men she killed yesterday, purely out of self-defence? She's a
cold-blooded killer—"

"Stop—"

"—she's ruthless and merciless and more than capable of killing you, can't you understand that?"

"I don't care!" Rosé insisted. "She's still Lisa!"

"No. That's the whole point Rosé. She's not Lisa. She's programmed to kill. Lisa is just a mask she
got to wear," Jennie said tiredly. "It's not who she truly is."
"That's not true! You can't possibly believe that. It's...it's not true," Rosé said, tears in her eyes.

Jennie's heart ached, desperately wanting to reassure, to agree, to condemn herself for speaking
such a hurtful truth. But in the end, truth was never about bringing happiness. It was about
knowing what was really real, regardless of how much it hurt.

"It's what she is and I've been living with her all this time so you better back up if you want to live,
Rosé. Especially with all the damage you've done on your part, talking isn't likely to go down well.
Listen to me if you want to get through this."

Rosé stared at her, stricken. "I...I thought you understood my situation! I couldn't just tell anyone! I
was terrified and then I was scared Lisa would leave and—and besides you were hiding too!"

"Look, blaming each other isn't helping right now. We need to focus on what we're going to do,"
Jennie said. She swallowed, drawing out the phone ringing in her pocket. "We're running out of
time."

"Who is it?"

"Irene," Jennie croaked. "But Matt and Momo have been calling too."

She turned to Lisa, coming to a decision. The other girl had been still huddled up in a silent ball,
her shoulders hunched.

"Lisa, go wash up at least. And then sleep. Both of you need space."

She wasn't sure if Lisa even heard her but a few seconds later Lisa stood up, her movements stiff as
she stalked to the showers without ever looking back.

Rosé stared after Lisa with such desperate longing that Jennie almost faltered.

Despite everything, it was plain to see that Rosé truly did love her sister, and still did. Jennie shook
her head. She knew better than to let someone as potentially liable as Rosé interact with Lisa right
now, and she had to make her understand.

"Rosé listen, and listen well. I had pegged you as a trigger for Lisa—"

"Trigger for what?"

"Anytime you were around, she would pull back from the brink of utter carnage. Think about it.
That fight in the alley, when she broke her wrist? If you weren't around, she might have bludgeoned
that guy to oblivion. But because she's...imprinted on you, so to speak, she wouldn't lose all control
and go on the rampage.

"But now, until she processes all these conflicting emotions and grief, she's
compromised. You're compromised. You could set her off and do more harm than good. Please,
trust me when I say you both need space. She needs time to deal with emotions, more than anyone
else. Big emotions are overwhelming for her and she could either lash out or..."

Jennie trailed off, letting her words hang in the air between them. Her jaw hadn't stopped
throbbing.

"It's what happened with Hwangssabu, isn't it? He had been her anchor. Her trigger. But it
backfired when my dad hurt him and so she reacted badly in his defence," Rosé said at last. "The
same happens with me. She snaps and lets rip to defend me, but I can bring her back. Or at least I
could, according to you. But now, since I hurt her, things get complicated."

Jennie bowed her head. It was never easy to talk about the past, but she needed to do it now,
whether she liked it or not.

"Hwangssabu had always been careful to keep us at arm's length. We never realised the extent of
Lisa's affection for him but I should've known when she slipped up and almost called him Dad
sometimes that she loved him. Hell I did too. But..." she smiled wanly. "You can't control who you
love, no matter how distant or careful you are. And emotions are just what might destroy Lisa, if
we're not careful. She cared for Somi a great deal. I never considered before, but Somi's dea...Somi
being gone complicates things more."

She held her head. "God, my head hurts. Everything is complicated. Let's just deal with one thing
at a time. Trust me and give Lisa the space to mourn."

Rosé finally nodded, throat bobbing before she spoke. "A-Alright. I'll stay away for a few days and
give her space. I just...want to make sure she'll be okay. Really okay. I hurt her," she added
hoarsely. "I can't ever say sorry enough, to either of you."

"And we hurt you too by hiding the truth about who she is."

"That's really why you didn't want her pursuing a relationship, isn't it?" Rosé said softly. "Because
things were bound to go south when I got to know her true nature. Because in your eyes, she's a
ticking time bomb, and I was the liability to set her off."

"Yes. But at the same time..." Jennie trailed off and smiled sadly. "She has never been so happy as
when she was with you. You were good for her, and you were good together too. I suppose I just
never thought it was possible. But you changed that."

Rosé bottom lip trembled and Jennie went on. "I don't want to give you hope. There's so much
uncertainty right now, I can't guarantee if things will ever be the way they were. But...I want you to
know, don't regret your time together with her. Don't feel guilty. You loved her and accepted her
and even now, you're still so damn stubborn and...it's what she had always wanted. Someone to
stand by her and accept her and see her as...as human. So just give her space, and wait. It's all you
can do now. It's all I can give you."

"Jen," Rosé choked, "oh Jen."

"We hurt many people. Jisoo. Irene and Seulgi. They know nothing. Matt is clueless about Somi
and now..." She flinched when her phone rang again. "Go home Rosie. I don't think Yang's men
will contact you again. They were never his to begin with. I doubt Jinyoung is interested in you.
You're free. Stay low. I'll contact you when I can. And can you check in on Dalgom please?"

"Of course. But what about Jinyoung?" Rosé said, troubled. "He'll come after you both. He's not
done yet."

Jennie nodded tiredly. "I'll deal with him. Something tells me he'll wait for me to contact him
first."

"So, you're going to face Momo and Matthew and Irene all by yourself?" Rosé asked, chewing her
lip. "I want to help, Jen. Anything to make up for what I did."

"The less people are involved, the less the story gets complicated. If you want to help, pretend you
had been sick or something. If people come knocking, don't open. I'll handle the rest," Jennie said.
She exhaled, feeling so old and tired. "God, I need an energy drink to deal with all this."
>

Lisa sat in the shower as the icy water rained. Water dripped off her nose and ran down her back in
rivulets. She didn't feel even feel chilled—her body ran hot as a furnace.

Agonising fragments of the night flashed before her eyes in torrents, slippery as fish, darting away
before she could grasp them, scattering like leaves in the wind.

I killed. Again. I killed. Again. I killed. Again.

Or did she? But she had blood splattered everywhere.

Did she really kill? Had she really killed?

Jennie said she had killed. So she must have.

Right?

Trying to remember made her head hurt and spin. Lisa clenched her teeth, fighting against the
pressure in her skull.

I killed. Again. I killed. Again. I killed. Again.

Did she? Didn't she? Did she? Didn't she?

The fragmented, numb thoughts looped in her head like a broken record and she shivered,
screaming silently against the knuckles in her mouth. She didn't even taste the blood that was still
soaking off her hand.

She hadn't meant to kill. Hadn't even realised. There had been too much noise, too much chaos.
There was no buildup to warn her when she was about to break.

So she couldn't have killed. Usually there was always that warning, an ominous aura, before she let
loose. She's fine, she's in the clear. Peachy.

Somi used to say that.

No don't think of Somi.

But she hadn't been completely aware either. She was on survival mode, dodging bullets, knives,
kicks and fists. She had been moving on pure instinct alone.

And her instinct might have dulled after years of neglect, but it was still sharp enough to awaken all
animalistic reflexes, with no regard for whoever stood in her path.

She had simply gone on autopilot and when she woke up again, there she stood with bloody bodies
at her feet while Jinyoung walked up to them, Dahyun in tow.

She hadn't meant to kill. She hadn't meant to.

Had she really killed again?

Maybe they had just been unconscious. Maybe they were walking fine.

Maybe. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.

No she hadn't killed, she was certain.

But maybe she had killed.

What had happened?

Rosé had happened. Rosé betrayed her, betrayed them. Rosé's dad killed Hwangssabu.

No no no no no no

Black death and swirling red anger pulsed in a confusing maelstrom of emotions she couldn't
control. Splinters and shards of hurt pierced her from all sides.

It was all a hazy kaleidoscope of her past and her present, a torrent of sound and taste and
sensation, frighteningly vivid, jumbling up together as the dam stoppering the haunting memories
broke and flooded.

Red. Wading through blood.

White labcoat.

Chains holding her down.

I want to go home.

Somi, dead.

Black hounds.

Dr Bruschweiler, dead.

Dr Young, dead.

Bambam, dead.

You can't run from what you are.

White teeth, clashing and clacking.

Screams.

Gunfire.

Sorn, dead.

Dead bodies.

Mama. Papa. Dead. Dead.

Red. Wading through blood.

Fighting pen, waiting for the next kill.

Stench of death.

Room of dead eyes looking back at her.

You can't run from what you are.

Machines that fried her brain.

Machines that burned her from the inside.

Machines that cut into her flesh.

The sound of tearing flesh.

I'm so scared.

Nikchun, dead.

Immersion chambers.

The sound of breaking bones.

Shaved head.

Red. Wading through blood.

Glasses glinting in the light.

I don't want to do this.

Minnie, dead.

Drowning in a pit of thick, yellow syrupy liquid.

Pushed back in. Death and rebirth, over and over.

You can't run from what you are.

Lungs on fire.

Dahyun, dead.

Bagels.

Red. Wading through blood.

Will it ever end?

Hwangssabu, dead.

Burning.

Cold white room.

The man in the alley.

Ringmaster.

Vials and IV lines.

Clipboards.
Soft voices.

Smoking in the dark.

Subject 327.

You can't run from what you are.

Tongues of fire.

Brilliant blinding white light.

Pranpriya Manoban.

Taste of blood.

Heavy shackles.

Blood and sweat.

Sticky leads fixed to her chest.

Endless running on the treadmill.

Trekking in a desert.

Scorching sun.

Make it stop. Please.

Electric sparks.

Rage.

So much rage.

Stuffed in a stinking truck.

You can't run from what you are.

Cold dark nights, endless blackness.

Uncontrolled, unrestrained rage.

Slamming into walls, repeatedly.

The needles biting into her arm.

The men that attacked her, dead.

More Red. More Red. Endless Red.

Tiger King.

Rosie.

Rosie.
Rosie...

You can't run from what you are.

Lisa held her head, squeezing her temples hard in a bid to silence the warped voices and memories.

The buzzing in her head intensified, like a hive of angry bees ready to blow, like she would come
apart at the seams if she didn't rein in the terrifying forces threatening to burst out from under her
skin.

Nothing could come through right now; she was sitting at the bottom of the ocean. No light, no
warmth, no life filtered through.

She belonged there.

You can't run away from what you are, Tiger King.

A monster, Lisa thought numbly, clutching her head. I'm Tiger King. I'm a monster. I killed
people.

"Hey. I sent Rosé away."

Beyond the curtain of water, Lisa saw the hazy figure of her sister.

All at once, a wave of hatred swelled up in her chest, a terrible beast rearing its head, roaring and
demanding for blood. Lisa didn't resist—she jumped to her feet and pounced out though the sheen
of water, her hands curling into claws and closing around Jennie's throat.

Jennie's eyes bulged out as Lisa strangled her. Jennie choked, struggling uselessly as her eyes
rolled to the back of her head, her face turning blue. Lisa screamed and screamed and screamed as
she shook her sister's lifeless body.

"Hey."

Lisa's eyes snapped open, blinking away the water in front of her eyes. Beyond the curtain of water,
she saw the hazy figure of her sister.

"Lisa," Jennie said again clearly, "Lisa, can you hear me?"

Vicious hatred welled up within her, only one goal on her mind: kill kill kill.

Horrified, Lisa only barely snatched back the reins before she tore out of of her sanctuary and
killed Jennie on the spot, just as she had hallucinated seconds earlier.

Jennie seemed to sense that simmering tension —she didn't step closer, keeping a safe distance
between them.

"Rosé went home. I sent her. I'm going to talk to the rest and...and see where that goes," Jennie said
over the sound of rushing water.

With great strength, Lisa reached out and turned off the shower, sitting dripping soaking wet.

Jennie looked at her intently. Lisa could feel her gaze sweeping over her whole being and for one
terrifying moment, she wondered if Jennie could see the terrible confusion brewing in her head.

"How do you feel?" Jennie asked at last.

"Bad," Lisa croaked. "Really bad." Her hands shook as she held them out. "Jen did I...did I kill
people?"

Jennie's face tightened. "Maybe not."

"You're lying. You said I did."

"You want the goddamn truth? Fine. From where I was standing I couldn't be too sure, Yang
whacked me in the face and I was disoriented. But when I got up there you were, standing amidst a
pile of bodies. And your hand was bloody. How does that shape up?"

"I could have just knocked them out."

"Yeah." Jennie didn't sound convinced.

"Nini," Lisa pleaded in tiny voice.

"It's a very real possibility, I'm afraid," Jennie said stiffly and she averted her gaze. She looked
years older, her eyes hollowed out. "What's done is done. For what's it worth, you did it in self-
defence."

She jerked her head. "Go sleep. Punch later. I'll handle the others. You go sleep for now. It will get
better."

"Punching and sleeping is not gonna fix it, this time," Lisa whispered, feeling the truth down to her
bones, like a winter chill that you can't shake off.

You can't run from what you are.

But Jennie didn't hear—she had already left.

>

"Jennie, what the hell?" Momo screeched when Jennie picked up. "Tell me why the fuck, why the
absolute fuck Dahyun's body was outside my apartment door? The cops are on my ass god what
the hell is this nightmare?! Fucking Jinyoung Park! I'm gonna annihilate him."

"Jennie!" Irene shrieked when Jennie picked up. "What the hell is going on, where were you?!
God, I was about to drag Seulgi to the Vault, this is so crazy. Jen, Somi and Dahyun! How could
this have happened, oh god..."

"Jennie," Matt sobbed when Jennie picked up. "Where were you? I've been trying to reach you, the
cops told me not to move. They took her, they took my baby, they dumped her on my doorstep,
those bastards. She's all I had, god, where the hell were you? You know something don't you? You
fucking do. Why? Why did they do this? It's because of you isn't it? I shouldn't have gotten
involved, hell—"

"My fucking best friends," Chaeyoung bawled when Jennie picked up. "My best friends are both
dead! I never got to say goodbye! I'm coming back to Seoul right now."

"This is terrible, Jen. How did this happen? Poor Somi, poor Dahyun," Yeri and Joy sniffed when
Jennie picked up.

"I can't believe this Jen. I just can't believe this. Who would do something like this?" Jeongyeon
and Nayeon wept when Jennie picked up.
When Jennie finally put the phone down, it was already noon. Her jaw ached, pulsating steadily.
But she was otherwise numb. Murmuring the same lies and platitudes over and over, comforting
and reassuring to the best of her ability left her drained, running on empty.

She had never mentioned Jisoo, Lisa or Rosé in the mix.

Momo had proved to be the most infuriating, Matthew the most heartbreaking.

"This one time, this one time, I don't go to Rkive and she turns up dead?! Am I cursed or some
shit? Is this karma? Why the hell do I have to get lumped with this shit—"

Jennie didn't tell Momo she had been at Rkive, that she had seen Dahyun die. "How come you
weren't at Rkive?"

Momo turned shifty, defensive. "Well...maybe I just felt like having fun for once, like old times. Is
that a crime? I have the alibi to prove it if you're gonna interrogate me like these sorry-ass cops.
Y'all wouldn't stop telling me to move on, that me monitoring Rkive was useless. So maybe I
thought I would just piss off and have a fuck, it's been months by the way. And what about it?"

Jennie scoffed. Something so simple as being horny had kept Momo from backing them up. Maybe
if she had been there, she would have raised the alarm. Maybe Jinyoung could have been stopped.
Maybe all of them would have survived...

Or maybe Jinyoung was somehow also responsible for luring Momo away, but Jennie was too tired
to investigate the how and why. Jinyoung could have simply gotten lucky—either way, Momo
hadn't been there and now Dahyun and Somi were dead.

Dahyun and Somi. Dead. Jennie was still processing and trying to adjust her mouth around the
bitter poisonous words.

"And here I thought you had actually changed, that you cared about someone else other than
yourself," Jennie said scathingly. "It's true I told you that it's useless watching Rkive and doing
nothing, but you should have tried harder, instead of backing off entirely. Are you even sorry
Dahyun is dead at all?"

"Why you little brat, Kim," Momo snarled, her voice frayed, "do you have any idea what I'm going
through right now? Seeing her like that in front of my door? Do you have any fucking idea?"

Jennie closed her eyes, a bad move because she instantly saw Jinyoung fire, saw Dahyun falling,
saw the disbelief on her face, the question still alive in her eyes: why?

"No Momo, I don't."

Momo didn't seem to like Jennie's response because she hung up. Jennie was relieved; she wasn't
sure how much longer she would be able to hold up on her lies.

Matthew proved to be much harder but Jennie gritted her teeth and spoke with him.

"How did this happen? I called you but you cut off. Did you know where she is? Jennie don't lie to
me, please tell me straight. I swear I'm going crazy in here, the cops said to stay put, they keep
asking me stuff. God, I want to die. My Somi, my baby girl....my baby girl is dead Jennie. Why?
God, I have to bury her. I have to...God."

"I'm sorry Matt. I really am. I can't...I can't even process it right now. I don't know how I'll tell the
news to Lisa, she's going to be devastated. And I'm sorry, I was just with Jisoo last night, I don't
know where Somi was going, or where she was, or with whom. I'm sorry...please take care, and
keep me posted...about the wake."

"That might not be until two or three days. They were talking about doing an autopsy to see if she
had drugs or something in her system, or if she was raped. God, this isn't happening, I can't..." he
broke off with a choked sob.

"If you need me for anything, just say the word, Matt," Jennie said gently. "I'll help in any way I
can. Mimi was like a little sister to me. I—I loved her so much," she added hoarsely, the crack in
her voice shining through. "I never even got to tell her that. But I bet you anything she's watching
over us now. With...with her mother and sister."

Another helpless sob from the broken man on the other end of the line had Jennie fighting not to
break down in tears on the spot. She let him cry, twisting the skin of her thigh hard enough to stop
her tears from spilling.

She had done this. She had broken Matthew.

"I'm sorry. I'll...I'll call you back," Matt said abruptly, "I need to get back...cops need me."

"Yeah. Take care."

Jennie sprawled on the floor of the Vault, blinking up at the ceiling, exhausted. Her jaw was sore,
both from Yang's hit and the endless phone conversations.

She had spent the morning in crisis management mode and finally, she could switch off and be just
Jennie, lost and dazed and grieving. Reminiscing was not helpful, that much she knew, but it was
easy to slip back into memory lane and think of all the good times she had spent with Somi and
Dahyun, but especially Somi.

Had Somi known she really did love her, despite grouching in her general direction all the time?
Had Somi known that Jennie was fond of her, cared of her? Did Somi blame her for sending her to
her death?

And Dahyun. Poor brave, stupid, reckless, clever Dahyun, let down by every single person she had
met.

Jennie's heart clenched the more she thought about her tragedy. They had all let her down as she
bravely tried to expose a dangerous and wicked psychopath all by herself. If only Jennie had acted,
if only she had taken Momo seriously, if only Momo had persevered, if only Momo wasn't so
selfish....

No. Whatever Momo did, the fault rested with herself. She had nobody else to blame but herself.
Once she had grown aware of the danger, she should have acted.

Her gaze fell on the humming AC unit Jisoo had bought for her only weeks ago and just like that,
the world around her collapsed into a singularity the moment Jisoo slipped back into her
consciousness.

Jennie allowed it. There was nobody around her to see her. No one to hold her. No one to kiss her
tears away. The person to do that was god knows where, held hostage against her will and probably
cursing the day they met.

Jennie was alone to break down with nobody to comfort her, to reassure her that it was going to be
okay, to tell her that Jisoo was still alive and didn't hate her.
God, she never got to tell her girlfriend the most important truth of her life, and she feared that
she'll never be able to do that.

What if she never got to see Jisoo again? What if she never got to hear her again? The world might
be collapsing now, but Jennie was sure that the universe itself would blink out of existence if she
didn't bring back Jisoo alive.

She was all Jennie had left besides Rosé and Lisa before she lost all hope.

"I'm coming for you, Chu," Jennie told the AC unit, her voice quaking with each syllable. "I
promise. I have to tell you something important so hang in there for me, alright? You gotta hang in
there and wait for me. I'm coming for you. I promise. I promise."

The vow was strong, yet as with every promise she had ever made, it rang hollow, ironic and
insincere.

Because since when had she been able to keep her word?

Jennie covered her eyes with both hands, curled up into a ball and wept.
 Lost
Chapter Summary

previously: jenlichaeng woke up at the vault with ella returned safely, lisa had a
meltdown, jennie did crisis control then broke down, somi and dahyun are dead.

The pre-funeral for Somi was about as hard as Jennie expected it to be: hushed voices, bowed
heads, tearful mumbles, pinched mouths, scrunched tissues, empty words.

Like a faithful shadow, Lisa never left her side. She was mute, her movements stiff, as though she
had forgotten how to function at all. Jennie had to prod her to take off her shoes at the door and to
bow and write her name in the guest book.

She stood perfectly still in front of Somi's portrait set upon the jaesang (altar) surrounded by
flower arrangements. She stared at it as though she was going to shoot lasers out of her eyes and
burn holes. Jennie had to tug her from the arm and keep her moving, wary of people noticing them
and cornering them to talk about Somi.

She had spotted Chaeyoung with what she presumed to be her family, crying her eyes out in as
dignified a way she could muster, but Jennie didn't approach her.

They didn't linger; Jennie suspected Chaeyoung and her family were going to Dahyun's wake as
well, held on the same day. Jennie had debated going to Dahyun's pre-funeral, a prickle of guilt and
shame nagging her like a thorn in her side. In the end, she had decided not to go.

There were lots and lots of flowers. Everywhere she looked, Jennie was assaulted by colourful
arrangements or flower wreaths. The heat made them wilt, their scent sickly sweet and cloying.
Jennie had managed to put in a last minute order for a flower wreath and send it to the funeral place
where the wake was being held. She also had sent an identical one to Dahyun's pre-funeral venue.

But the abundance of blooms made it impossible to find their flower wreath at Somi's pre-funeral,
buried beneath many others that piled in. Somi was well-liked and popular, it was clear to see.

Jennie felt like she and Lisa were mere footnotes in her story, shunned aside, tiny and negligible,
just like their flower wreath.

She hadn't seen Matthew yet and she was delaying that meeting as much as possible, dreading
having to face him with the image of Somi's dead body stamped in her mind.

They hadn't even noticed she had fallen until Jinyoung pointed it out. Remembering that caused a
sharp pang in her heart.

Irene eventually found the pair of them, her eyes red-rimmed. Seulgi was with her, her face grave
as she supported Irene, rubbing her back.

"Why Somi?" Irene kept asking. "She never harmed a fly. It' so unfair. Why her?"

"She just happened to be at the wrong place, wrong time. It happens to anyone, Hyun," Seulgi said
softly, holding her sniffling girlfriend close. "Doesn't make it any less unfair though."
From snatches of conversation she had overheard, Jennie got the general picture people seemed to
be clucking and tutting about:

Didn't she know it's unwise to wonder around at night, a young girl all by herself? Got too cocky
and confident. Who knows what depraved wicked rapists are out there, lusting after pretty girls?
Haven't you heard all the crime rings the police cover up? Corrupt lot, all of them. And her father
gave her too much free rein. What have we gotten to? Back in the day....

and so on and so forth.

It almost made Jennie want to scream and kick them all out because they had absolutely no fucking
clue and were only driving the sword in her heart deeper and deeper.

"Oh Detective Park?" Jennie heard Matthew say nearby, sounding surprised. "What brings you
here? Is it...do you have news?" he added, hope colouring his voice.

"I'm afraid not."

She jerked and whirled around, heart thudding.

Matt was speaking to a tall, thin man with ears that stuck out from under his hair, dressed in plain
dark clothes. He didn't stick out amongst the crowd, nor did he look particularly authoritative. By
all accounts, he actually looked pretty shabby, like he could do with several nights' sleep.

Jennie knew the feeling—she was walking on three hours of sleep and felt like the walking dead
herself. The past two nights had not been kind on her, what with worries and fears clogging up her
mind, as well as Lisa's brooding presence, always lingering in the background.

But who was this detective person? A friend of Matt?

And then Jennie remembered the cop that Matthew had told her about, the one that had seemed
immensely interested in the Vault and in Hwangssabu.

Detective Park Chanyeol.

It made Jennie's interest pique alongside her wariness and she edged closer, breaking away from
Irene, Seulgi and Lisa who were standing in front of a sequence of Somi's photo portraits.

"I came by to pay my respects as soon as I heard. I heard about her friend as well. A most strange
case. They feel linked somehow," Detective Park was saying as he handed Matthew an envelope,
no doubt the condolence money. Though his face was drawn and pinched, he was clean-shaven
and his eyes were sharp, his voice strong. "Even though I never met your daughter, I want you to
know that you are in my thoughts. The authorities will get to the bottom of this case, I promise
you, Mr Jeon."

Matt wasn't moved by his impassioned statement and shrugged, pocketing the envelope. He
seemed all wrung out of tears at the moment, his eyes dry as his voice.

"Right. I guess so. Especially with the authorities' stellar track record to solve these cases."

Sensing hostility, Detective Park had to good grace to not overstay his welcome. He gave a curt
bow. "If you'll excuse me..."

Jennie hadn't expected the graceful turn he executed, putting him directly in her path. In her panic,
she stumbled back, tripping up on someone's foot. But before she fell, a hand shot out and grabbed
her from the wrist.

She glanced up in shock, her gaze colliding with Detective Park's piercing gaze. "Alright, miss?" he
asked crisply.

"I...yeah," she stammered out. "Thank you."

He helped her straighten, his eyes lingering questioningly even when he let go of her wrist. "You
look rather pale. Are you sure you're alright?" he asked and she knew he was eyeing the tender
bruise stamped on her cheek. Jennie resisted the urge to shrink away and hide.

No I'm not because I'm being hunted by many, including you, Jennie wanted to tell him. Instead she
shook her head. "I'm fine. Just—rough night because—you know."

"I understand. Apologies." He gave a deep bow. "If you'll excuse me," he murmured politely, and
left as quickly as he had come, slipping through the crowd like a shadow.

Jennie blew out a breath, her heart thumping from the close encounter and quickly turned away,
shaken. She came face to face with Irene, who had come looking for her.

"Who was that?" Irene asked curiously, having seen the whole exchange.

"Nobody," Jennie replied quickly, striding past her. "Nobody that I know, at least."

Some gut feeling told her that was going to change very soon.

>

The first day of the pre-funeral came to an end, and Jennie was still mustering the courage to face
Matthew. She had declined to go with Irene and Seulgi to offer her condolences but she still had the
condolence money to give him, and to greet him properly after snacking endlessly and restlessly on
the food he had provided for guests.

Lisa hadn't been much help; she hadn't said a word, period. Her eyes were shuttered away from the
world as they had been the last three days, and Jennie couldn't even begin to guess what was going
through her mind.

They hadn't spoken much beyond Jennie checking in to gauge Lisa's state. Aside from having Lisa
punching the punching bags, she couldn't assess for certain whether the usual therapy was working.
Lisa was silent and enigmatic as a sphinx, and the Vault was even more stifling with the absence of
her exuberant laughter, making Jennie feel like she was suffocating.

Some stragglers still lingered. Jennie dithered.

She hadn't been to many pre-funerals, had only gotten the bare bones of what went down from
Irene, since for Hwangssabu himself they had quickly gotten a cremation done, so this was new
territory. She had hoped for some private time to speak with Matthew alone but it seemed like that
was wishful thinking.

"Jennie, Seulgi and I are going to go now. Will you talk to Matt?" Irene asked. "We can drop you
off."

"Oh," Jennie said, caught off-guard. "Um, I..."

"Don't be stubborn and say you'll stay behind and catch some cab later," Irene said vehemently.
"I'm not letting you make your way back home by yourselves after this, it's too dangerous."

"Go now, while he's by himself," Seulgi encouraged. And indeed, a break in grieving mourners had
the bereaved father standing by himself in front of Somi's portrait. Jennie took a deep breath; it was
now or never.

"Come on," Jennie muttered to Lisa. "Let's get it over with and go home."

Obediently, Lisa followed.

Clutching the envelope in her hands as she tried to quell her shaking, Jennie walked up to Matthew,
who turned to greet them.

"Matt," Jennie began hoarsely. Her gaze slipped to Somi's portrait, her beaming smile making
something jerk in her stomach. She bowed and repeated the words Irene had told her to say. "Your
grief must be great." It was the customary greeting for the family of the dead person.

But Jennie wanted to say more than just a basic platitude. "Matt, I'm so sorry."

"What are you sorry for?"

"I—what?"

"You said you're sorry," Matthew said slowly, "so what are you sorry for, exactly?"

"Matt—"

"See, I'm a little confused here, Jennie, so help me understand," Matt continued in that even, steady
tone that had Jennie's instincts instantly stand to attention. Something was off about Matthew, his
whole body language was hostile and unfriendly. She noticed Irene and Seulgi out of the corner of
her eye, lingering.

"I'm sorry about Somi of course. I never thought—it was a bolt out of the blue."

"Was it?" Matthew turned away from an ashen-faced Jennie, his gaze settling on Somi's portrait.

"Of course it was. I never thought something so horrible could happen to her." When he didn't
answer, Jennie tentatively reached out to touch his arm. "Matt? Is...are you okay?"

The words rang hollow, laughable, but Jennie said them anyway because something was wrong,
she could see it in the way his jaw tightened, his eyes narrowing to slits as he whipped around to
face her.

"Where were you when I called you? You know something, I can see it!"

"Matt," Jennie hissed urgently, conscious of the curious whispers breaking out around them. "Matt,
not here—"

"Don't try to shut me up! I bet the cops haven't come around to talk to you or your oaf of a sister
either, but they need to! They need to get to the bottom of this! Useless inept bastards!"

"Matt," Jennie said in alarm at his violent outburst. Irene rushed over, stopping shy of tugging on
his arm.

"Matthew come on now, let's be reasonable. No need for raised voices—"

"I will do as I damn please," Matt snarled. He pointed at Jennie. "Those two are nothing but
trouble!"

"Matt please, I don't know anything," Jennie said desperately, the lies choking her. "I'm sorry."

"Stop saying you're damn sorry!" Matt roared. "If you're sorry, answer me. When I called you the
night she died, you hung up on me. Why? Where did you go? What happened the night she died,
Jennie? Why were you avoiding me? Where did you get that bruise?"

"I wasn't avoiding you! I...I was just occupied. I'm sorry but I had no idea, I thought Somi could
handle herself," Jennie said. "I didn't know..."

"Okay that's enough, get a hold of yourself, Matt," Irene said firmly. "Let's go take a minute—"

"I don't want no minute!" Matt seethed, all the pent-up rage exploding after a long day holding
himself together, "my baby is gone! She's gone, Irene, do you understand? Nobody is giving me
answers! Where was she? Why? Answer me, Jennie!"

"I don't know!" Jennie burst out tearfully. Lisa stood next to her, a statue that Jennie wasn't sure
was still living anymore; her dead eyes weren't seeing anything. She was so far away and as
always, Jennie was alone.

Matthew's face contorted, twisting into a nasty laugh. "Some friends you were to my daughter. I
shouldn't have gotten involved with you two and Hwangssabu. You're all nothing but trouble for
me and my family. And now..." he choked up, recovering only to throw a dirty glare in Lisa's
direction.

Jennie gulped when he rounded on her sister. Lisa never said a word, her face blank and lifeless. It
only served to enrage Matthew further. Irene timidly laid out a hand to pull him back but Jennie
shook her head subtly, thinking fast.

"Matt," she said, her mouth very dry, "Matt, listen, don't—"

"And you, what do you have to say for yourself? Always laughing around with my daughter and
acting silly but at the first sign of trouble you chicken out like a coward. I should have known. I
should have known." He closed his shaking fist and all of Jennie's hair at the back of her neck
stood on end.

Lisa looked at Matthew and Jennie held her breath, willing her to speak, to say something, to
move.

"If there's one thing I can't take, it's a hypocritical coward like you and your fucking trainer,"
Matthew said.

"Matt no!" Jennie yelled.

He swung his fist. A dull thunk resounded as it smashed into Lisa's jaw, throwing her to the
ground. People screamed.

"That's for my daughter," Matt said, tears running down his face. "Because that's all she was worth
to you." People rushed to placate him but he shrugged them all off and told them to back away.

"I'm dealing with personal pests. Get out," he ordered.

They threw furtive glances in their direction but quickly headed out. Jennie wondered if they would
bring in security or let them deal on their own, figuring that somebody had to be the sacrificial
lamb.

Lisa sprawled in a heap and Jennie knelt at her side, frantically holding on to her shoulders as she
checked for damage, waiting for that dreaded surge of anger to explode.

But she needn't have worried: Lisa's face was as placid as before, albeit now it scrunched up in
pain as she held her jaw. She made no sound and no motion to get up, as though all the fight had
left her body and she was floppy as a ragdoll now.

"Matt get a hold of yourself, you can't just hit people!" Irene shouted in outrage but he wasn't done:
he loomed over them, rage twisting his features. All Jennie could do was hunch over Lisa, not even
daring to confront or defend herself, waiting for more blows to fall.

She had done this. She had broken the man. She deserved this.

"As from this moment on, I want nothing to do with you two nuisances. You hear me? As far as
I'm concerned, you're dead to me, just like my Somi. In fact, I put up the Vault for sale. You're
done and you need to get out tomorrow. It's been sold."

"What?" Jenie's head snapped up in horror. "Matt, what...why? You can't just..."

"I bloody can. You were living there because I let you," Matthew snarled. "You want nothing to do
with Somi, then I want nothing to do with either of you. The deal is through."

"Matthew, you can't be serious," Irene croaked. She ignored Seulgi's touch and shook her head.
"Let's all just have a timeout okay, you need—"

"I'm not changing my mind. I'm the owner of the Vault and I can do what I want," Matt said
roughly, throwing a disdainful glare in Jennie and Lisa's direction.

"That's...but Hwangssabu—he can't let you—what about the deal to let us live there?"

"You want to fight on that? Want to go to court and see what they have to say about letting two
illegal unidentified immigrants occupy a property? Though not," Matthew said nastily when Jennie
pursed her mouth. "I don't care what Hwangssabu wanted. The deal is null and void. I'm the owner
and you have no power here. I'm done with all this bullshit. Don't bother showing your face to me
again. Ever."

Jennie scrambled to her feet, despair lending her strength. How could he callously throw them out
on the street? After all they had been through, after all he had done for them to keep his promise to
his friend?

"Matt, you can't just—how—but—"

"I'm done, Jennie. This was the last straw." His hardened gaze made her wilt. "And I'm not sorry.
You've shown me your true colours. You're just like Hwangssabu: a spineless coward who didn't
care about the mess he left behind."

"He wasn't a coward," Jennie spat sharply before she reined herself in. "You're the coward."

Matthew's nostrils flared but Jennie didn't back down, even at Irene's pleading.

"I'm devastated about Somi, is that what you want to hear? I loved her like a sister. I still do. But
you're being beyond unreasonable right now. Do you think she would have approved of you
kicking us out—"

"Don't," Matt said in a terrible voice, "don't you dare finish that sentence."

"Or what, you'll hit me this time? Yeah, that will win you brownie points for Best Dad, I'm sure.
Taking your guilt out on me and Lisa won't help, Matt," Jennie said, her voice ringing with fury.
"And you know something? For all his shortcomings, Hwangssabu never ever dreamt of hitting us
just because things didn't work out the way he wanted. And believe me, plenty wasn't working out
the way he wanted."

Matthew gritted his teeth, fist curling. Jennie was reminded that he was a military man, and if she
knew one thing, it was that Lisa was going to have a matching bruise on her cheek.

Two security guards rushed in, pausing when they saw Jennie and Matt squaring up to each other.

"Is there a problem here?" one of them asked, his gaze flitting from Matt to Jennie to Lisa on the
ground.

"No, we're good." Matthew turned away. "Escort this girl and her friends off the premises, and
make sure they don't step foot in here. I don't want to see them again."

"Matthew!" Irene said stricken, but Seulgi had already steered her towards the door.

"Who bought the Vault?" Jennie asked quietly before the security guards came to haul her away.
She had a solid hunch of who the buyer was.

"One of the Slammer sponsors, that Park Jinyoung, the JYP pharma guy. He wants to turn it into a
proper gym for Slammer fighters. So you need to get out before he claims ownership of it. It goes
into effect tomorrow. I don't think he takes too kindly to squatters," Matthew added. Jennie didn't
miss the nasty sneer in his voice, even though he wasn't looking at her.

"Yeah, I don't think he does either," Jennie said numbly.

>

Jennie sat next to Lisa and gave her the ice pack. "Here."

Lisa took it with a solemn nod and pressed it to her cheek. She had barely winced since standing up
and walking out with the security guards in tow. Irene had fussed over her but Lisa never reacted at
all, not even when they were alone. Despite the ugly red mark stamped on her cheek, Lisa acted as
though Matthew had done nothing but tapped her face.

Jennie knew Irene and Seulgi were being sympathetic and understanding by not pushing Lisa, but
she wished Lisa would at least speak or act a little more normal. Her stretches of muteness were
starting to rattle Jennie.

"What's on your mind?" Jennie said at last.

She sat back on the bench beneath the fluorescent light of the Vault. Her mind churned over the
latest problem dropped on them like a bombshell.

If she didn't do something, she and Lisa were going to end up on the streets tomorrow. Maybe if
she could talk to Jinyoung and beg on her knees, he might be moved to pity them, if he had a heart
at all, which Jennie doubted. Their situation looked bleak, but Jennie wanted to at least try, even
though what she wanted most in the world was to bury herself in a bed and cover her head and
sleep for a hundred years.

Irene had offered her place right away 'if Jisoo can't put you up' and Jennie could only smile and
nod tightly and say she'll ask Jisoo.

Irene and Seulgi and the rest where none the wiser about the incidents that had taken place and
Jennie was straining to keep it all under wraps.

"I don't know what to feel," Lisa said after an age, startling Jennie out of her reverie. "I don't know
what I'm supposed to feel first. I don't know if I should feel at all. I don't know if I deserve to feel."

"Of course you do deserve to feel everything," Jennie said absently. "Everyone does."

"I'm not everyone."

"You're still allowed to have feelings. Naming your feelings can help tackle them better. For
instance, I'm feeling sad, angry, guilty and hopeless. You?"

Lisa thought about it. "Sad. Angry."

"About...?"

"Everything. Somi. Dahyun. Jisoo." Lisa ducked her head. "Ro—Rosie..."

Jennie sighed. "Yeah me too. You must be missing her huh?"

"No." Lisa's cold reply surprised her. "I'm just...sad...how things turned out."

"Things will mend."

"I don't think so." Lisa took off her ice pack. Her quiet demeanour unnerved Jennie when she
turned to look at her. "I trusted her so much. I loved her so much. I thought she was perfect. Look
where it all turned out."

"People aren't perfect. She was doing it for a reason, you heard her," Jennie said uncertainly,
glancing every now and then to Lisa's hands, waiting for the strike that would kill her on the spot.

"Her father hurt Hwangssabu, so I killed him," Lisa said doggedly. "If she weren't tangled with
Yang, we wouldn't have gotten mixed up in this mess. Somi too. I feel sad...for falling in love with
her. I still am, I think. I'm sad...and angry."

Her voice was a monotone, flat and wrong, hollow as an empty husk without a single trace of
emotion.

"Lisa," Jennie said hoarsely, fear slithering into her stomach. "Lisa, we were hiding stuff too. You
can't justify it like that to protect yourself."

Lisa shrugged. "I don't need protection. I kill people. I'm Tiger King. It's what I was made for."

"No damn it, you—ugh, get out of that headspace! Rosé loves you, she still does, she never meant
to hurt us. And what of her father? She's not to blame for what he did. If we don't stand together
against Jinyoung, he might hurt Jisoo really badly. Please, please, work with me here Lisa. You
can't possibly be thinking this about Rosé right now—"

"You just said I'm allowed to feel whatever it is that I'm feeling," Lisa said coolly. "Truth isn't so
great now, is it?"
"Because I know that's not you speaking! You're not making sense. You were understanding
before, what changed now?"

Lisa turned away. "Maybe you were right, before, when I wanted to get with Rosie and you said
not to. Maybe I wasn't ready to be in a relationship. Maybe I never will be. Maybe I can never truly
love."

Jennie almost tore chunks of her hair out. "You can't be seriously bringing that up. Snap out of it!"

She could hardly recognise the girl sitting in front of her, so cold and detached.

"Are you scared of me, Jennie? Maybe this is who I truly am."

"Bullshit," Jennie said immediately. "You love Rosé, everyone knows it, even yourself. You can
be mad at her all you like, be mad at the whole world for all I care, but don't you dare say you don't
love or can't love or some bullshit like that."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Yeah I am scared of you. Is that what you want to hear? I'm terrified of you right now because
you're not the Lisa I know. The lovable sister that annoys the hell out of me and adores bagels and
is head over heels for her girlfriend and fools around with Jisoo and Somi and the rest. You're
something else right now."

"Maybe this is the real me. The me that I was always supposed to be. I was stupid and foolish to
think I could have it all, that I could run away and start over. To be normal," Lisa said. "Not
anymore. I'm—I'm done. I can't go back. You can't run from what you are. I'm Tiger King, not
Lisa. Lisa...is dead."

"You—" Jennie inhaled and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You know what, fine. I'm tired of this.
Stay in your little emo angsty bubble or whatever, I don't care. I've got stuff to do."

"Where are you going?" Lisa asked when she abruptly stood up.

"I'm going to talk to Jinyoung," Jennie said grimly. "He has us in the corner right now. We might
end up in the streets if he doesn't pull back from buying this place. I'm going to talk to him, right
now. It's what he's expecting probably, that's why he snapped this place up. So that I go talk with
him and beg like some dog. Bet he gets off on that."

When Lisa stood up to accompany her, Jennie shook her head.

"No, we can't risk you going. I'll handle it. You being in your weird angsty mood isn't gonna help.
Sleep it off. If I'm not back by morning, call me. And if I don't answer, go to Irene. Tell her...tell
her everything, you hear me?"

Lisa set her jaw but she nodded. "Everything," she echoed.

Jennie could still feel her sister's gaze pinned on her when she left the silent Vault.

>

The ride to Rkive was painful, since it dredged up the horrible memories of the carnage that
happened. But Jennie endured, pushing herself to think of happy memories with Jisoo instead.

Like the time Jisoo accidentally tripped and somehow the ice-cream cone she was holding flew out
of her hand and splotched on top of her head, like a comical party hat. Jennie had nearly burst out
laughing at the sight of a forlorn Jisoo with ice cream dripping down her face. She helped to clean
her up and even offered her pouting girlfriend to finish her ice cream together.

Or the time Jisoo had spent the day showing her how to play some of her favourite games and they
cuddled up on the couch, getting competitive and then making out furiously when either of them
inevitably beat the other.

Or the time Jisoo had tried to show her the basics of driving in an empty parking lot, with Rosé and
Lisa cheering them on from the sides because they had gotten sick after Jennie's first few jerky
attempts at making a turn (in Jennie's defence, it was hard to memorise which pedal she was
supposed to press down, and when).

Or the time Jisoo was guiding Jennie on how to make her favourite dish, teasingly kissing her neck
and making Jennie almost cut her fingers on the chopping board in the process.

Jennie closed her eyes to stop the tears from falling. Jisoo was the only thing holding her sanity
together at the moment and the fact that she had no clue of her whereabouts or her state tormented
Jennie.

She had messaged Jinyoung to inform him of her impromptu visit, and he had responded back
immediately, confirming that he was at Rkive. The answer had her bitterness deepen—it was
clearly business as usual at Jinyoung's restaurant. She rehearsed her words, even though they
wound up sounding weak and flimsy so her thoughts returned instead to massacre of the night
before.

Just how good was he at covering up an entire murder scene of blood and evidence? He was
certainly brazen enough to dump the bodies of two dead girls at their respected homes, leaving the
police stumped and the media fluttering around in circles, at least so far.

He definitely had to have friends amongst the police that would derail investigations surrounding
his involvement, just like how the media apparently lost interest in him and Jisoo's supposed
relationship.

That whole short-lived circus had been a show of strength, to warn them what kind of power they
were up against. But Jennie had been too blind to understand and now she was reaping the result.

Two Jays were waiting for her when she approached Rkive on foot, silently popping out of the
shadows and making her jump.

"He's waiting for you inside," the tallest Jay said, gesturing towards the restaurant, which was
bustling and lit up as before.

Jennie's brows raised. "He wants to meet me...with other people around?"

They never replied. Under their watchful gazes, Jennie swallowed and walked up to the restaurant,
feeling very under-dressed and unprepared.

The host at the door greeted her cordially, introducing himself as Namjoon.

"Let me take you to him," he told Jennie before she could even say her name. She followed him,
head bowed to avoid patrons' gazes as they walked to the very back of the restaurant, separated
from the rest of the hubbub of the seating area with one or two tables lined up against the wall.

Just how many rats did that slimy snake have in his employ? It seemed that everywhere she
looked, Jinyoung had friends and people under his thumb, and they all knew about her as well.

"Jennie!" Jinyoung said cheerily when they arrived. He was the only person occupying a table in
this secluded area. "Come, sit sit, I've been waiting."

Namjoon pulled back a chair for her and Jennie slipped into it, hunching up in hopes of
disappearing entirely.

"Joonie, would you mind getting one of your guys to get us some water please? Or a drink, would
you like anything to drink, Jen?"

"Don't call me that," Jennie growled, her heart giving a pang.

"Water and soju it is," Jinyoung told Namjoon serenely, as though he hadn't been snapped at.
"We're going to be having a good old chat and you can't talk without some soju, I feel."

"Cut the crap, Jinyoung," Jennie gritted when Namoon left. "You know why I'm here."

"Actually no I don't. Why are you here? There's several different possibilities as to why you
decided to grace us with your presence tonight."

"Then I'm here for all of them. Stop this madness. You're playing with people's lives here. You
think they're worth nothing?" Jennie said, trying to appeal to any sense of morality he might have.

Jinyoung sighed. "Jennie, I wish you could understand that business is business. If it was about the
principles of honesty and integrity, Korea itself would still be a struggling third world nation. We
were struggling to catch up once the Japanese retreated, they put us back by so much time,
practically destroyed us. How do you recover from that? It was a painfully slow process. You do
understand that our economy is robust merely because of chaebol families taking over from the
government and generating work for labourers? They swooped in and revived things."

"I'm not talking about—"

"You think this country was built on people like you valuing people's lives?" Jinyoung shook his
head. "The rich always held the power, they always will. I'm sure you know how important money
is. What is a life if you can get power over it?"

"Don't side-step—"

"Okay okay," Jinyoung said, holding up his hand. "It's bit too late in the day to start getting into dry
and dusty topics like history and economy and philosophy. But Jennie, what I'm trying to say is,
anybody in my position would be doing the same. You think I'm the bad guy here, but then, so is
every other person trying to make it big. You don't get to be the head of a company without getting
your hands dirty along the way. It's a cut-throat fight, day in day out. Getting blood on your hands
is an occupational hazard."

"So you'd rather have something like Tiger King do the dirty work," Jennie hissed. "I know what
you bozos all want Tiger King for. To take out rival competitions, like this is some fricking savage
jungle. You're all animals."

"Yes and no." Jinyoung leaned forward, earnest. "It really is like a jungle out here, Jennie. But
Tiger King could represent so much to different people. To some, it's a crude weapon. To others,
it's a means to an end. To yet others, it's a medical marvel that could give hopes to millions. It's a
miracle of medical technology, something that could help the whole world."
"What about you? What's Tiger King to you?"

Jinyoung smiled. "I believe in catering to all three aspects. In the past, Tiger King was—
erroneously, I believe—limited in reaching its true potential. A mere assassin for entitled company
brats is a disgrace. No, I'm much more ambitious than that. I intend to surpass just one function
Tiger King serves. I want it to be a global geo-political medical asset. Tiger King is such an
important product of modern science, it would be an utter waste to just...let it waste away. It can
change the whole world."

"Which is to say, you want to exploit my sister and get rich off her. She's a person, by the way,"
Jennie gritted.

Jinyoung cocked his head. "Do you genuinely believe that?"

"What? Last time I checked, she wasn't a robot."

Jinyoung smiled toothily. There was nothing warm about the gesture. "I meant, do you genuinely
think she can be normal like us, given she is what she is?"

"Of course," she choked out, even as Lisa's blank face flashed in her head, her dreadful words
ringing in her ear, her furious yellow eyes stamped forever in her mind's eye. "Lisa is human, like
any of us."

"But you see, that's the problem. I'm sure you've heard of sociopaths mimicking human emotions
and able to make believe they are human. It doesn't change that they are sociopaths. How do you
know that the Lisa you know isn't, in fact, just a mask? A mimicry of a human?"

"You—" Jennie shook her head, refusing to give in to doubts that long festered. Jinyoung was
echoing what Yang had said, that Lisa was a mask.

"Don't try to play games. You just want Lisa so you get to sit on a throne all high and mighty.
Great, whatever. But you're not getting her and hurting her. Even if you're threatening to run us out
of our home AND kidnapped my girlfriend to force my hand, you're not getting her."

"What makes you think I'd hurt her?" Jinyoung said mildly. "That would be like killing the
proverbial chicken that lays me golden eggs."

"I don't know, but it can't be good things you have in store," Jennie insisted. "You killed Dahyun in
cold blood—"

"Occupational hazard, remember?"

"It's murder, is what it is," Jennie seethed. "I can just stand up and yell about it right now and every
single person in here will know. Watch me."

"Who will believe you?" Jinyoung said calmly. "When the cops come to question you, are you
ready to go to jail and then be deported in the name of the truth? Be reasonable about this, Jennie."

"I'll do it, if it means people will get suspicious about you," Jennie said. "Dahyun and Somi won't
have died in vain. I'll expose you, and Rosé will help me, and Lisa will help me, and oh, Momo
will help me too, so there! We're not as helpless as you think we are, Jinyoung. I'm going to end
you one way or another."

"Ah, this is about the guilt, isn't it? How do they say, avenge their deaths and you will rest easy and
whatnot?"
She saw the ominous glint in his eyes but Jennie was too worked up to care right now. She stood
up, done with her spiel.

"Guilt or not, if anyone's the sociopath around here, it would be you. We'll move out of the Vault if
you want it so much, but this isn't the last you've heard of me."

"I sincerely hope not. Believe it or not, I like you Jennie," he said and Jennie merely stared at him
incredulously, "you would have made a tenacious businesswoman, if fortune was in your favour. It
would have been an honour to be competing against you." Jinyoung played with the napkin before
meeting her gaze again.

"In another life, I might have even proposed to you," he said solemnly, ignoring her gasp. "You
captivate me and it's so fun playing with you. We would have made a great couple."

Jennie shook her head in disgust. "I'd rather stab myself in the eye."

But when Jennie turned to leave, she came face to face with a tall boy in a snapback, from under
which peeked short blond hair. His face was haggard, with dark bags under his eyes and his whole
appearance was rumpled. In his hands he held the tray with a bottle of soju and a bottle of water.

"Jackson, there you are," Jinyoung said. Jennie was curious to note that his tone changed, severe
and aloof, compared to when he was talking to Namjoon or her.

Someone seemed to have fallen out of favour with the high and mighty Jinyoung—wait, Jackson?
Wasn't that the guy Dahyun hung out with after her breakup with Momo? He worked for
Jinyoung?

Jennie's eyes snapped to Jackson again as he wordlessly side-stepped her and set the bottles down
at the table. He was wearing a waitress uniform but his fumbling movements let Jennie know it
wasn't his usual gig.

"Jackson, this is Jennie Kim, a friend of Dahyun's. She was there when Dahyun died."

"Really," Jackson said flatly but Jennie noticed his clenched white-knuckled fist hidden out of
Jinyoung's sight behind his back.

"Yes. Now I was wondering, why don't you give me a little update on how our guest is faring?"

Stopping dead in the act of leaving, Jennie spun on her heel and all but hurled herself across the
table to grab Jinyoung from his front.

"Jisoo?" she croaked. Jinyoung had the audacity to chuckle.

"Yes, Jisoo. Our mutual friend. She's not looking too sparky I'm afraid, last i checked. Jackson here
had been overseeing our guest's needs. Tell me, did she scream louder than Dahyun did when you
pulled out her fingernails?"

"You did what—"

The room swayed and Jennie blindly reached for the table's edge, slumping in her chair as her heart
beat uncontrollably, terrible twisted images of Jisoo being tortured crowding her mind.

He hurt her.

"What did you do to her, you monster?"

"Well?" Jinyoung turned to Jackson, who was still standing at their table, stiff as a statue.

"Uh...louder. She—she was louder than—than Dahyun. She fainted after the third one," Jackson
rasped. His misery oozed in waves, crashing over Jennie, joining her own. "There was a lot of
blood, had to stop and make sure she didn't bleed out before I continued."

"Why would you do that?" Jennie couldn't stop the tears that built up and spilled, her heart aching
horribly. "You...you..."

She didn't care if anybody was watching them right now. All she could see was Jisoo looking at
her with starry eyes, her hand bloody, her fingers missing. And then there was more blood spurting
everywhere and—

Jennie covered her face, sobbing silently as the two men looked on. All the fight and fire and fury
dissipated in the blink of an eye, like a tsunami had washed her ashore, sapping her strength. She
was weak and bedraggled, barely able to crawl to safety before the next wave came to take her.

"Why? Why are you doing this?" she whispered at last, beyond humiliated, beyond broken.

Jinyoung flashed her a smile that made her want to strangle him on the spot.

"How else will I convince you? Talking never goes well. But other methods...oh I find it brings in
the same results so much more efficiently."

Jinyoung poured himself some soju before passing the cup over to Jennie. She all but shoved it
aside, making him sigh.

"You got so worked up about standing up to me, you forgot all about your girlfriend still being in
my clutches, didn't you? Tut tut Jennie, forgetting other people in the heat of the moment seems to
happen a lot, doesn't it?"

She knew he was talking about Somi but she gritted her teeth and didn't dignify that with a reply.

"Let her go," Jennie begged. "Please...just let her go. Do I have to get on my knees and beg?"

"Not yet. You see, I was going to release her. But you were so fired up a few moments ago that I'm
starting to have my doubts now."

"Doubts?"

"Well, if I release Jisoo, will you still be wanting to expose me and all that? I can't have that
happening, I have too many ongoing projects. You know, it's what got Dahyun killed."

Jennie stiffened and out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Jackson go very still. Jinyoung didn't
seem to notice and continued talking as he poured himself some soju.

"Yes indeed, I had offered her freedom, in return for her silence. You see, I'm merciful. I give
chances. I gave you back your friend's daughter didn't I? I offered Dahyun freedom, money...but
she was stubborn. And so, there was nothing left for me to do but dispose of her."

He tilted his head up at Jackson, taking a sip of the soju. "My cousin here still hasn't forgiven me
for that, have you? Lovesick fool, she would have been our undoing if I allowed her to go free. It's
hard, and a terrible waste, I admit that. She was a bright girl, clever and passionate and reckless."

He glanced at Jennie and smiled placidly. "We'd do better than to repeat history, don't you think?
Do you want Jisoo to be the second Dahyun?"

Jennie's breath was punched out of her lungs, the threat hanging in the air between them as
Jinyoung watched her do a double take.

"You—you wouldn't. No. No, please," Jennie croaked. "You can't do this..."

"In return for Jisoo, I wanted to have your word that you'll keep mum about this. I thought we
could reach some amicable agreement when you showed up but maybe, you still need some more
time to cool off and think about it. Meanwhile, I can't guarantee that Jisoo will have all her fingers
intact by the time you decide to contact me again."

He nodded at Jackson. "Escort Miss Kim to the door, please. Our conversation is over."

"No no wait please! Please," Jennie said, stopping them in their tracks. "Please I..."

Her shoulders slumped in defeat, her gaze broken, her mind churning. Jisoo was in more danger
than she expected and she needed to rescue her, now.

She just feared what she'd have to give up to get her back, but Jennie was up against the wall and
time was running out.

"How do I get Jisoo back?" she said after an age, barely above a whisper.

But Jinyoung heard and he leaned forward eagerly, pushing a new glass of soju towards her.

"Let's make a deal, Jennie Kim."

His eyes shone like wicked black oily pools and Jennie knew she had lost.
 Gone
Chapter Summary

previously: jenlisa went to somi's pre-funeral, matt punched lisa. lisa was acting
unusual, jennie went to rkive to talk with jinyoung.

tw: graphic (-ish) descriptions of violence

When Lisa woke up from her nightmare, there was a buzz in between her ears that she couldn't get
rid of, no matter whether she pressed on her temple or covered her ears. It was like TV static, faint
but still irritating. Or like the buzzing hum of a hive of angry bees, on the verge of exploding.

Her phone read 8:00 but Jennie's mattress and the covers were untouched. If Jennie had come back,
Lisa was sure she would have been roused from her fitful sleep for sure.

Where was her sister?

Lisa covered her eyes and flopped back on the mattress. The nightmare had been less a bad dream
and more a memory, sharp and hauntingly vivid.

After so many years, she had dreamed of Bambam again. He had called out to her as the cage at the
far end of the dingy room rattled violently, threatening to blow apart. Baying hounds mad with
hunger paced within, fighting to escape the close confines. They snapped and barked and howled,
but Lisa could only hear the terror escalating in Bambam's voice.

"P'Pran, what do we do? What do we do?!"

He had called her by name, something they were expressly forbidden to do.

"I'll protect you, just stay behind me! Remember, you're strong!"

But Bambam's fear got the better of him. Even though they'd been taught to never show weakness,
he fell to his knees crying. The sight almost made her kneel and throw her arms over him. The laser
gaze of their master standing above them, observing them, stopped her.

"Please, we're sorry!" Bambam wept, reaching towards the blinding lights overhead where the
silhouettes and labcoats silently surveyed them from the safety of their balconies. "We won't ever
run again. Please!"

"Release the hounds," came the stonyreply.

Bambam screamed.

Lisa shook her head violently to block out the blood drenched aftermath that coloured her whole
world red. But she couldn't block out the cruel voice that had her in its vicious icy grip, more than a
decade later.

"Well done 327. Your next assignment will go ahead as planned in 1400 hours. Do not disappoint
me again."
"Yes Ringmaster," she said numbly, like the coward she was. The disappointment in question had
been an attempted breakout from the facility, which failed abysmally. She and Bambam had been
the only ones left standing from the disparate band of children that had tried to escape.

The doors at the back opened and the guards came to take her back to her cell, boots squelching in
the bloody pools, bones crunching underfoot. The walls that had been smeared with old blood now
were splattered with fresh splashes of guts, brains and fluids. The scent of death no longer made
her gag.

One of Bambam's eyeballs floated by her feet. Nearby, a carcass of a hound lay ripped in two, its
ribs sticking out like a fan, its heart still pumping grotesquely. Her hands were still raining blood
when they took her away in chains, but she didn't fight them, not anymore.

She had lost everything.

Heart thudding, Lisa drew a shuddering breath. Her eyes snapped open as she roused herself from
her reminiscing. She shouldn't be reliving the memory and further sinking into the hellhole of her
past at the facility. She needed to get up and get to punching, pronto.

She pressed on her bruised cheek, frowning when the faintest trace of a throb was all she felt.
When she looked in the camera on her phone, she saw that it seemed to be in the final stages of
healing.

It had already healed so fast overnight. That was a bad sign.

Where was Jennie? Had Jinyoung got her?

Had she simply left for good and run away, like she was so good at doing?

Jennie had asked Lisa to give her a call if she hadn't shown up by morning, so Lisa did. The phone
rang and rang and rang but Jennie didn't pick up. Lisa tried not to let the anxiety building up in her
chest get to her. She had to keep calm and get to punching. It was going to be okay.

Like a drunk still recovering from a blackout, Lisa slowly shuffled downstairs. She headed straight
to the showers. The water helped settle her nerves a bit, but the gnawing hunger and the buzzing in
her head coupled with the knot of anxiety over Jennie's absence overpowered the soothing rain.

She couldn't help but ruminate bitterly as she towelled herself dry.

Only mere days ago, she was on cloud nine, living a dream of domestic bliss with Rosé and Ella
and the cats. Today, she was reeling from the catastrophic hellish turn her life had taken, violently
jolting her awake to the harsh reality: she could never be happy living a lie.

She was Tiger King. She was meant to kill and destroy, not dream about having a family.

You cannot run from what you are.

Yang's words hammered around in her head, refusing to go away, refusing to dissolve and vanish.

Lisa pressed the sides of her head, trying to breathe in the stuffy air of the Vault. She needed to get
to punching—it served to clear her senses and ground her, if only to ease the pressure in her head
for a little while, like unscrewing a tight bolt.

But where usually punching would help her settle, this time it only seemed to be delaying the
inevitable. Over the past few days of the usual punching exercises, nothing had happened, no sweet
relief from the beast simmering and biding its time within her.

Lisa feared the snap, like a distant storm rumbling closer at terrifying speed. She could feel her
control fraying with each day that passed, despite her efforts.

Jennie could see it too, and she kept her distance. The one time she had touched her since that
awful night where her secret came out was when Matt had slapped her. Jennie had held her from
the shoulders, peering into her eyes like always to check for that yellow gleam.

Jennie would always see her as the monster, no matter what she claimed. But it didn't matter: that
was the truth after all. Jennie had been trying to tell her that all along but she refused to listen.

She had thought Rosé saw beyond that. But Rosé hadn't called again, supposedly to give them
space.

Yet Lisa now doubted if that was the true excuse. Rosé had lied in her face well enough before.
Maybe she was lying again too, just like she had lied right back.

A pair of liars, exactly right for each other. But she couldn't think of Rosé right now, not while
Jennie was still not at the Vault.

Once out of the shower, Lisa called Jennie again, frowning when the call was diverted to
voicemail. She didn't leave a message.

Clearly, Jinyoung had gotten Jennie. And now what had Jennie told her to do if worst comes to
worst?

She was supposed to call Irene and spill all their secrets and trust her to help somehow. But what
could Irene even do?

Still, Lisa obediently phoned Irene, who replied right away.

"Lisa? Hi, is everything okay?" Irene asked in concern. Her voice sounded raw, like she'd been
crying non-stop.

"Hmm not sure. Will you come to the Vault today? Jennie said we should talk."

"Oh yes absolutely good idea! But we might swing by a little later, is that okay? Is it okay if Seulgi
comes too?"

"Yeah sure whatever," Lisa said.

Irene was silent for a moment. "Lisa, you...are you..." Then she seemed to think better of what she
was about to say. "Never mind. See you later then. Bye."

"Yeah. Bye."

Now pacing about the Vault, she was restless, her mind unable to focus on the punching bag,
which had her grow more distressed. It was as if without Jennie, she couldn't force herself to settle
and concentrate on the drills. She had wrapped her fists but she was as yet to step up to Punchy and
start on the drills. She couldn't bring herself to start.

Her nightmare memory returned to the fore, embellished with horrifying new details seeping in
from other memories. It was hard to ignore, not when the intrusive thoughts kept growing and
growing until she was screaming at the unstoppable onslaught invading her mind.
There was no stopping the deluge, it roared through her head like an unstoppable movie with no
pause button, replaying the slew of memories she had so carefully suppressed. But it was useless
now, she had blown the lid off with Bambam's nightmare and the rest of her memories followed,
seething and infesting her mind down to the pungent scent of blood and piss in the holding cells.

"Stop stop stop don't think don't think don't think!"

She walked around the Vault hitting herself around the head, screaming as she fought the phantoms
of her past.

"Go away! Leave me alone!"

Tiger King. Tiger King. Tiger King.

"Shut up!"

She grabbed Punchy and slammed her forehead into it, hitting harder and faster as she gnashed her
teeth.

Every single kill, every single pair of dead eyes, every single bloody face—they all rushed back
and it was too much, too many faces, too many bodies, her head was in danger of exploding, she
was about to blow like a fuse.

Tiger King. Tiger King. Tiger King.

"Stop, stop please just stop!" she wept, throwing herself violently against the walls and bashing her
body, heedless of the new bruises she was accumulating, heedless of how they bruised black and
blue but faded after mere moments.

Lost to her crazed frenzy, Lisa curled her fist and punched the nearest pillar, screaming out but
forcing herself to do it again and again as pain lanced through her hand and arm. The pillar was
solid metal and didn't yield under the force of her hits. Miraculously, her fist stayed intact.

The memories receded, only to surge back with a vengeance once she paused, ears ringing.

She was about to grab the pillar and slam her forehead into it when a shrill voice snapped her out of
her blind hysteria.

"Lisa!"

The voice broke through her distress like rays of the sun shining through violent black
thunderclouds, accompanied by the faintest trace of strawberries.

Lisa.

She had a name.

Yes, that was her name.

She had a name.

Lisa.

Lisa whirled, panting and soaked in sweat.

Rosé stood at the Vault's door, alone and alarmed, a vision so beautiful yet frightening at the same
time that it had Lisa whimpering in confusion and yearning.

Was it another hallucination? What was Rosé doing here?

"What's happening? Where's Jennie?" Rosé said, running towards her. "Lisa!"

"Ro-Rosie," Lisa managed to choke out then wailed as a torrent of visceral blackness invaded her
senses.

It demanded to let loose and kill kill kill kill kill kill.

"No," Lisa gasped and clutched her head, backing away from Rosé. "Please, no, not her..."

KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL

"Lisa!"

Too late, Rosé had rushed to her side, her bewildered expression bordering panic. "Baby, what is
it? Talk to me, let me help you. Please, you don't have to suffer alone anymore, I'm here."

KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL

"Go away," Lisa managed to rasp out. "Not safe." It was coming, she was going to break and hurt
someone for real this time. And she would be damned if Rosé was a casualty. "Run."

"I'm not leaving you," Rosé insisted, reaching to touch Lisa who shrank away from her. "We're
facing this together."

"No. Danger."

"I know you. You're strong. You can fight this, Lisa. Jennie told me how it works. Fight it," Rosé
whispered. "Fight it baby. Not for me, for yourself."

She didn't understand. She didn't understand. She didn't understand.

Lisa wept out of frustration and pain.

She was going to hurt Rosé.

KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL

In a desperate attempt to put distance between them, Lisa crawled and rolled away from Rosé
blindly, not even aware of which direction she was headed in, just that she needed to be far far
away.

Lisa reined in her rapidly deteriorating self-control. Her awareness was already fading out, losing
to the primal instinct she had been programmed with. But mixed in with that jumble of confusion,
Rosé's voice—warm with love and concern—also appeared, faint but there amidst the loud
cacophony.

KILL. Tiger King. KILL. Lisa. KILL. Tiger King. KILL. Lisa. KILL. Tiger King.

It was not enough.

Tiger King KILL Lisa KILL Tiger King KILL Lisa KILL KILL KILL
"Rosie, run," Lisa slurred one last time.

KILL KILL KILL Tiger King. Lisa. KILL KILL KILL Lisa. Lisa.

Rosé shook her head, trembling but determined. "I'm staying right here."

Tiger King. KILL.

And Lisa blacked out.

>

Whatever she had been bracing for ever since dropping off Ella at school and heading to the Vault
to finally confront Lisa, Rosé never imagined walking in on her screaming girlfriend having a
meltdown.

One moment Lisa was writhing on the floor, her face contorted as she struggled against invisible
phantoms while Rosé stood by, helpless and terrified as the girl she loved fought the torture frying
her brain, screaming in agony.

The next, silence overtook the Vault as Lisa ceased all movement. Not even her chest moved. For
a beat, Rosé could hear her own heart, thundering away in her chest, as if the Vault itself was
holding its breath in anticipation.

"Lisa?" Rosé whispered after several seconds passed. Her mouth was desert dry.

Without warning, Lisa's eyes snapped open; they gleamed a unnatural burnished golden yellow.

Rosé instinctively shrank back at the sight, hands clammy as Lisa slowly got to her feet. Her face
was blank and empty, but her eyes gleamed dangerously.

"Hey," Rosé squeaked as Lisa's gaze fell on her shaking body. "Lisa...it's me."

Lisa's eyes narrowed but she stopped moving and stood still, regarding her. Rosé took it as a good
sign. Slowly, so as not to startle her with sudden movements, Rosé stood up, make sure to hold
Lisa's gaze.

"Yellow eyes," she said breathlessly, caught between wonder and fear. "So it wasn't a trick of
light." She recalled back the attack in the alley when she shrugged it off as an illusion. But there
was no illusion about the pair of murderous eyes staring menacingly into her soul.

"Hey, it's okay. This happened before. I've seen you like this. You'll be okay," Rosé said.
Something like a low growl ripped out of Lisa and she took a step forward. Rosé gulped and took a
step back, forcing herself to not break gazes.

"You can come back from this. You can fight it, Lisa. It's not who you are."

Where was Jennie? Was she still asleep? Could she call someone? Yell out?

Rosé was thinking fast, trying to defuse the situation. Her heart ached when she remembered of
how she used to try and talk down Taehyung from one of his rages.

But this time, it was Lisa, and she was in distress. This time, everything was different.

She would not run. She would not be afraid.

"You can hear me, can't you? You're still in there, baby, I know it."

Lisa kept pressing forward relentlessly but slowly, step by step, like a predator taking its sweet
time knowing its prey was cornered. Rosé swallowed down her fear over and over, trying to stop
her voice from wavering and revealing her panic.

"Lisa," she said clearly, "Lisa, I know you're stressed but it's fine. You'll be fine, because you're
fighting it, aren't you? I can see it in your eyes."

She was lying: all she saw in those alien yellow eyes was a cold emptiness that made her shiver.
But Lisa hadn't killed her yet, hadn't pounced like she did in the alley and let rip with her fists.

There was still time to run, there was still a chance to resolve the crisis.

Rosé just hoped she wouldn't accidentally blurt out the wrong thing and trigger an escalation.
Dealing with Taehyung's temper tantrums was one thing, but facing down a hulked-out Lisa was
uncharted territory.

"They made you Tiger King, but you're still you," Rosé whispered, still stepping backwards,
wondering when she was going to hit the wall, wondering what would happen when she does.
There was nowhere to run.

A flicker of recognition crossed Lisa's face at the name, her brows furrowing. Rosé jumped on the
opportunity.

"I don't care who they say you are. To me you're still my Lisa. Tiger King is who they made but I
see you. I see you. They built you to be Tiger King, but you're not this."

To Rosé silent consternation, Lisa's breaths were coming out faster and harsher than before. She
scrambled to salvage control, unable to help the quake in her voice.

"Lisa, look at me, please. Don't—don't you recognise me?"

Her breath hitched when her foot touched the wall and she could only look at Lisa who bore down
on her with her lips peeled back in a snarl.

She was trapped.

"Please," Rosé whimpered, "Lisa, please remember."

For one agonising second, she thought she saw Lisa's face register emotion, something like a cross
between agony and despair.

But the next second, Lisa's arm shot out and she grabbed Rosé by the throat, fingers clamping
down on her windpipe.

Rosé gasped as Lisa lifted her easily and slammed her against the wall, pressing up in her personal
space with cold fury in her eyes and teeth bared. The hand at her throat squeezed, choking Rosé as
she struggled and kicked out, the feeling of deja vu sinking in.

She escaped Jimin, she escaped Jin, she escaped Yang, but this time, she was going to die. Fate had
always loved playing cruel jokes on her.

"Lisa!" Rosé wheezed, panicking as she thrashed in Lisa's unyielding grasp. "Stop it! Stop!"

She could barely hear the words that came out of her mouth, incoherent and slurred because Lisa's
grip was tight, tight, tight and her lungs were already burning. Lisa didn't move when Rosé's
flailing limbs hit her, grim and solid as a mountain.

She watched the life drain out of Rosé without batting an eyelid, her jaw clenched.

"Lisa," Rosé croaked. Tears leaked, frustration and helplessness pouring out of her as her vision
grew fuzzy at the edges.

She was going to die. Ella would be alone.

She was always useless to save the people she loved. Maybe she had always meant to die, right
from her birth. Maybe this is where it was all supposed to end.

Why fight?

Rosé's hands fell away to her side as her mouth lolled open, gasping on her last breaths. Dimly, she
heard a distant thud that reverberated throughout the Vault but it was drowned out by the roaring in
her head, her body's last scream for oxygen.

"Lisa," she wept, her eyes falling shut, "I'm sorry..."

"HEY!"

Lisa jerked violently but she only let go of Rosé when something slammed into her back causing
her to rear back and roar in surprise.

Rosé slipped to the ground and crumpled in a heap. Her eyes fluttered as she shuddered and gasped,
trying to suck in as much air as possible. Her neck hurt and her throat was pressed shut. Her bleary
vision cleared little by little and she could make out a fuzzy short figure on the other side of the
Vault.

"Over here you big lug!" the newcomer shouted and flung a dumbbell in Lisa's direction. Lisa
dodged it easily but Rosé saw her only get angrier, her furious snarls growing louder.

"Come and get me you freak!"

Rosé blinked, her vision swimming into focus just as Lisa roared and charged.

And she was headed straight for Jennie, who was hefting a dumbbell, grim but determined.

Rosé could have wept in relief. She was saved. Jennie was here, she would save Lisa, she would
save them both.

"That's right, I'm over here, you piece of shit!" Jennie shouted, goading her. "Come on!"

Jennie flung the dumbbell with all her might. Rosé gasped but she needn't have worried about Lisa
getting hurt— her girlfriend caught it in midair and threw it right back with dizzying speed.

Jennie dived to the ground just in time as it whizzed past her head, missing it by a fraction and
bouncing off the wall instead. Jennie scrambled to her feet and took off running for her life around
the Vault, with Lisa hot on her heels.

Rosé could only watch the frantic chase helplessly. She didn't trust her legs to hold her up.

"Run Rosé!" Jennie yelled as she skidded around a pillar. "Get out! I'll handle her!"
Jennie ran by the punching bags, ducking and weaving as Lisa pushed them aside savagely, never
faltering even when they swung and clobbered her on the head.

Jennie was surprisingly speedy, but even from afar, Rosé could see her flagging, surreptitiously
holding her side. She overturned benches and pushed against shelves housing equipment to stall
Lisa.

But Lisa easily dodged and leapt over every obstacle in her path, gaining alarmingly fast.

"Get out, I'll distract her!" Jennie puffed as she peeled by Rosé. "Run!"

Lisa bolted after her without a second glance at the girl lying petrified on the ground.

Rosé thought she was going to suffocate to death before, but seeing Lisa relentlessly chase after
Jennie like a missile locked on its target, she knew Jennie was a goner once Lisa caught up: Lisa
was in true killer mode now.

She had to help somehow, to snap Lisa out of her rage.

Her gaze fell on the metal bar—a barbell—lying nearby, which Jennie must have thrown to distract
Lisa from choking her to death. She dragged herself to it, clutching the cold metal and forcing
herself to stand up. Her legs shook like jelly and she had to lean back against the wall for support
as her head spun.

A furious bellow from Lisa had her look up just in time to see Jennie narrowly miss her sister's fist
as she dodged and threw a whole canister of gym chalk in her face. Lisa choked and staggered
back, giving Jennie the chance to slip past and hastily fiddle with a barbell nearby, freeing it of the
weight plates and shoving them to the ground.

Rosé's tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth as she watched Jennie grunt and heave up a plate
with both hands and fling it like a frisbee at Lisa.

At the last second, Lisa—still rubbing chalk from her eyes—looked up and ducked. The plate
crashed into the wall. But Jennie wasn't done—she threw the rest of the weights in quick
succession. With unnatural reflexes, Lisa's body moved fluidly, avoiding all projectiles as she
ducked and dodged.

"Come on you freak!" Jennie shouted. She had run out of weights to throw. "Come get me you
stupid bitch! Yeah, I bet you dreamt of this didn't you? Bet you dreamt of snapping my head off.
Come on, don't stop now!"

She looked frightfully small next to Lisa's hulking figure. Lisa snarled and rushed upon her
without a second thought.

From behind her back, Jennie swiftly produced the barbell. She hefted it over her shoulder like a
baseball bat, her jaw clenched in concentration as Lisa leapt.

"No!" Rosé yelled, her voice raw, but nobody heard.

Jennie put her whole body into the movement, a powerful swing that would have cracked Lisa's
skull open had it hit.

But Lisa was too quick.

She dodged the barbell by a fraction and dropped out of the air on top of her sister. They fell down
sprawling in a heap of yells, flailing hands and kicking feet. Rosé cowered at first, scared to
intervene but forced herself to edge closer, dragging her own barbell along the floor, her heart
thundering to a crescendo as the girls in front of her brawled violently.

"Get off you mutt!"

Jennie fought fiercely, tussling with Lisa for the barbell between them as Lisa growled, dragged
them up and around then tripped and fell back, never letting go. With Jennie on top, the fight
seemed to hang in the balance.

Jennie pressed down on the barbell, grunting with effort to pin her snarling sister down from the
neck.

"Jen! Coming, hang in there," Rosé cried, plodding faster.

"The first-aid box!" Jennie shouted over her shoulder. Her face shone with sweat. "Get it!"

The stalemate didn't last long—Lisa was too strong, Jennie too tired. With one visceral snarl and a
heaving roar, Lisa quickly climbed back on top, overturning Jennie as though she were pushing off
a bag of feathers.

"Jen!" Rosé croaked.

"The first-aid box!" Jennie screamed again at the top of her lungs as Lisa snarled and swung at her
face. Jennie struggled madly to avoid the flying fists but Lisa's aim was deadly. The sounds of
bone colliding with bone was sickening, brutal thuds that made Rosé wince.

Jennie still had some fight in her, still managed to block or knock aside Lisa's fists but Lisa had
her firmly trapped as she straddled her sister. Rosé was all too familiar with that position—Jennie
didn't have much time before Lisa would bash her to death.

A quick scan of the walls had her locate the first aid box and Rosé hobbled over to it, her gait
steadying with each step. Jennie's grunts and groans urged her along until she had finally hooked it
off the wall.

Rosé paused for a few seconds with the heavy box in her arms. Why did they need a first aid box
anyway? What was in it?

"Open it for god's sake! Hurry!" Jennie yelled, her nose bloody.

When she hurriedly snapped it open, Rosé could only stare dumbfounded at the contents. There
were no bandages or bottles of ointment but instead, the box contained rolls of duct tape, belts,
rope and two tasers.

"The tasers!" Jennie hollered as she held a snapping Lisa up from the neck. Veins jutted out at her
temple with the strain. "Tase her, now, dammit!"

Rosé grabbed one of the tasers and hurriedly rushed over, still clutching the barbell.

"Do it—owhp!" Jennie cut off when Lisa's fist caught her full in the jaw. Her cheeks were bruised,
one eye purple and sealed shut already. Lisa herself was unscathed, full brawn and power
thrumming through her whole body as she reared back to deliver a lethal blow.

Rosé reacted without thinking. "Hey!"

Her split-second plan to distract Lisa worked: Lisa's gaze swivelled over and landed on her. And
for what seemed an eternity, they stared at each other: Lisa with her impenetrable yellow eyes and
raised fists, Rosé with her meagre weapons.

She hadn't noticed before but beyond the malevolent gleam in her eyes, Lisa now seemed to be
almost pleading with her.

Don't look at me. I'm a monster, she seemed to say. Run.

Rosé faltered, started lowering the taser. Maybe there was a better way—

"No you stupid idiot!"

Jennie's cry startled Lisa but Rosé moved quicker. With a shout, she jabbed the taser in the small of
Lisa's back, discharging a powerful burst. She felt the taser shake in her hand and Lisa arched back
with a dreadful yowl. She didn't fall, only dropping forward and bracing herself with her arms on
either side of Jennie' face, heaving.

"Again!" Jennie slurred. "Hurry!" She seemed to be fighting to stay awake.

Roséstunned Lisa again and again with wretched abandon, ignoring her shattering heart with each
of Lisa's pained howls until with a groan, Lisa collapsed on top of Jennie, crushing her beneath.
Silence returned to the Vault as Rosé stepped back, panting and speechless until she realised Jennie
was pinned beneath her sister and not moving.

"Jen!" Rosé rushed to free Jennie's face, straining to lift Lisa's body.

"Ros..." Jennie's muffled voice answered her and Rosé was rewarded with the sight of Jennie's eyes
fluttering alarmingly.

"No, stay with me, come on!" Grunting, Rosé managed to roll off a groaning, dazed Lisa. She
didn't seem like she was liable to attack again, her movements stiff and slow.

Rosé paid her no attention—Jennie's face was a mess of bruises, her knuckles bloody, but
thankfully she was alive and breathing, though similarly dazed and exhausted as Lisa. Rosé also
noticed a bandaid around her thumb that was coming off. It seemed fresh.

Jennie coughed and squinted out her good eye at Rosé. "Where...where..."

"Lisa is right here, she's okay, just a little dazed. God Jen, you're okay, I was so scared."

"Belt," Jennie said. She gestured feebly towards the first aid box. "Get...belts. It isn't over yet."

"What?" Cold sweat broke over Rosé's brow. "What do you mean?"

"She can...still...hurt us. Hurry."

Rosé's breath caught in her throat when Lisa groaned again and sat up.

Working on pure instinct, Rosé scrambled to grab the fallen taser and covered Jennie, holding the
taser gun in front of her with trembling hands. She didn't trust herself to speak. Her pulse throbbed
loud as thunder in her head.

"Shit," Jennie bit out. Rosé didn't hear. All her attention zeroed in on Lisa, who slowly slowly
raised her head to regard them.
Her eyes were still yellow.

"Get off!" Jennie frantically struggled to stand. "We don't have much time, get the box! We need to
tie her up! It's not over yet!"

But Rosé didn't move because swirling in the depths of those dreadful yellow eyes, she saw clarity
surfacing, dredging up horror and guilt. Lisa eyes roved over her, widening as she took in Rosé's
appearance. Tiny tremors took over her body, invisible at first but growing more apparent the
longer Rosé looked.

She lowered her taser even as Jennie muttered incoherently and flopped on her side to prop herself
up.

"Lisa?" Rosé said tentatively when Lisa remained silent, wide-eyed and fearful. "Baby?"

Lisa's bottom lip trembled, her eyes darting in her sockets. She held up her shaking hands, staring
at them with revulsion.

"What...what did I do?" she croaked, her voice quivering. "Did I...Rosie..."

"Stay back!" Jennie suddenly lurched forward, barbell in hand. Her voice was pure ice-cold venom
and even Rosé flinched. "Don't you dare move a muscle!"

Rosé saw Lisa take in Jennie's state, watched her crumple and hold her head.

"No...no...no..."

"What? Gonna cry now?" Jennie spat. The hand holding the barbell shook, from fury or fear Rosé
couldn't tell. "No, you don't get to cry. You were right, you're only good for killing people. You're
a monster."

"Jen!" Rosé exclaimed.

"She was fucking strangling you Rosé! You were going to die! Get that in your stupid fucking
head!" Jennie yelled. "She's not Lisa anymore. She's gone full freak mode!"

Rosé swallowed when Lisa further curled in on herself, avoiding their gazes.

"But she's okay now, right Lisa? You're okay now."

She turned to Jennie, freezing when she saw the broken glint in Jennie's eye, saw Jennie's face
contort as she raised the barbell above her head. The glazed expression she wore had Rosé's
stomach drop.

Jennie had snapped and gone beyond the point of no return.

"I'm ending this," Jennie seethed, "right now."

She lunged.

"No!"

Rosé tackled Jennie, knocking her down before she could hit Lisa. They rolled with the
momentum, Rosé coming out on top and wrestling the barbell out of Jennie's hands as the latter
yelled her head off.
"Stop it, she's back now, there's no need to hurt her! Get a hold of yourself, she's your sister!" Rosé
said.

"She's no sister of mine!" Jennie shouted hysterically. "She bashed my face in! She's a monster!
After all I did, that's the thanks I get? I'm done making excuses for her! I've lost everything
because of her!"

Rosé pinned her down but Jennie still struggled, despite her exhaustion. Up close, Rosé could
make out the dark circles under her bruised eyes.

"Get off me!"

"Not until you promise to get a hold of yourself."

All at once, the fight left Jennie and she lay limp underneath Rosé, heaving and sobbing.

"She almost killed us. And the next chance she gets, she will. She's going to kill us all," Jennie said
tiredly. She closed her eyes and the tears rolled down her cheeks. "I just want Jisoo back."

"We'll get her back. And Lisa won't kill us, she needs our help, she...Lisa?" Rosé said distractedly
seeing Lisa wordlessly stand up and back away. "Where are you going?"

Lisa shook her head, her eyes still flashing yellow, remorse reflected in her broken gaze. "I can't—I
can't stay. I almost killed you. Jennie's right. I'm...I'm a monster," she choked out.

Rosé shook her head frantically and climbed to her feet. "No no come on don't say that."

Her heart gave a pang when she reached out to Lisa but the other girl flinched and backed away
further. She saw the wide frightened expression take over Lisa's face, like an animal about to take
flight. Her desperation to keep her talking doubled as a foreboding feeling welled up in her chest.

"You're not a monster, we just need to figure things out! Let's all just calm down and talk—"

"What the hell is going on here?"

Rosé and Lisa whipped around in unison. Irene stood at the Vault entrance, surveying the wrecked
gym and the three girls. Her mouth slowly dropped open as she took in their rough state.

"I-Irene," Jennie gasped. She scrambled to sit up. "I can explain, we just got a little rough—" she
collapsed face first and lay twitching feebly. "Ow-ww."

"Jennie!" Irene crossed the Vault at the speed of light and crashed to her knees at Jennie's side,
cradling her head as she shouted frantically. "God Jennie, your face! Wake up, wake up! We need
to go to the hospital, she's gonna pass out!"

She glared up at Rosé and Lisa, her eyes flinty. "What the hell happened—"

She faltered when she made eye contact with Lisa. "Lisa, your eyes...."

Lisa shrank away from her startled face. Rosé jumped in right away, ignoring Irene's questions,
ignoring her calls for Seulgi who came rushing in.

"What's going on?" Seulgi asked, stupefied.

"I don't know, we need to get to the hospital, help me with Jennie..."
Their voices faded into the background because nothing mattered to Rosé right now except Lisa. A
gut feeling warned her that she was on the edge of a precipice, about to fall and shatter. Rosé
ignored that too and forged on.

"Lisa, it will be okay, Jennie's going to be okay. We'll figure things out together, we just need to
talk—"

Lisa shook her head.

"No?" Rosé said numbly. "Why not?"

When Lisa held her head and her shoulders convulsed with the force of her crying, Rosé had to
resist the urge to throw her arms around Lisa and hold her tightly, shielding her from all the bad
and terrible things in the world.

"Lisa look at me. Please. Please."

Lisa finally did, her chalky white face filled with dread. Rosé hadn't thought those yellow eyes
could look so sad, so broken, so haunted, a far cry from the murderous glint they harboured before.

The Lisa that stood before her now was a destroyed shell and she was about to scatter into a
thousand little pieces with the wind.

Rosé knew—without Lisa even uttering a single word—what she was going to say: her eyes said it
all and it broke Rosé.

So she gave her answer, a single plea, begging for one last chance: "Stay. Lisa, please stay." She
reached out with her hand, stringing out her last hope on the line. "Please."

But Lisa didn't take her hand.

Lisa didn't look at her.

Lisa didn't say a word as she turned on her heels and walked out of the Vault.

Rosé could only stand and stare in disbelief, tears falling, still reaching out to empty air.

How could she just give up? How could she just leave without even saying goodbye?

Irene and Seulgi and even Jennie were calling her but she didn't hear a word. When she snapped
out of her heartbroken daze, Rosé ran outside desperately calling Lisa's name.

All she found was Lisa's phone on the pavement and an empty street.

Lisa was gone.

 Jennie's Story
Chapter Summary

previously: lisa hulked out, nearly strangled rosie, nearly killed jennie. jennie snapped
but was held back by rosie. lisa disappeared. irene and seulgi showed up to the scene.
jennie passed out.

Jennie was roused to the sound of monotonous beeping. When she cracked her eyes open, soft light
greeted her, making her blink several times to adjust. Her hurt eye twitched violently in protest but
the whole area was pleasantly numb. Slowly slowly, she was able to open her eyes without the
light feeling like a knife lancing through her eyeballs.

Her body felt stiff as a board, pain slithering up her spine when she tried craning her head. It felt
like she had been asleep for months as she groggily assessed her surroundings. The framed portrait
opposite her bed swam into focus; it displayed a kitten playing with a ball of yarn.

Little by little, the memories returned and she instinctively winced, her heartbeat picking up when
she remembered Lisa's murderous streak, how she found her sister strangling Rosé and then
unleashed her fists upon her, how Lisa had silently disappeared out of the Vault door and Rosé was
crying and...

God, she was in hospital! Had Irene and the others called the cops? Where were they? Where was
Lisa? How long had she been asleep? Panic seized Jennie and she suddenly couldn't breathe. The
beeping machines picked up on the uptick in her heart rate.

"Hey, hey you're awake. It's okay, it's okay, you're safe," said a familiar voice.

Jennie's mouth dropped open when she spotted the dishevelled figure sitting next to her bed.

"Momo?"

"Yo. How you feeling?" Momo said.

Jennie almost spat the question back at her because Momo herself didn't look too good. Her shirt
was wrinkled and her hair was a tangled birds' nest. At least she smelled clean, or maybe it was the
overpowering smell of the floor cleaner covering her stink.

"What are you doing here?" Jennie frowned.

Momo chuckled faintly. "Keeping the chair warm for Rosé. She and Seulgi went to get her kid
from music school or whatever. Asked me to keep an eye on you. Irene will be popping in later too.
It's around 3pm by the way."

"Oh...but why are you here?" Jennie asked again. She could still recall the harsh words they
exchanged last time they had spoken on the phone at the time of Somi and Dahyun's deaths.

"Well I was home playing some Halo and I get this hysterical call from Irene and she was
panicking real bad cos' she said you passed out. And this chick Rosé who says she's Lisa girlfriend
was saying we can't take you to regular hospital so Irene was at the end of her tether cos she said
we can't ask Matthew for help either cos' you had a fallout...so I stepped in and took care of
things."

"Stepped in? Took care of things?" Jennie repeated, still not understanding. "Why? How?"

Momo spread her arms wide. "This is a family hospital. My family's hospital. You think I went to
get treated in some public hospital place whenever I got a regular old bruising at the Slammer? I
needed somewhere discreet and private. Luckily, my family owns this chain of hospitals. I may be
disowned but...I pulled some strings with the cousin who's in charge now. He was always a softie."

"Oh...Irene knew?"

"No. She was just lucky she got the idea to call me."

"Oh..." Jennie said, unsettled. She made to get out of bed. "Well, it's really...nice of you. Please
send me the bill, I'll make sure to pay you back and—"

Momo patted Jennie's hand, stopping her in her tracks. "You don't owe me a single won, Jen. " she
said, her voice soft. "It's on me."

"But—"

"But nothing. I'm not looking to get anything back from this. You needed help, I can give you that
help. That's all. Main point is, nobody knows you're here. You're covered. The staff are duty bound
to keep things hush hush. Don't worry, whoever did this to you won't hurt you again."

Jennie leaned back against the pillows, relief rushing through her like a delicious swig of energy
drink that rejuvenated her spirit as she processed Momo's words. "Oh...oh wow. So the cops, they
don't—"

"Irene is still insisting we need to bring them in, she's been hounding me and that Rosé girl but
Rosé stood her ground and didn't speak a word. She said we'll wait for you to wake up before we
decide what to do. She's...quite something."

Another shot of good news, sweet and welcoming. She kept underestimating Rosé, and the younger
girl kept surprising her each time. But then the bitter realisation that Momo never once mentioned
Lisa in her narrative had Jennie swallow, remembering the eyes of death looming over her.

"Water," she croaked. Momo leaned over and brought her a cup with a straw from the bedside
table.

"Nurse said to give you this when you wake up. Seems like they knew it was time. I should go get
them too."

"How long was I out?"

"Three days. Aside from the concussion, they said you were really sleep deprived, dehydrated and
malnourished. You needed the rest, you looked rough."

Three days. Jennie bit down on her lip, the tension that had seeped out of her body roaring back full
blast.

She needed to be out of bed searching for Jisoo, not languishing like some invalid. Surreptitiously,
she rubbed her thumb with her pointer finger. Someone had applied a fresh plaster to it.
Momo's face was carefully blank when she put the cup back on the bedstand and clasped her hands
together. "Look Jen, I know something fishy is going on," she began. "For starters, Irene said Matt
is blaming y'all for Somi's death, that's why he kicked you out of the Vault. But there's other stuff I
can't quite put my finger on."

"Congratulations on your powers of deduction." Jennie clenched the sheet that covered her lower
body. "What—what else did you learn?"

Momo pursed her lips. "Rosé wouldn't speak to me. Not that Irene or her girlfriend—which by the
way, she got a girlfriend too? Everyone is fucking gay now?—not that they spoke with me much
either but...Irene said there was an incident at the Vault, which is how you ended up looking like a
turnip is growing on your eye. What happened?"

Jennie sighed. "Take a wild guess."

"Don't play coy," Momo said, frustrated. "I'm not that daft. Lisa is nowhere around. And I haven't
seen your girlfriend at all. Jisoo didn't strike me as the type to up and quit in so short a time. What
the hell happened Jen? Was it—was it Jinyoung?"

At the mention of Jisoo and Jinyoung's names, Jennie felt her strength crumble. It had been close to
a week since she last saw or heard of Jisoo, and the last thing Jisoo had said was that she loved her.

And here she was, returning that love by doing absolutely nothing in return at the time when Jisoo
needed her most. Jennie clenched her teeth, refusing to break down in tears in front of Momo.

"I know last time we spoke didn't end well but I'm here to help now," Momo said quietly. "I swear
Jennie. Believe me. But you have got to stop bottling it all up by yourself. You've been doing that
forever. I know you."

Momo was right. She had bottled up too much, shouldered more weight than she ought to have
carried. Was it truly time to shrug it off and let other people bear the burden?

She fiddled with the plaster on her thumb. Jennie still felt the sting like she just freshly slit the
flesh, making her curl her thumb in her fist. This was yet another reminder of her failure to protect
the people around her.

"Bad things happen when I involve other people," Jennie whispered. She covered her head with her
hands. "And I keep fucking up. Momo, I fucked up big time with Lisa."

She had lost her senses and for one awful moment, all the fear and rage and resentment she had
suppressed for years had bubbled up and exploded like a volcano. She had raised her hand against
Lisa when the latter was defenceless, intending to beat her until—

She didn't even want to consider the consequences. How was that any different than Matthew
punching Lisa? How could she lecture Matthew and then turn around and do the same thing
herself, like Lisa was an inanimate punching bag? The hypocrisy made her physically sick.

Movement from Momo caught her attention as the other girl sighed and stood up, pacing to the
window.

"That's what everyone does. We fuck up. I'm a fuck up, you're a fuck up, what else is new?" Momo
said. "I fucked up with Dahyun. You were right, I should have tried harder. And this is me trying
harder. I'm here now, Jen. I'm not backing out. Jinyoung thinks he can do fuck all, but I ain't
fucking backing off."
Jennie sighed. "If only it were that simple..."

Though she didn't have a mirror to see the extensive bruising, still she felt the effects of Lisa's fists.
It was a miracle that her eyes had healed enough to see Momo properly. The throbbing pain around
her face was somewhat dulled, with painkillers most likely.

Jennie took a deep breath and pointed at her face. "Lisa did this."

"What?" Momo spluttered. "I thought...I dunno I thought it might be someone from Jinyoung's
lackeys. You're telling me that idiot meathead sister of yours did this?"

"I'd appreciate you not calling my girlfriend an idiot meathead, Ms Hirai," said Rosé from the
doorway, her stern voice startling both of them. She had opened the door so quietly neither had
noticed her entry.

"Uh oh touched a nerve," Momo muttered. She nodded stiffly at Rosé when the latter came in to sit
next to Jennie, Ella in tow. "Uh, welcome back, Rosé. Seulgi took off?"

Rosé spared her a cold look before she turned to Jennie, her face softening. "How are you feeling?"

Jennie grimaced. "Peachy." A pang of hurt jolted her body when she remembered Somi uttering
that same phrase so she quickly turned to Ella. "Hey, how's it going El? I got a little roughed up,
hope it doesn't scare you."

"Nah. And it's going okay," Ella sighed scuffing her toes. "I keep jumbling up the notes."

Jennie looked to Rosé in bemusement.

"She's having a little trouble with practising her piano pieces," Rosé translated, smoothing Ella's
hair and nuzzling her. Her brow creased when she met Jennie's questioning gaze. "I wanted her to
go back to a normal routine right away to—to forget, but...I don't know. Maybe this is already a
symptom of what happened. Am I pushing too hard? Maybe you should take some days off, El."

"I can't miss out on practice, I'm just getting to the harder sections, that's why I keep jumbling
things up," Ella said stubbornly. "That kidnapping was days ago already Mom, I'm fine. You're the
one who's not fine."

Jennie couldn't help but give a little chuckle at Ella's bluntness. "You got a point. But El, your
mother's just worried about you. You went through that ordeal, it's not something to get over
quickly. I know I'd have nightmares."

"Dad hit Mom. That was scarier," Ella said. "The sounds and crying."

All the air was punched out of Jennie's lungs at the same time as Rosé gasped, her face crumpling.

"Oh baby..."

She scooped Ella in her arms, who squirmed but didn't complain about the show of affection.

"It's my biggest regret that you had to live through that, and you still remember it too. I wish I
could wipe it from your head," Rosé said, hugging her tightly. "You're so so brave."

Momo was feigning great interest in the framed kitten picture as she eavesdropped shamelessly on
the conversation, making Jennie sigh and come to a decision. If they were going to work together,
they had to lay out all their cards on the table.
"Rosé, Momo knows about Jinyoung and Tiger King. Momo, ditto Rosé. You can stop pretending
now."

The two girls started and whipped around to look at each other, eyes narrowed.

"Does she know about Lisa too?" Rosé asked suspiciously.

"What about Lisa?" Momo fired back.

Ella's head whipped back and forth between them like she was at a tennis match. Jennie had no
time to feel sorry for Ella having to deal with all the mess and drama they were involved in—the
air crackled with tension as Rosé and Momo squared up to each other. Jennie feared if she didn't
intervene they were about to come to blows.

"Let's take a timeout alright?"

"Who are you, really? What's your deal?" Momo said, ignoring Jennie. "What did the kid mean
about kidnapping? What the hell happened here?"

"Can you not shout? Sick person here," Jennie said, raising her hand. She winced at the pinch of
the IV line in her hand. "Go get me a nurse and see if I can take this shit out, it's making me itch
like mad."

"Language," Rosé said automatically, patting Ella's head.

"Mom, I know what shit means."

"Sssh baby, it's not polite to be saying it though."

"Fine I'll go, so you can have your little talk time," Momo sulked.

"Don't hurry," Rosé said, smiling sweetly.

Momo glowered before she fixed Jennie with a pointed look. "We're talking when I get back."

"I'm sure we will," Jennie said tiredly, flopping on her back. She wasn't looking forward to the
conversation, especially because it meant facing up to all her failures. Her jaw already ached at the
idea of talking for longer than two minutes at a stretch.

"What's the deal with Momo?" she asked Rosé once the door closed. "Why are you acting like cats
and dogs?"

"Based on what I heard of her, I don't think I like her very much," Rosé said primly. "She was a
bad influence on Lisa. Didn't she also threaten to hurt her before, when you kicked her out of the
Vault? And she's a player and humiliated Dahyun, didn't she? And you heard her, she was insulting
Lisa! Didn't you hear? She called Lisa a meathead when I bet Lisa is twice as smart! I'm grateful
she stepped up to help us, but that doesn't mean I have to like her."

Jennie felt the beginning of a smile take over her face. Something about Rosé still defending Lisa's
honour even after all that happened had a flutter of warmth seep through her being, though it was
quickly overshadowed by the wave of guilt that penetrated her very soul.

"Any news of Lisa?" Jennie asked.

Rosé shook her head, dejected. "Seulgi has been scouring the streets around the Vault with her
car..." She bit her lip, looking troubled. "Jen, I heard...Irene told me about Matthew selling the
Vault to Jinyoung. How could he? That monster...he's trying to break us."

"I know," Jennie said tiredly, "but nothing I can do about it."

"Well anyway, Seulgi even went around the Slammer to ask if they seen Lisa around and even
went to the café but nobody saw her. It's like she disappeared into thin air. Seulgi went to get Irene
just now. Irene usually visits you around lunch but she couldn't make it today because of some
work meeting so Seulgi is getting her now."

"And we've been feeding Dalgom," Ella piped up brightly. Jennie smile and nodded at her.

"That is good news indeed, thank you for telling me. Jisoo would kill me if anything happened to
Dalgom."

"He's missing her though, he keeps whining and going from room to room. I think he's looking for
her."

"I miss her too," Jennie said softly and those four words conveyed nothing of the terrible ache that
had taken up residence in her chest. She didn't suppress the swell of sadness as well as she thought
because Rosé's hand landed on the mattress next to hers, just barely touching.

"Jen...everything was a mess when you passed out. I—I honestly wanted to call the police. Irene
did too, but I held off." Rosé hung her head. "God I'm so worried about her. Maybe we should all
them, we still can..."

She trailed off. Jennie gave her a sad smile.

"But you know that it's complicated with our immigrant situation. You know it might blow up in
our faces if the cops find out about Tiger King and all this mess we're in," she said, finishing her
thoughts. "You know Jinyoung might be alerted too. You know he might...might do something bad
or hurt Jisoo. You know he probably has friends within the police force. We're on our own, Rosé,
whichever way you look at it. You think I didn't want to run to the cops to get Jisoo back? And
now Lisa is MIA too..."

"Did you mean it?"

Jennie jerked at Rosé's icy tone. "Huh?"

"Did you mean it when you told Lisa that...what you told her?" Rosé said. Ella looked in between
them, bemused. Jennie cleared her throat.

"Ella, could you go look for Momo and see where she got held up?" she asked. Discussing delicate
matters in front of the wide-eyed girl made her uneasy. Ella looked to her mother for permission
who shook her head.

"She's not going anywhere without my say-so," Rosé said.

"But we're talking—"

"And she can listen. I'm not letting her out of my sight more than is necessary, especially in a
hospital where she could easily get lost or snatched up."

"Jinyoung isn't after you—"

"I won't take chances. It's enough that I'm on edge all day while she's in school," Rosé said stiffly.
Her eyes bore into Jennie. "Did you mean what you said to Lisa in the Vault?"

Freak. Monster. No sister of mine.

The unforgiving words boomed in Jennie's ears and she swallowed.

"I—I don't know," she said hoarsely. "I just—I snapped. I've been scared of seeing her go berserk
like that ever since I met her. And I've been waiting for it to happen again. I saw her lose control
like that one other time when she um...fought Yang, and it ended really badly. I was scared Rosé,"
she finished in a small voice. She clasped her hands together. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't going to bring her back."

"I know," Jennie choked out. "God, I know. I'd take it back if I could."

Mercifully, Rosé merely sighed. "Alright, I believe you. I know you're under strain right now, it
certainly doesn't help the situation at all. I get it." She looked up, her brow furrowed. "So Lisa
being like that...is that what happened the night of my father's demise too?"

"Yes."

"I get it Jen. I was...scared too," Rosé admitted. "But Lisa thinks we hate her now. That's probably
why she hasn't come back. She thinks she's a monster."

"We don't hate Lisa unnie!" Ella chimed in, frowning. "She's not a monster!"

"I know sweetie, it's just a little complicated," Rosé said carefully.

"But she'll be back?"

"I hope so."

"Lisa's not a monster," Ella insisted. "She saved the kittens and she helps me with maths and she
watches movies with me and she loves you so so much, Mom!"

Before Jennie could add anything, a commotion outside the door caught their attention. A shrill
female voice pierced through the stillness in Jennie's room, accompanied by the murmurs of other
voices urging her to calm down.

"She woke up and you didn't call me?! I told you, the second she wakes up, you are to call me—"

"Calm yo tits, she hasn't even been awake an hour!" Momo snapped.

"I don't care!"

The door flew open, revealing Irene in all her frazzled glory with blazing eyes that burned when
they settled on Jennie. A sheepish Seulgi, Momo and a short nurse brought up the rear.

"Jennie!" Irene crossed the room in a blink and flung herself at the girl in bed, sobbing as she clung
to her and hugged her tightly. "Oh Jen, you're alright!"

"Mind the line!" the nurse squeaked.

Jennie didn't hear as she melted into the hug, breathing in Irene's scent and hugging her back with
all her might. Inevitably, the tears fell but she didn't care as Irene held her close and stroked her
hair.
Feeling anchored and safe for the first time in days after she had been cut adrift from Jisoo, Jennie
allowed herself to let go and relax, her shoulders emptying of tension.

"You scared me," Irene whispered, giving her one last squeeze before she pulled back. Guilt
wracked Jennie when she saw the dark circles under her friend's eyes. Irene had always been the
closest to a mother figure that Jennie could think of, constantly worrying about her and Lisa.
Jennie had always kept her at arm's length, lying and inadvertently hurting her. Yet Irene, just like
a mother, kept coming back for her, refusing to let her go.

She could honestly say Irene probably cared about her more than her own mother had.

"I'm sorry," Jennie choked out, "I'm—I'm sorry."

It was all she could give, a pitiful excuse in return for all the panic and worry she had caused the
older woman, mere days after Somi and Dahyun's demise.

"Ssh ssh, it's okay, it's okay, you're okay," Irene soothed. She turned to the nurse. "Can she be
discharged now? I can take care of her at home and watch her." She hadn't let go of Jennie's hand.
Seeing the plaster on her thumb made Jennie's dread lurch in her stomach like an army of snakes
had taken up residence there.

"We need to monitor her, at least a few more hours to make sure there's no relapses. But all things
considering, she seems to have made good progress."

"Could I just get discharged against medical advice? I can sign, I feel fine," Jennie suggested. She
was anxious to get out of the room, which felt suddenly claustrophobic with all the people
gathered.

"I'll talk with the doctor. You might have to wait another hour or two to talk with him. We're a bit
short staffed today, the doctor on duty has barely stopped since morning," the nurse said. "But I'll
remove the IV, see how you do without it. Anything happens, just buzz for me."

"Sure. And thank you."

Once the nurse left, Irene breathed out, her shoulders slumping.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you, Momo," she said quietly. "I just..."

"I get it," Momo shrugged. "And don't worry, I'm used to people snapping at me nowadays."

Irene nodded, still looking sheepish then whipped out her phone and texted rapidly for a few
seconds before she pocketed it again.

"Just informed my superiors I'm taking the rest of the day off," she informed. "Since you'll be
coming home later and I need to be there."

"Irene you really didn't have to," Jennie said, her heart giving a momentary twinge at the reminder
that she technically didn't have a place to go back home to.

"I want to. You look so peaky too, I won't rest until I make sure you're fed and got some sleep,"
Irene frowned. Jennie didn't have the heart to remind her that she had been sleeping for the past
three days because being fussed over and spoiled by Irene's cooking sounded heavenly.

"Well, now what?" Seulgi asked, voicing out their thoughts. She looked from Jennie to Rosé. "I,
for one, would like to know what the hell is happening and just what am I getting myself into.
Where is Lisa? What happened at the Vault? And Jen, where's Jisoo? We can't seem to reach her."

Jennie glanced at Rosé who had her lips pursed in a thin line, as she gripped Ella's hand tightly.
Ella on her part seemed to have understood her mother's warning because she stayed quiet, head
down.

Momo was also quiet, raising an eyebrow at Jennie when she glanced over at her.

Jennie took a deep breath, standing on the edge of the precipice to dive headlong into the truth but
this time there was no backing down—too much had happened to keep hiding, too much had
happened to keep trying forging ahead and fighting alone.

If she was going to fight Jinyoung, find Jisoo and bring back Lisa, she was going to have to rely on
her friends, hoping they won't abandon her at the time she needed them most. Even if they did run,
Jennie couldn't find it in herself to blame them.

"I don't know where to begin. There's so much to tell you and it all gets tangled up together," she
murmured. "Even—even Hwangssabu is in this. And Jinyoung. And Rosé."

"Hwangssabu?" Irene said, bewildered.

"Rosé?" Momo said incredulously.

"Jinyoung?" said Seulgi, puzzled. "The JYP Slammer sponsor? What do you mean?"

"I'm going to talk," Jennie said, fidgeting with her hands, "but you have to let me talk until I'm done
or I'll...I'm not sure how much I'll get out if you keep interrupting."

"Should the kid be here? She's a kid," Momo said meaningfully. Everyone looked at Ella, who
shrugged.

"I know how to keep a secret, you know. You can trust me. I haven't told anyone about the bad
guys Mom was working with, or about being kidnapped."

"Bad guys? Kidnapped?" Irene and Seulgi exclaimed, their eyes wide.

Rosé bowed her head, her shoulders shaking. Jennie couldn't tell if it was from mirth or hysteria.

"Maybe it would be better if I start the story first," Rosé said at last. "It will tie in with Lisa and
Jennie and make sense soon."

"Send the kid out," Momo urged. "This is adult talk."

"Yes Rosé. I can take her out if you like and then Seulgi can tell me—" Irene began but Rosé cut
her off.

"Believe me, she's seen too much," Rosé said quietly, "after what happened, I don't want to leave
her out of my sight a second more than is absolutely necessary. She stays. I'm not taking chances,
especially here, I'm not familiar enough with the layout of this hospital. And maybe she deserves to
understand what's going on too."

Irene, Seulgi and Momo looked sceptical but they didn't try to press her further.

"I'll be good. I won't say a word," Ella added, drawing a tight smile from the adults. Rosé squeezed
her hand and gave her a kiss on the forehead as Ella snuggled up against her chest.
"I know, baby. You're always good. I love you. It's okay if you don't understand everything, or
anything. We'll talk more later."

And so Rosé told them how her father worked for Yang Hyun-suk, a crime boss, and how she
inherited her father's debt and started to work for Yang, and how the pilates classes were mostly a
front for Yang's scheme to mine wealthy people's personal information.

She told them how she had broken the rules for Lisa because she thought she was poor, but how
later on she genuinely grew to care for Lisa and so refused to dig deeper and ruin the people around
her like Irene, who was directly funding Lisa's sessions.

She told them how for years, Yang had been searching for a certain person called Tiger King,
whom he claimed had murdered her dad and hurt him a great deal, leading Yang to team up with
Jinyoung to try and find him.

"Who's this Tiger King? A rival crime boss?" Irene interrupted. She had been sitting in riveted
silence buzzing in her seat with the urge to interject, her jaw dropping further and further as outrage
took over her face with each revelation.

"An engineered killer, active back in the mid-to-late 2000's, and probably created by Jinyoung's
father, Jinyoung Park Senior," Momo put in. "Remember that Captain America movie with that
beefcake actor Somi was always yakking about? Remember his enemy, the Winter Soldier? That
was Tiger King, more or less. Juiced up on a cocktail of drugs and programmed to kill.

"Allegedly, his kill count amounted to 400 people before he mysteriously vanished, but the
numbers always vary. His handlers disappeared too. He was simply an assassin for hire. Usually,
the bored, filthy rich people who wanted to take out business rivals were the ones to hire him. I
also heard that there was some cult that worshipped him back in Japan. Kiiroi me, they called him,
because allegedly, he has yellow eyes."

"Why do you keep saying allegedly?" Seulgi said. Next to her, Jennie noticed Irene had turned very
still. Meanwhile, Ella had been quiet as a mouse and Jennie worried that it might be too much to
take it all in for someone so young, if she was understanding at all.

"Because nobody knows who he is or what he looks like. His identity was strictly under wraps."
Momo sighed, turning contemplative. "This what got Dahyun killed. She and I were originally just
digging into Jinyoung to uncover some shady sh...I mean, stuff," she amended at a quick glance at
Rosé, "that we thought could use to expose him and bring him down. But there was something
worse going on.

"When I got disowned, I dropped the investigation but Dahyun kept searching by herself and
uncovered some really nasty shady stuff linked to him and his father especially. She was
investigating Tiger King and got too close. Jinyoung killed her for that." She clenched her jaw and
nodded stiffly at Rosé, ignoring Seulgi and Irene's aghast looks. "Continue."

"For some reason I couldn't understand at the time, Yang grew interested in Lisa," Rosé said. "He
kept badgering me to bring him information about her. I refused and he threatened me, using Ella.
Until finally, the threat happened for real." She squeezed Ella tightly and glanced at Jennie and on
cue, Jennie picked up.

"It all happened the night Somi and Dahyun died. Jinyoung and Yang kidnapped them. Then
Jinyoung showed up at Jisoo's apartment. Rosé and Lisa were out but I was there, it—it happened
right in front of me. He took Jisoo and Ella, but left me behind after knocking me out. It was to lure
me, Lisa and Rosé to their meeting place and expose Lisa. It's where they killed Somi and
Dahyun."

"Expose Lisa?"

Jennie took a deep breath. "Lisa is Tiger King," she said softly, pushing past the stupefied gasps.
"They want her back to revive the whole Tiger King shebang. Maybe clone her too. Who knows
what goes on in their sick heads?"

"Lisa?" Momo thundered, jumping to her feet. "You're joking! You're telling me that stupid bagel-
obsessed klutz is Tiger King?! No way!"

"Watch it, Momo," Rosé snarled.

"He is a she?" Seulgi said, her eyes so wide Jennie could see the whites of her eyeballs.

"Yes. It was a well-kept secret to hide Tiger King's identity."

"How can you be sure?" Irene said urgently. "How can—"

"You saw her, in the Vault," Jennie said quietly. "You saw her yellow eyes, didn't you Irene? And
haven't you seen the number she did on my face? Or how she was acting so weird at the pre-
funeral?"

"Yes but those could be just—just...well, maybe..."

"There's so much to explain. We've left out some chunks of the story that's tied with Rosé. I'll get to
it now, because this is where Hwangssabu's death comes in," Jennie said heavily, feeling the
familiar pang in her chest. She turned to Irene, who sat up straighter, curious.

"Irene, you came for us the night Hwangssabu died. You saw the state Lisa was in."

Irene inhaled sharply as Momo and Seulgi's heads swivelled to her.

"Hyun?" Seulgi said tentatively. Irene shuddered but nodded.

"Yes. Lisa...was a mess. Blood everywhere...and you were roaming around in an area I have never
been to before, at night. And then I hear about Hwangssabu's apparent violent death the next day.
The police said..." she drew a breath to steady herself. "They said it was a gang fight. I saw how
shaken you had been and I never asked questions..." She thumped her fist on the mattress angrily.
"I never asked questions. Or when I did ask, you evaded them! I should have pushed harder.
Hwangssabu's death and you two wandering around in that state always had me suspicious but...I
was only trying to help you get past the grief, hoping one day you'd tell me. I should have tried
harder."

"No, you did enough,"Jennie said quietly. "I should have been more honest, but I couldn't. Not
without involving you in something dangerous. I didn't want to lose more people and besides,
Hwangssabu taught me what I needed to handle Lisa."

"Hwangssabu Hwangssabu Hwangssabu," Momo scoffed. "That man always seems to crop up
everywhere. What's his deal?"

"His deal is that you need to shut up and wait for Jennie to talk first to find out," Rosé said irritably
then nodded at Jennie. "Go on."

"So, as I was saying, Irene came for me and Lisa. And Hwangssabu wasn't the only one to die that
night."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Who else?"

"Hang on. Irene said the cops said his death was caused by a gang fight," Momo said slowly and
pointed at Rosé. "Was that the same gang fight your dad died in?"

"Yes. I came to know that my father was the one directly responsible for Hwangssabu's death,"
Rosé said quietly.

"No," Irene whispered. Seulgi looked just as shaken.

"Grandpa?" Ella frowned.

Rosé nodded heavily. "He wasn't a good guy, sweetheart...but I'm still not sure if he deserved to
meet his end that way."

"We had no idea before, of course. But Lisa and I...we were there." Jennie could see it all replaying
in her head like a movie that was still fresh and vivid. "Hwangssabu had been acting weird that day,
sort of paranoid. Then when he was leaving for his shift at Matt's café—"

"He worked at that same place you do?" Momo asked.

"Ssshh!" Irene and Seulgi hissed.

"He did. He was friends with Matthew. That's how Matthew sort of carried the mantle from him
and took care of paperwork on our behalf, to make sure we didn't get picked up by the system. He
didn't know about Lisa though, of course."

"But Hwangssabu knew about Lisa. He seems to have known a great deal," Momo commented
before being furiously shushed by Irene and Seulgi again.

"Hwangssabu expressly told me to stay at the Vault that night," Jennie recalled. "I thought it was
strange. He never said anything like that when heading out to his shift. It struck me wrong. Lisa
agreed that something was fishy and...we broke his order. We followed him. All the way to the
shady back alleys where Irene picked us afterwards. I had no idea where we were or where
Hwangssabu was going but we were careful not to get caught. When we heard him talking with a
group of people, we hid out of sight. Lisa had suggested climbing on a roof directly overhead the
alley so we could see everything."

Rosé leaned forward out of interest and even Ella was listening closer now. Jennie went on, even
though her mouth was very dry.

"It seemed like Hwangssabu was trying to negotiate something with them. It wasn't a random
meeting—he knew who he was dealing with," she said slowly. "But I couldn't understand any of it.
The boss guy and his men grew impatient and pressed him with questions about Tiger King, that
much I could hear, because they got pretty loud and agitated. I think they suspected that
Hwangssabu was harbouring him, as in, Lisa, but they didn't know it was Lisa.

"Hwangssabu didn't answer their questions. So then they started beating him up. Lisa had all but
been ready to bust on to the scene and save him but I held her back. Hwangssabu had expressly
forbidden Lisa from using her full strength, especially in front of other people. And I of course,
always obeyed his wishes, especially because I knew what Lisa could do if she lets loose.
"But then things turned ugly and...I couldn't control Lisa anymore. She just exploded and hurtled
towards the man that killed Hwangssabu—Rosé's dad—and...struck him down on the spot. Then
she charged at all the others and murdered them as well. Yang, she clawed his face with some
weapon the men had dropped but he managed to run away unscathed later because Lisa managed
to wrench herself back to her senses and we ran..."

Jennie took deep steadying breaths. "And then I remembered I had my phone on me so I called
Irene and she came and took us home..."

The silence that fell after Jennie trailed off was resolute, you could hear a pin drop.

"What the hell?" Irene said, ashen-faced. "Jennie..."

"I'm sorry for not telling you anything all this time. I just couldn't risk endangering you, or you
abandoning us," Jennie said hoarsely. Her jaw was throbbing painfully, making her wince with
every other word and Irene seemed to have notice.

"Maybe you should rest. We'll pick this up soon, you just woke up and all. Once we get you home,
I'm cooking you some cold noodles. Rosé and Momo, you're welcome to join."

"Yeah, I want to know all about this shit now—oh come on, the kid was sitting there listening
about murders and killing, and she knows what shit is!" Momo groaned when Rosé shot her a
glare.

>

Getting Jennie home was the easy part. After signing the discharge against medical advice form,
Irene whisked Jennie to her house and Jennie was all too eager to be out of the cooped up hospital
room. Rosé, Ella, Momo and Seulgi all followed as well and soon they were seated in Irene's
living room.

Having Irene standing in front of her with arms folded, Jennie couldn't help but catch a weird sense
of deja vu, remembering the last time she was in this position: Irene had been interrogating her
about Seulgi's state, whilst Lisa and Jisoo had been pretending to sleep on the two couches.

The reminder only made her pinch her lips together and squeeze her thumb in remorse. Irene
seemed to have remembered too because the hard glint in her eyes faded, to be replaced with
sympathy.

"Are you sure you don't want anything to eat before we continue?"

"Just water." She didn't tell her that she felt physically sick to be dredging up all the secrets she had
been hiding and suddenly eating didn't sound like a good idea anymore. "What should I talk about
next?"

"Lisa," Rosé said.

"Hwangssabu," Momo said at the same time.

They glared at each other until Seulgi intervened.

"Tell us about how you met Lisa. I'm still confused about that one because you always say you're
not really sisters," she suggested. "I'm sure other details will crop up along the way and explain
why she is the way she is, if you know about it."
"And if you need to take a break, don't keep pushing," Irene urged.

Jennie nodded gratefully. That she could do.

"Well it all started one night in summer after Hwangssabu finished his shift and was taking me
home..."

※※※※

Jennie was bored to tears. After finishing the day's crossword on the newspaper that Hwangssabu
had gotten her, she had nodded off beneath the counter, where none of the customers could see her.
She could hear Hwangssabu's comforting rumble above her, lulling her to sleep as he went about
serving up drinks and spoke with patrons. She dozed on and off, willing the hours to pass by
quicker.

"Hey kiddo." Hwangssabu gently shook her awake. "Let's go home."

Jennie yawned and stretched like a cat, popping out from her hiding place cautiously.

She knew Hwangssabu had a special agreement with the owner to allow her to stay at the bar
whilst he was working. Despite some misgivings on his part, Jennie had even convinced
Hwangssabu to let her assist him sometimes, ignoring any attempts by people to chat her up. Even
though she was a teenager, Jennie didn't like staying at the Vault all by herself. And Hwangssabu
rarely could say no to Jennie; he didn't like leaving her alone either.

"Can't wait to shower and hit the sack. I'm beat," Hwangssabu puffed as they entered the shortcut
alley heading for home. They were always wary of some policeman doing his rounds spotting
them roaming around late and getting suspicious so they kept to the winding alleys, even though it
was a risk.

So far they had always been lucky to avoid both shady people that called the alley their haunt, as
well as law enforcers.

"Do you think we might skip the run tomorrow then? Since you're tired and all. Call it a lazy day,"
Jennie said hopefully.

Hwangssabu chuckled. "Nothing will keep me from my morning run. It's good for you."

"Not at 6 in the morning it isn't," Jennie sassed.

"At least you're not running in the rain and sleet and snow like I did back in the army. Nobody was
going to put up with your whinging—"

"'No sir, least of all Corporal Cho and don't even think of trying to feign sick, they'll kick your ass
out of bed even if you have the runs,'" Jennie finished with a roll of her eyes, "I know, you've
mentioned like 2,456 times."

"Oh? Someone's keeping track, huh?"

"Yeah, it's a reminder not to join the military. Sounds awful," Jennie shuddered. "I already have to
wake up at 6am every day already, thanks." She pouted. "I'm just so tiredddddd."

"Hmm you do seem to be dragging your feet tonight." He stopped suddenly and bent into a crouch.
"Here. Climb on my back."
"Huh? But you're tired."

"Doesn't matter. We're almost home anyway. Call it a final workout."

"Are you saying I'm heavy?" Jennie demanded but she eagerly clambered on, pleased she won't
have to walk. Hwangssabu was warm and solid beneath her, a comforting presence against the
unfriendly night chill that accompanied them on their stroll.

"You're too light actually." He sounded like he was frowning but Jennie didn't see, with her eyes
shut, his loping gait lulling her to sleep. "Are you having the noodles I leave you?"

"Yeah."

"Jennie."

"Okay okay I might have skipped lunch today. And yesterday. And the day before. But honestly
I'm fine. You're a guy and you're working so you need the energy. If you don't eat, your growling
stomach will keep me up all night. It's worse than your snoring."

"That right? But how are you going to maintain that big brain of yours then, hmm? I'll try see if I
can sneak some sausages tomorrow, who's gonna miss a few sausages from the back of the
freezer?"

"Don't worry 'ssabu," Jennie yawned. "It will be okay, we'll make do."

"I suppose. But can you blame me for worrying? You need to eat, you're still growing, unlike me
—" He stopped dead and Jennie jerked up with the movement.

"'Ssabu?"

"Dammit, wrong turn," he muttered, shaking his head. He always wore his cap backwards, night or
day, and donned a vintage leather jacket that looked well-worn.

Hwangssabu looked left and right as identical alleyways stretched and winded away from them. He
shook his head again. "Ugh, sorry kiddo, I wasn't paying attention."

"Are we lost?"

"Nah, I know more or less where we are but retracing our steps will only waste us more time so
onward we go. So much for a shortcut."

"It's a sign from the universe," Jennie said solemnly. "Telling you to just sleep in tomorrow."

She laughed when he groaned, her chortles being the only sounds rising up against the still night.

And then they both heard the sound that would change their lives forever: low and pitiful
whimpers, the kind that made Jennie's chest immediately tighten.

It could have been an animal or a small child, but the wretched weeping cut through the night like
a knife, silencing her.

Her laughter seemed almost hollow now as the new sound intensified, growing stronger as whoever
it belonged to cried harder. Jennie wondered how she hadn't heard it before. It pierced through her,
the miserable sound of utter heartbreak and desolation crashing around her ears, wiping away every
happy thought in her head.
Hwangssabu stopped stock still and Jennie shrank against his shoulder.

"Did you hear that?"

"No," Jennie mumbled nervously. "Keep moving."

Hwangssabu did move—in the direction of the weeping, which seemed to emanate from a darker
alley with a broken streetlight at its entrance.

"No don't go in there!"

"I just want to take a peek."

His streaks of impulsiveness and compassion had led him to smuggle newly orphaned Jennie to
Korea a few years ago against all odds and without legal documentation.

And now Jennie was sure it was going to lead to their deaths.

Whoever was crying out in the alleys with such wretched abandon at this hour of the night couldn't
be the harbinger of good things. Vaguely, she wondered if it was some evil spirit in search of prey.

It was easy to dismiss those superstitions in broad daylight, harder to ignore in the dead of night
with the bizarre sound of crying reverberating around you.

Did nobody else hear it, besides them? Was it a common occurrence?

"Hwangssabu, let's go," Jennie said, her mouth gone very dry.

"Just a second." Heedless of the possibility of danger, he rummaged in his pockets and drew out his
phone, switching on the flashlight and aiming it into the dark mouth of the alley where the pitiful
whimpers echoed.

"Is someone there? Do you need help?" he called. Jennie smacked his shoulder.

"Are you crazy?"

"Someone needs help, Jennie," he said over his shoulder. "We're the only ones around, this quarter
is practically abandoned."

"And if it hurts you? Me? What if it's some trap?"

He faltered for only a split-second and then lowered her down from his back. "Wait for me here."

"No way, I'm coming with you!"

He didn't argue again, carefully focused as they advanced deeper into the alley, him taking the lead
as Jennie edged cautiously after him, pressing close and trying to stop her knees from shaking.

"Eugh, what's that smell?" Jennie whispered, pinching her nose.

The alleys never smelled great, usually stinking of urine, vomit or garbage, especially the poorer,
seedy areas, but this one was taking the cake. The cloying stench was over-powering. Jennie
realised they had entered a dead-end alley when she saw Hwangssabu's light bouncing off high
walls ahead of them.

"Smells like...something died," Hwangssabu said softly.

Jennie hair stood on end and she all but grabbed his hand to careen out of the alley at the speed of
light. "Something died?" she squeaked, images of rotting decaying corpses shambling towards her
in zombie fashion filling her head. "Hwangssabu, let's go back."

He didn't answer as he raised his phonelight, gaze fixed firmly on the lurching figure shielding its
face from the light at the very end of the alley as it stumbled from side to side. The pitiful cries
were coming from it, taking Jennie by surprise that a person not much taller than herself was
making those sounds.

"What the hell?" Jennie whispered. Hwangssabu lowered the light to not blind the person. Its head
snapped up, making Jennie release a soundless scream.

Their eyes were pure yellow discs surrounding inky blackness of the pupil at its centre, feral
madness glazing it over as the creature peered at them through a tangle of dirty matted hair. Its
miserable howls swiftly transformed into hair-raising snarls and it crouched low.

"'Ssabu we should go, come on," Jennie said urgently, beyond terrified. The thing lurking at the
end of the alley was some twisted monster from a grotesque nightmare, primed to attack them if
she so much as breathed wrong. The yellow eyes held her gaze, rooting Jennie to the spot as its
menacing growls grew.

"Hwangssabu," Jennie whispered.

"Steady," Hwangssabu said in a hushed voice, but he didn't sound scared. If anything, he sounded
awed, in disbelief. To her horror, instead of retreating, he took a single determined step forward.

"Hey, are you alright? Do you need help?" he asked, his voice ringing with authority.

The creature snarled and leapt, straight towards Jennie.

Jennie screamed but Hwangssabu didn't think twice: he pushed her out of the way and tumbled to
the ground, grappling with the feral creature.

"Hwangssabu!" Jennie shouted in panic amidst the grunts and snarls of the scuffle. Her heart was
almost beating out of her mouth. "Hwangssabu!"

"Taser!" she heard him yell out.

The creature was small but nimble, fast and strong, able to keep Hwangssabu, a burly military man,
preoccupied and fighting to gain the upper hand. They rolled headlong, smashing into discarded
pieces of furniture and other debris that had taken up residence in the alley.

For a moment, Jennie felt as though time had stopped and she was held in suspension, watching the
battle in front of her as roars, growls and grunts reverberated.

"Jennie!" Hwangssabu shouted.

Jennie snapped out of her daze and hurriedly dug into her pocket for her taser. Hwangssabu had
gifted it to her when he started taking her along to the bar he worked at.

Hwangssabu's phone had fallen to the ground but thankfully, the light was still working. She
snatched it up, aiming fearfully at the fight going down.

Hwangssabu was pinned down at the throat, holding up the creature from the shoulders as it
snapped and tightened its hold around his neck.
"Now," Hwangssabu croaked. But as Jennie darted forward, the creature whipped around and
violently backhanded her just before Jennie jabbed it with the taser. Stunned by the hard blow,
Jennie toppled over like a row of dominoes.

Hwangssabu seized the opportunity immediately as his assailant was distracted and surged up to
knock it off his chest. He pinned the arms above its head and then strained, blindly scrabbling for
the taser in the dark.

"Jen!" he bellowed, grunting with effort as the creature thrashed beneath him. "Kiddo, the light!"

Jennie climbed to her feet, slightly dizzy from the hit but still lucid enough to grab the phone and
aim it in their direction. Mercifully, Hwangssabu spotted the taser, snatched it up and stabbed the
attacker once, twice, thrice. Not a moment too soon, since Jennie noticed that the creature had
managed to free one hand and use it to strangle Hwangssabu again.

But now it lay limp and harmless splayed out before them as Hwangssabu climbed to his feet,
coughing and arranging his glasses.

"'Ssabu, I was so scared," Jennie burbled, surging close to hug him. He didn't say anything except
to pat her head.

"You did great. I'll have that now."

He took the phone and shone it down on the dazed figure. "We're lucky he's not at peak
performance right now."

"You mean..." Jennie didn't have to finish her thought for Hwangssabu to nod solemnly,
immediately making her feel sick: if the creature was in peak health, they would be dead.

She glanced down at their attacker.

It was a young boy in rags, hair so dirty you couldn't really tell its true colour. His face was caked
with grime and blood, he was barefoot and his threadbare pants came up to his knobbly knees.
Looking down at his pitiful figure, Jennie almost found it hard to believe that only moments ago,
they had invoked its rage and were at its mercy fighting for their lives. She shuddered at the
memory of its deadly finger locked around Hwangssabu's throat.

"He was guarding something," Hwangssabu said thoughtfully. He seemed absolutely fascinated
with their catch, crouching down to tilt his face up. The youth, probably in his tween years,
twitched feebly. He had a round nose and a gangly stature. His blank eyes were still a baleful,
unnatural yellow, unblinking as the light washed over his haggard face.

"Let's go before he comes around," Jennie urged, tugging on Hwangssabu's arm. "We need to look
at your throat too."

Hwangssabu waved her off. "I'm fine Jen, stop worrying."

To Jennie's horror, Hwangssabu stepped over the fallen boy and walked over to where he had been
squatting. He crouched down and combed around the area, the feeble light from the phone
swallowed up by the darkness bearing down on them like a crushing weight. Eager to put as much
distance between her and the feral boy as possible, Jennie reluctantly joined Hwangssabu.

"Ah," she heard him say as she approached, "I see. Jen, don't look."

But too late, she stood with Hwangssabu looking down on the pale corpse of a tall, bearded man,
his cracked glasses reflecting the light and making Jennie shiver, because his glassy eyes
momentarily looked alive. He lay amongst the trash bags with arms crossed over his chest,
fingertips touching his shoulders. His sunken face was waxy, mouth hanging open. His pants were
short, coming up well above his ankles and his shirt looked like it was a tight fit for his belly. He
smelled terrible, but Jennie wasn't sure if it was because of his filthy state or the fact he was dead.

When did a dead body start to smell?

His appearance would be forever stamped in her mind, the silvery strands of his hair and beard
catching the pale feeble light of Hwangssabu's phone.

"What have we got here?" Hwangssabu murmured, unperturbed by the scene. He crouched low
and touched a sliver of greying skin on the man's leg, shaking his head. "He can't have died a long
time ago. Still pretty warm, rigor mortis will start soon. And look, how interesting, his clothes look
quite fine, though raggedy and dirty. Must have been a well-off guy. What is he doing in this part
of town, dead? Where's his folks?"

"Do you think he killed himself?"

"Can't really tell, but something tells me that's not what's going on here..."

Jennie squinted at the man, trying hard to block out the alley stink overwhelming her senses. "He
looks like he could have been some doctor."

"That right? He does look sophisticated, though life seems to have given him a rough time lately.
Oh hello."

Jennie jumped back at the sight of a sizeable dark stain at the man's ribs when Hwangssabu's
roving phone light landed on the spot. "He's been shot!"

"Mhm, and seems like he medicated it, see that bandage tail peeking out under the shirt? But it was
probably a killing shot."

"Was it that boy?" Jennie's knees quaked. "'Ssabu, we gotta go."

"Alright alright," he nodded then handed her his phone. "Hold this please."

Jennie stared as he started unbuckling his belt once relieved of it. "What are you doing?"

"Tying up our little spitfire," he called over his shoulder.

Jennie blinked. "We're taking it with us? Are you crazy? He just tried to kill us! He's a monster,
haven't you seen his eyes? It's not normal, that thing is evil, Hwangssabu please you can't
possibly..."

Hwangssabu didn't reply until he had the boy trussed up like a chicken. All the fight had gone out
of their attacker and he watched them out of lifeless eyes. Jennie noticed him glance back in the
direction of the corpse but then ducking his head, resigned.

"I have been looking for something for a long time," Hwangssabu said quietly. He tapped the boy's
head. "This is quite a gamble but, this boy might be it, Jen. Trust me, I need to keep him and find
out."

"Why?!"
"You'll understand."

And Jennie could only stare as Hwangssabu stood up, shouldered the boy and turned away without
a second glance at her.

※※※※

"He knew who Lisa was," Momo breathed when Jennie paused for a much-needed drink of water,
breaking the hushed silence. "Lucky him. Why didn't he go and report her? Why keep her to
himself?"

"Yeah, how come?" Rosé frowned. Ella fidgeted a little but Jennie had been surprised to see her so
attentive throughout her story.

"He suspected his military superiors probably got interested in this Tiger King project and might
have even gotten involved with its creator. He used to say that's why they ended up disbanding his
taskforce, to discourage him from exposing this to the general public. Think about it, you could
have some kind of super-army if you have a bunch of Lisas running around. All you need to do is
control them to work for you, just like they did with Lisa before. They wanted in on that."

"So he kept Lisa out of the goodness of his heart, is that it?" Momo seemed sceptical. "I don't
know him but...nobody does that on a whim. He must have had some ulterior motive. You don't
just take in someone potentially world-altering like that out of kindness, especially since he knew
exactly what Lisa was and had been actively working on finding her and he got kicked out because
of her."

"He took me in when my parents died—"

"He kidnapped you, Jennie. He smuggled you into Korea illegally, probably to groom you or
something. Sounds like it worked, seeing as you're so defensive—"

"Shut up Momo," Jennie said, "I can still criticise what he did. I had known him as neighbours
back in New Zealand and he took pity on me because I would have probably ended up being
fostered or living in some orphanage. I begged him not to leave me, I didn't want to go live with
strangers. I was also scared the bad guys that blew up my parents would come after me next."

"Sure, and look at you, that worked out so well huh? Living in a dump, eking out a miserable living
and making even a homeless person look fancy by comparison," Momo said cuttingly.

"I was a fricking kid okay?" Jennie snapped. "I clung to the nearest person and it happened to be
him, for better or for worse. He was far from perfect and I resented him for it but he
fucking wasn't grooming me. If anything, and especially after Lisa came to live with us, he always
kept us at arm's length."

"Momo, give her a break. Hwangssabu wasn't a predator. I knew him—"

"You knew shit," Momo exclaimed, rounding on Irene and ignoring Rosé's furious hiss
of 'language!'. "If you knew him, you'd have known all this, or at least had an inkling of what's
going on! I bet it gave him such an ego boost, to have Lisa in his clutches. I bet he was intending to
use her as payback somehow and get back at everyone that wronged him."

"Jennie was grieving, and she was a kid," Irene said softly. "Rational decisions are the last thing I'd
expect someone to make in such a situation. Jen, do you want to take a break now?"

"No, just a little more. I'll skim though things and you can ask me if I miss out on stuff." Jennie
took a deep breath. "When we got to the Vault, Hwangssabu wanted to give Lisa a bath but we
didn't know she's a girl yet until, well, we pulled her pants down. Hwangssabu then left me to deal
with her. I was scared shitless but when I doused Lisa with water she didn't react much. I didn't
dare try to go in closer and she didn't even try to wash herself so I just gave her a towel to dry and
some of my clothes and we managed that way, especially the first few days.

"We did confirm she could understand Korean and even English but when we tried asking for a
name, all she would say was Tiger King. We got her some noodles too, which she slurped up. She
was still very wary of us and Hwangssabu noticed how she was fidgeting so much, practically
shaking. He suggested that she might have a lot of pent up energy so he took her to the punching
bags in the gym. And then she let loose punching at those things, I remember falling asleep and
then waking up the next morning and she was still going at it. It went on like this all day."

"She punched non-stop for a whole day?" everyone gasped.

"Yeah. Then she conked out and slept for two whole days. It was so strange." Jennie smiled faintly.
"When she woke up, her eyes weren't yellow anymore. We introduced ourselves and then asked if
she had another name besides Tiger King and she sat and thought for a bit and then said Subject
327."

"She couldn't remember her name?" Rosé whispered.

"No no she did," Jennie reassured. "But it took a lot more time to coax it out of her. She was still
very wary of us. At first, we thought she didn't have a name too, but when Hwangssabu was trying
to think of names to call her, she blurted out Lalisa. Neither of us had heard of such a name before
but she said it was a Thai name, that she originally came from Thailand, and that she wasn't
supposed to still have a name. We learned bits and pieces of what she'd been through like that, and
Hwangssabu kind of pieced the rest from what scant details he had picked up from his time in the
taskforce."

"Who was the corpse?" Seulgi asked.

"The doctor in charge of Lisa at the facility. Lisa eventually told us his name. Marco
Bruschweiler," Jennie said quietly, "Lisa said he had always been kind to her and helped her escape
from the head honcho of the facility. Ringmaster, she said his name was."

"I've heard that name before," Momo inserted.

"Marco got shot during their escape and they ran for up to three days before he got too weak from
blood loss so Lisa stayed with him till he died."

"Like she stayed with the kitten in the alley," Rosé said faintly.

"Huh?" Ella frowned but Rosé hushed her. Jennie continued.

"They managed to lose their chasers which is practically a feat in itself, but choosing that smelly
alley was strategic—they figured their scent would be harder to pick up. Before escaping, the
doctor guy had even taken out a tracker they had in her. He risked his life but it seems like he grew
disillusioned with the Tiger King project and couldn't bear to see more children go through what
Lisa did so he ran away and took her with him. Before Hwangssabu, Marco was like a father to
Lisa.

"I bet if we hadn't found Lisa that night, they would have found her. Hwangssabu was on edge for
a while, thinking we'd get a visit so he often encouraged Lisa to hide in the attic. And he no longer
took me to the bar. I had to stay and watch her."

"By yourself? Couldn't she have attacked you?" Irene frowned.

"Yeah..." Jennie paused, rubbing her finger over the band-aid, deep in her reminiscing. "It was
hard, and I resented Lisa a lot for it. I was scared of her, always stayed scared of her. But we started
finding common ground. So many long hours locked up together, I had no choice but to try and
talk with her. I started to help her with her Korean and English. She was always so bright and
inquisitive and asking me questions. She caught on quickly."

Jennie broke out into a wistful smile. "Her thing with bagels had been around ever since she was at
that facility. Apparently, Marco used to slip her a bagel now and then, even though she wasn't
supposed to eat. We only found out because Hwangssabu got some bagels one time for breakfast
and Lisa lost her shi—I mean, went crazy with happiness. She was flapping her arms and bouncing
off the walls and just making these happy little noises. I think it was the first time I heard her laugh
too, when Hwangssabu gave her two bagels to eat all by herself. And then she got sick because she
ate too much and I had to hold her hair while she puked but in a way, it was kind of worth it. She
wouldn't stop smiling after that."

Rosé was misty-eyed and smiling too, as were Irene, Seulgi and Ella. Momo, however, still wore a
frown.

"You know, I always wondered how she was able to maintain such a good physique despite you
guys being so poor," she said slowly. "Was that the drug working?"

Jennie nodded. "This is all speculation Hwangssabu did, and what we could get from Lisa. They
started her on the drugs really young so she obviously didn't understand everything that was
happening. I believe she said she was five? But from what we could tell, this drug—Hwangssabu
called it TK because of Tiger King—it was meant to transform Lisa's bodily functions such that
she would need minimal nutritional intake.

TK would take care of everything her body needs, optimise her strength and reflexes, make her
body function at a higher level than the average human and get exhausted less easily. In other
words, make her superhuman."

"Lisa really is a superhero then," Ella blurted out, "Mom, you always said she's Super Gay and she
is!"

"Oh sweetie," Rosé sighed, giving her a quick hug. Then she seemed to hit upon a sudden thought
because she lifted her head up and frowned at Jennie. "I think Jinyoung was definitely trying to
recreate the formula for TK. Yang sometimes got some product for him, but I never knew what it
was exactly, just that I needed to be extra careful handling it."

"He was. Dahyun saw proof that they working on that for sure," Momo said curtly, "and I think I
figured out what those shady yellow pills doing the rounds at the Slammer are now. It had me
stumped for the longest time."

Jennie nodded. "Lisa and I suspected as well. Watered down formula for TK made it on to the
market as a sports performance enhancement drug."

"What?" Seulgi gasped. "You mean I was...I was..." she looked at her hands, suddenly shaking. "I
was...on TK?"

Irene gripped her arm tightly, her brows furrowed.

"Relax, it's nowhere near the real thing," Jennie reassured. "Even if you had been taking it for a
few months, there's no lasting effects now that you got it out of your system, right?"

"Yeah but...you said Lisa—"

"She had been having lots and lots of it, practically round the clock on an intravenous drip, for
many years. It's not something that you get addicted to like say, morphine, but her body got so used
to it that now, she still can secrete the drug, it's what makes her doubly valuable for those lab
people and Ringmaster. That blonde hair she got? It wasn't blonde when we met her, but it
gradually turned blonde. Hwangssabu theorised that since Lisa wasn't expending those enormous
amounts of energy it gave her so...it got 'excreted' in a sense, dyeing her hair yellow.

"But since she wasn't getting regular doses, you could say she was more of a hybrid now, because
she gradually starting eating more food. Hwangssabu also theorised that Lisa needed a lot of
physical exertion to let out that build-up of the drug in her system, she had to let it out by strenuous
physical activity, otherwise it could lead her to super outbursts, he called them, where she'd go
berserk.

"It was a lot of trial and error but that's why Hwangssabu insisted on Lisa doing so much exercise,
to curb her inner killer. Also, she couldn't get close to anyone," she nodded at Rosé, "Hwangssabu
was worried that experiencing a surge of negative emotion like rejection, heartbreak, anger...that
could compromise her stability and cause her to go in Tiger King mode and potentially hurt people.
So he always discouraged Lisa from forming attachments.

"He just didn't take into consideration platonic and familial attachments as well. That's what
happened when he was killed and Lisa went berserk. What happened when we found out about
Rosé and saw Somi's body. It was everything all at once and she cracked."

"Damn."

"This just keeps getting freakier."

"What about her parents?" Rosé spoke up. "Are they still alive? She always told me they died
but...maybe they're still out there..."

Jennie took a deep breath and glanced at Ella as she fidgeted uncomfortably. "No they uh...they're
most definitely gone," she said. "at least, going by Lisa's word."

"How can you be sure? Maybe she was addled on all the drugs and they brainwashed her to believe
that so she wouldn't have any attachment to them," Momo reasoned.

"I'm sure because according to Lisa...the first people she was made to kill were her parents," Jennie
said quietly.

Nobody breathed a word.

"It was a test to see how well the TK program worked, as well as to severe emotional attachments
that would hinder the process," Jennie said. "It was just another one of the cruel selection processes
to winnow down the number of candidates for the ultimate Tiger King. Lisa said it had been a
complicated process that she doesn't remember much of, like how they transported her back to her
hometown from the facility here in Korea and dropped her off at her home until the deed was done.
But she won't ever forget waking up from the killer trance and standing in front of her parents'
bodies with their blood on her hands."

"Oh my god." Rosé's voice cracked and she hugged Ella close, shoulders trembling as she buried
her face in her daughter's shoulder. "Oh Lisa..."

"Monsters," Irene shuddered.

"That's so messed up," Seulgi choked out, "that's so...god..."

"How many other kids were with Lisa?" Momo asked, leaning forward. "I'm assuming at least 300
more, given her subject number was 327."

"According to Lisa, there were 4000 kids in total," Jennie said softly. "Neither of them made it out
alive, except her. She either was forced to kill them or they died some other way throughout the
selection process. TK had horrible effects and wreaked havoc on your body if you weren't able to
adapt to it. Many went insane and had to be put down, others just instantly died because the lab
people were still experimenting with doses and tinkering with the program. Others died because
they weren't strong enough fighters and died in combat. Lisa is a survivor, and an incredibly lucky
one at that."

"How was she able to still be that ditzy happy-go-lucky klutz? All that trauma would have fucked
up anyone," Momo said.

"The intense training helped her," Jennie said. "I think she was also able to suppress those
memories thanks to that, but now after that revelation and her emotional compromise because of
everything that happened...I think everything came back. She had been having night terrors again
because we slacked on the training so drug build-up in her system was returning. I...had grown
careless. I think the fact that she was worrying and afraid of what would happen once we spilled
our secret was also plaguing her."

Nobody had any other comments for Jennie after that statement, even Momo who now sat in
contemplative silence. Rosé's eyes were teary and she kept sniffing furiously, her mouth pressed in
a thin line to stop herself from openly weeping.

Irene was the first to stand up. "Rest Jen, you need it," she said tenderly, "I'm going to make the
cold noodles. Anyone want to help me?"

>

Rosé came to check on her at one point, with a plate of snacks that Irene had prepared ahead of the
actual dinner.

"Jen, what are we going to do? How are we going to get Lisa and Jisoo back? We have to tell the
cops somehow, without revealing all this stuff about us. Maybe we can do it anonymously?"

"Even if that works, they might not save them in time," Jennie said, munching on her mandu. She
paused and looked at the dumpling more closely, feeling something inside her crack. "Jisoo and I
made some dumplings once," she mumbled. "They were nowhere this good. They were too floury.
I was disappointed because it was my first time trying to make mandus but Chu just laughed and
said she loved the taste of flour. We still ended up eating just the filling."

She turned to Rosé with a bittersweet smile. "I miss her so much."

"I know. I miss her too," Rosé said, pained. Jennie wasn't sure if she was referring to Jisoo or Lisa
or both.

"I was going to tell her what I told you guys that night of the kidnapping," Jennie said. "But I never
got to. We were talking about having our own date like you and Lisa." Jennie shook her head
bitterly. "There I was making plans about having romantic dates with her in Jeju and Paris but I
never got to tell her two of the most important things in the world."

"What important things?"

"The truth about Lisa and me and...my truth." Jennie looked Rosé in the eye when she spoke next,
making sure the message was conveyed clearly.

"I love Jisoo. I love her. I love her, do you hear me? I love her so fucking much and I'm going to
tell her the second I get her back, I swear to goddamn bagels."

"Yes you will." Rosé was genuinely smiling as she gave Jennie's hand a squeeze. "I'm so happy to
hear that, Jen. You're really good for each other. I've never seen Jisoo so happy and being at ease
with herself. I'm happy you found each other."

"I'm not sure about that. I kind of ruined everything for her and got her kidnapped and—and hurt..."
Jennie clenched her fists, remembering Jinyoung's sneer.

Rosé shook her head right away, dismissing Jennie's blame. "It's not your fault. That's all Jinyoung,
he's the depraved psychopath that's behind all this, him and Yang. You helped Jisoo be more
relaxed and open to show you her wacky side. Believe it or not, she wasn't as open with me. I think
she was scared I might get scared off or something. I'm sure she told you about her strained
relationship with her parents. You're probably her first real solid anchor, so to speak."

"Her parents!" Jennie blurted out suddenly, eyes lighting up. "Rosé, that's it! We need to tell her
parents and they'll bring hell down on Jinyoung to get their daughter back! Why didn't we think of
this before? They might also help look for Lisa."

Rosé perked up in her seat. "Oh yes! That's a great idea! Let's go now—ah wait no, we can't talk to
them while you're still recovering."

"I'll recover faster," Jennie vowed.

"And you'll do that by resting and having food. I'll go check on Irene. We should let them know
about this plan as well," Rosé smiled. There was new hope in her eyes when she gave Jennie's hand
another squeeze, more firm and determined this time. "We'll get Jisoo back, I can feel it."

Jennie smiled as she leaned back and closed her eyes, the brush of the plaster against her finger
quenching her momentary burst of optimism.

>

Rosé was practically skipping back to the kitchen after her conversation with Jennie. The idea to
talk with Jisoo's parents had lent her wings and she felt she could almost fly with the buoyant
sensation unfurling in her chest. Knowing the sort of money, connections and power her parents
wielded, it wouldn't be too long before they weeded out Jinyoung like a rat.

But she shouldn't rush ahead of herself! They needed to talk and figure out the best way to break
the news and convince Jisoo's parents, though Rosé was sure that as soon as they heard about her
kidnapping, they'd jump into action, no matter their awkward relationship with their daughter.

Any parent would do that, just like she hadn't spared a moment when Ella was taken.

But what if they insisted to involve the authorities? Should they really?
Rosé was deep in her musings when the sudden buzz of a phone on a nearby table caught her
attention.

It was Jennie's phone, which Irene had been hanging on to for safekeeping until Jennie woke up.
Overcome by curiosity, Rosé's first instinct was to take the phone to Jennie but when it kept
buzzing, she picked it up and checked the contact screen. She frowned when it displayed an
unknown number.

What if it's Lisa? What if she was calling them to say she's ready to come home?

Frantic with hope and excitement, Rosé picked up the call. "Lisa? Lisa baby is that you, are you
okay?"

"Rosé, what a pleasant surprise," Jinyoung chuckled on the other end, turning Rosé's blood to ice,
"I had been meaning to get a hold of you. Is Jennie there?"

"W-what do you want with m-me?"

"Oh nothing much, just catching up in general. How's Ella doing? I made sure not to have the Jays
intimidate her in any way, but she's a tough cookie like her mother, isn't she?"

"How dare you?" Rosé gritted out. She was frozen in place, unable to tear the phone away and hurl
it to the floor. He had the audacity to laugh.

"What? Can't I ask simple questions now?"

"We damn well know it's not about simple questions with you," Rosé snarled. "Enough with your
small talk. What do you want?"

"Sweetheart, I'm a businessman, small talk is my bread and butter. But speaking of, I have
unfinished business with you. While I'm thankful that you...ah, took care of Yang, you do realise
that the debt you incurred still stands?"

"What?"

"I seized control of his assets," Jinyoung said, "and so automatically, any debts you owed him, you
now owe me. I can assure you I will be more lenient though, so you don't have to go back to being
a drug runner for me. I'm sure we can find other ways to pay back your standing debt. Perhaps we
can start by downsizing."

"What?"

"Yang was letting you keep that fancy expensive apartment," Jinyoung explained with patronising
patience, "inevitably, you were racking up more debt. I think if I were to take that back, you'd
already have a lesser burden to fork out for, don't you think? Yes, I think that's best. I can send the
Jays around tomorrow to collect the keys. I suggest you pack up as soon as you can but don't worry
about transport. The Jays will help you move to wherever you wish to go. I hear Jay-J was most
anxious to see you one more time. Persistent fellow, that one, isn't he?"

Rosé's knees gave way and if she hadn't put out her hand to support herself against the wall, she
would have crashed to the floor.

"No you can't—do this—no..." she choked out.

"I'm afraid we all have to give up our little luxuries, Rosé. Or should I call you Chaeyoung now? In
any case, the Jays will bring the necessary documents as well so you won't have to worry about a
thing. I'll take care of everything."

"No please I—I don't have anywhere else to go. Ella..."

Rosé was on the verge of tears and she didn't care if he heard her quavering voice. She thought she
had been free of her past at long last, but it was no use—she was tiny and helpless, caught in a
sinister never-ending cycle as the long and powerful arms of the darkness she desperately ran from
clawed at her weary body, dragging her down into an eternal abyss.

"My generosity can only stretch so far," Jinyoung sighed exaggeratedly, "you do realise that if
Yang were in my position, he would have booted you out the second he came into power? I gave
you Ella back. I gave you time to adjust after that nasty shock a few nights ago. I was merciful. But
time is up and I have come to collect my dues."

When Rosé didn't reply, Jinyoung changed the subject. "Is Jennie there? Could I talk with her?"

"Why? What do you want with her?" Rosé rasped. "She's...sleeping."

"Oh well, I only really called to remind her that time's a-ticking. It's been three days already and I
hadn't heard from her. I started to wonder if she had forgotten our bargain."

"What. Fucking. Bargain?" Rosé barked.

"Oh, you mean she didn't tell you?" Jinyoung said mildly. "Well it's about Jisoo of course. Jennie
promised she'd give me Lisa and in return, I'd give Jisoo back."

"What?" Rosé croaked. This time she slid down to the ground, utter shock rendering her unable to
process his words. "What did you say?"

"She even signed a blood contract," Jinyoung said, barely able to conceal his glee. "She has five
days to pay up, and three days have already gone by."

Immediately, the memory of the band-aid on Jennie's thumb surfaced and the detail clicked into
place, solving the mystery. The room started to spin but Rosé managed to wrench out a final
question before nausea took over.

"What happens if Jennie breaks the contract?" she whispered, gripping the phone tighter against
her ear to hear the answer. She had a dreadful inkling but some masochistic part of her wanted to
hear it from the monster on the other end of the line, to confirm her fear.

"Want to guess?" Jinyoung said. She could hear the sneer in his voice loud and clear. "They don't
call it a blood contract for nothing, you know. If she breaks it, blood will be shed. Hers and Jisoo's.
What's taking her so long, do you know?"

Rosé trembled as bloody images flashed in her mind's eye: Jisoo and Jennie shot in the heart with
red flowers blooming all over their chest, Jisoo and Jennie hacked to pieces, Jisoo and Jennie
tortured and impaled, Jisoo and Jennie sliced in half, spurting fountains of blood, sprays of blood
that filled the air with the smell of death.

She snapped out of her panic in time to hear Jinyoung say: "But we want to avoid all that nasty
bloodshed so be a dear and give her a gentle reminder from me, will you? And don't forget the Jays
will be coming around tomorrow so make sure you're all packed or I'm afraid we might have to get
physical with you. Did you get all that?"
"Jinyoung..."she choked out.

"There's a good girl," he crooned and hung up, dead silence greeting Rosé like a bucket of ice cold
water. She slowly lowered the phone, putting it down on the floor and backing away from it like it
was a snake about to lunge for her.

Then she turned her head, tears already springing out of her eyes and rolling down her cheeks as
the horror of Jinyoung's threats hit her all at once, like an avalanche.

"JENNIE!"

>

Not for the first time, Chanyeol considered going rogue.

He was certain that if he did investigations that way, avoiding all the bureaucracy and apathy of the
department, then he would get more done.

The only thing holding him back was his stoic conscience, his sense of justice and the pathetic
hope that one day, his superiors might realise the error of their ways and finally he'd be given the
respect he deserved and craved. He'd be welcomed back into the fold and celebrated for his
achievements instead of shunned for the hours of thankless work he put in.

He was still brooding when the Dasoni woman was led into the room for yet another unnecessary
DUI report. Out of the corner of his eye, Chayeol saw her brows rise for an instant when she
spotted him already seated because he had never been one to be sitting first for this mockery of a
process.

"Have a seat. Let's get this started," he said then nodded at the officer that escorted her. "I'll handle
it, thank you."

When the officer left, Dasoni turned to Chanyeol with narrowed eyes. "Something's different about
you tonight. You're...calm."

She was right. And usually, he was calm when he was out of his mind with fear. His mentor used to
call it an asset, especially during the early years conducting raids and sting operations.

It had been a long time since he felt true fear. Numbness, frustration and bitterness had carved out
homes in his heart with no space for any other emotion. Ironically, he had Dasoni to thank for
reminding him what fear felt like. The uncertainty and doubt she inspired in her wake had him
rethinking his whole rationale of staying with the police force, even when he had been shunned
time and time again.

Chanyeol turned the accusatory statement back at her.

"Something's different about you too. You haven't tried flirting with me yet."

"I've been...a little too preoccupied to play." She bit her lip, as though embarrassed she had been
caught slipping then tilted her head and batted her eyelashes. "Better late than never don't you
think so, Channie?"

Her light tone didn't fool him in the least: her exhaustion was plain to see through the shiny veneer.
Underneath her hasty makeup, the dark circles beneath her pinched eyes were just barely visible.
He wondered when he had grown so attuned to the woman in front of him to see beyond her mask.
The thought disturbed him but he brushed it aside. There were more important things to discuss.

He closed the report then fixed his gaze on her. "I tried following your clues about Yang and Tiger
King but I couldn't do anything—"

"SSSH!"

His breath caught in his throat as in one move, she leapt and practically cleared the desk. She
slapped her cuffed hands to his mouth. The shock and sudden movement had him stiffen like a
statue as she glared down at him.

"Do you want to die, you fool?" she hissed, "not so loud."

"Mmmf mmmgfm," he tried to say. Having her at such close proximity with her weight nearly
tilting them over, Chanyeol had nowhere else to look but directly into her wide eyes, a glimmer of
fear hidden in their depths. She noticed their closeness but for once, Chanyeol was baffled to see
her flustered instead of flirting harder.

She returned to her seat quickly and petted down her shirt as best as she could with her cuffed
hands but didn't say another word.

"Is this place compromised?" he asked quietly, something he had long suspected but stubbornly
refused to believe. He had searched thoroughly for bugs planted in his office but to his relief, found
none.

"Everywhere is, potentially," she answered softly. "But I know many of your colleagues are as
crooked as they come."

"Officer Kim?" he asked. The shrewd young officer on his team who had been the first to tell him
about Tiger King had recently resurfaced as a suspect in the list, but Chanyeol had been holding
back, trying to figure out how best to confront him. Strangely, Officer Kim seemed to be
mysteriously absent lately, which didn't help quell Chanyeol's suspicions.

Dasoni's slight nod confirmed his fears.

"It's why you keep running into dead ends. It's why I try not to divulge too much over the phone."

"And so you keep trying to help me with clues. Why?" Chanyeol wondered. "Why me? Why are
you doing all this?"

She pursed her lips and cast her gaze away from his, making him sigh.

Dasoni was an enigmatic woman but he had played her game long enough to finally understand her
goal behind all the faux excuses to see him, the cryptic calls and even more cryptic clues. He had
sat down to puzzle over the Yang murder case, still embittered that he hadn't been the one to nab
him. Since he wasn't making any headway, his thoughts drifted to Dasoni and the trail of
tantalising crumbs she left him.

It was then he had his epiphany: the reason she kept coming back to see him was that she was
waiting for him to catch up and realise they needed each other to get to the bottom of Tiger King.
Why and how, he had as yet to figure out.

His skin crawled and he had stared at the ceiling for an hour after this earth-shattering realisation
hit him.
Working with a criminal? What next? He might as well just stroll into the nearest bank and stage a
robbery.

His conscience screamed at him to get a grip and his brain reasoned he must have had too much
coffee for his imagination to be running wild like that but in his heart, Chanyeol knew what must
be done if he was ever going to resolve the tangled conspiracies surrounding the mystery of Tiger
King.

And that was when fear crept back in, slowly then all at once.

Chanyeol glanced over his shoulder at the door, then made his way to Dasoni's side of the desk and
against all his screaming instincts, he carefully crouched down in front of her, out of sight of
anybody peeking into the office. When he looked up, the astonishment on her face almost made
him smile.

"Dasoni, I want to understand what's going on and why you're asking for my help, of all people."

"I'm not asking—"

He shook his head. "You're the head of the Dasoni clan, one of the most powerful gang families in
Seoul. You're on par with some of the chaebol families. You have the resources and power to do
anything you like," he said quietly. "I was too blind and annoyed to understand your true intentions.
But I finally understand that coming to me with all these cryptic warnings and clues just to have
fun teasing me wasn't your intention. You're smarter than that. You weeded me out specifically."

Her eyes widened and Chanyeol went on.

"I'm sorry I haven't been much use but—I want to know what's going on, to help you."

"Even though I'm a criminal?" she said lightly. He pretended he didn't hear the slight wobble in her
voice.

"My duty is to serve the people of the city. Whatever it is you're involved in this time, it's different
than your typical criminal mischief, isn't it? I want to understand and get to the bottom of it." He
swallowed hard, trying to contain his shaking. "Even if it means...losing everything."

His dream of being a police officer ever since he was eight.

His job that he slaved over night and day.

His reputation that he worked so hard to clean, forever tainted by his mentor's blackened legacy.

His pride at solving a case and bringing the perpetrators to justice.

His sacred duty to keep the city safe.

His reason for existing at all.

Chanyeol clenched his fists. "Whatever is happening is bigger than me, I understand that. And
whatever it is, you're scared of it. Help me understand. I'm tired of being held back by the
institution. Help me help you, Dasoni."

"Once you're in, you can't back out," she warned. He was struck by her gentle reminder.

"I know. I'll risk it. I could do worse than working with you." He dared to smile, the gesture
foreign to him, as though his facial muscles had all but forgotten the movement of pulling his
mouth up. "I could join hands with some blackguard like Yang. And besides, if you go overboard,
I have your favourite cell on standby, always waiting for you. Maybe if the universe is feeling
particularly humorous, I'll get a cell next to yours."

Dasoni looked at him for so long that he thought they both were going to freeze into blocks of
stone. His back was starting to ache from crouching for so long.

But then she smiled, genuine and full, lighting up her eyes. Her hands rose up, stopping shy of
cupping his face before dropping gently back in her lap. The intense way she was looking at him
made heat rush to his face.

It had been a long time since someone looked at him with something akin to pride, or fondness, or
desire.

"I knew you wouldn't let me down, my dark knight," Dasoni said softly. She tilted her head to the
door. "Will you be so chivalrous as to escort me home tonight? My license got confiscated again.
Just driving me home, nothing more, I promise. We can have a chat about things. What do you
say?"

"Let's go," Chanyeol said, sealing his fate.

 Playing with Fire
Chapter Summary

previously: jennie spilled out her and lisa's story. rosie found out about the deal jennie
had struck with jinyoung. chanyeol and dasoni come to an understanding.

Momo, Seulgi, Ella and Irene rushed into the living room just in time to catch Rosé violently
shaking Jennie from the shoulders as she straddled her and screamed in her face.

"How could you?! You piece of shit, how could you just give up Lisa? You fucking scum—"

"Rosé," Jennie wheezed, caught off-guard by Rosé's outburst as she grappled with the hysteric girl
shrieking her head off on top of her. "Rosé, what are you talking about?"

"She's lost it," Momo grunted and rushed forward, catching Rosé from the waist and pulling her
back. "Down girl down! Come on, chill out!"

"Let me go!" Rosé screamed.

Seulgi also dived into the fray, catching Rosé's flailing hands before a stray fist could punch Jennie
in the face. "Rosé calm down. What's going on?"

"Ask her!" Rosé shouted, red in the face, "ask her about the deal!"

"What deal?"

"The blood contract," Rosé bellowed, thrashing in Momo's grip, "she's a lying piece of shit and she
was going to give away Lisa in exchange for Jisoo! She's a traitor! Let me go!"

Jennie went white as a sheet. All heads swivelled to her as the room suddenly fell silent. She
swallowed.

"I—I can explain—"

"A blood contract? With Jinyoung?" Momo said appalled. She dropped Rosé like a sack of rice and
stomped up to Jennie, voice shaking with fury. "You signed a blood contract with that
psychopath? Are you insane? Jennie, what the actual fuck?"

"I know, alright?" Jennie snapped, holding her hands up. "I was backed into the corner, I saw no
way out and he coerced me into doing it. I figured I'd buy myself some more time. I was a wreck
and I had nobody to back me up so I don't particularly need you of all people to preach to me,
Momo."

"More time to do what? To do what, Jennie? You fool!" Momo cried. She held her head, laughing
hysterically. "A blood contract with Jinyoung and Lisa is MIA? Oh my god, you're so dead. We're
all dead."

"You have nothing to do with this," Jennie snorted.

"That's what you think!" Momo fired back. She pointed at Jennie, fury in her eyes. "But the
moment Jinyoung learns about the people around you, you think he will stop with just you and
Jisoo? We'll be roped into the mess. He'll murder an entire village if that's what it takes to keep his
secrets, can't you understand that? You went and made a deal with the devil."

"What's a blood contract?" Ella frowned.

"I'd like to know too. It doesn't sound anything good," Seulgi said, staring in between Jennie and
Rosé. "Rosé, who told you about this?"

"Jinyoung. He...he told me he's gonna turf me out of my apartment. Tomorrow his thugs are
coming around to make sure I'm all packed and hand over the keys," Rosé whispered.

"What?"

"He said my debt was transferred to him when he took over from Yang," Rosé said, trembling, "he
said he's going to seize the apartment to downsize and I won't have to pay the rent on it anymore.
He's pretending to be all Mr Nice Guy to save me money but really, he's a conniving little snake."

"He's wielding his power to break you, both of you," Seulgi said in realisation, "to make you crack
and give in to his demands."

"Depraved piece of shit," Irene spat out, rolling her eyes when Seulgi looked surprised. "Oh come
on, you're surprised I'm cussing when we've been cussing all day?"

"Mom, what do you mean? We won't have the apartment? But where will we live?" Ella said, her
eyes glassy. "Won't I have my bedroom anymore? Do I have to give away Flora? What about my
synthesizer? What will I practice on? And the cats? Do we have to leave them behind? And your
guitar and the pilates equipment....Mom do we have to live on the streets?"

Rosé scooped her daughter up in a hug. "No baby no, definitely not. All the stuff in the apartment
technically belongs to us. We're definitely not leaving Flora, your synthesizer, my guitar or the
kittens behind. Don't worry about a thing, I'll take care of it."

"You can even stay here," Irene offered immediately, "I have plenty of room. That goes for you as
well, Jennie."

"See? I'll take care of it baby," Rosé soothed.

"You promise?"

"I promise." Rosé held up her little finger, waiting. Her heart cracked when Ella hesitated for a
moment too long but then hooked her little finger around Rosé's for a pinky promise.

Rosé turned to Jennie quickly, eager to keep moving, to shift the focus away from herself and her
pain at seeing her daughter lose faith in her.

"Jinyoung said it's already been three days, he was calling to remind you about the deal."

"Jennie, is this true? What did you bargain with him exactly? Were you—were you really going to
give him Lisa?" Irene said worriedly.

Jennie sat down and held her head. "I went to talk with him, after Matthew told us to get out," she
said dully. "I thought holding the threat of exposing him to the public over his head might at least
faze him, I don't know, but then he retaliated by saying he tortured Jisoo. I just..."
"No," Irene whispered. Seulgi hugged her close and Rosé lips trembled.

"He hurt Aunty Jisoo?" Ella said, her voice wobbling. Rosé held her tightly.

Jennie squeezed her temples. "I just gave in then. I couldn't take it, thinking of what she could be
going through and I'm here, doing nothing to find her. I was mad at Lisa and I just cracked. I told
him to give me a few days and I'd get him Lisa. I wasn't thinking."

She held up her thumb shakily. "And I signed a contract in blood. I know full well what I walked
into, Momo. That's why, I'm going to face Jinyoung by myself. I can't risk any of you getting hurt
because of me. This is my mess."

The three women in front of her immediately burst out into vehement shouting.

"Are you crazy?! We were just talking about handling things together!"

"What about the plan to talk with Jisoo's parents?"

"When were you going to tell us all this?"

"And what were you going to do at the end of the five days, just give Lisa up?"

"Quiet," Jennie roared above them all, making them shut up. "It's my mess and I'm going to deal
with it by myself as much as I can so that you don't get involved. Irene, Seulgi: Jinyoung doesn't
know about you being involved with us. It will stay that way. Momo: he might suspect you but the
more you make yourself scarce, the less chances he has of coming for you. That means as of now,
you can bounce off and do your thing."

"And leave you floundering just like that?" Momo said incredulously. "Jennie, I want to help."

"You have already, you put me up at the hospital. But now, the more people get involved the more
dangerous it becomes. Don't you see?" Jennie turned to Rosé. "And you have Ella to worry about,
and Jinyoung is going to kick you out of your home. You think he's not keeping an eye on us right
now?"

"But Jisoo's parents—"

"I'll go," Jennie said, "and I need to clear out of here before Jinyoung realises who I'm with." She
stood up, wincing and touching her face."I'm going to her family home in Gunpo. Luckily Jisoo
had mentioned that her family go to their old hometown house in summer to get away from the city
so they should be there."

"What's this about Jisoo's parents?" Irene asked.

"Rosé and I had the idea of talking with them to get Jisoo back. They've got money and power and
we're hoping they might not involve police or if they do, they galvanise them into proper action,
without involving us in the equation," Jennie explained.

"And they'll listen to you because...?" Momo said, sceptical. "Jen, you look like you just woke up
from the dead. You look like some needy, pathetic and desperate street con. They'll take one look
at you and kick you out in the street before you even say hello. You'd have a better chance going
straight to the cops. Heck, have you dumbos thought of, I don't know, phoning an anonymous tip?"

"How do I know Jinyoung won't intercept that call? How do I know he won't outright...k-kill Jisoo
because I went behind his back? I can't risk it," Jennie fired back. "He's got the power, he can even
control the media, that much I know. How much you wanna bet he can muzzle the police? You
said so yourself, he can get away with murdering an entire village. Who am I to stand against him?
But Jisoo's parents, they have got to make a difference. They have got to want to get her
back...right? They're her parents. I'll make them understand, and I won't just take no for an answer
if they won't see me."

"I know they weren't on great terms, but I'm sure they'd want to help. I'd do anything for Ella,"
Rosé said, patting the said girl on the head. "They'll listen if it's about Jisoo."

"And how exactly do you plan for this whole meeting to happen? I am absolutely intrigued to
know," Momo said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Will you just waltz into their manor or whatever
it is and announce that you're her girlfriend?"

"No, I won't. They already don't approve Jisoo having a girlfriend, I know that much," Jennie
gritted.

"Well then enlighten me. Do you even have a plan at all?"

"Well for starters, only I am going," Jennie said, raising a hand when the clamouring started again.
"If Jinyoung has his little rats running around, I want him to only see me. Rosé, you've got Ella.
Think about her first."

"I know but...Jisoo is my friend too," Rosé said, torn. "And you'll need the support. What if
something indeed happens and you're all alone? I can back you up with her parents too."

"And what if you get injured and Ella—"

"What if you both stop interrupting each other with what ifs?" Momo said, growing frustrated.
"Honestly, it's a wonder either of you managed to stay alive this long. And with our only leverage
gone, well the odds are starting to look bleak."

"Take a fucking walk, Momo," Rosé spat, rounding on the other woman with a glare. "If you don't
have anything useful to contribute, get the hell out of here, we don't need your useless critiquing.
Go catch up with one of your groupies."

Momo bristled. "You know what? Maybe I will. All this talk is stressing me the hell out. I'll be at
my apartment. Call me when you bozos actually settle on a plan that isn't hare-brained. Oh wait,
that's all you seem to come up with. Hanging around Lisa rubbed off on you."

Rosé's eyes glittered. "You fucking—"

Momo stormed out, leaving Irene, Seulgi and Ella staring non-plussed.

"Did you mean to give Lisa to Jinyoung?" Seulgi asked at last. "Say it straight."

"I don't know," Jennie said honestly, helplessly. "I thought I could do something and he so
desperately wants to have Lisa...I wasn't thinking."

"Well, I think for now, we're still in the clear. He called to taunt you about it so that must mean
Lisa is still MIA. We still have...how many days?"

"Two," Jennie said grimly. "Two days before he sends people to murder me and...and Jisoo. I need
to leave, now."

"Are you even well enough to venture out?" Irene said, watching Jennie closely. Jennie waved
dismissively.

"I'm fine. I need to move. Jisoo is depending on me. And the sooner we get moving to find Lisa,
the better." Jennie closed her eyes, ignoring the throbbing that had started anew as her anxiety
escalated. "Jisoo depends on this working. I need to convince her parents."

Maybe Momo was right. Maybe they were idiots for even thinking this could work on the fly.

"Ddeulgi and I can look for Lisa," Irene piped up. "We both drive, we'll try comb the
neighbourhood better. Any place you think she might have gone?"

"Could be anywhere really," Jennie said helplessly.

"We'll ask around. Can't miss her blonde hair, I'm sure someone must have seen something," Seulgi
reassured.

Irene nodded along with her. "We can get to looking right away, and I'll even take tomorrow off.
And Rosé, don't worry: like I said, you and Ella are welcome to stay here."

"Can I bring my synthesizer? I promise I won't be playing too loudly, I can lower the volume," Ella
said.

"Maybe we should go and pack up stuff then," Rosé said sombrely. "But there's Dalgom... should I
let him be? And the cats..."

"I could look after them. I've got my own two, they could do with some new faces," Seulgi offered.

"What about, instead of moving out, you stayed at Jisoo's place?" Jennie suggested thoughtfully.
"The only problem would be the cats since I'm not sure if Dalgom would be okay with them."

"Oh that's a good idea! That way you don't have to move much," Seulgi nodded vigorously.

"And Jisoo's apartment is quite big, it can hold all your stuff temporarily. I know she's not here but
I'm sure she would be the first to say you should hole up there for now," Jennie added.

Rosé's lips trembled. "That...sounds good, sounds really good. El, we're going to be living at Aunty
Jisoo's! Isn't that exciting?"

"I get to have the plushy room!" Ella cheered.

Jennie knew she ought to stop Ella from barging into Jisoo's sanctuary but then she remembered
how her girlfriend frequently tried to feed the plushy popcorn, staining it in the process. She
mentally shrugged: Ella wouldn't possibly do worse, especially with her mother around.

"That's settled then," Rosé said, exhaling in relief. "Oh I feel so much better. I'll be able to keep an
eye on things and look after Dalgom better." She looked at Jennie. "I want to come with you."

"Ella can't come," Jennie said curtly, gesturing at Rosé holding Ella's hand firmly in her grasp.
"Rosé, I thought I was clear. And don't even insinuate that nothing can't happen. I agree with
Momo on this one—Jinyoung is too scary to second-guess. Leave Ella or don't come at all."

"She's right. You can't risk Ella's life just because you don't want to leave her out of your sight."

"I know but..." Rose looked down at their joined hands uncertainly.

"I'll be okay Mom," Ella said softly. "You're just going to talk with a bunch of adults, right? I can
wait for you here."

Rosé sighed unhappily. "I suppose. I just...I wish I could be in two places at once. Or that I could
duplicate myself, like Multiple Man."

"I'm guessing that's an X-man," Jennie explained to Seulgi and Irene who looked baffled. "Rosé,
we gotta move."

"I can take you—"

"No, you two need to keep a low profile, you can't be seen with me and Rosé," Jennie said curtly.
"We're taking the bus and then we're taking the subway."

"Why not a taxi?" Seulgi said.

"I don't know where Jinyoung got his slimy fingers stuck in. He could have all sorts of companies
instructed to alert him once we make a move," Jennie said.

"You're being paranoid—"

"No, I'm with Jennie on this one," Rosé said firmly. "Yang had eyes everywhere, Jinyoung even
more so. Blending in with other people will be our best bet."

Jennie nodded and grabbed her phone from the floor, shutting it off completely. "Precaution," she
said shortly. "I'll turn it back on when we reach our destination. Rosé, you do it too. Let's go."

Rosé knelt in front of Ella, holding her from her shoulders tightly. "I want you to eat and hang out
with Irene and Seulgi until I come back, so we can go move our stuff into Jisoo's apartment later."

Ella nodded. "Okay Mom, see you later."

"I'll phone you when we get there. Be good. And if something happens, stay with Irene and Seulgi,
you hear me?"

"I know, don't worry about me."

Rosé hugged Ella one more time, squeezing tight and fighting tears when Ella returned the
embrace just as fiercely.

"I love you, my baby. Even if I haven't been a good person, I love you."

Seeing her daughter being so brave and weathering all the confusion thrown at her made her want
to scoop her up and tuck her away from danger. But she couldn't even guarantee that safety. And as
she looked at Ella's wide, fearful eyes and her small hands clutching her arms tightly, reluctant to
let go, Rosé came to a decision.

"El, remember when you told me you wanted to go to the beach some time ago before summer
started? And I said that's unlikely to happen?"

Ella nodded mutely. Rosé kissed her forehead, wishing she could start over from scratch with
parenting. Ella shouldered more responsibility than a kid her age should. She hadn't really gotten to
be a kid, with no adult secrets and burdens to worry about.

"When this is all over, we should go to the beach, in Busan, just like your friend did."

Ella blinked, taken aback. "Really?"

"Really."

"Can the unnies come too? And Lisa?"

"All of us," Rosé nodded fervently. "You, me, Lisa, everyone."

"Really?" Ella said again, brimming with hope. At the door, Jennie's face was pained and Rosé
could understand why but it didn't deter her from speaking her fantasy.

"We'll be able to do whatever we want with no bad guys after us," Rosé said. "And Lisa and Jisoo
will be there embarrassing us all with some of their crazy antics and we'll have a picnic."

"With nuggets?"

"Of course we'll have nuggets, it wouldn't be a picnic without those," Rosé smiled, ignoring the
lump forming in her throat. "We'll have iced tea and mango salad and bingsu. We'll build
sandcastles and swim. I'll teach you how to snorkel too." She clasped Ella's hands. "I want you to
hold on to that, because it's a promise, Ella. I promise that once we're free, we'll go have our day at
the beach."

Ella brightened but quickly turned downcast. "I don't want to make promises before you go. It
sounds too much like a goodbye," she said in a small voice. "You are coming back right? Let's
make the promise when you come back."

"It's just a short visit, hopefully we'll come back with good news," Rosé said, chest tight at Ella's
evident worry. She pushed away the foreboding feeling and kept up her smile as she finally let go
of her daughter, fingertips brushing, lingering.

On sudden inspiration Rosé winked and held up her fist like she had seen Lisa do.

"I'm Super Gay, here to save the day. Things will work out, you'll see."

The gesture finally pulled a tiny smile from Ella, but it was enough, for now.

>

"What's the status on Tiger King?" Jinyoung asked, fingering the sleeve of his bleached labcoat.

He stood with the chief scientist overlooking the rows and rows of prone bodies lying in their cots
directly below the bridge they were walking on, spanning the length of the cavern, hanging from
the ceiling. Jinyoung leaned on the railings and peered down, admiring the sight.

Fluorescent light tubes—the only source of light here in the labs carved out of the bedrock beneath
the busy seaport next to Rkive—lent a ghostly pale glow to the waxy skin of the sleeping subjects
being fed vials of bright yellow liquid through the tubes going into their arms.

Though they were too far to be seen, Jinyoung knew that all glass vials were labelled 'TK: Trial
no.54'. They were the only spot of colour in the otherwise bleak and sterile landscape.

Staff in white hazmat suits prowled between the aisles with identical digital tablets in hand,
checking and double-checking as they took notes, monitored vitals and replenished vials. They
almost blended with the brilliant white tiles of the floor, an important aspect of the new labs that
Jinyoung had insisted on when he kick-started the project—he wasn't going to have his precious
subjects be comprised by filthy laboratory conditions.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jinyoung saw the balding scientist purse his mouth. He clutched his
tablet to his chest, the labcoat he wore stained with age.

"Stabilised, but could be better. The sodium levels are much too high, her amygdala—"

"His or its," Jinyoung corrected.

For the past three days since Tiger King showed up at Rkive, Jinyoung had been emphasising on
this small but crucial detail with all of the staff under his command. It might seem innocuous, but
something as trivial as a pronoun had ensured for the killer's identity to be kept secret for almost
two decades.

"His amygdala is still firing off on all cylinders, out of control. The good news is that, owing to the
subject's depressed state, reduced activity in the frontal lobe is doing our job for us of suppressing
it so I'm confident that give it a few more days and it will be completely stabilised and pliable. We
can start on the emotional reprogramming then."

"Hmm...so he's numbing his feelings, which in turn, is helping to tamp down on all the pent up
aggression, is what you're saying?"

"Yes sir."

"I wonder if we can speed up the process."

"Sir?"

Jinyoung straightened up. "Investors will be flying in soon, Dr Kwang. They will want to see
results, they will want to see proof. If I'm to convince them about the rebooting Tiger King project,
I will need something concrete to show them. I wonder if we can speed up the whole process of
resetting Tiger King Alpha."

Dr consulted with his tablet. "I understand the eagerness but you have to be careful or else we risk
losing everything just before we begin. The specimen has been corrupted over the years, and
though it has a decent working level of TK, the secretions are still much too low. We are all
treading in unknown territory here Mr Park, much of what we're working with are scant notes and
speculations."

"I trust you have prepared?"

"Well yes, and meticulously, I assure you," Dr Kwang rushed to assure, "but we can't risk
upsetting the biology of our hybrid specimen, so to speak. She—He—is simply remarkable, a
wonder of adaptation evolution."

"Which is why you will succeed on this project," Jinyoung nodded, "so that the global scientific
community at large will read all about your findings and lead them on the next step of evolutionary
science. You will be at the forefront of the frontier leading the world into a new age, Doctor
Kwang. Picture that. They will forgive your past grievances and you can start anew."

The scientist smiled briefly. "Thank you once again for trusting me with this, Mr Park. It's an
honour, I can never thank you or your father enough for bringing me on board—"

"Just do your job and you will have my thanks," Jinyoung waved dismissively. "Meanwhile, we
still need to think about how to speed up Tiger King's reset."

"I just want to be extra careful since we only have one chance. As discussed in our meetings, we
need to be careful with purging all impurities and restoring the specimen to neutral levels. We can't
know for sure, but it might have grown allergic to foreign substances so I just want to be prepared
for any drastic emergencies. And then even if re-introducing TK to re-establish the production
equilibrium in the specimen, there's still the work needed to severe and suppress the psychological
and emotional aspect. And then we will hopefully have a clean blank slate to build upon and
reprogram from scratch."

Dr Kwang waited for Jinyoung to comment. The latter hummed, deep in thought.

"I've been thinking. The main reason we need Tiger King is for study, and to replicate the serum
component with the missing factor X, isn't it?

"And to reset the specimen?" Dr Kwang added, puzzled.

"Yes, I suppose so. But the process is lengthy, according to what you outlined. It will certainly not
be ready by the time the investors come around."

"A work in progress is better than leaving Tiger King to languish useless in a cell," Dr Kwang said.
"I would advise on initialising the process right away."

He scrolled and tapped feverishly on his tablet, bringing up scanned notes that were barely legible
but thanks to to technology, it was possible to translate handwriting into clear, printed words. "JYP
senior detailed how the emotional severance happened mostly after biochemistry conditioning and
drug administration. But what if we were to start in reverse? We have more control over Tiger
King's emotional state than physical conditioning at the moment."

The furrow in Jinyoung's brow cleared. "That is an excellent idea, Dr Kwang. I'll see what I can do.
And while we're at it, we should do something about the overall appearance too. If he sees less of
himself, the better chances of us being able to mould him into what we need. Disassociation is key,
as you yourself told me, Doctor."

They were interrupted by a stream of Jays, all of them with different things that Jinyoung needed to
authorise, sign or deal with.

"Major influx of stocks could be bad for inflation, the Board is calling a meeting—"

"Mr Hong states his interest in buying 2% of JYP Pharma portfolio—"

"Mr Park, need you to authorise the schematics for R&D department—"

"Corporal Yeltsin from Moscow is inquiring about the validity of the TK project—"

"Johnson & Johnson have agreed to initializing trial runs—"

"Arcadia BioTech are categorically insisting on further reassurances before they can stake in the
project—

"Lee Pharma has agreed to fund for Daltonin research trials, registered enthusiastic interest in TK
—"

Jinyoung dealt with them all as Dr Kwang waited respectfully to be addressed again, since he had
not been dismissed.

When Jinyoung finished and the gaggle of Jays left them alone, he picked up again.
"So, Tiger King Alpha is out of business. Our business partners, Mr Elordi and Mr Bang, will be
flying in from Melbourne in two weeks' time. They have been following along closely and I need to
show them that their time and money would not be wasted on this endeavour. What are our
options?"

Dr Kwang consulted his tablet, bringing up spreadsheets and squinting at the colour coded rows.
"Maybe some of the specimen from the earlier trials would help them understand our long-term
vision?"

"You told me the earlier specimen were very unstable," Jinyoung said sceptically.

"Yes, but I am working on the hypothesis that the serum factor X we're looking for present in Tiger
King's blood samples will help stabilise them temporarily, long enough to showcase their
effectiveness

"Hmm, that would indeed be a quick-fix solution," Jinyoung said, "but I fear the road ahead isn't as
clear-cut as you're making it out to be, Doctor."

"I am optimistic but yes, I expect some hiccups." The scientist typed furiously with one hand, the
keys rattling off like the sound of a machine gun. "I can have a team set up to monitor at least two
subjects that will focus solely on them. We'll have them stabilised by the deadline. Any particular
specimen you have in mind?"

"V, the one that Yang had requested a while back. I'm interested in that one," Jinyoung said
promptly. He chuckled when Dr Kwang's mouth twisted. "Tough nut, isn't he? I know, I've heard
he's quite volatile. But if we're going to prove that this project is viable, we'll have to start with the
tough ones. Stormy seas are what makes the sailor. I will let you choose the other specimen since I
don't have any other preferences—excuse me Doctor. Yes Jackson?"

Jackson had approached them quietly. Dr Kwang didn't know him that well—he only knew that
Jackson was Jinyoung's cousin, that there was a strange tension between the two, that he worked
with the drug assistants trying to puzzle out the key to serum factor X and that he slunk around like
a dog with its tail between its legs lately, keeping to himself.

He looked like he could do with a good shave and a long sleep but Dr Kwang wasn't in the habit of
interfering as long as people did their job.

Just like Jinyoung, Jackson wore a bleached labcoat as per the facility's policy. The dark circles
under his bloodshot eyes seemed to have taken up permanent residence there.

"Jay-W and Jay-D reported," he said without preamble. "Target 1 and Target 3 are on the move."

"Destination?"

Jackson hesitated for a split second. "Jay-W believes they are headed for Target 2's hometown.
He's currently tailing them on the Shibuya line, heading south towards Gunpo. Jay-D is tracking
their phones but they had them switched off."

Jinyoung's eyes glittered. "Interesting. Tell the Jays to follow and report back periodically, but do
not engage for now. They should await further instructions. I will contact them shortly. Tell them
to prepare for intervention."

Jackson nodded and left as well.

Jinyoung gripped the railing, trying his utmost to hide his manic glee in front of the other man. Far
from being annoyed by this unexpected turn of events, he found himself excited at the prospect of
figuring out what Jennie was up to. Trust the girl to keep the game spicy and expect him to keep up
—he was more than willing to step up to the challenge.

"Very interesting move, Jennie," he said to himself, "but why? What's in Gunpo? Unless...ah clever
girl..."

"Sir?" Dr Kwang asked, uncertain whether he was dismissed. Jinyoung straightened and turned to
the scientist.

"Doctor Kwang, when was the last time you visited your hometown?"

The scientist was taken aback. "Hmm...Easter?" he ventured.

"And who did you see on your visit?"

The scientist's brows furrowed. "Uh...family, sir?"

"Family, exactly!" Jinyoung's triumphant smile disarmed him. "Dr Kwang, what do you say about
a quick field test for those two specimen, instead of waiting for stabilisation?"

"A—a field test? So soon?" Dr Kwang gasped. "I—I don't think—they're not prepared—we haven't
—this is unprecedented—what if there's collateral damage?"

"I'll handle it. And along with V, I think I know the perfect candidate we can pair him up with,"
Jinyoung said amiably, bulldozing over the scientist's feeble protests. "And after we have the test
run, I want to ramp up the specimen selection for the showcase, not just two. There needs to be
more."

When Dr Kwang blinked rapidly in bemusement, Jinyoung chuckled.

"I apologise for the whiplash but once I explain, you'll understand why it's the perfect time to act.
We'll be killing two—no, three— birds with one stone. We'll be helping Tiger King to move on
from his attachments, remove potential nuisances from the game and figure out how much work
the specimen need to bring them up to speed for their showcase with Elordi and Bang."

"And...why more specimen?" The scientist asked, brows furrowed. "That will require more work
—"

Jinyoung shrugged. "I'm paying you all enough to carry out your job so I'm sure you can do it, right
Doctor? Remember what's at stake here." He leaned in slightly, his smile turning sinister. "Do you
really want to go back to languishing in your lousy schoolteacher job making lava volcanoes?"

A pause as Dr Kwang shook his head slowly, swallowing. "No sir."

"Good man. That will be all." Jinyoung said satisfied and turned away to survey his kingdom. "Oh
and Doctor? Remind me to pick up someone with adequate barber skills, later."

>

Tiger King had arrived at Rkive around ten in the evening of the day it left the Vault.

It had walked and walked and walked and walked and walked and walked and walked.

It wasn't entirely sure where Rkive was, relying on memory of the night it had been taken there to
find its way.
It kept to side streets and ducked its head when people approached, fearful that once people saw its
yellow eyes, they would chase it and hunt it and hurt it.

It was hungry and sad, angry and sad, lost and sad, hurt and sad, lonely and sad, but it continued
plodding along with firm resolution, the mantra chanting in its head.

You can't run from what you are.

It had hurt people. It had killed people.

It had nearly killed the people it cared about.

It wasn't safe to be around other people.

Freak. Monster. No sister of mine.

It was too different, too broken, too inhuman.

Lisa, stay.

The lonely monster cried as it walked towards its final destination.

It was very very very afraid. It wanted to go back.

But it also knew that this was how the story ended.

This was no fairy tale, where the monster was transformed by love.

This was reality, and in reality, monsters are locked up to save ordinary people.

The monster arrived at Rkive and was welcomed in by Jinyoung into the underground lair.

Let Jisoo go, said Tiger King, you can have me instead. I won't run. I promise.

That's funny, said Jinyoung, is Jennie with you? She was supposed to give you to me and then I let
Jisoo go. That was the deal.

What do you mean? said Tiger King.

Jennie made a deal to give over Tiger King in exchange for Jisoo. She had five days to do it. That's
what she came for last night, Jinyoung said. She even signed a blood contract for it. Didn't she tell
you? She was going to give you away. You seem to have beat her to it.

You're lying, said Tiger King.

I thought you might say that so I took the liberty of recording proof, said Jinyoung.

And then he showed video footage taken by one of his minions at the table. The hidden camera
footage was shaky, but it showed enough and the audio was clear.

"If you break the contract, Jisoo dies and so do you. I will send people to get you. Do you
understand?" Jinyoung said next to Jennie, one hand gripping the back of her chair.

"I understand," Jennie slurred, head bowed so low it was almost kissing the tabletop. She pressed
her thumbs together, one blooming red, and then she pressed the stained thumb pad to the
document she had in front of her. "I will get you Tiger King."
Jinyoung produced the same document shown in the video and held it up for Tiger King to see,
with Jennie's bloody thumbprint at the bottom.

I'm here, so that nullifies the contract, said Tiger King, if I stay, you have to release Jisoo.

You want to stay? Of your own free will? said Jinyoung.

Tiger King wanted to say No with every fibre of its being but instead, it said Yes.

This, after all, was its fate and it had been a fool to think it could run.

Jinyoung smiled and nodded. Alright, he said, I will let Jisoo go. But if you try to escape or
something like that, your friends will suffer.

I won't. I don't want to see them again, said Tiger King. It shook its head, wanting to wipe the
memory of frightened brown eyes, the terrible sensation of a fragile slender neck held in its fatal
grip, seconds away from snapping like a twig.

You won't see them again. Glad we are understood, Jinyoung said.

And you will release Jisoo? Tiger King said.

Jinyoung snapped his fingers and nodded at one of his lackeys, who left the lair.

Join me, we have much work to do together, you and I, Jinyoung said as he held out his hand
again.

Tiger King stared at the hand that would subjugate it as a tiny voice at the back of its head pleaded,
urging to go back, that everything was wrong but could be mended, that Jinyoung couldn't be
trusted.

Stay. Lisa, please stay. Please. The tiny voice sounded just like—

Aren't you afraid of me? Tiger King wondered. All the other men around Jinyoung were wary,
their postures tense, their grip on their weapons tight, their gazes darting restlessly between them.

But Jinyoung smiled, and this was a different smile to the ones before. This one had more teeth,
felt more sinister, made Tiger King pause.

No, I'm not afraid. Why would I be? said Jinyoung, I own you now.

Tiger King slowly took his hand, standing toe to toe with the man no longer a man before allowing
its new master to lead them away, secure in the knowledge that, for better or for worse, it was not
alone anymore.

After all, it takes a monster to know one.

 The Sins of our Mothers
Chapter Notes

previously: jennie's deal with jinyoung comes to light, chaennie decide to enlist jisoo's
parents help, jinyoung discusses the way forward to eliminate opponents, reprogram
tiger king and prepare subjects for the tiger king regimen.

TRIGGER WARNING

"Jennie, what's our gameplan?"

"I'm thinking."

"Wow, still?"

"Shut up Rosé."

"That's what you said twenty minutes ago."

"Shut up, Rosé."

Rosé gave up and wearily settled on watching the passing scenery as it flashed by. To say that
things were tense between them was an understatement:

Rosé wasn't thrilled with Jennie for almost giving up Lisa to Jinyoung; Jennie wasn't thrilled to
have Rosé come along, adding on to her stress.

Both of them were too on edge to try and engage in some semblance of a conversation. Jennie's
paranoia had gotten worse when they boarded the subway. Hemmed in from all sides by people,
Rosé noticed how the shorter girl's agitation increased, her eyes darting everywhere as she swept
her surroundings with the intensity of a laser scanner, tapping her foot restlessly.

"Cut it out," Rosé had muttered at one point, "you're drawing more attention."

Thankfully, Jennie had listened and lapsed into stony silence, her grip on the railing tight as she
fixed her gaze out the window.

"I wish I got an energy drink," Rosé heard her mutter, "Jisoo isn't around to nag anyway..."

"We'll get one when we get to the station. What's our gameplan?"

"Shut up Rosé."

Rosé's hand strayed to her phone in her pocket. Although reluctant, she had agreed with Jennie
about staying off grid, at least while they travelled, and turned off her phone, cutting off any
potential connection with Ella.

The thought of something happening to her daughter with no way of finding out was terrifying and
Rosé was praying for their journey to end soon. She was going to call Ella the moment they
stepped off the subway.
Her thoughts drifted to Lisa, heart hollow with pain. She hadn't stopped blaming herself for not
grabbing on to Lisa's arm and hanging on tight when her girlfriend fled the Vault, but fear had
frozen her to the spot even as her heart cried out for Lisa to stay.

She wouldn't have killed me, Rosé thought, she wouldn't have...right?

But the yellow eyes had been filled with such cruel, cold rage that when they returned in her
dreams, it made Rosé wake up each time gasping for breath and sweating as though she had run a
marathon. Her hand automatically reached across the bed to search the cold emptiness for the
comforting warm body that should be occupying the space next to her. Her heart dropped every
time she remembered that Lisa was gone.

Not entirely, she's still out there. I have to find her, Rosé reminded herself again and again,
fervently hoping it was true.

She slept fitfully, pacing about the apartment and checking in on Ella frequently to reassure herself,
sometimes even lying down and cuddling next to her and dozing off, but she couldn't say she had
had a restful sleep since that cursed night when the illusion she had spun shattered.

To indulge in her streak of masochism, Rosé had taken to replay the day Lisa had run away from
the Vault to an obsessive degree, let herself go over every word she spoke, trying to pinpoint the
moment when she had uttered the wrong thing. Because Rosé had been certain that for a while, she
had almost gotten through to Lisa, until something set her off and she lost control, attacking Rosé.

And as much as her rational side was insisting that Lisa was dangerous and berating her for not
learning anything from her time with Taehyung, Rosé was stubborn.

Lisa was different than Taehyung.

Lisa couldn't help what she was, and therein lay the dilemma for Rosé.

Could she love both sides of Lisa wholly: the goofy lovable boxer as well as the killing machine
Tiger King?

"Jen, I want to talk about Lisa," Rosé said softly. She noticed Jennie stiffen next to her.

"If this is about the contract—"

"No. It's about...me and her."

Jennie relaxed. "Go on."

"I've been thinking a lot these past few days. About...that day at the Vault," Rosé began, taking
care to keep her voice low. The car was packed but at least they weren't shoved together like
anchovies.

"When I talked with her, there was a point when she had been listening to me and she wasn't going
to attack. But then it changed. I said something wrong, and it flipped the switch. It pissed
something off within her and since she was all fired up, she just snapped, instead of controlling
herself."

"What did you say?" Jennie asked.

"I've been trying to remember but everything was happening so fast and afterwards, it's like
everything is already hazy," Rosé said, "but I think I have an idea." She took a deep breath. "All
this time, I've been telling Lisa, multiple times, that she's human and that no matter what happened
in the past, I love her. I told her I accept every part of her. You told me that I did too. You told me I
accepted her, and I thought I was doing good. Only, when it came down to it, I didn't. I was just
like you."

When Jennie raised an eyebrow, Rosé went on.

"You always kept Lisa at a distance, you were wary and you didn't fully trust her. You got better,
but there wasn't that true acceptance that she wanted, needed even. And I ended up showing as
much when she needed to hear it most. I unconsciously confirmed her fear that I didn't accept her
wholly."

"How?"

"We've been rejecting her Tiger King side," Rosé said. "We're always referring to Tiger King as
something that's besides the Lisa we know. But what if it isn't? What if it's a part of her now?
Tiger King isn't an affliction or some condition. It may not be what she is at the core of her being,
like everyone else is insisting, but it's a part of Lisa's identity, just like how she's gay and I'm bi and
you're...whatever it is you call yourself. My point is, maybe Lisa herself doesn't know that she
needs to accept this fact, because she also hates that part of herself. Think of it like internalised
homophobia. Lisa needs to make peace with it, and so do we. Tiger King is part of Lisa: it's who
she is now, whether we like it or not. We can't ignore it and it won't go away."

"Let me get this straight. You're saying we can bring her back with a few pretty words about self-
love and acceptance?" Jennie shook her head. "It doesn't work like that, Rosé, not in the real
world."

"I know, I'm not expecting miracles. But letting Lisa know that I love every part of her, regardless
—that's got to be something." Rosé tightened her grip on the railing. "It has to."

"You...love every part of her?" Jennie said carefully. "Even the part that murders and kills people,
the part that killed your dad and nearly killed you too?"

Rosé gave her a sad smile. "Would you believe me if I told you Taehyung scared me more than
Lisa did?"

"No, I'd say you're biased," Jennie said immediately. "Rosé, she was going to strangle you, for
god's sake. I can still see the bruises under all that makeup you're wearing on your neck, so you're
not fooling me."

"Yes, she was going to do that, I won't deny," Rosé said soberly, "and yet...I could tell, she didn't
want any of it. She was locked in and...so afraid. I'm not giving up on her just because she hurt me
and nearly killed me. It's different than Taehyung. He didn't care that he hurt me, and he would do
it again and again. He went on this crazy rape rampage just because I got away from him. But Lisa,
she would never do that. She ran away because she cared. She was horrified with herself. She was
so ashamed and guilty."

Rosé turned to Jennie, eyes flashing. "Taehyung was little less of a depraved human being by the
end of my relationship with him and he didn't give a crap. But Lisa clung to her humanity so
desperately. It meant everything for her to be seen as normal and human as anyone else, and
it broke her that she couldn't have that. Tell me how that's not different."

Jennie sighed. "Maybe you're right. I don't know anymore. I just...I want it all to end."
"Me too." Rosé turned her gaze to the window again. "It's all been there, the clues," she said,
almost to herself. "If only I had been more attentive...when we watched X-Men, I basically told her
I wouldn't mind if someone I knew was a mutant or had superpowers, because they would still be
the same person despite it all. And that's all Lisa has ever wanted, for someone to see her and
accept every part of her. I've been so blind."

Jennie didn't say anything again until they arrived at their destination.

>

Jennie's plan was built largely on the premise of appearing confident enough in herself that the
Kims would agree to help them. They caught the bus heading to the stop closest to Jisoo's parent's
estate as Jennie outlined her plan.

"Everyone loves confident people, but rich people wet their pants when it comes to confident
people, it's a thing they have."

"Is that why Jisoo got it on with you?" Rosé smiled.

Jennie almost smiled too but the pang in her chest didn't let her.

"They flock to confident people like bees to a honeypot. You can be the poorest person in the
room, but if you play haughty and superior, you'll have everyone lining up to be your friend. It's all
about the charisma and confidence. You can pull off a whole con if you're confident and sell your
act. You can act above your status and get in where it matters," Jennie said. She gave a tight-lipped
smile. "It's something my mother used to say. That's how she was able to make rich friends and
fund her lavish lifestyle."

"What was she like?" Rosé asked delicately.

Jennie gazed out the window and didn't reply right away.

What was her mother like?

Jennie barely spoke about her, mostly because all the important memories were already blurred and
hazy, and what she remembered were trivial bits and pieces, detached glimpses of the people that
occupied the same house she did.

Jennie remembered very little motherly warmth since she was mostly handed off to an array of
forgettable nannies. Even when they had given up on their expensive lifestyle, the bond between
mother and daughter always remained tenuous.

When she came back to Seoul, Jennie had made the tough decision to leave all reminders of her
parents in New Zealand and so, she didn't even have a picture to remember them by. Their faces
were all but erased from her memory, their features strangely warped as she tried to remember.

"Mother liked pearls and interior design," Jennie recalled. "She liked to go to fancy cocktail parties
and mingle with the rich folk. She liked to dress up in fancy couture brands and buy shoes and
spray on her favourite Chanel perfume. She liked to look rich. Liked to brag about being rich.
Liked to befriend rich people and hang out with them. Liked money. Liked to dress me up like a
princess and give me anything I asked for, except her time and attention."

Rosé nodded sympathetically. "Do you...miss her?"

Jennie considered her question.

"Not particularly," she mused. "I used to, but not anymore. I barely think of her. I don't miss Father
either. He wasn't any better. He gambled and got drunk and partied hard with my mother and
bought me expensive toys. They dressed flashy to impress. They made a good pair together. A
pair of delusional idiots who had no idea how money worked and just wanted to have it by any
means, even if it meant taking out ludicrous loans from banks and then getting friendly with loan
sharks. They were a bunch of kids in adult bodies."

She bowed her head. "They were never much of a family to me and yet...it still felt like the world
had ended when they died, you know?"

Rosé nodded sombrely. "I know."

Jennie didn't speak for a while then abruptly picked up again, as though she had been sitting on
something that she needed to let out.

"In Auckland, they were taking baby steps to be better parents. They were growing up and starting
to handle adult responsibilities and even asking me about school and...I had hope. Hope for a
future where we could be a real family that did family things together."

She smiled bitterly. "But then their past mistakes caught up and my hope died with them. Nothing
in this world is here to stay and hope is for losers. Attachments are our undoing."

"Yet, here you are chasing after Jisoo," Rosé said quietly.

"Yes. I never learn." Jennie's lips trembled and she clasped her hands, the plaster on her thumb
coarse to touch. "What if I'm too late?" she whispered. "What if it's for nothing? Why—why am I
always the one left behind? Rosé, if I don't save her, that's it. It's over."

"Don't say that," Rosé said roughly.

"But it's the truth. You have Ella to live for, but me? What would I have? Nothing. Jinyoung
killing me would honestly be a favour."

"Nothing is set in stone. And Lisa would be there, she'd need you."

Jennie stopped short of giving a nasty chuckle. "Right. Of course she would. I'll end up being a
glorified caretaker again."

"Don't give up yet," Rosé said, taking Jennie's hand without any warning whatsoever. She ignored
Jennie's surprised reaction. "It's not over, Jen. We're still here and we're still fighting. We'll get
Jisoo, and we'll get Lisa, and we'll take down Jinyoung."

Jennie merely smiled wanly and looked out of the window again as the bus trundled on. She had
not a drop of hope left in her, her momentary optimism all but wrung out at the reminder of how
very small and powerless she was against Jinyoung's seemingly infinite power.

Yet, she didn't let go of Rosé's hand.

>

When they eventually arrived on foot, both girls gawked at the size of the grounds that surrounded
the estate.

"Are you sure we have the right address?" Rosé asked for the third time as they stood in front of
the gates, but Jennie didn't blame her.
The nearest residence was two miles away. The afternoon sun beat down on them and the sky was
a clear blue without any of Seoul's smog in sight, whilst the cicadas were out in force, buzzing
maddeningly.

There were no sign of cars or traffic or even any other people, just crisp fresh air since they were
closer to Surisan, the mountain that bordered the cities of Gunpo and Ansan. Behind them far
below, they could see some of the taller buildings of Gunpo, but otherwise, it felt like they had
stumbled upon a wonderland haven in the mountains.

Beyond the imposing gates, they could see a vast driveway lined with manicured vivid green
hedges. At the end of it, there was a fountain with classical white marble statues that gave off the
air of palatial splendour. Jennie was reminded of European castles she had seen in movies.

The house itself (if you could call it that, it looked more like some ornate palace) was a gemstone
of non-Korean architecture. Rosé was mooning and gushing over the baroque something and
the french something and the italian something else. Even the damn windows had her in a tizzy.

Jennie wished she wasn't so ignorant and wished she had more words to describe the Kims' house
other than 'elegant' and 'fantastic' and 'beautiful'.

And then beyond the house, the treetops of a vast woodland area spread out as far as Jennie could
see. It was probably attached to the property as well.

"Damn," Rosé said, stopping short of whistling her admiration, "Jisoo's a chaebol. Who knew?"

"She's not a chaebol."

"Aren't you seeing this?" Rosé demanded, waving her hand. "This is just the summer house! It
must be crazy expensive, look at that architecture style, it's not something you find here in Korea.
And you saw her dad, he's loaded. I knew Jisoo was rich...but this is something else."

A quick google search to verify the Kims' address they pulled up from the internet had also
informed Jennie that Mr Kim was a very wealthy and powerful shareholder of Woori Bank, Lotte
International, Samsung, Hyundai and a whole roster of prestigious foreign companies that made her
head spin.

The realisation that Jisoo wasn't merely comfortable rich but crazy rich was just now sinking in.
She understood why her girlfriend had always been reticent about her background.

"Should we check again, just in case?" Rosé asked.

"No, this is it. Save the data, signal is pretty weak." Jennie knew her phone wasn't lying: this was
the private summer residence of Mr and Mrs Kim, and Jisoo's childhood home.

"Okay this is it," Jennie said again, feeling the nerves return. "Follow my lead and don't say
anything."

"What if they're out? The place seems...empty."

"We won't know if we don't try," Jennie said, and pressed the intercom button next to the gate.

>

Maybe it was luck, maybe it was Jennie's acting skills and haranguing tactics, maybe it was her
confidence, maybe it was the slightest tinge of desperation in her voice, maybe it was too hot for
the security guard to be bothered.

But be that as it may, Jennie and Rosé found themselves being escorted by a manservant to the
private office of Mr Kim, up on the third floor.

"Mr and Mrs Kim have convened there to meet you together since this is quite an extraordinary
situation. Normally, when they've been alerted ahead of the appointment, they would have
welcomed you in the living room but unfortunately, it's in the middle of being cleaned. Most of the
staff have retired to their quarters for their afternoon break," the manservant said meaningfully.

Jennie could see the questions piling up on the tip of his tongue as his gaze roved over both of
them, making her almost hunch up under the scrutiny before she remembered to be confident. She
puffed out her chest and looked him squarely in the eye.

"Unfortunately, this emergency cropped up unexpectedly. And setting doesn't matter as long as we
get an audience."

They had been frisked and patted down thoroughly, like they had been going through airport
security, and they even had to step through a metal detector in the lobby. Their phones were taken
for safekeeping which had Rosé anxious but thankfully, she managed to go with the flow and didn't
kick up a fuss about it.

The guards themselves were cordial, if a little grumpy.

"Security, miss. Can't have you snooping around taking pictures and recording. We'll keep them in
this locker here and give them back to you when you leave," one of them had replied shortly when
Jennie had asked about their phones being taken; Jennie assumed he was the chief of security. He
was balding, built like a barrel and had a few whiskers.

Jennie expected to see more maids and servants scurrying around, but they were probably in
another wing of the house, to give the owners privacy.

The interior was just as lavishly decorated, which made Rosé stop and gawk at all the drapery and
portraits and rugs and chandeliers and furniture, but it was nothing that Jennie hadn't seen before—
she still remembered being bathed in luxurious excess, even if the exact details escaped her.

But she had only one thing on her mind and one thing only. Nothing was going to distract her from
her mission.

The manservant knocked on a wooden white door that was like any other white door they passed.

"Come in," said a man's voice from within.

Jennie and Rosé shared a glance before the manservant opened the door and ushered them inside,
closing it behind them.

Light filtered in from the wide windows that overlooked a tennis lawn, and beyond that, the
imposing woods loomed, with the trees growing so thick and close together that barely any light
filtered through to the bottom. It was late afternoon and the shadows were already long and dark.

The airy office had no portraits or photo frames but it contained a bulky desk, several cabinets and a
fireplace at the opposite end, with a sword in its scabbard that hung above the mantelpiece as an
ornamental decoration. Jennie knew little history but she assumed it to be a Joseon artefact—it
looked real enough.
Jennie turned to face the two people occupying the room beside them. They were seated at the far
end in front of the dead fireplace, on two sofas with a coffee table in front of them. Papers and
documents were strewn all over the surface in tidy piles.

Mr Kim looked up first. He had Jisoo's nose and the same colour of her eyes. He wore a white
open-button shirt. He was clean shaven and keen, scrutinising them. Jennie felt no warmth in his
gaze, so unlike Jisoo.

Net to him, Mrs Kim had a short puffy housewife bob and a scooped housewife dress, daintily
leafing through papers. She had as yet to lift her head and acknowledge her visitors, almost as if
she didn't notice their entrance. She wore a row of pearls around her creamy neck, instantly
reminding Jennie of her mother.

Focus, Jennie coached herself.

She swallowed and moved forward, extending her hand for a handshake and, eyeing Jisoo's father
warily as he stood up to meet her. Before Jennie opened her mouth to speak, Jisoo's mother lifted
her head.

Her gaze collided with Jennie's and she froze, her mouth falling open in a silent scream. She turned
pale and shot up to her feet, eyes wild.

"Seonhwa?" she said in a strangled voice. Papers fluttered from her hands to the ground like rain.

Jennie blinked, mystified. "Seonhwa is my mother. My name is Jennie," she said uncertainly,
stumped by the woman's reaction. The voice she had heard before— so much like Jisoo's yet
missing its warmth—but Jennie hadn't been prepared to face an almost identical, much older
version of her girlfriend.

"Jennie," Mrs Kim whispered as though in a trance. Her name sounded foreign and bitter in the
woman's mouth. Mr Kim now turned to his wife, concerned.

"Jagiya, are you alright?" he asked. He glared at Jennie. "Who are you? What's your business here
frightening my wife?"

"I—I didn't— why would I—how do you know my mother?" Jennie said urgently. Mrs Kim's
visceral reaction couldn't be ignored, not when she was staring at Jennie like she had seen a ghost.

"What's going on?" Rosé hissed.

"How impertinent of you to barge into my home and badger my wife!" Mr Kim said hotly, "I'll call
security on you, young lady!"

"No please! I...look, it's about Jisoo," Jennie gasped out, changing track quickly—questions about
her mother could wait, Jisoo was the priority. "She needs your help."

Mr Kim's groan and roll of the eyes surprised them both.

"What did that tiresome girl get up to now?" Mr Kim sighed. "Did she break something or cause
some harm to you two? I can pay, just don't sue, I don't need her name smearing the family."

Jennie blinked, her mouth falling open. "What?"

"Mr Kim, it's not like that at all. We came to ask for help," Rosé jumped in, recovering quickly.
"Jisoo's been kidnapped and we need—"
"I'm going to stop you right there," Mr Kim cut her off. "If this is some scheme you two and Jisoo
have concocted to get your grubby hands on money, tell her to show her shameless face here and
say it right to my face. I gave her a trust fund package with full benefits and she's still greedy for
more? The audacity."

"What?" Rosé blurted out. She sounded just as bewildered as Jennie felt. "Are you...are you
ignoring what I just said? Mr Kim, your daughter's been kidnapped!"

"Show me your proof then," he challenged. "Who did it? Where's the ransom note? How did it
happen?" He waved his hand dismissively. "Wait never mind, I don't have time for these games."

"It's not a game!" Jennie exploded. "The CEO of JYP Pharma, Park Jinyoung! The man you think
she was going to date, he did it!"

"I can back her up and confirm," Rosé said firmly.

"What nonsense. And why didn't you involve the police then? Why come to us?" Mr Kim asked.

"Because you're her parents?" Jennie said incredulously. "Because you deserve to know? Because
we need your help to get her back? Why aren't you rushing to at least confirm what I just said? Go
ahead, try calling her, you stupid son of a—"

Rosé's swift grip on her wrist wrenched Jennie out of her panic before she said something she
regretted.

"Easy. We still have to tell him the whole story," Rosé muttered in her ear. Jennie barely held back
a frustrated growl.

"Listen, Jennie, was it? You might mean well, but Jisoo doesn't have the strongest track record
with keeping in touch with reality. You shouldn't hang on to her every word, she'll only lead you
into trouble."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Jennie snarled, beyond caring what Jisoo's parents
thought of her. She had expected some level of hostility and scepticism, but the two people in front
of her were acting like Jisoo was some dog, or worse than a dog, and dismissing the whole affair as
merely tall tales.

"Let me tell you a little about my children," Mr Kim said. He paced in front of the window as he
spoke. "My eldest two, they're the family's pride and joy. Good kids who studied and got their
degrees, married and settled down and are doing their thing. Jisoo, however..."

He trailed off, shaking his head grimly. "Let's say she's the black sheep of the family. You can't
help it, every family's got their scapegoat. She was always stuck in her little world, coming up with
vivid stories and role playing all manners of scenarios. She would leap around and swing from the
curtains, shrieking at the top of her lungs to be like Tarzan. She talked about how the furniture
came alive at night like in Beauty and the Beast.

"She convinced my staff there were ghosts in the cellars and thanks to her, few wanted to go down
there. She was convinced the top of mount Surisan was going to blow up like a volcano and the
lava was going to swallow the house up. She almost burned herself trying to find out how much
lava would hurt, using matches."

He turned back to the girls. "You may think you know her but I'm her father. I'm used to her tall
stories and wild imagination. You can't believe everything she says or does. She might be playing
an elaborate game of hide and seek with you."
"But that's not—"

"It might seem callous but it was a relief to have her out of the house, she was too much. It was a
strain keeping up with her whilst also trying to maintain my reputation," Mr Kim droned on as he
gestured to the woods. "You see these woods? My staff used to enjoy a spot of some harmless fowl
hunting in there in summer. But Jisoo was upset by the dead birds. She loves animals, you see. She
also didn't like it when my staff would chop up some trees for firewood.

"So she came up with a story about how the woods are haunted and one can see the ghosts of their
dead lover at night. She even put on a white sheet and played the ghost sometimes! It scared off
the staff for good, that's how believable she can be. She even coined the name The Forest of Fear
and it has stuck with the locals. I had to fight off exorcists and cultists and tourists for a long time
to clear up the misunderstandings. She could be such a nuisance sometimes."

"You don't understand—"

"At school, she was an embarrassment, always in her head and always behind her peers. We had to
have her home tutored. We love and care about her very much, or else we would have just left her
to fend for herself, or disowned her entirely, but I'm not going to be entertaining any of her flights
of fancy. She's turning almost thirty soon. Tell her if she's trying to pull something, she'll find
herself shipped out to the nearest asylum. We've overlooked her odd behaviour long enough. Her
mother and I are in agreement on this."

Jennie was left simply speechless. Next to her, Rosé was similarly tongue-tied, her expression
bewildered.

Meanwhile, Mrs Kim had sunken back on to the sofa, still evidently shaken but the colour had
returned to her cheeks and her eyes weren't as wide as before.

"You're Jisoo's...friend, aren't you?" she ventured, addressing Jennie.

"Yes," Jennie managed to say, the underlying meaning behind Mrs Kim's question not lost on her.

Her mind was still spinning with Mr Kim's easy dismissal of their concern. Her heart ached even
more for the younger Jisoo who had such disinterested people for parents and she understood more
than ever why Jisoo related to her.

Mrs Kim's lips curled, her expression haughty. "Is this your idea of revenge? Barging in here and
ordering us around? Expecting us to jump the bandwagon? How arrogant, just like your mother."

"What?" Jennie said, on the verge of screaming.

Mrs Kim straightened in her seat and laid a hand on her husband's, pulling him close as she eyed
Jennie with shrewd eyes.

"Yeobo, this is Kim Seonhwa's daughter. You remember? That charlatan and her drunkard of a
husband?"

Jennie balled her fist, refusing to rise to the bait as Mr Kim's brows cleared. His gaze darted back to
Jennie, scrutinising her from head to toe as though seeing her in a new light.

"Heavens above," Mr Kim whispered, "how? I'm calling for security!"

"How what?" Jennie snapped. She boldly blocked Mr Kim from reaching the landline phone on the
desk. "Fine, you won't help us with Jisoo. Then tell me what's the deal with you and my parents.
You're hiding something, especially judging by your reaction to me, Mrs Kim."

"We don't owe you anything!" Mr Kim blustered. His whole demeanour had changed, from suave
and in control, to agitated and flustered. At Mrs Kim's touch, he deflated back to glaring at Jennie.

"Yes well, I wasn't expecting you, is all. It was...disarming. Particularly because we were told the
whole family died," Mrs Kim said coolly.

"And who told you that?" Jennie pressed. "My parents were nowhere important to have their deaths
given nationwide coverage from a foreign country. You must have had insiders that kept tabs on
us."

Their silence only confirmed her theory. Rosé stood mystified next to Jennie, but Jennie was
thinking very fast, assembling the puzzle in her head.

Who had known about her parents' demise?

The answer surfaced right away: Yang Hyun-suk. He all but admitted he had been the one behind
the bombing that night at Rkive. He had to be the one to keep the Kims informed.

But why?

Her brows suddenly shot up and she gritted her teeth as a terrible thought occurred to her.

"He was working for you," Jennie said slowly, startling them all. Her eyes narrowed when both
Kims looked away. "You commissioned him to blow up my family, didn't you?"

Mrs Kim blanched and bowed her head, clutching at her hair in distress. Mr Kim jumped to his feet
again, fuming with righteous fury.

"How dare you accuse us of such a horrible thing! Get out!"

"Go ahead then, deny it!" Jennie challenged. She turned to Mrs Kim. "Say it. Say you didn't do it.
Say it to my face, you pathetic worm."

"We...we didn't," Mrs Kim whispered, looking everywhere but at Jennie.

"Liar!" Jennie spat. "You reek of guilt, both of you."

"We didn't do it!" Mrs Kim burst out furiously. "We only asked him to collect our dues! Do you
know how much they borrowed from us, Jennie? Do you? No, of course you had no idea. You
were just a child, a princess living in her pretty castle. They took loans from us, and they took loans
from our people—"

"Your people—the loan sharks worked for you?" Jennie spluttered. But Mrs Kim barged on, all the
secrets floating to the surface as the dam broke.

"We wanted our money back when your father declared bankruptcy, we're not a charity. Your
parents hoodwinked us."

"I was eight," Jennie shouted, struggling against Rosé's grasp, who had moved to hold her back
from launching herself at the Kims. "People were coming after us with fucking guns. You sent
people to hunt us down. We barely escaped them. And I lost my parents because they were fucking
blown up with a fucking car bomb, you sick bastards! I was all alone because of you!"

"It was never meant to be that way!" Mrs Kim screamed back. "We only asked Yang to intimidate
your family to give us back what we're owed, but your father ran away with you all. Is it a crime to
get back our money? We just didn't know Yang would get carried away!"

"Carried away?" Jennie repeated with a hysterical laugh. "He was a crime boss! Don't insult my
intelligence!"

"We didn't think—"

"Liar!" Jennie screamed dementedly. "Fucking liars!"

"Jen," Rosé gasped, struggling to hold Jennie, "hang on. For Jisoo."

Jisoo.

Jennie's knees gave way beneath her, bringing Rosé down with her, and she wept.

All the questions she had pondered over the years, all the anger and resentment that built up
towards her parents' mysterious killers, all the fantasies she harboured in case she ever met the true
killer, it all exploded in outrage at finally learning the answer.

But the answer simultaneously broke her: Jisoo's parents were the perpetrators behind it all.

Jennie almost laughed out loud in hysterics. How did one reconcile two polar dilemmas?

On the one hand were the Kims, the powerful and scorned business tycoons who were only
concerned with salvaging their dignity at whatever cost. Jennie wanted to hurt them with the most
gruesome form of torture, if only it would make them understand just a fraction of the suffering she
had endured upon her parents' demise.

But on the other hand was Jisoo, their daughter, the charming lovable goofball who made Jennie
want to live again, truly live; Jisoo, who was in mortal danger because of her.

The fight went out of Jennie like wind out of a sail, shoulders heaving as she fought back a wave of
misery.

Life had a way of playing such cruel jokes on her but she couldn't do anything: she wasn't here to
seek petty revenge or retribution.

She was here to plead for help from her parents' murderers for her terrible inability to keep the girl
she loved safe.

"I won't pretend that my mother and father were saints," Jennie rasped at last, unable to keep the
question she had long wondered about bottled inside, "but what you two did...how could you? How
could you? I was a child."

"A mistake," Mrs Kim said quietly and Jennie almost lunged for her throat.

"Mistake?" she whispered instead, deathly quiet.

"We should have known Yang was a bloodthirsty trigger-happy blackguard who thrilled in the kill.
We thought he had left your family alone after you fled Korea, but he hadn't. We didn't know better
because we didn't contact him again with further instructions. He had been bidding his time."

"You must have promised him a tidy sum for his trouble," Jennie said.

"He was offered a very handsome package and our mistake was to not retract it the moment we
found out you were no longer in Korea. Yang was greedy, and he wouldn't pass up on such an
opportunity. But you, you have the luck of the devil on your side, Jennie. You survived, and you
befriended my daughter, and now fate has brought you back here because you're claiming my
daughter is endangered. It feels like a full circle moment."

"Big whoop for me," Jennie said bitterly.

"I hated your mother's guts, Jennie," Mrs Kim said. The hint of remorse in her voice had Jennie bite
back on her curses and listen.

Jisoo had taught her well and for once, Jennie wished she could erase her girlfriend's influence, if
only to be able to reach out and strangle the pathetic woman in front of her instead of listening to
her confession.

"I hated that she was charming and could have the room's attention at the drop of a hat," Mrs Kim
said. "Everyone was her friend. I hate how she duped us. I hate how I once considered her one of
my dearest friends before all her duplicity came to light. But I never once considered murder as an
appropriate retribution for all the harm she wrought. I'm truly sorry for your loss, Jennie."

"Are you asking for my forgiveness? Forget it!" Jennie growled. "Because of you, my life has been
hell. Burn in hell for all I care!"

Mrs Kim ignored her cursing. "If I could take it all back I would. I never intended to have you
carry the burden, Jennie. You were just an innocent child, around my Soo-ya's age. They brought
you to parties sometimes but you were always shy and keeping to yourself." Mrs Kim's mouth
quirked up in a faint smile. "You look just like your mother, right down to the cheeks. She was a
beautiful woman. Do you have pictures of her?"

"Fuck off," Jennie seethed as Rosé gripped her like a dog from the scruff of her shirt.

"I know it means nothing, but for what's it worth, I'm sorry," Mrs Kim finished soberly.

Her eyes were glossy with unshed tears but Jennie wasn't impressed. She wiped her face and
climbed to her feet, not bothering to conceal the disdain on her face as she looked down at Mrs
Kim.

"Save your tears for Jisoo," she said shortly. "She's the one who needs our help right now. And if
you have even a nugget of regret in you, then listen to me and help me. Do this for Jisoo, if you
love her as much as you claim to do."

"We're running out of time," Rosé added, nodding towards the windows where the dying afternoon
light was already casting the office in shadows. "The circumstances are complicated and delicate
but we'll explain as much as we know, if you'll just agree to help."

Mr Kim clapped his hands and soft ambient light illuminated the room. But Jennie didn't care
about light shows; she watched as Mrs Kim pondered, holding her steadfast gaze.

"Will you help us or not?" Jennie said flatly. "All cards are on the table now. You know who I am;
I know who you are. The reason you're not dead right now is because of Jisoo. You may have
killed my parents, and believe me the idea of revenge is tempting but that's the past. I won't hurt
Jisoo just because you hurt me. All I ask, if you want to make up for your mistakes, is to help us."

More silence stretched out after Jennie's statement but finally Mrs Kim stirred and edged forward
in her seat.
"Fine. Let's listen to your story," Mrs Kim said at last. Jennie's heart gave a kick in her chest at the
welcome news, relief rushing in to fill the dank hole of despair that had been opened up.

Mr Kim shifted closer to his wife and held her hand. "Jagiya," he said softly, just like Jisoo called
her. The reminder alone nearly had Jennie's knees buckle again.

How long had it been since she heard Jisoo call her by that endearment? Would she ever get to
hear her say that again? The ache in her chest had been a dull constant presence ever since she
woke up without Jisoo that fateful night in her apartment.

Mrs Kim didn't show any reaction to her husband, her face steely, but she didn't push his hand
away, holding on to it as though drawing strength.

Jennie's heart hurt worse at the subtle display of affection and trust. Her parents could have had
that, if they lived. She could have had a family. She could have been living a normal life, away
from all the chaos and madness.

But then, she wouldn't have met Jisoo.

"Give them a quick rundown," Jennie said to Rosé, suddenly overcome by tiredness. "I need a
moment to regroup."

Rosé squeezed her hand understandingly then after introducing herself as Jisoo's neighbour and
friend to both Jisoo and Jennie, she launched into a brief rehashing of events.

She didn't bring in Lisa or herself—they had discussed what to leave out of the explanation if the
Kims needed further convincing.

The story Jennie had settled on was that for reasons unknown, Jinyoung had gotten friendly with
Jisoo even though she explicitly told him she was gay, and they had that notorious dinner date at
Rkive which blew up on the media. Then, almost a week ago, Jinyoung barged into Jisoo's
apartment and snatched Jisoo, threatening to hurt her if Jennie retaliated.

"He sent me taunting texts, but they're programmed to self-delete after a few seconds, I would
show you, but they go too fast even to screenshot," Jennie put in. "And I didn't go to the police
because one, I believe Jinyoung has influence there and two...I'm in a sticky situation that is
unimportant but, the more I stay under the radar, the better."

She forged on when the Kims shared a glance. "I know you're wary of trusting me given my
family background but I swear, I'm only here for Jisoo," she choked out. "I've been trying to get her
back without escalating the situation. I'm terrified of what Jinyoung could do to her. But stuff
happened and I was hindered. I only thought of contacting you today. Please, don't do it for me, do
it for your daughter. You can check and confirm if my story is true all you like, but hurry."

Jennie realised she was shaking when Rosé's hand landed on her shoulder, squeezing reassuringly.

The Kims shared another glance but this time there was new understanding in their expressions.

"Do you...care about Jisoo?" Mrs Kim asked carefully, more direct than her question earlier.

"More than I care about myself. I love her," Jennie said immediately, knowing she was probably
digging her grave but she didn't care. For once, she spoke her truth and bared her heart. She
allowed herself the faintest of smiles, fighting the tears that threatened to escape.

"I haven't gotten to tell her yet. I want to find her and tell her right away. She's incredible. I love
your daughter, Mrs Kim, no matter what you think or say, no matter that you have done me great
wrong in the past. I love Jisoo so much and if...if losing my parents meant I gained her, then it was
worth it. I'd go through it all over again, if it meant at the end of the day I got to love her."

Mrs Kim's eyes widened and Mr Kim looked just as astonished before he pulled himself together.
With a glance at his wife who gave one firm nod, he cleared his throat to speak.

"Hmph. Well, that girl must have done something right to have you so devoted to her. Despite who
you are and above all you're...female with no auspicious prospects...I believe you," he offered
grudgingly. "Let's work on getting Jisoo back together."

Jennie blinked. "Really?" she said in disbelief as Mrs Kim nodded again.

"Yes." Mr Kim pulled out a square device and spoke into it. "Requesting Jang-ho and Jong-hoon to
report to the office right away, I need them to confirm something for me. And call my lawyers, it's
all hands on deck. We need to assemble the team."

Jennie stopped short of throwing her arms around his middle and planting a big kiss on his cheek.
Instead, she turned to share her relief with Rosé, who grabbed both her hands in jubilation and
squealed.

"Jen!"

Jennie allowed herself an exhausted smile. They had done it. They were going to save Jisoo. And
maybe if Jennie could push her luck, the Kims would work on helping them find Lisa.

Mr Kim pocketed the small black square. "The tech security team will be with us shortly, they will
get started on the search and will probably have some questions for you. Are you in any hurry to
leave? We haven't even offered you some refreshments," he said cordially enough.

"It's okay. We were told the staff were resting. And well, we do need to get back home. We've
imposed long enough."

"Jen, we should stay to help with questions," Rosé said.

"True. In that case, I'll stay. But you should go, you have Ella. And you need to wake up early
tomorrow and move as well," Jennie reminded her.

"We can give you a lift back home. I'll have my driver take you, it won't be any problem," Mr Kim
piped up. He scratched the back of his neck. "Consider it...an apology for not listening to you
properly earlier, and for...your parents," he mumbled, clearly unused to offering apologies. It was
amusing to see him out of his depth.

Jennie nodded at both Kims. "Thank you. It would mean a lot," she said through gritted teeth,
stopping short of tacking on a slur at the end. Being indebted to the Kims had her stomach churn
but she pushed the discomfort aside—this was about Jisoo and her parents, not Jennie.

"Yes, thank you," Rosé said, nodding fervently. Jennie found her hand and Rosé clasped it, her
smile the most genuine Jennie had seen recently.

If only Jisoo could see her now. Would she be proud? Would she be thrilled to know her parents
cared after all? That they had accepted their relationship, or at least declared an unofficial truce?

"What's taking those two so long?" Mr Kim wondered, glancing at the door.
Jennie thought the relief was going to buoy her up to the ceiling like a helium balloon and nothing
was going to bring her down. Even with Mr Kim's muttering and Mrs Kim still observing Jennie
like a zoo exhibit, she was too overwhelmed with newfound optimism to care for anything else.

Only, as she had told Rosé earlier, she never learned when it came to hope.

The door burst open, startling them all and making them whirl around. Two men stood in the
doorway.

The first thing Jennie noticed was that they were wearing ski masks, only eyes and mouths visible.

The second thing she noticed was that they had guns.

"What the blazes—" Mr Kim began.

Jennie didn't think—she moved. She threw herself at Rosé, flinging them to the floor as gunshots
erupted around them.

Rosé screamed, someone else was screaming but Jennie held tight on to Rosé, covering her body
and at the same time dragging them behind the couches in the midst of the chaos. The fast and
furious pops had her heart thundering out of her chest as she lay flat on Rosé, trying to hard to see
what was going on beyond their hiding place from underneath the sliver of space beneath the
couches.

All she could make out were the gunmen's shoes. Rosé trembled beneath her, stifling her cries with
her knuckles rammed in her mouth. Jennie's mind was in turmoil as it scrambled to grasp the
violent turn of events.

Were they next after the Kims? Could they get out? Who were the shooters?

Jinyoung, Jennie thought numbly, it has to be Jinyoung's men.

Her thoughts ground to a halt when Mrs Kim's body thumped to the ground lifeless a short distance
away across the spotless white floor, now smeared with blood. Rosé screamed soundlessly.

"No," Jennie whispered.

Mrs Kim's eyes were wide open and glassy. She was beyond saving as a pool of blood seeped out
from underneath her head. Jennie's heart lurched when she noticed Mr Kim's body lying nearby,
riddled with red patches. His chest was too still.

Her fault. It was all her fault.

Unbidden, Dahyun's dead face loomed up in front of Jennie, always with the same expression,
caught in between disbelief and shock, always asking why why why—

Jisoo, what have I done? Jennie thought numbly.

She was wrenched back to reality at the sound of slow deliberate footsteps approaching their hiding
place. One look into Rosé's terrified eyes and Jennie knew she had to fight back.

Jinyoung wasn't going to win. Not today. Not when she had been so close.

"Stay put," Jennie whispered abruptly as she wrested one shoe off her foot. Before Rosé had any
chance to react, Jennie had lobbed the shoe over the couch and followed it with a battle cry as she
leapt for the Jays.
They fired blindly but Jennie had banked on the shoe confusing them. Miraculously, it bought her
just a sliver of time to be able to lunge for the nearest gunman and wrestle with him for the gun.

They slipped and slid in the puddle of Mrs Kim's blood, with Jennie fighting not to gag at the wet
stickiness sticking to her bare sole. Her brain was in overdrive, her body moving before her
thoughts even crystallised. It was a frenzy of grunts and curses with the room spinning as she they
lurched and fought for control.

"You fucking murderers! Help, someone HELP!" Jennie screeched at the top of her lungs, kicking
out.

Where was everyone? Had the Jays killed them all?

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the other Jay recover from the momentary confusion and
raise the gun, trying to find an opening where he could shoot Jennie without injuring his buddy.

But she had been ready.

Grunting with effort, and still battling for control of the gun, she managed to turn them around and
pull the Jay she was fighting in front of her.

And not a moment too soon: he shuddered from the force of the bullets slamming into his back,
slumping against her with his jaw slack as his grip on the gun weakened. His weight made her
buckle and the scent of blood in the room intensified.

"Dong-hyun!" shouted the other Jay in shock, speaking for the first time. "You bitch!"

Jennie grimly snatched the dead Jay's gun and dropped his lifeless body to the ground then lunged
for the couch, firing in quick succession to scare the remaining Jay. The powerful recoil threw off
her aim as he ducked out of range behind the desk. Jennie's bullets hit glass, spidery cracks
spreading throughout.

She fell back behind the couch as he returned the favour with a volley of gunshots. Rosé was
sitting there waiting, eyes wide with terror but unharmed.

"How are we going to get out?"she said shakily. Jennie longed to reassure her and provide a good
answer but in truth, their choices looked bleak.

Moving out into the open and risking a run for the door was out of question. She didn't know how
to check how many bullets she had left and gritted her teeth when the Jay fired some more,
goading her to shoot back. She didn't return the fire, much as she itched to blow his head off his
neck.

The image of Mrs Kim lying dead before her, wearing Jisoo's face, was forever branded in her
brain. It could be Jisoo lying in that same exact position and she would never have gotten to say 'I
love you, I'm so sorry, I love you'.

The stench of blood coupled with nausea threatened to overwhelm her senses but Jennie pushed it
all back through sheer will, reining in her wits to think of a way out.

"It's going to be okay," she told Rosé, wiping the sheen of sweat from her face. "You just focus on
staying alive and getting out and get help, alright? I'll handle the Jay."

"Don't you dare try to sacrifice yourself—"

Jennie hushed her then strained her ears in disbelief, risking a peep around the couch to confirm: in
the brief lull of the gunfight, the remaining Jay had heaved his dead companion on to his back with
a grunt and turned on his heels, about to flee the scene.

"Oh no you don't! Come back here you coward!" Jennie yelled, surging from her hiding place
without thinking and firing dementedly. The bullets hit the door as he swung it shut behind them.
Jennie heard him jogging down the hallway, his pattering footsteps growing fainter.

"Rosé let's go!"

"What if it's a trap?"

"You want to stay here until people show up and ask us what happened?" Jennie demanded,
retrieving her shoe. Bloody footprints on the floor had her wince, as did the gun she was holding.

She just hoped that security camera had footage of what had gone down because being implicated
of murder was the last thing she needed to make the situation worse.

Rosé cast about her helplessly, gesturing at the bodies of the Kims. "But...we can't just leave
them?"

"They're dead, Rosé," Jennie choked out as she stuffed her bloody foot in her shoe. "They're
beyond our help. We are the ones needing help. We need to go, now, before someone raises the
alarm and cops come in here and then we'll really be in trouble." She grabbed Rosé's hand. "And
also, I don't think Jinyoung is done."

Rosé didn't argue further—she followed in Jennie's wake as they peered cautiously out the door.
The hallway was deserted and so was the rest of the house as they raced back the way they came.
Drops of blood made a path, showing them the route the Jay had taken.

Everything was deathly still and silent and wrong.

"They can't have killed everyone, right?" Rosé whispered.

"The Jays are good at their job but two against a whole crowd of staff is unlikely. That's a lot of
cleanup. Maybe the staff are hiding. Maybe some alarm went off and they're saving their skins."

"How did the Jays even get in with guns?"

"Maybe they took them from the security guards." Jennie instantly regretted voicing out her
thought because that meant that something happened to the guards.

They still saw no sign of life when they reached the lobby area where security had checked them
out. They slipped behind the security reception counter and Jennie busied herself with the locker
housing their phones while Rosé kept lookout. Jennie shot the lock several times until the door
swung open. To her relief, their phones were still intact inside.

"I hope they'll be understanding if there's CCTV footage of this," Jennie muttered, "cos' this won't
look good."

"Jennie!"

At Rosé's cry, Jennie fell to the floor on instinct, hiding behind the counter as bullets pinged into
the wall. Jennie turned to Rosé in askance, who also had dropped to the ground, breathless. Her
eyes were wide with fear.
"It's him! The Jay, he's come back, I saw him! He's standing in the lobby, he popped out of
nowhere!"

At her words, anger surged in Jennie. She was tired of being the mouse in this game where
Jinyoung always seemed to hold all the power, playing with them according to his whims.

"Oi, you bastard!" Jennie shouted. "Tell Jinyoung to leave us the fuck alone! I still have two days
left to get him Lisa!"

"I do what the boss tells me. He wants you out of the picture."

"That snake," Rosé hissed.

Jennie feared as much. Buying herself time had only been a momentary reprieve to give her a
breather. What had she been expecting from someone as ruthless as Jinyoung? It was a wonder he
hadn't gone back on his word and hunted her down the night she signed the contract.

But then Jennie had a brainwave: if Jinyoung wanted to kill her now, did that mean he had found
Lisa?

It was like a bucket of ice dropped on Jennie and even Rosé noticed her stiffen.

"Jen, what—"

Jennie held up a finger and strained to hear, gun at hand in case the Jay tried to sneak up on them
but he was strangely silent, as though waiting for something.

"What did you do to the staff, you sicko?" Jennie called, trying to sniff out information. "Murdering
everyone doesn't seem very efficient."

"Gassed them," he said nonchalantly. "Since you're about to die, might as well tell you: we shut off
security footage and corralled the security into the staff wing and then gassed the whole place with
the vents. Same way we gassed your girl's condo the night we took her. I hope they're having
pleasant dreams."

"All this to get me and Rosé?" Jennie said, motioning at Rosé to keep quiet. "Sounds like your boss
is desperate."

"Desperate? Oh no, he's just cleaning up," smirked the Jay. "He won't be happy you killed my
buddy by the way, bitch. But that's okay, the bomb will take care of things."

"The what?" Rosé burst out as Jennie furiously shushed her.

"Oh yeah, my buddy and I planted a bomb here somewhere," the Jay said lazily, as though
commenting on the weather. "Good luck trying to find it before it blows you all up."

"Why the hell are you doing this?" Jennie gritted out.

"Because I get paid."

"Alright fucker: why the hell is Jinyoung doing all this? These are innocent people."

"Should have thought about it before you came here and doomed them, then," said the Jay,
maddeningly casual. "JaY-W and I had to wheel in the explosive on a trolley, that's how massive it
is. Shame this place is going to blow, really. But Jinyoung did warn you not to seek out help. He
doesn't like it when people don't listen."
"Oh no you're not pinning this on me, buster—"

"He's stalling until the bomb goes off," Rosé whispered urgently.

"Well we still can't get out, he'll shoot us," Jennie hissed back. She raised an eyebrow when she
saw Rosé take her phone out of her pocket. "Rosé..."

"Keep him talking," Rosé said as she dialled, "I'm going to call the police. A bomb tip."

"It will blow by then!"

"I have a hunch that it won't blow until he's far away and safe, unless he's majorly bluffing," Rosé
said. "There could still be some time. What else can we do right now?"

Jennie swallowed but reluctantly obeyed, pointing the gun overhead and shooting a few rounds to
get the Jay's attention. The returning volley of bullets reassured her that he was still around.

"Where's your buddy anyway? You gonna let him blow up with us?"

"He's dead, no thanks to you, bitch," came the scathing reply, "but don't worry about him. I'd
sooner worry about your slut."

Jennie's heart stopped. "What did you say?"

Across from her Rosé shook her head vehemently as she pressed a hand on top of a seething
Jennie's.

"There's no signal," she said tersely.

But Jennie wasn't concerned about the police coming to save them—her mind was churning the
Jay's words over and over.

"I had been watching your girlfriend for a long time," the Jay taunted. "She's so beautiful. All those
long days in the car, just having wank after wank to pass the time. It helped to use her picture with
those sinful heart lips and her smooth skin. You've got taste, I'll give you that. I should thank you
for loaning her to us, the boys and I finally got a taste of that sweet, sweet cunt thanks to you. It
tasted just like...mmm..."

"You did fucking what?" Jennie thundered.

But the Jay wasn't finished with his sickening monologue. "We turned her into our little cumslut. I
hope you don't mind. It was fun whoring her out with the boys, she made the perfect cumdump, I
could show you pictures of her all tied up and leaking. Do you know she pissed herself at one point
when I was fucking her butt? That was a laugh. And the way she kept drooling on our dicks! A
fucking wet dream. "

Jennie's heart slammed in her rib cage, a strange red mist descending across her vision. Rosé was
mouthing something, moving her hands frantically but she couldn't hear anything beside the Jay,
couldn't see anything beside the nauseating images her horrified mind conjured to torment her
further.

No more. Please. No more—

"Best fuck I ever had, especially when she was screaming and crying as we pounded her. And don't
get me started on the begging." The terrible smirk in his voice had bile rising in her throat. "Such
exquisite sounds, it made me cum so fucking hard inside her tight wet little cunt—"

"Jennie no!" Rosé cried.

But Jennie snapped— she jumped to her feet with a yell, blindly shooting as she screamed blue
murder.

The Jay returned the fire from around the corner but luck was on Jennie's side—he cried out as his
hand was hit, dropping his gun.

Jennie was immediately running and firing even as the Jay dived for the gun. Another bullet hit
him in the shoulder, throwing him off course. He went down with a pained cry just as her gun
clicked—empty.

"You fucker!" Jennie screamed as she descended upon him like vultures ready to tear a corpse to
pieces.

Jennie threw her gun aside, grabbed the Jay from his shirt and let loose with the punches,
screaming and screaming and screaming.

White hot anger coursed through her entire body, lending her the brute force to hit the Jay over and
over until his face was bloody, his nose and front teeth most likely broken. He had lost the ski
mask and Jennie recognised him to be the slimy man in the car that she had spoken with outside
Jisoo's condo.

"Die you fucking piece of—"

Rosé grabbed her from underneath her arms, pulling her up even as Jennie kicked and thrashed and
wailed.

"He hurt Jisoo you fucking pig, you're gonna die, you're gonna—"

She choked out as Rosé dropped her a few feet back from where the Jay lay spreadeagled, on the
brink of unconsciousness. Blood smeared the carpet as it bubbled and gurgled from his mouth and
nose. Jennie heaved and sobbed, banging her fist against the floor.

My fault, my fault, the mantra rang like a death knell in her head. My fault.

"Where's the bomb?" Rosé said urgently, walking past Jennie and leaning over the Jay. Her voice
was grim. "Where's Jisoo now?"

He gave a rattling laugh, stiffening when Rosé pointed his bloody gun in his face.

"I've killed Yang," Rosé said flatly, "and frankly, you're scum for hurting unnie. I could just blow
your brains out and finish the job. But you can tell us stuff and you'll live."

"Like hell he is!" Jennie burst out, scrambling to get her gun, shaking with renewed fury as she
pushed the muzzle up in his face. "Say it you fucking pig, say it! Where's Jisoo?"

His throat bobbed as he swallowed, a thin black band around his neck shifting with the movement.
"What's the time?"

"7:35," Rosé said immediately at a glance of his wristwatch. He closed his eyes.

"Bomb goes off at 7:45."

"He's bluffing!" Jennie said, gnashing her teeth and pointing the gun right in his eyeball as Rosé
clamoured with her not to shoot him. "Tell me where's Jisoo you sick fuck! Say it before I blow
your brains out! Say it!"

"Okay okay okay," he said weakly, avoiding her gun. "Just back up a little."

"I'm not backing up the fuck anywhere—"

"Give him some space," Rosé muttered, pushing Jennie back firmly until she was sitting. "Now,
where's Jisoo?"

"She—" he went into a bout of coughing, turning his head to his shoulder as his coughs died down.
But when he turned back to face them, the Jay smiled to show them the shiny white capsule
trapped between his teeth.

"Cyanide!" Rosé shouted and lunged for him as he swallowed. "No! Don't let it go down!"

Jennie leapt to help, squeezing the man's throat as Rosé tussled with his jaw, blood and spit and
froth bubbling out of his mouth as he writhed and convulsed. Within seconds, he wasn't moving
anymore. Jennie slumped back in defeat while Rosé checked his pulse, her mouth drawn in a thin
line when she shook her head.

"Give him space, huh?" Jennie said bitterly. She spat on the corpse and kicked it for good measure
then threw her empty gun aside. "That's one more lead gone. Fuck, can I get a fucking break for
once?" she inquired of the ceiling.

"The suicide pill. I should have known he'd go for that rather than confessing secrets. I had those
sort of things," Rosé said soberly. "I'm sorry Jen."

"Yeah well at least he's dead. Let's bounce before the bomb goes off. What time is it?"

"7:40," Rosé said, checking her phone. "I don't get why there's no signal."

"Maybe the Jays knocked out the power or some shit." Jennie said, busy securing her hair in a
tighter bun. "Let's go."

"But what about the rest of the staff? We have...we have to help them!" Rosé said.

Jennie pinched the bridge of her nose. "Are you crazy? What are you, some dumb hero from those
dumb comics? Forget them, Rosé! We don't have time! Let's go, now!"

"Hold it right there terrorists!" shouted a new voice. "Get them!"

Jennie and Rosé took one look at the horde of angry security guards stampeding towards them and
fled.
 The Forest of Fear
Chapter Notes

previously: chaennie went to Jisoo's parents to ask for their help, secrets about jennie's
past were revealed, Jays attacked and killed the Kims, chaennie are on the run.

TRIGGER WARNING (messed up stuff happens in here, proceed with caution)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

[cont. from prev. chapter]

Irene came up behind Seulgi at the doorway to the living room, heart clenching when she saw Ella
staring resolutely at the phone in her lap, as though willing it to ring. The cartoons playing on TV
were long forgotten as the shadows in the room stretched longer.

"How long has she been sitting like that? I feel so useless," Irene whispered.

"It's okay Hyun. I do too. Sometimes, there's not much we can do," Seulgi comforted and patted
her girlfriend's hand on her waist. So saying, she joined Ella on the couch. Irene was endeared to
notice how Ella immediately leaned on her teacher's chest, glad that the girl had an adult that she
was open with.

"Sorry I was gone awhile. What did I miss? Did Shin-chan twerk again?" Seulgi asked lightly.

Ella shrugged.

"Did Mommy call again?"

Ella shook her head. "Not since they arrived at the station."

"I'm sure she'll call soon. Wanna play a game? Or more cartoons? Or, if you won't tell Hyun, we
can sneak some candy. I know where she's keeping her secret stash."

"Ms Kang?"

"I told you, call me Seulgi or unnie out of school," Seulgi chuckled.

"Ok. Unnie?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you call Irene unnie Hyun?"

Irene was charmed by the question, happy to hear that Ella had confidence with her teacher. She
leaned in to hear the answer, curious.

"Oh it's her Korean name, Joohyun. It's my thing for her. Like you call your friends nicknames, I
call her Hyun. It makes me feel closer to her," Seulgi answered easily.

"Mm. Unnie?"
"Yeah?"

Ella fidgeted. "Is Lisa a bad person?"

Irene held her breath, taken aback by the abrupt switch. Even Seulgi took a moment to reply.

"No, I don't think so. Lisa helped me, she's my friend. She was there for me when I needed her,
even though I wasn't always nice to her before we got to be friends," Seulgi said. She looked
closely at the girl sitting next to her. "Do you think Lisa is a bad person?"

"I...I don't know. She didn't hurt Mom, she kissed her and hugged her lots and she was always
really nice to me. But Jennie unnie was talking about all the bad things she did before..."

"You're still very young El," Seulgi said softly. "Most other kids your age don't have to deal with
this kind of stuff until they're much much older. It's okay if you don't understand everything that's
going on. But for what's it worth, I've seen bad people. Heck, I wasn't very nice to Hyun before,
either."

"But you didn't...kill people?" Ella frowned.

"No. No I didn't," Seulgi conceded uneasily.

"But Lisa did," Ella whispered. Irene's heart gave a pang at the uncertainty in Ella's voice.

"That's true," Seulgi sighed, "it's a bit of an impossible situation. But I think Lisa was in a bad
situation. She didn't mean to hurt people and she was ashamed of what she did. That's a big
difference from bad people. Bad people don't care. I don't think Lisa is one of them."

"So...so she's not a bad guy?"

"Absolutely not."

"Then why did she run away? Mom would still be here if she didn't!"

Irene's stomach dropped. Seulgi looked similarly stricken.

"Ella—"

Ella suddenly chucked the phone aside and crossed her arms, hunched over herself. "Mom is
always leaving," she said, upset. "The bad guys will get her and kill her, all because of Lisa!"

"Oh sweetie. Come here."

Seulgi held out her arms but made no move to force Ella in a hug. Ella resisted for a few seconds
before she melted against Seulgi's front and Seulgi hugged her tightly, rocking them back and
forth. Irene heard the quiet little sobs from Ella and thought her heart was going to shatter. She
didn't know how Seulgi was able to stay strong.

"I want Mommy back," Ella wept. "I don't want her to die. I miss her. I..." she swallowed in
between hiccups, "if Mom keeps going away because of Lisa, then Lisa can't come back."

"Do you really mean that?" Seulgi said softly.

"Yes!"

Seulgi didn't push her, but she didn't have to—Ella caved in of her own accord after a few
moments.

"I'm tired of being good," Ella said miserably. "Even when I'm good, Mommy still goes away, so
what's the point? I try to be good so Mommy doesn't have to worry about me when she's in danger.
But it doesn't work, the bad guys still get us."

"Oh El," Seulgi said sadly.

"I want Lisa and Mommy back safe together," Ella said. "But Jennie unnie says Lisa is dangerous
so—so she can't come back, right?"

Seulgi sighed. "It's more complicated than that."

"That's what grown-ups always say," Ella said belligerently. "Why does it have to be
complicated?"

"I ask that myself all the time. It's just...we think a problem is a square, right? But suddenly, it
turns into a cube out of nowhere—there's sides to that problem that we never thought about before,
but it doesn't mean they're not equally important. Do you get what I'm saying? Life is complicated
like 3D shapes, not flat and simple like 2D shapes."

"So...Lisa hurting people and running away is a cube problem?" Ella said slowly.

"Exactly," Seulgi said, "which means we have a harder job trying to deal with all of it. Your
mother and Jennie are doing it all alone and they're fighting a big bad guy just to get Jisoo and Lisa
back. It sucks that you and me are the ones having to wait, but as long as we're safe, that's how we
do our job to help them. It counts, I promise you."

Ella sniffed. "I wish problems were all square."

"Tell me about it," Seulgi sighed, stroking Ella's head. "But, let me tell you what I think, as a
grown-up and as your unnie: I think your mother loves you a lot and she would never put you in
danger if she can help it. I think if she thought Lisa would hurt you, she wouldn't try to bring her
back. That's one part of the cube answered."

"I guess..."Ella said, unconvinced.

"Rosé will be back. And soon, we'll get Lisa back too," Seulgi said firmly. "Your mother promised
you would all go to the beach when this is all over, didn't she?"

"She broke promises before."

Seulgi squeezed her before making the girl sit up. She held Ella from the shoulders and looked her
in the eyes.

"I know it's unfair and really hard, and it feels like the bad guys are winning right now. That's how
it goes. I hate that we have to be the ones brave enough to fight and save our friends too, instead of
actual superheroes," Seulgi said softly.

She wiped Ella's tears with her thumb, her voice tender. "But if there's one thing I know, it's that
your mother has been able to get through everything because she has you."

"Me?"

"Yes. She loves you so much, anyone with eyes can see that. She goes ape shi—mama bear for
you. She'd do anything for you."

"Then why doesn't she stay?" Ella said morosely.

"Because she loves Jisoo and Lisa too, they're important people to her. Are the friends you hang
out with during recess important to you? Wouldn't you want to help them if you see them getting
bullied?"

Ella's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, of course. Of course I'd help...they're my friends."

"Your mother and Jennie are fighting to make sure nobody is ever hurt again," Seulgi said softly.
"They're fighting the bullies to get Lisa and Jisoo back, without any help at all. It's hard, and I don't
want to lie to you, it can be scary. But you know what?"

"What?"

"I think your mom is cooler than a superhero," Seulgi smiled, "because she's brave and fights even
though she has no superpowers to help her. She's every bit a superhero as the ones on TV."

"She's Super Gay. Jennie unnie too," Ella nodded.

"There we go."

"They're badass."

"Okay let's tone it down now," Seulgi chuckled before she turned serious again. "She'll be back,
you'll see. Meanwhile, you wouldn't mind hanging out with your old boring teacher, would you?"

Ella giggled despite her tear-streaked face. "You're not that old, unnie."

"Well, my bones do be creaking and cracking like a grandma's when I stand up, I'm sure you've
heard."

Ella buried her face in Seulgi's shoulder, her sniffling ebbing away as Seulgi hugged her and
rubbed her back. Irene exhaled and stepped away, glancing at the time on her phone.

She hoped that Seulgi was right. Jennie and Rosé's total radio silence was starting to worry her.

>

"Did we lose them?" Jennie panted, bent over her knees. Sweat rolled down her temple.

"I think so," Rosé gasped, holding the stitch in her side.

They had made it out of the confusing maze of corridors to the tennis lawn without being caught,
losing their pursuers rather easily since the guards appeared to be still groggy and unsteady from
the gas they inhaled.

Before them stood the wire fence surrounding the property, separating them from the looming
darkening woods, beckoning them. Shouts from inside the house had Jennie quickly come to a
decision.

"Throw the gun."

Rosé obeyed and to their relief, nothing happened when it hit the wire mesh—it wasn't primed to
electrocute them. As though of one mind they scaled the fence, scrabbling clumsily until they
dropped on the other side and took off running again.

They heard the dull roar when they reached the first line of trees, which was quickly followed by
the ground shaking beneath their feet. The trees swayed, their leaves shivering in anticipation.

And then the world split in two with a thunderous crack. The blast echoed around them, sending
Jennie and Rosé flying to the ground and covering their heads. Dust rained—no, poured—from the
sky, larger debris crashing around them in the undergrowth and miraculously avoiding them.

Several smaller explosions tore through the air, rocking the ground and making the trees shake,
with a wave of heat sweeping over the girls; not enough to burn, but still enough for Jennie to gasp
out as all the air was briefly sucked out of her lungs.

Beside the smell of dirt filling her nose, she also caught a whiff of chemicals and burnt wood.

"What the hell kind of explosives did those Jays put in there?" Jennie yelled, deafened from the
explosion. All she could hear was ringing.

"What?" Rosé yelled back.

They simultaneously turned to behold the once proud ornate mansion now reduced to a hill of
detritus: timber, metal beams protruding from the wreckage like ribs and masonry piled around the
semi-demolished foundations, pieces of the remaining walls crumbling in front of their eyes.

Jennie stared, unable to take her eyes off the haunting spectacle.

Black smoke belched out from the remains as though from the mouth of a volcano, billowing
upwards towards the sunset sky. The fierce heat of the flames still reached them despite the
sizeable distance between the forest's edge and the Kim's mansion. Distant screams and the horrid
smell of burning meat wafted through the air, making them both gag.

"God..." Rosé trembled, hugging herself. "What...what..."

Jennie swallowed once, twice, and opened her mouth. But no words emerged to string a sentence
that would express her horror and anguish.

The Kims. Dead.

The mansion. Blasted to smithereens.

The innocent staff. Likely dead.

The bleak burning landscape before them inspired little hope in Jennie.

Were there any animals? Jennie though she saw a small shed attached to the house and the thought
of any helpless animal being cooked to cinders had her almost choke.

It had happened again. Wherever she went, death followed closely like a faithful shadow, making
sure to never leave her side and leaving a deadly trail in Jennie's wake.

When was it going to be her turn? When was it going to end?

Jinyoung's shark smile flashed in her mind, taunting her.

He will pay, Jennie thought, clenching her fist. I will kill him.
"We...we should help them," Rosé rasped, startling Jennie from her hateful reverie, "we...we
should...there might be survivors." Her eyes were glossy, lips trembling. "God Jen...this is
insane..."

"How?" Jennie said tiredly. "How the hell are we supposed to help? Tell me how Rosé. Just tell
me. I'm so fucking tired, I can't even think."

"I don't know," Rosé said in anguish. She sat up, wringing her hands. "They're burning in there and
we...it's because of us—"

"No. It's Jinyoung," Jennie said harshly. "Don't you dare shoulder any blame for this one, this is
purely his doing. We just came to talk with...Jisoo's parents..."

At the memory of both the Kims' deaths and the Jay's account of Jisoo's supposed rape, Jennie's
shoulders slumped and she held her head, fighting against the fresh deluge of tears.

It's all she seemed to be doing lately, crying. It was a wonder she had any tears left at all.

"God, when is this going to end?"

Both girls were snapped out of their spiralling at the sounds of sirens approaching. Ambulances,
fire engines and police cars were driving up to the estate in a single file along the winding
mountain road, all sirens and flashing lights on as personnel scrambled out of the vehicles and
immediately launched into frenzied activity like busy ants, cordoning off the area and shouting to
each other.

Jennie turned to Rosé, who looked back with wide eyes.

"We can't go down there," Jennie said, her mouth dry. "It's going to complicate things."

Rosé nodded, gulped then glanced into the dark forest, mirroring Jennie's thoughts.

"Let's hide...in there for a while?" Rosé whispered, sounding terrified at the very idea. She took out
her phone, worry creasing her brow. Jennie knew the blonde was beside herself with anxiety over
Ella.

"Yeah let's," Jennie said, trying to inject more confidence in her voice than she felt. "At least
until...things settle a bit."

"Yeah. They might stop working at night."

"Yeah."

"And we can sneak out of here. Maybe if we keep walking south from here, we might bypass the
police blockade and...get to the bus stop. Or the station."

"Sounds like a plan. Keep your light low. You still got the gun?" Jennie said lightly.

Rosé nodded, flexing the bloody gun and grimacing. "It's gross and sticky." She wiped it on grass
until she was satisfied to get most of the blood off her hands as well. "Let's go."

Thy set off. Jennie did feel slightly safer walking into an unknown place armed with a weapon.
She lit their way with her phone's flashlight, making sure to keep it pointed to the ground to not
attract attention.

She needed to be alert for potential danger, even though the edge of her consciousness was starting
to fuzz as exhaustion quickly caught up to her, reminding her that she hadn't even been in peak
health recently. Moreover, she had just gotten out of hospital, yet here she was fighting gunmen
and running from explosions. It sounded like the plot of one of Jisoo's B-movies.

Jisoo...

Jennie shook her head and they walked on, deeper and deeper before switching directions and
heading vaguely south where they estimated the woods would lead to the mountain road. Every
now and then, they paused so that Jennie could scratch off a discreet piece of the bark as best as
she could, to make sure they don't lose their way or end up walking in circles. It was a risk they
decided to take, even if police decided to investigate the woods.

"Do...do you think there's...wild animals in there?" Rosé asked at length. Jennie immediately tried
not to think of what big wild animals roamed in Korea's woodlands.

"Maybe we'll come across some chicken. Mr Kim said his staff used to hunt birds here."

Jennie's stomach gave a little growl and she suddenly remembered that she hadn't even eaten
properly. With a pang she remembered Irene fussing around in her kitchen, cooking up a proper
meal for her. Jennie had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from spiralling into guilt and
sadness.

Thankfully, Rosé distracted her when she snorted.

"Let me get this straight, are you actually thinking of killing some chicken we come across? Set up
a fire and cook it too? We don't even have anything to set up a fire with."

"What about eating it raw like sushi?" Jennie suggested.

Rosé wrinkled her nose. "Rule one of home economics: no raw chicken. Haven't you heard of
salmonella?"

"Well excuse me for not being all cooking-savvy," Jennie deadpanned. "I did have home
economics one time but then my family got blown up and school kinda didn't have much place in
my life after that."

"Even if we were able to light a fire, I thought we were going to stay low-key. The smoke would
give away our location."

"Again, raw chicken is an option," Jennie said, smiling despite herself when the other girl snorted.

"And when you're rolling around in agony making a mess of your pants, don't come looking for
me."

She heard the faint smile in Rosé's voice. Jennie decided to play along as they walked deeper,
twigs snapping underfoot. It kept her imagination from running wild, imagining blood-thirsty
creatures hiding in the dark shadows waiting to pounce on them.

She was acutely aware that they were on the edge of delirium, the adrenaline from the attack and
chase slowly fading as they walked deeper into the forest, aimlessly talking and wandering like
drunkards as priorities shifted in and out of focus.

"Fine, I'll chance samonella, whatever. I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."

"I'm thirsty," Rosé said mournfully. "I wish I knew how tapping trees for water worked."
"And hurt Jisoo's trees in the process? How dare you," Jennie gasped. "I'll tell her."

"Snitches end up in ditches."

"Well snitches can also be bad bitches that get away. I'm bad bitches, by the way."

"Excuse me, you're the one scratching their bark right now, you're the one hurting trees," Rosé
countered.

"It's for safety. Back to chicken, I'm not giving up on this. My guts will have to deal with
salmonella by themselves."

"Jisoo wouldn't like you hunting chickens," Rosé giggled.

"I'm sure Jisoo would forgive us this one time to sustain ourselves. Heck, she adores chicken! So
she's okay with buying it from the store but not from this forest? I got to give her a piece of my
mind about it when I see her again."

"Please do. And also, slight problem: if there really was a chicken in here, I'm sure it would have
roosted by now. They can fly up in trees."

"Oh darn! Well, what else is there in here?"

"The ghosts of our dead lovers, apparently," Rosé said.

"Good thing I don't have a dead lover then."

"What about your ex? He could be dead."

"Really Rosé? You're bringing that scum up right now?" Jennie groaned.

"But he could be," Rosé insisted.

"Fuck, you're right, I suppose. I have no clue what happened to him."

"Why don't you ever name him?"

"It's like Bloody Mary: if I name him, he might show up."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

"He really was a loser huh?"

"He brought out the worst in me," Jennie said heavily, "and well, I guess I brought out the worst in
him. I don't wanna talk about it."

"Are we lost?"

Jennie squinted as she pointed her phone around them. "We're lost if we don't know where we're
going," she said solemnly. They glanced at each other for one long moment before both dissolving
into hysterical giggles.

"God we're lost aren't we?" Rosé said in between chortling helplessly.

Jennie knew she should take control but she couldn't help it—if she didn't let go, she was going to
crack. They had faced death multiple times in the space of a few hours and somehow survived and
now they were probably going to die, lost in the forest.

If that wasn't hysterical, Jennie didn't know what was.

"Look let's just stay here, this looks like a nice open area, probably Mr Kim's hunters came here a
lot," she said at last, looking around the glade.

"Maybe there's some cabin."

"It's nice for a spot of stargazing. We could stay and sleep together under the stars."

"Are you trying to romance me?" Rosé said, batting her eyelashes. She burst into peals of laughter
when Jennie's mouth dropped.

"As if! I'd rather kiss a toilet seat!" Jennie shuddered, making Rosé giggle worse. "Are there any
old traps around here?"

"You think they might have chickens?"

"They'd probably be rotten, or other animals took them."

"God, I want chicken so bad."

"I thought you didn't want raw chicken."

"Well now I do," Rosé said primly.

"When we get back, I'm going to order ten buckets of fried chicken."

"I'll have twenty!"

"Thirty!"

"Forty!"

"One time Lisa ate fifty!" Jennie chortled.

"You're lying!"

They collapsed on the grass as the evening deepened and the chill of the summer forest night
settled on their shoulders. At least, they had a little light from the stars above them. Jennie found it
hilarious to lie flat on her back and pretend to kick and swat at the stars. Rosé found it funny too, if
her giggles were any indication.

They kept whispering more and more ridiculous things to each other ("like we're at a sleepover" as
Rosé put it), the stress of the bizarre day coupled with hunger, exhaustion and thirst taking their
toll.

"Do you think if we died here we'd haunt the place? We'd be the dead lovers Jisoo talked about,"
Rosé wondered.

"Eww!"

"Not like that! I meant the dead lovers to our lovers, Jisoo and Lisa."
"Maybe if I was a ghost, I could leave the forest and go find Jisoo," Jennie mused. "I'd be able to
phase through walls."

"Like Kitty Pryde!" Rosé said, nodding enthusiastically.

"Who?"

"Mutant from X-Men, she could phase through matter. And if I'm a ghost too, I'll find Lisa!"

"No I'll find her. You can't be a ghost, you've got to go back to Ella, remember?"

"My baby," Rosé pouted, momentarily saddened, before she brightened again. "But my Lelly Pelly
loves ghosts! One time, she learned that lemon juice can be used for invisible ink, so she would
write letters from squeezed lemon juice I use for salads. She would leave them around the house
for me to find, explaining that it's ghost ink and the apartment is haunted and we should listen to
what the ghost wants and do exactly as it says. The ghost was very demanding. It usually asked to
gift Ella My Little Pony toys or extra slices of cake or more bedtime stories or extra hours of TV
time."

Jennie chuckled. "That's a cute story."

"Yeah, Lisa laughed a lot when Ella tried the trick out with her."

"Of course, she's a clown—"

A snapping twig had them swivel around in alarm, their exuberant chatter quickly transforming
into breathless fear. It had sounded thunderous in the quiet darkness, shattering their hysterical
bubble as it flung them unceremoniously back to reality.

Neither spoke, breaths held in suspense as the trees around them suddenly seemed to loom over
them, enclosing them in and trapping them like prey, lying in wait for whatever or whoever was out
there.

Was it a wolf? Was it people looking for them? Jennie couldn't decide which was worse.

Just as she was about to relax and write it off as some (small) nocturnal animal rustling around
looking for its meal, another snap resounded and Jennie's heart pounded in her chest.

She strained to hear but now her paranoia kicked into high gear.

Whatever it was, it was moving carefully and deliberately, and—Jennie was convinced—heading
straight for them.

"Gun," she whispered to Rosé, not daring to take her eyes off from the direction where the two
sounds seemed to have originated. She stretched her hand behind her back like a relay racer,
waiting for the cold weight to touch her fingers as she heard Rosé rustle and shuffle forward.

But Jennie never received it.

Something exploded out of the trees from behind them, barrelling towards them at top speed before
either girl had a chance to properly turn. In a blink, it tore past, with Jennie flinging itself out of its
path at the last second and hitting the ground with a hard thump.

Stars burst in front of her eyes and Jennie shook her head, fighting off the daze as she scrambled to
sit up, breathless and stupefied.
"What the hell?"

Her heart lurched when she heard Rosé's fading screams: the creature had snatched her up and
galloped away at breakneck speed into the trees. Jennie heard it crashing through the undergrowth,
Rosé's terrified cries growing fainter and fainter.

"No! Rosé!" Jennie shouted, jumping to her feet in panic. "Hang on!"

"Hello kitten."

Jennie's entire world froze. Her heart, her brain, her blood, her thoughts—everything seized up as a
low mirthless chuckle filled the air, making her hair stand on end.

It can't be.

She hadn't heard his voice in years, and hadn't thought she'd ever hear it again.

Was she hallucinating? Had she hit her head that hard?

Out of the corner of her eye, Jennie spied a robust man saunter out from the shadows.

don't come closer don't come closer.

Almost as though he read her mind, he stopped as soon as he emerged from the trees but Jennie
knew the cold sparkle that would be shining in his gaze, the taut clench of his angry jaw.

She dared to turn, desperate to understand, silently begging for her eyes to be playing tricks on her
and that the apparition would melt away as soon as she looked it right in the eye.

But he still stood there as she faced him head-on, wearing the same cruel smile that once used to
send her heart into a frenzy, a different sort of agitation than what she felt right now.

Maybe Jisoo had been right. Maybe the woods were haunted after all.

"Yoongi?" Jennie whispered.

Her ex tilted his head. "Long time no see, kitten," he purred, and his eyes flashed yellow.

>

Rosé didn't take long to figure out who had her in his clutches: the rough hands that slammed her
into the tree trunk were all the clues she needed. Horrible memories hurtled from the past into the
present, terrifyingly real and in the flesh.

Taehyung was back, and he was out of control as he'd ever been.

She thought she had grown past the point of fearing him after all she had faced, but when he
pushed his face up close, hissing harshly through his teeth with his eyes flashing a terrible and
familiar yellow, she couldn't help but wail in fear.

Her two nightmares had combined and before her stood a true monster.

He slapped her violently, cutting her off mid-scream and throwing her to the ground.

"Shut up!"
She didn't have a chance to even use the gun still clutched tightly in her frozen hands because he
snatched her up from her hair again. Pain exploded as he pulled savagely, hauling her up and
making her howl. Her hands shot up to scratch at his face on instinct, dropping the gun.

"Stop stop Taehyung! Please!"

He snarled, eyes practically glowing in the dark as he shoved her up against the tree trunk again,
hard. She arched back in pain but he grabbed her from the jaw and made her look at him as she
trembled. His cruel fingers crushed her face, heedless of her attempts to prise them off.

"Where's the girl?" Taehyung grunted. He was panting, eyes furious and darting everywhere. The
stink of body sweat had Rosé almost gag if she wasn't too intent on his rapidly shortening temper.

"What—"

"Tell me!" he shouted. His other hand dug into her shoulder like claws, pinning her in place. There
was no escape. She could only whimper and burble brokenly.

"I—I don't—who—"

"Ella," he said clearly, his foul hot breath crashing against her face. "Where is she?"

She shook her head. She would never tell him. Not even if he killed her.

"Tell me!!"

"No," she said quietly, summoning what little reserves of courage she had.

He didn't like that answer and showed his displeasure with another slap to her face, and then
another and another and another until she couldn't even breathe.

"Where's my daughter?" he screamed dementedly, spit flying. "You took her from me! I'm her
father!"

"Get off me!"

She managed to get a hit in his throat, but it only served to enrage him further as he swiftly caught
her fists and trapped them above her head.

"Where's. The. Girl?" he enunciated with a snarl. His deranged behaviour coupled with his
increased strength had Rosé go weak—she was no match for a monster. She never was.

Lisa. Where was Lisa?

He shook her again, knocking the back of her head against the trunk behind her. Pockets of pain
burst at the back of her skull like fireworks and Rosé whimpered.

"Where is she" Taehyung roared.

Heart pounding, Rosé dared to look him straight in the eye but didn't say a word, even as she
trembled. She'd protect her baby with her dying breath, especially now that a monster had been
unleashed upon the world.

"Where is she?" Taehyung shouted. "Where is she where is she where is WHERE IS SHE?"

Still, Rosé held her ground as he showered her with spittle, stamping his feet and roaring.
Why did he want Ella? What had happened to him? Why did he have the same eyes as Tiger King?

Jinyoung, Rosé thought numbly as Yang's cryptic references to the rehabilitative facility
resurfaced. He's behind this.

Taehyung's body was bulkier than she remembered too, and his strength had doubled—no, tripled.

He was also more unhinged, scaring her as his incoherent babbling grew faster before he fixed his
gaze on her again as though he remembered something. His eyes burned with insanity, glowering
and feral as an animal's.

"You won't tell me," he growled, "so make new one."

Rosé's heart tumbled to her feet. "What—"

In a flash, he had her by the throat and flung her to the ground. She cried out on impact, scrambling
to crawl away and yelling when he grabbed her from the ankles. He pulled her back with little
effort as she cried for help. She begged and pleaded with him, clawing at dirt and grass but he was
relentless, dogged in his mystery goal.

Taehyung held her down as she struggled and kicked and hit out with her fists but he was too fast
and easily dodged or ignored her. His dreadful stare turned leery as he straddled her. He smiled
wider, canines gleaming when her whimpers turned into wails as she understood his intentions loud
and clear.

"Tae please no don't do this, please please," she choked on her terror.

He slapped her and caught her wrists as she sobbed, his growls not enough to silence her weeping
as he pinned them above her head. She thrashed and struggled but he was too strong, crushing her
wrists and making her scream in pain. Her throat was raw, fear clutching her heart in its icy grip.
There was no escape the insane madman above her.

"Shut up and make me baby!" he barked.

"No! Help, someone help—"

Over and over he hit her until she was a bedraggled limp mess lying flat on her back, breathless,
broken and at his mercy.

Lisa, her heart sobbed, as though expecting her missing girlfriend to come tearing out of the forest
and saving her, as she had done once in a dark alley.

But Lisa wasn't here anymore. The reminder alone had her break down again.

"Stop crying!" he yelled. "Always crying, why crying? I'll make you stop!"

Rosé thought her sanity couldn't crack further but then without warning, he was tearing into her
clothes like a vicious beast. She screamed as he ripped her shirt to shreds and attacked with
mindless savagery.

Nausea roiled at his repulsive touch and she closed her eyes, not wanting to see, not wanting to
feel, not wanting to hear his disgusting noises as he lapped and slurped and feasted.

She retreated far away into her head, the same place she used to go when he used to hit her as she
separated herself from her body.
Fight back, screamed her inner voice as his free hand raked down her ribs, leaving behind bruising
imprints, do something!

But Rosé didn't react—the only way to save herself, to save Ella, was to lie there: be still, be quiet
and pretend not to be there.

Pretend she was still back home, with Lisa holding her safe and close.

It was difficult because reality kept intruding; his hands weren't kind and loving like Lisa; they
weren't soft and tender like Lisa.

Is this okay? Lisa used to say anxiously. What about here? Am I hurting you?

Of course it's okay, you don't have to ask, she would smile, basking in Lisa's adoration and
worship, feeling like a goddess.

She didn't feel anywhere near godly now, more like she had descended into the hellish pits of her
worst nightmares.

The fingers that groped her now were hard, cruel and vicious as Taehyung yanked her pants down
in one swift move—even her underwear—grunting in satisfaction as he fixated on the prize. Chill
air hit her bare thighs like a knife, raising goosebumps along her skin.

She trembled, screaming inwardly when he snapped her legs open like cracking open a book, but
she kept her mouth shut, not wanting to give a reaction. He pressed down with his knees on her
thighs to keep her open, even as pain shot up her pelvis and lower back at the sudden weight, the
wide angle too much even for her flexible body.

"You're ready," he pronounced.

The air was punched out of her lungs when she felt his fingers jab around her sensitive entry,
almost vomiting at the gleeful excitement in his voice. She squeezed her eyes shut when he probed
deeper, the squelching noises growing wetter and dirtier.

Lisa.

Hot tears seeped out from beneath her eyelids. She was all alone. Nobody was going to save her
this time. She was putty in his hands and she didn't even have the strength to fight back. Too
exhausted, too weak, too pathetic.

it will be over soon it will be over soon it will be over soon, she chanted in her head, climbing to a
crescendo.

Rosie, I love you, Lisa would say.

I love you too, she would say back, holding her close for sweet kisses to be exchanged in their safe
corner of heaven.

Lisa Lisa Lisa Lisa—

And then suddenly all sensations disappeared and she felt Taehyung go utterly still above her. Rosé
didn't dare look, didn't dare breathe out as she braced herself for the inevitable blunt pressure that
would force itself into her.

But it never came. He sat there, motionless. Eventually, curiosity won over and Rosé cracked open
one eye, blinking to adjust to the darkness.

Taehyung sat with his head raised in the air and tilted at an angle, listening to something she
couldn't hear. As she watched, he started breathing hard and low, growling softly to himself as he
shook his head and hit himself on the temple, over and over.

Rosé propped herself up despite her semi-nakedness, watching on mystified as Taehyung groaned
and keeled off her. He thrashed violently like an eel, holding his head and rolling over and over.

Finally, he slowed down and stopped entirely. Rosé watched with bated breath as he stiffly got to
his feet. She waited for him to pounce, braced herself for him to pick up where he left off or launch
an even more violent assault.

His yellow eyes burned with the intensity of the sun but he never said a word. Abruptly, Taehyung
turned and slunk away into the forest, silent as a ghost.

Rosé watched the spot where he disappeared for what felt like hours before she understood that he
wasn't coming back. Her whole body was sore, her face throbbed, blood trickled from her nose and
she now grew aware of the iron taste in her mouth.

The tremors hit her at the same time as the realisation that she had escaped a far terrible fate
washed over her.

He's gone. He's gone. He's gone.

That's when Rosé allowed herself to curl into a ball and fall apart.

>

Jennie hit the ground for the third? fourth? fifth? time with a thump. She lifted her head and spat
out blood, coughing because some of it had gone down the wrong pipe. Her face was wet and
sticky with blood too, trickling steadily from her split brow.

"This takes me back. Remember our fights?" Yoongi said as he sauntered up to her while she
hacked out her lungs.

He had kept up a steady one-sided conversation as he beat Jennie around, telling her all about what
he had been up to in the years past, namely scrounging a living then getting picked up by Jinyoung
for a job and then being submitted to a rigorous military-grade program to buff himself up and also
re-branding himself as Suga, which Jennie found hilarious. She didn't regret the clip to the ear it
earned her when she snorted.

Somewhere close by, Rosé screamed again and Jennie raised her head at the pained cries.

"Rosé!" she shouted hoarsely. "Rosé!"

"She won't hear you," Yoongi taunted, "she's dead meat. V was raving when we found you, he
wanted to charge the moment we spotted you. She's not going to survive. He was ranting about her
taking his kid away."

"Shut up."

Yoongi easily dodged her pathetic attempt at a hit.

According to Yoongi, the man who snatched Rosé was apparently a fellow buddy of his 'that had
been at the same facility where I got buffed up.' He went by V but his real name was Taehyung,
otherwise known as Rosé's ex boyfriend. When Yoongi had revealed that piece of information,
Jennie's stomach had swooped up and down like a plane caught in turbulence when she replayed
Rosé's words on the train: Taehyung scared me more than Lisa.

Jinyoung. It had to be Jinyoung behind this. He had to know both their connections to the two men
and unleashed them.

Jennie climbed to her feet a safe distance away from Yoongi and put her fists up.

"Not tired yet?" Yoongi said. He sounded amused.

"I could...do this...all day," Jennie wheezed.

He shrugged. "As you wish."

In a flash, he had sprinted and punched her in the gut, sending her flying before she could even
react.

"You've grown soft," he taunted as she spat grass. "Come on, kitten, I'm getting bored here."

Jennie clenched her teeth, trying to think through the pounding in her head. She had to outsmart the
calculating brute playing with her to save Rosé.

Jinyoung was messing with them again. It wasn't enough he had his Jays storm the Kim's mansion
and blow it up. He sent two of his lab rats to take care of the job for good.

It had her blood boiling: Jinyoung thought they were that easy to get rid of? She'd show him. Some
way, somehow.

So she was stalling, letting Yoongi talk, taking on the hits, deflecting what she could, because the
few times she attempted to punch out he had ruthlessly blocked and returned her punch two-fold.
She had stupidly tried bolting into the trees, which earned her a few dozen kicks to her ribs that
made her barf up liquid.

It was clear to Jennie that Yoongi didn't know anything at all about Tiger King and the true
insidious nature behind Jinyoung's intentions, but something else had her worried—had Jinyoung
already worked on improving TK? Was Yoongi one of the successful subjects? Why did Jinyoung
truly need Lisa then?

Moreover, Yoongi seemed to react differently than Lisa under the Tiger King effect—he wasn't
raging and roaring or frothing at the mouth. He was calm, coherent and clinical, which somehow
made it all the worse.

Yoongi crouched down next to her. "Remember you used to call me weak? Said I fight like a girl?"
He flexed his fists, smiling broadly. "Not so weak now, huh?"

Shadows gathered at his face, illuminated by the glare of Jennie's phone a short distance away.

"You're right, my bad. You're not weak, you're just Jinyoung's favourite cocksucker now.
Congratulations, I'm sure you clean dick really well," Jennie gasped out, unable to resist clapping
back.

Yoongi's jaw twitched and his eyes narrowed.

He slammed her face down in the ground, holding her there as she thrashed, her chest burning. He
pulled her back up from her hair and she spat out dirt and leaves, heaving for air before he
slammed her down again. This happened two more times until Jennie thought she was about to
pass out from lack of oxygen—she felt light-headed.

"That's rich coming from you. I heard you were fucking some dyke these days? What's that about?
Dick not good enough?" he said but Jennie was satisfied to hear the warning note of anger in his
tone.

Attacking his fragile ego always guaranteed to provoke him, especially when she remembered how
defensive he got about his appearance and strength. Though they weren't in the habit of divulging
their vulnerabilities, Jennie did remember one exception when they had a brief tender moment and
Yoongi mentioned he was bullied and called homophobic slurs when he was younger. She didn't
hesitate to jump on the opportunity to attack.

"Probably not, especially if they have pathetic dicks like you did. Your buddy V was packing. I bet
I'd be able to smell fucking colours after I fuck him."

His nostrils flared but Jennie was relentless.

"But I bet you'd know huh? You look like you'd enjoy a pounding to the ass, baby boy," she
crooned as his face twisted. "Pity we never got around to that."

This time, he threw her—literally grabbed her from her shirt and flung her away—and Jennie
thumped to the ground once more, groaning on impact. She had little hope of escaping now—
Yoongi was growing angry, she could see it in his menacing eyes, cold and cruel as always.

But she had to hang in there. For Rosé. For Jisoo. For Lisa.

Jennie propped herself up, only for Yoongi to grab her from her hair and wrench her head back. She
yelled and kicked out but he held her firm, making her still as she came face to face with him: his
glowing eyes held her in thrall, knocking the air out of her lungs.

What did she ever see in him? How could she have been so desperate?

"Always thought you were so smart huh? Look where that got you," he spat, face contorted.

Jennie gulped. Oh he was mad now, but still, she couldn't resist replying. "Yeah, wasting my time
with a suckass. Tell me, is eating Jinyoung's jizz really worth it?"

"Shut up! I'm not a faggot like you!" He threw her aside in rage and kicked out.

She rolled, narrowly avoiding his heel and wincing as pain flared up in her ribs. His eyes flashed
dangerously, making her heart sink as he advanced and easily plucked her off the ground again
with one hand closing around her throat.

"Maybe this will get your smart mouth to shut up. I'm not even squeezing yet," he pointed out as
she wheezed and scrabbled with the hand at her throat, kicking in mid-air.

"Put me down," Jennie croaked, "want to talk."

She needed to get to Rosé. The other girl was still out there and Jennie was praying that whatever
monster she was dealing with Rosé would somehow survive it. Because Jennie wasn't sure she was
going to survive long enough to get to her in time. Dark spots dotted her vision. Her whole body
ached and flared up with every little movement, even more than when she fought Lisa. All she
could smell and taste was blood.

"Oh you want to talk now?" Yoongi gritted. "That's tough, little dyke. This is the end of the line for
you. But I'll make it quick, for old time's sake."

"Huh?"

He dropped her and Jennie fell on all fours, heaving and gasping as Yoongi walked behind her but
she didn't notice, too busy coughing, until he suddenly seized her up in an arm lock.

Jenie stiffened, heart thundering as she recognised just what Yoongi had in mind. She scrambled
frantically to grab his arms but they were corded with steel, immovable as a mountain, stuck fast
against either side of her head.

One wrong move, and her whole head would twist out of place. Just imagining the gruesome snap
of her neck had Jennie flinch.

"Remember how we used to play?" His breath fluttered against the shell of her ear, making her
shiver. "Time flies."

She remembered. The choke hold was a more corrupted version of the technique Hwangssabu used
to work out knots and kinks in people's backs and shoulders, the technique Jennie had learned and
used on other people after his demise.

Somewhere down the line during her trysts with Yoongi, they discovered their sick fascination
with power play, balancing the tightrope of pleasure and torture and using the corrupted choke hold
on each other, heightening the thrill of danger and pain.

"Yoongi," she whispered.

His hold tightened. "Say you remember."

"No."

"Liar. Tell me you didn't enjoy it."

"I didn't."

"Liarrrrrrrr," he hissed, drawing out the r. "You'd be begging me to squeeze harder as I fingered
you."

Jennie trembled and shut her eyes, remembering how she relished it, because it made her feel
something, other than resentment and bitterness. Being on the brink of suffocation while being
fucked gave her a sickening rush of exhilaration that later transformed into self-loathing and shame
when she was alone, ruminating about the encounter.

"Remember our special knife?" he murmured. "Remember how you used to carve my chest? How
you'd tie me up and have me at your mercy? How you'd threaten to cut off my dick if I didn't
satisfy you?"

"Stop."

"Remember how I pounded you while you were tied up, hard and fast just how you liked it?" he
said, relentless. "Remember how you used to bite me? Always so feisty with your punches too.
And you scratched me so good, all up my back, little kitten. The marks would be there for days,
like claws. And then you'd lick them clean for me."

She shuddered, nausea mingling with her dizziness.

Those were dark times and she didn't want to remember, didn't want to be reminded of her
disgusting side that relished teetering on the knife edge of pain and death, lived for the adrenaline
rush, the power she held over another human being. She had boxed up that toxic side and was done
with it, never wanting to hear of it ever again.

"Remember how you used to hold me like this and threaten to snap my neck?" he said against her
throat, sending little spasms up and down her spine. "Remember how we used to laugh? Remember
how I'd choke you within an inch of your life? Remember how you punched me? Remember how
we fucked so hard we'd pass out? Remember—"

"Stop," Jennie begged, her voice cracking. "Yoongi, stop..."

But he didn't stop. If anything, he cinched his arms tighter, cutting off her air supply.

"Does your dyke fuck you like that?" he demanded. "Does she make you come as hard as I did?"

"She—huh—better—way—better," Jennie choked out, even though it was simultaneously the

worst and best answer she could give. But if she was going to die, she would die with a smile on
her face, knowing she had him absolutely enraged.

"Liar," he growled and incredibly, Jennie thought she noted—could it be?—jealousy in his voice.

"She—does,"Jennie gasped, " she—fucks—me—so damn—good."

She hated talking about Jisoo like that, because it was love they had, love they made together, but
that wasn't important for Yoongi to know.

He growled, low and ominous, and Jennie knew her time was up.

"If I can't have you," he said, his voice a cold icy kiss against her ear as she felt his muscles around
her face tighten, bracing for movement, "then that dyke sure as hell doesn't get to have you either."

Jisoo, I'm sorry. I love you.

Jennie closed her eyes and he—

stopped still.

Jennie cracked one eye open but didn't dare move from the death hold. Yoongi had turned into a
statue, his head turned away and tilted back as though he was concentrating on some sound Jennie
couldn't hear. They stood there until Jennie felt her neck cramping but still, she didn't dare break
the spell that seemed to have enchanted her would-be killer.

Out of nowhere, Yoongi released her unceremoniously and she scuttled a short distance away,
heaving and panting as she turned to look back.

His yellow eyes flashed with a burning intensity as he regarded her almost thoughtfully.

"Lucky for you, seems like Jinyoung wants you around a little while longer," he said shortly. He
gave a final menacing sneer. "I'm sure we'll meet again, kitten."

Without another glance back, Yoongi turned on his heels and walked away into the trees,
disappearing into the night.

Jennie flopped on her back, not even bothering to understand what just happened. She had
survived, she was still alive and Yoongi was gone. That's all that mattered.

She had survived. It was over.

Jennie covered her eyes with the back of her hand and exhaled slowly before erupting into a fit of
hacking coughs.

>

"Rosé! Where are you? Rosé!"

When she finally summoned enough strength to stand up without passing out from pain, Jennie
went in search of Rosé, frantically shining her phone light and calling her name until her voice was
hoarse.

The silence of the forest unnerved her as she crashed through bushes and broken boughs and
branches.

Jennie prayed fervently to Hwangssabu, to God, to Buddha, to every other deity she could think of
and never believed in, but she prayed like never before, begging for Rosé to still be alive, for Rosé
to be spared from the curse that made people around her drop dead like flies.

"Rosé!"

And then she heard the broken sobs, their naked misery making guilt crash over Jennie like a tidal
wave.

Her heart leapt into overdrive as she hurried faster towards the sound. She moved against the
thumping pain that threatened to trip her up, too relieved that the other girl was still alive to stop.
Whatever state she would find her in, Jennie would deal with it but most importantly, Rosé was
alive.

Yet nothing could have prepared Jennie for the utter devastation that slapped her in the face when
she finally stumbled upon Rosé curled up in a protective ball and weeping wretchedly on the forest
floor by the waning light of her phone.

"Rosie!" Jennie stumbled towards her. "Oh my god Rosie! It's okay, it's okay I'm here, I'm—"

Jennie's legs gave way. Blackness threatened to shroud her vision but she fought against her
waning strength and crawled the last few steps like an infant, dragging herself to Rosé on pure
determination and will alone. She gnashed her teeth and put out one hand then the other then the
other then the other until she arrived.

"Rosie...hey, oh honey...it's okay, I'm here." Seeing her violated state made Jennie almost crack,
forgetting that she herself just narrowly escaped death. "Rosie, look at me c'mon."

"J-Jen?" Rosé sobbed. Her face was a sight, her hair dishevelled and her clothes were in disarray,
hanging from her shivering frame as she peered at Jennie, squinting against the phone light. She
sounded dazed, her voice wobbling. "Jen, he was here, he...he...I don't..."

Jen propped herself up and opened her arms wide. "I got you. It's okay, sweetheart, you're okay.
He's gone, you're safe."
Rosé crashed into her, bawling like a baby. Jennie held her tightly, rocking her as anger boiled
away in her veins.

Jinyoung will pay. I'll kill him. I'll kill Taehyung and Yoongi too. I'll kill them all.

"It's okay, sweetheart, it's okay. I'm here. You're safe, he's gone," Jennie soothed, afraid to touch
her, afraid that Rosé would crumple up at the slightest touch, fragile as paper. She babbled the
same words over and over, throwing in soft endearments as Rosé wept into her neck.

Rosé's meltdown ended sooner than Jennie expected, but then again, she had probably been crying
a good while before Jennie found her, piling on the guilt.

Rosé finally heaved a great sigh then pulled back, sniffing furiously. Her face was puffy and
bruised purple. She stopped and then shakily pointed at Jennie.

"Jen, oh my god, your face—who did—"

Jennie waved impatiently. "Never mind me. You...he...did he..." she gestured gingerly at Rosé,
because she couldn't bring herself to spell out the worst.

Fresh tears welled up in Rosé's eyes as she shook her head and clutched her bare shoulders.
"Almost."

Jennie nodded then shrugged off her shirt slowly, wincing at the movements, and handed it to
Rosé. "Here, take this. Wear it."

"What?" Rosé stared at the dirty shirt then at Jennie's bare upper body, save for her bra. "You won't
have anything to wear."

"You need it right now," Jennie insisted. "You'll feel better. Do you need help with the pants? Can
you stand?"

"I...I got it," Rosé mumbled, ducking her head. She hurriedly pulled up her pants and slipped on
Jennie's shirt. It had already been a loose fit around Jennie so it fit Rosé just fine. She snuggled into
it and nodded gratefully in Jennie's direction, already much calmer. "Thank you."

"No problem. Sorry for the stink. And blood."

"Like I care right now." Rosé sighed and held her head, her shoulders shaking. "God, he was here,
that monster was...I didn't think...how did he..."

"I know," Jennie cut in gently. "Yoongi told me."

"Yoongi?"

Jennie smiled bitterly. "My ex. He's a charmer, you just missed him."

"Oh Jen..."

"Getting bludgeoned and strangled to death by my toxic ex in the middle of a forest at night wasn't
on my 'Jinyoung is a bastard' bingo card but here we are. And just so you know, I think I can
safely say he wasn't a ghost," Jennie added wryly.

Rosé stared at her like she had grown a second head.

Jennie sighed. She slowly lowered herself to the grass, grimacing as her body protested. She made
sure to leaving a good amount of space between her and Rosé—they might have hugged it out only
moments earlier in the midst of their cathartic relief, but she didn't want to make Rosé
uncomfortable by initiating any non-consensual touches.

Jennie glanced at Rosé, noting how the other girl was shivering. She was still running hot on
adrenaline from the encounter which protected her from the chill, but Rosé didn't stop shaking.

"Is it okay to hug you again?" Jennie said carefully. She ached to hug and comfort the distraught
girl but she hesitated—Rosé twitched at her loud voice and flinched nervously when Jennie moved
her hands too wildly. Jennie switched her voice to a softer register, spoke slower.

"You just look like you need another good long hug. Heck, I won't say no either. Seen enough shit
today."

All the death and blood and mayhem and pain flashed in her mind's eye but they were all far away,
like she was looking at the wrong end of a telescope, numbed from exhaustion and her more recent
brush with death.

She was surprised when Rosé all but sank against her front at the invitation, snuggling up like a
child seeking shelter. She was warm and alive and breathing shakily, but she clutched on to Jennie
like a lifeline.

Jennie didn't protest even as her body ached. She held her tight even when pain flared up, ignoring
it all in favour of sharing warmth and reassurance with the other girl: they had survived yet another
harrowing encounter, courtesy of Jinyoung, but had not escaped unscathed this time.

"How did this happen? It's...it's got to be Jinyoung," Rosé sniffled. "I saw...his eyes. They were
yellow. It has to be..."

"Yes. Tiger King," Jennie said heavily. "Jinyoung is most certainly behind this. Yoongi bragged
about being chosen and sent after us."

"Why?" Rosé sniffled. "Why is Jinyoung doing this? Why can't we just have Jisoo and Lisa back?"

"Because he can," Jennie answered wearily, "because he's a bully and he's amused by the game he's
playing. We're nothing but a game to him. Don't you see? Even back at the mansion, I was
thinking...what if the Jays weren't even going to kill us? What if it was just a ploy to get us out here
into the forest to run into Yoongi and Tae?"

Rosé's mouth dropped open in horror. "You mean, he planned for all this? He..."

She clutched at Jennie's wrist, sitting up with renewed urgency.

"We have to go back," she said in distress. "Ella...if Jinyoung touches a hair on her head, I'll—"

"He won't," Jennie said quietly.

"How do you know?"

"If he wants to hurt you, he can use Lisa."

"We don't know that he has her!"

"I'm willing to bet my life on that wager, actually," Jennie said. "Think about it. He likes to taunt
us. He probably called earlier to galvanise us into action, to lure you and me out into the open.
Then, he sent the Jays to stop us from getting help and he sent his lab rats to torment us some
more. He's just playing, he does't really need us anymore. It's a show of strength. He has what he
needs. We're just disposable playthings now."

She bowed her head, pacing her breathing. "It's only a matter of time before he...decides it's game
over."

Rosé stared at her as Jennie went on. "If he wanted to harm Ella, he had the opportunity but
instead, he gave her back."

"He could change his mind. He's a psychopath, he doesn't keep his word, just like Yang didn't.
How could you trust him?"

"I don't. But psychopaths uphold codes. They're calculating, they plan ahead. Ella doesn't feature in
his plans. You and I do, whatever he comes up with next. It's like some sick hunger games movie."

Rosé went quiet after that, mulling over her words. "We still need to get back home. I need to
physically make sure Ella is okay."

"Here, I picked up your phone," Jennie said, handing it over. She had also picked up the gun but
didn't mention it, fearing the other girl might be in a fragile state of mind after her horrifying ordeal
and do something drastic.

Rosé took her phone with feverish desperation, letting out a little cry of disappointment when she
checked the screen. "No signal, dammit!"

"Yeah I figured." Jennie looked up at the inky black sky. "Maybe we should rest a little, we've
been through a lot today. When it gets light, we'll try find a way out of this infernal place."

"I—I don't want to stay in here...what if they're still out there?" Rosé said. She shook like the
leaves in a gale. "I have to get back to Ella." She buried her face in her hands. "God, what have I
done? Maybe you were all right, I was stupid to come all the way here, but I just...I care about
Jisoo and you and...I just want Lisa back. I never thought...Tae..."

"Rosie. Hey, hey. Look at me," Jennie said, holding her face. Rosé sniffed but obeyed, her eyes
haggard and haunted by the lightwash from Jennie's phone.

"It's okay, it's okay. I would have done the exact same as you did. The exact same," Jennie said
earnestly. "We just...didn't think Jinyoung was such a monster." She sighed. "I don't think they'll be
back. I think Jinyoung can contact them somehow and he called them off. He doesn't want to finish
us off...yet."

"Tae—he did suddenly stop and listen. And then he started sort of fighting himself," Rosé recalled,
shuddering. "It was...awful."

"Yoongi stopped and listened too. Maybe it's some high-pitched whistle, like a dog whistle, that we
can't hear but they can. Jinyoung stopped them before they could do...something drastic." She
lapsed into silence, mulling over Yoongi's words and the information bank she had on Tiger King,
withdrawing her hands to press her temple where a killer headache was rapidly building up.

"I think this was a field test for Tiger King subjects," Jennie said slowly. Her head throbbed with
the effort to think and form coherent thoughts but she forged through her wooziness. "He's trying to
see the amount of control he has on them, how well they respond to emotional stimuli, how they
react, and whether he can reel them back in. Fortunately for the both of us, he was able to call them
off."
"We were bait?" Rosé said indignantly, her voice turning high-pitched. "That's it? We almost died
because Jinyoung turned us into bait? I almost got r-raped," she choked out the word, "I got
assaulted because that fucker wanted to run a sick and twisted field test?"

"Two birds, one stone. He would have a field test for his lab rats, using two subjects that are
connected to us, and he'd intimidate us in one fell swoop. It's all so neat, practically gift-wrapped.
He's a monster playing with us like a cat and mouse. But we're not done. Not yet."

"No, we're not," Rosé agreed, her voice stronger and harder. "He can't keep getting away with all
this." She sniffed furiously and wiped her nose with the back of her hand before edging closer to
Jennie again. "I guess...we can stay here a little longer then. You do look like you need some rest."

"You too. Lucky it's nice out."

Jennie slowly lay on her back, the grass itchy against her skin, but she was too tired to care as she
succumbed to the bone-deep exhaustion, pain, hunger and thirst. She hoped she could drift off soon
despite all the aches.

Dimly, she sensed Rosé hadn't joined her to rest but she didn't ask her to—the girl had been still
clearly high-strung and traumatised to think of lying down in the same position that she had almost
gotten raped in.

"I'll keep watch. For a while at least," Rosé said over her shoulder, seeming to sense Jennie's gaze
fixed on her back. "Sleep. I'm not tired. Well, I am, but I don't think I can sleep right now."

Jennie slid her hand through the grass and gently touched Rosé hand, who flinched at first but then
let Jennie hold two of her fingers. She turned to look back.

"Thank you for being here, Rosie," Jennie said softly, not bothering to correct herself and say
Rosé's proper name. She squeezed her fingers. "And I'm so sorry, for everything. I'm glad you're
still alive."

By the light of her phone, Rosé's face softened. "I'm glad you're still alive too."

Jennie smiled as she closed her eyes. Like a toddler, she didn't let go of Rosé's fingers. They were
slightly chilled but still pulsing with life, making gratitude sprout in Jennie's heart despite all the
pain and horror they had faced in the space of a few hours.

If she could do life all over again, she would make sure to befriend Rosé properly and never let
jealously get in between the development of their friendship.

Jennie had only just started to drift off to sleep as she got used to the ebb and flow of her pain when
she felt Rosé go rigid.

"Someone's coming," Rosé whispered urgently. She covered her phone, throwing them into
darkness.

"Are you sure?" Jennie rasped.

Rosé tossed her head towards the trees. Jennie propped herself up to see better, gritting her teeth as
she did so.

And then she saw it: a ball of light dancing through the foliage, growing larger and larger as
whoever it was approached the area.
 "A ghost?" Jennie croaked stupidly. She almost laughed at herself when she heard the sounds of
twigs and crunching dead leaves under their feet.

A human was so much worse than a ghost right now.

Swallowing, Jennie slowly got out the Jay's gun and flipped the safety. There was no time to run—
she could see the person's silhouette. It was slightly relieving to see that it appeared to be just one
lone man but the hairs on Jennie's arms rose as she shakily raised the gun in front of her, ready as
she could ever be.

At the last second, she managed to drag Rosé behind her and flashed her phone light in the man's
face at the same time as he burst out from amongst the trees.

"Stop or I shoot!"

"There you are. Come on, we need to get you out of here," said the man, stopping dead at her
command. He sounded exhausted but not threatening, yet Jennie wasn't convinced. He didn't seem
armed, but she didn't lower the gun. Rosé scooted closer to her.

"He sounds...familiar," Rosé said cautiously. Jennie could almost picture her frown.

Due to the blinding light from both their phones, Jennie could barely make out the man's features.
But when he lowered his phone first, she spied the faintest trace of short blonde hair peeking out
from under a snapback.

Recognition slammed into her at the same time as Rosé gasped.

"Jackson?"

Chapter End Notes

head's up! not sure if i will be able to update regularly cos i will be heading back to uni
and this will likely be the most hectic year so far but i will still do my best to write.

also no hate to irl idols, this is just a story :VV

thanks!
 Enemy Of My Enemy
Chapter Notes

trigger warning: violence sort of? near the end mostly

previously: chaennie escaped a bombing and entered the forest, encountered their
respective exes now horrifically transformed but managed to escape alive. jackson
showed up.

Jennie was the first to recover. "Hands on your head!" she barked, lurching to her feet. "Don't
move."

Jackson obeyed, raising his arms up behind his head. He didn't let go of his phone. Jennie limped
towards him, gun shaking with murderous rage.

"You," she snarled. "You are going to fucking die."

"Wait!" Rosé yelped, throwing herself at Jennie. "Jennie wait!"

"Why?! So he'll get away like the Jay did? Get off me!"

"Jen please he's—he's helped me before..."

"Oh yeah? So you're buddies now?"

"That's not—"

"He tortured Jisoo!" Jennie burst out, wrenching herself out of Rosé grip. She aimed at Jackson
again, who never said a word. He stared unflinchingly into the gun's barrel as Jennie pushed it into
his face.

"Where's your pals?" Jennie spat. "Where's your boss? Call them out, come on! I'm not scared of
anyone! Are you going to finish us here, huh? Where's that sadistic psycho?"

"I'm here to help you," Jackson said. His surprising answer only had Jennie grow even angrier.

"Oh sure you are! After we nearly got blown to kingdom come and then Rosé got raped and I got
strangled and now you show up to help, yes of course," she scoffed. "Does Jinyoung think we're
that stupid?"

"Jinyoung has nothing to do with this," Jackson said tightly. "For your information, I'm in as much
danger as you are. I'm risking my life being anywhere near you right now, helping you in any
capacity."

"Prove it!" Jennie shouted, the vein in her temple jutting out. "You monsters butchered and raped
Jisoo! What makes you think I'll believe you now?"

"I didn't torture Jisoo," he said quietly, so quietly that Jennie almost didn't hear amidst her raving,
weren't it for Jisoo's name. She stopped stock still, her jaw falling open.
"Say that again," she gritted. She ignored Rosé's soft pleas, her eyes fixated on Jackson who stared
back passively.

"I didn't torture her," he repeated firmly. "Jinyoung made me lie. It's all to mess with your head,
Jennie."

"Liars! Liars all of you!" Jennie shouted.

"Jen, put the gun down. Just put it down, come on," Rosé pleaded. "Let's talk—"

"Talk?" Jennie spat. "You think he's grown a conscience or something? News flash, I don't give a
fu—"

"Let's just listen to what he has to say," Rosé jumped in, pulling her back. She eyed Jackson. "He
warned me that Jinyoung and Yang were after Lisa, before."

"He tortured Jisoo! He hurt her! God, he just stood there when I went to see Jinyoung and he said
he...he..." Jennie gulped horribly, "he hurt her!"

"I lied," Jackson said again. "Jinyoung was trying to push you into making the deal to hand over
Lisa." He swallowed. "I couldn't go against him. He'd have me murdered right after I was done
with you. I can't afford for him to be suspicious of me, not right now."

"Is he keeping your balls hostage or something?" Jennie demanded. "Why are you so scared of
him? Just get out of the country and run! There's nothing tying you here now, is there?"

"It's not that simple. I'm stuck in this mess at the moment." He fixed his gaze on Jennie. "I let
Dahyun down, but I swore I'll do what I can to make sure her death wasn't in vain."

"And they say chivalry is dead," Jennie deadpanned mockingly.

Jackson ignored her. "Jinyoung has to be stopped. I—I was blinded before, I believed in what
Jinyoung was doing. But believe it or not, I do have morals. This is more dangerous than any of
you realise—"

"Oh I think we have an inkling," Jennie cut him off grimly, "given the lengths Jinyoung is going to
make sure he pushes ahead with his plans. So what, now you're suddenly on our side?"

He shifted from one foot to the other and Jennie pounced on his hesitation before he could reply.

"Yeah, you're gonna turn us in to your dear cousin and run the moment we let our guard down,
aren't you? Called it." She raised the gun but Rosé was quick to put her hand on it, stopping her.

"Is Jisoo...safe?" Rosé asked.

Jennie stilled.

Jackson swallowed but nodded, casting a quick glance in Jennie's direction. "She hasn't been
tortured. Or raped. I swear on it."

"Very comforting to hear," Jennie bit out.

"I'm in charge of overseeing her security in particular since she's a different case from other
subjects. Jinyoung ordered extra security measures for her and he has me review security footage
frequently. The Jays aren't allowed near her except when she needs to be escorted out of her cell."
"Subject?" Jennie said hoarsely, snagging on that crucial piece of information. "You said—
Jinyoung—he wouldn't..."

Jackson sighed heavily. "He's been...experimenting..."he said quietly. "I'm sorry. I couldn't stop
him."

Jennie's puffy eyes, previously squinting, snapped wide open in horror. "No...no no no." The gun in
her hand shook as tremors took over her body. "He wouldn't...no..."

"What do you mean?" Rosé said in hushed tones.

"He's not torturing her in the traditional sense," Jackson explained reluctantly. "But he's...turned her
into a TK subject."

"You're lying." Jennie shook her head, panic about to pull her under. "I don't believe it."

But the horrible foreboding feeling in her gut that Jackson was telling the truth wouldn't be quashed
—using Jisoo to hurt her was exactly what a manipulative bastard like Jinyoung would do:
transforming the person she loved most into the thing she feared the worst.

Jennie fell to her knees, clenching her jaw so hard that she thought it was about to shatter and
release the horrible scream she was fighting to keep inside.

Jisoo. Her innocent, bubbly, bright Chu, being transformed into a monstrous killing machine? She
pictured Lisa, raging with yellow eyes that could kill but instead, it was Jisoo's face now, twisted
and contorted into a horrible travesty of a girl that made Jennie shudder and shake.

My fault. My fault. MY FUCKING FAULT.

"No," Jennie sobbed. She held her head, guilt pounding her as she buckled beneath the groaning
weight of her failure.

She had no excuse. She was responsible for all of this mess. She had failed to keep Jisoo safe and
Jisoo was paying for it with her own life and identity on the line.

"You're useless," Jennie whispered. She wasn't sure if she was saying it to Jackson or to herself.
"You're useless," she said again, mumbling faster and louder until it was all jumbled together,
"you're useless you're useless you're useless you're useless YOU'RE USELESS YOU'RE SO
FUCKING USELESS YOU PATHETIC—"

"Jen!"

Rosé threw herself around Jennie, wrapping her in a tight embrace as Jennie heaved. "Ssh, ssh, we'll
get her back."

"I couldn't save her," Jennie sobbed, "I'm so tired of this, I'm so tired of crying and feeling helpless,
I'm sick and tired of it all!"

"I know," Rosé said sorrowfully, "I am too."

Just as she comforted Rosé only moments earlier, Jennie let herself be held whilst she hid her face
in Rosé's chest. Aching and bruised all over, Jennie hadn't cried this hard for herself as she cried
now for Jisoo.

Would Jisoo forget her? Would she be a raging killing machine like Lisa, or would she be cold and
clinical like Yoongi? Would she even survive whatever torture they put her through? Would Jisoo
forgive her?

"We really should be going," Jackson said uncomfortably, breaking through Jennie's misery, "I'm
sorry but the quicker we get out of here, the quicker we can work on saving both Jisoo and Lisa
and shutting down Jinyoung."

"Lisa?" Rosé said.

Jennie felt Rosé's heart pick up speed against her cheek, pounding against her chest wall. She
straightened as well when Jackson crouched down to speak with them.

"Keep your distance," Jennie snarled, pointing her gun at him. "Just because you're
supposedly helping us now doesn't mean I trust you."

"Fair," he said before turning to Rosé, his eyes pinched with remorse. "Jinyoung has had Lisa since
the day after Jennie made her contract with him. She—she came to us, at Rkive."

"No!" Rosé covered her mouth, eyes brimming.

"She what?" Jennie exclaimed. "Why would she...that's just...she walked all the way there?"

"She asked for Jisoo's release, saying she'll take her place. Jinyoung agreed," Jackson said softly as
they both gasped, "but of course, Jinyoung's promises are nothing but hot air."

"Oh Lisa," Rosé sniffled.

Jennie was thunderstruck, still processing the latest update to the nightmare her life had turned into
amidst her raging headache. "Let me get this straight. That son of a bitch had Lisa all this time and
he was taunting me to uphold our deal? Oh, he's so going to catch these hands!"

She frowned. "But I don't get it. Why would Lisa go to him all of a sudden? Right after our fight
too? When she was still...unstable? Why walk all the way to Incheon to give herself up? I don't
believe it's just for Jisoo."

"It's because she had no options left," Rosé said, voice quavering, "she went to Jinyoung because
she felt that's where she was meant to be, as Tiger King."

"That's stupid!" Jennie said hotly.

"Oh yeah? After you called her a monster? That's rich coming from you," Rosé snapped, startling
Jennie.

"Excuse me for not minding my words when I was absolutely terrified out of my mind trying to
stop her from killing us!" Jennie shot back.

"You never saw her as just Lisa. Even now, it's all Jisoo Jisoo Jisoo you care about! Lisa comes
second." Rosé's eyes flashed, all trace of softness gone. "Lisa ran away because she was horrified
with herself for hurting us and you calling her a monster. All those horrible things didn't help her in
that state of mind! She was broken and she...she—god, he has her now—"

"Alright, enough," Jackson cut in. "Things happened but blaming each other isn't going to help us."
He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. "I scouted the area around the bomb site as close as I dared
but security is pretty tight. Cops are still working back there, it's only a matter of time before they
find traces of people entering the forest and find you two here."
"You mean, before Jinyoung tips them off and they come in here. Bet they're in on the bombing
plot," Jennie muttered.

"Now you're using your head," Jackson said approvingly. He climbed to his feet. "We need to
move, now."

"What about...them?" Rosé said, glancing about her nervously. Jennie knew she was referring to
Taehyung and Yoongi, the reminder of her encounter making the pain around her throat flare up as
the sensation of arms choking her flashed in her head.

"The two lab rats? They've been picked up. I hid until they were gone." Jackson's face turned grim.
"Jinyoung is definitely involved with the police—I saw two of the cops give clearance to the van
that carried them. It brought them close to the edge of the forest a little ways away from the
mansion. But I promise they're gone now, I waited until they left. If they found me in here
too...let's just say Jinyoung definitely wouldn't be crying fountains if I turned up dead."

"Do you know why he sent them?" Rosé asked. "Jen and I were theorising..."

"Let's walk and talk. Can you walk?"

Jennie stood up and took some steps, swaying and wincing. "Does hobbling count?"

Rosé stood next to her, likewise bent and limping, though not as much. She threaded an arm
through Jennie's. "Hang on to me."

Obediently, Jennie wrapped an arm around Rosé's waist, hesitant at first before relaxing when
Rosé did the same. They hung on to each other like a pair of drunks, pitching and swaying like a
ship on choppy waters.

"Let's go," Jackson said tersely. His brow seemed to be permanently stuck in a frown, with harsh
shadows crossing his face by the ghostly light of his phone.

"Hang on," Jennie said, "you walk on ahead. I still am not trusting you and just so you know," she
cocked the gun, "I'm watching you. One wrong move and you're—"

"Dead. Got it. And it's fine, as long as you're keeping up," he shrugged, looking truly unbothered.
All he seemed to care about was hurrying them through the forest and glancing impatiently back at
them over his shoulder as they walked, urging them to keep up. He did take the time to answer
Rosé's earlier question, which helped blanket any awkward silences.

"I had been working on a new and improved TK formula because the original formula has been
lost. People have tried to recreate it before, people that once worked with Jinyoung's dad, JYP.
He's the one that started all this. He's still around too."

"How sweet. Bet Daddy dearest is just as delightful as his son," Jennie croaked. Her throat was
killing her. After crying, the swelling of emotion wouldn't go away.

"People tried to recreate TK formula with inconsistent results. The most successful, we call it TK-
Beta, recently made it on to underground market with all the other stuff that is trafficked around. It
comes in the form of yellow pills."

"The pills at the Slammer," Jennie said in realisation. Rosé grunted under her breath. She was
focusing more on walking than responding to Jackson, steering Jennie away from fallen branches
and guiding her.
"Yes. Jinyoung wanted to see it in action. He also wanted to test it out against potential Tiger King
candidates, hoping to trigger reactions when the suspected candidate would be faced with
unprecedented aggression. Lisa was one such candidate. Jinyoung had known Tiger King was
female. It was no coincidence that he got involved with the Slammer sponsorship. He did this at
other underground rings too, flooding the market with TK-Beta over the course of his search and
spreading the net to weasel out Tiger King."

"Wait hold on, hold on!" Rosé burst out, startling Jennie. "Jinyoung was the one that made that
horrible drug? Lisa got hurt so many times because of it, if she wasn't Tiger King, she'd be a
vegetable!"

"Yes. It was all testing and trials, breeding the right atmosphere for the right people to find out
about Tiger King and help him hunt for it. Revive the stories and myths, set the gossip mill and
speculation circulating. Nothing breeds faster than whispers and rumours. The wilder they grew,
the happier Jinyoung was. Like the fact that there was a bounty on Tiger King's head—there's no
such thing, but he let people think that."

"Of course he did." Jennie rolled her eyes.

"He needed to make people like Yang believe that Tiger King was here and hadn't left Seoul, as
many thought. He needed to remind them the power they could have if they could control someone
like Tiger King. It's all the convincing they needed to give him their support. He wields the
manpower and resources to do what it takes and he brought the relevant stakeholders together."

"All this to get Lisa..." Rosé said faintly.

"She's not just Lisa," Jackson countered, turning to face them. The light danced across his haggard
face, belying his young age. "Get this into your head: she's an incredible medical marvel above all
else. Do you understand? She's super strong, she can heal faster than normal, she can dodge
freaking bullets for heaven's sake! And that's just the tip of what we learned so far! What Lisa is,
you only hear about it in science-fiction. And people like JYP were only out to use that power for
their own devious agenda. I thought...I thought..."

He shook his head. "I thought I could do good. I truly believed we could help people advance to
the next stage of human evolution with our work. Think about it, people could heal themselves
from injuries! What if it could also cure cancer? Or at the very least drastically reduce its growth?
Doesn't that sound amazing?"

"You could also go insane, from what I heard. Or have drastic personality changes. Being on TK
long term doesn't sound like a good idea," Jennie said shortly, "but what do I know? Science might
find a way around that."

Jackson forged on earnestly. "I thought Jinyoung was going to be different but from all that I've
seen, I don't have faith him anymore. I was blinded, but I'm not going to stay that way. He says he
wants to do good and use Lisa for medicine. He said we could be able to help really sick people.
But then...he also said he wants to use Lisa to make more Tiger Kings and sell them to armies. Or
distribute TK, take all the glory and let countries annihilate each other. Hell, I wouldn't put it past
him to instigate a pseudo-war so that Tiger Kings would always be in demand. He could become a
mega-millionaire in no time."

"Yeah that checks out with megalomaniac wannabe, right up there with sadistic psycho," Jennie
said wryly. "At least he was open about his intentions."

"You mean to tell me you didn't have any idea at all what sort of person Jinyoung was before he
killed Dahyun?" Rosé wheezed, her words sceptical. "Awfully convenient."

"I swear, I had no idea he'd...he'd go so far as to kill..." Jackson's voice trailed off.

"I call bull," Jennie spoke up. "When you were seeing Dahyun, what were you doing? Were you
getting close to her because Jinyoung already knew about me and Lisa?"

"No," Jackson said hoarsely. "I swear I had no clue who you were. I...I liked Dahyun. I liked her.
I..."

He held his head, suddenly turning away. "God, but she suspected me! She suspected I was up to
something. It was the beginning of the end, and I couldn't stop her," he said harshly. "I was
working on the TK formula, always tweaking, always adjusting. Jinyoung had even set me up to
work at the university labs, got in touch with the administration and everything for clearance just
so I could work under the radar and nobody would suspect a thing. JYP Pharma had been
undergoing some internal inquiry so things were delicate. Until things blew over, Jinyoung ordered
me to do my work at the Uni lab."

"And you still thought your cousin was a saint? Wow." Jennie rolled her eyes. "Okay, then what
happened?"

"I wasn't making any progress," Jackson frowned, "something fundamental was missing from the
formula. I needed raw materials to analyse and figure out in reverse what was missing."

"You needed tissue samples or blood from Lisa. Anything with her DNA so you could see what
was missing," Rosé translated.

"Yes. We got her blood later down the line—"

"At the hospital," Jennie said, stopping altogether and nearly making Rosé trip. "At the hospital
when they fixed her arm, they drew blood didn't they?"

"He did," Rosé said darkly, gesturing at Jacson and making Jennie do a violent double take. "He
was the bloodworks guy. Jinyoung has infiltrated literally everywhere."

"Dahyun was working with Momo," Jackson jumped in before Jennie opened her mouth to yell,
"they must have suspected I could be a source of information due to my connection with Jinyoung
so Dahyun was testing the waters and snooping. Jinyoung's mole working at Momo's company
warned us of what they're up to. I had to pack up and disappear, quickly. To make matters worse,
Dahyun also caught glimpse of my notes one night. She kept edging in closer, pressing and
pressing until she showed up at Rkive. She was so close to the truth...so damn close," he finished in
anguish.

Despite herself, Jennie's eyes grew teary. "And you knew she was there, but you didn't even try to
do anything to stop her, you pathetic excuse of a human. You didn't lift a finger to save her. In
fact, you hurt her."

"You're right. I am a pathetic excuse of a human," he rasped, "and I wake up every day hating
myself for existing. It's a late wake-up call, but I'm working on it, okay? I'm going up against
family, my own cousin, in case you forget, who's probably the deadliest man in Seoul right now.
You do not want to mess with him and his plans. But I'm doing it, because he has to be stopped."

"Very noble of you," Jennie said cuttingly, "okay, so you got Lisa's blood. I'm assuming you
figured out how to make the TK formula. Why does Jinyoung still want Lisa? Surely, you can
recreate whatever is in her blood synthetically, and multiply it infinitely? Why does he still want
her around?"

"She's valuable. Now that he's found her, he won't ever let go," Jackson said tiredly. "She's his
ticket to making his goals come true."

"But how?"

"It's a power play. With the original Tiger King by his side, his own personal loyal assassin, he'll
assert his dominance—over his peers that thought he was incapable, over the criminal underground
which he now took over from Yang, over his dad who never really cared about him beyond that he
was a heir."

"Whoa whoa are you his therapist or something?" Rosé said.

"I'm trying to make you both understand," Jackson said urgently. "Jinyoung's worked on this for a
long time and you two alone have no chance in hell of stopping him and getting either Jisoo or Lisa
back. If they're still alive after all this."

He spread his arms wide. "Sending the lab rats after you was a taster. Those two are some of our
older subjects, they've been on a program with older formulas that had inconsistent results. We
recently started them out on the new TK formula we rediscovered thanks to Lisa's blood—we're
calling it TK-Ultra. We haven't had proper field tests with real emotional triggers for it before so
them confronting you back there would be the first test of its kind."

"Glad we could help," Jennie snorted.

Jackson pointed at them, speaking faster. "Erasing emotional triggers is probably the hardest part
of the whole process, because you want your Tiger King to be obedient and
submissive, emotionless like a robot, when faced with something that could trigger them to either
go berserk or else snap them out of their programming. Triggers are too volatile to control since
they can go both ways so better to eradicate them completely. And to do that, you need a lot of
rewiring and unlearning."

"You're saying...Jisoo might..."

"It's too long a process to say for sure. Even Suga and V still had deep-rooted emotions they
couldn't shake off, but since Jisoo's connection with you is fresher, there's the possibility it could
be erased faster," Jackson gabbled feverishly. "But I know for sure, Jinyoung will do his damndest
to make sure you give up before you even think of striking him. What's stopping Jinyoung from
sending Suga and V back again? Who's to say he won't send Jisoo next, to taunt you? Lisa cared
about you two, yet she still attacked you—"

"Stop. We get it, we stand no chance for the next attack," Jennie said sharply. "What do you want
from us?"

Rosé's hand gripped Jennie tighter from the waist but Jennie's eyes were pinned on Jackson's back
as he turned away. Jennie caressed the gun's trigger, waiting for the climactic resolution to his
spiel.

"All this talk to hammer home the fact that Rosé and I alone won't survive and fight back..." Jennie
observed, "you're just waiting to spring some sort of deal on us. Who are you working with? What
do they want from us?"

Jackson didn't reply right away, pushing ahead through the trees. Jennie's pointer finger slipped
around the trigger and she slowed her breathing in preparation.
Hwangssabu had once told her that shooting people was like smoking: the first time was the
hardest. She was about to put that theory to test.

Jackson's unnerving silence wasn't helping his case as all the tension from earlier returned. Jennie's
paranoia was urging her to finish him off before he led them to their deaths but she braced herself
grimly, waiting.

"Jackson?" Rosé called uncertainly. "What do you—"

On cue, they reached the edge of the forest: Jennie saw the line of trees thinning, with Jackson's
phone light passing through and fading as it met emptiness of the mountain slope instead of endless
tree trunks. Three more paces, and they were out, blinking at the sudden wide open space and the
crisp chilly air that cleared out their lungs from the heavy atmosphere suffocating the forest. The
mountain road they had walked earlier up to the Kims' mansion snaked away from them in both
directions: up towards the mansion, down towards the town.

Jackson's eyes flashed when he turned to face them, the faintest spark of determination igniting
within his pupils.

"I want you to meet someone."

>

Unlike what Jennie assumed, there was nobody waiting for them in Jackson's van. At first, she
started suspecting the worse as her paranoia hit again, and his resolute silence didn't help. He
refused to elaborate on his earlier declaration to meet 'someone' as he drove further away from the
woods.

"We need to get to civilisation where we can get a proper signal," he said evasively. "I need to
make some phone calls first. But you shouldn't use your phones," he added, having noticed Rosé
clutching her phone, finger already hovering and ready to dial.

"Why not? Why can you and we can't? Did Jinyoung bug our phones?" Jennie said. She meant it
sarcastically but stared appalled when Jackson only shrugged.

"That is slightly more complicated but I don't think he's gone that far. He likes to have a little
mystery to his games. He was tracking your movements for sure though. How did you think I was
able to find you? In fact, I suggest you better take out the battery."

She ducked her head and glugged down some water he had offered them earlier, past caring if it
was spiked. She had been parched and guzzled it greedily, with Rosé next to her likewise downing
her own bottle in seconds flat.

"Please, I just need to call Ella," Rosé pleaded now. "I just need to hear her voice and tell her I'm
okay and...god, please, just one quick call and I'll hang up fast, I promise—"

"Don't make me stop this van and take the damn thing," he said tiredly. "We can't be compromised
at this point in time."

"Who is we?" Jennie said immediately. "Why all the mystery? Why can't you just—"

She jumped violently when her phone buzzed, like she was electrocuted.

"You've got signal," Rosé said dumbly.

"Don't pick up!" Jackson barked. "It's—"

"Jinyoung," Jennie snarled as she saw the familiar unknown number. "Stop the van. I'm picking
up."

"No—"

Jennie aimed the gun at Jackson's head who pursed his lips together at her determined face and
quietly pulled to the side, killing the engine. He needn't have bothered pulling aside—the road was
empty and silent as a graveyard, only the van's headlights cutting through the darkness.

Rosé looked at Jennie with huge eyes, fear clear as day on her face as Jennie's phone rang and rang.
Even Jennie herself felt her nerves catch up as she swallowed and picked up the call.

"Jinyoung."

"Jennie Jennie Jennieeeeeeeeeee," Jinyoung warbled, grating on her nerves with his cloying
tone, "where have you been, I've been trying to reach you all day! Busy running around,
huh?"

"Cut the crap you bastard," Jennie gritted out. "Why? Why did you do that? The Kims—they were
innocent. All their staff...you're a monster."

"I warned you not to underestimate me," Jinyoung said coolly, his tone taking a dramatic turn
towards frosty territory in the blink of an eye. "I warned you not to involve other people. Seems
like my word wasn't enough to convince you."

"You're crazy!"

"I've been called worse."

"So what, now you don't need us anymore? Is that why you sent Yoongi and Tae, or should I say,
Suga and V?"

"Ah, you've met them?" Jinyoung said in delight. "And noooooo, I wouldn't kill you. It was
just a little bit of fun—"

Rosé snorted.

"Is that Rosie with you? Good to hear she hasn't lost her sense of humour. But Jennie, come
on, we have a deal, don't we? You give me Lisa, I give you Jisoo and all is fair."

"Something tells me you already have got Lisa AND you won't be giving up Jisoo," Jennie said
shortly, ignoring Jackson's frantic waving and gestures. "Your Jays were going to bomb up the
mansion with us inside."

"Me, have Lisa? Not give you back Jisoo? Now that's just plain silly. And bombing the
mansion with you inside? Wildly exaggerated," Jinyoung sighed dramatically. "Is that what
the Jays told you? You have to be so careful with how you word orders these days. Are you
sure you didn't mishear?"

"Get fucked," Jennie growled, the pounding in her head barely letting her string words together.
"And FYI, your minions are dead."
"Yes, I'm fully aware," Jinyoung said, his voice hardening the slightest. "Not cool of you Jen.
Not cool at all. So I'm afraid a counter-measure was effected."

"What?"

"An eye for an eye, tit for tat, you know. Playground rules," Jinyoung elaborated, back in
control. "Just to remind you that anything you do, even one little step out of line, has
consequences."

"What the hell are you talking about? What did you do?" Jennie said, squeezing her phone so hard
she was sure she was about to crack it. Opposite her, Rosé was wringing her hands through her
hair.

"You might want to check the news, by the way," Jinyoung said smoothly. "Thank me later
for keeping Rosie out of it. She's got a kid and all."

"Keep her out of what, you bastard?" Jennie practically shrieked but Jinyoung went on,
unperturbed.

"And you might want to check on your friend, the disgraced Hirai heir—"

"What did you do to Momo?!"

"Also, I'd suggest you keep a low profile for now, Jennie," Jinyoung purred. "Sudden fame
can be quite overwhelming to deal with. Your move. Jisoo will be waiting for you...or will
she? She might just give up, or even...forget you."

"Fuck you," Jennie spat. "I'm going to find you, and I'm gonna kill you with my bare hands you
sick son of a—"

Jinyoung cut the call, leaving Jennie shaking like a bottle of soda with unrestrained rage. She all
but threw her phone, weren't it for Rosé sitting very still and wide-eyed as she scrolled frantically
on her phone.

"What did he do?" Jennie said in hushed tones.

Jackson swore softly, also on his phone, tapping furiously. "Well, this complicates shit. Damn him,
I should have known."

"Jen," Rosé whispered and showed her phone to Jennie. She had pulled up a news portal, which
screamed the headline: CHAEBOL FAMILY DEAD, TERRORIST STILL AT LARGE.

Jennie gulped; the foreboding feeling in her gut grew and transformed into outright dread. "The
Kims?" she asked at last. "That was fast."

"There's more..." Rosé wordlessly scrolled down further.

Jennie's mouth dropped as she came face to face with a deadpan photo of herself, staring right back
at her with piercing eyes. Where had they even gotten such a photo?

JENNIE KIM, TERRORIST was emblazoned beneath the photo, the words branding themselves
into Jennie's eyes as her shattered world crumbled further.

"No," Jennie said slowly, "what do they—they can't possibly think...?"

"The authorities have named you as the culprit behind the bombing attack," Jackson said curtly,
making Jennie freeze, "and they're claiming you're armed and dangerous. They also said you're not
alone and you have a mystery female accomplice. There's an arrest warrant out for you and a
manhunt is underway. A few more hours and this shitshow is going to reach the Blue House, if
Jinyoung wants it to. Hell, it can go national, or international as well."

His gaze hovered over Rosé's trembling figure. "This is what he meant about keeping Rosé's name
out of this. He's the one that's feeding the press the lies and twisting things around to fit his story.
They even know you're an illegal immigrant, it says so here. I bet if you turn yourself in or just let
him know you're done, he can call off this madness in a blink."

Jackson rubbed the back of his neck vigorously. "This is bad. This is very, very bad."

Jennie held her head, hyperventilating. All those years of careful anonymity wiped away by a
sadistic bastard getting off on her suffering. She went from being an invisible nobody to being
catapulted straight into the public eye in the worst way possible.

Jennie gnashed her teeth, wishing and wishing she could fall into a deep sleep and never wake up
again, never feel pain, guilt or terror of this magnitude ever again.

"I need to call Ella," Rosé whispered next to her. "God..."

"Irene," Jennie croaked. "I have to call them—they'll be worried sick if they watch the news. And
Momo—"

"She's dead," Jackson said flatly. Silence reigned as Rosé and Jennie blinked at him in horror.

"What?" Jennie choked out. "How do you—"

He wordlessly held up his phone, displaying a minor headline detailing the apparent suicide of
Momo Hirai, who jumped into the Han River weighed down by dumbells tied to her legs. Blurry
photos showed her corpse covered by a blanket but Jennie recognised the clothes she had been
wearing and the poorly hacked haircut with matted wet black hair.

Momo was dead.

Rosé screamed and Jennie nearly joined her but thankfully, Jackson grabbed a water bottle and
chucked its contents in Rosé's face, abruptly cutting off her screams as she choked and spluttered.

"I sent her away, I was so mean to her," Rosé burbled, "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry—"

"Get a hold of yourself," Jackson said harshly. "We can't afford any more hysterics. This is
Jinyoung. This is what he does. If we don't act, we're going to end up like Momo, or else picked up
and killed in the middle of the night, or worse. Call your kid but then we're leaving. No buts, ifs or
anything else. We're late as it is."

Jennie was still sitting numb with shock to even question Jackson's commands. Rosé sniffled,
shivering as she put her phone to her ear and bit down on her knuckles to suppress her sobs.

"Mom? Mom! You called!"

Jennie closed her eyes when she heard Ella's happy voice.

"Oh Ella, baby," Rosé said steadily and Jennie marvelled at how normal Rosé instantly sounded,
transforming in a blink, "it's so good to hear you, I'm so glad you're okay. What have you been up
to? I missed you."

"I missed you too! I watched cartoons with Seulgi unnie. Where are you? It's so late, aren't
you coming back?"

Rosé hesitated. "I...are Seulgi and Irene there?"

"You aren't, are you?" Ella sighed and Rosé's face crumpled. "Hang on, I'll put phone on
speaker."

"Keep it short," Jackson muttered tersely.

"Rosé?" Seulgi said and she sounded frantic. "Rosé, where are you? Where's Jennie? We saw
the news, what the hell is happening?"

"Jennie's with me. Is Ella still there?"

"Hyun just took her. Uh...she's been a little moody."

"Because of me." Rosé shook her head to focus. "Listen, it's Jinyoung, he's behind everything. The
bombing, he's behind it, he practically confessed to it just now," Rosé said in anguish. "Seulgi, I
can't...we can't come back. It would be dangerous. Ella...god, Ella..."

Rosé broke down and Jennie swiftly took the phone before Jackson could say or do anything.

"Seulgi, it's me. We're with a friend, we'll lie low for a while. I don't know how or what's going on
exactly, but we'll figure something out before we contact you again," Jennie said steadily. "I'm
sorry for involving you in all this."

"It's fine," Seulgi said after a beat, "we're behind you. I just need to know, are you currently
safe? Any injuries? Who are you with, can they be trusted?"

Jennie gave a dry chuckle. "Nothing life threatening, I think. As for safe..." she glanced at Jackson.
"You could say safer than being at Jinyoung's mercy, that's for sure. Tell...tell Irene I'm sorry, and
thank you. And please, can you look after Ella? I don't know when we'll be able to contact you. Oh,
and try and get the kittens before the Jays get to Rosé's apartment. But stay low. And I'm being
greedy but could you check in on Dalgom too? Please don't be reckless or daring, Jinyoung can't
know you're affiliated with us, even if he might suspect."

"Of course," Seulgi said immediately. "Don't worry Jen, I'll handle it. Just stay safe and...I
don't want to see you on the news like...like..."

"You saw about Momo?"

"Yes," Seulgi said, her voice wavering.

Jennie sighed. "Yeah...Jinyoung."

All her current problems began and ended with him. She hadn't known how much she could hate a
name and all it stood for.

"Jen, I won't forgive you if you end up like her," Seulgi said. Jennie's heart squeezed—they
had come a long way from glowering at each other at opposite ends of a boxing ring to begging
each other to stay safe.
Jennie tried to inject confidence in her voice that she didn't feel. "I'll do my best not to let you
down—"

The call cut abruptly. To Jennie's dismay, the phone had run out of battery. She braced herself
when Rosé looked up at her with dead eyes.

"Phone dead?" she croaked. She reached for it with trembling hands when Jennie passed it over to
her.

"I'm sorry," Jennie sighed. "Mine's out of juice too. Happened after Jinyoung's call."

"I didn't get to say goodbye," Rosé said faintly. Jennie bit her lip.

"We'll find another way to contact them—"

Jackson started the engine, startling them.

"You can charge your phones where we're going. But I don't advise to use them again," he said,
uncharacteristically soft.

"Are you going to tell us who exactly you're working with?"

He sighed, one hand on the gear shift as the van idled.

"My orders were to say nothing until we arrived. Security purposes."

"You mean, so that we wouldn't bolt," Jennie said shrewdly. She tried her best not to focus on Rosé
rocking herself back and forth next to her.

He ignored her. "This thing with the manhunt and people after you...it changes things. I'm not even
sure if we can get back in Seoul. There will likely be roadblocks to check for you."

Jennie's throat ran dry when she realised the gravity of their situation. "I really am a wanted
fugitive now, huh?" She glanced at Rosé, heart squeezing at the sight of the dishevelled girl
huddled in her shirt.

"It's not the end of the world," Jackson reassured. "It's just a bit more complicated and needs some
more planning. Luckily, we have some power in our corner too, enough to face off against
Jinyoung. At least, if you agree to let us help you."

"Who's us?"

Jackson went quiet, mulling over her question. "Dasoni," he said at last.

"What?" Rosé burst out incredulously, making Jennie jump. "You want us to work with that viper?
Are you insane? She's the one you're working with? How is she any better than Jinyoung?!"

"Look I admit it's not the best situation, but we're talking the lesser of two evils here," Jackson
muttered.

"Oh really?" Rosé scoffed. "I don't know what she promised you to make you defect to her side,
but Yang was one of the top mob bosses in Seoul and even he was careful not to provoke her, she
could bring hell down on your head. Selling product in her clubs was a risk, but it's where Yang got
a good cut of profits. I bet you anything she's profiled me. She'll play that to her advantage."

"Uh, I literally have no idea who you're talking about," Jennie frowned as Jackson tried to calm
down a blustering Rosé.

"Dasoni." When Jennie shrugged, Rosé elaborated. "Come on, the Dasoni clan that basically run
Gangnam and Hannam-dong, they own all the high-end clubs in that area, a ton of real
estate and they got filthy rich investing in plastic surgery hospitals. They're like the 'It' family
amongst the chaebols in Seoul for sure, I'm talking like all the scandals and glamour and glitz
which they hush up. You've got to have heard about them?"

"I don't keep up with Korea's Kardashians," Jennie said shortly.

"More like mobsters. When old man Dasoni passed away, his youngest daughter stepped up." Rosé
shuddered. "When Yang sent me on errands in clubs in her territory, it was strictly an in-and-out
mission. The risk of getting caught and ending up dead in the river were sky high, she's ruthless.
He was taking her customers so of course, she would be far from pleased to see the likes of me
there. Any deals with her people were always tense but thankfully, I wasn't involved with that."

"That's..." Jennie was speechless, realisation dawning on how little she knew about Rosé's time
moonlighting as a runner for a mob boss. "You really risked your life like that?"

"I had to," Rosé said simply.

"I still need to contact them and check if there were any changes to the orders but as far as I'm
aware, I was to take you to a safehouse where she's waiting for you. She knows who you are,
vaguely, from what I told her," Jackson said.

"Vaguely?" Jennie said sceptically. "You didn't spill your guts about us?"

Jackson gave a half-smile. "When someone is desperate for information, you can hold it over their
heads like a bargaining chip. It makes me valuable for the time being so less chance of being
secretly taken out in some back alley."

"Smart, okay," Jennie said, a little impressed. She turned to Rosé who still was in denial.

"We can't do this," Rosé insisted, "she's as bad as Jinyoung, she'll try to manipulate us in some
way. We can't trust her. She'll want something in return for her protection and aid. What's in it for
her anyway, she thinks she can take on Jinyoung or something?"

"She knows about Tiger King," Jackson said. "But as to what she intends to do about that...I don't
know. She said something about stopping Jinyoung."

"Very reassuring," Rosé said sarcastically.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Jennie said as she put away her gun. "I say that we don't
have many other options and for the time being, we can't return home. Let's just go and see what
proposition she might have for us. We can always say no."

"I don't think she likes taking no for an answer." Rosé bit her lip and held her head. "God, I just
want to sleep and not think again for another fifty years. My head hurts, I was fucking raped, I'm
worried sick about Ella and now this?"

"Let me handle it," Jennie said immediately, even as the relentless hammer pounded in her head.
"I'll handle negotiations. This is my mess—don't deny, Jinyoung seems to get off on my suffering,
he's targeting me in particular. Also...Lisa is my sister. This Dasoni woman will likely want to deal
with me the most."
When Rosé still seemed uncertain, Jennie added: "Having enough power behind us to fight
Jinyoung and equal the playing field is what we need at the moment, because he's been getting
away with things just because he could. I'm a wanted criminal too now, so I'm willing to try
anything at this point. We kind of hit rock bottom and we're out of options."

"That's why she's acting now," Rosé sniffed, shooting Jackson a subtle glare, "when we're all
backed up in a corner."

"It's not like I could reach you guys before," Jackson mumbled.

"Excuses, she didn't make you come to us before," Rosé sniffed. He threw his hands up in
exasperation but didn't push it.

Jennie took Rosé's hand and squeezed. "It's our chance to get Lisa and Jisoo back and end this."

Finally, Rosé gave a great huff. "Fine," she said flatly. " Let's see what she has to say BUT we're
out of there the moment things turn sour."

Jennie nodded. "Deal."

"Finally," Jackson exhaled as he shifted the van into gear.

>

Jinyoung stretched and cracked his knuckles, finally allowing himself to relax after the very
exciting and busy day he just had, topped off with that sweet phone call to Jennie.

Really, he was starting to grow fond of the girl. She actually made this tedious business of waiting
around for Tiger King to be reprogrammed a lot more bearable.

She had caught his interest ever since he started dropping by the Slammer, so petite and
deceivingly fragile, standing in the shadows of her loud and boisterous sister always stealing the
spotlight, but he had seen her quiet strength before anyone else noticed, before Jisoo swooped in
and made her flourish.

And now that his hard work paid off and Tiger King submitted to him, he seized the opportunity to
indulge himself, to take Jennie apart and break her piece by piece as his personal side project, like
a scientist observing its specimen in a lab.

He wished he could have seen her rage in person during the phone call. And now, he was curious
to see how she would evade the authorities.

Jinyoung had no doubt that she would, somehow and deep down, he was secretly rooting for her to
prove herself the underdog and fight.

She was a little spitfire, she would come out swinging, he was certain. She was not yet broken,
despite coming within inches of death multiple times over the course of mere hours.

Her tenacity might pose a problem later, but Jinyoung wasn't too worried: he had counter-plans.
She was a gnat that he hadn't bothered to swat yet.

He had meant it when he said that in another life, he would have proposed to her and bound her to
him—sentimentality had never been his strong suit, but he was sure that they would have
complemented each other perfectly.
Jennie would have to die in the end, if he wanted to carry out his plans in peace, but for now, she
spiced up the game and amused him with her attempts to fight back. It was like watching ants dash
in a mad frenzy to escape a torrential downpour.

Jinyoung yawned. It was getting late and as per his routine nowadays, he decided to check in with
Tiger King. He stood up, stretched and made his way to the labs deep deep underground, with the
air growing colder and colder the closer he got to his destination: the tightly-guarded chamber
housing his most precious asset.

They gave him his usual labcoat, gloves and mask to wear inside and sealed the doors once he was
inside.

Tiger King lay strapped to the operating table as usual, its skin ghoulish yellow and clammy,
covered with a film of sweat. A clunky facemask connected to the oxygen machine hid its face
from view, with the mask fogging up quickly with its harsh breaths.

They had buzzed off all the excess hair and now golden stubble was all that remained, revaling a
tiny face that belied the rest of the body, everyday bulking up on glistening muscle.

There were lines and leads attached to it to monitor the body's overall mechanisms but Jinyoung
wasn't too interested in those. What interested him was the IV line feeding in a constant stream of
TK-Ultra in the right arm, the improved formula Jackson had cooked up, while the left IV line
would periodically remove blood, to be analysed and check how well Tiger King's body was
absorbing TK and reproducing it.

The process would be complete when all the blood in Tiger King's body would be replaced by TK.
They had a lot of work to do till then.

Tiger King usually faded in and out of consciousness—tonight, it was sweating and panting, the
sound of its teeth gnashing together reverberating throughout the sterile room as it thrashed and
groaned behind its mask, eyelids flickering. The cuffs on its arms and legs jingled with the violent
convulsions.

Jinyoung stepped closer, his gaze flicking to the beeping monitors crowding the walls that meant
nothing to him.

"Any updates?" Jinyoung asked of the handful of staff that hovered around him, awaiting his
judgement.

"Reacting well, but slow," came the timid reply, "the emotional reprogram is taking longer than
estimated."

"I was afraid of that. Where's Doctor Kwang?"

"Doing the rounds."

"Someone get him for me."

Jinyoung stood observing Tiger King thrashing for a while longer before he leaned over the table
and plucked off the oxygen mask.

Tiger King gave a great heave, as though it were breathing for the first time.

"Tiger King, can you hear me?" Jinyoung said clearly. He lowered his mask as Tiger King turned
its half-lidded eyes to him but gave no response.
The sound of the chamber door depressurising with a hiss caught Jinyoung's attention and he
looked up expectantly.

"Still trying to make it recognise you?" came a new scathing voice, followed by a hacking bout of
laughter and coughing.

Jinyoung's mouth pursed into a thin line as the staff hurriedly greeted the newcomer who briskly
made his way over to Jinyoung in his wheelchair, an oxygen machine of his own and a urine bag
clipped to the chair. He was swathed in blankets.

"Hello father," Jinyoung said tightly, "wasn't expecting you at this hour. Can't sleep?"

His father had aged dreadfully fast as the disease developed, but his eyes were sharp and dark as
obsidian, even though his movements were frail, his body failing and he wheezed every other
sentence.

"How is he?" His father said, brushing past him and wheeling up beside the bed without the Jay's
help that was accompanying him. He squinted intently at Tiger King.

Jinyoung cleared his throat, making no effort to hide his irritation at being blatantly shoved aside.
"It's doing...fine."

"Tiger King," said JYP reverently and touched an arm. "My little Tiger King. You've gotten so big
and strong now. I came to see you yesterday but you were sleepy. But you still remember me, don't
you?"

Tiger King's eyes swivelled over to meet JYP, holding gazes for one long moment before it visibly
stiffened, going rigid.

"Ringmaster," Tiger King rasped. Jinyoung's irritation grew upon hearing the tinge of fear in Tiger
King's voice—as though the old man could wield any power to hurt. His father could barely sit
straight in his chair.

JYP chuckled and wheezed, withdrawing his hand.

"Good boy," he crooned, as though he were praising his favourite pet, "you still remember me,
don't you? Still remember your true master."

Tiger King started whipping its head back and forth, gabbling incoherently under its breath as the
beeping of the monitors doubled. Jinyoung frowned but JYP cooed delightedly.

He wheeled around to face Jinyoung, his smug smile wide. "You see? Break them young, they will
remember you forever. You don't stand a chance. I own him. He answers to me."

"He is it, now," Jinyoung said tightly, tamping down the urge to knock the infuriating old man out
of his chair. "And we'll see about that. It may respond to you now, but I'm the one running the
show. I'm the one doing the work and trying to restore my legacy, not you. Once we reprogram it, I
will be the new Ringmaster. So, kindly, with all due respect, fuck off."

Some of the staff stifled gasps but the old man gave another hacking laugh before hastily putting
on his oxygen mask with the Jay's help.

"Good luck," he told Jinyoung, voice muffled behind his mask as he was wheeled past, "you're
going to need it." He glanced back at Tiger King who was still thrashing and muttering. "You
might want to have a listen to what he's gabbling, boy. If you're the one doing the work, then do it
well. So far, I have to say, you're quite lacking. I warned you, but you wouldn't listen."

Jinyoung gripped the edge of the table tightly, biting down on the temptation to curse his father out
under the watchful gaze of his staff.

"Goodnight, father," he said coldly.

"One more thing," JYP said, breaths coming out in heavy puffs, but his voice was surprisingly
stern, "if you're serious about any of this, stop playing around and focus. The girl you're obsessing
over will bring us all down if you're not careful."

Jinyoung's temper flared. How dare the old man chastise him in front of other people like he was a
mere child?

But he knew why, of course—it was his way of asserting superiority. JYP might be withering
away, but he still had his cunning and wits about him, still subtly tried to sabotage his own son.

Jinyoung didn't rise to the bait but once the old man was safely out of the chamber, he tried to
resist, tried to ignore the faint warning his father had issued about Tiger King but it sounded
foreboding enough to make his curiosity pique as Tiger King's muttering did not cease.

In the end, Jingyoun caved in and leaned over to hear better.

Tiger King was uttering one simple word over and over, making Jinyoung's jaw tighten and his
hand flex with frustration.

"Rosie," Tiger King was saying, eyes scrunched tight in a fervent prayer for salvation, "Rosie
Rosie Rosie Rosie Rosie..."

The maddening litany was too much. On instinct, Jinyoung reached out and grabbed Tiger King
from its throat to shut it up. He squeezed tightly, making it choke and falter. Its eyes flew open,
brighter and more alert than it had been in days. It scrabbled helplessly trying to get away but
Jinyoung's hand was like a merciless vice.

He was vaguely aware of the staff's uncertain murmurs behind him but Jinyoung didn't care—he
gazed directly into the pair of cloudy yellows peering up at him, fear swimming in their depths.

"Your life is in my hands now,"Jinyoung hissed grimly. "Forget Rosie. Forget Ringmaster. You
will kill them. I'll make you."

He squeezed, hanging on stubbornly as Tiger King thrashed. Jinyoung's mask came off and he
banged his elbows but he clung on, waving away the worried staff. It was time for him to get up
close and physical. His father thought he was playing around? He'd show him.

"I'm the master now. Say it. Say my name."

He applied more pressure, smiling when it gagged and gasped. He shook it a little for extra
measure.

"M-Master," Tiger King wheezed. "M-Master!"

Jinyoung realised it from his clutches, panting. Tiger King heaved, dry coughs racking its chest. It
stiffened again when Jinyoung triumphantly cupped its face, a thumb tracing lovingly over the
harsh angle of its protruding cheekbone.
"That's right Tiger King," Jinyoung said softly, relishing the way it trembled beneath his touch.
"You're mine now."
 A New Deal
Chapter Notes

previously:

>chaennie get a lift with jackson to go meet dasoni.

>jinyoung moves to secure his dominance over tiger king.

On Jennie's insistence, Rosé tried to sleep, even though anxiety about potentially being nabbed by
cops had her sleeping fitfully. Jennie had announced she'd keep watch during the drive, outlining
her emergency plan in case they were apprehended at road blocks.

"If we're stopped, I'll charge out and start firing, that will draw them away from you two. And then
Jackson will drive and you stay inside and—"

"Nobody's sacrificing themselves tonight. Stop the drama," Jackson said in exasperation, "we're
just going to be taking a longer route. It's all handled, Dasoni told me. Buckle in and rest, you need
it."

Jennie still refused to sleep though she finally gave in and wore Jackson's shirt. He had offered it to
her with what Rosé deemed was a clever ploy to make her wear it.

"I know you don't trust me or want anything to do with me," he had begun as Jennie watched him
suspiciously.

"That's putting it mildly," Jennie said.

"But do you really want to be walking around meeting people in your bra?" Jackson questioned.
Rosé smiled when Jennie glanced down at her chest then glared at him before snatching the
proffered shirt and shrugging it on, grumbling to herself.

She hadn't complained a single time at all about walking around with her bare upper body save for
her bra, but Rosé was relieved to see Jennie now fully clothed, hiding most of the horrid bruises
covering her skin like a constellation. Jackson solved his own bare torso problem by casually
slipping on a reflective vest that he apparently had lying around 'just in case I need to enter some
place' and at least it covered his chest. The night air coming off the mountain was fresh but it was
summer so it was bearable enough as they drove towards Seoul.

As much as she wanted to keep Jennie company during the ride, exhaustion quickly wiped away
Rosé's resolve so she hunkered down as best as she could.

She slept fitfully, confusing nightmares of Taehyung chasing her, transforming into Lisa and
attacking her making her spring awake each time with her heart thundering in her chest. Each time,
she would force herself to think of happier times with Lisa, desperate to dash away the poison
corrupting her memories and making her heart hurt worse.

Each time when her panic settled, she'd notice Jennie sitting opposite her, eyes pinched with
exhaustion and sometimes dozing, but more often than not she was gazing out the tinted window
intently. Jackson himself was quiet as he drove but he had switched on some music that Rosé didn't
recognise right away until she heard him softly humming the lyrics to Frank Sinatra.

That's life, crooned Frank, that's what all the people say...

The music was soft enough to lull Rosé back to sleep, drifting away to the memory of dancing with
Lisa in the apartment, with the kittens gambolling amongst their legs, with Ella joining them too.

Lisa held her, so real and soft and tender as she laughed and danced with Rosé than pulled away to
dance with Ella too, then picked up the kittens and rocked them in her arms like babies as well.
And all Rosé wanted to do was kiss her and kiss her and kiss her.

But just before she reached Lisa, Taehyung appeared out of nowhere and destroyed everything in a
rain of blood and pain, and he chased her, shouting as his body warped into a monstrosity that
terrorised her, making her scream.

The third time Rosé jolted awake from such a nightmare, the music was gone and Jennie was
speaking with Jackson.

"They got bathrooms where we're going?"

"Yeah."

"Good. My bladder's starting to hurt."

"We can stop in a field—"

"Yeah fat chance I'm baring my ass unprotected in some godforsaken field," Jennie shuddered.

"Suit yourself."

"I'll wait, I'll manage. But it would be really nice to clean up before we talk with anyone. Rosé's
been through hell especially. And maybe have some food too? I feel like I'm about to pass out."

Indeed, Rosé suddenly noticed the deep exhaustion that laced Jennie's words. sHE remembered
with a start that Jennie hadn't even had proper nourishment in days, unless you counted the IV drip
that kept her hydrated while she slept.

How she was still capable of staying awake and alert was beyond Rosé when Jennie had gone
through hell herself.

"You'll have your bath and food soon. Hang in there," Jackson said unhelpfully.

"Gosh, why didn't I think of that?" Jennie said sarcastically. She glanced back at Rosé and crawled
over to her when she saw her awake. "Jackson says we're almost there." The ghost of a relieved
smile danced at the corner of her mouth. "We made it."

"No police?" Rosé croaked.

"Told you, it was all handled," Jackson called and he sounded like he was smiling. "It helps to have
Dasoni on your side in times like these."

"We went through the detour to find the right entry back into the city, one of the less popular
entries that don't have that much surveillance on them. But the roadblocks we passed apparently
have cops on Dasoni's payroll, so they let us through without even batting an eyelid," Jennie
explained. "We're heading into Gangnam as we speak."
Rosé shook her head. "We're really just puppets in this mess. It's their game, Jinyoung and hotshots
like him, they can push us around all they like with their money and power. We're just pawns
fighting their petty wars."

Jennie squeezed her hand tightly. Jackson didn't comment.

After another hour of driving through a maze of identical, clean and quiet residential areas, Jackson
parked in the carpark recess of an ordinary looking condo and led them to the emergency exit
stairs.

"Uh, we could take the elevator?" Jennie said, pointing in the opposite direction.

"No. Orders are orders. I know, I know," he said apologetically when Jennie threw him a baleful
glare and then gestured furiously at her and Rosé's states, "but there's cameras in the elevator. The
less trails we leave, even here, the better. This place could be compromised too. She doesn't want
to take chances."

As Rosé limped and hobbled along while supporting Jennie, she was left to wonder if she was
forever destined to be chased, forever destined to check over her shoulder, forever destined to jump
and startle at the littlest sound.

Jennie hadn't let go of the gun they picked up from the Jay, which gave Rosé a measure of comfort
considering she was already feeling ill thinking about their meeting with Dasoni. All her previous
fire had been extinguished and now dread filled up the hollowness in her chest.

From one mob boss to another, handed over like hot potatoes. Rosé shook her head and focused on
putting one foot in front of the other to make it through their ascent. She gripped Jennie's hand
tightly before remembering she was probably in pain. But Jennie didn't complain. Instead she
turned to Rosé, her eyes soft.

"I'll handle this," she reminded. Rosé was simultaneously filled with gratitude and irritation.

"I'm not fragile, you know, just because I was raped," she sniffed, the word bitter and sharp as
broken glass in her throat.

"I know, but if she knows who you are, it's best she speaks with someone she doesn't know,"
Jennie reasoned, echoing their conversation in the van. "Throws her off and she won't have that
leverage to hold over your head."

Rosé sighed, shaking her head. "Yeah. You're right, sorry."

Jennie squeezed her hand. Then, in a lower voice so Jackson wouldn't overhear, she said: "I'm still
not trusting this a hundred percent. They're probably gonna be waiting for us, and the moment
we're inside the room, they'll put guns to our heads."

"Jinyoung?" Rosé said, confused.

"No, this Dasoni woman."

"After all the trouble to get us here?" Rosé frowned.

Jennie shrugged and carefully slipped the safety off her gun. "I'm not taking chances. Stay behind
me and walk slow when we go in, don't let Jackson close the door behind you. If anything happens,
run."
"But Jen—"

"They won't need you. They'll want me." Jennie insisted. Her determined eyes let Rosé know it
was futile to argue further.

She finally nodded, steeling herself. "Got it."

After an endless climb, they reached the destined floor. Both girls were sweating and puffing like
engines while Jackson stood by, uncomfortable and awkward. The strain had taken its toll on
Jennie, who doubled over her knees and rested against the wall.

She slapped Jackson's hand away when he tried reaching out to support her. Perspiration beaded on
her forehead, strands of slick hair pasted to her temples.

"I'm—fine," she wheezed, "give—me—a sec."

"Jen," Rosé said anxiously. Jennie's face was contorted with pain and she gradually lowered herself
to the floor, breathing still ragged and shallow. Her skin was pasty.

"I'm okay—just—ribs—hurt," she wheezed. "My head..."

"Well this is where I leave you, I'm afraid," Jackson said, always with impeccable timing. He
shrugged when Rosé shot him an incredulous look.

"What? Just like that? Are you insane? Can't you see she's on the verge of fainting?" Rosé said
indignantly.

"I'm fine," Jennie insisted but her voice was weak. She slumped against the wall, head tilted back
with eyes closed and breathing hard.

"Jen, what is it? What's wrong?" Rosé said, panic starting to set in. She turned to Jackson in
despair. "Get help."

He looked torn. "I really can't—"

"Are you kidding me?" Rosé exclaimed. "Don't stand there and give me pathetic excuses! Get help,
now!"

"There's only Dasoni on this floor. Trust me, you don't want to be in her debt," he said urgently. He
knelt beside Jennie and put his arms out to haul her up. "Get up. If you let her help you, she'll use it
to her advantage."

"What happened to 'oh, she's not as bad as Jinyoung, I'm her biggest fan'?" Rosé demanded.

"Nothing happened. I just said she's not as bad, not that she's a saint," Jackson gritted, pulling at
Jennie insistently. "Jennie, up."

Rosé went to help as well but grew frightened by how clammy Jennie's hands were. "I'm not liking
this. She needs medical attention."

"Dasoni won't—"

"Fuck that! I'll deal with Dasoni myself if it comes down to it but I'm not losing Jennie over your
stupid quibbling!" Rosé exploded. "She was in hospital this morning and she hasn't had time to
recover. Go get help and I swear if Dasoni tries to pull some shit, I'll give her hell to pay!"
Jackson's mouth dropped but he glanced one more time at Jennie then pinched his mouth close,
scrambled to his feet and ran down the hallway. Rosé heard him hammer a series of knocks on a
door. She turned to Jennie, trying to assess better to ease her condition.

The gun had fallen from her grip but Rosé was more worried about Jennie's glassy eyes. Her hand
hovered uncertainly, hating how helpless she felt because she had no idea what to do. This was
different than treating Ella's knee scratches and finger cuts.

"Jen, stay with me. How are you feeling?"

"Head...hurts. Everywhere...hurts," Jennie croaked.

"Wanna lie down?"

"Yeah..." Jennie instantly took Rosé up on the offer, sighing in relief as she slid down until she was
flat on her back, sprawling like a starfish.

A door slammed somewhere behind Rosé, followed by a spatter of tense voices but Rosé's focus
was solely on Jennie, heart aching for the older girl in pain. She had been wallowing so deep in her
own self-pity she hadn't considered that Jennie was in worse shape than herself, clinging on by a
thread.

"Oh sweetheart, you were walking around like this and I didn't even notice," Rosé whispered,
stroking her bruised jaw tenderly. "Jisoo's gonna kill me."

The ghost of a smile crossed Jennie's tired face. "Lisa's gonna kill me too."

"For what?"

"Not...saving you." Jennie's eyes closed. "We can hang out...in the afterlife and...haunt Jinyoung
together."

Despite the situation, Rosé played along to humour her and keep her talking. "I call dibs on
haunting him. I'm going to make sure he trips himself up at least ten times daily. He'll be
miserable."

"Lame. I'll make him...trip in front of a bus."

"Do we really want him in the afterlife with us?"

"Shit, you make...a good point," Jennie mumbled. She still lay with her eyes screwed shut, chest
rising and falling shallowly.

Rosé swallowed. "Let's not talk about dying right now. Stay with me, you hear?"

"Thorn," called a sharp voice that didn't belong to Jackson.

Rosé froze. The feminine voice was unfamiliar but being called by her old alias still had her pause.
She glanced over her shoulder at the shadows that loomed: Jackson joined by two young men
wearing identical faces, and a tall haughty-looking woman, the owner of the voice, with short hair
framing her face and her keen eyes flashing.

"D-Dasoni," Rosé stuttered, stomach churning upon recognition. Jennie's hand in hers twitched at
the sound of her voice, swiftly redirecting Rosé's panic. "Please, help her. She's—she's hurt."

Instantly, she knew those were the wrong words to say. She saw it in the way Dasoni's lips pulled
back in a little smirk.

"Why should I?"

"Because she needs our help, she's injured and she's only just got out of a three day coma, she's
malnourished and she's been attacked and—and—"

"I need better rational convincing than that, Thorn," Dasoni cut her off. "Appealing to my
conscience is a rookie move. Show me your infamous negotiation skills. Convince me why I
should harbour a terrorist and her accomplice."

"She's a not a terrorist!" Rosé said in disbelief.

"Not only is she a terrorist but I'm informed she is contractually tied to a blood oath. That could
spell potential violence and bloodshed on my turf, which I avoid especially if it involves outsiders,"
Dasoni said.

"We're really going to do this while she's...she's laying there? What are you?"

"A bitch," Jennie wheezed helpfully.

The twin men behind Dasoni snickered but their boss ignored them, her gaze boring into Rosé.

"She's just shot up the list of most wanted criminals in the country, thanks to Jinyoung," Dasoni
said. She crossed her arms over her chest, her cropped shirt riding up her bare midriff. "Well? Why
should I risk my neck and endanger my name, my businesses and my reputation to help you? Do I
look like I regularly take in strays?"

"You wanted to talk with us!"

"Yes. But I never said anything about helping you, yet. There's all sorts of conditions you need to
fulfil for me to do that. And now, the situation has turned even more complicated." She smiled,
bordering on a smirk, and Rosé clenched her fist. Dasoni knew what she was doing and whatever
complication she spoke of, they didn't affect her: they were helping her to gain an advantage over
her and Jennie, to make them agree to whatever she asked for out of desperation.

"The current circumstances are extraordinary but I'm not one to take risks until I know what I stand
to gain." Dasoni added. She tilted her head, smiling sweetly. Rosé wanted to punch her right in the
teeth.

"I don't do charity. I do business. You're the one asking for help right now, so what do we do with
you, hm? Waive the conditions that other people had to fulfil just for you? Why should you be an
exception?"

"She's going to die if we don't help her," Rosé whispered.

"People die every day," Dasoni shrugged. "It will be one less problem for you, if she dies. You
won't be a terrorist's accomplice anymore. You can go home to your daughter."

Rosé gritted her teeth. Of course Dasoni knew about Ella.

However, what she was proposing was outrageous. Abandon Jennie, her friend, her girlfriend's
sister and the only soul she could rely on to get Lisa and Jisoo back?

"You're asking me to abandon her? Fat chance," Rosé snarled. "You're bluffing. You don't want her
to die either. You called us here because you wanted information. Information about Tiger King,"
she added bitterly, remembering what Jennie had said in the van. "If you don't help her and
she...she gets too sick to help you, then you're back to square one and figuring things out by
yourself. You need Jennie if you want to get an edge over Jinyoung."

"I have Jackson for any insider info I want to have about any progression with the Tiger King
project," Dasoni drawled, just as Rosé feared, "you're not telling me anything new."

Jennie had gone quiet but thankfully her chest still rose and fell regularly. Rosé wracked her brain,
trying to find a way out of the mental chess game Dasoni was playing against her. She didn't want
to waste more precious time, so she jumped to her burning question.

"Why did you want to talk to us then?"

Dasoni's smile never wavered as she watched Rosé like a hawk. "Gathering allies and information.
Every little bit helps."

"Jennie and I know Tiger King better than Jinyoung and Jackson," Rosé said slowly, injecting
more confidence than she felt in her voice. This was going to be her wildcard and if Dasoni had no
use for it, then she was out of ideas and in trouble. "We know Tiger King...personally."

"I know," Dasoni drawled, confirming her fear.

Rosé's hands trembled and she grabbed the hem of Jennie's oversized shirt to steady herself.

"I don't know," she said in anguish, submitting to defeat. She was hungry, tired and violated. She
was worried for Lisa, Jisoo, Ella, Jennie, Irene, Seulgi, everyone. She wanted to curl up in bed and
drift to sleep.

"I don't know," she repeated as she sank to the floor. Tears threatened to fall in the face of the
insurmountable obstacle placed before her.

Was Dasoni cruel enough to leave her and Jennie like roadkill?

From the rumours, it seemed likely. She used to hear the stories the Jays told, and Jay-Z had
always been more than happy to run his mouth like the ahjummas at the market and bring her up to
speed on all the latest gossip.

Rumour had it Dasoni had once shot two of her underlings in the knees when it turned out they
were stowing away money from drug sales. Then she literally kicked them out of the gang by
dumping them on the streets. It was also said that she didn't hesitate to drop anybody who no
longer proved useful to her ends.

Rumour also had it she had devoured four live octopus one after another at a prestigious restaurant
after she suspected that the food being served to her was poisoned, outwitting an attempt on her life
with a savage show as she ripped into the creatures with her bare hands and teeth.

Another gruesome rumour went that she had personally gutted and ripped out the eyes of an
enemy's favourite prostitute and two of his aides, after fucking all three in an orgy. She left the
eyeballs in a wrapped box complete with a bow on her enemy's doorstep, for him to find after his
morning walk on his property.

Rosé snapped back from her reverie when she heard furious conferring going on above her head. In
her haze of misery, she heard Jackson's voice stand out in particular, rumbling and urgent.
But then Dasoni's shadow loomed over her as the mob boss crouched level with her.

"Just this once, I will let it slide," Dasoni warned. "But need I remind you that you're Thorn, one of
Yang's most accomplished negotiators, infamous in our circles. Your performance today was
sorely lacking. This is not the persuasive, steadfast and stubborn Thorn I've heard and seen
working my customers, on my territory."

She tutted. "But given the circumstances, and because Jackson here has begged me on your behalf,
I will make an exception. Just this once, I will overlook your abysmal performance."

Rosé let the words settle as she processed them, then exhaled when the meaning sank in, relief
flooding her system.

"Thank you," she choked out fervently. "Thank you."

Dasoni straightened, faint smirk stamped on her face. "You won't find me so generous again. I
expect better for next time."

"Next time?" Rosé said hoarsely.

"You will surely need your negotiation skills when I'm around so look sharp," Dasoni purred.
"Keep up Thorn. Haven't you heard all the big bad stories about me?"

Rosé could only stare. Meanwhile, the two men with Dasoni had moved closer to pick up Jennie.
She struggled, movements sluggish and protested weakly as the blond twin cradled her in his arms.
His brother picked up Jennie's gun and trotted after him, throwing a wink at Rosé as they walked
by. Jackson gave her an impenetrable stare and followed them. Last to bring up the rear was
Dasoni, walking with her head held high.

"Oh, and one more thing," Dasoni called over her shoulder. Her gaze rested on Rosé, keen and
piercing. "Don't disappoint me again."

>

The first thing Jennie heard when she came around was rhythmic thumps, faint creaking and
moans after every creak.

Jennie sighed. Lisa was back at it with her pranks. It wouldn't be the first time she'd wake up to
Lisa slapping the mattress and faking moans like Momo had described, just to annoy her.

"Lisa, knock it off, it's too early for that shit," Jennie groaned. The sounds continued.

"Lisa you have exactly two seconds to cut that crap before I'll whoop your ass into next week—"

"Jen!"

Jennie's eyes snapped open, the memories rushing back to her when she spotted Rosé's relieved
face as she leaned over her. She still looked distinctly dishevelled, still wearing the blood-stained
shirt Jennie had given her.

"Oh thank goodness you're alright, I thought you weren't going to wake up," Rosé whispered. She
helped Jennie sit up then offered a mug of water. "Here drink this."

Jennie took the mug but didn't drink—she screwed her eyes shut, trying to recollect her thoughts.
The last thing she remembered was lying on the floor while Rosé pleaded with Dasoni before she
passed out. She hadn't even gotten to see what the Dasoni woman looked like, her eyes had been
too heavy to stay open.

"What's going on? Where's Jackson?" Jennie croaked. She gestured towards the relentless
thumping sound. "What's that?"

Rosé's nose wrinkled. She threw a disgruntled look over her shoulder, making Jennie peer as well
to see down the hallway of the plain nondescript apartment they seemed to be sitting in.

"That would be our delightful hosts," Rosé scoffed. "They said they got bored waiting for you to
wake up. Apparently, someone likes to kill time the old-fashioned way."

"Uh..." Jennie's bewilderment morphed into incredulity when she registered what Rosé said. "No
way! Are they fucking—"

On cue, a handsome blond man walked out into the living room area where the girls sat, stopping
in his tracks on his way down the hall with a bag of chips in hand. He was bare-chested and
barefoot, wearing only black pants. His skin glistened with sweat and he brightened when his eyes
fell on Jennie.

"Oh you're awake? I'll let boss know!" he burbled cheerfully through a mouthful of chips, crumbs
spraying everywhere. He bounded out of the room as Jennie stared after him. Moments later, the
thumping stopped dead and Rosé heaved a sigh of relief before turning to Jennie.

"That's Dony. I think. And his twin brother is Deukie."

"Twins?"

"Yeah. Dony and Deukie, Dasoni's prime henchmen. At least that's the name they gave me. The
blond one, Dony, carried you in here."

"They don't seem to have left you with a good impression," Jennie said as she gingerly turned her
legs over the edge of the couch and set her feet down on the fluffy carpet. It was soothing to the
touch. Jennie wanted nothing more than to sink into it and drift away like she was floating amongst
clouds. She sipped water from the mug Rosé had given her, welcoming the cool relief it provided
for her parched throat.

"He's very nonchalant about manners, as you can see. Both of them are. His brother even asked me
if I wanted to join in on their orgy. Crass," Rosé said, wrinkling her nose. "Like yes, I've just been
chased and assaulted, and I'm bloody and bruised all over, but oh yeah, a foursome is just the thing
I need right now. I mean, come on, a little compassion maybe?"

"I wouldn't expect henchmen to know much about that," Jennie said. She held her head, dim
throbbing making her wince as she put the mug down on the carpet.

Rosé edged closer, concerned. "Are you okay? Is your head hurting again?"

"It's okay. I'm...okay?" Jennie finished it as a question. "I don't feel so hot but I don't feel like I'm
on the brink of death anymore. My ribs don't hurt as much and I feel...better. My head is much
more clearer. How long have I been out?"

"A few hours. It's just past midnight."

"Didn't you sleep or clean up at all?" Jennie frowned, looking her up and down.
"I was waiting for you. I—I don't really want to be alone right now," Rosé mumbled. Jennie
understood and reached out to gently squeeze her arm.

"Thanks for watching over me. Did Dasoni say anything before she took off?"

"She took our phones, even though they're both out of juice. And your gun too, I don't know where
they're keeping it."

"Ah," said Jennie ruefully.

"Had to let the guys pat me down, and they pat you down too. And..." Rosé fidgeted. "Jackson
helped them fix up a temporary IV to give you some fluids before he left, you finished it like an
hour ago. That's probably why you feel a bit better."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. They crushed a pill of TK-Beta in water and—"

"They what?"

Jennie lurched in horror and gawked down at her hands, trembling. "I—they gave me TK?"

"It was just like a stimulant—" Rosé tried to appease but Jennie was having none of it.

Not TK: she'd rather cross a scorching desert of thorns barefoot under a blazing sun without any
food or water than touch that drug.

The dull pounding at the back of her head returned and her heart rate jumped. She clawed at her
face, the dreadful memory of yellow eyes flashing through her mind as she gripped Rosé's
shoulders urgently.

"Get me a mirror, I need a fucking mirror, oh god—"

"Relax sweets, a little TK won't kill you. Speaking from experience," drawled Dasoni's voice,
startling them. They whipped around in time to watch her make her entrance and bringing with her
a floral scent of someone freshly showered. She wore a bathrobe and slippers, with her short dark
hair still dripping water as she pat it dry with a towel.

"TK is actually amazing for that little extra boost in bed to keep you going ," she added. She threw
the towel aside on the floor unceremoniously and when Rosé and Jennie stared, she shrugged.
"Don't worry, the twins will pick it up. And you're welcome by the way."

"For what? Drugging me without my consent?" Jennie said indignantly.

"For saving you. You're still here and you're not on some murderous rampage, are you?" Dasoni
said smoothly. "You're talking with us and you're not being violent."

"Right," Jennie conceded bitterly.

"Thorn accepted my help on your behalf—"

"I told you I'm Rosé," Rosé said sharply.

"You let them?" Jennie said in horror. "You actually endorsed this? I thought—of all things—"

"I was scared okay? You passed out on me all of a sudden, I panicked. Jackson swore up and down
that TK-beta is pretty weak if you know the right amount to ingest you can work around it, they
just wanted to give you a boost and look, nothing happened—"

"And you trusted them? You saw people hulking out at the Slammer, I don't wanna be like them! I
don't want to be like Lisa—"

"I had no choice! You were lying there—"

"How convenient they had TK sitting around," Jennie said sarcastically, "how do you know they
weren't waiting to pounce and turn us into juiced up angry zombies too?"

"Wouldn't they have tried something on me too then?" Rosé retorted. "How special do you think
you are?"

"Ladies, let's focus on the issues at hand, shall we? Fighting about something that happened won't
change things, we've wasted enough time as it is," Dasoni said with a commanding edge to her tone
that immediately subdued Jennie and Rosé. Neither apologised for their outbursts but Dasoni didn't
seem to care.

She immediately lost her severe tone and smiled brightly at them. "That's better. Now, here's what
we'll do. Introductions first."

She nodded at Jennie, who stared back nonplussed.

"What? I thought Jackson told you our names."

"I'm trying to be polite here since someone apparently wasn't impressed by our manners. I thought
we could start over," Dasoni drawled, smirking when Rosé spluttered.

Jennie snorted. "Jennie," she said grudgingly.

"Rosé," Rosé said with vehemence. "Don't call me Thorn again."

"That's fair. As for me, my actual name is Hani. You may address me as you wish, I'm not one for
titles."

Jennie dearly wanted to know if 'bitch' was an option, but her good senses prevailed. "Right. Okay.
Hani. Got it. Thanks I guess."

"Hani?" Rosé said puzzled. She squinted at Hani, pursing her lips in concentration. "Nobody really
calls you by your actual name. Where did I hear your name before?"

"Some scandal or other on the newspaper, most likely. Haven't you heard? I'm famous for my
parties, I'm like Paris Hilton to the paps," Hani shrugged, her voice light. "Now you two are going
to clean up and change. I left some clothes next to the shower basket. The twins are gonna go stock
up and then whip up something, they're good cooks. Then, we'll talk properly. No buts," she added
when Rosé opened her mouth to interject, "it's an order, not a negotiation. Go."

Jennie might have cared that the mobster seemed eager to move on from the topic of her name but
the pull of scrubbing off the grime and dirt was too overpowering to care about anything else. She
practically dragged Rosé to her feet in her haste to follow the directions to the bathroom that Hani
called out after them.

>
Rosé sucked a breath as she caressed her chest. Ugly bite marks and fingerprints were stamped all
over her skin, a patchwork of violence that stood out in contrast with her pale bare body as she
scrutinised herself in the mirror.

"You coming?" Jennie called, water sloshing as she stepped into the bathtub. A quiet moan
escaped her when she sat back in the hot water with both arms propped up on the lip. "God, that
feels amazing."

"Careful the heat doesn't make you pass out," Rosé said as she approached and slipped in the
opposite end. She stifled a moan herself as warmth engulfed her entire being. Water splashed over
the sides but neither cared and soon the water level had settled again.

Rosé leaned back, taking the left side of the tub as Jennie took the right side so both could stretch
their legs along the length next to each other. The tub was wide enough to fit them both
comfortably.

"Doesn't it feel like we're back at the jjimjilbang again?" Rosé asked after a moment of soaking in
contented silence.

Jennie sighed, shaking her head. "Feels like a million years ago."

"It really does..."

They had locked the door as precaution and rinsed off in the shower together. Somewhere between
surviving multiple attacks and talking to Hani, Rosé had lost her bashfulness of being naked in the
same tight space as another woman.

Like Jennie, she only cared about washing off the grime before sinking into the bathtub together to
save time. There was no silly blushing like their day at the jjimjilbang. Every movement, every
quiet word they shared was solemn and soft, intimate not in a sexual way but in a reassuring,
comforting way.

They had survived a spate of horrors in the span of a few hours that many people don't see in all
their lifetimes and yet they were here, alive and still fighting. They had gone from snapping at each
other like dogs to comforting and reassuring each other.

There was comfort in sharing the luxurious bathroom, their sanctuary, away from the entire world.
There was comfort in silently acknowledging the bruises they both wore like battle scars, proof of
their grit and luck.

Rosé wordlessly helped Jennie rinse her hair when she saw her friend wince as she tried to lift her
arms. Jennie wordlessly helped wash Rosé's back, making her sit on the stool as she gently rubbed
soap over her shoulder blades, the soothing motions making Rosé drowsy.

They even helped each other towel down afterwards, patting each other extra gently over the
bruises as though handling infants, and shivering as the steam condensed on their skin. Jennie
hadn't wasted any time to jump into the bathtub but Rosé had spotted the mirror, wiped it down and
lingered to survey herself.

"Jen?" Rosé said now, lifting her head.

"Nope. No talking. This is my long overdue spa moment," Jennie said with eyes closed, head
thrown back. Her face was less puffy than earlier, a sign that the TK was taking effect, which was
comforting to see. Jennie slipped further down in the water, up to her nose. She even blew a few
bubbles, making Rosé almost smile at the endearing sight.
"Okay but I just—"

"Do you hear that? A mosquito is buzzing around," Jennie said, turning her head this way and that.
"Where's the fly swatter?"

Rosé nudged Jennie with her foot, and Jennie nudged her right back, toes digging into her outer
knee and making Rosé chuckle, because it tickled.

"There we go," Jennie said, pleased. Her smile turned crooked, much like Lisa's did whenever the
latter was up to mischief and Rosé faltered when her heart gave a pang.

Lisa had smiled at her just like that across the restaurant table as she nudged her foot. Rosé stifled a
sigh and wound her arms tighter around her self, as though she was stopping herself from falling
apart at the seams.

"Okay I know that look," Jennie sighed, watching her closely. "Missing her, huh?"

She didn't have to say who.

"I...I just see her in all the little things. Even your smile just now," Rosé confessed. "I miss her so
much Jen, it's like somebody ripped my heart out of my chest."

"Ditto for Jisoo." Jennie's smile was pained now. "It's driving me nuts. We shouldn't be here." She
gripped the edge of the tub tightly, her knuckles whitening as her voice hardened. "God, we should
be out there. We should be fucking marching up to Rkive and blowing it up, not lounging around in
fancy tubs!"

"Jen—"

"I don't trust this Hani and I don't care if she hears, we need to get out of here fast." Jennie sat up in
the tub, speaking raptly. Rosé wasn't sure she was even seeing her: Jennie's eyes were wide and
glazed, almost as though she was in a trance.

"We'll get my gun and we'll kill them, I can do it, I can snap their fucking necks and then we run,
we get a car and we go right to Rkive and when I get my hands on Jinyoung I'm strangling him
with my bare fucking hands—"

"Jen!" Rosé said louder, "stop it!"

Jennie deflated after her violent outburst, settling back on her side of the tub with a shake of her
head as water sloshed around her.

"Whoa..."

They blinked at each other, reluctant to bring up the elephant in the room.

"Must be the TK," Jennie muttered. She snorted. "Won't make me violent, my ass."

"It won't last," Rosé said, hoping she's right. "Just a minor side effect. We're all emotional right
now, we've been through a lot. Maybe it's not even the TK."

"Bet it is. If this is what I'm like with just a fraction of TK that Jinyoung is probably pumping into
Jisoo, then what are we going to be up against when I get her back?" Jennie said, her voice
breaking. "God, we really shouldn't be here..."

"Where are we going to go otherwise?" Rosé said tiredly. "The way Hani took our phones and
locked the door—the windows are locked too, I checked—I don't think she intends for us to leave.
At all. And...and I don't know how I'm going to talk to Ella..."

"We'll tell her," Jennie said fiercely. "Talking to Ella shouldn't be negotiable."

"I don't know. I don't know anymore. God, Jinyoung was going to turf our stuff out of the
apartment tomorrow too."

Rosé ducked her head, holding back tears. Overwhelmed was an understatement for her state at the
moment, when it felt like the whole world was against her. She had no peace of mind about her
daughter's safety. Though she fully trusted in Seulgi and Irene, Jinyoung had clearly proven he was
ahead of the game. Her fears of him targeting Ella again lurked at the back of her head even as she
tried to suppress them.

Jennie suddenly pushed off her side of the tub with a little splash and scooted over to Rosé,
surprising the latter as she squeezed herself next to her.

"Uh, what are you doing?"

"Can I hug you?" Jennie asked without preamble.

Her eyes were crinkled with concern, an emotion Rosé was still getting used to seeing being
directed at her, but she wasn't complaining. She quickly adapted to the tight space in favour of
being held by winding her own arms around Jennie as best as she could, careful not to squeeze too
tightly. Jennie leaned her head against her shoulder and rubbed her thumb in soothing circles close
to Rosé's ribs.

"Seulgi will handle the apartment. She and Irene will look after Ella too. But we'll demand Hani to
let us communicate with Ella, or she's getting nothing."

"What if she—"

She will," Jennie mumbled. "And if she refuses, we'll find another way. We can bully Jackson to
help us."

Rosé couldn't help give a tiny snort. "Good idea, he deserves it. He was going to just dump us at
Hani's door and run like a spineless coward."

"Yeah, we'll guilt-trip him. And I know just the thing: if Hani won't let us have our phones, we'll
send Ella letters and have Jackson take them."

"Bet he'll just pass them on to Hani, she's got him on a leash too," Rosé said gloomily.

"We'll convince him. I can be pretty persuasive," Jennie said. "We'll just give him a blank paper.
That way, if Hani asks, he'll just show her a blank piece of paper. People can carry paper on them
all the time, right?"

"What are you talking about?" Rosé said, puzzled.

"Invisible notes," Jennie smirked as Rosé's eyes widened. "I was remembering the story you told
me in the forest. If we ask for orange juice for breakfast, you could write something with a
toothpick or something while nobody is looking. And if Ella is anywhere as sharp as her mother,"
she added with a nudge to Rosé's elbow, "then I'll know she'll figure out you're communicating with
her and get the message. Hani won't ever know."
Rosé's bottom lip trembled. "That would be great yeah. We can try that. Thank you Jen."

"Any time." Jennie looked up at her. "Better?"

"Yeah, thank you," Rosé sniffed, stopping short of wiping her eyes with her sudsy hands.

"Good, cos' it's a bit of a tight squeeze here, also we're both sore so I'm just going to scoot back to
my roomy corner now."

Rosé chuckled through her unshed tears.

"You were going to say something before all this?" Jennie asked once she had settled back.

"Yeah. What do you make of Hani?"

"A bratty upstart who think she's got what it takes to stand up to Jinyoung," Jennie said
immediately. "No way in hell is she prepared. I'm telling you, she's underestimating him. Just
because she can throw money at people and make them bend to her will doesn't mean she's fit to
stand up to him. And I don't care if she's overhearing this," she added in a raised voice, "you're no
match for Jinyoung, Hani or Dasoni or whatever you call yourself."

"I don't know. I don't know who's the real Hani here. I've heard a ton of stuff about her but so far
it's a bit...disconnected."

"How?"

"I feel like she's putting up an act, but I don't know which is the real Hani and which is the facade.
We don't really know what's going on here," Rosé said thoughtfully. "Maybe we'll find out more
once we talk with her. When she told us her name, I had a feeling I heard it somewhere. And she
seemed a bit uptight about it."

"She said she's regularly splashed on papers because of her partygirl status apparently. Maybe you
heard her name on the news."

"On the news yeah, but I think it was something more serious than party hijinks," Rosé frowned. "I
don't keep up with the news that much but...it's there on the tip of my tongue. She was mentioned
somewhere in some national court trial."

"National court trial? Damn, must have been one crazy party," Jennie commented.

"Again, not a crazy party. It was something more serious."

"Whatever it is, I hope you remember, maybe we can use it for leverage. But you're right, she
seemed quite eager to get rid of us back there."

"Right? That's what I thought too," Rosé said absently.

Jennie sighed again. "Should we get out? The sooner we get this over with the sooner we can get
stuff done."

"Just a minute, I think I almost have it," Rosé said, thinking hard. "I'm remembering this case a
while back, some child trafficking case with high-profile people involved. I'm talking like
politicians, company directors, that whole dirty lot. Senior authority officials in the police force
had to resign and go to prison because they were in cahoots with the trafficking ring. The police's
reputation took a real tumble after that."
"How long ago was this?"

"Oh I'm not sure, this goes back a couple years, maybe before I even had Ella. The news I watched
about it were like some updates on the case and conclusive investigations, that sort of thing. It
might even have been like a crime report. Now what's Hani's connection with it?"

"Oh?" Jennie said, interested. "Were the Dasoni involved then?"

"Somehow..."

"Wow, what a surprise. Bunch of sick fucks profiting off literal children,"Jennie shuddered.

Rosé strained to recall details, the edges of her memory fuzzy. "It's not in the way you're thinking. I
think...I think some family member of the Dasoni was actually a victim of the trafficking ring.
That's how it blew up and got the proper media attention, instead of being shut down by the people
in power. They wanted to find out the perpetrators and bring them to justice."

Jennie's brows shot up. "Was Hani the victim?"

"Maybe?" Rosé frowned. "I'm not sure. When I worked for Yang, I remember the rumours going
around that old man Dasoni finally kicked the bucket because this whole affair was too much for
his old age, the stress of it all killed him. And then Hani stepped up and took over."

"Now that's juicy indeed," Jennie said. "Good to know. Still doesn't make me feel sorry for her."

Rosé chuckled. "We sound like two ahjummas gossiping."

"All that's missing are the wine glasses," Jennie agreed. She lifted her hand, cupping an invisible
wine glass, gesturing for Rosé to copy her as she bumped their knuckles together.

"Clink clink, bitch. I really hope we can be ahjummas gossiping together in the future."

Rosé's throat threatened to close up with emotion. "I really hope so. Maybe not in a bathtub."

"Yeah I agree, Jisoo and Lisa might get dirty ideas for a porno movie if they saw us like this,"
Jennie mused.

Rosé spluttered. "Ideas for a what?"

"Lisa never told you? I heard them talking once, with Somi, in the early days before you two got
together properly." Jennie smiled faintly at the memory. "They were discussing if it was worth
opening an OnlyFans. They would call it Unicorn Buddy Productions and Lisa would be the main
star, of course. Jisoo was going to be in charge of filming. Lisa was already asking Somi to coach
her for a pole dance routine. And I'm sure all those pilates sessions with you helped as well."

Rosé blushed as Jennie sighed pensively, swirling her imaginary glass.

"Shame really, I wouldn't have been so opposed to it. I'm sure we'd have been mega millionaires in
no time. Lisa had even picked out a pornstar name."

"Do I really want to know?" Rosé said with dread.

"Yes you do." Jennie's eyes glittered. "She was going to call herself Sexy Thunder Thighs. I'm sure
you're well acquainted with said thighs, so to speak?"

"Yes, I'd say the thunder thighs live up to the name," Rosé said with the straightest face she could
muster.

A beat of silence passed and then Rosé couldn't help it: she dissolved into laughter as Jennie
cackled.

She just wasn't sure if they were laughing out of mirth or to mask the pain.

>

"There you are! Nothing like a bath to make you feel human again, am I right or am I right?" Hani
said cheerfully when Rosé and Jennie eventually trooped back to the living room area in their new
outfits. "We can have a nice girl-to-girl conversation without any interruptions while we wait for
dinner. The twins will be along."

The towel on the floor was nowhere in sight and Hani was seated on one of the single-seat
armchairs around the central area of the living room.

"Jennie, we still have to introduce you to twins properly, they're my most trusted confidantes, in
and out of bed. They've been dying to get to know you. Rosé too, they seem to have taken a shine
to you in particular. Must be the blonde hair. Dony was most disappointed you couldn't join us
earlier."

"Shame," Rosé said dryly. Hani just laughed and gestured for them to sit opposite her, on the couch
Jennie had previously occupied.

Jennie took a moment to assess her surroundings to distract from the hunger pangs, noticing that
the windows overlooking the quiet street were locked, just like Rosé had described.

The room was now lit with a warm glow from the various light fixtures along the wall that had
been switched on, illuminating the calming peach walls and the various mundane landscape
portraits that hung there. It was a very plain, run-of-the-mill, minimal apartment, sterile and clearly
uninhabited since there was no personality to speak of, but at least, there was no smell of mildew
and the air was fresh.

"Now why don't we get to know each other better?" Hani asked brightly. "I've been hearing so
much about you two. And now you tell me you're close to Tiger King herself! That's very
interesting to hear."

"We have some conditions to tell you before we get into anything," Jennie said bluntly when she
sat down.

"Yeah," Rosé put in as she joined her, "I want to talk to my daughter."

Hani's mouth twisted into a smile and she tilted her head. "That so?"

"Yes," Jennie said firmly. "Number one—"

"I'm sorry, maybe I wasn't clear," Hani cut her off, her tone so cold that both Rosé and Jennie
flinched. "That wasn't an invitation to make demands."

Jennie's eyes narrowed, recovering quickly. "They are not demands. They're conditions we wish to
outline for our agreement to work."

"What agreement? You haven't agreed to anything yet. How can you make demands without
knowing what I want from you?" Hani said.
"And what do you want?"

Jennie stiffened when Hani leaned in and brushed the back of her hand against Jennie's cheek,
feather-light, tender as a lover's caress. But the tense atmosphere had Jennie's breath catch in her
throat and she froze, unprepared to deal with such an alien gesture from a near stranger. She heard
Rosé suck in a breath but she couldn't turn her head, too afraid of what Hani was going to do next,
too aware of Hani's knuckles brushing against her too-hot skin.

Was she going to be slapped? Was she going to die? Was Hani going to violate her right there in
front of Rosé?

"Please, she didn't mean it," Rosé whispered, petrified.

Hani didn't listen. Her eyes bore into Jennie. She smiled mischievously, pinning Jennie in place
like a paralysed rabbit, and leaned in to whisper next to her ear.

"I want you in my bed, screaming underneath me like the little slut I know you are," Hani purred.

Rosé gasped and Jennie snatched Hani's wrist away from her face in a flash, furious at the audacity.
"I have a girlfriend!" she spat in disgust.

Hani burst into peals of laughter as she sat back and stifled her giggles. "Your faces! Relax, I know
—"

Three knocks on the door followed by a shorter two had Hani perk up, eyes brightening. "Oh,
Channie's here! Finally!"

Jennie and Rosé shared mystified looks, watching on in bemusement as Hani practically flew to the
door, pausing only for a practised peep through the keyhole before she let out a girlish giggle. She
produced a key from her bathrobe pocket, unlocked the door and flung it wide open, pulling the tall
newcomer in so swiftly he stumbled through the doorway. She slammed the door shut and locked
it behind him in quick fluid movments before he even had a chance to recover.

"Dasoni!" said the tall man in exasperation but Hani just laughed and pulled him over to the couch
impatiently, practically bouncing on her heels.

Jennie felt her mouth dry up as the familiar lanky man approached, still preoccupied with Hani
pulling at his arm to actually notice her.

It was the detective she saw at Somi's pre-funeral, the one that had caught her when she tripped on
her feet.

"Girls, I want you to meet my newest friend, Channie!" Hani announced.

"That's not my name and I'd hardly call us friends," he groaned, shaking his head. When his gaze
hovered on Jennie, he froze.

"You?" he said in astonishment. He violently rounded on Hani. "What's the terrorist doing here?"

Fantastic. Jennie swallowed around the lump of fear in her throat. "Hello again Detective Park."

He blinked once, twice, speechless. "How...what...?"

"You know each other?" Hani asked curiously.

"He's a cop? You're selling us out?" Rosé jumped in, furious, "what's a cop doing here? Jennie isn't
a terrorist!"

"Settle down, one at a time now. He's on our side," Hani pacified. "Aren't you, Chanyeol?"

"I...yes. Yes I am," he said at last. He was still looking at Jennie, which made the latter fidget
beneath his mystified gaze.

"You were at the pre-funeral for Jeon Somi, weren't you?"

Jennie nodded. "We ran into each other."

"I'm remembering now. You...did you really bomb the Kim estate?" Chanyeol said.

Jennie shook her head. "We only went to speak with the Kims'. We've been framed by Jinyoung."

"The pharma chaebol behind everything," Hani told Chanyeol.

"Why not clear your name?" Chanyeol asked, frowning.

Jennie turned away. "It's complicated."

"So you come to a mob boss? How is that any better?"

"Why are you here then?" Jennie challenged defensively. "You're a cop, why are you standing
with corruption? Why aren't you looking into Jinyoung and all the shady stuff he's involved in?"

"I'm not joining her like that," he retorted. "I don't condone anything Dasoni does. But if I want
answers to my questions, this is the path left. Nothing else has worked. I'm halfway rogue and I
don't care. I couldn't go on working in the dark. That Park Jinyoung is practically untouchable if I
want to do things legally. Gotta work dirty."

"Well guess what, ditto for us. We're backed into a corner and we don't have anything to fight back
with. Unless I don't do something, my sister and my girlfriend are both gonna...both gonna..."
Jennie couldn't even bring to voice her worst fear.

"Your sister? Then who are you?" Chanyeol said puzzled as he turned to a bemused Rosé. "I
thought you were Lisa."

Hani giggled and batted his shoulder. "Channie, you're too funny!"

Jennie suppressed a gag.

"I'm Rosé, Jennie's friend and—and Lisa's girlfriend," Rosé said quietly.

"Jinyoung has Tiger King," Hani told Chanyeol. "I only got to know very recently."

He wheeled around, indignation in his voice. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"What would you have done?" she retorted. Chanyeol wilted helplessly before starting to pace back
and forth in front of them as he ranted.

"You have to talk to me about these things, you swore we were going to talk and keep an open
channel of communication, this is the least you could do—"

"I'm the one calling the shots around here, in case you forgot," Hani said sharply, switching her
light girlish tone in a blink. "Just because we have a deal doesn't mean you're suddenly going to
know everything that I'm thinking."

"I didn't ask for that," Chanyeol protested. "I'm just asking to be kept in the loop."

"Well you are, that's why I told you to come here—"

"When were you going to mention, huh? How long has he had her? I thought I was going to come
here and find—"

"Spare us your lover's spat," Jennie interjected at the heated pair that squared off to each other
fiercely. "Hani, is he going to help us take down Jinyoung or what?"

"Yes," Hani said at the same time as Chanyeol.

"We're not lovers," Chanyeol added vehemently and stepped away from Hani.

Jennie wasn't sure if Hani agreed, with the way her gaze ardently followed his every move, her
evident admiration hidden behind a veneer of silly vapid girlish acts.

"Great, so can we get to it then?"

"Oh but wait, we haven't discussed the very important part of our meeting: my proposition to you.
That takes precedence. Channie, out."

"What?"

"It's girl talk time, very very boring, just wait in the bedroom okay? Have a nap while you're at it,
you need it," Hanni said as she shooed the flummoxed detective out of the living room.

When Hani came back, Jennie wasted no time to get right to the point. "Well? Are you going to tell
us what we're here for?"

"Patience, patience. What were we talking about before Chanyeol showed up?"

"You propositioning me," Jennie said, nose wrinkling.

"Right. The offer will always be open though, just so you know. Rosé, that goes for you too. You
look bangin', just saying."

"I'll pass," Rosé scathingly, "getting assaulted doesn't really leave you in the mood for bedroom
gymnastics."

Hani stopped laughing, her face softening with sympathy. "I wish I can coddle you both. You look
like you need at least a month of sleep and rest—"

"Spare me the empty words. What do you want from us, Hani?" Jennie said, on the verge of
imploding. Her knee bounced and Rosé wordlessly rested her hand on it to stop her. The gesture
immediately jolted Jennie back to the hospital waiting room as she waited for Lisa with Jisoo and
Ella.

That memory seemed like a whole lifetime ago.

Hani straightened, releasing a dramatic sigh. "If only transactions were as easy as one night stands.
No, I want a greater commitment from you two. In return for my protection, my resources and my
aid, I want you to join the gang as fully-fledged members of the Dasoni."
Jennie and Rosé shot to their feet, babbling together.

"No! Absolutely not!"

"You're insane! You can't just—"

"I can," Hani said coolly. "Know your places. I deal in business, not charity. Your lives are nothing
but numbers for me. You should have known recruitment would be on the cards, Rosé, you know
how these things work. You disappoint me yet again. Are you even as good as they say?"

"Shut up," Jennie snarled. She turned to Rosé who shook her head, still reeling.

"I didn't think—I can't..." she turned to Jennie in despair, her eyes swimming in grief. "Jennie, I
can't..."

Jennie swallowed. Rosé had just won her hard-earned freedom from Yang, and now she was being
asked to sell herself yet again to another evidently ruthless mobster.

"Isn't there any other way?" Jennie said roughly. "I know there probably is and you're trying to
back us into a corner and make us take it."

"I like your thinking. But no, there's no tricks involved. If I am to help you, you must join my gang.
Let me explain," Hani said, "you re both fugitives on the run. Helping you as we stand today,
being strangers, means a great risk for me. Because you're outsiders and besides having to take flak
from my business partners, I also run the risk of being unfavourably associated with terrorists. You
saw how Chanyeol reacted. That simply won't do."

"What will change if we join?"

"A few technicalities. One, you will be immediately under my protection and part of the family.
From a legal standpoint, I can protect you better if shit hits the fan. The blood contract will be null
and void for good now, even though from what Jackson reports, Jinyoung had already broken it.
But just in case, it doesn't apply to you anymore. The Dasoni look out for each other, it's our code
of honour," Hani said.

"Well uh, thanks I guess?"

"This is important, pay attention because this is how we work things out here. Jinyoung won't be
able to touch you, unless he wants an all out war between our turfs. If he's as smart as people say,
he won't do it. Finally, you will fulfil your payment for my aid and protection by carrying out my
orders unquestioningly."

Seeing them unconvinced, Hani added. "And yes of course, we will save both your girlfriends,
bring down Jinyoung and finish him."

"Is that really all you want to do?" Rosé blurted. Jennie turned to her with interest while Hani
placidly considered her.

"What do you mean, Rosé?"

"Why are you really doing this? Just to bring down Jinyoung? I refuse to believe that's your only
motive," Rosé challenged. Jennie could only nod along, impressed at how Rosé stood up to Hani
after being dismissed earlier.

"What about Tiger King?" Rosé picked up again. "Anybody would want to have that kind of
power. And who are you working with? What do your pals want out of this? What do they get?"

Hani rolled her eyes then looked up, her gaze keen. "If you must know, I am the only one doing
something about the Jinyoung problem. I represent the syndicate of people that oppose Jinyoung—
mob bosses and authority figures in the know. We want to shut him down before he advances more
in his power-grabs."

She gave a grim smile. "That is to say, if something happens, I will take the fall because all those
bozos do is hide safely in the shadows. They promise me support but it's a fish-eat-fish world out
there, it's all lip service. If I fail, they will be some of the first to move in for the territory grab. So I
can't really count on them."

"Why are they opposing Jinyoung? Why not side with him, he's a powerful ally to have."

"Oh many other gangs have aligned with Jinyoung, they kiss his ass and lick his boots like dogs if
he asked. They want a slice of the pie. But the rest of us aren't too thrilled, not when all signs point
to him disrupting business. Our businesses, specifically."

Rosé was frowning, trying to catch up. "I'm not following."

"What is Tiger King known for?"

"Hired by rich people to kill other rich people," Jennie said promptly.

"Right. A tool for the chaebols," Hani nodded. "Now with the second coming of Tiger King, many
are fearing that Jinyoung will take over gangs and claim control of the criminal underworld, if you
will, by absorbing territories. He's done it already with Yang's mob, and before Yang, he claimed
some smaller mobs. He moves in swiftly like a shark and assumes leadership and control. He does
it really well, his territory has expanded exponentially. Now he has more resources and manpower.
With Tiger King by his side, we're anticipating a whole takeover of Seoul's mafia, putting us out of
business. I'm talking all the backdoor deals with politicians and police, all the drug supply chains
will be disrupted, they will be his to control as he pleases. He will be able to assume control from
the shadows like a puppetmaster, all because he has Tiger King. And we have no idea just how far
he intends to go."

"That's...exactly what he'd do," Jennie conceded bitterly, remembering Jackson's explanation in the
woods. "Jackson explained some of it."

"I think we have some time to act before it all happens, a slim window of opportunity," Hani said.
"From Jackson's reports—"

"Can we really trust that guy?" Jennie mumbled. "He almost abandoned Rosé and I on the stairs."

"Oh that would be me. I told him to do so. He's a marvellous actor, can really keep it together when
he needs to."

"What?" Rosé burst out.

"Of course you did. That's how you snare someone. Get them to give you what you want," Jennie
said contemptuously.

Hani grinned. "You pick up fast. But yes, it was necessary. And I trust he's looking out for himself
while also trying to redeem himself for the girl he failed to save. Grief can be a powerful motivator.
So yes I think I can trust him at the moment."
"What did he say?" Jennie said, eager not to linger on any topic concerning Dahyun.

"When I say we have a window of opportunity, it's because Jinyoung is still working on bringing
Tiger King up to speed. From what Jackson described, that's not going to be easy, since Tiger King
has been corrupted due to years away from the regimen she was on. It will be like trying to unlearn
riding a bicycle. So...we might still be in time to stop the madness. And that's where you two come
in."

"How?"

"This isn't a battle of force; it's a battle of attrition. You will be part of the small team I'm putting
together. Since you both have history with Jinyoung and Tiger King, I think any information you
have will be valuable for us to plan for the future. Anything at all that could give us an edge. Any
particular triggers, any weaknesses, her history. I want to know everything."

Jennie squirmed. "There's not much to know..."

"That tells me there actually is," Hani smiled. "But don't worry, we'll get into it later. If you accept
to join me, Chanyeol and the twins will be helping to prepare you."

"Prepare us?"

"To fight," Hani said promptly. "I want all Dasoni members to be able to hold their own in hand-to-
hand combat and know how to fire a gun without blowing a finger off."

"You'd trust us with a gun?" Jennie asked.

Hani shrugged. "If you kill me, I suppose that will just put you on the radar for other people to kill
you. Good luck with that."

Bitter, Jennie almost conceded defeat and was ready to accept Hani's offer but she reckoned
without Rosé jumping in to ask a very important question.

"You still haven't mentioned your plans for Tiger King," Rosé said, eyes flinty.

Hani gave her an odd smile and picked at her nails. "Well I'll be honest now. Who doesn't want to
have their own personal assassin?"

"You're a hypocrite," Rosé burst out as Jennie's jaw dropped, "one second you're harping on about
Jinyoung causing disruption but as long as you're the top dog, that's okay then? Lisa is human too!"

Hani sighed. "I worried that your proximity to Tiger King might come to this. Rosé, it's all
business. One day Jinyoung steals from me, the next I steal from him. That's how the world works.
I'm a businesswoman, not a saint."

"So you only want us to help you get Tiger King," Jennie mused. "I wonder if Channie knows?"

It was a quick movement: Hani tensed the slightest bit, her jaw tightening before she relaxed—but
Jennie had been watching for it. Jisoo had talked a lot about watching people's micro-reactions to
gauge how well her interactions were turning out with strangers and had even coached Jennie to
some degree.

"Channie just wants answers," Hani said smoothly, "he wants justice. I'm giving it to him. What
happens afterwards isn't his business. I'll take good care to...sequester Tiger King, and make sure
business won't be disrupted."
"So I'm supposed to believe that you won't try to profit off having Tiger King? You wouldn't
instigate a power grab? You would let everyone do their business in peace? I don't believe you.
Sequester, my left foot," Rosé fumed. "No deal, Hani. No. Fucking. Deal."

She stood up, disdain clear as day on her face. "I'm going to bed. Let's go Jen."

Jennie didn't move, her mind working and searching for a loophole, anything to convince Hani not
to keep Tiger King.

"Jen?" Rosé said, puzzled to see Jennie was still sitting. "Let's go."

"One sec, I'm thinking," Jennie murmured.

"You can't possibly be considering this bullshit?" Rosé said incredulously.

Hani watched them, back in control, but Jennie wasn't seeing her.

How to get back Lisa whilst appeasing the cunning woman in front of her?

Hani was a businesswoman; appealing to her morality with impassioned speeches like Rosé was
doing wasn't going to work. Loss and profit, gain and risks were the language Hani understood—
Jennie was going to have to try to speak in that language.

"Hani, Tiger King is dangerous and unstable. I'm sure Jackson has explained."

"Potentially more dangerous and unstable than ever before, actually," Hani put in. "I'll explain,"
she added, seeing Rosé's frightened face, "but this is what you need to know in short: the new drug
Jackson managed to create? TK-Ultra? Yeah, it has one devastating extra side-effect that other
versions didn't have before: it's addictive."

"Oh no," Rosé whispered, eyes wide.

"Oh yes," Hani said heavily. "Have you ever seen the drug junkies hanging out at my clubs and
bars, Rosé? Have you seen how crazed they get without their precious injections? Have you seen
how they fall apart?"

Rosé nodded shakily. Jennie listened with numb horror, her mind churning.

Lisa...Jisoo...what would happen to them?

"How do we know you're not bluffing?" Jennie said roughly.

"I just agreed with you and you think I'm bluffing?"

"It could be to throw us off."

"No, I'm being deadly serious right now. I'm preparing you for what we're facing here," Hani said
grimly. "And I know what I'm saying because various substances that make up TK-Ultra passed
through my market before Yang procured it. And since Yang was working with Jinyoung, I think I
can hedge a bet on where those drugs ended up."

"You knew Yang was getting product from your turf but you let him?" Rosé said, surprised.

"It's money still flowing in. And let's say I was curious as to why Yang was seeking out the high-
end product I was pushing instead of sticking to his own network supply. Turns out, he wanted top-
of-the-line product that was extremely risky to bring into South Korea, because the type of product
I was bringing in you don't find it made here. He didn't want his name tied up with that so he was
just covering tracks as much as he could, even if it meant ultimately giving money to a rival. He
was a cunning little snake."

Jennie shook her head, reeling, but Hani wasn't finished.

"Things have turned more complicated than you imagine. Jinyoung is feeling the pressure to
produce results; he's eager to consolidate his power. Getting Tiger King up and running is his
priority and from what Jackson tells us, he's pushing her hard. Our window of opportunity
dwindles with each day, each hour even. Jinyoung is on a time-crunch as well, but I'll tell you
about that in a bit."

Jennie wanted to ask more but decided to wait; there were more things to be addressed right now
than Jinyoung's dilemmas.

"Is Lisa affected...." Rosé began.

"Jackson didn't mention her specifically, but the subjects they have been doing initial tests on these
past months...well, they observed some nasty withdrawal symptoms and dependence."

Yoongi, Jennie found herself wondering. He seemed in peak health back in the woods yet she
wondered at what cost.

"But—how come it's addictive now?" Rosé whispered. "It was just a tweaked formula."

"Jackson said they were adding more powerful painkillers into the mix, to kill the emotional centre
in the brain, just completely fry it up. When you're in the TK haze, it's designed to be only you and
the rush of rage, no other emotion or sensation or pain is supposed to go through. The emotional
triggers are supposedly better blocked. They've made it stronger and so, they opened the doors for
addiction as well. There's only so much the human body can process."

"Oh Lisa." Rosé held her head. "And poor Jisoo..."

Jennie swallowed, trying to redirect her thoughts from the cursed image of Jisoo wearing baleful
yellow eyes. "Then my reasons for not agreeing with you, Hani, are more urgent than ever. I don't
agree that you keep Tiger King. Tiger King needs to disappear, for good. With her gone, nobody
will get an advantage over anyone else. It will be down to yourselves as business owners to turn in
an honest profit and have an edge on the competition, without relying on some assassin to do your
dirty work. So again, Tiger King needs to go."

"Jen?" Rosé said in horror. "What—"

"Tiger King needs to go," Jennie repeated firmly, "but Lisa needs to stay."

Hani twirled her hair around her finger thoughtfully. "Hmm. A return to normalcy with no Tiger
King existing at all? I like the sound of that, actually."

"Jennie, she's gonna kill Lisa!" Rosé said shrilly.

"No, we'll kill Tiger King," Jennie said, all too calmly. "If we make the world think that Tiger
King is gone, you will get to be with Lisa and nobody will come looking for her again. It's worked
before, temporarily. But we can make it happen for real this time."

Her mouth quirked up at the corners. "It started with a little lie about Tiger King's identity and it
helped keep Lisa hidden. Now we would have to spin a bigger lie and convince everyone that she's
gone for good."

Rosé stopped stock still, her mouth ajar.

"My partners won't be happy to lose such a powerful asset," Hani mused, "but oh well, accidents
happen all the time, don't they? Even the strongest aren't immortal."

Rosé stared in between them before landing on Hani, her gaze icy. "If you hurt one hair on Lisa's
head, if you even think of using her in some way like she was some dog—"

"I'm dead, got it." Hani tossed her head. "Get in line sweets, I think your friend here is in it
already."

She turned to Jennie. "Alright. Have it your way. I promise to help you rescue Jisoo and Lisa if
you join me. And we will get rid of Tiger King together."

"I'll do it," Jennie decided, "but Rosé doesn't have to join. She's practically my sister-in-law so I'll
stand in for her as my family."

"Jen," Rosé choked out.

Hani shrugged. "That's acceptable, you're the one with the major mark on your back anyway. But
just so you know, right now is the only opportunity you have to walk away from all this if you so
wish. Once you're in the gang, you can't leave," Hani warned. "If you desert or betray the Dasoni
clan, there will be no mercy or second chances. Do you understand?"

Jennie balled her hands into fists. "I...understand," she said slowly.

"Jen, we need to talk more," Rosé whispered frantically, "please, maybe there's another way. Don't
get tied up in this, we have no guarantee it will actually work out. She might turn around and
betray us. You're gonna sell yourself off like this? Can't we sleep on it?"

"No. We're already pressed for time. Jinyoung is up to no good. I already have your first
assignments planned and ready to initiate once Jennie takes the ink," Hani said. She peeled back
the robe at her neck to reveal a small wasp tattoo, its stinger poised directly above her heart.

"That's the clan tattoo every member gets. The wasp. It's an emblem of my family."

"Because you're all waspish?" Jennie said.

"I knew I'd like you. You're funny," Hani grinned. "And no, there was some meaning attached to it
probably, it's been around since my grandfather got into the gang business. But nobody really
knows anymore and frankly, I don't really care beyond that it makes a statement. Once you get the
ink, we stand with you as much as you stand with us. Your choice."

"Do I have to have it in that area specifically?"

"You can have it anywhere you like, it can be very discreet, as long as it's easily available for
identification. Many members hide it with makeup in their daily lives, by the way, which is
allowed."

"Is Chanyeol part of the club too?" Rosé blurted out.

Again, Jennie noticed Hani's mask slip a little. "I'm still working on convincing him. He's a very
stubborn, righteous man." She hesitated, the first trace of vulnerability creeping into her voice. "If
anything happens to him because of his involvement here, clan rules dictate that I can't help him.
He's an outsider. The law would get him."

"You stick by rules? That's surprising."

"They were made for a reason, Jennie. To protect the Dasoni family as we grew and took on more
risks," Hani said quietly. "Sometimes, rules can be stifling but also protective. You just have to
figure out which are the right ones to hold on to."

Jennie didn't have anything to say to that because it was true: she remembered all the rules she had
tried to impose on Lisa, to keep her safe and protected from harm. They had been stifling and
maybe even harmful, but they had guided Jennie when she had been on her own for a long time
until Lisa simply outgrew her and the rules that held her back.

"There has to be order in chaos," Hani added, "which is why I accept your solution to our problem.
If there is a way to suppress Tiger King and let Lisa walk free, we'll do it. There's been enough
chaos as it is. Maybe it's time to end it."

"I still don't believe you. You don't get to do a 180-turn like that so quickly," Rosé said bitterly.
Hani shrugged and turned to Jennie.

"What will it be then? Join me or fend for yourselves?"

Jennie sighed, hunger and exhaustion weighing her down like boulders stacked on her back. She
knew her answer. She just had to convince Rosé.

"We literally have zero options right now. Every second we waste means worse odds for Lisa and
Jisoo, and more time for Jinyoung to scheme," Jennie told a wide-eyed Rosé. She faced Hani again,
her jaw set. "I'm all in, if you swear to help me rescue Jisoo and Lisa. And I don't care who you
are: if you double-cross us, I will pay you back some way, somehow. "

Hani chuckled. "Feisty but I'm not stupid enough to underestimate you. You have yourself a deal."
She held out her hand and Jennie took it, shaking it slowly. Hani's hand was soft, freshly
moisturised.

Jennie let go quickly. "What about the time crunch you mentioned Jinyoung has? What would he
feel pressured about?"

"He's rushing things that should take more time. Jackson has detailed how he's pushing for Tiger
King's rebirth, making the lab staff increase TK-Ultra dosage and run her through harder trials and
more drastic emotional reprogramming."

"I don't like the sound of that," Rosé whispered.

"Is...is Jisoo going through the same thing?" Jennie asked, her voice wobbly.

"I didn't ask about her. Didn't know she was of any importance to you," Hani shrugged making
Jennie want to punch her in the teeth but she couldn't tell if the woman was telling the truth.

"Anyway, Jinyoung's doing all this because he's impatient to have Tiger King up and running again
at peak performance." Hani gave a little smirk. "He can potentially ruin his golden goose if he's not
careful. Lisa might have survived having her brain and body tampered with the first time, but who's
to say she'll survive a second time? "

Rosé paled. "Oh my god Lisa! We have to save her!"

"And we have the perfect opportunity to do so. Jinyoung will be hosting an exclusive showcase at a
undisclosed location, invite-only, to demonstrate his golden goose and the wonders of TK-Ultra, in
a week's time."

"A week?" Jennie and Rosé gasped.

"Yes. There is not a moment to lose," Hani said, all traces of humour gone. "This will be a hard
piece of work and I want both of you to pull your weight alongside us to pull this off. Plenty of
things will go wrong—yes, they will, they always do. Our best bet is to think of what could go
wrong and have counter-measures to minimise the damage."

"What about Jisoo?"

"If we pull this off, we can use Tiger King as a bargaining chip or even hold it against him as
leverage to get Jisoo back. We'll figure out something but I'm afraid the priority for now is Tiger
King. It will bring Jinyoung to his knees if we take away his toy."

Jennie glanced at Rosé who nodded determinedly.

"What do we have to do?"

"Glad you asked. Jennie, I want you to lead the extraction process."

"Excuse me?" Jennie spluttered.

"That's why I want you to strap in and level up in your combat and shooting," Hani said crisply,
"the same goes for Rosé, even though she won't be on the field."

"Uhm, where will I be then?"

"With me," Hani said promptly, "you will get me a pass to Jinyoung's showcase and we will go
together. If you get us two, so much the better."

"Huh? But...but how am I going to do that? What..."

"You've got your hacking skills," Hani purred. "Find a way to obtain us two passes so that we can
go in without any hassle."

"Won't Jinyoung's henchmen recognise you?" Jennie wondered.

"We'll wear disguises. Rosé will have to dye her hair, strip off that blonde and go back to black or
brunette—she sticks out too much with that yellow."

"Hani, my skills are rudimentary, I only ran programs that Yang's hackers had prepared," Rosé
protested. "Isn't there anyone else that can do this? Why can't Jackson get you passes and tel you
where it's being held? I can help Jennie—"

"No. You cannot be allowed on the field for the explicit reason that you care too much about Tiger
King," Hani said firmly, "find a way to make yourself useful and get me a pass to Jinyoung's
showcase or else forget about being involved in this operation at all. This showcase is being kept
so tight under wraps that Jackson has been unable to find out where it's held. Jinyoung doesn't keep
all his eggs in one basket, clearly."

"Please, I'll do anything, I have to be there—"

"Enough! That will be your job. That, and learning how to fight properly." Hani looked from
Jennie to Rosé, beyond serious. "You were extremely lucky tonight, facing off against two
dangerous TK subjects. I want you to at least hold out against such an attack and be able to flee to
safety, or else shoot to kill. That is the protection I can extend in such a circumstance, as family."

"Some kind of family," Rosé muttered.

"There is no time to coddle you, Rosé. You will have to earn your place amongst my ranks—not
everybody who is recruited is automatically welcomed. The weak are weeded out, the strong
survive." With that pronouncement, Hani stood up. "Twins!"

A click of the lock and the front door burst open. In walked the blond man followed closely by his
brother, laden with bags.

"Thank god, I need to pee really bad," groaned the blond, whom Jennie remembered was called
Dony. He dumped the plastic bags of food on the ground and darted out of the room. Seconds later,
an ecstatic whoop of 'HYUNG!' echoed throughout the apartment, followed by what must have
been Chanyeol's exasperated grunts.

"Sorry for making you wait," Hani said contritely to Deukie, "had you been waiting long?"

He shrugged, seeming subdued compared to his brother.

"Something happened?" Hani asked shrewdly.

He lifted his head, his eyes grave. "Will you really not use Tiger King, boss?" he asked instead.

Hani eyed him intently. "Does that bother you, Youngdeuk? Tiger King seems to be a dear person
to these two. They have me convinced that maintaining order for business is more crucial than
having power. So no, I won't use Tiger King anymore."

Jennie paid more attention with the use of formal names as the atmosphere between Hani and the
henchman seemed to crackle with tension. Though Hani was close to his height, she pulled herself
up with head held high, confident and authoritative.

"I just thought...that's our end goal," he muttered. He shook his head then gathered up the bags his
brother had dropped and headed into the kitchen. "Dinner will be ready soon."

Jennie breathed out properly after he left. "What was that about?"

"Were they really just waiting out there, listening in?" Rosé said, amazed.

"I trained them well," Hani said smugly, "and as for that, well, Youngdeuk will have to get around
to some changes in the plans is all. He'll be fine, he'll get over his disappointment."

Jennie didn't miss the thoughtful glance Hani spared the direction her henchman had gone through.
Activity in the kitchen was in full swing with pots and pans clanging and the smell of sizzling meat
already making her mouth water.

"You will get your ink tomorrow," Hani told Jennie, "hopefully the TK will make some of your
bruising go down so you can pick a suitable spot for your tattoo. Then, the real work begins.
Chanyeol will be around to teach you both wing chun and the twins will teach you to handle a
gun."

She looked at Rosé. "You've disappointed me twice so far. Let there not be a third time or we all
suffer this time. You will start working with the hacking team tomorrow. They will assist you but
you have to make the hard calls. I don't care how, I just want my pass."

Jennie expected Rosé to crumple and submit in defeat but Rosé stood toe to toe with the other
woman, eyes flashing.

"I'll get you your stupid pass if you'll let me talk to my daughter."

Hani regarded her with a blank face. "And if I say no?"

"Then you can stuff your pass up your—"

In a flash, Hani darted forward and pressed a knife against Rosé's throat, stopping her dead. The
movement had been so swift, like a striking snake, that Rosé almost fell back in shock, her arms
thrown out in surprise and to maintain balance on her feet.

Jennie gaped at the scene in front of her, at the wicked blade that gleamed, half hidden in Hani's
bathrobe sleeve.

"Hani," Jennie said hoarsely.

"Why don't we try that again?" Hani said pleasantly, ignoring Jennie. Rosé's eyes swivelled over to
Jennie in fear as she swallowed dryly, her throat pushing against the blade.

"Hani, wait. Please, she's just...she just needs incentive, that's all she's asking for," Jennie said,
apprehensive.

"Her incentive should be getting her girlfriend back. If she wants to see both her daughter and Lisa,
she'll do as I say," Hani said loftily. "Security needs to stay tight and I don't trust
telecommunications right now." She smiled at Rosé. "Well, what do you say?"

"I still want to speak to my daughter," Rosé said bravely, her voice quaking. "I can't just abandon
her. I'll find a way to talk with her without compromising our safety."

Jennie watched with bated breath, waiting for Hani to scoff and dismiss Rosé again.

But to her surprise, Hani wordlessly stepped back to give Rosé space and retracted her blade back
into her sleeve. Rosé drew a shuddering breath, watching the mob boss warily.

"You're Thorn as much as you're Rosé," Hani said simply. "I want you to accept that. You might
just make your life easier if you accept that Thorn is also part of who you are. Think about it." She
turned on her heel and swept out of the room. "I'm going to get Channie to eat with us before Dony
drives him mad."

And she left the girls staring after her in bemusement as she walked out.
 And They Were Roommates
Chapter Notes

Previously:

After escaping several near-death experiences orchestrated by jinyoung (Jisoo's

parents' murder, house explosion and being assaulted in the forest by their exes yoongi
and taehyung, who are revealed to be now tiger king experiment subjects) chaennie
are found by jackson, double-crossing jinyoung.

After a terse phone call with Jinyoung, who reveals Jennie is now being considered a
terrorist (framed for the bombing) and learning of Momo's death, Chaennie feel
backed into a corner and decide to visit Hani, mafia queen of the dasoni clan who
wants to lay claim to tiger king and bring down Jinyoung.

Jennie enters into a contractual agreement to be a member of the clan, in return for
Hani helping her and Rosé retrieve Lisa and Jisoo after coming to an agreement that
Hani won't use Tiger King but instead they will make the world believe that tiger king
is no more and thus, Lisa can walk free. One of Hani's henchman, Youngdeuk,
overhears this change of heart and takes issue with it.

Based on Jackson's intel, Hani's plan is to extract Tiger King during an upcoming
extremely secret showcase by Jinyoung, where he will show off the marvels of Tiger
King to investors and friends.

Hani tasks Rosé to use her knowledge of Yang and Jinyoung's frameworks to find out
information about the showcase, because her team keeps running into dead ends. Hani
tasks Jennie to prepare herself physically by training in fighting since she wants her on
the field for the extraction.

Location unknown , JYP Research Laboratories, circa mid-2000's

"Why don't we think of a new name for you?"

Subject 327 raised its head and stared nonplussed at Dr Brushweiler, who was smiling expectantly.

He had always been an odd doctor compared to the previous doctors. He said strange things that
made Subject 327 pause and look properly at the doctor when usually it allocated only a meagre
percentage of its attention to his presence. He gave up his breakfast bagels to it, saying he wasn't
hungry, even though he knew perfectly well he could get in deep trouble—the Tiger King
candidates were on a strict regimen with little to no food to maximise their body's drug absorption
intake. Subject 327 caved in at the smell of bacon, salivating pathetically as soon as it heard
footsteps draw close in the mornings.

Dr Bruschweiler liked to sit next to the bars of its cell, talking without even having a clipboard on
him to scribble notes. Subject 327 had observed him carefully, but unlike some of the previous
crafty doctors, there was no sign he was secretly recording their conversations with some hidden
recording device either. Stranger still, he even sometimes came in the death of night to talk and tell
stories of his nieces and nephews, just because he couldn't sleep and felt like it, according to him.

It was odd, but Subject 327 didn't care, beyond feeling a tiny bit colder when the doctor had to
leave.

"A name," Subject 327 repeated.

The doctor beamed and nodded enthusiastically, his spectacles sparkling beneath the fluorescent
lights.

"Why would I need a name? I already have one," Subject 327 said dully and pointed at its chest.
"Subject 327."

Dr Bruschweiler frowned, his mouth drooping at the corners. He shook his head. "That's not a
name. You should have a beautiful name, like Pranpriya."

"Pranpriya is gone."

"But—"

"Pranpriya is gone," Subject 327 repeated in a dead voice. "I killed her."

Subject 327 turned back to the labyrinth puzzle it was poring over, a memorisation task set by
Ringmaster. If it got it wrong when it was called upon, Ringmaster had ordered for a double round
on the electrocution table. During the last test session, it had hesitated to answer a sum by seconds,
which immediately earned it an electrocution and a night sleeping next to the snarling black
hounds cages, even though the answer had been right.

Ringmaster demanded nothing less than perfection from his subjects, otherwise, humiliation and
pain were the guaranteed rewards. Even though their pain senses had been dulled and they built up
a tolerance with all the TK they were pumped with, electric shocks delivered straight to your brain
still made your body's nerve endings scream and in some cases, you mercifully black out.

Subject 327 closed its eyes. The memory of its brain going up in flames had it squirm.

It had only hours to complete the task and it calculated to have only covered about 40%. Much too
slow. And with the talkative doctor distracting it, the probability of completing the task was
looking to be less likely.

Why couldn't it be strong and useful? Why was it so powerless and weak? Why did it have to be so
afraid?

"Alright so Pranpriya doesn't exist...which makes you able to choose something new to call your
own," the bearded doctor picked up again, undeterred. He crouched down level with Subject 327.
"Having a name you choose yourself is a wonderful thing. Not many people get to do that, you
know? Wouldn't you want to have something of your own?"

"I don't want anything."

The doctor's face turned sombre. "You're allowed to want. Everyone wants something in life. For
me, I could do with some socks. You think you can do without them but really, they're a staple and
when you need them most, you can't find a matching pair."

Subject 327 simply blinked.

The doctor spread his arms like a spindly scarecrow. "All I'm saying is, a lot of people stay stuck
with the name they're given. Others, they want something better. And they go for it. A name can
be a very powerful thing. I heard that in Thailand, that was especially true. A name can decide
what your life will look like."

Subject 327 was suspicious of his interest in Thailand, its homecountry. He secretly made it look
over Thai dictionaries and wordbooks, saying it was important to remember its roots, when
previous doctors used to punish it and the other Thai kids for even speaking in Thai.

"I don't remember," Subject 327 lied.

But it was true, P'Sorn had said as much once, to never forget their names because their names tied
them to their souls, and without names, the souls would be lost forever and you'd be no better than
a monster like the 'phi' from the ghost stories they told each other.

But what was a name when you're not even human anymore? At night, sometimes the faces of
people it killed would surface but by morning, they would have vanished and Subject 327 could
scarcely recall them.

And yet...

Subject 327 regarded the odd doctor who seemed so eager to befriend it and remind it of its past,
its roots, reminding it that it was meant for more than killing and murder.

"Well think about it. We can look at some names, if you like." Dr Bruschweiler stood up, dusted
his knees and adjusted his labcoat when a bell rang, signalling the end of their session.

"See you tomorrow," he said.

But before he departed, he was jerked back by a tiny hand grabbing the tail end of his labcoat.

"Doctor Brush?" Subject 327 muttered without looking up.

"Yes?" he said kindly.

It had despised his voice at first, like it despised all the other doctors and their fake kindness but
this one, this one was different.

This one...made it feel again.

Subject 327 took a deep breath and looked straight into his eyes. "If I get a new name, will I also
get a new soul?"

Translation: Will I be allowed to be human again?

Doctor Bruschweiler's eyes widened but his face took on understanding immediately.

"Yes, you will," he said firmly. "Think of it like a rebirth. I told you the story of the phoenix, didn't
I? Same principle works here: new name, new life."

Subject 327 swallowed, suddenly jittery. What it was about to say went against all that Ringmaster
ordered, all that they were supposed to do and think, all that had been hammered into their heads.

But this doctor was different. And subject 327 couldn't help but think different, too, couldn't help
but want even though it wasn't supposed to want anything.
"Give me a name," Subject 327 said quietly. It didn't fear the cameras—it had made sure to sit in a
blind spot. All the cameras would see was Doctor Bruschweiler lingering at the door of the cell.
They wouldn't hear a thing.

A second bell rang, the tardy bell as the doctor called it, but Dr Bruschweiler didn't rush away like
he usually did. He stood perfectly still, waiting.

"What name would you like?" he asked gently, somehow understanding, somehow realising that it
had a name in mind that it wanted and he was giving it permission to name itself.

"Lalisa," Subject 327 whispered, fear taking root in its body alongside another foreign emotion it
couldn't quite name that filled the hollow emptiness in its chest.

"Lalisa it is then." Dr Bruschweiler smiled. "Lalisa. Sounds nice. I'll look up the meaning. Where
did you come up with it?"

But it had already spoken too much so it turned and hunched up without another word, indicating
the time to chit-chat was over. The doctor understood and left with a soft 'Sleep well...Lalisa.'

That short pronouncement shifted something deep inside it, like the opening of a dusty, rusty chest,
its hinges creaking with years of disuse.

"Lalisa, sleep well my baby," whispered a tender woman's voice, faintly accompanied by traces of
a sweet smell that vanished as swiftly as it came.

Subject 327 stiffened. It wasn't sure if it was making up a memory—it still remembered the name
that it went by before, so where did this one come from?— but it clung on to the ghost of its past
life, the last haunting vestiges that survived stirring deep in the cobwebbed crevices of its mind,
prodded and coaxed to life by the odd doctor.

Why was Dr Bruschweiler so insistent on making it remember? What did it matter when it wasn't
human anymore? Who was the woman that called it Lalisa? Was it its mother? Was it even real?
Did it have a mother in the first place? But it must have; it had killed its parents, though the exact
details escaped it because of the drug haze.

Subject 327's head hurt on the rare occasions when it tried to remember what its mother and
father's faces looked like. It had killed them but it wasn't sure if it was them. It had been told the
first two people it killed were its parents, but that had been so long ago, and so many dead bodies
and faces it had seen, that all features melted and warped together. Through the drug haze, it could
not remember.

Lalisa. Lalisa. Lalisa.

My name is Lalisa.

Subject 327 repeated the name to itself over and over, quietly, committing it to memory. It was its
very own thing. Its own secret. The only thing it owned. Ringmaster mustn't know, he mustn't take
it away. It must remain secret.

Lalisa. Lalisa. Lalisa.

Who was Lalisa?

Lalisa was a bright girl. Lalisa was a happy go-lucky girl.

Lalisa smiled. Lalisa laughed.

Subject 327 tried to remember how to smile, tried to mive its lips but its face remained stiff and
dead. It brought up its fingers to its face and lifted the corners of its mouth experimentally.

The movement felt unnatural but it would get used to it, it would get better. One day, it won't need
to use its hands to smile anymore.

Because Lalisa smiled and laughed lile it was the easiest thing in the world.

Lalisa was alive. Lalisa had hopes and dreams.

Lalisa wanted. Lalisa needed.

Lalisa would fight for what she wants. Lalisa would not be afraid.

It didn't matter if the memory was real or not: Lalisa would be Subject 327's mask, its rebirth, its
future.

Lalisa would make Subject 327 human again.

Subject 327 closed its eyes.

Wake up, Lalisa...

>>>>>>(Back to the present)<<<<<<<

Jinyoung strode into the hospital room after dismissing the two guards at the door.

The room was comfortably furnished, but the old man laying in bed, wrinkled as a raisin, scarcely
seemed aware enough to care. A doctor in a labcoat was bent over next to the bed, clutching a
clipboard as she checked vitals and monitors. The noisy sounds of laboured inhales and exhales
from the machines keeping the old man breathing drowned out the otherwise quiet stillness.

"How is he?" Jinyoung asked without preamble.

The doctor looked up, blinking behind her glasses. "Oh Mr Park! He's alright, his oxygen levels
dipped but he's stabilised now. Not to worry, he's in safe hands."

"Hmm," Jinyoung said.

When the doctor left, Jinyoung drew up a chair and sat, suppressing the urge to snarl as he watched
the sleeping man in bed with a mixture of revulsion and spite.

"What do you want, Father?" Jinyoung spat at last, temper reaching breaking point. "I know you
faked that choking episode. You can't fool me. Wake up and talk."

The old man's mouth immediately stretched into a wide mostly toothless grin as he cracked an eye
open.

"Impatient as ever, boy," JYP commented. Jinyoung resisted the urge to strangle him on the spot,
knowing that if he rose to the bait, it was as good as losing to his father's power trips.
"I had to leave a call with our American investors who are interested in a lucrative deal so excuse
me for being eager to hurry things along," Jinyoung said sarcastically. "Not to mention the hordes
of media people that now will be keeping an eye out for us, since they're all waiting for you to kick
the bucket after this incident."

"You can charm them, like you usually do," JYP said dismissively. He struggled to sit up, his frail
arms gripping the railing until he found the remote and pressed the button to lift the top half of his
mattress and make him sit up, bringing him level with Jinyoung.

"What do you want, Father?" Jinyoung asked again.

"Speak with you, urgently," JYP said in hushed tones. If Jinyoung hadn't been used to his father's
manner of speaking, he wouldn't have understood what he was saying through the hollow crackling
of his nebuliser. He seemed stronger than other days, speaking for longer without collapsing into
coughing, probably because he was actually resting in bed instead of running around getting in the
way.

"You see me every day, couldn't it wait until tomorrow?" Jinyoung asked, wondering how to cut
the conversation short. "If we're here for you to lecture me—"

"We are, but it's not what you think. Listen to me, boy—"

"Call me boy one more time," Jinyoung gritted, "do it."

JYP sighed heavily. "You don't ruffle often but all this work is taking its toll. I can see it, how your
temper frays more often these days."

"Do you?" Jinyoung said sarcastically.

"Yes. And if I can see it, so will other people. Son...I just don't want to see you fail."

Jinyoung stared before he threw his head back, laughing.

"Oh how the tables have turned," he gasped, "you're addressing me as your son now? You
recognise I'm your son? Why? The nerve of you."

"That's not the point," JYP said evasively.

"Of course you would say that. Because you have ulterior motives to be addressing me like that,"
Jinyoung scoffed. He leaned in his father's space, causing the old man to flinch at his son's
menacing expression.

"You're reading too much into this—"

"Actually, I am reading just perfectly fine,"Jinyoung said scathingly. He waved around them.
"Look at you. A pathetic, bitter and jealous doddery old fool on the brink of death, faking a
choking accident to sabotage me and call me up here on a whim, to prove that you still have
control. Wrong. I am the one in control now. I am the one Tiger King answers to now. I am the
new Ringmaster."

When JYP's face hardened, Jinyoung knew he had hit the nail on the head. He leaned back and got
up to leave but he still had more words for his father.

"The only thing that will make me fail is you. Because you just can't let go of your delusions. Face
it old man. You're a washed up has-been. I know it just kills you inside that your bastard son is
actually reaping the benefits and doing the work to restore glory to the Park name. Do you know, I
used to hate that name? Not anymore. I will make sure that my legacy surpasses you, old man.
Nobody will remember Jinyoung Senior. History will only remember me."

"History will remember your arrogance and folly that leads to your downfall," JYP said sharply. He
went into a bout of coughing when he removed his mask, but despite his shaking hands, his
determination to speak intrigued Jinyoung who waited, standing next to the bed as he looked down
at bony and haggard old man.

Jinyoung remembered him as an imposing business executive, haughty, aloof and absent, unless it
was with his older brother Jaebom. His older brother seemed to be only exception when it came to
cracking their father's icy exterior.

He was snapped out of his reverie when clammy bony fingers clamped down on his wrist like a
vice. Jinyoung swatted his father's hand away, lip curling in disgust.

"Don't touch me!"

"Hear me out, boy," JYP wheezed, "I was like you, once. I thought I had won the world when the
Tiger King project appeared to succeed. But I underestimated the people around me, the enemies
under my nose. In the end, Tiger King got away before we could fully utilise it. We lost him not
because of the authorities getting wind of what was going on. It was an inside job."

Jinyoung stopped stock still, brows furrowing. "What?"

JYP's jaw quivered, coated in day-old stubble. "That's right. I don't like spreading this information
so openly for security reasons but...it's happened before. I don't want to see it happen again."

Of course losing Tiger King would be his biggest worry, Jinyoung reflected bitterly. Why did he
feel the slightest twinge of disappointment? He knew his father didn't care about him or his
success, it was all Tiger King, Tiger King, Tiger King.

"You never thought to share this potentially crucial piece of information?"

"You never asked about my experience."

"Now that's an outright lie," Jinyoung said flatly as his father hacked his lungs out.

"You never asked more than what you needed to know," JYP clarified after recovering, "you only
communicated with me to dig out what you needed to know regarding the program."

"Who was it?"

"You think you're not compromised?" JYP blustered, breathless and ignoring him. "I've seen it
already, people are ready to jump all over you, they will get you if you let down your guard for an
instant, and you keep getting distracted, you keep—"

JYP collapsed back against the pillows, shaking so much that for a moment Jinyoung feared for
him. He reached over and handed JYP the mask.

"Easy, easy, Father, let's...let's calm down alright?" He was so close to answers, he couldn't have
him collapse and leave him questioning. "Who betrayed you?"

"You keep getting distracted!" JYP burst out again, knocking the mask out of Jinyoung's hands.
"Okay, I keep getting distracted," Jinyoung said, deciding it would be better to follow the flow for
now and humour him than agitate him further. "By whom?"

"By that girl you framed!"

Jinyoung snorted. "Jennie?"

"Her!"

"Alright. I will take care of her soon and focus only on Tiger King," Jinyoung said to placate him.

"How soon is soon? She could ruin you! She could ruin us like that damned doctor!"

"Which doctor?"

"And your cousin! I don't trust him," JYP said darkly, his eyes darting to the door. "Be on your
guard around him, boy. He lost that fling of his, he hasn't been himself since. I've seen it."

"I will take care of Jackson," Jinyoung assured, wondering if he was ever going to get a straight
answer. Jennie seemed to have flustered the old man greatly. Another point for her, really she was
making it extra hard to dislike her.

"You said there was a doctor?"Jinyoung asked casually, playing a different angle. "What was his
name?"

"Bruschweiler. Marco Bruschweiler. Brilliant Swiss neurochemist, joined the team late. Foreigner
with a weak heart. Never understood the sacrifice and my mission. He took pity on Tiger King and
broke him out. Ran away with him too." JYP's fists clutched the sheets till the colour of his
knuckles matched the same starchy whiteness. "We lost everything because of that fool. He ratted
us out. He was going to rat us out."

"To whom? I thought the top brass was in the know."

"A whistleblower. Called himself Hwangssabu. Disgraced military guy, he had been hounding us
for ages. We found Bruschweiler's personal records, they had been in contact."

"Interesting," Jinyoung said. "So Bruschweiler told Hwangssabu, and he ratted you out?"

"We're not sure, but it's very possible Hwangssabu could have called in an anonymous tip and
alerted the Grim Reapers—"

"Who?"

"Financial Crimes Unit, that's how they're known locally," JYP said speaking rapidly, "they're
harder to collude with. We had no choice but to shut it all down before they swarmed us, we only
had a few hours of warning to clear out. All because of one damn doctor."

"Was he ever caught by our people?"

"They found his skeleton too late, the rats had picked it clean." JYP suddenly fixed his gaze on
Jinyoung. "One thing bothered me all these years. I could never figure out. I don't want you to
repeat my mistakes, boy. You need to be focused."

"What was your mistake?" Jinyoung asked. The beeping monitors softened, almost in anticipation.

"It wouldn't have been the first time there was an escape attempt," JYP revealed, "but that first
time, Tiger King failed. Bruschweiler hadn't been around at the time. He came in later as Tiger
King's new physician."

Jinyoung's brows knitted. "There was no mention of breakout attempts in the documents salvaged."

"Of course not. Only I kept record of such instances and I made sure my notes were destroyed. The
first escape attempt was crude, but effective. Tiger King and another subject slaughtered both their
defenceless physicians and went on a rampage. They almost got out too, but I called Tiger King.
And he returned to my side, like an obedient dog. Left his fellow subject and came and stood next
to me."

Jinyoung's mouth almost dropped open. "Just like that?"

"One look, one call of admonishment, was all it took." JYP even looked a little smug. "Then I
unleashed the hounds on them for their punishment, of course. Tiger King first slew his friend and
then slew the dogs. I suppose it was a mercy killing. It was quite gruesome. Luckily, I had other
dogs."

"It's a little hard to believe," Jinyoung said slowly.

"Yet you claim to be the true Ringmaster? You're not confident that in similar circumstances, Tiger
King would submit to you?"

"It will," Jinyoung said confidently, "you'll see. Everyone will see, at the showcase."

"Hmph. Well, don't get too full of yourself. That was my mistake. I thought my work was done,
that I had Tiger King under my control. But that blasted doctor undid all my careful work."

"How?"

"The theory I have is that he reversed our emotional suppression procedures."

Jinyoung raised an eyebrow. "It's possible? I know new emotional triggers can be introduced but
those aren't ingrained enough. Completely reversing the procedure...how is that possible? Are you
sure?"

JYP threw his hands up. "If he didn't completely reverse the emotional suppression, then he
cracked it pretty darn good. We subjected the most likely candidates through more strict
conditioning: alienation from their peers, competing for survival, fighting each other,
psychological torture, physical trauma, isolation. It would make anybody crack. What made the
more likely candidates succeed was their ability to withstand all this, the ability to package away
all these traumatic events. It took enormous emotional energy to do so, and we were weaponizing
it, conditioning them to be desensitised."

"I know all about how it works, thank you very much," Jinyoung put in when the old man paused
to draw a hacking breath, but JYP wasn't finished.

"Tiger King saw it all and performed admirably. He saw his closest friends gunned to pieces,
others were slaughtered in stampedes and when fights broke out. The hounds were a favourite tool
to eliminate the weaker subjects, just letting them loose upon a crowd of them. It was bloody
chaos. He killed his parents too, as I'm sure you're aware. He did all that and still, still he was able
to break away from the conditioning. I thought the final nail in the coffin would have been his last
surviving friend, the one he almost escaped with. Bambam, I recall they called him. It was Tiger
King's last tie to the past, so to speak. And yet, that goddamn doctor undid all my hard work."
JYP turned his head and spat on the floor, the beeping monitors mirroring his seething.

"What do you suppose the doctor did?" Jinyoung asked, interested.

"Befriended it. That's it," JYP said bitterly. "We didn't realise until later when we perused through
his notes and tracked down guards for testimonies and witnesses. He had been very careful
but...that's what he did. He befriended the child, earned its trust by rewarding it secretly
with...with bagels from the cafeteria, of all things. He documented all this. He describes how he
spent his breaks sitting with it outside its cell and he sometimes sneaked out after curfew and sat
with it. We saw the footage as well, what could be retrieved anyway. We thought he was trying to
solicit it for sexual relief but turns out...he was just being a friend, staying close by, even holding
its hand through the bars."

"So, Tiger King was feeling emotions again. And I'm assuming that meant he started to yearn for
freedom too? Or at least was more susceptible to follow the doctor's suggestions?"

"Precisely. The escape largely depended on Tiger King not stopping in his slaughter spree until he
had cleared out the armed guards. We came upon them in a moment of deja vu, but unlike before,
when I commanded Tiger King to return, it was too late. Tiger King had broken free. I couldn't
stop it. It was humiliating."

JYP's face looked suddenly wearier than Jinyoung remembered.

"And this is why I want you to be careful, boy. TK wasn't strong enough last time. Don't rest on
your laurels now that you're producing TK-Ultra. You need to make extra sure that this time, the
process is permanent. You need to secure our work and legacy for the future."

"Don't worry Father. I think you'll understand at the showcase, you'll have nothing to worry about,"
Jinyoung said smoothly. "We've made great progress so far, I'm fully confident of attaining sixty-
six percent of our milestones before the showcase. Tiger King won't have a problem with
emotional triggers. You'll see."

"Hmph. So you'll forget about that wench?" his father asked.

"Jennie?"

"Yes."

Jinyoung shrugged. "I haven't had time to think about her truth be told, and she seems to be
keeping her head down with all the furore. But I believe she could prove useful so I'm reluctant to
dispose of her at the moment. Really Father, you're making mountains out of molehills."

To his relief, JYP finally seemed convinced as he significantly calmed down and nodded,
motioning for the mask to fit over his face.

"It's a shame though," he muttered. Jinyoung heard.

"What is?"

"The circumstances. I like how she's putting up a fight. I would have liked to meet her. She has that
fighting spirit in her."

Jinyoung's brows shot up. "Come again?"

"She must be quite special," JYP mused, ignoring his son's bewilderment at his father's apparent
interest in Jennie. "For a while there, you had me worried. I even thought I fathered one of those
degenerate faggots."

Jinyoung spluttered but JYP barged on.

"I had a PI try to unearth whether you took any male lovers. I even had him purposely approach
you as a potential interested hook up. He interrogated some of your past women as well. Nothing
came up but I couldn't help wonder—you never showed this much interest in women before. If the
circumstances weren't what they were, I would have even consented to such an unusual match with
a commoner. For god's sake, the Park name risks dying out if you don't father a heir. And then who
will be in charge of Tiger King? You need to think of the future or we will lose everything that I
have worked for. And don't even think of adoption! I want someone of the blood, do you hear?"

"Father?" Jinyoung said, utterly confused. He had no idea his father even considered him worthy to
continue their bloodline. JYP probably just had no other option to turn to and here Jinyoung was, a
convenient stand-in, a back-up plan, like always.

"Since when did extending the Park bloodline become such a concern?" Jinyoung asked.

JYP gave a bitter laugh. "Always has been a concern. Only now, mortality stares me in the face.
This frail body of mine will soon succumb. Then it's just you left. And since you're either too picky
or too stunted to even let a woman touch you, then of course I am worrying about who will control
our assets if something were to happen to you down the line, given you carry the disease. Is it a
crime I care about JYP Pharma and its legacy?"

Jinyoung shrugged. "After I am gone, I'll be dead. I won't care who has control. Neither should
you. I only care about the now."

JYP shook his head despondently. "You young people don't understand the idea of preserving your
legacy. What do you even live for? You're all indifferent. What has the world come to?"

"Jennie is something special indeed, but I'm afraid continuing the bloodline isn't high on my
priority list right now. I have to focus, after all," Jinyoung reminded, reiterating his father's earlier
remarks. JYP snorted but settled down again because after all, he had just been ranting about
Jinyoung getting distracted.

"Jay B could probably have probably done both," JYP muttered, never one to miss an opportunity
to deliver a back-handed blow. But Jinyoung didn't back down.

"Jaebom probably was gay, I saw him look up gay porn a couple times," he said serenely, enjoying
the way the old man's eyes bugged out. "Not sure how him giving you a heir would have worked
out."

"You're bluffing."

"What does it matter? He's not here. I'm the one you're dealing with now." Jinyoung tossed his
head. "If you agree to some terms that ensures we stay on civil terms with each other, maybe I will
consider your...wish for me to continue the bloodline."

"And what are you proposing?"

"We work according to my rules. You will stop sabotaging me and patronising me in front of my
employees, and tell me what information is necessary to know regarding Tiger King. The whole
spectrum of it, not just anything related to physiology and TK. And I will do the same. We will
keep each other in the loop and co-operate more, going forward."
"Two tigers cannot rule a mountain," JYP mused. "Very well, I suppose presenting a united front
is crucial at this point in time, more than trying to make you listen. You do as you see fit, boy. I
shall...hold my tongue and keep my opinions for private meetings. But what could you possibly
bring to the mix that I don't know already?"

Jinyoung smiled and ignored the subtle barb, knowing he had the old man's attention.

"Something interesting about Jennie."

"Her again," JYP grumbled.

"Yes. She's not any regular girl as you might think."

"I know that she was harbouring Tiger King. I know that other girl you're keeping, the Kim girl
that you blew up her family, I know she's her friend."

"They're a little more than friends actually, but that's for another time," Jinyoung said smoothly,
inwardly gleeful to see the old man's eyes widen, "now, did you know that amongst commonalities
Hwangssabu and Dr Bruschweiler shared, it seemed to be their penchant for picking up strays?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Tiger King got picked up by Hwangssabu though nobody knows if Dr Bruschweiler and him
actually arranged for that to happen," Jinyoung said, "but did you know that before that,
Hwangssabu had actually taken in Jennie? She's an orphan, illegally smuggled in from New
Zealand by Hwangssabu himself. Quite ironically, Jisoo's parents were responsible for her family
being blown up. They commissioned Yang."

From the way his father's brows slowly rose, wrinkling his forehead, Jinyoung confirmed that he
hadn't known.

"Hwangssabu took in Jennie, then he took in Tiger King and left Jennie as his protege to carry on
his work," JYP said slowly. He shook his head. "What was that man thinking? Why did he hang on
to Tiger King but kept very quiet about it? What was his endgame?"

"Maybe it's something you can ask Jennie yourself. Perhaps she has answers," Jinyoung said
smoothly, thinking fast. "What do you say we arrange a meeting for you two? Say, at the end of
this week?"

JYP's eyes narrowed. "Isn't that a little short notice to organise? You don't even know where she's
hiding."

"I don't need to. I won't be chasing her. She'll come to me," Jinyoung said confidently.

"She'll come to you? Despite being wanted terrorist?" JYP said sceptically. "Surely, that's a little
hare-brained to risk exposing herself?

Jinyoung merely smiled.

"What are you hiding? You know something, don't you?" JYP tried again, unable to conceal his
curiosity. "What are you planning?"

Jinyoung shrugged. "Take it or leave it. Consider this arranged meeting a gift of goodwill on my
behalf, for our new relationship going forward."
His father looked at him shrewdly before his mouth slowly stretched up in a devilish grin.

"Alright. I'll hold you on to this, boy. I look forward to meeting Hwangssabu's spawn."

Jinyoung stood up to leave, unable to believe that he and his father were parting on civil terms
probably for the first time ever.

"Then I suggest you rest and get well soon. I have some arrangements to attend to."

>

Jennie jerked awake, shaking as she clutched the pillow until her bleary vision cleared and she
realised she was alone in bed.

Jisoo's dead body wasn't there. Neither were the corpses of Somi, Dahyun and Momo.

Jennie rolled on her back, frowning to see the room well lit by sunlight. Though Hani hadn't really
pressed her to show up early for training in the condo's basement, turning up close to noon
probably didn't look too good.

Jennie draped an arm over her eyes, breathing in and out just like Jisoo taught her, to calm herself
down.

Jisoo...

Jennie clenched her teeth.

More frightening than seeing her girlfriend's bloody corpse piled next to the other girls was the
other far worse dream: seeing Jisoo with Tiger King's yellow eyes, a nightmare far more terrifying
because of how likely it was shaping up to be.

She had the dream the previous two nights: waking up cocooned in warmth and cosiness,
spooning Jisoo who slept deeply in her arms. Jennie nuzzled closer and kissed her bare shoulder,
heart overflowing with love. She never wanted to leave. She was right where she belonged,
wrapped around her girlfriend.

I love you, she said in the dream.

But then Jisoo turned in her arms, her eyes opened and flashed yellow. The dream shattered as her
hands shot to Jennie's neck and squeezed, strangling her.

It snapped Jennie awake, on the verge of screaming as tears wet her cheeks and her heart galloped
blindly in terror, wiping out every grain of rationality.

"It's not going to happen," Jennie said firmly, banishing the haunting yellow eyes from her head,
the ghost of hands around her throat. "It's not going to happen."

She wasn't sure she even believed herself. They had no way of knowing for sure either: the
connection with Jackson had gone radio silent.

Hani didn't have to say what Jennie suspected, what they all secretly feared happened to him:
Jinyoung might have turned suspicious of Jackson's activities so the latter was lying low, unable to
contact them, or worse, he was dead.

Which was a bummer for her and Rosé since they had planned to force him into delivering a
message for Ella, going against Hani's no contact rules. Jennie wasn't sure what the repercussions
would be, but she would risk it, if only to give Rosé some peace of mind. They were now back to
square one, trying to puzzle out how to contact Irene and Seulgi whilst carrying out their duties in
the midst of tense preparations.

Almost on reflex, Jennie pulled her arm away to check her healing wasp tattoo, inked on the inside
of her wrist. She rubbed over the itchy area, conflicted over her feelings about its presence. On the
one hand it was neat and quite badass: in virtually any other circumstance, she would have been
displaying it without a care in the world and flaunting it in Lisa and Somi and Irene's faces just to
see their reaction. Jisoo might even think she's more badass too.

But on the other hand, this tattoo signified her ties to the gang, a very permanent tie that she could
not undo. Her heart sank every time, but another part of her was firm in its resolve: this was the
way to save Jisoo and Lisa and pay back Jinyoung for all he had done.

And to do that, she needed to be prepared to fight and face all manner of threats. She only had mere
days to arm herself with whatever skills she could pick up for sparring and shooting so the sooner
she got to the basement training facility, the better.

With that mental pep talk, Jennie finally, slowly sat up in bed and swung her legs over the edge,
steeling herself for the rigorous day ahead. She closed her eyes and breathed in and out, banishing
all fear and doubts one by one, steely determination replacing them instead.

She was going to train and prepare. She was going to save Jisoo. She was going to save Lisa. She
was going to avenge her friends. She was going to kill Jinyoung.

She was going to do all that as soon as she could get out of bed without all her sore muscles
cramping up all at once.

>

Rosé was sitting at the kitchen island when Jennie came in. She was already cursing up a storm as
she fumed and snarled at her laptop like a rabid dog.

"Useless piece of shit, why won't you work?! Fuck this, fuck everything!" She looked on the verge
of punching her fist through the laptop but instead, she tipped her head back and screamed in
exasperation then slumped on the counter, burying her face in her arms.

"I give up," she muttered miserably.

Jennie didn't bat an eye—this was a normal morning occurrence now— and instead headed for the
fridge to get some yoghurt. She needed to remind Hani to have the twins get more because they
were almost out. Maybe she could persuade one of them to get her some energy drinks instead, she
was needing them more than ever with all the energy she was expending.

"Coffee?" Jennie asked the motionless lump sitting at the kitchen island with hair sticking up all
over the place. Rosé wordlessly lifted a thumbs up and Jennie set to work brewing the kettle.

This had become the norm for Jennie in the morning: Rosé would already be cranky with
bloodshot eyes and her freshly dyed brunette hair piled up in a messy bun atop her head. She
complained of splitting headaches and burning eyes from staring too long at the screen and not
even having glasses so she was constantly having to squint at the monitor. Forgotten cold coffee in
a mug, abandoned crackers in the plate, crumpled notebook papers littering the counter and floor—
Rosé looked like what Jennie imagined frazzled and stressed university students like Somi went
through in their hellish finals week.
Don't think of her.

Thankfully the kettle whistled at the moment and Jennie was all too grateful to drown herself in
some action.

It was too soon to think of Somi casually, and by extension, Dahyun and Momo. The wound was
still fresh and bleeding. Would it ever heal?

The gaping wound left in Hwangssabu's wake had scabbed over, still in danger of breaking open
when she least expected, but she had been able to pick up the pieces and move on. Jennie hoped
the old adage that time heals everything held true, especially now with more deaths piling on her
conscience.

She should ask Hani for some incense sticks and maybe offer a prayer up for Hwangssabu, maybe
he could afford her some guidance, anything. She had neglected him these past weeks after being
swept up with Jisoo and briefly, she remembered his photo, lying forlornly on the floor of the attic,
which was now in Jinyoung's clutches.

Jennie's hand tightened around the kettle. Would Jinyoung burn the one photo she had left of her
guardian? She didn't put it past him to do so. He would probably burn everything else that
belonged to them, or give it away. Not for the first time, Jennie considered sneaking out in the
death of night and find her way back to the Vault, if she could somehow get past Hani's security.
But there wasn't time to even plan for that anyway.

She had tried to sneak out only once for curiosity's sake, venturing out of the condo main gate only
to be immediately stopped by two of Hani's guards that emerged from cars parked nearby. She
almost attacked, thinking they were Jays, but one of them had quietly spoken up and told her to go
back inside.

"Hani doesn't want you to leave. Don't make us use force," he had said. Jennie didn't get a good
look at his face but it was enough to have her scuttle back inside, tail between her legs.

She took the kettle off when the water started bubbling and started fixing Rosé's coffee, still
brooding about the trail of dead bodies she had left in her wake ever since she woke up after her
altercation with Lisa.

The death of Jisoo's parents still shocked her when Hani would remind her whilst she showed
updates in the news about the case. It had happened so fast in the midst of fleeing for their lives
that it was only now days later that Jennie was able to let it sink in.

Last they heard on the news, the Kims' other two children were taking care of funeral
arrangements and investigations. But incredibly, nobody seemed to care that the youngest sister
was missing. There was no mention of her at all in any statements the siblings gave (so startlingly
alike to Jisoo, but so depressingly indifferent) that it had Jennie's blood boil.

"Steady there, sweets, you're going to drill down to the floor beneath us," Hani said as Jennie
paced in agitation.

"Don't you get it? I really am the only one looking for her," Jennie said in anguish. "And I'm letting
her down."

"You're not. You're doing what you can given the circumstances. You're preparing to save her, to
give yourself a fighting chance. Also, Chanyeol is trying to find who's planting the information
about you and out them as fake informants," Hani said. "He'll help clear your name."
"I guess," Jennie shrugged."I just don't see any point to it right now when our target is trying to
find something about the damn showcase."

"We can multi-task. If Channie is successful, then you won't have the mark on your back anymore.
You'll be acquitted of their deaths."

Jennie shrugged again."Their blood is still in on my hands. I can't erase that. I don't know how I'll
tell Jisoo."

Hani sat back, her gaze sympathetic. "Tell her the truth," she said simply. "Jinyoung is using you
both against each other, just as he is using Rosé and Lisa against each other."

"He hasn't used them against each other...has he?" Jennie said slowly. Yang Hyun-suk would
qualify more in that category, beating Jinyoung, shockingly enough.

"If he hasn't yet, then he will," Hani said ominously. "It's what I would do."

Jennie glanced now over her shoulder at Rosé, who seemed to have dozed off for some much
needed sleep.

Rosé hunched over the laptop Hani loaned her from morning till evening and evening till morning
with few breaks in between for eating, moving, or even bathroom breaks. Hani had originally
planned for Rosé to join Jennie for training but complications and lack of information had them
swiftly switch plans.

Rosé was relegated to unearthing anything she could about the mysterious showcase, running into
dead-end after dead-end. The pressure and sheer impossibility of the task was taking its toll on her,
she was breaking down more and more frequently as tempers frayed and Hani pressed harder,
undeterred.

The gangster queen had the key to the apartment so dropping by unannounced to harass Rosé and
stressing her out further like some micro-manager wasn't something uncommon. And as Jennie was
unfortunate enough to find out, Hani had little sense of boundaries and privacy: she had had her
own horror movie moment just the night before when she had been showering.

Out of nowhere, someone ripped the curtain back unannounced.

"Hey sweets, where's our hacker—"

"AAA WHAT THE FUCK?" Jennie screamed, clutching her naked body and backing up against the
furthest side of the shower. "THE DOOR IS LOCKED?!"

"Not when I'm around, I can lockpick—OW WATCH IT—"

It was a good thing Hani had excellent reflexes or Jennie would have lost her new boss right there
and then when she swung the showerhead at Hani.

"GET THE HELL OUT YOU PERVERT!" Jennie screeched.

"Girl it's just me," Hani yelped as Jennie threw every bar of soap and shampoo bottle she could
reach. "I was looking for our little hacker. She seems to be hiding from me."

"Get out!" Jennie yelled back. Hani obeyed, drawing the curtain back even though it did nothing
for Jennie's mortification.
"Feel free to join us. Also, nice tits," Hani had called with a chuckle as Jennie glowered with her
arms tight around her chest, traumatised.

She had been too humiliated to join the fiery conversation she overhead in the living room later but
she got enough from eavesdropping.

"You're not doing enough," Hani was insisting. "You can do so much more if you're half as good as
they say."

"I don't know what you heard but I wasn't a fucking hacker for sure. I'm a script kiddie for god's
sake, I just run programs. You're lucky I saved the ones Yang gave me. If not even your pen-testers
can get through, then what makes you think I can?"

"That's the thing, you're thinking like a hacker. You need to think like Thorn. How would Thorn go
about this? How would Thorn save her girl?"

"What is this, some corny cartoon where I suddenly get all powered up thanks to the power of
love?" Rosé scoffed. Jennie imagined her wringing her hands. "Hani, I just can't fucking do it,
okay? This whole thing isn't working. I miss my girlfriend and my daughter. I was raped and didn't
even have time to process that. I'm trying but I just can't."

"Don't give me excuses," Hani said immediately. "When I was assaulted at my first job—I was a
housemaid for this obscenely wealthy bastard— I went and slept with his cunt whore of a wife and
his mistress too. And then I sent him anonymous pictures of his debauched whores."

"Uh—"

"And then I murdered them, cut them up into little pieces, baked them into a stew in his own kitchen
and served it to him in his own living room. He lapped it up and said it was the best meal of his
life. Then he hanged himself when I told him. It was the sweetest revenge of my life."

Jennie's jaw dropped but then Hani's loud chortles made her eyes narrow.

"Your face, Rosé! No, I'm just kidding. Or am I, hmm? I bet you heard all the scary stories about
me, didn't you?"

A beat of silence passed, quiet enough that Jennie could hear her own breathing before Rosé
seemed to recover.

"Hani, all I'm saying is, I'm more a hindrance than help. Why can't you press Jackson to find out
where the damn showcase is happening?"

"You know we can't. Jackson is MIA. We don't have any insider info that could help you right
now," Hani said sharply, her light tone changing in a blink.

"He's still not contacting you? What if he's...he's..." Rosé trailed off, evidently just as apprehensive
as Jennie felt.

"He's not dead nor has he double-crossed us. If either happened, Jinyoung would have sent a sign,
or some blatant clue to lead us to our doom. Jackson is probably lying low because Jinyoung
might suspect him. He said as much in our last call."

"So we have no other information?" Rosé pleaded."He didn't say if he'll contact again?"

"No, we're on our own and I can't call this off. We're so close," Hani said tersely. "If we don't act
right now, we'll have to wait longer for the right opportunity. And by then, who knows what state
your girlfriend will be in? Think of her, if anything."

"I'm trying—"

"Harder, Rosé, I need you to try harder. Look, I gave you resources, I'm keeping a close eye on
Jennie's terrorist situation and Chanyeol is working double time to try and bring to light the frame-
up. Jennie is preparing too. We're all doing our part but whether it turns out worthwhile all hinges
on you."

"No pressure or anything," Rosé said sarcastically. "My eyes are killing me and I'm so sick and
tired of codes. Please, I'll do anything else, I'll train with Jennie. I can be good!"

"No. Take a power nap and keep looking. Until you find something, no training. This is more
important. You have the answer, I just know it," Hani said stubbornly.

"You know it, or you want it to be true because you have nothing else left?" Rosé demanded. "Face
it Hani, we're backed into the wall here. You are backed into the wall. You just don't want to admit
it."

Jennie couldn't help but smile, silently cheering for Rosé despite the bleak situation they were all
stuck in. Standing up to Hani felt like a win.

She frowned when she didn't hear Hani reply at all. She realised she wasn't going to ever hear an
answer because seconds passed and then she heard the front door creak and snap shut, followed by
the ever-present sound of the laptop keys going clack-clack.

Jennie was pulled out of her reminiscing when Rosé grunted in her sleep, muttering incoherently as
she shifted on the counter.

Jennie had forgotten she was still holding Rosé's steaming mug of coffee. Wary of sudden
movement (she didn't want to get splashed with scalding coffee) Jennie set the mug down a good
distance away from the sleeping brunette and debated on gently shaking her awake.

She really needed to get down to the basement and Rosé really needed the sleep. It had been three
days of non-stop work after their harrowing ordeal in the forest behind the Kim's estate. The
showcase was reportedly in another three days but Rosé was drained, the dark circles under her
eyes pronounced, her forehead permanently scrunched in a frown. It was doubtful she was getting
the best sustenance, or even performing proper grooming.

Jennie reached out to smoothen the wrinkles in Rosés forehead but a loud ringing alarm tore the
peaceful apartment, startling her. Rosé jolted upright in her seat with a cry, almost toppling over as
the stool tipped back and her arms flailed.

"Whoa easy there, careful!" Jennie rushed to her side. "You okay?"

"Hey sweets, was just wondering when the fuck do you intend to come down here?" Hani's
disembodied voice boomed all around the apartment. "We all have places we'd rather be, you
know."

"Like fucking your toy boy, I bet," Jennie muttered. "Uh...I'll be right there?" she called, raising her
voice, wondering if the speaker or wherever the sound was coming was a two-way device. This
was the first time Hani was summoning her in such a manner.
She heard what sounded like a scoff. "Fine. You'll miss out on wing chun with Channie, he had
to go. Youngdeuk is waiting." The static cut off and Jennie assumed the connection had been
shut off too.

"Big whoop." Jennie muttered and turned to Rosé, who still looked shell-shocked, eyes blood-shot.
"You okay?"

"Huh? Yeah yeah fine. Actually it's good it rang. I was having a bad dream," Rosé hoarsely, her
erratic breathing slowing down. She massaged her temples. "God, Jen, I keep dreaming of him. I
don't want to sleep because he keeps showing up."

Jennie didn't have to ask who she was referring to: she had caught snatches of Rosé mumbles in her
fitful dozes, always uttering the name of the monster that attacked her. This was the first time Rosé
was talking about it out loud.

"What happened?" Jennie asked gently.

"It's so messed up. At first it's just Lisa and I...and then he comes in blasting everything and she
changes into him? I don't even know..." She clutched her shoulders. "Do you get bad dreams?"

"Do I?" Jennie echoed. "Hell, every time I close my eyes I...I see Mimi, or Dahyun or Momo. And
then there's Jisoo and god, her parents as well. I—no, you're not the only one who gets bad dreams.
I want all this to be over. We're gonna need a shit ton of therapy."

"I want all this to be over too. I miss them. I miss Ella. God, Jen, I keep worrying that Jinyoung got
to them somehow. And do Irene and Seulgi even know how picky Ella can be with her food? Very
picky. I need to know she's getting her vitamins. I need to talk with her, period. I just want to go
home." Rosé's bottom lip trembled and she held her head, her hands also shaking. "I'm really
holding on by a fucking thread, Jen. I don't know what to do to get those stupid passes."

"Tell me what you've tried so far."

Rosé frowned. "Don't you have training—"

"It can wait. Vent it out, we haven't talked properly in days. Matter of fact, come here." Jennie
opened her arms and crossed over to Rosé, waiting.

Rosé sniffed, shoulders slumping as she looked down at herself dolefully. "I'm stinky."

"I've smelled worse."

Rosé immediately sank against her front. Jennie held her gently, mindful of lingering bruises on
Rosé's body. Rosé had declined to take more TK pills when the bruises on her face faded after a
day, complaining of a headache. Jennie was still having minor doses to help with the sores and
aches, and then working out the aggression they induced during training. She got a glimpse of the
power the stimulants offered but was always wary of actually utilising it against the twins when
sparring.

"Okay, now, coffee?" Jennie asked after one last squeeze. She passed the mug to Rosé who took it
gratefully and sipped while Jennie ran her hand through her hair, combing it gently. Rosé closed
her eyes, her face losing some of its tension.

"Oh, that feels good. God, I need a shower." But all too soon, her stiff posture was back as she
turned to look at Jennie, her brows creased with worry.
"Jen, what are we going to do? I thought Hani would help but we're all just stuck," Rosé sniffed.
"Because of me."

"No, not because of you. You're doing your fucking best after going through hell and you're not
even half as experienced as her hackers. This all just smacks of desperation to me," Jennie said
bitterly. "Jinyoung really is cornering us."

"What if she's right though?" Rosé said evenly.

"How do you mean?"

Rosé sat up and rubbed her reddened eyes before squinting at her screen and tapping on the
touchpad to highlight some section of code. Jennie took a peek as well but almost went cross-eyed
trying to understand the wall of commands.

"I've run the programs Yang had, they're compatible with what Jinyoung is using so they gave me
root access but that's where the good news ends. I've been trying to extract the kernel code and
duplicating it to try to isolate these chain commands in chambers and running them through
simulations to see if the loops would disintegrate.

I've tried bugging and just regular phishing scams but nothing doing, they won't take the bait.
Honeypots didn't work either. It's like trying to break through a stone wall with a plastic straw.
And I gotta be careful I don't get caught. I just don't know what else to do..." she trailed off.

"Okay so I understood literally zero percent of what you just said, except for the stone wall and
plastic straw part, so bump that up to 2%. Very promising start," Jennie said.

It didn't even pull a smile out of Rosé who merely slumped on the counter and tapped at the screen
listlessly with a heavy sigh. Jennie bit her lip, thinking hard. Computers weren't her forte but she
desperately wished she could help in some way. Unfortunately, all that came up was a blank.

"Hey uh, maybe it would be a good idea to step away from all this for a bit? Do some pilates? Join
me downstairs? I could use with a sparring partner, the twins are brutal. Hani did say she wants you
to level up on shooting."

"Pilates sounds good, I haven't done in a while. But go down to train too? You want Hani to shish
kebab me for real this time?" Rosé shuddered, her hand trailing along her neck and Jennie was
reminded of Hani leaping at Rosé with the thin silver blade at her throat, and how her heart had
stopped in shock.

Hani would bite my head off if she saw me down there without anything to show for myself," Rosé
said morosely. "She's already not impressed with me as it is. I'm very disappointed in you Rosé. Do
better Rosé. Think like Thorn, Rosé. Dance the Macarena, Rosé," she added in a high-pitched
imitation of Hani's voice. "Mean old hag. And I don't care if she's hearing this. You're a mean old
hag, Hani," she told the air around them.

"Don't let her get to you," Jennie said. "You're doing your best."

"Am I though? Like I said, she does have a point. Maybe there is something I could help with, as
an insider familiar with Yang and Jinyoung. I just need to figure it out. We need to get to Lisa at
this showcase so we can get Jisoo too. Who knows when the next opportunity will be? The longer
we wait—well, the longer we wait, the worse the odds look for us getting them back safe and
sound. TK is addictive now."

Jennie gestured helplessly. "I'm sorry. I don't know how to help."

"It's fine. Wasn't expecting miracles." Rosé yawned and knocked back another gulp of coffee. "But
I think I'll go shower at least. Don't forget your salad."

"You didn't have to," Jennie said, touched. For the past three days, Rosé had somehow managed to
fit in fixing up a gorgeous chicken salad for Jennie in between her mental breakdowns and from
what she understood, Rosé didn't take a bite for herself.

"Not hungry. Might as well do something I'm good at while I can," Rosé had said wryly. "Gave my
eyes a break too."

Rosé went to dump her mug in the sink while Jennie grabbed her salad container. She was heading
out to the door when a casual automatic glance at Rosé's laptop screen had her freeze in her tracks.

Rosé turned, confused to see Jennie standing. "Jen?"

"Where did you get that?" Jennie demanded, pointing.

"Get what?" Rosé went to stand next to Jennie and then turned wistful. "Ah...my picture."

The laptop had switched to screensaver mode. Plastered on the monitor was a photo of Rosé, Lisa
and Ella laying amongst grass, beneath a bright blue sky.

Lisa was smiling, eyes closed and cheeks squashed against Rosé's cheek as she smiled toothily,
holding Rosé from the waist while her girlfriend laughed at the camera, eyes crinkled. Rosé leaned
back almost flat against Lisa's front and held Ella on her stomach with one arm, who was throwing
up a peace sign with a big grin that rivalled her mother's. Rosé's free arm stretched out off-camera,
which meant she had been the one holding the phone for the picture.

"It's my favourite," Rosé said softly, reaching out to stroke Lisa's face and then moving down to
Ella. "We were so happy. Like a little family."

Indeed, Jennie could practically hear the people in the photo laughing. Before she could descend
into the throes of guilt, she cleared her throat.

"Uh, how come it's on here? I thought Hani loaned you the laptop?"

"Same way I got Yang's programs. Cloud account," Rosé said. "You can access it from any device,
as long as you got your login credentials." She watched Jennie curiously as the other girl stayed
mum, focusing on the screen as though she was going to burn holes in it. "Uh Jen? You okay?"

"Thinking," Jennie said shortly. She pointed at the laptop. "I know zilch about computers but...a
lot of people have cloud accounts right?"

"I'd say so yeah. It's good to store all sorts of document and data on there, that way you can access
it from anywhere if something happens to your phone or PC."

"Then does Jinyoung have a cloud account? Have you tried hacking into it?"

"Oh...actually I didn't think of trying that? What, you think Jinyoung would have highly sensitive,
classified information lying around on his account? But what the hell, what have I got to lose? I'll
check about it, hopefully it's easier to crack."

"What about...Yang? They were partners right? Maybe he had stuff too?"

Rosé started. "He's dead, why would I look at his stuff?"

"I don't know. Maybe it could hint on how to work around Jinyoung's own security. I really have
no clue what I'm saying but what I'm getting at is...Yang had his Jays loaned by Jinyoung right?
And the hacking programs you're using are compatible with Jinyoung's system too right?
So...maybe it wouldn't be such a reach to assume that if he had a cloud account maybe synced up
with Jinyoung, and maybe it would be updating with anything Jinyoung puts on his own account
and it had information...I don't know, honestly. I've never used this stuff."

Rosé looked thoughtful. "Might be something. But I doubt Jinyoung would use a cloud account
for something as important and secret as this event. As for Yang, I'm not sure he even was that
tech-savvy, he had the Jays set up stuff for him and his hackers. I don't think I ever saw him with a
smart phone. He probably wasn't in charge of such an account, if he had one. But like I said, he
could be pretty old-school at times."

"Well, it's at least something. Maybe it's not a cloud account we're after, but maybe more like
something people could connect to secretly and exclusively. Like some online chatroom?" Jennie
said, grasping on to what she could given her limited knowledge.

"You're thinking like the baksa Nth rooms of telegram?"

"Maybe? Or what was that thing where you share files and people with the link or people you
invite can see it too? Somi used to yak about it when she had university group works—"

"Like Naver Works?" Rosé said. "That's a cloud account service too, you can share files with
people. Google Drive is another one."

"I think that was the name, yeah."

Incredibly, Rosé chuckled. "Sorry, I think I'm losing my mind. I just pictured Jinyoung uploading
the showcase information and then sending invites to his buddies like they're some freaking
university group joining together for a groupwork to connect to this same cloud account and it
would be—"

She froze, mouth slowly falling open and eyes widening until Jennie clearly saw the whites of her
eyeballs.

"Uh, Rosé?"

"Shit," Rosé whispered and dived for her laptop. "Shit Jen, you might be on to something!"

>

As usual, Hani was nowhere to be seen when Jennie finally entered the gym. Only Youngdeuk was
there, practising stances on the sparring mat. His twin was likely with Hani: it had been this way
the past days, where Hani would simply tire of waiting for her to show up and drag Youngdon
outside to the carpark to fuck, or so Jennie assumed.

She assumed so because once they returned, Hani didn't even bother with hiding her rumpled
clothes, dishevelled hair or self-satisfied smirk. It didn't take a genius to understand what was going
on.

Jennie noticed that it was always Youngdon she was taking for these frequent boinking sessions.
She wondered if leaving Youngdeuk behind was some chastising punishment for daring to
question Hani's handling of the Tiger King issue. Jennie recalled that it was Youngdeuk who had
soured when Hani confirmed her change of plans. Since then, he seemed to have sunken into a
brooding mood.
Jennie wasn't sure if it was sex withdrawal or the result of his falling out of favour with his boss.
She set her bag down, ignoring her growling stomach and putting all thoughts of Rosé's salad out
the window as she started stretching in preparation.

The gym always felt so empty and lonely when only Youngdeuk was around, a contrast to the
chaotic and loud voices she was accustomed to at the Vault. Though it had newer and shinier
equipment with a working air-condition unit, there was only like three punching bags. Jennie kept
her back to those, refusing to acknowledge their presence because inevtiably, she would remember
Lisa.

Jennie wondered when she would get to meet the rest of the Dasoni members and perhaps even
train with them, hopefully bond with them. Hani had implied that when this whole situation with
Jinyoung and Tiger King blew over, she'd have Jennie properly inducted into the clan. Like her
tattoo, it gave Jennie conflicting feelings, primarily uncertainty for her future working under Hani.

"So, Chanyeol hyung dipped and it's just you and me now," Youngdeuk said curtly. "Let's get
started, Ace."

Ace was a nickname that stuck after Jennie had grimly got up, over and over, countless times after
being knocked down by the twins and by Chanyeol himself during sparring sessions. Puffing like a
grampus, Jennie gritted her teeth and balled her fists but she stood up.

"We got an ace our hands here, boys, she won't go down easy," Hani had drawled but Jennie had
caught the impressed tone of her voice, making her take heart as she was put through the wringer.
She ended up thoroughly banged and bruised anew by the end of the first day and probably lost
litres of sweat but the TK-beta helped her recover faster. She did value the twins and Chanyeol for
not coddling her—in a real fight, there would be no time for coddling.

Chanyeol's lankiness belied his swift and sometimes brutal attacks that swept her off her feet or
easily disarmed her. She learned a lot about using her body and her opponent's movements to
tackle and redirect force with his wing chun techniques, even though it barely scratched the surface
of basic moves.

"Is it enough if I'm going up against juiced up monsters?" Jennie said glumly. "I feel like they'll just
beat me to a pulp."

"It's not like in a movie where you stay around to challenge every bad guy one by one," Chanyeol
had pointed out. "You're just buying yourself time to run somewhere safe. That will always be the
number one priority: safety. So if knowing how to land a good punch and then you run is enough,
then let's make sure you can do that."

"And if I'm unable do that?"

Chanyeol pursed his lips. "Do what you must to survive. It's the only thing that matters."

"Well, giving me a gun would certainly increase my chances of survival. Especially when I take
care of a certain megalomaniac psychopath and his minions," Jennie muttered, cracking her
knuckles.

"You do realise that killing Jinyoung like that can complicate the situation further?" Chanyeol said
softly. "It might seem straightforward but you'd leave a power vacuum, a lot of dangerous people
on the loose, a lot of loose ends..."

"Since when did you get to be an expert on loose ends, Detective?" Jennie shot back. "And if I'm
not gonna have a gun, why train me to be better at all? What's the point? I'll stil end up a sitting
duck."

"Honey, we just want to make sure you know how to handle a weapon but we can't risk you going
on a shooting spree given your...delicate situation with the authorities," Hani crooned, walking up
to them and curling around Chanyeol, who went rigid. Jennie nearly gagged at the sight, feeling
very much like she was a child getting a dressing-down from her parents.

"You're saying I'm untrustworthy, then."

"No. I'm saying, I get it. Wanting to gun down that snake is a dream of mine but like Channie said,
killing him will just create bigger problems," Hani said. "I can't risk letting your emotions getting
the better of you during the extraction. Being anywhere around that bastard would make even my
stiff dark knight here suddenly very trigger-happy. Wouldn't it, Channie?"

"No, it would not. I'd arrest him and have him stand trial. We live in a democracy and I'm duty-
bound to provide everybody the chance to stand trial for their crimes to receive justice," Chanyeol
said stiffly. He shrugged off Hani's arms and nodded at Jennie."If you'll excuse me, I have work to
get to."

"What do you even see in him? Why do you like him?" Jennie asked when Chanyeol had left, his
ears pink. "He's more dour than a can of beans. He's clearly not interested in you. And I bet he's
dying to sell us out."

"He won't. He's a man of his word," Hani smiled, serene. "And why do I like him? He's so prim and
proper, so fun to tease. Didn't you hear him talking so pompously? He's so funny without trying. A
broody dark knight."

"Hilarious," Jennie said, unconvinced. Something about Hani's responses had her convinced there
was something more to her favouring the detective than she was letting on. Jennie couldn't be
bothered to figure it out right now, not when she had her own problems to deal with, such as
surviving sparring with the twins.

Both brothers packed a punch, though Youngdeuk seemed the one to push her the hardest, losing
himself in the heat of the fight and forgetting he was sparring with a beginner.

Just like he was doing now.

"Hey watch it!" Jennie yelped, narrowly dodging a mouthful of knuckles. "Youngdeuk, time out!
Time out! Hey!"

Youngdeuk pulled back in the nick of time before he smashed his elbow in Jennie's face.

"Oh sorry Ace, got carried away there," he said sheepishly.

"Why don't we take a break?" Jennie suggested. Sweat plastered her hair to her forehead. She kept
an eye on him while she took a swig of her water bottle. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts and
going through the motions with his movements as he stretched for cooldown.

"Hey...Deukie. Everything okay?"

"Hm? What do you mean? Why wouldn't everything be okay?" he asked, picking up his own water
bottle.

"Nothing I just thought you looked a little...lost in your head, if you get my drift."
When he continued to stare at her, Jennie sighed. "You want me to spell it out or something? You
look out of it. What's eating you?"

He shrugged and scratched his neck. "Lotta stuff going on that you're not seeing, Ace, we don't just
hang around for your training you know. Boss is busy with preparations. Everyone is on edge.
We're going up against an enemy gang. If we're not careful, this could start a turf war."

"I get it, I'm not judging. Just thought you might wanna...talk or something. Air your brain out. It's
god to do that once in a while."

"Air your brain huh? Never heard that one before," Youngdeuk mused.

"Yeah, my girlfriend Jisoo came up with it. You could say she was somewhat of an expert." Jennie
it her lip and kept her eyes down and rubbed her tattoo, the jet-black wasp itching something fierce.
It felt like decades ago when she was lying with Jisoo beneath the tree at the park, airing her
thoughts and insecurities out to Jisoo only mere hours before sleeping together for the first time.
Remembering had a little smile find its way to her face, quickly followed by sorrow eclipsing that
brief burst of fondness.

Thankfully, Youngdeuk didn't press her about her sudden dip in mood.

"Don't scratch, you could infect it," he chided, brushing her hand off the inked skin. He inspected
the tattoo then nodded in satisfaction. "It's healing well though. That was mental, joining the gang
like that. I didn't think someone like you had it in you. Gang life isn't for everyone, it can be
tough."

"Yeah well, I'll manage," Jennie said evasively. She didn't remember talking this long with either
Kwon twin. Usually they wouldn't talk much beyond exchanging some pointers for her to improve
or some cheers when she got something right.

"Why did you do it though? Just for your girlfriend? She must be one hell of a girlfriend, I'll tell
you that," Youngdeuk said.

"No, for my sister as well, and for payback," Jennie said shortly. "You heard us talking with Hani."
Her eyes narrowed. "What's with the questions all of a sudden? Did Hani put you up to this to see if
I'm flaking out?"

"No, I'm curious, I'm just...still processing I suppose." He shook his head with a faint smile. "That
takes real guts, I'll tell you that. Tiger King isn't even your relative but you still care enough to do
this—"

"Lisa is my sister," Jennie interrupted. "Of course I care about her."

"I mean yeah, for sure, you must, to go through with all this and beg Hani to spare her. Boss had
been dead set on keeping Tiger King for safe-keeping but you changed her mind," Youngdeuk
agreed.

Something about that statement rubbed Jennie the wrong way. Youngdeuk sounded like he was
subtly attacking her for changing Hani's mind.

Jennie sighed and turned to face him, deciding to address the brittle air between them.
"Youngdeuk, you still up to air our brain outs?"

His brows furrowed and Jennie went on.

"We didn't get to talk much since you and Dony are always busy with Hani or just sparring. Is
there some place we can go to catch some air? A change of environment would be good too, we're
always stuck in here. I'm turning claustrophobic."

Youngdeuk still looked bemused at the abruptness but he jerked his head towards the door leading
to the underground carpark.

Jennie immediately recoiled and shook her head vehemently. "I don't want to accidentally walk on
a porno set, thanks."

He chuckled. "Relax, Hani was hungry for actual food today, they said they were going to Burger
King. Which means, we got all the remaining fleet to ourselves." He winked at Jennie, whose turn
was to be confused.

"Wanna go for a spin?" Youngdeuk said invitingly. "I got keys."

"Tempting, but I don't want to get chewed out by Hani and I'm waiting on Rosé—"

"We'll be back before they know it. We got Jaguars, disguised obviously, but it makes driving feel
like you're flying, you got to experience it one time. Come on, I'll even let you have a try if you
want." He tilted his head, a sly smile playing about his lips. "What, is Ace too scared now that
Hani's got you under her thumb?"

"I don't want to screw things up, being a newbie and all," Jennie said shortly, running a finger over
her tattoo.

"Screw up what? I'll be with you, like the glorified chaperone that I am."

There it was again, a small subtle dig that Jennie should just shrug off but it rubbed her wrong,
enough to irritate her. She made up her mind on the spot: she was going to get to the bottom of
Youngdeuk's problem with her presence.

"Fine. If Hani catches us, it's on you."

>

"I thought we were going for a spin," Jennie said when Youngdeuk killed the engine back at the
underground car park. They had been gone for approximately fifteen minutes, enough for
Youngdeuk to drive to the corner store, dash inside and strolled back out with a bulging grocer bag
not five minutes later. He reassured Jennie that he had paid fair and square for the contents of the
grocer bag and Jennie thought he sunded believable enough.

"We have gone for a spin, yeah," Youngdeuk hummed, reaching into the backseats for the grocer
bag and pulling out two jumbo bags of chips, licking his lips in anticipation. "Dibs on the seaweed,
Dony always hogs them." He passed the other bag to Jennie. "Honey shrimp?"

"I didn't know driving to the corner 7-11 and then coming back and sit to eat chips in your boss's
luxury car counts a spin," Jennie said dryly but she accepted the bag of chips.

"Ah, lighten up, we all need a break sometimes. I told you, things been tense at HQ, Boss has been
antsier than usual," Youngdeuk said, spraying chip crumbs everywhere.

Jennie wrinkled her nose. Crass. She made sure to shield her bag's opening whilst she nibbled. "So
it's not usual for her to bail out on me and just take either of you two out here for a quick fuck?"
"You're getting it, Ace," Youngdeuk winked.

"Then I'm assuming your offer to drive was bluff too?" Jennie wondered wistfully. The Jaguar had
indeed felt like they were flying with how smoothly Youngdeuk handled it. The memory of her
short-lived driving session with Jisoo in an empty parking lot surfaced but she quickly pushed it
away to focus.

"Oh we can still do that, after we're done airing our brains out." Youngdeuk gave her a weasly
smile. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Sneaky. Alright, I'll play your game: why are you so butt-hurt about Hani changing her mind?
Your brother doesn't seem to care what she does with Tiger King," Jennie said.

"Who said anything about butt-hurt—"

"Right, then what's your problem with me, specifically?"

"Easy there, Ace. I got nothing against you. I just was wondering how you managed to change her
mind. She had been dead-set on getting Tiger King and we were all excited."

"Maybe she's bluffing with me then," Jennie sighed. "I wouldn't know. I'm just hoping she sees
sense and actually keeps her word. Youngdeuk, Lisa is my sister. I care about her, I'm worried
about her as much as I'm worried about Jisoo."

"I get that, but I just thought Tiger—I mean, Lisa would be working for us, see? What's the
difference? Retiring Tiger King entirely...I don't think that's wise."

"It's not that simple. Tiger King is volatile and not as easy to control as you think. And we're
talking about a living, breathing person with feelings and relationships...you don't want to go up
against her girlfriend by the way, she's vicious as a bear when it comes to defending Lisa. I'm
talking from experience."

"What, Miss Hacker upstairs?"

"Yes. She won't back down easily, especially when it comes to Lisa."

"I hear you. So we go back to square one," Youngeduk said glumly. "We go back to picking off
small bait and let other bastards trample over us."

"Trample over you?" Jennie snorted. "Dasoni is one of the heavy-hitters in this city, from what I
heard at least. I thought you guys are the one lording it up."

"How much longer? Things change fast nowadays, situations shift and alliances break in a blink of
an eye. Listen, you're one of us now, you gotta know some truths," Youngdeuk confided. "Hani
was banking on Tiger King to keep her in power and seize control of Seoul. There's people like
Jinyoung out there who are biting at our feet, ready to take over at the slightest push. The fact that
she did a 180 so quick is...jarring."

"Plot twist, the ruthless gang leader has a heart. Who knew?" Jennie deadpanned.

"I'm serious, Ace. This whole turnaround can have serious repercussions. Hani isn't working alone.
Other people won't be happy but they can't do much since they prefer to stay invisible. But if we
had Tiger King, we wouldn't need anyone to order us around." He put aside his chips, brushed his
hands and gripped the steering wheel, frowning at it. "We'd be the ones lording it up freely, instead
of guys like Jinyoung." He gave a wry shrug. "This is gonna sound like treason and don't tell Hani,
but I admire that guy. He's taken over Seoul by storm and as things stand, the world could well be
his oyster soon too."

"I'll get you his autograph when I meet him again, signed in his blood," Jennie said dryly. "He'll be
happy to know he has fans."

"I'm not a fan, I just admire his guts," Youngdeuk protested.

"Sure."

Youngdeuk sighed. "Look, the big question for me is, how will I know Hani's keeping her word
going forward? How will I know on which side of the fence she's standing on? I always thought I
knew where she stood. You coming here and making her change her mind...it changes things. And
I'm not sure I like it, is what I'm saying," he finished softly.

Jennie's mouth dropped open. Who knew that Hani's henchman could actually talk through his
issues so articulately? Like Rosé, she had found them boorish and smug, especially when flexing
their pectoral muscles for Hani to ogle over. Yet, here was Youngdeuk, earnestly spilling out his
innermost thoughts and confiding in her.

"Youngdeuk...I, I had no idea..."

"It's not your fault," he assured. "It's nobody's fault except my own, perhaps. But I'm...I'm not the
boss of her. She can do what she likes. But...I just wish I knew where we stood, as a family."

"I'm sorry Deuk," Jennie said softly, "but Lisa is my sister. I have to look out for her. She takes
priority, her and Jisoo. I will do anything to get them back safe."

"Lisa's not actually related though?" Youngdeuk said, seemingly unable to let this point rest.

"Drop it. We might have had our differences, and I was scared to death half the time she was
around...but she's family. We've been through thick and thin together. I was horrible to her but she
still looked up to me. She's my sister, even if I had wished she wasn't in my life before."

She had definitely wished that, but there were moments when she had been glad Lisa was there
too.

Like the time she had messed up their laundry and shrunk all their clothes in the wash, and she had
been on the verge of panicking but the sight of a fearful Lisa looking up at her with determination
to follow whatever Jennie came up with, it had imbued Jennie with the courage and responsibility
to return home and face the music.

Or the time when Lisa would hang on to her every word as she told stories in their cold, dark attic
while Hwangssabu was at his job, in effort to have her gain more fluency in Korean and English
while distracting herself from hunger pangs.

Or the times when Lisa would glance worriedly in her direction after Jennie sneaked back to the
Vault from her trysts with Yoongi. Jennie had harshly forbidden her from telling Hwangssabu or
anyone about the bruises and scrapes, insisting she was dealing with it when Lisa timidly inquired
about them. Jennie had refused to talk about it, too proud and far up her ass to share her burdens,
too afraid and bitter. But deep down, she was secretly happy that her little sister was at least paying
attention and looking out for her.

And then when Hwanggssabu died, Lisa had done everything Jennie asked of her without a single
complaint, without ever losing her cheerful smile, always there to lift the mood with her silliness,
always there to annoy Jennie and make her roll her eyes at her antics, making her heart hurt a little
less...

Jennie closed her eyes, feeling her nose tingle. God, would she ever get her little sister back?

"She's family," Jennie croaked at last, "you don't bail on the people you love, especially if they're
family."

"Sounds to me like you're doing it out of obligation," Youngdeuk said.

"No damn it! What aren't you getting? Look, if it was you and Dony in our situation, would you
have been cool with Hani? Would you have gone along and had been like oh yeah, by all means
use my brother as your weapon, O Master. Would you have been cool with that?"

"I'm not a girl, I don't have the luxury to be wishy-washy about attachments like you do," Deuk
retorted.

"Wishy-washy?" Jennie said shrilly. "How dare you—"

"If using my brother is what it took to maintain power, then so be it. I'm not gonna get sentimental
over it. If the boss says that's our only option, then that's it. I guarantee you, she would not part
with her favourite fucktoy unless absolutely necessary otherwise. And besides, Dony is happy to
do whatever Hani says, he's like a brain-dead lapdog."

Jennie shook her head. "I don't believe you. For a second there, I was impressed you were opening
up but now you go and say shit like that. How can I take you seriously?"

"Just because I criticise my boss doesn't mean I won't still follow what she says. I'm not blindly
swallowing everything, but I'm loyal to her. That's the soldier's job and I'm a soldier in all but
name," Youngdeuk pointed out. "I will still support her whatever she does. This is just a wrinkle I
got to figure out and I was explaining the problem to you, since you're the cause of it and you
wanted to air things out."

"Thanks for the clarification I guess," Jennie said. "So what, your life revolves solely around Hani?
If she says no then it's a no? Does she control what you buy and who you talk to and how you
spend your free time too? Does she use those parental restrictions over your phones or something
too?"

"We have to be at her beck and call, we're the closest people to her that she has. Strict control is
only natural if you're a powerful mob leader and you don't want to get assassinated because your
lackeys are unintentionally careless. Why do you think we hang out almost exclusively with her?
So yes, she monitors us frequently."

"What about right now?"

"Right now she's fucking Dony so it doesn't matter," Youngdeuk muttered.

Jennie raised an eyebrow. "I thought they went to Burger King."

"Yeah, and maybe fucked along the way, or after. Whatever."

Something about his flat voice irritated Jennie. He tilted his seat back and closed his eyes,
signalling the end of the terse conversation. "I'm gonna have a shut eye. You can go back to the
gym if you want, have your salad. I'll be back soon, we'll do some eskrima practice. And then I'll
let you have a ride here."
Jennie thought that was unlikely with how tense the air was between them. She unbuckled her belt
but she still turned to Youngdeuk for one final word.

"If you're such a rebel as you think you are, you wouldn't be driving to 7-11 for a 'spin'. That's just
plain pathetic," Jennie said. "If I were you, I'd do something that I want to do and let Hani know
that as things stand, something needs to change. Otherwise, you're going to end up a resentful,
bitter old man, or worse. Take it from me." She paused, hesitating because never had she said
aloud what she knew to be true within. "I was forced to take Lisa under my wing and I did nothing
else for myself. The damage happened but now I'm working to rectify that. So don't repeat the
same mistake and let things fester away."

He cracked one eye open for a moment, studying Jennie before covering his eyes with his arm
without another word. Jennie spied the jet-black wasp tattoo on his bicep, peeking from under the
shirt sleeve, before she climbed out of the car.

>

"Great, I'm a therapist now," Jennie muttered, barging into the sparring room without even looking
up, "what am I doing, lecturing a grown-ass man about toxic emotional—"

"JENNIE WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!"

Jennie screamed, falling back and clutching her chest.

"What the hell, you almost gave me a heart attack!" she yelped as Rosé loomed over her, wild eyes
flashing and hair sticking up from every direction. She looked like a creature from a swamp.

Rosé ignored Jennie's momentary panic as she danced in front of her, talking a mile a minute. "I
didn't know where to go look for you and i can't find Hani and we have no way of contacting her I
was going crazy Jen oh my god we finally have something I got something this time I really do and
we need to get Hani over here right now, oh god I'll be able to talk to Ella again and—"

Jennie cut off Rosé's frantic burbling when she took her from the shoulders, barely able to believe
what she heard. "What? You found out about the showcase? For real?"

Disappointment made her stomach swoop when Rosé shook her head.

"I haven't found anything about the showcase specifically but I found something that should tell us,
most likely! A very good 85% chance in fact. It's better than nothing. We need to tell Hani, there's
not a moment to lose."

"Hani's out, I'll go get—"

"Actually, I'm here and queer, as they say. What's going on?" Hani drawled, her voice thick from
smoke. She had appeared in the door that led into the condo. Youngdon was at her side, and
Youngdeuk appeared seconds later as well whilst Jennie collected herself enough to answer.

"Rosé's found something."

"I have," Rosé said breathlessly. "I have a solid, credible lead. No concrete info on the showcase
but I can guarantee this will lead us in that direction."

"Oh?" Hani said sharply, interest piqued. "And what's that?"

Rosé pulled herself up to her full height and stared Hani right in the eye. "Let me talk to Ella first."
Jennie and the twins' mouths dropped. However, Hani didn't look amused, if her stony silence and
narrowed eyes were any indication.

"How do I know the information is even worth the risk of opening outside communication lines?"

"Fine, I'll give you a hint," Rosé said in disdain. "Two words: Yang's Dead Drop."

Hani went absolutely still, eyes bulging. The twins were taken aback: Youngdon whistled and
Youngdeuk looked positively flabbergasted .

"Are you sure?" Hani said urgently. Rosé nodded as whispers broke out amongst the twins and
Hani started pacing.

"Uh, am I the only one who doesn't know what a dead drop is?" Jennie muttered to Rosé. but Hani
heard her.

"Dead drops have been used throughout history by spies to communicate or pass along sensitive
information or packages," Hani said, stopping abruptly. "But the dead drop Rosé here is referring
to is a little more special and exclusive. Something that not many would know of its existence
beyond the late Yang Hyun-suk's circle, am I right?"

Rosé gave a single nod of affirmation. Jennie was still confused but Hani was downright gleeful,
rubbing her hands together.

"Excellent! Where is it located?"

Rosé pursed her lips together. "Not talking until I talk to Ella," she said defiantly.

Hani went still, pursing her lips. The twins shifted uncomfortably behind her.

"What?" Hani said flatly.

"You heard me," Rosé said. "I speak with Ella, then I trade you information."

"Yeah, I think that's fair," Jennie said slowly, bravely as she sidled up to Rosé. "A fair exchange
after all the work she put in. She talks to Ella, or you won't get anything."

"What's this, mutiny?" Hani said frostily. "When did you get to be in charge? And what were you
doing slacking off on training, Jennie?"

"What's that got to do with—"

"Answer the damn question," Hani said through gritted teeth.

Behind Hani, Youngdeuk and Youngdon were frantically signing and miming at Jennie.

Jennie ignored them. "I wasn't slacking, I...went out for some air."

"You know damn well you are expressly forbidden from leaving the premises. And don't insult my
intelligence, I know Youngdeuk was with you. You," she said, turning on him, "you were
supposed to be training her."

"We stopped for a break," he shrugged. Hani's eyes narrowed.

"I'll deal with you later." She rounded back on Jennie, nostrils flared. Jennie got the idea she was
royally pissed.
"Look, I wasn't messing with your boytoy, I'm not interested in the slightest—"

"That's the least of my worries, Jennie Kim," Hani snapped. "What irritates me is the air of
insubordination around you and Rosé. I make the rules around here, I give the orders. I've been
lenient with you both. Remember to toe the line or else."

"What, you're going to kill us?" Rosé challenged recklessly before Jennie could stop her. "You'd
end up empty-handed."

"Rosé don't push her," Jennie hissed.

"No I won't kill you, but pain is quite a handy tool. Want to get a taste of my knife for real?" Hani
threatened menacingly. "Get talking."

Rosé's face tightened but she held her ground defiantly, hands clenched at her side.

Hani tossed her head. "Seize her."

Jennie watched in stupefied horror when the twins dashed forward as one and pinned Rosé down to
the ground before the latter could react. Rosé screamed, struggling madly in their grasp. The twins
clung on grimly, laid out next to her and holding her down from her arms and wrists. Rosé kicked
out in vain as she shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Youngdeuk!" Jennie choked out. He glanced at her, eyes blank.

"No no please no!" Rosé sobbed. Tears spilled as she tipped her head back and screamed, thrashing
violently. Jennie's mouth ran dry, her limbs leaden as she watched her friend in shock.

"Let go of me! Let go! Please!"

Rosé trembled and wept as Hani approached her with calculated steps, the blade in her sleeve
jacket slipping out with a sharp schlick sound.

"N-no please I'm sorry!" Rosé wept, hyperventilating as Hani loomed over her. "Don't do this Tae
please no please please—"

"Shut her up!" Hani snapped. Youngdon slapped a hand to Rosé's mouth, muffling her sobs, which
made her agitated movements worse as she frenetically thrashed against the twins' vice grips.

In a cold flash, Jennie remembered Rosé assault in the forest. It finally pushed her to leap to action.

"Hani stop! You're traumatising her again!" Jennie snarled, rushing to shove Hani aside. "Get off
her, look I'm the one being insubordinate, be angry at me, Rosé's just—"

Hani rounded on Jennie in a blink, the wicked blade mere inches from her throat. Jennie stopped
short and swallowed tightly but stared right back into Hani's burning eyes. Rosé's soft weeping was
the only other sound in the deathly silent room.

"You were saying, Ace?" Hani said coldly, spitting out her nickname. The blade hovered just out of
sight below her jaw. Jennie couldn't see it but she could feel the cool metal next to her neck, short
of kissing her skin. A swift wrist movement from Hani was all it would take for Jennie's throat to
be slit clean.

"Let her up and we can talk," Jennie said quietly. "She just wants to talk to her kid. I'll—I'll take the
penalty for it."
"You fools think I'm fighting you," Hani said evenly. "Have you considered that sacrifices have to
be made for our plan to be successful? Everything falls apart if our location is discovered now. I'm
doing this because I need you to understand the precarious situation we're in."

"Cool, can we discuss this without the knife at my throat?" Jennie said as politely as she dared.
Hani snorted but withdrew the blade, allowing Jennie to breathe freely again.

"Let her go," Hani told the twins and they obeyed, standing up and going back to her side like
trained dogs. Youngdeuk avoided Jennie's hard gaze. Jennie herself rushed to Rosé's side, who still
lay spread-eagled on the ground, dazed.

"Rosé," Jennie said softly, kneeling next to the girl. "Rosie, hey. It's over now. I'm here."
Tentatively she touched Rosé's hand and Rosé reacted with a flinch, heaving a great breath before
she jerked upright into a sitting position. Dried tear-tracks ran down her cheeks, but the glare she
directed at Hani would have melted a wax statue, but the mob boss didn't seem bothered at all.

"Well? Care to share your information?" Hani asked sarcastically, folding her arms. "Or do you
want to go cry it out in the bathroom?"

"Not so fast," Jennie said. "What's this about our situation being precarious? I know Jinyoung is a
snake and infiltrating his system isn't something to take for granted, but I thought your IT guys
could handle it? I thought after Rosé's job is done, then we can breathe a little easier?"

"The IT guys do what they can," Hani said grimly, "but our infiltration attempts haven't gone
unnoticed. With Jackson being unusually radio silent, we're on higher alert than ever. Jinyoung's
team might not be able to figure it was Rosé specifically targeting their system, but they will know
it's me."

"How?" Jennie frowned. "And before you launch into computer jargon, I'm going to stop you right
there and tell you to speak like you're explaining to a five year old."

"You leave tracks. Crumbs. Like when you accidentally leave DNA at a crime scene. Specialised
people can track these digital crumbs back to a specific digital DNA so to speak, that matches my
security systems address, or close to it," Hani explained. "We're careful, but I know it deep in my
bones that Jinyoung is aware of who's behind all the cyber attacks on his mainframe systems."

"I was careful," Rosé protested, speaking for the first time.

"I didn't say the problem started with you," Hani said heavily. "Cyber attacks happen all the time.
We get them and we delegate sub-teams to attack others too. But anyway, we've intensified these
infiltration attempts and as such, it will put Jinyoung on high alert for any mobilisation from my
camp, since I'll be suspect number one. I'm trying to keep communication to a minimum, only the
essential day-to-day business dealings. Can't risk Jinyoung hijacking one of our sensitive
communication lines. Contacting someone outside my security reach is as risky as catching an STD
after rawdogging in an orgy."

"Thanks for the visual," Jennie grimaced.

Hani turned to a sullen Rosé. "So cut it with the histrionics. Your daughter will have to wait.
Understand you could jeopardise the whole operation with your obstinate selfishness AND
endanger your daughter."

Rosé's bottom lip trembled as she bowed her head, shoulders shaking. Jennie hated to admit that
Hani was making sense yet her heart clenched at the sight of a distraught Rosé who had been
banking on finding information to trade in exchange for talking with her daughter.

The sight spurred Jennie to face Hani again, her mind churning.

"Does it have to be digital communication?" she blurted out. Rosé's head snapped up so fast it was
a wonder her neck didn't break.

"Letters!" Rosé exclaimed, eyes taking on a new light. Jennie smiled and nodded, welcoming the
returning gleam in her eye.

"Letters?" Hani repeated suspiciously. The twins looked confounded.

"Written in invisible ink, the old-fashioned way," Rosé nodded, all the verve and energy from
before restored as she hurriedly explained. "Nobody would twig it, they'd think it was a decoy if it
fell into enemy hands. But Ella knows what to do, we played this game before. Please Hani. I
just...I just need to make sure my baby is okay, and let her know I'm okay as well."

"You're expecting to start a correspondence?" Hani said.

Rosé faltered. "Well...maybe it will be one-sided. But I just want her to know that I'm okay and I
love her."

"And if you're scrimping for postage or just want express, guaranteed delivery, one of your runners
could always deliver it. Or even Chanyeol," Jennie coaxed on sudden inspiration. They waited with
bated breath as Hani considered the idea, like children hopefully waiting for their mother's
permission to go play.

"Hmm, seems like you two have been mulling over this idea for a while, haven't you?" Hani said
shrewdly. "Were you going to badger the twins or Chanyeol to send it without my notice? Or...ah, I
see. Jackson."

Jennie tried to stifle her grimace at being caught out.

"I will tell you about the dead drop and then I will send Ella a letter," Rosé compromised, her voice
steady despite having just gone through a harrowing reenactment of her ordeal.

Hani pounced. "Deal. You have my word." Her eyes shone with a new light that hadn't been there
before as she regarded Rosé. "There you are Thorn, glad to have you back."

Rosé grimaced but went to retrieve her laptop that was sitting on a nearby bench. "So, Jennie
actually gave me the idea," she began hoarsely. Youngdeuk and Youngdon huddled close in
curiosity to peek over her shoulder, making her falter and shrink into herself.

"Go away. Go. Away," she repeated louder the second time.

"Back off you guys," Jennie said, going next to Rosé as well. "Give her space, come on, you scared
her."

Bemused, they glanced at Hani first and then obediently stood back when she nodded. Rosé took a
few moments to collect herself, with Jennie gently brushing strands of her hair out of her face as
she took deep breaths until she was ready to continue.

"Jenni gave me the idea earlier this morning. She mentioned cloud accounts." Rosé turned to
Jennie. "Although Yang was old school like I told you, he was very meticulous and was always on
the lookout for new methods to keep information off the wrong hands, ways to pass on that
information discreetly, ways to stay ahead of rivals. He was practically second to none when it
came to such security measures. We had passwords that changed every week, we had regular
checks and debriefings. He ran a tight ship. And one of his methods to pass crucial sensitive and
classified information to third parties without leaving digital traces was dead drops."

"They were something of a legend, much like Tiger King," Hani said in a hushed voice. "Some say
they're real, others say it's hogwash. I've had people investigate over the years but I have to admit,
Rosé is right. Yang ran a tight ship. We never were able to undercover much."

"So what is the dead drop exactly?" Jennie said, frowning. "You said it's a little different from what
was used in history."

"It's a simple yet banal idea," Rosé said. She turned her laptop around to show Jennie a picture.
"All it is is a USB in a wall."

"What."

"Yeah," Rosé nodded at Jennie's incredulous face. "The idea is, you can drill a little hole in the
wall, insert the USB with the metal part that is inserted into a laptop facing out. And you fill up the
surrounding with cement or something like that, to make it virtually irremovable. It's so tiny and
innocuous, the average busy person won't notice it. And more than that, they know that it's unwise
to stick a strange USB stick into a PC. There could be all kinds of viruses. So there you have it, the
perfect storage in plain sight, easily accessible and virtually hidden."

"But some person might still try it," Jennie pointed out. "Maybe someone who is on the lookout
like Hani's people were. Someone who knows what they're looking for, or someone daring."

"There's failsafes for that," Rosé explained. "First, a virus immediately downloads on to your PC if
you're not aware on how to shut it down and trap it. Then, all you will see is a blank empty file.
That's a decoy, mirrored to a remote admin who would be instantly alerted that an intruder is
snooping around. Thirdly, your PC is now tagged and Yang will access everything there is to know
about you and keep an eye out for you, just in case."

"Sweet, I always had a thing for hacker chicks, they sound so sexy talking hacker stuff. Not that I'd
hook up with her though," Youngdon amended hastily at Hani's raised eyebrow.

"So...so how did you do that here?" Jennie asked, trying hard to keep up. "Please tell me you were
able to bypass all those failsafes or else we're toast for real."

"No I didn't do anything from here except check that the dead drop is still up and running. I
impersonated an admin but I cannot access the information from here. It has to be accessed
directly, on location. And it won't be easy because I assume those areas are watched."

"Wow, real helpful," someone muttered that sounded suspiciously like Youngdeuk. He cleared his
throat when Jennie glared at him and quickly changed topic.

"But Yang's dead," he pointed out. "What's gonna be on that USB that has anything to do with the
showcase?"

"Jinyoung took over Yang's assets," Hani interjected before Rosé could answer. She swept her arms
around around them. "It wouldn't be a small stretch to assume he learned of the dead drops, or even
knew of them and operated them himself."

She turned to Rosé. "So you're thinking that the dead drop might have information about the
showcase?"
"It's our best bet right now, if we act fast. I'd say there's an 85% chance of information on that
USB. It was updated very recently after Yang's death but I wasn't able to see the contents or
changes," Rosé said. "I bought us a ten-minute window using my pseudo-admin key and I didn't
dre go for more, tenminutes without the failsafes in place will already look suspicious if someone
notices. During this time-frame, anyone will be able to access the dead drop without having to go
through the failsafes, because I temporarily disabled them. After the time-window expires, the
failsafes go up again and I can't redo the whole process because it would trip up the security for
sure."

"Cool okay so we just have to go there right?" Jennie said, cracking her knuckles. "Where is it?
How much time is left?"

"It hasn't opened yet."

Jennie stared. "Huh?"

"I set the time-window to later, because the location isn't open yet either."

"What do you mean?"

Rosé took a deep breath. "There's currently twenty-five dead drop locations, corresponding to the
twenty-five districts of Seoul. The one I remembered is in Gangnam, at the Burning Sun club."

Hani and the twins blinked, stupefied while Jennie frowned.

"Why does that name ring a bell?"

"Because there had been quite the scandal that went down with its former owner Seungri,
something to do with sex trafficking and drugs, you know the usual stuff. He was one of Yang's
original five henchmen, along with Rosé's late father."

Hani shrugged when Rosé and Jennie both whipped around to her. "What? I'd like to stay
informed."

"But he was killed right?" Jennie said. "At the same attack where D—Hwangsabu died too. so
who's the owner now?"

"I saw an ID attached with the dead drop but I don't know if that's our guy. Kim Namjoon."

Jennie swore. "That guy at Rkive, Jinyoung's slimy restaurant host, he's also called Namjoon. Is it
the same man?"

"I know who you're referring to. And maybe? There was no photo to tell me what he looks like."

"We'll be prepared. If this Namjoon person knows you, we'll have to be on the lookout for him.
Maybe he's just the owner but he doesn't stay at Burning Sun," Hani said. She turned to Rosé again.
"When did you set the timeframe to open?"

"Past midnight, the club will be busy and full. I can walk in and it's less of a risk to be noticed. I'll
be in and out before you know it."

"Good, very good. Good work, Rosé," Hani said approvingly. "Do you have everything you need
to carry out this mission?"

"Mission?" Jennie repeated. It was only just now sinking that Rosé was effectively going to enter
the lion's den, practically vulnerable and alone. "Hang on—"

"Just someone to cover for me should be good. I used to partner with a Jay for these kinds of
things," Rosé shrugged.

"You can take your pick from these two," Hani said, waving to Youngdeuk and Youngdon. "Jennie
and I will travel with you and monitor from outside but once you're inside the club, you're on your
own."

"I get it. It's not my first rodeo."

"Whoa whoa hang on," Jennie burst out. "I can go in with her and make sure she's not..."

She faltered when both Hani and Rosé shook their heads.

"You're wanted by the authorities," Hani said heavily. "Let's keep altercations to a minimum, m'kay
sweets? Yes, I can protect you, but let's not needlessly look for trouble. I want this to be a clean
mission. Nobody will know that we had been there."

Jennie wanted to protest but pursed her lips because Hani was speaking sense: the less she showed
her face in public, the better. Yet, the knot of worry gnawing at her insides nagged at her when she
looked back at Rosé, wordlessly trying to convey her anxiety.

"I'll be alright," Rosé reassured. Grim determination was written all over her face. "I'll do it, for
Lisa and Jisoo."

"Alright, that settles it," Hani decided. She snapped her fingers at the twins. "Get them orange juice
and paper. I'm going to hash out details with our people. See you all again in a few hours."

>

"...and oh, tell Irene I'm really really really really really—"

"I get it."

"—really really sorry," Jennie finished.

"Do I really have to write all the 'reallys'?" Rosé asked dryly. "It's going to use up all the juice."

After being dismissed and gathering the materials they needed to write Ella's invisible ink letters,
Rosé and Jennie set in the apartment on opposite ends of the coffee table, with Rosé dipping a
toothpick and scribbling industriously. She had a few accidents in the beginning as she adjusted,
but once she had picked up the technique, there was no stopping her.

She was already on her fifth sheet of paper, jotting down Jennie's side to the missive after coaxing
Jennie to gulp down her salad in effort to stop her fidgeting for a while. Jennie felt like a kid but
obediently ate even though her stomach was twisted into knots. She did manage to clean out the
container little by little as she watched Rosé write.

"Just tell her I'm sorry for all the stress I cause her I guess," Jennie muttered, scratching at her
tattoo. She hadn't stopped brooding since Hani dismissed them. Every few minutes she would
glance out the windows, dreading the arrival of dusk, which was still a good few hours away. But
in a few hours, Rosé was going to infiltrate enemy territory, terribly alone and practically unarmed.

Jennie's stomach churned with nerves, her paranoia making her restless.
"Stop scratching that, you're going to get an infection," Rosé reminded.

Jennie pulled her legs up on the couch and clasped on to her shins.

"I should be there, when you go to the club," Jennie said, brows furrowed. "For the support."

"You can't," Rosé said softly. She raised her head, blinking several times as she looked at Jennie.
Her pinched eyes were in danger of closing altogether. "Believe me, I'd feel much better if you
were there with me. We're a team."

"We are," Jennie nodded fiercely.

"But we can't risk it."

"I know but I'm not liking this," Jennie fretted, worrying her bottom lip. She eyed Rosé carefully,
noting the faint bruises and scars decorating her arms and neck. "After all we've been through, you
sure you can handle being in a crowd?"

"I'll have one of the twins with me," Rosé said evasively. She sighed when Jennie still looked
doubtful. "I'm not sure how I'll be, but I'll handle it. I've handled a lot of stuff before, I can do it
again, for Lisa and Jisoo."

At the mention of Jisoo's name, Jennie's heart gave its usual pang. She wondered if it would ever
stop.

"You're so calm about this," Jennie remarked.

"I have to be. This is crucial. I'm treating it like any runner job I would do for Yang, only this time,
there's far higher stakes and a tight deadline. I have to be calm and focused."

Jennie shook her head. "I hope Hani comes up with some solid Plan B." She cleared her throat, a
sudden lump stuck in there. "I...I can't lose you too."

Rosé paused and put down the toothpick. She stood and came around to Jennie's side, smelling like
oranges. Rosé settled on the couch next to her and wordlessly opened her arms. Jennie sank against
her, smiling a little when she remembered the hug they shared only hours prior,, only this time the
roles were reversed.

"We're really getting huggy," Jennie commented.

"I like that side of you," Rosé said from above her, smile in her voice. "I always wondered why
Jisoo called you cuddly, but I see it now. Fits you perfectly. You're like a cuddly teddy bear, and
the right size too. Who'd have thought?"

"Oh shut up, you'll ruin my reputation," Jennie snorted but smiled when she was rewarded with
Rosé's chuckle, momentarily forgetting their predicament.

But soon enough, she slipped into nostalgia, remembering Jisoo's arms that would be wrapped
around her, Jisoo's scent and the fabric of her clothes.

"We'll get them back, Jen," Rosé said, cottoning on to Jennie's thoughts. "Hey, why don't you go
badger Youngdeuk to let you drive like he promised? You said he owes you a lesson. It might help
take your mind off things."

"You know what, I'll go do that actually. I'm sure I'll be too busy screaming for my life to actually
think," Jennie said, getting to her feet. She gestured to the letters. "Give them all my love. I'll catch
you later."
 The Gangnam Gambit
Chapter Notes

Previously:

Jinyoung spoke with his father JYP and learned more about the history of Tiger King
and the people involved in its escape ( Dr Marco Bruschweiler and Hwangssabu).
Jinyoung promises JYP he will set up a meeting with Jennie for answers and closure,
and they part on amicable terms.

Jennie drowns herself in physical training and befriends Youngdeuk, one half of Hani's
twin henchmen. He appears to still not have recovered from Hani's decision to not use
Tiger King for their own benefit. Rosé drowns herself in trying to recover any
information that would help them gain access to the classified Tiger King showcase
Jinyoung is intending to host in mere days' time.

Thanks to Jennie's suggestions, Rosé stumbles upon a lead: the location of one of
Yang's dead drops that potentially Jinyoung is still using to distribute secret
information to relevant parties while staying under the radar. Information can only be
extracted physically from the dead drop, which is located in a club called Burning Sun,
potentially under Jinyoung's name.

Rosé managed to override administrator access and open a limited time-window where
anybody could access the dead drop. Together with Hani, Chaennie decide to take the
risk and visit Burning Sun.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

"Now who could that be at this time?" Irene frowned, looking up at the sound of light knocks on
the front door. She shared a mystified glance with Seulgi.

Ella dropped the chopsticks into her bowl with a clatter. "Mom!" She slipped down from her chair
in a flash, running for the door in excitement. "Mom's back!"

"El no wait!" Seulgi dropped her spoonful of rice and raced after Ella, scooping the girl up just
before she reached the door.

"Wait, El, wait! We gotta check first, okay?" Seulgi said breathlessly. She puffed and set the
forlorn girl down. "Whew, you're getting heavy. Joohyun's rice balls are that good huh?"

"Gi," Irene said anxiously as she walked into the hallway with them. Dalgom was at her heel,
growling low in his throat. He had taken a liking to Irene, much to the woman's delight, despite
Seulgi being the one to bring him from Jisoo's apartment. He liked to greet Irene with a wagging
tail when she came back from work. Rosé's cats on the other hand were more comfortable hanging
out with Seulgi's own cats and kept to themselves. Seulgi was just glad they all seemed somewhat
settled despite their owners' absence.

Seulgi nodded reassuringly and gently pushed Ella towards her girlfriend, speaking in a low voice.
"I got this, Hyun. Go check the stove."
Irene nodded once and pulled away with Ella, who immediately followed, solemn and grave.
Dalgom whined uncertainly but followed them as well.

'Checking the stove' had been a code Seulgi and Irene came up with in case Ella and Irene needed
to leave the area quickly and hide. That way, they wouldn't alert any potential intruder that they
were prepared.

They had come up with a lot of these little code words in the past few days, and Ella adapted well.
Seulgi didn't want to show it but she worried for the little girl stuck inside the house unable to go to
music class or anywhere else for that matter as they watched endless cartoons, played endless
boardgames, cardgames and every wordgame Seulgi could remember while they waited for Irene
to come back from work or any scrap of news from Rosé and Jennie.

Seulgi made sure Ella didn't stay close to the windows or go outside and meet neighbours. She
policed their internet browsing history in case the authorities were on to them or Jinyoung was
keeping watch. She checked and rechecked locks and bolts. She went out only for sparse moments,
just to not get stir-crazy and let the dog and cats have some air.

But she only did that when Irene was home; they had decided there needed to always be an adult in
the house with Ella. Seulgi never spent too much time outdoors: her guilt that Ella was not able to
go outside always gnawed at her but she held strong on her decision to keep the girl hidden, for
now. She had groceries be delivered instead of going to get them herself. Nights were spent trying
not to toss and turn too much and disturb Irene.

But Irene always cottoned on to Seulgi's restlessness and comforted her with an arm around her
waist, hugging her tightly with small kisses pressed between her shoulder blades, or her collarbone
if they would be facing each other. Seulgi was able to relax a bit then, eventually dropping off to a
dreamless sleep.

In mere days, Seulgi had swiftly taken up the mantle of vigilant protector. And she was now
starting to understand a tiny smidge of what Jennie had been going through all this time without
anyone ever knowing. It made her respect for Jennie grow even more.

Seulgi grabbed an umbrella from the stand at the door and clutched it tightly as she peered through
the peephole. She set her jaw when she saw a tall lanky man waiting awkwardly outside. He
seemed to have a wad of paper under his arm.

Seulgi spoke up when he raised his fist to knock again. "Who is it?"

"Oh uh..." the man fumbled in his pocket with his free hand and raised his police badge up to the
peephole. "Detective Park Chanyeol. Uh, I'm here to drop off some uh...letters? From Rosé Park?
Sorry for interrupting dinnertime."

Now that she could see his whole face, Seulgi recognised the detective. She had seen that harried
face on TV, answering reporters' queries about some murder investigation. But she had seen and
heard plenty in the last few days alone. She wasn't going to let him off the hook so easily. He could
be trying to bait her. He could be working with Jinyoung. He could be trying to winkle them out.

"Rosé? I don't know who that is. You must have the wrong address," she lied, hoping she was
erring on the side of caution.

"Uh, well she and Jennie told me..." he seemed to come to a decision. "I understand you might be
afraid and not trust me. So what we'll do is...I can post these letters one at a time to you."
Seulgi was about to say no, she wanted to say she didn't consent to this bizarre interaction even
though she desperately wanted to believe him and ask more about Jennie and Rosé, but the
detective beat her to it.

"Please, it's for her daughter. I know this is the right house, Jennie specifically told me the address.
It's alright. I'm not here in the name of the law," he said softly.

Seulgi swallowed, remembering Ella's anguish that she heard not one word from her mother,
remembering Irene's mounting worry and lack of appetite, and how her own nerves were fraying
waiting on any good news at all.

"Alright. Post them."

The detective left as soon as the last sheet of paper had gone through, bidding the door a
brief 'thank you and goodnight' before he stalked off into the night. Seulgi watched him go then
gazed down at the sheets of printer paper before her.

When she bent to pick them up, she frowned to find them blank, though slightly stiff and with a
faint orange scent. There were fifteen sheets in total, all folded in half.

"Clear," she called down the hallway, summoning Irene and Ella.

"Who was it?" Irene whispered as she led Ella out, stopping dead when she found Seulgi sitting
among the pile. Ella came forward as well, hopeful.

"Was it Mom?"

"It wasn't your mother but apparently these letters are," Seulgi said dumbfounded. She looked up at
Irene and shrugged. "A detective dropped them off."

"Letters? From Mom?" Ella asked curiously. The moment she picked up one of the blank sheets,
Seulgi and Irene watched in trepidation, waiting for the crestfallen face of disappointment. Ella had
soldiered bravely through the days with barely any complaint but she was too quiet for Seulgi's
tastes.

To their utmost surprise, Ella brought the paper to her nose. She sniffed deeply for a few seconds
before her eyes grew round as she clapped with glee.

"Oranges! It's invisible ink! Mommy wrote the letters in invisible ink, just like my ghost game!"

"Ghost game?" Seulgi said, puzzled.

"Are you sure?" Irene said cautiously, kneeling to take up one of the sheets. She sniffed deeply. "It
does smell like oranges."

"We need a candle! Or a torch!" Ella declared. Her eyes were shining again, making Seulgi and
Irene glance at each other and smile, relief and anticipation taking over their expressions.

"Let's get reading then," Seulgi nodded and Irene hurried to find a box of matches.

>

Gangnam-dong wasn't one of Rosé's regular haunts when she had been running gigs for Yang.

That dubious honour went to some other runner, since they were all individually assigned the same
district over and over to carry their jobs, in order to build a presence and a reputation. Yang liked to
have repeat customers, because that's where the money business was. Having a familiar face
helped clients to stay in touch.

Constantly showing up at the same places with shady people was what had Rosé dreading that one
day, she would be profiled by cops. She wouldn't be too surprised if she was already. And then it
would only be a matter of time before the cops come banging on her door and took Ella away...

Ella. Did she get the letters? Did she realise that they were written in orange juice, a nod to their
old game? Would she understand all the love Rosé poured into painstakingly writing with a measly
toothpick? Would Ella forgive her? Was she eating well?

Rosé shook her head. Focus. She couldn't afford to get lost in ruminations right before they went
into Burning Sun. She needed to be Thorn, poised and in control.

"Ready?" Youngdon asked before they climbed out of the car. He was wearing a rectangular black
mask over his eyes, an item that all Burning Sun patrons were uncompromisingly asked to wear,
otherwise they were not granted access at all. It was like a precaution to help maintain anonymity
in a criminal's den, in case some wandering undercover cops managed to get the slip.

Rosé pulled her own rectangular black mask over her eyes, hoping it was enough of a disguise.
"Ready."

Youngdon tapped the diamond stud earring in his ear and Rosé heard the faintest crackle, so faint
that you wouldn't hear it if you hadn't been listening for it. In the silence of the car they sat in, Rosé
heard the answering feedback, which meant that the earpiece had connected to Hani's channel.

Hani, Youngdeuk and Jennie were going to be communicating with them and keeping an eye on
the proceedings with the hidden camera Youngdon had on his person. Rosé tapped her own
diamond stud earring as well, listened for the signal that communication lines had been open then
nodded at Youngdon.

"Let's go."

"Good luck," Hani said in their ears. "The time-window opens in fifteen minutes."

"We'll get there in time," Rosé reassured.

"Be careful," Jennie said shortly.

Rosé knew Jennie was trying to keep a tight lid on her emotions for everyone's sake, but Rosé
could still hear the anxiety behind her words, virtually begging Rosé to back off the mission. But
Rosé couldn't back off; she was the only one of them who could access the dead drop.

Rosé allowed herself a tiny smile, remembering Jennie's outrage on her behalf when she stepped
out of the apartment's bathroom after getting ready. Despite the grave circumstances, Jennie's fussy
tendencies helped disperse some tension.

"What the hell? What is she wearing? You call that a dress? I have fishnets with less holes in
them!" Jennie said shrilly upon spotting Rosé's chosen club outfit. "No, no, no, absolutely not, she
is not wearing that, she is not stepping into any club looking like some slab of meat on display. No
deal. Rosé go change—"

"Easy there sweets, what are you, her keeper or something? She knows what she's getting into."

"Does that happen to be a skin flick set, 'cos that's what she's looking to be getting into to
me," Jennie said indignantly.

"If you think that's racy, you haven't been looking at enough porn," Youngdeuk snickered.

"Right, because I really have a lot of empty time on my hands to consult porn for educational
purposes ," Jennie deadpanned. Those two seemed to have gotten chummy after an afternoon spent
in each other's company 'spinning cars in circles', as Jennie put it.

"Don't get your panties all wet now, Ace, we're going for erotic, not pornographic. It's just a
costume to sell the act. Thorn is used to this," Hani replied in her usual drawl. She cast an
approving look at Rosé and nodded. "Move out."

The hardest part of the mission was probably going to be entering and then exiting Burning Sun
without attracting undue attention to their presence. Youngdon was going to be handling
negotiations at the entrance. Rosé must have looked doubtful when Hani assigned Youngdon to be
her partner because the mobster patted her henchman on the shoulder.

"I know he looks like he owns half a brain cell but trust me when I say, you want him on your side.
He'll handle everything. You just do your thing," Hani said whilst Youngdon shot Rosé a wink.

She snapped back to the present when Youngdon stepped out of the car with a bulky briefcase in
hand, and she quickly followed suit. Rosé wasn't sure of the contents but if she had to guess, it was
full of Hani's imported product and Youngdon was going to use it as an entry token.

Unlike regular clubs, you didn't get into Burning Sun with tickets, a regular entrance fee or simply
just going in. It was a bit different, a bit more unorthodox, a bit more exclusive.

Burning Sun was a secret club that didn't actually exist. The club people on the street saw was
named 'Ku Club', a front for the actual Burning Sun club that was housed underground. It was a
gambling den and casino haven for criminal trading, and seemingly a well-kept secret from
authorities. And to stay that way, it meant entrance was highly rigorous, despite the masks. Only
registered and authorised patrons could enter. Payments weren't cheap either.

Rosé hoped that the promise of quality drugs that Dasoni was renowned for, coupled with
Youngdon's Dasoni tattoo to confirm authenticity, would be acceptable. She had no idea just what
level of payment was demanded for entry, only that it was something Yang didn't do often, only
once every three months or so.

"Why don't I just cut my arm and give it to them next time," Yang would grumble when the
assigned runner would be waiting for the suitcase of goods, then he would sigh theatrically. "But
they do need to bribe those damn cops and keep their mouths shut or we all sink with the ship."

"I've only been once or twice but it will be alright, just follow my lead," Youngdon said
reassuringly, taking her silent reminiscence for apprehension.

The chill night air had Rosé shiver as they approached the Ku Club, greeted by a lively crowd at
the entrance of the red neon-drenched club. The stench of booze and sweat filled the air as they
drew closer, with clouds of cigarette smoke making Rosé cough, her heart already pounding to the
loud thudding music emanating from inside.

She had walked through this whole nightmarish landscape a thousand times before, to the point it
almost felt like a suffocating embrace, welcoming her back to her own special kind of hell.

In her time working for Yang, Rosé had learned that essentially all the districts were the same.
They had their own gangs, their own hotspots, their own mobsters and turf wars, their own culture
and codes, their own rules and lines you didn't cross. Rosé had learnt to read all these trademark
signs of her district very well, but being dropped right into a new one that she wasn't as familiar
with made her anxious.

"They'll see Youngdon's Dasoni tattoo and they'll know not to mess with you. Stick close to him and
you'll be fine, even if you do step out of line," Hani had reassured.

Rosé felt the tell-tale signs of anxiety creeping up on her but she pushed it all back. She was Thorn
right now, not Rosé, and Thorn wasn't fazed by a little smoke, or a crowd that ogled her as she
swept by them. Thorn thrived in those situations, she was in her element, she had the control. She
had her pepper spray and a small knife in her clutch, along with a tiny mini tablet, very much like a
Nintendo DS but with the crucial USB access port, and quite heavy. This was the computer she
would be working with to access the dead drop.

She had a tiny watch doubling as a bracelet attached to her wrist. She glanced at it now. Seven
minutes till the time-window opens.

So Rosé took a deep breath and braced herself as Youngdon cleared a path, pushing through people
with Rosé clinging to his arm, her head bowed. Their play was clear for all to see: with Youngdon's
smart suit and tie, and her skimpy black dress that left little to the imagination, people wouldn't
delve deeper. They saw what they needed to see: a pimp hauling his choice goods to the club to ply
his trade.

People made way for them, parting with slight murmurs and little resistance. Though she walked
with her head down, Rosé felt the hungry gazes upon her, peeling away the last few shreds of
clothes on her body. She clung tighter to Youngdon despite her pep talk, only breathing slightly
easier when they arrived to the Ku's entrance properly.

Two bouncer thugs sized them up, one of them leaning in when Youngdon beckoned for him to
listen closer and pulled back the cuff of his sleeve to show him the tattoo. The other bouncer
appraised Rosé and she held his gaze, jutting out her chin and working her Thorn persona. He
didn't smile or leer at her, which she counted as a good thing: the less she drew attention at the
entrance, the better.

Whispers were exchanged and Youngdon tapped his briefcase. The taller of the two bouncers
beckoned for him and Rosé to follow him. Youngdon nodded reassuringly at Rosé and they
stepped into the club, the suffocating heat immediately swallowing them.

Ku Club wasn't small by any means, despite being a mere front. It was a thriving club with EDM
blasting through the roof. Rosé's heart was thudding along to the deafening dum dum dum beat,
wading through groups of people dancing and drinking, letting loose and having fun beneath the
strobe lights. Seating areas and booths were scattered across the floor, with an area for slower-
paced activities like pool and poker set up, still just as boisterous as the main dance area.

As they passed close to the centre, Rosé grew aware of a blinding beam of light just outside of her
periphery, making her look up. Her mouth dropped at the sight of a massive sleek black car on
display, raised on a platform with a powerful white-hot spotlight shining down on it, the
centrepiece of the whole place.

Curiously, the wheels' rim structure were coloured baby blue, which was an interesting choice, the
innocent soft colour clashing with the menacing black hulking mass. There seemed to be more
baby blue accents along the lower body as well. Whoever this car belonged to had decidedly odd
tastes, but clearly wanted to show it off.
Rosé didn't know what brand the car was but it sure looked obnoxious and out of place, sitting in
the middle of the dance floor as the roiling mass of bodies thronged around it. The platform was
surrounded by rope barriers and there was one lone guy standing rigid without dancing in front of
the car. Rosé presumed he was some sort of guard as he watched his surroundings sternly, a wired
earpiece in his ear.

She quickly forgot about the vehicle as Youngdon tugged her forward towards the back of the
club. Obnoxious cars and their even more obnoxious owners had no place in her plans right now.
She was on a mission.

Rosé glanced at her watch again and promptly walked into someone when Youngdown yanked her
without warning. She hit the stranger's shoulder hard, almost dislodging her mask.

"Watch it, slut!"

"Shit, my shirt!"

"I...I'm so sorry," Rosé said, shouting to be heard over the noise. Youngdon swivelled around just
in time as the drunk brute Rosé had bumped into pawed at her chest.

"Listen here you little—"

Youngdon didn't hesitate; he grabbed the man's wrist and yanked it off Rosé and then hauled her
away before she even registered what was happening. They lost the drunk guy in the crowd as they
hurried to keep up with the bouncer leading them to Burning Sun.

"I was handling it," Rosé said, reigning in her flustered composure.

Youngdon merely grinned. "Less talk, more walk."

She had to concede he had a point. It seemed like they were going to be walking forever but being
buffeted by people from all directions was hard to navigate through. Briefly, she wondered if it
would have been easier to just walk along the perimeter till they got to their destination across the
dance floor, but maybe the bouncer didn't have enough braincells to think that far.

So long as Youngdon was there, Rosé felt herself relax ever so slightly now that he had proved
himself quick-thinking enough to get them out of a potential sticky situation that would cost them
time. He was not the dumbass Rosé had taken him to be.

Youngdon had also surprised Rosé earlier when they had been leaving the condo: he offered her a
shawl to cover her bare shoulders and her almost bare body. She hadn't known he was capable of
such decency, considering that only hours earlier he had slammed her to the ground together with
his brother without a single qualm. It seemed he was intent on redeeming himself, he had been
extra careful not to impinge on her personal space.

Rosé had declined the shawl, though reluctantly. Escorts, prostitutes and the like weren't renowned
for their modesty—covering up would only make them look suspicious, as well as stop her from
embracing the part wholly. She needed to feel like an escort to pull off the disguise, all down to the
sheer fabric and bare thighs. At least it was summer, so she wouldn't feel the chill as much.

It didn't take away from the fact that beneath her stoic facade, the familiar nausea crawled up her
throat, making her almost throw up when anyone brushed against her bare skin.

One more time. Just one more time. For Jisoo. For Jennie. For Lisa. For Ella.
For all of them, she'd walk on hot coals and straight into the lion's mouth if it meant they would be
saved. For all of them, she'd be Thorn and whatever else she needed to be, if it meant they'd be free.

>

Jennie chewed her lip and gnawed on her inner cheek. She rubbed her tattoo and shifted restlessly
in her seat next to Youngdeuk, unable to settle, trying her damndest to rein in her thoughts that
were as usual, running amok.

They watched Youngdon and Rosé make their way towards Burning Sun's secret entrance on the
tablet Youngdeuk was balancing in his lap which was transmitting live footage from Youngdon's
camera.

Or rather, watching the bouncer ahead of the duo walking through the teeming mass of clubbers.
The surroundings were dim, with occasional bursts of light filtering through. It was also noisy and
claustrophobic, with people pressing in on all sides and towering above their field of vision,
jostling Youngdon and giving Jennie motion-sickness on top of her anxiety for Rosé, whom she
was not seeing. Hani had forbidden her from talking to Rosé, saying that the other girl needed to
focus.

When Rosé had bumped into the man, Jennie had been all but ready to bust into the club, find the
brute and break his nose hadn't it been for Hani's barked orders to stay put. Jennie was on the edge
of her seat with nerves, her furrowed brow in danger of being permanently embedded, with her lip
nibbled raw.

"Can you just relax for five damn minutes?" Hani snapped, startling Jennie out of her thoughts.
"What's got into you? Pull yourself together."

Jennie dropped her hands in her lap and slouched in her seat unhappily. "I should have gone. I
should be keeping an eye out for her. She's got a kid back home."

"She had a kid back home every time she stepped out to run a gig for Yang but it never stopped
her," Hani said sharply, making Jennie wilt. "She's already got Youngdon for a chaperone. She's
Thorn. She can handle herself no matter what's thrown at her. You're underestimating her."

"You weren't the one watching her have mental breakdowns for the past three days while you sat
pretty waiting for leads," Jennie hissed. "You weren't the one lying in bed helpless listening to her
cry while you were busy having your orgies. You weren't the one to hold her after she was
assaulted."

"Watch it," Youngdeuk muttered in warning but Jennie didn't care. Her combined nerves and
simmering anger towards Hani were reaching a breaking point. Seeing her continuously bully Rosé
and pile on impossible expectations chafed her and she wasn't sure how much more she could take.

"For your information, I was plenty busy, busier than you'd even think. But I don't have to explain
myself to you," Hani said coldly after a moment's pause. "Know your place, Ace." There was
nothing good-natured about her statement. Her hard voice oozed authority, reminding Jennie that
she was effectively a minion forced to fall in line. She wondered how she was going to stand for
this for the rest of her life.

"They're here," Youngdeuk announced after a brief tense silence. Jenie scrambled to undo her seat
belt and lean over Youngdeuk. Hani leaned in closer as well, her breath reeking of smoke, making
Jennie inwardly gag.
Youngdon's hidden camera didn't show much in the dim light, but Jennie had caught glimpse of
two men's stony faces—presumably the bouncers of Burning Sun—as they listened to Youngdon
talk and negotiate. He was offering Hani's product as their ticket into the club. Rosé hovered just
out of frame, sticking close to Youngdon. The man that led them to Burning Sun's hidden entrance
had left.

"It's underground so you won't get to see much," Youngdeuk explained unnecessarily. He seemed
to be on edge too, watching the interaction between his twin and the bouncers raptly.

"We weren't informed of new debuts," one of the bouncers said gruffly. His words crackled and
Youngdeuk adjusted the audio sliders to make it clearer.

"I'm aware it's short notice which is why I got with me a generous entry fee, but I'm afraid
we need to start somewhere with the novices, build a rep as you know. And where better than
here?" Youngdon reasoned.

The bouncers seemed to agree, going by their nodding heads, but they still seemed reluctant to
accept Youngdon's offer.

"The suites are all booked, there's a big hotshot landing here tonight so that's pretty bad
timing you got there, pal. Didn't you check the schedules?" the right bouncer asked, checking
with a clipboard of all things, looking all professional as he perused a list. "Yep, all the VIP's
taken. You seen that fancy car upstairs? He's all swanky and shit, I hear he's got friends to
impress so he booked out the whole damn place, we had a busload of girls come over just for
them to have their choice pick."

"What the hell are they talking about?" Jennie hissed but Youngdeuk shushed her.

"Are you that desperate to put her with the singles?" the left bouncer said sceptically. He
peered in Rosé's direction. "This little mouse won't last long if you throw her in the deep end
on her first night."

Rosé didn't say anything. Jennie wracked her brain, trying to latch on to the meaning behind their
words.

"Gotta break them in sooner or later, but she'll handle it. This one is pretty and ripe. I
wanted to have her official debut here. She won't get better exposure elsewhere and I stand
firm on this. If singles is what we get, then we'll take it." Youngdon spoke smoothly and
confidently, without a trace of uncertainty.

"What is he saying?" Jennie frowned. "What debut? Why is he talking about her like she's a fruit?"

"In a minute," Youngdeuk whispered.

"Very well. Does she need a tag?"

Youngdon gestured to his side. "She got her bracelet. And if she doesn't want to get in trouble
then I hope she has the good sense to not wander. Right, Annitta?"

No response from Rosé but she seemed to have given some affirmative answer because the
bouncer with the clipboard took the briefcase and the other bouncer opened the door.

"Report for cuff check," he said as they entered. "Mr Kim's breathing down our necks to
hand over the accounting, he wants to know all about the traffic we're driving so do me a
favour, would you?"

"Of course. Come along, Annitta," Youngdon said smoothly, again using the fake name that he
and Rosé must have agreed upon. He swept inside Burning Sun but Jennie could barely see, though
it seemed to be some cavern, with booths lining up the walls and people milling about. Scantily
clad figures seemed to be draped everywhere and even though Jennie was on the other side of the
screen, the atmosphere seemed to be unbearably smothering.

The door clanged shut behind Youngdon.

"Pick up the pace guys," Hani said, startling Jennie. She had forgotten the mobster was still sitting
behind her. "Youngdon, that took longer than we estimated."

"Sorry, boss."

"It'll be alright, as long as nobody comes looking for us," came Rosé's calm reply. Jennie was
hoping for her friend to step within frame, just to make sure she's okay.

"Right. Scope out the place, make it snappy," Hani replied, an edge to her voice.

"That won't be a problem," Rosé replied. "The homing device on the tablet will ping it once it
detects the signal from the USB. We'll just go down and find a quiet corner and set up. Once
we find it, it shouldn't be too much of a hassle."

"A USB gives out signals like a beacon?" Jennie said perplexed.

"These dead drops ones are like mini-computers in themselves, not just an average USB."

"You're aware the time-window opened two minutes ago, right?" Hani said, her voice strained.
"Let them work, Jennie, you're costing them time."

Jennie went rigid with panic but Rosé's answer reassured her.

"I know. I'm keeping count. I've got this."

"Everything's going to plan, boss," Youngdeuk reported as Youngdon and Rosé descended to
mingle amongst the patrons of Burning Sun. "No alerts from the other teams so far, no unusual
activity."

"Don't jinx it, Deuk. The hard part will be getting out," Hani said muttered.

"How come?" Jennie wondered. Hani and Youngdeuk were silent for a moment too long, making
Jennie's eyes narrow.

"How come?" she asked again, stifling the knot of anxiety that threatened to swell into fear. "What
about leaving the club is difficult?"

"Deuk, you explain," Hani sighed.

"You know what the bouncers were referring to when they talked about debuts?" Youngdeuk
asked without preamble.

"I was hoping someone would explain that, yeah," Jennie said cautiously.
"They were talking about escorts. Prostitutes, strippers, whores—"

"I get it."

"Right. So, Rosé is playing the part of a new escort, she's going to be 'debuting' because she hasn't
been in the business before. It's her first night, she's all fresh and green."

"And debuting means....?"

"Having her first clients. Her deflowering. Her first gig as an escort slash prostitute slash stripper
slash—"

"I get it," Jennie gritted. She had been against the idea of Rosé playing the part of an escort from
the start, deeming it too risky. Youngdeuk bringing it up so casually wasn't helping her nerves. "So,
hypothetically, she's...debuting." The very word tasted vile in her mouth.

"Right. Burning Sun is a good spot to build a rep like that, pimps from all over Seoul go there to
showcase their best meat. Usually, you wanna take like pure virgins for the job, the clientele goes
feral to be the ones to have their way with a girl that is supposedly virgin, to be the first to claim
her and mark her. Like putting a stamp on a girl, you know? Taking her virginity feeds their egos,
makes them feel special. So virgins are special, you wanna make it a splashy affair and make the
most of it, attract the most high-brow person in the place, if possible. Because high-brow means
money. And you're not finding virgins growing on trees so whenever you get your hands on one,
you wanna make the most of it."

"Virginity isn't even a real thing."

"I hear you, but other people beg to differ."

Jennie felt sick but Youngdeuk was only getting started.

"It's best to have it happen in a group situation for the first time," he said a little too animatedly.
"One: you get to have the girl not be alone, there would be other girls around so it's like a group
affair and she might feel a little less fish out of the water. And two, you can keep your eye on her in
case she tries to bolt or in case some sleazy client tries to kidnap her."

"Are you joking?" Jennie choked out.

"No, it's happened before. Sometimes, you even have like rival pimps stealing your girls and
putting them to work in their own brothels and clubs. Now, the point of all this is to drive traffic
over to your actual places of business, your own brothels, whatever. Think of Burning Sun like a
marketplace. You wanna entice people by advertising the sexiest, hottest, juiciest—"

"I. Get. It," Jennie gritted.

"—and most importantly, virgin girls, to show them that hey, we got all these hot babes just like
her back at our place, come on over, spend your money there and make us rich, not other pimps.
See?"

"Fine sure okay. So what does that have to do with being difficult to get out?"

Youngdeuk sighed. "If they're going out the way they came in, they need to prove that Rosé...is no
longer a virgin. As in, she's had, uh, intercourse. Penetration." He glanced to the side and spotted
Jennie's working jaw. "It's not as bad as you're thinking—"
"Not bad? Are you insane?" Jennie burst out. She rounded on Hani, furious. "Are you fucking—"

"Now is not the time for moral righteousness," Hani said coolly, the nub of her cigarette glowing
orange. "This is how we do things around here, Jennie."

"You mean, you deal in this...this..."

"Duh," Hani said. "This is just business. Those are the rules. Thorn knows this."

"What the fuck kind of rule is that? That's so sick! How are they going to pull this off?" Jennie
seethed. "How do those creeps even check for something like that? Why didn't you mention this
before?"

"Do you think I'm daft? Tell you all about it when you've been a wreck all evening?" Hani snorted.
"Pipe down, sweets. Youngdeuk is still explaining."

"You heard the bouncer mention cuff check, right?" Youngdeuk said when Jennie settled back in
her seat like a restless tiger prowling its cage.

"Yeah," Jennie growled.

"The cuff check is simple. The debutante escorts that enter Burning Sun will only be allowed to
leave once they have intercourse and to prove that, she has to have pulled at least one client to
string along to wherever they're going and they need to be cuffed to each other. Cuffs are provided
by Burning Sun itself."

"Excuse me?" Jennie said shrilly. "What the fuck kind of stupidity is that?"

Youngdeuk shrugged and went on. "Be it back to a brothel, a love motel, out of the country—
wherever it might be, the owner of Burning Sun doesn't care where they're going. But he cares to
know that his club keeps up its reputation, and he cares to know that genuine bona fide escorts
from reputable pimps are coming into Burning Sun. The cuff check is like a guarantee that yes, this
escort is the real thing, she's down to get dicked down by the guy that's taking her because that's
her job. The cuff check merely ensures that the escort passed the virginity test and there is no
suspicion that she is a mole or some undercover cop. Burning Sun has a lot to lose if its operations
are uncovered so the management takes fastidious care with regulating traffic."

"I imagine they are following Yang's blueprints. This Namjoon guy that we are suspecting works
for Jinyoung, it wouldn't be a stretch that he's following Jinyoung's orders, who in turn, practically
learned what he needed from his mentor. Yang Hyun Suk was always fussy about passwords and
checks, few moles ever caught wind of whatever he would be cooking up," Hani added
thoughtfully. "He came up with unusual rules and rituals to keep everyone guessing. Jinyoung
learned well."

Jennie's head spun. "Okay okay, she just needs a guy right? They won't check further than that. So
cuffing herself to Youngdon should be good. The rules don't say anything about cuffing yourself to
your pimp right? Okay, that's alright I suppose, not so creepy..."

"Theoretically yes, you could play it that way, but even though Youngdon has the Dasoni tattoo so
they know he is legit, they won't know the girl. They won't know if she's blackmailing him, they
don't know anything about her. So they might question it if Rosé and Youngdon do that."

Jennie's mouth opened and closed, at a loss for words.

"We're hoping to evade that," Youngdeuk said, though he didn't sound too certain. "A few
exceptions can be made to exempt the cuff check, but only if there's like a really big emergency or
accident, or somebody has overdosed or fainted, that sort of thing. Causing a ruckus might attract
too much unwanted attention but they might go for it if they see an opportunity."

Jennie held her head. "Rosé, you idiot." She glared at Hani's silhouette, still placidly smoking.
"How could you?"

"I trust in Thorn," Hani said coolly, "something you'd do well to try. Improvisation is key to being
out on the prowl like she has been. She would have been eaten up a long time ago if she wasn't
quick to think on her feet. You need to reckon with that enormous saviour complex that you got—"

"I don't have a saviour complex—"

"Whatever you have, it flares up real bad when you're not needed. But you need to take the
backseat sometimes," Hani said. "And if worst truly comes to worst, I have teams ready to go in
and fight to extract both Youngdon and Rosé. It's a measure of last resort. I don't want that because
it puts my clan in a sticky situation."

"This isn't already sticky enough to you?" Jennie exclaimed. "You should have figured out how to
get them out in the first place!"

"Are you done questioning my decisions?" Hani hissed. "Pipe down and if you really are
concerned, I would focus my energy on thinking of something that would actually help, instead of
fretting endlessly without cause."

Without cause? Jennie wasn't sure whose eyes she wanted to claw out more: hers, Hani's or Rosé's,
for agreeing to step into that hellhole in the first place.

She fell back in her seat, watching Youngdeuk's screen in silent trepidation.

>

Rosé had no idea what was happening in the car because she had muted the earpiece to
concentrate, knowing full well that Jennie and Hani were probably involved in some row again.

Burning Sun was stuffy, and finding a quiet corner wasn't as an easy task as she'd hoped. At least
there was chill lounge music playing as opposed to the heavy muffled dum dum dum just beyond
the doors.

Youngdon practically dragged her over to the first alcove he saw then made a beeline for the bar,
which thankfully wasn't as busy. He was soon back with two glasses of liquor and ice. Rosé
pretended to sip, waiting for people to lose interest in their entry as they went back to what they
had been doing. She kept an eye on the watch, lips pursed.

Ten minutes till the time-window closes. Jennie had questioned why they didn't go in earlier and
she was immediately pounced on by Hani, who said people would get suspicious if they saw two
people lurking around not getting involved in any particular activity (Hani hadn't wanted them to
leave impressions by playing games or drinking) and then suddenly just leave.

Everywhere Rosé looked, there seemed to be high-powered masked men with scantily clad masked
girls draped over either arm, drowning in booze and smoke, or else lounging around the roulette
table, spinning the wheel and flinging chips with giggling masked women perched on their knees.
The amount of money that switched hands made her mouth run dry. Dealers distributed cuts of
cards and poker chips, surveying the groups gathered and talking down egos when tempers flared.
Intermittent shouts and rowdy calls startled Rosé. Youngdon stuck close and nursed his drink, his
shirt sleeves rolled up because of the heat.

It was suffocating and Rosé felt sweat bead up on her temple as she discreetly booted up the tablet,
locating the signal almost right away.

"Bingo...ah."

The sense of elation fizzled out almost im and she frowned.

"Boss, we've located it," Youngdon muttered, touching his ear. "What is it, Thorn?"

Rosé tilted her head to indicate the screen and he glanced over her shoulder at the winking dot over
a graphic of the club's layout. He sucked in a breath.

"That's the group suites. They're all occupied." Youngdon said worriedly, spelling out the problem:
how were they going to access the dead drop surrounded by people?

Time was pressing but Rosé felt clinically calm. "Let's just go."

"But—"

"I have a plan. When we get there, bang on the door and say this..." she whispered the words out to
him and he nodded, determined.

"That would buy us some time. It will ruffle feathers and I'm sure they won't be happy but you
don't make a cake without breaking some eggs."

"Don't jinx it," she warned, "we still have to figure out how to get out."

"Oh honey, leave it to me," he smirked, following in her wake as they weaved around tables and
headed towards the back where the hallway branched off into corridors with doors for the VIP
suites. "Boss, you got that? We're going in."

>

It was more Youngdon that went in rather than Rosé herself.

"Oi! Fun time's over, come on, everyone out, we got a big night!" Youngdon roared as he
practically bust down the door of the VIP room where the dead drop was located. "Out out out!
This is our reserved suite! You've overstayed!"

A tall dishevelled foreign man with bloodshot eyes threw back the door, his shirt unbuttoned and in
disarray with hickeys painted across his neck. "What the hell man? I wasss just getting ssstarted,"
he slurred in English, sounding distinctly Australian and very confused.

Rosé had retreated to a shadowy corner to draw less attention to herself but her curiosity was
piqued when she heard the man's accent. She didn't recognise him.

Youngdon kept on blustering and gesticulating vehemently, ignoring the man's confusion. "Out,
I'll report you, this is our slot! Big boss will boot your ass out! We reserved this booth! Out out out!
Now! You girls, get him outta here!"

Three frightened girls, barely legal and dressed much like Rosé with masks covering their eyes,
ushered the confused man away with little prodding as Youngdon hurled abuse in their wake.

"I'll report you!" slurred the foreigner.

Rosé ducked into the suite immediately and Youngdon shut the door behind her as she swiftly did a
quick sweep of the surroundings. The gloomy room reeked of beer and smoke, with white powder
sitting in neat little piles on the low table in front of a triple chaise lounge, evidently still to be
consumed. A variety of belts, paddles, rope and other toys were strewn on the floor but Rosé didn't
pay attention as she got to work.

Youngdon kicking up a fuss was exactly the kind of distraction needed to buy themselves some
time, and the fact that they chanced upon a foreigner was even better because he wouldn't be able
to retaliate as quickly. Rosé just hoped that she would be able to access the dead drop before
Burning Sun's management was alerted to the ruckus.

She found the dead drop behind the mini refrigerator and immediately connected her tablet.
Information blocks rolled down down the screen right away and she scrolled through them,
breezing through the frozen security checks with pursed lips even as the clock wound down.

Six minutes suddenly seemed so little.

"Where is it?" Rosé muttered. There were more files than she anticipated, all of them with
tantalising titles, many of them with 'CLASS' tagged on at the front but it would take too long to
check them all out or even download them all. They didn't have much time.

"Uh, Rosé," came Youngdon's tense voice through the door, "you might wanna hurry up."

Rosé sucked in a breath. Had their ploy already been found out? She clicked frantically though files
until she noticed a folder, with several sub-folders nested within it, titled CLASS_slammer_tk2.

She didn't know why but the name caught her attention. She didn't think twice. Praying with all her
might, Rosé hit download. The tablet's screen flickered but after a few agonising seconds that felt
like minutes, with her heart pounding in her ears, a copy of the file was safe in Rosé's tablet. With
only half a minute to spare before the security features of the dead drop would be alerted, Rosé
disconnected the tablet and blew out a relieved breath.

She stood up and pushed the refrigerator with her foot to cover the USB, then tapped her earring to
activate it and give Hani a quick update. "I downloaded something, I'll send it—"

A commotion outside the door made her freeze, it sounded like a lot of people had suddenly
congregated at the suite.

"Shit," Hani said in her ear. "Thorn, stay put."

"Aren't you gonna send someone?" Jennie chimed in, her voice tinged with panic. Whatever was
going down outside, it didn't look good. Rosé fought to keep calm.

"What's going on here? Who gave you the authority to kick out Elordi?" came one man's voice
over the confusing hubbub.

"Hey man, we booked this place for my boss, your guy overstayed his welcome, alright!"
Youngdon was still playing his part, speaking loudly, no doubt to alert Rosé. "Back off, I'm
expecting them any minute."

"Hide the tablet," Hani said tersely.

Where?

Rosé chewed her lip, her breathing coming out faster as she cast about her helplessly. There was no
way out, she was trapped. If the foreigner's friends or whoever came and found her in here, they
were bound to interrogate her, maybe even search her, after discovering their joint duplicity.

She glanced at the mini fridge, her heart thumping. Would the tablet and information she
downloaded survive in the cold for....how long until they would be able to retrieve it safely and
without the information being lost?

"Hey, hands off!" Youngdon yelped. A thud against the door made Rosé fly into action.

"Fridge," she muttered, hoping her message went through to the others on the other end. She put
the purse in the fridge behind bottles of beer and hoped it was enough of a camouflage from
anyone peering in.

"Let's be reasonable now," coaxed the first voice, still trying to de-escalate the situation outside.
Rosé frowned, forcing herself to focus. The man's voice sounded familiar.

"If you come with us, we can get this mix-up cleared up and you can apologise to Mr Elordi, come
on."

"There's nothing to apologise for, my boss reserved—OOF!" Youngdon's voice cut out abruptly
and then came the sound of something heavy sliding down against the door.

"Shit," Hani spat.

"A Dasoni leech," sneered someone outside. "Of course. Who else would try to steal the boss's
thunder but that bitch?"

"Lock him up, we'll talk to him when he comes around," said the first male voice. He seemed to be
the leader. Rosé still couldn't place his voice, though the foreboding in her gut grew. "He seemed to
be guarding something pretty insistently hmm..." The doorknob turned.

In the last second, Rosé dived for the couch and clutched onto the first item she found—a paddle.
The fear on her face was real when the door swung open and in strode a familiar man that made
her heart sink and her shivering grow.

"Oh hello there," said Jaehyun, his sneer taking up half his face. "You're coming with us, little
mouse. Jinyoung will certainly want a word with you."

>

"I'm going in," Jennie snarled, fighting Youngdeuk's grip holding her back from the scruff of her
shirt, "fuck, they're taking her to Jinyoung, I need to get her out of there, let me go, I knew this was
going to happen—"

"Stand down," Hani said coolly. "This Jay hasn't recognised her yet. Hold it there. He just wants to
bring her to Jinyoung because he thinks she's part of the Dasoni. All Rosé gotta do is play dumb."

"Shut up. Shut up with your know-it-all air, you don't know shit," Jennie said furiously. "You don't
care and you don't—"

She stiffened as Hani's blade pressed against her throat, the familiar sharp edge burning when it
nicked her skin.

"I should have done this earlier," Hani muttered next to her ear. "Now will you calm down and
fucking listen? Getting involved will escalate things. Let's wait and see. If you don't want to get
your throat slit, shut up."

With Hani's blade practically pinning her to her seat and holding her hostage, Jennie couldn't do
anything but balefully swivel her gaze over to Youngdeuk, who was frantically twiddling with his
tablet, feeding in from Rosé's audio.

Youngdon's camera had gone dark, another factor for concern. With no word from him, no idea
where he was (locating the signal was taking Youngdeuk precious time), they had lost a crucial
member of the team who could go in and retrieve Rosé's purse with the tablet. They had heard her
muttered message and understood her intentions.

Sitting in the fridge, Youngdeuk was optimistic that nothing too bad would happen to the tablet,
though he worried about a build up in condensation after it was retrieved that when thawed out,
would damage the circuitry. Either way, retrieving the tablet fully functioning was imperative, or
else everything they had gone through would have been for nothing.

"Hani," Jennie said, doing her utmost to sound reasonable. "I can go in and get the tablet."

Hani groaned. "God, you just don't know how to take an order, do you? Jennie, you're part of a
gang, do you get it? You take orders, you're not a renegade doing things by yourself. If it turns out
that someone from the Dasoni kicked up any sort of fuss on someone's turf, that's going to cause
ramifications for me and my businesses, alright? You wouldn't get it but it's all about a delicate
walk on eggshells around here. I'm trying not to create some major fallout."

"At Rosé's expense?" Jennie said indignantly.

"What's with you and her? Were you two fucking or something?" Hani wondered. "Is she like your
side-piece?"

"What the hell, no!" Jennie spluttered. Youngdeuk kept his eyes firmly on the tablet, even though
there was nothing to see.

"Look, I don't really care about what's going on between you and her," Hani snarled, "but I'm
looking out for the clan as a whole. You're a loose cannon, Ace. I can't trust you to keep your head
and let you go in and extricate the tablet. We'll wait for Youngdon to do that, he can untie himself
if they got him all tied up. Let's just sit tight for Rosé, for now."

For now.

A plan was already brewing in Jennie's mind as she kept her eyes on Youngdeuk. All she needed
was to jump at the right moment. Rosé was in danger with no backup whatsoever and they still
needed to retrieve the tablet with the crucial information about the showcase.

Hani was sitting on her ass being useless, to protect herself and her precious clan. She didn't care if
she lost someone inconsequential; Rosé wasn't part of the clan and she had already completed her
part for the mission. Hani didn't need her anymore, no matter the promise she made them.

But Jennie was done waiting. If Hani wasn't going to save Rosé, then she would.

It was time to enter the scene herself. And to do that, she needed to time things meticulously to
make sure her exit would be as smooth as possible, with no chance of being anywhere close to Hani
and her knife. She had gotten way too intimate with that blade already.

Jennie touched her neck, stroking along the thin line the blade's sharp edge had left behind, and
wondered how fast a car seat could tilt back.
>

Luck was still favouring Rosé, for once. She had wisely kept quiet when the Jays dragged her out
of the group suite after them, keeping up her charade of a bewildered and frightened debut escort.

Youngdon was being dragged behind them, supported on two Jays. He was out cold, worrying
Rosé but she forced herself not to glance back and prayed that Hani didn't send in her teams to get
them out.

Causing a bigger racket would only draw Jinyoung's attention and if word got around that the
Dasoni clan was sneaking around and sticking their fingers into things they weren't welcome to, it
would make their entry to the showcase that much harder.

She had momentarily tuned in to her earpiece and heard Jennie's panic, swiftly shut down by Hani,
but Rosé couldn't trust Jennie to calm down under duress. She knew Jennie would feel the need to
do something, to take action, it was hard-wired into her.

Rosé hoped that Hani was keeping a firm leash on Jennie while she figured a way out. Hani had
told her what signal to give should she run out of options and needed urgent help, but like Hani, she
was reluctant to go down that route.

She just hoped Jennie would stay put.

She was being Thorn right now, and Thorn had gotten out of stickier situations. She just needed to
breathe and keep moving.

The three Jays walking behind her hadn't recognised her, not even Jaehyun who was gripping her
hard from her wrist. Combined with her newly dyed hair and the rectangular black mask over her
eyes, Rosé had essentially pulled a Clark Kent. People wouldn't look too closely unless they were
looking for something that was different. She hoped the same would prove to be true when she was
standing in front of Jinyoung himself.

With luck, maybe they would let her go free. They would buy into her act and see that she had
nothing to give them. Maybe Jinyoung would be drunk, or maybe he would interrogate her but all
she had to do was play dumb, stay quiet, maybe pull out a few crocodile tears and she will be fine.
Thorn could do this with eyes closed.

The march to their unknown destination was over before Rosé could even begin to truly spiral.
Jaehyun knocked on one of the group suite doors, number 7 she noted idly.

"Come in," said Jinyoung from within. Jaehyun shoved her inside and the other three Jays crowded
inside as well, dragging in an unconscious Youngdon. The suite wasn't small by any means and
similar to the one with the dead drop, it was furnished with three chaise lounges, but Jinyoung
wasn't alone, making the space crowded.

He sat on the central chaise lounge, face flushed, his fringe falling in his eyes. Two girls sat at the
floor next to his knees, curled up against his legs. He was stroking the head of the girl on the left
like she was a cat, the other hand holding a clear glass of wine.

There were three other men with him. Rosé speculated that two of them must be his friends—their
clothes at least stood on par with Jinyoung's in terms of luxury.

One was a Korean stranger with a rather prominent nose, slit eyebrow and short blonde hair, an
earring dangling from one ear. He didn't notice Rosé's entrance, to busy feeling up the girl in his
lap while another two were touching him all over. On the other side of Jinyoung, sitting and
pouting sullenly with his own green bottle of soju was the Australian stranger that she and
Youngdon barged in on, the one Jaehyun called Elordi. He was paying no mind to the coterie of
escorts doing their best to distract him so he immediately looked up when they entered, his scowl
deepening.

The third man was Jackson. Rosé barely stifled her gasp of surprise when she spotted him sitting
quietly at the back, not partaking in any activity at all.

"So, is it this one?" Jinyoung asked in quite decent English, turning to Elordi.

"Yes her! And that guy!" Elordi spat, pointing at Youngdon.

"Alright Jacob," Jinyoung said pacifyingly. "We'll deal with them in a second."

Jackson was looking at her and Rosé took the chance to take a good look at him too. His face was
sunken in, the grey under his eyes more pronounced than she remembered. The stubble dotting his
chin was thicker and he had a split lip. Truth be told, he looked rough. If Rosé hadn't known better,
she'd say that Jackson looked like he'd gone through the wringer. He stood silently, shrunken in on
himself as though he wanted to disappear entirely.

She averted her eyes, wondering if he would recognise her, but his eyes held not a flicker of
recognition even when she held his gaze. In fact, they looked quite dead.

Jinyoung finished placating Jacob Elordi and turned to Rosé, switching back to Korean when he
spoke. "Don't look so afraid. I just have a few questions. My beef is with your boss so you have
nothing to fear."

Rosé clasped her hands in front of her tightly and crossed her legs, made her eyes go wide, the
picture of doe-eyed terror.

"Do you know who I am, girl?"

She decided to go for the truth and nodded shakily.

"Words, please." He said pleasantly enough. Everyone was watching her like a hawk, even the
other escort girls.

"Uhm...P-Park Jinyoung, CEO o-off JYP Ph-Pharma?" she said, making her voice high and
tremulous. Her heart was knocking against the walls of her chest.

"Very good. And who do you work for?"

Rosé cast about her and with a shaking finger, pointed at Youngdon's prostrate body lying in front
between her and Jinyoung's low table, filled with empty bottles and peanut shells.

"Good. And he is a Dasoni, as we can see from that little bee tattoo he got there," Jinyoung pointed,
his mouth pursing into a thin line as though he had just been force-fed lemons. "Now one thing you
should know about me, girl, is that I don't like the Dasoni. But no matter how much I don't like
them, I don't go about provoking them unasked. Unlike them."

Rosé remained silent, her eyes darting from one face to another. All eyes were riveted to her, even
the man with the slit eyebrow, with one girl's hand down his shirt.

"Now do you see my friend here?" Jinyoung prodded at Jacob Elordi's shoulder as the man in
question scowled and took a long swig from his bottle. "We're in a bit of a pickle. You and your
pimp ruined his good mood. I brought him here with the promise that he will have a fun night but
that didn't end up happening. All because of you. Well, mostly him," Jinyoung grunted as an
afterthought. The tip of his shoe prodded at Youngdon but the man didn't stir.

"I'm...I'm sorry," she said, truly uncertain where all this was going. Were they expecting her to drop
to her knees and grovel?

"Anyone can say sorry, girl. I need something better than that."

"Jeez louise, relaxxxxxxxx," drawled the man with the eyebrow slit, "you're scaring the poor girl,
she's about to pee herself. And you Jacob," he called, switching to English with an Aussie accent,
"get over yourself, mate, instead of throwing a tantrum like a girl."

"Well they killed my boner, Chan," Elordi snorted. "How you like it if someone comes screaming
at you when you're getting head?"

"Eh, I'm sure she can make it up to you, won't you sweetie? You're a debutante aren't you? Won't
you fluff him up again?"

He edged forward, shrugging off the hands draped over his body to stand and reach for Rosé's
cheek. She managed to stifle her grimace, remembering that she was supposed to allow strange
men to touch her.

Sell the act, sell the act.

But if they told her to do something disgusting like giving them head, she was going to scream and
vomit and then run for sure.

"What's your name, beautiful?" Chan said, his rough thumb smoothing over her cheekbone. The
motion was meant to be soothing, but out of nowhere, she remembered Lisa lovingly stroking her
cheek and kissing her. To Rosé's horror, her eyes burned as tears welled up at the memory.

God, not now.

"Aww, it's alright little mouse." Chan crooned. "Look what you've done, Jin, you've scared her too
much. Come here baby. Now, wanna tell ol' Bang Chan your name? I promise, I don't bite."

He plonked her firmly on his knee and she had no choice but to pretend to be shy and cover her
face, though what she longed more was to strangle him and then strangle Jinyoung as well.

"A-Anitta," she said after recollecting herself. She masked her voice behind a high falsetto. "My
name's Annitta."

"Sexy. Spanish huh? But you're too cute for sexy. Why don't we call you Chipmunk instead? Oh
dear, poor little chipmunk," Bang Chan cooed as the tears fell harder when Rosé remembered Lisa
used to call her that nickname once upon a time.

"P-Please don't hurt me." Rosé burbled, playing into her genuine tears. "I'm really sorry."

"On my word, Jin would never hurt you!" Bang Chan vowed. "We just wanted to clear up the mix-
up that happened, straighten out the record, you know? We don't really need anything from you,
baby girl, it's him," he added with a hard nudge of his heel aimed at Youngdon's ribs, "that's to
blame for all this."

"I-I'm really sorry to Elordi-ssi," Rosé said tearfully. "But I was just following orders."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jinyoung pick up his buzzing phone, frowning as he listened
to whoever was on the other end.

"Of course darling, of course," Bang Chan said soothingly, turning her attention back to him when
he slyly stroked down her lower back. "So jumpy! Now, why don't we have something to drink and
calm down some more, hmm? We'll get the night back in full swing in no time and you can join us.
We kind of ruined your night too, eh? Not to worry, we can always loosen up together." His
suggestive wink had her breaking out in cold sweat.

Rosé bit her tongue. She had no intention of doing such thing. She hesitated when Bang Chan
handed her a glass filled with cloudy liquor and inadvertently glanced at Jackson in the back of the
room.

Jackson seemed to be barred of these festivities, quietly studying his fingers like an ostracised kid
at school, ignored as though he wasn't even there.

"Bottom's up, Chipmunk. Now, why don't we have a chat first, get you all warmed up before we
have ourselves some fun?"

Jinyoung beat Rosé to the point.

"Absolutely not, she could run back to the Dasoni after this and tell them whatever classified
secrets you blab," he said flatly. He had pocketed his phone. The call seemed to throw him in a foul
mood as he knocked back his glass, his face suddenly dark. "No, I don't want her, or her pimp, to
stay here. They've ruined our night. Jay-J, send her out. The rest of you, throw the Dasoni bitch's
whore in a closet somewhere, we'll get him later." He slammed his glass hard on the table, rattling
the other bottles. "And get me more beer! And wine!"

Rosé didn't have time to gasp before Jaehyun grasped her tightly from her forearm and yanked her
off Bang Chan. The other three Jays were already lugging Youngdon out of the door.

"Jinnnieeee come on, what's got into you, relax," Bang Chan said, seemingly the only one immune
to the frosty glare that Jinyoung was giving him. "Let's have some fun. You've worked too damn
hard to make this showcase a success. You deserve a break. You too, Elordi, come on." He
clapped his hands. "Girls, liven up these poor sods, they need some real good lovin'."

"Chan," Elordi groaned but his gloomy mood seemed to evaporate as soon as a girl landed in his
lap and wound her arms around his neck. Another one of the escorts started massaging his
shoulders and though he stiffened at first, he quickly melted into the feeling, especially when hands
wandered and slipped beneath his clothes, into his pants. "Oh well..."

"See? One down, another to go," Bang Chan grinned, clapping a hand to Jinyoung's back. "Now
for—"

"You," Jinyoung said suddenly, startling Rosé. "I've got a message to send to the Dasoni bitch."

Rosé tried very hard to ignore Elordi's grunts and the feminine moans on Jinyoung's left. Bang
Chan glanced in between Jinyoung and Rosé, his stupid grin fixed on his face and eyes twinkling
as he pulled one of the escorts he had been feeling up prior to Rosé showing up. Yet, his attention
remained on Jinyoung and Rosé, even as he started mouthing down her neck.

"Jackson," Jinyoung called over his shoulder, startling both Rosé and the man in question. Jackson
stood to attention, perplexed.

"Give her the photos," Jinyoung said brusquely, fumbling with his tie and blindly grabbing a soju
bottle before pouring. Rosé tried to keep her face neutral but her insides buzzed with anticipation
and apprehension.

What photos? What was Jinyoung talking about?

She hoped Hani was still listening in—the line had gone dead silent.

Jackson stared from Jinyoung to Rosé. "Jin, you're drunk," he said softly.

"I'm drunk and in a very bad mood because Dasoni can't stay in her lane," Jinyoung said irritably.
"She's always trying to upstage me. I promised my trusted investors some downtime before the big
day. All work and no play isn't good. They came here all the way from Australia and what do I
get? Her infuriating minions waltzing around. Show her the photos."

"But...those were for Jennie and Rosé," Jackson said uncertainly, glancing at Rosé.

Rosé held her breath, wondering if her disguise would be discovered at the eleventh hour. Jaehyun
still hadn't twigged anything, neither did Jinyoung. Bang Chan was full out making with the girl he
had selected as she grinded down in his lap, while two other girls were draped all over him.

"And they'll get them. This girl will be a messenger." Jinyoung snapped his fingers. "You, girl. Tell
this to the Dasoni bitch: Back the fuk off. I'm done tiptoeing around each other. The next time I
catch her or her minions being anywhere near my sight, it's war."

"Jinyoung," Jackson said warily.

But Jinyoung was on a roll. "You, girl. Anitta, you said? You know how many times the damn
cops knocked on my door these past three days? They knocked....fuck, I don't even know how
much! A dozen raids at my properties. A dozen! Maybe even more! She was behind them, that
bitch you're working for. Her and the cop she's fucking. The cops said it was an anonymous tip but
I know she's behind it all."

Rosé's mind was racing. The past three days had been a blur of hacking and barely sleeping or
eating. She had assumed, just like Jennie, that Hani had been mostly waiting around for answers.
But according to Jinyoung, it seemed that behind the scenes Hani and Chanyeol had been busy
indeed, being responsible for anonymous tips and multiple raids on Jinyoung's properties.

Her heart lightened. Hani might have had her reasons for keeping this development low-key, but
the fact remained that she had been doing what she can to bring Jinyoung down before the
showcase even happened.

And Jackson...was that why Jackson himself had stayed radio silent?

"You got all that, girl?" Jinyoung said. He gestured to Jackson. "The pictures. Then she can go.
Take her out yourself."

"Okay," Jackson said slowly. He took out a narrow manila envelope from inside his back pocket
and handed it to Rosé. "You got anywhere to keep it safe?"

"Uhm...my purse...I left it..."

"Let's go get it. I'll catch you later, Jin."

Jinyoung barely acknowledged them, the air thick with groans and slurps as he poured and poured
in between his two friends getting hot and heavy with their individual escorts.
The moment the door closed behind them, Jackson's hand tightened like a vice around her upper
arm.

"Where's your purse, Thorn?" he muttered next to her ear.

Her heart thundered. He'd recognised her! Clutching the precious envelope tightly in hand, she
kept calm, breathing evenly, and led the way, dying to turn around and speak to him, say anything.
But every word she was about to say deserted her and he on his part kept his gaze straight ahead
until Rosé pointed out the room.

Just before she went in, he grabbed her again.

"Listen, there's not much time," he said urgently. "He's on to you. He knows who you are."

"What? How?" she said aghast.

"This envelope? He's been guarding it like a dragon, only letting me and him touch it. No way he
would suddenly hand it off to a random girl, not even when drunk. He doesn't get stupid drunk like
that," Jackson gabbled. He clutched Rosé's arms tighter. "Any second now, he's gonna call the Jays
on you. I can't guarantee that you'll make it out safe, especially now that he figured you're working
with the Dasoni. So grab your stuff and let's go."

"What about Youngdon?"

"He can take care of himself. Can you?" Jackson said tersely.

Rosé's heart sank, fear flooding her anew. She didn't question Jackson's declarations: with
Jinyoung, there's no second guessing.

"There's one more thing I need Hani to know," Jackson said, once she had retrieved her purse and
exited the suite. They started walking fast along the corridor, making haste to reach the end of the
passage and enter back into the main hub of Burning Sun. "Tell her the cult of Tiger King is real,
and they are bigger than ever. I made contact with them, they have a branch here in Seoul. They're
looking for Lisa as well. If we need manpower, they're ready to fight." He pressed a slip of paper
into her hand. "Keep it, just in case. It's their contact info."

He marched ahead, with Rosé doing her best to keep up. Thank goodness she was wearing flat
ballerina shoes.

"What?" Rosé said, barely understanding a word as she rushed after him. "Jackson, what do you
—"

The words died in her throat when she spotted Jaehyun and the other three Jays waiting for them at
the end of the corridor. Jackson pushed her from the small of her back, urging her on.

"What's up?" Jackson said casually when they drew up to the scowling men. Rosé felt all their
baleful glares piercing her, making her shiver. Her mouth ran dry and she was unable to utter a
word. To his credit, Jackson moved in front of Rosé, who tried her utmost to hide her trembling.

"That whore behind you is a traitor bitch. Let her through! She's Thorn."

Death suddenly felt very near, but she was still thinking, still collecting her wits as Jackson tried to
initiate a conversation and buy her time.

"Jay-J what do you mean, this girl is Thorn? Why would she be with a pimp?"
"Outta the way, Wang. We've been nearly bamboozled by this low-life slut. Good thing boss got a
call," Jaehyun scowled. He shoved Jackson aside and pushed up in Rosé's space, who backed up.
"You think you're so smart, huh, Thorn? Well, you got another one coming."

"Are you sure? She doesn't look like—"

"Shut up, Wang," Jaehyun snarled. "The bitch is coming with us."

Rosé backed away, throwing a helpless glance at Jackson who stared back equally helplessly.

To reveal himself now could blow their useful link within Jinyoung's whole operation. She subtly
shook her head, telling him to stand down. She was Thorn, she would have to handle it by herself.

"Don't test me, Rosé. I've been on your side all this time but this is the last straw. You dare switch
sides and work with that Dasoni bitch? What's got into you?"

Rosé's mouth dropped open, all fear momentarily deserting her as she goggled at him. "Are you
kidding me?" she snapped. "You want me to go back to being an obedient dog after all the pain
Jinyoung caused me? He blew up people, he framed my friend, he's holding my neighbour hostage
and my own damn girlfriend is his guinea pig. Don't make me laugh, Jaehyun. Why would I work
for such a monster? Yang is as docile as a sheep in comparison."

"Maybe if you cooperated we wouldn't have to be here," Jaehyun said relentlessly, "but no matter.
Get over here, now. Before I fuck you up worse than Jinyoung will."

"Jaehyun, be reasonable," Rosé said. "If something happens to me, Jinyoung won't be happy." She
touched her neck, indicating the black band all the Jays wore around their throat. "Jinyoung didn't
remove your dog collars just because Yang died, did he? Still keeping you on a leash, I see."

She wasn't sure how she was able to say all that without losing her nerve in the face of Jaehyun's
incensed wrath.

"Jinyoung doesn't fucking care," Jaehyun spat. "You're dead meat once we take you back to him."

"You don't know that," Rosé said, desperately hoping it was true as she kept slowly backing away.
Jaehyun advanced, relentless.

There was no knowing what Jinyoung would do with her once he had her in his clutches. Would
she be executed in some back alley? Or else be reunited with Jisoo? Or Lisa? The thought had her
mind in a whirl.

"Jaehyun, please...I have Ella back home," she choked out, going for the pity angle. "Don't...please,
I'll do anything."

He paused, the angry sharp glint in his eyes giving way to something sinister and sly. "Anything?"

She swallowed, revulsion sitting at the back of her throat. "Anything."

Jaehyun sneered. "Of course you will. You'd spread your legs and open that pretty mouth for
anyone, wouldn't you? That's how you got saddled with a kid in the first place."

He rubbed his hands together. "Maybe we can have a little fun before I hand you over to the boss.
You three, go tell Jinyoung we have the girl."

"What about you?" Rosé asked desperately when the other three Jays left without question.
Jaehyun's eyes gleamed. "I'm going to make sure you are too preoccupied to run." The lecherous
intentions behind his words were all too clear. Rosé wanted to cry as he advanced on her while she
stood frozen like a deer in headlights.

"Jaehyun, what—" Jackson blurted, coming back to life, "come on, not out here man, Jinyoung
won't allow—"

Jaehyun paid no attention, his eyes boring into Rosé. "I've been waiting to have you for a long
time. Jin tried, then Jimin. But they all got smoked out by Yang. I bid my time until he wasn't
around. Now I can have you, with nobody to stop me. On your knees where you belong, slut. Let's
see that pretty mouth."

Rosé clutched her purse and the manila envelope to her chest, shaking. She was too numb, too
exhausted to cry. After all the horrors she had gone through in the past few days, Rosé was actually
angry with herself for not seeing this twist coming. Jaehyun was just like all the creeps that grew
obsessed with her, waiting to pounce.

Somewhere deep down, she had anticipated this repulsive move, knew he had always been waiting
to take advantage of her and claim her, but the fact that he found her at such a low point, alone and
helpless, crushed her.

Just get it over with. It will be over before you know it, said the tired part of her brain.

But that wouldn't be the end either. He'd hand her over to Jinyoung and she'd probably die for real.
He had no use for her, he could use her to hurt Jennie further.

She had to fight back somehow.

She had to fight back.

It won't end here, not like this, not when she had just gotten the important information they needed
to save Lisa and Jisoo.

"Jay-J, let's just take her to Jinyoung, come on, don't be foolish." Jackson was still trying to reason
with Jaehyun, the panic in his voice clear. But Rosé on the other hand was swept with icy clarity as
numbness overtook her, making her calculate her odds with detachment. She thought she heard
muffled gunshots but it could be her imagination running amok.

She was weak, walking on barely a good night's sleep. Overpowering Jaehyun through sheer
strength wasn't enough; he was a seasoned fighter, and he would catch her. Sending a signal to
Hani would do nothing much; they needed the help right now.

She remembered the pepper spray in her purse. And the knife.

"Let go of me Wang!"

A loud click caught her attention, snapping her out of her spiralling. Jaehyun aimed a gun right
between Jackson's eyes, making Jackson freeze and hold up his hands slowly.

"Now step back and leave," Jaehyun snarled. He turned to Rosé, scowling. "You! I thought I told
you to get on your knees!" He turned the gun on her, growing angrier when she still didn't move.
"Get down on your fucking knees bitch!"

Slowly slowly she lowered herself to her knees as he ordered, keeping her head down. She put the
manila envelope and her purse down in front of her, but she didn't let go of them. She wasn't going
to lift a finger more than what she was asked to.

She breathed in and out. She was calm. She was Thorn.

"That's better," Jaehyun said smugly, the anger in his voice replaced with a leer. "Now, be a good
girl and unzip me."

Swallowing bile, Rosé hesitatingly lifted her head, coming face to face with his crotch. She felt
Jackson's horrified gaze on her but ignored it. Dread filled the hollow cavity in her chest when she
undid the button of his pants and pulled down the zip.

Her heart thumped harder as Jaehyun shuffled closer. His cruel hand curled around the back of her
head, pressing her closer to his crotch until she could smell his musk. She stifled her retching, her
mind running a mile a minute as she braced herself for the next command, her hands jittery as they
dropped back to her side, tingling with the need to do something, even with the gun holding her
hostage.

The knife. She had a knife.

"That's it, baby," Jaehyun crooned. "Now, get to work."

Stab him quick. Now.

"Hey fucker!" someone shouted. Jaehyun's head jerked up, startled by the call.

In one fluid motion, Rosé slipped the knife out of her purse and punched it down into the closest
foot.

At the same time, a gun fired.

Rosé rolled out of the way and covered her head as Jaehyun crumpled without so much as a yell.
When Rosé looked up shakily, her jaw dropped at the sight of the man lying face down on the
polished floor. He wasn't moving. It wasn't his gun that had gone off—his lay next to his hand
beside his head, drowning in growing pool of blood.

Jackson had fallen back against the wall, gasping for breath and holding his heart in shock.

"Rosie!"

Rosé whipped around. Jennie stood at the beginning of the corridor a few doors down, eyes wild,
gun in hand, wearing black shorts and a pink leather jacket.

She might as well have been an avenging angel in white robes with fucking wings and a halo,
because in that moment Rosé swore Jennie glowed like divinity personified; her very own guardian
angel.

Rosé's lips trembled. "J-Jen? Jen!"

Jennie tore down the hall like a stampeding bull, crashing into Rosé who caught her in her arms,
crying.

"Jen oh my god, you're here, you're here—"

"You brave, stupid idiot." Jennie was crying too. "I was going mad back there, I had to come, I was
so worried."
She pulled back, smiling tearfully at Rosé. "Dammit, you've made me go soft, Park."

Rosé laughed, heart singing with relief. "Good to see you too, Kim."

She almost went in for another hug before Jackson intervened, bringing them both back to reality.

"You need to go, now," he said urgently, scooping up the purse and envelope and cramming them
into Rosé's arms. "The Jays will be on to you any minute and you...how did you even get in here?"

"Long story, but Hani will bite my head off for sure when we get back." Jennie tapped her ear,
nodding at Rosé. "You went dark on us and that's it, I blacked out. The bouncers at the door let me
through cos' I'm Dasoni now."

"How nice of them," said Jinyoung's voice behind them.

Rosé froze. Jennie whipped around, growling like a dog. Jinyoung had crept up on them but to
Rosé's surprise, he was utterly alone.

"You," Jennie snarled and cocked the gun, pointing it in his face. She wouldn't have missed if she
fired, he wasn't more than a few yards away from the barrel of the gun. "You're going to die."

"I'm sure we all will, one day," he said amiably, hands in pockets. "But tonight, I would think that
it's you two that have to watch out." He glanced behind them and shook his head. "Ah, Jay-J got
carried away with his...manly desires. And the others?"

"Dead, just like you're gonna be," Jennie spat, surprising Rosé with her vehemence. The gun shook
in her hand with barely concealed rage. "Found them wandering. I'm not above getting my hands
dirty, Jinyoung. You've made me the monster, so now I am going to be your worst nightmare."

"Magnificent," Jinyoung said reverently, which only angered Jennie further.

"Shut up!"

Rosé watched Jinyoung curiously, wondering how he could be so calm, wondering why he looked
at Jennie with something strange and twisted yet familiar, something akin to...admiration? Awe?
Adoration?

"Every time we meet, you always manage to surprise me with something new. I feel quite spoiled,"
Jinyoung said. He nodded at her exposed arm. "Congratulations on joining the Dasoni. Your
marksmanship has already improved in leaps and bounds."

"I'll show you leaps and bounds!" Jennie spat.

Jinyoung didn't jump out of the way at her threat, didn't draw a gun from his pocket, didn't even
flinch. He merely stood and waited, a mildly curious expression on his face. Jennie was frozen in
no man's land, holding out the gun with her arm trembling. Rosé looked in between them, mouth
dry. Jackson was glancing apprehensively in between Jennie and Jinyoung as well.

One little finger curl. One squeeze of the trigger was all it would take for their nightmare to end.
Rosé's heart was positively vibrating in her chest as she trembled behind a similarly frozen Jennie.

Do it, Jen, Rosé wanted to say, hate curling like poisonous snakes in her gut, spewing acid. End it
here. But her mouth was too dry to utter a word.

"What's the matter? Gun blocked?" Jinyoung asked mildly.

Jennie didn't reply. The very air around them seemed to hold its breathe.

"Shoot me. Here I am defenceless," Jinyoung said. "I bet you dreamt of this moment. So do it."

"Jin?" Jackson rasped. "What are you doing? Let's just get out of here."

Jinyoung didn't answer, his gaze never leaving Jennie. For several tense seconds, the stand-off
continued, with only the muffled sounds from Burning Sun filtering through the bubble.

"Jennie, I can think of several things that are stopping you from shooting me right now," Jinyoung
said, suddenly very business-like. His face was still flushed red, but he had regained composure,
which was not a good thing. He spoke as though he held all the cards again, grating on Rosé's
nerves.

"Shut up," Jennie gritted again. But she still hadn't fired, still hadn't ended the nightmare.

"You know that killing me won't change anything," Jinyoung said. "There are forces at play that
you don't understand. I have contingency plans for the Tiger King project to proceed should my
demise happen. You would still not get Tiger King back if you kill me. You will just create a
power vacuum. Someone else will get Tiger King, someone with more power. That's the way these
things work."

Rosé's heart sank. Hadn't Hani mentioned something similar? Taking down Jinyoung wasn't as
simple as ending his life, not when he clearly had other players involved in his wicked schemes.
She cursed inwardly, the temptation to rid the world of the snake standing in front of her still very
real.

"But maybe getting Tiger King back isn't the true reason why I'm still standing here either, is it?"
Jinyoung asked. His mouth lifted at the corner. "After all, you were going to trade it, so it's not as
important as you're trying to convince yourself it is..."

Rosé saw the flash of pain on Jennie's face, a split-second expression that was swiftly replaced by
renewed anger.

"Nice try bastard," Jennie growled, "we both know you coerced me into it."

"Whatever lets you sleep at night." Jinyoung tilted his head, eyes softening in a mocking display of
sympathy.

"You still don't know where Jisoo is and I am the only one who can tell you," Jinyoung said softly
and Jennie's face twisted; he had hit the mark. "That must tear you up badly, wondering where
Jisoo is, wondering if Jisoo would forgive you, wondering if Jisoo would look at you again, or
even remember you—"

"Don't you ever say her name again, you psycho!" Jennie snapped. "You're wrong, I don't need you
for that!"

Jinyoung gestured to Jackson. "Ask him. He's practically my right-hand man. He knows all about
Jisoo, don't you? Been keeping an especially close eye on her, haven't you?"

Rosé didn't like the emphasis Jinyoung put in his words, as though there was a subtle message he
was conveying to Jackson: I'm keeping an eye on your movements.

Jackson's eyes darted from Jinyoung to the girls. "I...I, uhm..."

"Go ahead," Jinyoung encouraged. Rosé couldn't tell if that was an invitation or a threat.

Jacskon swallowed hard. "I...I don't know where she is. Uh, she's been...moved to a higher security
lab that I...am not currently allowed access in."

Jennie's face crumpled in devastation while Rosé's heart gave a pang. Jackson's pained face
seemingly spoke of his sincerity: he was at a loss as much as they were.

"So you see, Jennie, your gut instinct was right," Jinyoung said smoothly. "If I die, finding Jisoo—
in whatever state that may be—will be that much harder. You might be too late—"

"Shut up. Shut up shut up shut up!"

Jennie gripped Rosé's hand; her fingers were icy. Still holding Jinyoung at gunpoint, she tugged
Rosé along behind her, circling Jinyoung and Jackson until they were standing on the opposite
side, with nobody between them and freedom. The two men had turned to face them as the girls
moved, like the moon orbiting the sun.

"We're going to leave now. And you won't come after us. I'll get you some other day," Jennie said
hotly. "You hear me? It's not the end."

"As you wish," Jinyoung shrugged. "But humour me. I'm just curious: how are you going to get
out if say, hypothetically, the SOU happened to swoop in here because they got a tip that a
runaway terrorist was spotted on the premises?"

Jennie stopped dead, as did Rosé. All the muffled noises from Burning Sun just beyond the suites
area faded away into white noise as Jinyoung's words sank in.

"You didn't," Rosé whispered shakily. Her body was suddenly heartbeats away from a full-scale
panic attack. "The fucking KNP SOU? Are you kidding me?"

Jinyoung wasn't just threatening them with regular police, but the specialised elite military unit for
handling dangerous operations, especially counter-terrorism.

"Well if they suspect a potentially dangerous North Korean spy is hiding in here, the best units the
KNP has to offer must come to apprehend the suspect, no?" Jinyoung said innocently.

"You told them Jennie is a North Korean spy?" Rosé spat.

Jinyoung shrugged. "What is the likeliest country an illegal immigrant could have come from? An
illegal immigrant that is apparently making terrorist moves, like blowing up innocent people's
houses in unprovoked attacks? Use your imagination."

Rosé balled her fists. The target painted on Jennie's back had just gotten bigger.

"He's bluffing," Jennie declared, hiding her fear well. "He wouldn't risk exposing his precious
secret club like this."

"Wouldn't I?" Jinyoung challenged, eyes flashing in the low light of the corridor. "For you, Jennie,
I'd risk anything."

Jennie stopped short of gagging. Behind Jinyoung, Jackson's face was an ashen mask. And
unbidden, Momo's words about Jinyoung rose from the depths of Rosé's memory: He will murder
an entire village to keep a secret. Her blood ran cold.
"He would," she realised, staring at the madman smiling devilishly in front of them, "he absolutely
would throw this place under the bus, just for kicks."

"How? Won't people snitch?" Jennie said incredulously.

Rosé swallowed. "Not if there isn't anyone left alive to snitch. I bet...I bet he's got this place all
wired up to blow at the pull of a switch if he wants to. We're standing in a ticking timebomb."

Jinyoung smiled broadly and clapped, taking in their horrified faces. "Glad that someone is taking
me seriously."

He turned to Jennie again. "By the way, Ace, Rosé as good as pulled the hood over my eyes with
her mask and dye job, I admit that. She had me virtually convinced she was some common whore
working for Dasoni. You were the one to blow her cover. You're the reason you're stuck in a catch-
22." His face twisted into a sly mask. "You're the reason Jaehyun was going to rape her."

"Shut up!" Jennie's voice cracked.

"Her second time in what, three days now, is it? Seems to be a pattern. A testimony to your
incompetence to protect your friends."

"It didn't happen though, did it?" Jennie burst out. "I killed him and I killed all your bastards and I'll
shoot you in the fucking head if you take one step—"

"Jen," Rosé pleaded. Jennie didn't hear.

"Rosé wasn't harmed because you have the luck of the devil," Jinyoung pointed out calmly. "But
luck runs out someday."

"Don't listen to him," Rosé whispered, clinging to Jennie's arm. But Jennie's wild eyes were riveted
to Jinyoung, enraged yet enthralled.

"The bouncers up front at the Ku informed me after you passed through. They know your face,
even if you gave them a different name. I told them to hold off on calling the authorities. I knew
you had to be coming in here for something specific. It was a bit of a puzzle at first. The Dasoni
bitch you work for wasn't going to send in her underlings for nothing, especially her darling
terrorist. But then it suddenly clicked why the girl in front of me looked so damn familiar. You
were coming in to save Rosé from me."

He smiled mockingly. "The knight in shining armour coming to save her damsel in distress from
the clutches of the big bad wolf."

Jackson's face registered dismay just as Rosé remembered the phone call Jinyoung got whilst Bang
Chan was talking to her. It made sense now why Jinyoung's mood had switched so abruptly.

Guilt reflected in Jennie's eyes when she turned to Rosé in despair.

"Rosé, I-I didn't mean to blow your cover, I just thought...I thought you're in trouble..."

"Doesn't matter now. Let's jut get out of here." Rosé glared back at Jinyoung. Jackson stood behind
him looking utterly defeated. Jennie was rooted to the spot, her gun still pointing at Jinyoung,
breathing harshly.

Rosé tugged sharply on Jennie's arm. "Jen, let's go."

"Always trying to save people, aren't you, Jennie?" Jinyoung sighed. "Always trying so hard to be
the hero. Yet, you either mess it up worse...or they die. Like the Kims. Careful you don't repeat that
for Lisa. Or Jisoo."

"Say her name again you piece of shit, I dare you, say it!"Jennie seethed.

"Jennie stop, let's just go," Rosé begged.

"What made you act so sloppy? After hiding so carefully, why risk derailing Rosé's whole venture
into unknown territory? It's unlike you to lose control like this. Don't you trust Rosé? I thought you
were friends. And by now you should know she's capable as Thorn," Jinyoung chided, soft as a
snake's hiss. "How come the Dasoni bitch didn't stop you from interfering? Something isn't adding
up here. Hmm. What could that be?"

"He's just trying to stall us. Snap out of it, Jen," Rosé hissed, putting on her sternest voice as Thorn
and tugging Jennie's arm. "Jennie, listen to me. Let's go."

A vein on the side of Jennie's temple jutted out, her internal conflict painted plain as day on her
face. The gun rattled in her grip. Jinyoung continued to talk as though he wasn't interrupted,
amusement clear in his tone—he was enjoying playing with his food.

"Unless...ah. I see now, the reason for your sloppiness."

Despite herself, Rosé paused to listen too.

Jinyoung tilted his head, a slow smile taking over his face. "You're afraid of me, aren't you,
Jennie? You were terrified I was going to hurt Rosé or worse, vanish her away like I did with the
others. Losing her would be just further proof to your incompetence. More guilt piled on your
conscience."

"Shut up."

Jinyoung hummed. "How much more can you take losing over and over, Jennie? I know you, you
can't fool me. The cracks are starting to show."

Rosé feared Jennie was about to have a stroke, she was shaking like a can of soda.

"And oh dear, what about the daughter?" Jinyoung trilled, catching Rosé's attention. "How would
you face her? Tell her mommy isn't coming home? Maybe you can bond over your losses together,
since you know a thing or two about being an orphan. Twice."

"Leave my daughter out of this, you psycho!" Rosé snarled. "Jennie, come on."

"I wasn't talking to you, Rosé," Jinyoung said smoothly, his gaze solely on Jennie. The sound of
Jennie's gnashing teeth rang loud, but she didn't reply to his taunts.

"Cat got your tongue?" Jinyoung had the audacity to laugh as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.
"You might want to hurry along. Our police friends will be here anytime soon."

Evil chuckles reverberated in Rosé's ears long after she dragged Jennie away.

>

"What if I shoot the ceiling sprinklers in the main area?" Jennie said, twirling a pair of handcuffs.
She pointed up at a water sprinkler overhead. "That would set all of them off right? We head out
while people are still confused or running around, they won't see us for dust."

Rosé considered. "It could work. Or it could not."

"Can't you check?"

"No phone," Rosé said wryly. Jennie didn't have one either. Worryingly, Hani was strangely silent,
despite Rosé frantically tapping her earpiece trying to get a connection again.

"What if something bad happened to them?" Rosé whispered, voicing out her worries. "And
Youngdon—"

"Forget about them. She's Dasoni, if people mess with her directly, it's war," Jennie said. "We're
the ones in a pickle if we don't act, fast."

They had made it as far as the Ku dancefloor where they found themselves facing a ridiculous
thronging mass of people all pressed up against each other, practically forming a suffocating and
impenetrable human wall. Apparently it was peak clubbing time, right after Jennie passed through.

To dive in and push all the way through until they reached the exit was an invitation for disaster.
Just looking at the whole tightly packed area had Rosé lose her breath. She wasn't intending to die
by asphyxiation tonight, not after dodging so many close shaves with disaster.

But if they didn't think of something soon, she could find herself in a far terrible and complicated
situation. Jinyoung hadn't specified how long the SOU would take to show up but Rosé wasn't
going to leave it up to chance.

"Let's go to the bathrooms," Jennie had shouted to be heard and Rosé quickly agreed, her woozy
head already clamouring for a break from the dizzying heat and noise. The bathrooms were clean
and well-lit, with a strong scent of antiseptic wash lingering in the air. Once they found a relatively
clean stall, Rosé ad Jennie shut the door and put their heads together to think. Thankfully, Jennie
had quickly recovered from the confrontation that had gone down with Jinyoung.

They were both pretending nothing happened, for the time being: escape was the priority.

"What's in the envelope?" Jennie said now, gesturing with the hand holding the cuffs. She held her
gun in the other hand, pointing away from Rosé for safety. Rosé touched the edge of the envelope
that poked out of her purse.

"Jinyoung said they're photos. Of what, I don't know. But Jackson said Jinyoung wouldn't let
anyone else touch them. Oh and he also said to tell Hani something about Tiger King's cult? He
seems to have gotten in contact with one of their people, he gave me this paper with their details."

"You hang on to them. What about the showcase info?" Jennie said tersely, brushing them aside.
Rosé understood; gathering the showcase info had been the main priority. She patted the purse.

"I've got a good feeling on what I downloaded," is all she could tell Jennie, which wasn't much to
go on.

"Well, hope it's worth all this," Jennie sighed.

She leaned back against the wall of the stall and closed her eyes, her brows furrowed. Some noisy
group came in, chatting and cackling. Some girls even knocked on their door, with Rosé calling out
that it was occupied so they left. While the group swore and slagged each other off, Rosé took the
opportunity to observe Jennie.
She was still struck by the way Jinyoung seemed to have singled out Jennie and focused all his
malicious attention on her, making her friend freeze and unable to counteract his taunts, or
physically act. Jinyoung knew just what to say to strike where it hurt Jennie the most. He seemed
to have studied Jennie to a frightening degree and knew exactly which buttons to push. Rosé
shivered at the memory.

Jennie blinked her eyes open and caught Rosé staring. "What?"

Rosé shook her head. "No reason." It was not the time to bring up such a sensitive topic.

"I'm still worried about Youngdon," she blurted out instead.

"Worry about us, we're on our own here, clearly. Hani won't leave her favourite fucktoy behind,
she'll get him somehow," Jennie replied shortly.

"Maybe she'll send in those back-up teams," Rosé said optimistically. "If we go outside and
wait...I'm sure she's anxious to get the information so she won't abandon us."

"I doubt those back-up teams even exist," Jennie scoffed. "She was probably just saying that to
keep our minds at ease. I bet she thought she was too good for Jinyoung and she'd pull off this
hare-brained plan without a hitch." Her shoulders slumped. "Maybe I was the biggest hitch."

Before Jennie could spiral, Rosé jumped in to distract her. "Actually, I learned something
interesting about Hani. According to Jinyoung, cops have been raiding his offices these past days.
Like, a lot. He's convinced Hani is behind them, and Chanyeol."

Jennie's brows shot up. "Oh...that is news. She was actually not bonking Youngdon all the time
every time she stepped out of the basement? Consider me...unwillingly impressed, because she
acted so damn horny all the time."

"Yeah, Jinyoung thinks Hani is fucking Chanyeol?"

"Hani certainly seems into the idea."

"So they are...?"

"I don't know and I don't care. We're fucked if we don't act now."

Jennie cocked the gun, checking it with practised moves to see that it wasn't stuck. Rosé admired
how fluid Jennie had become with handling a weapon in just mere days.

Satisfied with the inspection, Jennie pushed on the stall's door. "Let's just go and we'll see what
happens. If shit hits the fan, I don't know you, and you run."

"Wait what?" Rosé asked.

Jennie pressed her lips into a thin line. "You heard me."

"Then I think my ears just deceived me," Rosé said testily. "Because I thought I heard you say, I'm
back on my self-sacrificing shit again. And I thought we're moving past that."

Jennie whirled. "I'm not self-sacrificing—"

"Go ahead then, what did you mean?" Rosé challenged. She suddenly realised how small Jennie
looked in front of her, as though she was shrinking and Rosé herself was growing. Jennie looked up
at her, her eyes bright and angry pinpricks.
"I meant...I meant exactly that," Jennie relented. "If something happens, we split. Let the cops or
whatever come for me and you get out. I won't let you paint a target on your back if I can help
it. You don't have to be a self-sacrificing martyr, don't stay with me just because it's the honourable
thing to do. You have the info to give to Hani. For god's sake Rosie, you got a kid back home!
Remember her?"

"Oh that is low," Rosé growled, "don't bring Ella into this! And don't you Rosie me!"

"But it's true! You wrote Ella all those letters earlier, for what? So she'd keep them and read them
if you...if you don't go back?" Jennie ducked and shook her head. "I won't let you do that, even if I
have to hurt you."

Rosé stared, speechless.

"Let's just go," Jennie said in clipped tones but Rosé held her back from the shoulder.

"Is this about Jinyoung?" she asked softly. Jennie immediately stiffened beneath her touch.

"What about that bastard?" said Jennie in a dangerous voice.

"He's messing with your head," Rosé said. Jennie's shoulders sagged.

"Maybe. He's...really good at getting under my skin," she mumbled in shame.

"He gets under mine too."

Jennie's hand clenched tighter around the gun. "He said I'm scared of him..." she trailed off, her
voice small, but she didn't contradict the statement.

Rosé took a deep breath. "I think it takes a special kind of stupid not to be scared of him."

"It's even scarier when he's right." Jennie looked up at Rosé, her eyes haunted. "He was right about
Ella. I...I won't be able to face her or live with myself if something happens to you. When I saw
you being taken away...I feared the worst. Do you know what it's like, seeing every person you get
close to being taken? It's happened more times than I care to count. It's like I'm cursed."

The lump of emotion in Rosé's throat made it hard to swallow. "Jen, we'll get through this. As long
as we stick together. I know you have my back. I trust you."

Jennie's bottom lip trembled and she turned away. "That makes one of us."

"Then trust in me trusting you. I know what I'm doing, Jen. I know it's dangerous outside but I'm
here and we're going to move together."

Jennie looked so small and vulnerable, like a lost child as she looked up at Rosé. She absently
scratched her wasp tattoo as well, reminding Rosé of how Lisa used to click her wrist when
anxious or worked up. On impulse, Rosé gripped her hand to stop her.

"Jennie, if anything happens, we stick together and we get out together," she said quietly,
summoning all the calmness and authority she could muster as Thorn. "We've gotten this far
because we got each other's backs. It's you and me fighting for Jisoo and Lisa. They depend on us.
Are you with me?"

Jennie blinked rapidly but eventually nodded, fierce and determined. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right."

"Good. Now let's get moving. Operation Sprinkler Buster is a go."

 Jennie's lips twisted up into the ghost of a smile.

Just on the edge of the dancefloor, as Rosé was bracing herself for the imminent chaos, Jennie
suddenly stopped moving, making Rosé bump into her.

"What is it?" Rosé said, or rather, shouted in Jennie's ear. The party was going strong, and
incredibly, nobody had been crushed yet.

Jennie's face was a blank mask. "How did Jinyoung know that my nickname is Ace?"

The music cut off abruptly, leaving Rosé with her ears ringing as she stared at Jennie.

"What?"

A high-pitched scream shattered the confused silence and all hell broke loose.

Chapter End Notes

:D :D :D don't you just LOVE cliffhangers when you're in the writer's seat
muahahahaaaaaa XD

see you in the next one, hope you enjoyed (i realised i wasn't adding notes here lolz)
 No Time To Die
Chapter Notes

warning: mature

Previously: Rosé gained access to Burning Sun club and got the information they were
looking for. Shenanigans happen, Jennie shows up in the nick of time, Jinyoung shows
up too, taunts them but lets them go, threatening to set the terrorist police upon them.
Chaennie are out of contact with Hani, Youngdon is MIA (after being knocked out)
and the girls concocted a plan to clear the dancefloor and get to the exit (shooting the
sprinklers). Jennie realises something disturbing. Someone screams before they can
initiate the plan.

The moment she heard the screams, Jennie forgot all about confusion and jumped into action.

"Move!" she barked. She grabbed Rosé's arm and dived into the fray.

Due to her short height, Jennie was buffeted from all directions as she struggled towards the exit,
making little progress. People screamed and rammed into each other in the half-darkness, suddenly
in a mad rush to empty the dance floor. Jennie caught several stray hits from flailing limbs, making
her stagger back.

Rosé caught Jennie, arms trembling with effort to stop her from falling until Jennie steadied herself.

"What's happening?" Rosé cried. "Is it the SOU? Or Hani?"

Jennie couldn't think. She swivelled around, breathing ragged as her pulse pounded, trying to block
out the screams of pain and fear around them that raised goosebumps on her arms.

Think Jennie. Think!

She spotted the obnoxious black car that had caught her eye when she passed by earlier, sitting on
its raised pedestal in the spotlight, the only thing visible amongst the roiling sea of darkness around
them. People were already swarming around it like ants.

Jennie took off. "Head for the car!"

"Why?"

"Just run!"

She dragged Rosé after her, intending to escape the crowd rush by snagging a spot on the pedestal
that wasn't as overwhelmed as their surroundings, hoping it would offer a temporary reprieve to get
their bearings.

Glasses shattered, tables toppled, people went careening in all directions. It was a deadly stampede
as the crowd surged around them, running helter-skelter for their lives.

But what were they running from?

Jennie was practically blind in the gloom. People shoved them and almost knocked them over
repeatedly but Jennie and Rosé stumbled on grimly, hanging on to each other's shoulders like a pair
of drunks.

"My purse! The tablet's gonna break!" Rosé said.

"Just keep moving!" Jennie bellowed. "Don't let go, don't let—"

Like an explosion, they were violently torn apart and thrown to the ground as a new surge of
people crashed upon them out of nowhere. At the same time, the lights snapped on, blinding
Jennie.

"Agghhh!" She covered her face, flinching away.

"Jennie!"

Jennie finally managed to snap her eyes open, coming face to face with Rosé a few feet away,
grappling with a burly figure decked out in heavy armoured black gear complete with riot helmet
and mask.

Was he friend or foe? Jennie couldn't tell with all the madness around them.

But she wasn't liking the way he was forcefully twisting Rosé's arms behind her back,
overpowering her easily as she cried in pain.

"Let her go!" Jennie struggled to her feet, only to get another hit in the face from a passerby
barrelling past. She went down again with a groan. When she raised her head, Rosé was still
struggling and kicking out defiantly but it was no use; her hits merely hit the armoured stranger's
well-protected shins.

There were more of them, Jennie noticed suddenly, swarming amongst the crowd and some were
even swinging black batons.

Had her luck run out for real? Had the SOU truly come for her?

"Hey! Let her go!" Jennie yelled hoarsely. She scrambled to stand up, waving her arms wildly as
she charged forward. "It's me you want! Hey! I'm the terrorist!"

"Jennie!" Rosé screeched as the military man swept her clean off her feet and hoisted her over his
shoulder.

"Rosé!"

Rosé thrashed in the man's grip, succeeding in knocking his helmet off and making him swing
around, coming face to face with Jennie. Their gazes locked for a split-second.

Jennie didn't know his face.

But Jennie knew the thin black band sitting snug around the man's neck like a dog's collar, just
visible above the collar of his uniform.

A Jay.

There was no SOU. I t was all a subterfuge.

Jennie's eyes narrowed and her face split in a snarl. "You!"

The man didn't dither around when his identity was unmasked. Turning tails, he fled with Rosé
secured on his shoulder as she yelled blue murder, kicking madly.

Jennie ran after them, buffeted by multiple clubbers, but she managed to keep them in sight. Rosé
succeeded in freeing one arm out and started hitting him on the head, making the Jay stop to try
and bring her back under control, fumbling blindly as he reached for the baton at his side.

Jennie saw red when the Jay raised it above his head, ready to hit Rosé.

But Jennie didn't give him a chance to do so. She didn't think: she was pure motion. She charged
forward, leaping at the last second to snatch at the baton before it hit Rosé. The baton came away
in her grip and she went flying, hearing him curse in her wake.

But it wasn't over yet. Jennie scrambled to her feet, adrenaline spiking as she watched the man
tackle Rosé again. They were too tangled together to risk shooting the Jay.

She needed another plan.

Jennie charged forward, shoving people out of her way and leaping over sprawled bodies. She dug
into her pocket blindly as she ran and found the handcuffs. She had a brainwave.

"Rosé!"

The Jay had put Rosé down and grabbed her in a head lock. Rosé looked up at Jennie's call, her
teary face twisted into a mask of pain as the Jay savagely tugged on her hair, dragging her
backward while she struggled with the arms around her neck. She reached out for Jennie, her
mouth open in a cry for help.

And Jennie was there. Running, she snapped one cuff to her own wrist and the other, she snapped
snugly around Rosé's wrist, getting it on with the first try: practice in the bedroom with Jisoo had
come in handy.

Jennie pulled on Rosé's arm, making the Jay halt with the sudden weight slowing him. He turned to
look at Jennie in disbelief just as she drew out her gun.

"Eat shit," Jennie snarled and shot him in the face before he could even blink. She yanked Rosé
towards her as he fell, making the girls fall on top of each other in a heap of tangled arms and legs,
landing amongst other injured clubbers on the ground.

"Jen—oh my god—what the hell—" Rosé shuddered violently, flecks of the Jay's blood splashed
on her bare shoulder and the side of her face; Jennie could smell its distinct coppery scent. "I think
I'm gonna puke—"

"No time, no time, move!" Jennie urged, making them stand. "Oh fuck me," she cursed when
multiple Jays all decked out in the same riot police gear came running towards them, alerted by the
stunt Jennie pulled on their friend. The Jay in question lay in a pool of blood, his face blown apart
but Jennie didn't even have time to wince—the crowd surged away from the Jays, clearing the path
and hemming in the girls.

"The sprinklers, shoot them!" Rosé urged, tensing next to her as Jennie fumbled to take aim with
both hands. "Now Jen!"

"I'm trying!"

Jennie finally gave up using both her hands and fired with one at the nearest sprinkler, stopping the
Jays in their tracks. The blowback from the gun flung Jennie back to the floor, bringing Rosé down
with her. Jennie groaned as Rosé's entire weight landed on her middle.

Jennie grunted as Rosé struggled to sit up. Her shoulder throbbed, jarred from the gun's powerful
recoil blast and wryly, she remembered Youngdeuk chastening her for firing the gun with only one
arm during training.

"Did it work? Weird, I don't feel any rain," she said. If anything, Jennie felt a blaze of
uncomfortable heat smother them, like the club had suddenly turned into an oven.

"Wanna guess why?" Rosé said. Her voice was tinged with renewed panic. When Rosé moved out
of her field of view, Jennie's entire jaw dropped.

The sprinklers weren't raining water—they were belching out infernos that scorched people in their
line of fire. The sprinklers lit up one by one with a whoosh, exhaling like a dragon's fiery breath
and shooting jets of fire directly below them. People ran, hapless bodies torched aflame and
tumbling to the ground in droves, shrieking in agony.

Jennie's jaw dropped."What the f—"

"Move!" Rosé bellowed, pulling Jennie out of an overhead sprinklers' range in the nick of time as
terrorised screams reached a crescendo.

And now they were truly running for their lives and dodging fireballs. Dimly, Jennie remembered
Rosé's accusation of Jinyoung throwing the establishment under the bus, of covering his ass should
he be compromised. This whole diabolical set-up had to be his doing.

"Watch out!" Rosé violently yanked Jennie to her side.

Jennie cried out as a jet of fire missed her head by inches and grazed her forearm instead, scorching
wind blasting past as she flailed for balance when Rosé pulled. The burn felt like a stinging slap
and a hive of bees attacked her skin simultaneously. Jennie gritted her teeth, blinking away tears of
pain to focus on escaping the nightmare.

Smoke billowed around them, quickly transforming the hellish landscape into a confusing and
deadly maze as they gasped on air. The jets of fire were thankfully short-lived with some coughing
out a few sputters before stopping completely, but this time, it was the raging inferno in the
aftermath they had to contend with. It swept across the floor like a hungry beast, feeding on liquor
and consuming furniture and carpeting.

Jennie sweated beneath her jacket and coughed harshly, her lungs on fire as tears streamed, irritated
by the thick smoke.

"This way, come on!" Rosé pulled her and Jennie blindly followed. If it weren't for Rosé firmly
guiding her to crouch low to avoid the smoke and leading them, Jennie wasn't sure she'd have
survived.

The disorienting landscape, the chaos and terror that permeated the air alongside the very real
danger of being burned alive didn't seem to faze Rosé in the slightest, even though her eyes were
streaming and her face was sooty. Jennie also noticed some burns on her arms and legs, yet Rosé
ran doggedly on with pure determination.

She's Thorn right now, Jennie thought dimly, I should have listened to Hani, I should have—

"Jen, the car!" Rosé called. Jennie swivelled around, squinting in the direction Rosé pointed.
Through the haze of smoke and heat and the horrible smell of burning flesh and hair, she saw a
mob swarming the car, clearly trying to force their way inside.

"They're trying to drive it off!" Jennie realised, quickly adding two and two together, "maybe they
already snagged the keys, or they're gonna hotwire it. Let's go!"

Rosé didn't have to be told twice—they were off running again. They skipped over bodies and
skirted around columns of fire. Somehow they managed to stay on their feet without tumbling to
the ground, even though they weren't best aligned for running in tandem, what with Rosé's longer
strides and their sweaty grip on each other's hands, as well as their injuries.

"You!"

Jennie turned back to glimpse the Jays in riot gear giving chase, a whole six-strong squad with
truncheons in hand. It only fuelled Jennie and Rosé's urgency.

"How many bullets do you have?" Rosé panted.

"I don't know, but I'll make it count," Jennie gritted. She wheeled around and fired blindly two
times at the oncoming Jays. They dived aside amidst shouts, dispersing temporarily and allowing
Rosé and Jennie to race the final few yards to their getaway car.

"Hey!" Jennie bellowed over the chaos when they drew up to the seething mass of clubbers
surrounding the car. Most of the panicking, bloody and injured mob ignored her. Jennie raised her
gun then cursed when the gun only clicked.

"I'm out of bullets."

"Fake it, play the terrorist," Rosé hissed as she bent down and picked up a piece of debris before
lobbing it in the direction of the car. It landed with a metallic thump and Jennie heard Rosé's
exhale of relief that she hadn't hit anyone.

The sound drew the attention of the mob enough for them to pause their frenzied activity and look
up, staring in fright as Jennie pointed the gun at them.

"Keys! Who has them?" Jennie snapped. "Toss them or I'll blow your fucking heads off like I
fucking blew up this place."

She tugged Rosé roughly from the cuffs, making her stumble. Rosé gave a convincing whimper.

"You did this?" A man shouted indignantly. One window of his glasses was missing, and he held
the broken leg of a poker table. "Who the fuck are you?"

Jennie switched her aim on him, making him freeze.

"Don't you recognise me?" Jennie drawled. "I thought I was famous."

"The crazy terrorist!" Someone gasped. Now people around them were starting to recognise Jennie
and she played into it, even mustering a nasty chuckle as whispers and wails of fear did the rounds.

"That's right, I'm the crazy terrorist. I burnt this place up for fun. Hand me the damn keys. Now."

When nobody moved, Jennie yanked Rosé from the cuffs that connected them and put the gun to
her head, all in one violent swift move.

"Please help me!" Rosé whimpered. "It hurts! I don't want to die—"
"See this bitch? Do it or I'll blow her brains out. She's my hostage." Jennie bared her teeth, lips
peeled back in a snarl that she hoped was convincing. "Toss them!"

Nobody moved. Jennie growled and pressed the muzzle of her gun even harder against Rosé's
temple, hoping their audience would crack before she did. Rosé's cries were uncannily realistic.

"Please, please save me," Rosé wailed, "please!"

"You have six seconds," Jennie spat, "before I wipe the floor with this cunt's brains. One...two..."

Desperate clamours rose. "Don't shoot! We don't have it! I swear, I don't!"

Jennie had assumed that would be a possibility, but she zeroed in on the guy with the poker table
leg, who wore his guilt plain as day on his face. She kept her gaze on him as she growled out the
next numbers, waiting for him to cave in.

"Three...four..."

She saw the moment he cracked, resignation reflecting in the remaining glass pane of his
spectacles as the fire crackled all around them.

Whimpering, the man hurriedly rummaged in his pockets and tossed the key. Jennie caught it and
released Rosé immediately, making everyone still.

"Hyung, you had the keys and you didn't tell us?" one of his friends exclaimed angrily when they
realised what happened. "You were gonna drive off without us? You said you were gonna hotwire
it!"

"No it's not like that, I was just going to wait in case someone tried to take them—"

A gunshot cracked through the air and Jennie cried out, pitching forward as the bullet sliced
cleanly through her upper arm. People screamed and dived for cover. Clapping the hand with the
gun to her hurt shoulder, Jennie winced when it came away wet with blood.

"Jennie!" Rosé cried.

"We're saved! The police are here!" someone shouted, "round her up!"

"Run, they're coming for us all, idiot!"

"Wait for us, hyung!"

And then it was chaos and confusion all over again as the crowd dispersed, running away
screaming.

But it was the perfect cover for Jennie and Rosé to drag themselves the last few yards and open the
car door. The mob had scratched up the paintwork pretty bad and even cracked most of the side
windows though they still held strong, but Jennie didn't care.

She tumbled into the driver's seat, pulling Rosé with her as they fell in a jumble of limbs and
bodies.

"Can you get the cuff off? I'll handle the rest," Jennie grunted, her voice pained. She dropped the
gun and jammed the key in the ignition with her good hand, turning it on with feverish movements.
She found the pedals beneath her feet and was relieved to see the dials on the dashboard come to
life.
Bullets hitting the windshield had them flinch, but the glass must have been bulletproof, because
all it did was spider crack from the point of impact.

"Can you move the gear stick?" Rosé said worriedly, eyeing Jennie's bloody arm. "I'll help—"

"No, I got it." Cold sweat washed over Jennie as she gripped the steering wheel with her good hand,
pain lancing up her injured shoulder at the smallest movement. "Fuck, this is not going to be the
end of the road. I refuse to die like this."

More bullets rained down on them. Jennie pulled on the gear stick and they reversed abruptly,
tipping over the pedestal but just hanging in the balance.

" Shit shit shit Jen, that's the reverse!" Rosé shouted.

"No shit!" Jennie shouted back, fighting to get a good grip. Rosé's hand landed on hers and
together, they shoved the gear stick forward.

With a powerful roar, the car shot off the pedestal and landed with a bump.

"Buckle up!" Jennie ordered briskly. Rosé hurriedly obeyed, even leaning over and doing Jennie's
one-handedly with great difficulty as Jennie steered crazily.

Several thumps ricocheted off the car's body: gunfire from the Jays. Jennie prayed that they didn't
puncture a tyre. The ride was bumpy; she tried not to think of bodies being flattened beneath the
wheels, squashed to a pulp as they went.

With the cracks in the windshield and the fire billowing around them, Jennie was practically
driving blind, jerking in her seat as the car drifted and skidded this way and that.

"Here!" Rosé said frantically over the chaos, "I put in directions!"

"Turn left," said the monotonous GPS voice. Jennie didn't question anything else: she spun the
wheel a hard left and they shot through the club, clattering through the worst of the furnace and
shooting out into the cool night air where ambulances and fire engines and police cars were lined
up.

"Jennie!" Rosé yelled as she covered her face.

"Coming through!" Jennie shouted, steering crazily with one arm. People dived out of the way as
the girls blew past like a rocket, leaving the burning club in their wake.

>

"Well, bad news is, the tablet...seems to have snapped in half," Rosé said.

"Of fucking course it did." Jennie hit the horn angrily, cursing as it blared. The pain that radiated
up her arm quickly cleared her momentary outburst.

"Maybe Hani's tech guys can still retrieve the information from inside, like a hard drive," said Rosé
optimistically.

"Hell, they better do something. We didn't almost get barbecued for nothing," Jennie retorted.

Rosé put her battered purse aside because there was nothing else to be said. Jennie felt her piercing
gaze settle on her.
"Jen, we need to stop."

"Not now, Rosé. There's a murderous psychopath hunting us down, I'd rather not chance it."

"You look like death warmed over—"

"Honestly? I think I've had worse."

"—plus we inhaled a shit ton of smoke back there and we got burns, yours could definitely be
second-degree," Rosé said severely. "Let's just stop to catch a breather and take a proper look at
your arm, I didn't even get to bandage the bullet injury yet."

"I said not now, Rosé," Jennie gritted, doggedly manuevering the car along the lane they were
currently cruising in.

The car responded beautifully to the slightest movement and now that the mad panic had subsided,
Jennie could start to appreciate the powerful hum of the engine, the firm steering wheel and the
comfortable seat that moulded to her back. This was clearly a high-end car, a Porsche Cayman
Turismo 4 according to the GPS monitor displaying the car's information. There was an elaborate
electronic display, complete with a few other knobs and dials that made Jennie wonder what other
tricks the car hid.

She had managed to keep driving relatively smoothly after a few near-accidents till they got on to
the closest expressway, thanks to the GPS. There was always a little jerky movement when she
switched gears, owing to her inexperience as well as her injury making her movements slower than
she liked. Traffic and stops at traffic lights were both a blessing and a curse, because though she
did get to relax, then she'd have to put the car back in gear, kickstarting the process all over again.

Meanwhile, after much patient fiddling, Rosé had managed to separate their cuffs from the central
chain, so now it looked like they were wearing matching bracelets. It impressed Jennie that Rosé
even knew how to do that, but not enough to distract her from throbbing in her head, which felt like
it was stuffed with cottonballs. The bleary haze of exhaustion threatened to take over more than
once, but each time Jennie would shrug her shoulder or brush over her burned forearm, and the
needle-burst of pain would make the clouds in her eyes clear, pushing her back to alertness.

"We should pull over and try contact Hani," Rosé suggested. The wasp tattoo prickled Jennie like a
conscience, but she was adamant not to stop just yet, aimlessly driving until they were practically
lost in sea of innocuous cars. She was too paranoid that Jinyoung might send the Jays after them.

"We blew up his time-bomb," Jennie reasoned, "the one you figured out and told him he'd clear out
all the snitches with. The sprinklers were the bomb. I don't think he'll be too happy we triggered it.
He had the Jays back in there come after us too, playing the SOU, the little snake."

"Those were Jays?" Rosé said, jaw dropping. "What in the—"

"He's done with us, Rosé," Jennie said heavily. "It's like I told you back in the forest. When he feels
like it, he's gonna snap his fingers and finish us for real. He's done pretending like him and I still
have the Jisoo swap deal on the table."

Rosé's face darkened. "He's going to pay for everything."

"He will," Jennie mustered to say through a fresh wave of stabbing pain. She shook her head
stubbornly when Rosé cast her a concerned look. "I'm fine. I'll just...we'll drive around a bit longer,
just to be sure nobody's after us."
Rosé bit her lip but nodded, seeing it was futile to argue, so she occupied herself with exploring
their luxurious surroundings. The car seats were coloured a pearl white, resembling clouds. Rosé
had switched on the dome light to see better but Jennie's attention was squarely on the road,
following the directions of the GPS. They had a full tank of fuel and were cruising along with other
cars. Nobody suspicious triggered Jennie's paranoia, nobody seemed to be tailing them.

"Wonder who this car belongs to. Maybe it's one of Jinyoung's friends," Jennie heard Rosé mutter.
"Oh hello, what's this blinking light? Jennie, did you press anything?"

Jennie glanced at what Rosé pointed out: a small blinking blue light just beneath the GPS monitor.
She was sure she hadn't seen it before.

"Well if it's not red, can't mean anything bad," Jennie shrugged and turned her attention back to the
road.

"I hope you're right."

"It's what Youngdeuk said when we were driving earlier." Jennie winced as the car sputtered and
shuddered when she misjudged the gear and pedal synchronisation. "Sorry."

"You're driving, I honestly don't care how good you are as long as we're moving," Rosé shrugged
before turning her attention back to fiddling around with knobs and dials. Jennie got blasted with
music, hot air, cold air and even to their utmost astonishment, presented with a tray of champagne
and champagne flutes that emerged from the console between them.

"Uh...a bit early to celebrate?" Rosé said weakly before pressing the button to send it back down.
Jennie shook her head and fixed her gaze back on the road as traffic cruised close to Lotte World
Tower. The shimmering skyscraper loomed over them but Jennie's mind was churning too fast to
take in the sights.

In any other situation, Jennie would have been enjoying the drive but her mind kept flitting back to
Jinyoung, to Jisoo driving and smiling at her, to Lisa and her stupid grin as she chomped down
bagels, to Momo, to Dahyun, to Somi, to Irene and Seulgi, to...

"Uhm, Jennie?"

"Yeah?"Jennie asked absently as she pulled up to a stop light, eyes on the lights as she waited for
them to turn green.

There was a pregnant pause. Then... "Why is your name etched on the centre console?"

"Huh?"

"Jennie Ruby Jane," Rosé said clearly, making Jennie splutter and whip her head around. "Is
that...your name?"

A loud truck horn blared from behind, startling them. Jennie almost crashed as she shoved the car
into gear and zoomed off.

"How in the literal fuck does Jinyoung know my name?" Jennie growled, gnashing her teeth in
rage. "That's my full name. My old name."

"Jinyoung?" Rosé whispered.

Jennie felt very ill. "What the hell is going on?" she whispered.
"I can answer that."

Both girls screamed when they saw a miniature Jinyoung standing on the dashboard.

"Kill it, kill it!" Jennie screeched. Rosé's hand came down hard—and passed right through the
projection of mini Jinyoung. The hologram glitched with the motion before it solidified.

"Really? You've never seen a hologram before?" Jinyoung asked. There was a slight delay in
the audio, with the hologram moving its mouth before the sound caught up, making the scene in
front of Jennie's eyes even more jarring.

"How...how?" Jennie choked.

"Science. More precisely, classified military grade holography, still in experimental phases.
Perks of having connections. How did I come to be here specifically? I've been trying to call
you—didn't you see the blue light down there? When you said my name, you activated the—"

"Jinyoung, what the hell is my name doing in this fucking car?" Jennie gritted.

He had the audacity to look sheepish. "Ah...this is not how I wanted you to find out."

"Find out what?" Jennie said dangerously.

"A gift. It's a gift for you."

Jennie wasn't sure how she kept driving after that statement. Rosé next to her seemed similarly
stunned. Jennie's knuckles around the steering wheel turned white as she clenched tightly.

"A gift," she repeated slowly. Insanity was starting to take hold; she knew it from the bubbling of
hysterical laughter swelling in her chest at the absurd idea of Jinyoung presenting her with a gift.

"Well, it's probably not how you'd see it, I suppose. You see, I've been dabbling a little in
other ventures besides drug production, my friends convinced me to invest in the automobile
manufacturing industry. I got to build and customise my own vehicle and well...I wanted to
see what you thought of it—"

"Rosé, shut him down," Jennie said, "I've had enough of his shit." It was easier to be brave when
Jinyoung was no taller than a water bottle and spouting utter horseshit.

"Not so fast. I expect payment for your stunt back there." Jinyoung started to clap, a
condescending smile fixed on his face. "Well done girls. You've ruined the night for my
friends, lost me two clubs, cost me billions of won as well as stolen a very expensive car—you
would not believe the cost of adding a few modifications to a showroom car. I hope you like it
Jen, I used your full name for it since you were kind of the muse for it. Did you like the baby
blue chrome for the wheels? And the ivory upholstery? I thought it goes well with your skin
tone."

"You're a fucking psychopath!"

"Also, congratulations. In just one night your tally of kills just rocketed up to seven Jays:
four shot, three run over. Not to mention, all the other people that you ran over and got
trampled and burned. They still have to be counted."
"Don't you dare pin this on Jennie," Rosé said shrilly, "this is all you! You're the psycho who wired
up the sprinklers to blow up! You're the one who sent the Jays after us!"

"You're the one who stirred trouble. I merely retaliated," Jinyoung returned
smoothly. "Whatever were you doing in Burning Sun in the first place, hmm? Surely, the
Dasoni bitch wasn't intending to whore you out like that? Is she that desperate for funds?
How come you allowed that, Jennie? What was she after? Your sister would be enraged to
hear you endorsed her girlfriend's pimping."

Rosé's hand landed on Jennie's thigh in warning, gripping tightly to stop Jennie from retorting and
accidentally blurting out sensitive information. But Jennie wasn't as stupid to take his bait. He was
obviously probing, trying to rile her up and mess with her head. But she kept mum, fixated on the
road ahead, trying hard not to think of Lisa, or Jisoo, or any of the other girls.

"Keeping a tight lip, I see. Well, no matter, it's of little concern. And I am nothing if not
merciful. I have already returned the Dasoni bitch's man whore. Now it's you two left."

"Rosé, shut him down," Jennie growled again, an uneasy foreboding feeling growing in her gut.
Her gaze flicked to the rear view mirror often, checking for the tell-tale blinking red and blue
police car lights.

Jinyoung was too calm and placid for her liking, his lazy smirk unnerving her. It always meant
trouble was brewing. She turned her head to check on Rosé who was frantically pressing buttons on
the dashboard, her brow furrowed..

"Why can't you shut it down? It's not rocket science."

"I'm trying! I can't find where to do it!" Rosé hissed.

"Oh you won't find any," Jinyoung piped up. "That's the beauty of customisation. This
Porsche is controlled by me, if I so wish. You see Jen, I intended for this to be...your last ride
to hell."

"What the hell are you talking about—"

Jinyoung showed her a small device he held in his hand, like a remote. "A small demonstration, if
you will."

The windshield wipers on the car suddenly sprang into action, startling Jennie and Rosé as they
stared at the violent movements of the wipers going back and forth.

"Let's amp it up a little more," Jinyoung said and moved his arm with the device as though he
was turning a wheel.

Jennie felt acid bile rise up her throat when the steering wheel slipped out of her grip, turning this
way and that of its own volition before Jennie snapped out of her daze and wrested back control,
heart thundering in her chest as she narrowly avoided skidding close to another car driving
alongside them. The driver honked at them and Jennie merely hunched her shoulders, wanting to
disappear.

Comprehension slowly dawned, accompanied by a sickening sense of horror.

"Oh no...it can't be..." Rosé whispered shakily. "He's...he can..."

Jennie knew, but she didn't want to hear it. If she didn't hear, she could deny the nightmare
unfolding before her eyes. Her head throbbed, her shoulder stung, her arm burned, her whole body
ached.

Jisoo, when will it end?

"That's right girls," Jinyoung said smugly, "your lives are in my hands. You willingly walked
into this situation, to avoid me. How ironic."

"The hell we did!" Rosé snapped. "Jennie, stop the car! Pull over!"

"Trust me, you don't want to do that," Jinyoung advised. "The SOU currently have you
pinged on their radar and are heading towards your position as we speak. Stopping without
being able to get out doesn't sound very wise to me."

"You're lying!"

He shrugged. "Be my guest and pull over then. You'll make their jobs easier."

Rosé covered her face, shoulders shaking. "Oh my god, Ella—"

"My apologies to you, Rosé, you were needlessly roped into this. But I warned you not to stay
with Jennie."

"Check the door," Jennie muttered. Rosé immediately scrabbled with the door on her side before
she sank against it in defeat.

"I...I can't open it..."

"Of course not," Jinyoung said, as though he hadn't been interrupted. "I told you, it's not wise to
stop if you can't get out. I locked it up remotely the moment I showed up in here. I'm no
amateur. You won't get out through the windows either," he added when Rosé picked up her
seatbelt buckle and frantically bashed it against the glass, "it's reinforced glass. You'll need way
more force than that, more than a semi-automatic machine gun."

"What do you want, Jinyoung?" Jennie said quietly. "You obviously want something, out with it."

He smiled broadly. "Now you're thinking. I want many things but right now, we have a very
simple situation in front of us. You, member of the Dasoni and wanted runaway terrorist,
have cost me a great deal tonight. I want payment or there will be...consequences, especially
for the clan. But if you do this one thing for me, I can forgive tonight's transgressions." He
pointed at the rear view mirror overhead. "Take a look. The SOU should be showing up in
about—"

"Motherfucker," Jennie growled as the red-and-blue light she dreaded flashed on the horizon. A
loud noise in the sky drew their attention: a lightweight helicopter circled around the skyscrapers
looming overhead, the hum of its rotors drowning out the panic overtaking her senses.

"What I want from you girls is very simple," said Jinyoung. "Since our night of
entertainment for me and my friends was ruined, I'd like you to be our entertainment. Chan
and Jacob, you see, they like those thriller action movies, with car chases and big explosions.
So give that to them. You see the chopper up there? It's going to be transmitting the chase
live, just like a real movie! Isn't that fun?"

"You're fucking crazy," Jennie gritted.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"What's in it for us?" Rosé said hotly. "What do we get out of this show?"

In the midst of all the chaos, Jennie couldn't help but be impressed that Rosé was still trying to
change the odds in their favour, no matter how small the win would be.

"Maybe the fact that I don't just turn this car right around and make you drive over and
give yourself up to them? Or that I don't drive you off a bridge myself?" Jinyoung said,
smiling brightly even as his words sent a chill down Jennie's spine. "This is no time for
negotiations, Thorn. This is me giving you a chance to live another day. You might not find
me so merciful next time, so be grateful. My patience is running thin."

He put his hands in his pockets and stood by to watch, mild interest on his face as though he was
anticipating the opening of a movie.

The wailing sirens made Rosé snap out of her stupor and she turned to Jennie with wild, desperate
eyes.

"Jen, maybe we can reason with them," Rosé burbled. "Maybe we can tell them this is all a huge
conspiracy and Jinyoung is framing you, and we can call in Chanyeol, he'll back us up—"

"I'll bet my own life that his pals in the SOU or whatever would just love for you to tell them all
that before they lock you up in the nearest asylum. You think he would be so careless to set the
good cops after us? Don't be stupid."

"Good points, Jen," Jinyoung drawled. Jennie slammed her hand down on the hologram, making
it glitch momentarily.

"Next time, I'll deliver that blow in person," Jennie promised.

"Just like you were going to shoot me in person?" Jinyoung mocked and Jennie seethed, unable
to counter his taunt.

"Okay, then what do we do?" Rosé said shakily, her gaze fixed on the rear window. "Ella...I
can't...I can't lose her, I have to go back...god..."

"Listen to me," Jennie gritted. "We're gonna get out of this. Just sit back and hang in there."

"Hani, we have to reach Hani," Rosé said, frantically pulling out her earring earpiece in
desperation. "Why won't she answer? Is something wrong?"

"A lot of things are wrong," Jennie said harshly. "Listen: the way out is to knock out all the
electronics simultaneously, all this fancy stuff. We could manually unlock the car and the cops
would lose us too. Bet their tagging only works if the electronics are working."

"How? How?!" Rosé said shrilly.

Jennie was past caring that Jinyoung would hear the answer too. The police were gaining on them
as traffic parted to allow them to zoom past.
"Crashing the car hard enough to break circuits," she said grimly as Rosé gasped.

"Jen, but that's—"

Jinyoung mimed holding his chest dramatically. "Why Jennie, you clever girl, I knew you'd find
a way! You don't disappoint. But have you really found a way?" He winked. "I suppose you'll
have to crash the car to find out. How exciting!"

"Aren't you going to join your friends? Leave us alone!" Rosé barked.

"Oh why would I? I will get front row seat like this. And I also get to advise you. Jennie,
you're not using the car's full potential. At this rate, you'll be caught," Jinyoung chided.

"The last person I will be taking advice from is you," Jennie snarled, swerving and narrowly
missing the tailgate of a truck, tyres screeching.

"Well then Rosé, as her co-pilot, the responsibility falls to you. Will you accept my help to
avoid the police?"

"What's in it for you?" Rosé yelled, hanging on to the grip handle for her life as the car lurched and
swerved violently. "You want us dead, you said as much."

"Entertainment. And also, I've been wanting to try out some nifty mods we fitted in this
model—"

Jinyoung's words cut off as the car jolted to the side and Jennie barely managed to keep her hands
on the wheel, her shoulder erupting in a burst of pain. She groaned out and Rosé immediately
grabbed the wheel too to steady her.

"Hang on!"

"They're trying to ram you into the barriers," Jinyoung said calmly above the chaos. "If you
don't do something, they will bust up the car's tyres and force you to stop. I told them not to
shoot the tyres by the way."

"Are we supposed to thank you?" Rosé said scathingly. "Won't they ruin your precious car
anyway?"

Jennie winced when the police cruiser rammed them again from Rosé's side, with several rapid-
fire hits thudding against the window. The glass didn't break but it formed spider cracks where the
bullets hit.

"They will, or you will. I don't trust the car will return to me in one piece by the end of the
night, so make the most of—"

"Shut up," Jennie gritted out, wincing as the grating sound of the cars scraping against each other
reverberated all around them.

"I would if you'd just listen—"

Jinyoung's words cut off as they were jolted forward, jerking Jennie and Rosé in their seats.

"Fuck, they're trying to ram us!" Jennie said when she spotted the culprits in the side mirror. Dull
thuds hitting the rear window had the whole car shudder. "They're shooting at us!"
"Make them back up. Rosé, third button from the right under the glove compartment.
Hurry," Jinyoung urged.

"Don't listen to him!" Jennie yelled. "He's going to kill us!"

"Respectfully, you're going to die if you don't—"

"Shut up!" Jennie snapped.

Another jolt racked the car, flinging them forward as Jennie cursed and gunned the engine, urging
the car to speed up even more, although she was already struggling to keep control.

"Jennie," Rosé pleaded, at a loss.

"Think of Ella. You want the girl to be orphaned because of your pride?You want her to be
alone like you were?" Jinyoung urged.

Jennie had her eyes pinned to the road that she could barely see as she overtook another car, but she
heard the smugness in his voice loud and clear over the wailing sirens. And despite the situation,
she knew he was right. And he knew that too.

"Do it!" Jennie yelled at last, caving in to her guilt. Rosé rushed to fumble with the glove
compartment as Jinyoung ordered.

All at once, Jennie felt the floor beneath her tremble as though she were standing on a volcano
about to erupt.

"You bastard, what did you—"

The car rumbled and shuddered as something ejected from the exhaust with a terrific bang.

"What the hell—"

What that something happened to be was revealed a mere split second later when a burst of orange
light exploded behind them, illuminating the interior of the car, followed by a shockwave of sound
that deafened Jennie, making her almost swerve into the barriers. Debris rained from the sky,
battering the car and making them skid dangerously, both girls screaming.

"What the hell?" Rosé yelled in horror. "That was a missile? And I fired it?"

"It worked great!" Jinyoung cheered. "I'm monitoring right now on screen over here, you
blew up the cruiser tailgating you and two other cars behind it! That should buy you some
time."

"Are you insane?"

"Not over yet! Nine o'clock, get them! Second button."

"I don't wanna kill people!" Rosé said tearfully. "I...I..."

Jennie didn't give her a chance—she leaned over in a flash and blindly located the button Jinyoung
described, pushing before she could think too much and straightening back up.

No explosions happened this time. In fact, Jennie thought that nothing had happened until the
police cruiser relentlessly caught up to them and pressed close.
"No no back up!" Rosé begged. Jennie saw her waving crazily through the window, desperately
trying to signal the police in the car to avoid their doomed fate. "Don't come close—"

A horrible metallic cracking and snapping sound rang out, drawing Jennie's attention just in time to
turn and see the police car violently break away and flip over, spinning crazily into the path of
oncoming vehicles. One car wasn't lucky and crashed right into the police cruiser, the momentum
carrying the fused metallic mess several metres, with more debris and glass raining to the ground.

Jennie wrenched her gaze away from the horrible spectacle.

"Spikes on the wheel hub. A historic technique used in chariot warfare," Jinyoung said
smugly. "That should buy you some time but don't rest just yet!"

"Where do we go?" Rosé asked Jennie helplessly, throwing a vicious glare at Jinyoung.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking," Jennie gritted. Jinyoung merely smiled, watching them expectantly.
Whatever they did, he always seemed to be frustratingly several steps ahead. Planning where to
safely hide and escape the car they were locked in was going to be impossible with Jinyoung
watching them closely.

Jennie felt her head about to burst as she wracked her mind for a way to communicate secretly
when she suddenly sensed Rosé straighten next to her. Alerted but fighting hard to stay calm,
Jennie waited: Rosé was up to something. Jinyoung seemed none the wiser.

Ever so casually, Rosé leaned forward, apparently squinting at the GPS screen as she studied it.

But even as Jennie kept her eyes on the blurry motorway they were zooming in, she felt Rosé
surreptitiously touch her bare thigh, stroking in careful, predetermined strokes. Jinyoung couldn't
see, because Rosé's upper body leaning forward hid her arm from view.

"It's awfully quiet," Jinyoung remarked. "What are you two up to?"

Jennie tried to keep her expression neutral when she realised Rosé was spelling out words on her
skin. She concentrated hard.

Guryong, Rosé said.

Guryong.

Jennie had heard of the place before: probably Seoul's most notorious shanty town (or moon
villages as they were referred to locally), Guryong brushed borders with the uber-rich
neighbourhoods of Gangnam. It was an illegal encampment erected on private land, one of the
city's last remaining slums grimly withstanding numerous government efforts to tear it down. Yet
like stubborn mould, it persevered.

Those first few weeks of financial instability after losing Hwangssabu had Jennie fearing that
Guryong would be her and Lisa's final resting place and even now, a shiver ran up her spine at the
memory of sleepless nights spent worrying about ending up in the land abandoned by the rest of
the city.

Yet that feeling passed quickly when she understood Rosé's intentions now. In a place where
forgotten people gather, she and Rosé might just have a chance to crash the vehicle and escape
undetected, disappearing into the moon village and losing their pursuers.

She just didn't have a clue how to get there from their current position racing down a motorway.
She could barely see anything outside the windows so Jennie could scarcely tell whether they were
still in Seoul or on the moon itself, but Rosé was looking at the GPS screen. She must have figured
out that they were close to Guryong.

Jennie was ready to follow, blindly, if it meant they had a slim chance at escaping the nightmare
they were trapped in.

Listen, Rosé said.

Jennie hummed her affirmation. She didn't have time to wonder what Rosé meant—they were fast
running out of options as the police cars raced after them, gaining alarmingly. She had no idea how
to get to Guryong but she trusted Rosé who seemed quietly confident as she settled back in her seat,
hands clasped in her lap.

"Girls, it's rude to leave me out of the fun. Come on now," Jinyoung coaxed, "what are you up
to?"

"What does the first button do?" Rosé said quickly. "You didn't tell us."

Jennie kept driving, kept an eye out on the squad of back up police cars that were gaining on them.
The familiar swell of adrenaline kicked in, perspiration dripping down the back of her neck as her
heart hammered.

"The first button? Oh that one's a knob, you use it for lasers. Why, you're going to use it?"

"Hmm, a knob. Do I turn it left or right?" Rosé mused, fiddling with the knob in question. "Does it
make a difference? Guess I'll turn left then."

Jennie swerved hard left.

Even Jinyoung screamed as the car shot across the motorway, cutting blindly through oncoming
traffic like a crazy maniac was behind the wheel.

Which, in a way, Jennie felt like one. She was holding only on to Rosé's words, trusting that she
didn't make her last fatal mistake, trusting she could outrun the oncoming cars before they reach
them.

Headlights blinded Jennie, horns beeped like crazy, tyres screeched as cars braked, Rosé was
screaming yet she was deaf to everything else but the desperate pounding of her heart. Adrenaline
blazing, Jennie floored the car, gritting her teeth as they raced like the wind across lanes, narrowly
missing being T-boned by one car, two car, three—

The fourth car hit them like a hurricane, violently and all at once.

They were airborne, smashing and tumbling over and over, legs and arms flying everywhere,
barely any time to even yell out, barely any time to even breathe.

And then the car finally jolted to a stop with a groan, the seatbelt that was holding Jennie back
from hitting the steering wheel chafing her neck. The ringing in her ears gradually gave way to
sirens wailing outside, alongside the pounding pulse echoing in her head.

She couldn't see through the hair plastered over her face. She couldn't see the state of the disaster,
couldn't gauge which way was up or down, couldn't see whether she was indeed still alive or
seconds away from taking her last breath. Was she even breathing?
"J-nn-ie," Jinyoung said, his voice distorted as the hologram glitched, "you, J--n--ie—"

The abrupt silence that fell in the car let Jennie know he was well and truly gone, glitched out of
existence. She allowed herself a single quirk of her lips: they had done it. They had killed the car's
electronics and could now walk free.

But she didn't move. Her body refused to move. Kaleidoscope stars burst behind her eyelids when
she closed her eyes. Her head pounded. Her shoulder too decided to make its presence known as
out of nowhere, a jarring twinge had Jennie inhale sharply.

A sudden frightening thought struck her. Was she dying? Was this her body's last struggle before it
gave up and shut down entirely?

Through the haze of the dizzying hammering escalating in her skull, Jennie remembered and
latched on to something important: Rosé.

Rosé! her mind screamed. The last memory of the girl next to her was her hand hitting Jennie's
shoulder when they were airborne. The car had hit Rosé's side.

Had Rosé even survived the impact?

Jennie barely had the strength to crane her neck and check. The deathly silence in the car was
deafening her, frightening her.

Would Lisa kill me for killing Rosé? Would Ella forgive me? Jennie wondered. The dreadful guilt
pushed her to speak, to reveal her fate.

"Are you alive?" Jennie whispered.

An agonising heartbeat of silence—

"I think so," came Rosé's low rasp, breathy and shaky but wonderfully alive.

"Good. That's really good."

"Yeah. Are...are you alive?"

"I think so."

"You don't sound sure," Rosé pointed out. "How do I know I'm not hallucinating?"

"Have you had hallucinations before?"

"No."

"Look, ask me a quick math question. I'll prove I'm alive."

"I don't want to do quick maths while I'm dying. I don't want to do any sort of math while I'm
dying, for that matter."

"We're not dying. Nobody's dying," Jennie said.

The bizarre exchange was all she had the strength for before the hammering in her head blazed like
a sudden thunderclap and Jennie groaned out, scrunching her eyes shut.

"Stay with me, Jennie." Rosé's voice bobbed nearer. "Hey. You said you're alive so act like it."
"Sorry..." Jennie slurred.

"For what?"

"Guryong...didn't make it..."

"This works too," Rosé said, scrabbling at her side. Jennie felt the seatbelt loosening as Rosé freed
her with a click.

"Is Jinyoung...?"

"Gone," Jennie croaked. "We...we did it."

Gentle hands parted her hair from her face. Jennie blinked when Rosé's weary, sooty face came
into view, hair and makeup in disarray but otherwise wholly intact.

"Can you move?" Rosé asked softly.

"I don't know," Jennie said. "I'm..."

Loud sirens were nearing. The whole world was still doing cartwheels as her brain struggled to
catch up and categorise.

Jinyoung: gone. Rosé and herself: alive. Danger: coming.

Rosé heard them too because she briskly gathered her purse and took control.

"Move your arms and legs. We need to get out. Come on Jen, work with me here."

Obediently, Jennie moved her arms and legs, wiggling them. Besides the shoulder pain from her
earlier injuries, she hadn't added new injuries. Rosé seemed to be similarly unscathed.

"Seat belt did its job," Rosé said wryly, "guess we're lucky Jinyoung didn't think to meddle with
them. Come on, let's go."

Rosé pushed on the car door but it didn't budge. She paused, glanced at Jennie, then tried again,
putting her whole weight into it but nothing happened. Jennie's heart sank as Rosé rammed her
whole shoulder into the door, over and over, panic growing.

"What the...? Why won't it open?" Rosé said, turning hysterical in a blink. "No no no—"

"Try mine," Jennie croaked.

Blue and red lights flashed all around them as the screaming sirens came to a stop right outside the
doors, surrounding them. Dark silhouettes came running towards them, distorted shadows through
the cracked windshield approaching like hulking nightmare demons.

Rosé turned to Jennie in despair, her eyes welling up. "Jen..." she said in a small voice.

"It's okay," Jennie said, her voice thick with emotion. "I'll...talk." She lifted her arm with the cuff
still attached, using the last of her strength to speak. "Hostage. Play along. It's okay. Unnie...unnie's
got this."

In her dazed state, she was already concocting her story: Rosé was her hostage. Rosé broke free.
They crashed because Rosé fought her in the car. Rosé was the hero. Rosé would walk free and go
home to Ella.
Rosé shook her head and trembled as she covered her mouth, stifling a sob.

"Play along," Jennie urged.

"But I can't leave you—"

"Please."

"You promised—"

"Please."

There wasn't much time left but Rosé finally, finally nodded, granting Jennie a slight reprieve.

At least Ella will get her mother back.

The cops conferring just outside quickly figured they couldn't open the car doors or break the
glass, which was why Jennie wasn't surprised to hear the whirring of the hydraulic cutter above
their heads as the police cut the Porsche's car roof to free them.

Rosé gripped her hand tighter but Jennie merely tilted her head back, waiting with eyes closed.

There was no way to run now.

It was over.

She was too tired to feel more than a spark of anger at their helpless situation, her heart clenching
as Rosé shivered, keeping a stiff upper lip till the very end.

I'm sorry, Jennie wanted to shout, I'm sorry, I let you down, I let everyone down.

Cool night air reeking of fuel greeted Jennie when the roof was finally pried open, filling her lungs
as though she was rising from the depths of the sea.

"You crazy ass bitches," drawled a familiar woman's voice that had Jennie snap her eyes open as
Rosé gasped. "Bonnie and Clyde ain't got shit on you two motherfucks huh Ace?"

"Hani?" Rosé squeaked.

Hani peered down at them, shaking her head with a huge smirk plastered on her face. She tipped
the peaked officer cap sitting on her head in greeting.

"At your service," the mobster said graciously as she offered her hand to pull them out. "Now
come on, let's roll before the real cops show up."

>

Jennie heard low voices filter through the darkness, nothing more than an unintelligible hum.
There were other noises too, clicks and clatters as well as the distant background noise of a car
engine.

"Don't do it, she was really upset last time. She doesn't like that stuff," pleaded a woman's voice.

"It's just an extra boost. Besides, she's been taking it the last few days," replied a second woman's
voice.
"She doesn't like receiving boosts without being told about it, you saw how upset she got the first
time," insisted the first voice.

The buzz between her ears had subsided but it still wasn't letting Jennie connect the dots. Who was
talking? And who were they talking about?

"She's still out, the sooner we wake her, the better," the second woman said, sounding closer now.

"I told you what you needed to know, let her rest!"

Jennie decided she didn't like the owner of the second voice very much; she sounded harsh and
mean. But though she was curious, she couldn't bring herself to open her eyes further. The lingering
desire to sleep pulled at her eyelids.

"Hani, I told you what you wanted, please don't do this, if this is about the tablet—"

Hani. Rosé.

And in a flash, Jennie remembered the whole night that transpired followed by their hellish car
chase and Hani rescuing them. There was a blank gap after that, but Jennie figured she'd find out
when she woke up and asked.

"Too late. Pushing TK."

TK. Tiger King.

Jennie's eyes snapped open and she launched forward with a yell, clutching on to the first thing that
came under her grip: Hani's shirt. They crashed against the side of the van as Jennie fell off the
gurney on top of Hani, cracking the mobster's head against the wall. The van they were in swerved,
jolting Jennie even more awake as she reared on top of Hani.

"You....you..." Jennie slurred, still getting her bearings. She lurched when Hani swiped at her
temple, shaking her head to clear the clouds from her eyes.

"Boss!" the driver called from somewhere upfront.

"Keep driving," Hani groaned. "Get off." She grabbed at Jennie's flailing hand but Jennie snatched
it back, fully functioning and alert now.

"Don't fucking touch me!" Jennie snapped, pinning Hani from her throat. "Did you give me TK?"

"Jen!" Rosé cried behind her.

"I said, did you fucking give me TK?" Jennie gritted, ignoring Rosé's pleas and Hani's gasps.
"Answer me straight!"

"I barely did. You beat me to it," Hani grunted, struggling beneath Jennie's weight. "Get off me
while I'm still asking nicely."

"Like hell I will—"

Hani hit Jennie in her injured shoulder. Jennie rolled off with a yelp, curled up over her arm. She
spotted an IV needle inserted in her forearm, still connected, still feeding into her.

How much TK had Hani given her? The thought had her heart beating erratically. She had been
taking small doses of diluted TK, but it didn't mean that she was still incredibly wary of taking any
of that accursed drug.

The tubing led to an IV infusion bag, with a syringe half full of yellow liquid still stuck at one of
the adjacent ports.

"Jen wait don't—"

Jennie ripped out the needle from her arm savagely, squeezing the punctured entry point when it
inevitably started to bleed.

"—take out the needle," Rosé finished, shaking her head. "Come on, let's patch it up."

"Do you really have to be so dramatic about this?" Hani sighed, straightening her shirt as she sat
up. "You've been taking TK the last few days, what's the difference now? I was just about to push
some in to wake you up."

"Is that even medically appropriate, shocking her awake?" Rosé pointed out.

"I'm not in the business of bumping off my gang members," Hani drawled. "For your information, I
consulted with our medic guy before he took off. He said it's perfectly fine."

"Of course he did," Rosé said bitterly. She turned to Jennie. "Jen, are you okay?"

She came crawling towards Jennie. Her eyes were haggard and Jennie now noticed some crusty
blood at her temple, but she had cleared the soot and runny makeup. A bandage covered her
forearm where she had been burned and she now thankfully wore a loose t-shirt and worn
sweatpants. The cuff at her wrist was gone too, as was Jennie's.

"It's okay, it's going to be okay," Rosé said gently. "Let's get you seated."

"How long have I been out?" Jennie wondered once they were settled back on the gurney with
Rosé bent over her arm. The air smelled of antiseptic, sharp and acridic. More plasters covered the
various abrasions on Jennie's elbows and arms.

"Only an hour," Hani chimed in. She had lost the peaked officer cap but still kept her officer
uniform. "Some of my guys stayed behind to coordinate traffic and divert the actual SOU agents
when they arrive. You passed out as soon as we hauled you out of the car. Remember?"

"No I don't remember." Jennie wouldn't admit it, but mortification warmed her cheeks and she kept
her head bowed so they wouldn't notice. This was already the second time she had passed out when
Hani and Rosé were around. She fervently hoped it wasn't going to become a regular occurrence.

"You crashed because you overdid it, in case you're wondering," Hani drawled, catching Jennie's
attention. "Your system was running on adrenaline and residual TK for longer than your body
could take. Once the threat was gone and you relaxed, your body shut down to recover."

And now Jennie was reminded of how Lisa would sometimes crash after having a particularly
strenuous fight that left her totally wiped out. Lisa never seemed bothered, always bounced back
right after, energetic and boisterous. Jennie felt anything but energetic—though she wasn't feeling
like liquid mush anymore, lethargy seeped deep in her bones. She wanted to swan dive on a bed
and pass out again.

"I want to sleep," Jennie blurted. Rosé pat her hand comfortingly.

"You will, as soon as we take care of a few things. Rosé told me what went down. Well most of it,"
Hani said. Jennie glanced at Rosé, wondering just how much she had relayed to her, about
Jinyoung and her standoff, his taunts, her moment of weakness facing him...

"When we get to the safehouse, we're going to check the envelope contents. I already passed it on
to Youngdeuk to check for any tracking chips. Jinyoung might have given it to you to track you
down back to the safehouse. And Ace?"

"What?" Jennie grouched, harsher than she meant.

Hani pursed her lips in a thin line. "I don't appreciate the fact that you keep undermining my
leadership. Your actions have consequences that revolve around other people now, not just you and
your little world. With tonight's fiasco after your stunt to save Rosé went awry—"

"It didn't go awry! I told you, she saved me from being raped! And then Jinyoung came and we ran
—"

"Stop covering for her, Thorn," Hani said.

"Rosé," Rosé reminded vehemently.

"Right. Dony heard Jinyoung talking to his minions when they released him—he's fine by the way.
But yeah, I know all about how Jennie was the reason he recognised Rosé, because he had been
almost hoodwinked otherwise. So, let's not have that happen again, m'kay?"

She sat back, hands clasped in her lap, ignoring Jennie's bitter scowl. "As I was saying, when we
get to the safehouse, we'll discuss our next moves and assess our contingency plans. It's going to be
a tough few hours but then you can rest when we have ironed out basics. Youngdeuk said he
extracted the information from the tablet even though it was snapped. He and Dony are in the
process of de-crypting it with the tech guys so good work, Rosé."

That was a welcome piece of good news that had Jennie's nerves settle, but resentment still
bubbled restlessly just beneath her skin, making her clench her fists.

"Why didn't you come for us?" Jennie said quietly. "The earpieces stopped working and then the
stampede and fire broke out. Wasn't that enough to send in the back up teams?"

Hani inspected her nails. "You were so adamant to play the hero...I figured, I'll let you have your
playtime." She looked up, her nonchalant gaze colliding with Jennie's incredulous one. "Not so hot
you're on your own, huh?"

"You're kidding," Rosé burst out shrilly. "You're saying you didn't send in the back-up people just
to punish Jennie for snubbing your ego? How could you be so petty? That's five-year old
behaviour! We could have died!"

"It was a gamble," Hani admitted. "But discipline must be maintained within my ranks or else
everything goes to shit. You two have to understand, you're not alone anymore. In an organisation,
your actions have domino effects. People see someone rebelling, they get ideas. They would be
just waiting for that spark of rebellion to undermine me and usurp my position. I maintain control
through strict adherence of my rules. So yes, punishing Jennie was one of the reasons I didn't send
in help right away."

Jennie threw herself forward but Hani had been ready. The blade appeared in her hand aimed at
Jennie's throat before Jennie could pin her down again. Jennie froze, the razor-sharp edge just
kissing her skin as the surrounding area erupted in gooseflesh.
"Want to add more decoration to your neck?" Hani asked, her smile grim. "Back off."

Swallowing, Jennie carefully stood back, flinching when Rosé's hand touched her shoulder.

"If we died, you wouldn't have gotten the tablet," Rosé said quietly.

"Like I said, it was a gamble, and a risky one. But I was banking on you two making it out
somehow."

"On what grounds?" Rosé spat. "We were in a fucking fire and outnumbered and Jennie got shot
—"

"The grounds that you have people depending on you, whom you care about," Hani said steadily,
without looking away when the girls stiffened. "That determination to push on could be the
difference between survival and death. And also, it pains me to say this, but that snake Jinyoung
was in a better position to help you."

"Help us?" Jennie barked. "He had his Jays try to capture us in the club!"

"Yes, but once you were out of his territory, he helped you evade the cops. He helped better than I
could have at that point. In his own twisted way, of course. I didn't say he was a saint," Hani
added.

"He made me kill people," Rosé whispered.

"It was self-defence. You think they would have let you live if they caught you? Jennie has
upgraded to being a North Korean spy-slash-terrorist now. You think they would have let
accomplices walk away?"

Jennie felt Rosé trembling next to her. But before she could hug her, Hani picked up again,
addressing her.

"From what Rosé told me, Jinyoung has some sort of fascination with you, Ace. So while he flirts
with the idea of killing you, I don't think he quite wants to do it just yet. His motivations are as
slippery as he is."

"Any other reasons you wanna add to the list of why you didn't help us?" Jennie asked hastily,
eager to switch topics. Hearing about Jinyoung's sick interest in her made her feel ill.

"Just one more. I didn't get my men involved on enemy territory which would have led to a whole
escalation, since Jinyoung already felt provoked by Dony's antics that upset his friend and the fact
that he suspects me and Chanyeol being behind all the police raids this week," Hani sighed. "It's a
balancing act on a tightrope, navigating the unspoken laws of the land around here. You wouldn't
get it yet. But I'll have you know...even if I was gambling with your lives, doesn't mean I wasn't
worried about you two."

"Shit, I think I'm getting emotional," Jennie bit out.

"I was only answering your question," Hani said. She spread her arms wide. "We will definitely
check on the tech and why it went dark on us so that it doesn't happen again. And let this be a
lesson, to all three of us."

Jennie raised an eyebrow. "A lesson for the three of us?"

Hani nodded thoughtfully, giving Jennie the chance to share a mystified glance with Rosé. To have
Hani include herself in the mix, humbling herself and bringing herself down to their level, was
unusual.

Maybe this whole event had shaken up the mob boss more than Jennie realised.

"If you two think about going against my orders, don't expect my help. Rules are rules. If you
break them, then I can break my agreement to help you," Hani said. "And the lesson for me is,
well..." she broke into a slow, rueful smile. "Maybe I should be more careful with the risks I take.
Luck was on our side this time round." She looked at Jennie, her eyes dark and solemn. "You may
have the luck of the devil on your side Ace, but I don't want to be you when it runs out."

Jennie didn't know where to find the steel inside her to face Hani head on after that ominous
statement.

"I'll just have to make sure it doesn't run out, then."

They held a staring contest for a few seconds longer before Hani ducked her head first.

"How close are we?" she called to the driver.

"ETA thirty-five minutes," he responded.

"Great. Nobody talk to me. And by nobody I mean you, Hani," Jennie added.

Hani shrugged. "No offence taken."

Jennie lay back on the gurney and patted the space next to her. She nodded at Rosé. "Come on up."

Rosé didn't have to be told twice. She scrambled up and squeezed next to Jennie on her side, their
faces inches away from each other but Jennie didn't care. Rosé didn't seem to care much either,
though she flailed with her hands trying to settle comfortably until Jennie solved the problem for
her by catching both of them and resting them just below her sternum.

For a beat, they lay there, looking into each other's eyes, letting the sounds around them wash over
them as they grounded themselves in each other's presence, somehow very much alive after the
nightmare they escaped. Unsurprisingly, Rosé's eyes were glossy with unshed tears.

"Jen..."

"Yeah," Jennie rasped, understanding perfectly all that the girl next to her was trying to convey
with just her eyes. The memory of Rosé on her knees in front of the Jay seared red-hot through
Jennie's mind's eye, making her wince.

If she had been just a little late...

"I killed people," Rosé whispered.

"You didn't know. Hani's right, it was self-defence. We'd be in a jailhouse right now. Jisoo and
Lisa would never be saved."

"I know but...I don't know why I'm so torn up about it, I killed Yang without even...I don't know."

"It was all out of nowhere," Jennie comforted. "Yang, you knew him and he hurt you. But those
other people...they were innocent, I guess," she finished with a wince, hoping she hadn't inevitably
made it worse for Rosé.
Rosé shuddered. "Jinyoung is a monster."

"He really is." It was Jennie's turn to feel ashamed. "I couldn't kill him."

"I think you were right to hold back. We can't mess around when it comes to Jisoo or Lisa's lives,"
Rosé comforted. Jennie squeezed her hands a little tighter.

"You know something? I'm really hungry."

Rosé smiled wistfully. "Chicken sounds good right now. Cooked chicken."

"Yeah, cooked. Barbecued. Fried chicken skewers," Jennie said, salivating at the thought of
chicken skewers smothered in sauce.

"Grilled chicken salad." Rosé said dreamily.

"Oh I see you there with the healthy choice. I do like me some chicken salad. Crispy, not grilled."

"Crispy is fine. What else?"

"Baked."

"Isn't that the same as roasted?"

"Steamed chicken then."

"Steamed? No spices or anything?" Rosé said, wrinkling her nose in distaste.

"It's healthy though?"

"That's not—"

"Or boiled. As long as it's not raw. Anything but raw. Whatever were we thinking before? Raw
sounds disgusting."

"Boiled?" Rosé asked. "Like chicken broth?"

"Sure, but I was thinking just boiled chicken. I'll eat anything right now, except raw chicken."

She almost chuckled when Rosé pulled a face at the 'boiled chicken' part. Hani was giving them
the side-eye, no doubt unnerved by their odd banter. It seemed to be their trademark coping
mechanism after enduring some traumatic event.

"When the doors got stuck, I thought we were goners," Rosé said soberly, switching back to
serious territory.

Jennie resisted the urge to shrug away the fear that welled up in her at the memory. "Me too."

"I was so scared."

"Me too," Jennie whispered. Admitting it out loud made it seem so much more real, how close she
had been to giving up, how close she had been to simply giving in and let herself be carted away to
whatever prison cell awaited her.

"You were still going to sacrifice yourself. You promised we'd do this together," Rosé reproached.

The ghost of a smile made Jennie's lips twitch. "Guess I managed to deceive the infamous Thorn
then. Is there a prize I need to claim?"

"Yes, a sound whooping of your ass."

"Kinky."

Jennie hadn't meant to blurt it out but she decided she didn't mind when Rosé burst out in a fit of
snorting giggles. Hani let out what sounded suspiciously like a bark of laughter, hastily disguised as
a cough.

>

"First order of business, let's review the results of this operation," Hani said, looking at the twins
and the girls one by one. "It was pulled off successfully overall and we have the information
needed to infiltrate Jinyoung's showcase. Well done Youngdon and Rosé. Youngdeuk and Jennie, I
will be lenient with you two this one time because we need all hands on deck."

She tapped the kitchen island counter, where they had all congregated. In front of Hani was a
single sheet of paper with words on it that Jennie presumed Youngdeuk had pulled from the tablet,
the envelope Jinyoung had given Rosé, and the slip of paper Jackson had given her with the cult's
info.

Hani picked up the latter. "Second order of business," Hani said. She bent down, opened the
drawer and tossed the sliver of paper in the trash. "Now, third order of business—"

"Wait you're going to just throw it out?" Rosé blurted, beating Jennie to it.

"I have no interest in aligning myself with those creeps and their questionable agenda," Hani said
dismissively. "We have manpower and I'm not looking for direct confrontations. This is a game of
outsmarting the other party and stealing Tiger King, not fighting to get it. Besides, the more
different people join us, the more underlying motives we would have to contend with. You think
the cult would be happy to let Lisa be just Lisa?"

Rosé bit her lip and fell silent, seeing the reasoning behind her words.

"Moving on," Hani said. She pushed the sheet of paper towards Rosé and Jennie. "Here is the
coordinates and time for the showcase that Youngdeuk retrieved. You will also find instructions on
dress code and a unique pass code number." She nodded at Rosé. "Apparently a different passcode
is generated every time this file is accessed. Which means we have everything we need to attend as
perfectly legitimate attendees."

"But...they'll recognise you," Jennie frowned.

"No they won't." Rosé jabbed her finger towards the bottom of the sheet and Jennie read:

_DRESS_CODE: _BUSINESS_FORMAL_ (+) _MASK_TIGER_

"He's treating this like a business conference? What a joke," Jennie snorted. "And what, so you
have to wear an animal mask to hide your identity?"

"Yes. Of course, if you're attending something that could be very liable to attendees, you want to
stay anonymous. That's a plus for us. What interests me far more is this," Hani said, indicating the
next line.

_BLUEPRINT_51_DESIGN_
_BLUEPRINT_52_MATERIAL_

"We have to make our own mask according to the design and material assigned in the blueprint,"
Youngdeuk piped up.

"Huh, didn't know Jinyoung was into arts and crafts," Jennie muttered, earning a snicker from
Youngdon and Youngdeuk.

"Actually I was talking about the numbers there," Hani mused. "51 and 52. What can you tell me
about it?"

"It's a list," Rosé realised suddenly. "Just as the file I downloaded generated a new passcode, it's
giving a new mask every time. So you have its own individual design and material assigned to it.
Not everyone will have a tiger mask. And if two blueprints are being generated every time, then
there is at least...25 other people that have downloaded this file. I don't know if it's from the same
location or not. But yeah, it looks like we are the 26th."

"Very good Rosé," Hani smiled as the twins and Jennie looked on, impressed. "We don't know the
other people, but it's a start and I can hazard some guesses."

"Other head honchos of Seoul?" Jennie said shrewdly.

"Yeah, those that are in league with him. But you don't have to worry about them, leave that to me.
Now, have you recognised the showcase location yet?" Hani asked.

The time was set for 23:00 hrs but otherwise, the jumble of numbers and coordinates that came
after were indecipherable to Jennie.

"I don't know coordinates," Rosé shrugged.

"Then let's not keep you in suspense any longer." Hani snapped her finger and Youngdeuk passed
her his trusty tablet. "When we input the coordinates on the map, we get...here."

Jennie stared at the red marker until it blurred before her eyes.

"Isn't that...Jen, isn't that..." Rosé said, her mouth falling open.

"The Slammer," Jennie said at last. "That fucker is holding the showcase at the Slammer. Of
course. He sponsors the place and they're on their summer break right after the Grand Slam was
done. The sheer nerve of him—"

"Jackson and I had our hunches, but this confirms it," Hani nodded. "Which is good since you,
Jennie, know the layout and you'll be on the field with the twins. Your knowledge will be crucial.
Rosé, you'l be staying with me."

Rosé looked like she was going to protest that decision but Jennie jumped in before she could
speak.

"I'll get Lisa back," she said quietly. "You'll have all the time in the world to catch up but let me be
the first point of contact. If things get violent...well, you'll be safe."

"And besides, I will need you with me to keep in contact with her and the twins, and make sure
everything works smoothly," Hani added. She put the tablet away. "We can discuss the operation in
further detail in a moment. Let's see what the envelope has."
Jennie knew even before Hani brought out the photos that it was going to be bad. After all, this was
Jinyoung. She reached out to Rosé instinctively and met the other girl's hand in the middle. They
clasped hands tightly, suddenly clammy.

Hani had pulled on thin latex gloves, then pulled out the sheaf of square photos, not unlike
polaroids in size and shape, and spread them out, amounting to ten.

"No! What did he do to them?!" Rosé cried out in horror. Her knees suddenly gave way and she
staggered against the counter. Youngdeuk, who was the nearest, only barely managed to reach her
in time to catch her before she fell. She sagged against his chest, crying.

Jennie was frozen, unable to comprehend what she was seeing.

Five of the photographs featured a naked slender, feminine figure, while the other half also
featured a naked woman, but more robust and muscular. They seemed to be in some dark, dingy
cell, their skin gleaming ghoulishly in the pale light of the camera flash.

Though both their heads were cropped out, Jennie recognised them straight away. The nude,
mutilated, bruised figures in chains were none other than Lisa and Jisoo. They had taser burns all
over their chests and bellies, purple-green bruises down their arms and legs, and dried crusty blood
trails everywhere, skin raw and busted over the knuckles.

The room started to spin and Jennie had to grip on the edge of the counter to steady herself.

Rosé was breathing erratically next to her, the buzz of Hani's incoherent words fading into the
background. And then all at once, something inside Jennie snapped.

"What did he do to her?!"

Youngdeuk pounced and held on tightly as Jennie screamed.

"Jen!"

"No no no no no!" Jennie sobbed, thrashing in his grip. "Jisoo! Jackson said she wasn't tortured!
He said....he said—"

"Are you sure that's them? He could be messing with you both—"

"I know Lisa!" Rosé snarled at Hani.

"I know my fucking girlfriend!" Jennie snapped at the same time.

"Do you want to be sedated?" Hani asked mildly.

If looks could kill, Hani would have been dead several times over with the double glare Jennie and
Rosé shot her.

"That's her. He fucking hurt her that sick bastard!" Jennie seethed.

"Jackson said Jinyoung was using TK on Jisoo...but this...this is the work of a sadistic monster,"
Rosé croaked. "And Lisa...oh Lisa..."

"The bruises on the arms and legs seems to be from repeated needle use," Hani said, inspecting the
grisly photos. "I should know, I've encountered junkies in my clubs. Jinyoung has definitely been
using TK on them. And see here, this is Lisa, you say? See the skin here? Did she always have
those stretch marks over there, over her arm?"
Jennie couldn't help but be in awe how Rosé pulled herself together and despite the dread on her
face, she leaned forward to check what Hani was pointing at.

"No I don't think so..."

"Rapid cellular growth in a short period of time, the skin isn't catching up," Hani mused. "Jinyoung
has been pumping her with TK. Same for Jisoo, Jen, take a look at this."

But Jennie couldn't. Every time she looked at Jisoo's beautiful milky body, marred by cruelty, guilt
overwhelmed her.

"Jackson was removed from overseeing Jisoo the day after he brought you here. It's one of the last
updates he gave me. These bruises and burns—on Jisoo especially—look recent. So maybe he
amped up the torture when Jackson was no longer around to hold him back."

Jennie didn't care. What mattered was that she still hadn't done anything to save Jisoo, and still
didn't know when rescuing Jisoo was going to happen. By stealing Lisa, Jinyoung might blackmail
them even harder and torture Jisoo to make them surrender Lisa right back to him. They would be
stuck back to square one.

Who knew when Jinyoung would snap and straight up kill Jisoo? Jennie immediately banished the
idea.

"We have to get them back right away," Rosé said. "Not just Lisa. Jisoo is suffering a lot too.
Maybe we can do a two-pronged attack? While Jinyoung is at the showcase, another team ransacks
his properties....Hani, we can't just..." she wilted beneath Hani's severe look.

"He's messing with you both," Hani said sternly. "Get a grip. He knows it will affect you to see
your girls like this. I told you both I am trying to avoid escalations and wars here. Unfortunately, it
means...casualties."

"Jisoo better not be a casualty you fucking bitch—" Jennie's voice cut out when Youngdeuk's arms
tightened around her. She had forgotten he was still holding her in his clutches.

"We're trying here. It's a tightrope situation. If you have any idea where Jisoo is, I'd love to take up
Rosé's plan. But nobody knows, do they?"

Jennie gritted her teeth.

You won't kill me because you don't know where Jisoo is. Only I can tell you, Jinyoung sneered in
her memory.

"So no, I don't think it's feasible to waste time assembling teams and resources to raid all his
properties across Seoul. The cops were useless despite multiple raids, so I don't want to play cocky
and assume that we'll be successful," Hani finished.

She sifted through the photos, pursing her lips then glanced up. "Dony, take the blueprints and get
the team started on the masks, we'll need them ASAP. Youngdeuk, meet with the tech guys and
figure out what went wrong with the earpieces, we'll need them up and running smoothly for the
showcase. Beat it."

Youngdeuk slowly let go of Jennie, releasing her entirely when she didn't make any sudden move
but slumped on the counter lifelessly. He picked up his tablet and left with Youngdon without
another word or glance back.
"You're dismissed," Hani said softly, making both Jennie and Rosé look up, abruptly startled out of
their anguish. "We'll talk more in a few hours. It's been a long night, go sleep it off." She let out a
wry chuckle when the two girls merely stared at her. "Yes, I do have a heart sometimes. Go, I need
to call Channie to update him."

"These photos can be proof right?" Rosé said suddenly. "Proof that Jinyoung has kidnapped people
and is breaking the law." Her eyes held a renewed sense of determination that had Jennie's hope
spark just a tiny bit.

"That's a possibility I'm going to bring up with Chanyeol, yes," Hani nodded. "But don't get too
excited just yet. Jinyoung was careful to keep the photos anonymous for a reason."

>

They took a quick shower together, with Rosé helping Jennie undress and then dress since her
shoulder was still giving her trouble, making her movements slow. She wanted to get done quickly
to crawl in bed and fall asleep.

But sleep left Jennie the moment her head touched the pillow, the memories of the night all rushing
back at once like water flowing out of a tap.

"How are we supposed to sleep?" Jennie whispered. She sensed Rosé turning to face her. It was the
first time Rosé was joining her in bed in days, after she had gotten sucked into hacking Jinyoung's
accounts on the hunt for information.

"I don't know," Rosé said. Jennie turned to face her carefully, wincing as she tweaked her shoulder.

"You should take more TK, to help it get better," Rosé said softly. "TK Beta isn't as bad as the
others."

Jennie grimaced. "I suppose I will have to if I'm going to face Lisa. I need to be in the best shape I
can be." She swallowed, wondering whether to voice out her dread. "I...I don't know what state she
will be in. I don't know what she will be like. I..."

"You can handle it. You won't be alone."

"It's not that. I..." Jennie sighed. "I can't guarantee you anything Rosé. I'll do my best to get Lisa
back, safe and sound. But I can't guarantee it will be...like before."

Rosé was quiet for a minute, letting Jennie's words sink in. Jennie couldn't see her face very well in
the dark but Rosé's eyes were two reflective pinpricks and she fixed her gaze on them.

"I know that." Rosé said at last. "I just want Lisa to be okay and away from that monster. That's all
I'm focusing on right now. And if...if things aren't the same after...well, I'll still have the
memories."

Jennie knew when Rosé started crying: she had gotten attuned to her tells, the croaky waver in her
voice, the barely audible sniffle. She shuffled forward until she was hugging her and Rosé cried in
her shoulder.

"Jen, I miss her so much," Rosé wept. "And all I'm doing is crying over her."

"No, you're instrumental in getting her back. You're doing what you can. You got the info we
needed." Jennie rubbed her back in circles, swallowing the lump in her throat. "But that's how I feel
about Jisoo too. I know that we're working on rescuing her as well, but everything is so
frustratingly slow and I'm just stuck."

It was Rosé's turn to stroke circles in Jennie's back, but Jennie didn't want to sink into spiralling.
She pushed Jisoo away for the time being, knowing she will see her shortly in her dreams.

"Tell me about your time with Lisa. What memories do you like best?"

"There's...a lot," Rosé said, uncharacteristically shy.

"Keep it PG," Jennie prompted.

That earned her a little wistful chuckle. "Well, the ones I remember off the top of my head right
now...when she said 'I love you', when we went to Everland, when we did pilates together and she
could be so naughty trying to tickle me instead of working out, when she helped me cook, when
she played with Ella, when she came to Ella's concert, when she kissed me, when we cuddled...I
could keep going."

Jennie smiled sadly, wishing she could have treated Lisa differently. It was like hearing about a
total stranger, not her sister. Regret and guilt, that was all she seemed to be feeling lately: regret for
treating Lisa as anything but human, guilt for side-lining her in favour of prioritising Jisoo.

"That sounds beautiful," Jennie said.

"It is. And I'm not giving up on having all that back just yet. Neither should you. You can have
your sister back too, Jen."

Jennie didn't make a sound when tears welled up and ran down her cheeks, but Rosé noticed
because she hugged her tighter and that's how they drifted off to sleep: dreaming of happier times
whilst comforting one another the only way they could.
 The Secrets of Our Fathers
Chapter Notes

Part 1 of 2 (double update)

Previously:

chaennie escaped from Burning Sun club and got involved in a high octane car chase
with police. jennie crashes the car to break the connection with jinyoung. hani
retrieves them. the information rosé downloaded from the dead drop needed to
infiltrate the showcase is successfully extracted and they learn it is going to be held at
the Slammer. chaennie also view some disturbing photographs of tortured lisoo that
jinyoung had passed on to rosé.

hani promises to talk with chanyeol about using the photos as evidence against
jinyoung. chaennie reminisce in bed together, especially about lisa since the plan is to
extract her first and use her as leverage to get jisoo back. jennie expresses her doubts
about lisa's state but rosie is tentatively hopeful that things will turn out ok. in the face
of her optimism, jennie feels guilty for treating lisa inhumanely before but rosé
comforts her with the

trigger warning: mature and graphic scenes of violence. I'm not kidding, things get
dark.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

"I'm not liking this, Dasoni," Chanyeol frowned, poring over the data in front of him. The low light
of the lamp wasn't helping his pinched eyes. But his paranoia had ramped up lately and since a
notorious mob boss was presently sitting in his kitchen, he was wary of flooding his apartment with
light, as though it were a beacon to call attention of all the neighbourhood that he was up to
something illegal.

"Well, good thing I didn't come here for your opinion, Channie," she purred, impertinent as
always. He closed his eyes, trying not to breathe in too deeply. The foul cigarette smoke clogged
his lungs but he suppressed the urge to crush her awful cigarettes beneath his heel.

He was only tolerating her brazen behaviour because she had summoned him for an emergency
meeting at his apartment, no less than an hour after the disaster on the motorway. He had seen the
fiasco go down and left while the office was still rife with speculations and furious condemnations
of terrorists.

Chanyeol looked down again at the papers strewn with numbers and information. "Let me get this
straight, your plan is to sneak in and steal Tiger King? Just like that? Sounds flimsy, coming from
you."

"Jennie knows the Slammer so she will be an asset during infiltration. The twins will make up for
her inexperience and support her to locate her sister."

Her sister. Chanyeol gave himself a little shake for forgetting that crucial detail.
"I know but still, going in there like that..." The knot of anxiety in his stomach tightened as he
scanned the information obtained from the file Rosé had downloaded. "There's so little time to
prepare."

"Lucky you, you're not involved this time." She dropped her light tone. "I admit it's not ideal, but
it's the quickest option for the time we're working with. Not to mention, the best opportunity.
Jinyoung will be forced to show us Tiger King. Your boys in blue haven't had much success
finding her. Wherever he was hiding it, he was hiding it well. When else are we going to get such
an opportunity where it's out in the open?"

He had to concede she had a point. The secret raids had only served to piss off Jinyoung, according
to Jennie and Rosé, who had returned with a message for Dasoni to back off.

"The longer Jinyoung has Tiger King in his clutches, the more he solidifies his claim over it.
Remember, TK-Ultra is addictive. It's a race against time. There's more at stake than just Tiger
King too," she added.

"Kim Jisoo," Chanyeol said heavily, finding the gruesome photos amongst the loose sheets. It was
enough to make even someone as hardened as himself wince from the senseless cruelty.

Hani paused, tapping the ash from her cigarette on the edge of a ceramic plate he had never used.
"The longer that snake has her, the longer she'll suffer. Her and Ace."

Chanyeol grudgingly had to count himself surprised when he first heard of her apparent change of
heart about Tiger King, forcing himself to once again re-asses his opinion of the woman sitting in
front of him. She was an enigma, hot and cold, ruthless yet caring, purring up a storm one moment
then ignoring him or treating him like a naive child the next.

If he only she came with a manual to understand better...

"Jinyoung is so far up his ass, he won't think that anybody would dare to just snatch Tiger King
from under his nose," Hani was saying. "If we time it carefully, we can do it. I'll figure it out in
time. We'll scope out the surroundings beforehand as well and have backup."

"Have you considered, what if Tiger King is not there? What if Jinyoung deems it too precious to
risk bringing out of its hiding place?"

"It will be there. Tiger King is at the centre of this whole showcase. He'll show it off." Hani tapped
a sheet of paper. "My tech team dug out more information from the file. They decoded a whole
timetable for the event, with times and everything. I think 'Tiger King Prime: Presentation' speaks
for itself, doesn't it? That's going to come after 'Showcase Launch' and 'Introductory Address', and
right before 'Tiger King Demonstration'.

She smiled when Chanyeol remained silent. "Very meticulous, isn't he?"

Thinking about the slippery rat in any capacity had him clench his fists, and he paced, concocting
the crackdown in his head.

"I have to stop him. I'll crack down on this showcase thing with my men, I'll ambush him and he
won't know what hit him, and I'll rescue Tiger King— I mean, Lisa—"

"You'll do no such thing, my dark knight," Hani purred, making Chanyeol huff with irritation. Just
when he thought they had embarked on some tentative agreement, the woman revealed her usual
infuriating moves, relegating him to the side like a useless prop.
"And why is that?"

"We don't know which of the rat's moles are still lurking around you. You could be compromised."
She took a long drag then exhaled, plumes of smoke spiralling towards the ceiling. "Besides, I
want to get my hands on Tiger King. I promised the girls I'd dispose of it, so Lisa can be free.
Involving the authorities would infinitely complicate matters. And without Tiger King, you'd be
missing a crucial piece of evidence to indict Jinyoung now, wouldn't you?"

"So Jinyoung won't be brought to justice?" he asked roughly.

"Oh he will. My justice," she promised, eyes glinting.

"Well, why are you telling me then?" he challenged, stopping to look her hard in the eye. "Why
show up at my apartment at four in the morning to tell me about something that I am apparently
barred from stopping—which by the way, you have absolutely no authority to order—"

"I have all the authority in the world," she cut in fiercely and stood up.

"Oh really? No doubt bestowed upon you by the high and mighty Buddha himself!" he retorted.
Chanyeol didn't flinch when she crossed the room and stood toe to toe with him, bringing with her
the acrid smell of cigarette smoke, sharp and bitter.

"You don't take me seriously. Nobody does," Dasoni said quietly. "That's the price I pay for being
a woman. I have fought to earn respect, I have painted my hands with blood to make people
goddamn look at me and see me. I have had to rip myself up to protect people that needed
protecting..."

Her piercing gaze had him falter when her eyes caught the light from a streetlamp outside,
gleaming with ferocity.

"I give myself that right, that authority, because nobody else would have given it to me," she
finished. "I took it and shaped that authority to my will."

"You're not above the law—"

"The law didn't help me when I needed it most. The law was just as bad as the criminals it was
supposed to punish. The law only serves the rich and powerful. So what difference does it make?"
she said.

Her voice had gone distant, unreachable, fled back to a past that Chanyeol didn't see or understand.

"I am the law. I serve the people, that's how it's meant to be," Chanyeol tried again, struggling to
wrest back control.

"You're different," she said firmly.

"What's your deal with me, Dasoni?"

"I won't depend on the law to help me now. I came here to tell you because we agreed to let each
other know our next moves. But I can't allow you to get involved," she said, sidestepping his
question.

"Why not?"

He held his breath when Dasoni's hand trailed up his face, caressing his jaw. He hadn't even seen
her hand rise until he felt it, cool against his skin, and he stifled the reflex to flinch. Her hand
slipped from his face, her gaze lowered, hiding from him.

Chanyeol swallowed and ventured a guess that was almost laughable. "I can take care of myself,
you know, if that's what you're...concerned about. I'm a detective. I'm a cop, I'm used to danger. It's
what I do."

Dasoni didn't laugh. "And that's why I can't have you be involved. If you get hurt..."

She ducked her head, her face immediately shrouded in darkness.

"If I get hurt?"

He sighed when she didn't reply, because of course, she clammed up whenever he tried getting a
straight answer out of her.

"You know, you're really bad at communicating," Chanyeol grumbled. He was sure he had never
met a woman as aggravating as she was.

"I'm not used to leaning on someone else," she said, and her simple admission knocked the wind
out of his lungs. He could only stare.

She was far from an open book, but he fancied himself an able student, making ample progress in
learning the cracks in her facade, the way she looked at him with such wistful softness whenever
he caught her furtive glances, the secrets her eyes held, the strain and weight of her burdens that
she kept from everyone.

Yet, she was always so frustratingly cryptic, a mystery that had him scratching his head as he tried
to fathom her next move. It was like playing chess with rules that he was unaware of. And
sometimes, she bowled him over when he least expected it.

Was he ever going to see the true woman hiding behind her mask?

Chanyeol stepped forward, aware that he was venturing into uncertain territory. It was a familiar
feeling by now, ever since he had crossed the grey line between going rogue and still working for
the law. He found it hard to believe it was so easy and how he was doing it so guiltlessly. Maybe it
was this easy for other corrupt cops too.

"Dasoni, why do you care about whether I get hurt?" he tried again. If there was one thing he
prided himself on, it was his perseverance for the truth. One way or another, he would eventually
crack the enigma.

She pulled her shoulders up, pulling her walls up at the same time, and gave a little shake of her
head. Just as Chanyeol thought she was going to dismiss the thickening tension simmering between
them, she gave a little sigh. Then in a flurry of movement, she swept up the papers on his kitchen
table.

"I'll tell you one day. For now, get some sleep, my dark knight. I'm sorry for keeping you."

"Hani—"

And she was gone in a cloud of smoke, leaving Chanyeol with a foreboding feeling festering in his
gut.

He shook his head, grumbling as he grabbed the plate of ash to dispose of it when he noticed she
had forgotten a slip of paper behind, the one with the timetable of the showcase on it.

He picked it up and stared at it for an age, wondering and wondering.

>

Evening of the showcase

"Rosie, you got a little something here, let me get it for you," Jennie said, fussing over Rosé's
lapels, picking at non-existent lint. "You gotta walk in there and look like a million bucks. And
don't forget, confidence sells the act. Head up, back straight, shoulders back."

Rosé obeyed and straightened up as she smiled down at the top of Jennie's head. She had always
yearned for an older sister or brother to come swoop her out of danger when she lived with her
father. Those fantasies gradually morphed into a search for love and acceptance, which she had
found with Lisa. But recently, having Jennie look out for her had reminded her of her younger self's
wistful wishes for an unnie that would fuss and take care of her and stay by her side.

The past three days, Jennie had found any excuse to be close or touch Rosé, as though scared she
was going to disappear into thin air at any given moment. Rosé didn't blame her—she thought the
exact same thing. She gave Jennie a hug every morning when they woke up, before Jennie took her
prescribed TK then went down to the gym to work off the aggression and prepare herself for the
rescue operation. Rosé did endless pilates and cleaning to stave off her anxiety. At night, they
clambered into bed and clung to each other like koala bears till they drifted off to sleep. They had
taken to bathing together as well, a soothing ritual to ground them as they talked of everything and
nothing.

Without warning, Rosé wrapped her arms around Jennie's back and pulled her in for a hug. Jennie
didn't even startle, almost as though she had been waiting to be enveloped in an embrace. They
stood there for several minutes, hearing Hani barking orders in the background as more of her
henchmen checked over last minute preparations. They were enclosed in their little bubble. Rosé
knew the moment they parted she wouldn't know peace until she held Jennie again, so she clung
on, unwilling to let go.

"Rosie?" Jennie mumbled.

Rosé smiled, endeared with Jennie calling her by Lisa's nickname for her. She thought it would
sting at first, being reminded of Lisa every time, but it turned out to be strangely comforting
instead, as though Jennie had picked up Lisa's mantle of protector by simply adopting the same
nickname for her.

"Yeah?" Rosé said. Jennie squeezed her waist.

"If this goes sideways, I want to let you know I'm so sorry for being a bitch, before. I'm sorry for
being toxic and jealous of you. I'm sorry I almost gave up Lisa to that psycho. I'm sorry. You're
like a sister to me, so stay safe, stay alert. I need you alive." She paused. "Ella needs you alive the
most. And I hope it doesn't come down to this, but if I'm gone, Jisoo and Lisa will depend on you.
Okay?"

Rosé fought the lump stuck in her throat. "Don't you dare say goodbye right now. I swear, if you
pull some crazy stunt that gets you killed, I'm whooping your ass for real. I'll come for you in the
afterlife."

"You still owe me a whooping from last time," Jennie said, attempting to make light of the
situation before she gave her a final hug. "I'm not taking chances. If—if something happens, I want
to die with one less regret. Let me have this."

Rosé could only shake her head. "I've forgiven you a long time ago, Jen. You're like the sister I
never had, too. I need you alive as well. I can't do this alone."

"Dammit Park, I'm not gonna get the waterworks started right now."

"You started it," Rosé chuckled but her nose tingled, the way it always did when she got emotional.

They had narrowly escaped death multiple times when going up against Jinyoung. They had been
lucky, but like Jennie, Rosé didn't want to test their chances again. They were heading straight into
the lion's lair, riding on risky odds and foolhardy bravado.

Three nights ago, Rosé's biggest worry had been whether they would be able to reach the dead drop
and find the right information in time, undetected.

Tonight, Rosé wasn't sure who was going to walk away alive. One of the reasons she was going
with Hani was of the likelihood that she wouldn't be facing any perilous danger and threat of
violence, unlike Jennie.

Because unlike Jennie, she had Ella to go back to.

Rosé clung on to Jennie just a little bit harder until Youngdeuk came looking for them.

"She'll be back, you know. You girls are acting like it's the end of the world," he joked.

"Feeling left out?" Jennie asked, dodging his shoulder bump. She gave Rosé one last reassuring
squeeze. "See you later Rosie. You practice what you wanna tell Lisa, alright? I'm sure you've got
a lot to tell her."

What she wanted to tell Lisa?

Rosé froze as all the words crashed through her, all the words she drifted off to sleep thinking
every night, all the words she said in her dreams: I love you, I'm so sorry, I never want to be apart
from you again, I love you, everything will be okay as long as we're together and safe, you're safe
now, we're okay now, I love you—

Jennie pulled away, determined to get going as soon as possible. On impulse, Rosé held
Youngdeuk back from his arm before he could follow her.

"Deuk, keep her safe, don't let her do anything rash," she said quietly. She was trusting in his and
Jennie's apparent bond. If trouble showed, she hoped he would rise up to the occasion and protect
Jennie together with his twin.

Youngdeuk gave a little salute coupled with a roguish wink. "Don't you worry, she's in safe
hands." He wiggled his hands to illustrate. "See you later...maybe never."

"Don't joke like that, it's not funny," Rosé admonished sharply, past caring that she might hurt his
feelings. She was too on edge for jokes even remotely implying the worst.

He blinked at her, taken aback by her curt tone before nodding awkwardly.

"See you later," he amended quickly and ran after Jennie, leaving her frowning in his wake.

>
Rosé held her breath as the Jay at the Slammer's door inspected them from head to toe with the
scanner device, reminding her of the procedure she and Jennie underwent at the Kims residence,
and what came after.

She forced herself to breathe, not only to banish away memories but also to keep herself calm as
she watched the Jays check the passcode Hani handed them. The mask they were both wearing—a
geometric 3D printed masterpiece that fit snugly on their head with ample space to even stuff their
hair inside—was a safe barrier for Rosé to hide from the Jays' scrutinising gaze.

If the Jays discovered who was hiding underneath the tiger mask, she was certain the night would
be over for them before it even started. Hani next to her was relaxed, spreading her arms wide
obediently when the second Jay asked to pat her down for concealed weapons or other
technological devices.

The hidden blade in her sleeve, identical to Hani's, was hidden between a layer of silver foil that
according to Hani would deflect the scanner's signal. Rosé was doubtful and was expecting an
imminent order to stop. It never came. The lining of the cloth padded the hard blade as well,
artfully concealing it when the Jays patted over her forearms.

"All good." The Jays stepped aside, then gave them directions to their assigned seat.

"You won't miss it, the benches are marked according to your designated animal," the Jay on the
left said. "Do you have the programme of events? We suggest no bathroom breaks whilst the
showcase is ongoing so as to not disrupt other attendees."

Hani nodded but never spoke a word, and neither did Rosé. The lower halves of their faces were
visible, giving them away as female. It already put them at risk of being recognised since according
to Hani, there weren't that many female mob bosses. They didn't want to risk attracting extra
attention by speaking.

But the Jays never twigged anything was wrong. Rosé let out a sigh of relief once they were out of
sight.

"Glad to see someone can keep calm in times of stress."

"Is that a dig at Jennie?" Rosé asked indignantly. Hani's mouth quirked up then turned away to lead
them to the main atrium where Rosé remembered the fighting arena was at.

When they entered the arena properly, which was bathed in low lights—just bright enough to see
where you were walking, but not bright enough to illuminate the shadowy corners—Rosé was
struck by the changes.

The Slammer was achingly familiar, yet at the same time, undeniably different. If Rosé hadn't
watched Lisa's matches before, she wouldn't have been able to tell just how much had changed.

"Jinyoung's been busy," was Hani's only comment, strained. Rosé tried to ignore the bubble of
apprehension in her gut and looked around, cataloguing the new modifications instead.

There was no large, tumultuous crowd raising the roof; there was no ferocious shouts and violence;
there was no bright lights and thunderous applause.

The boxing ring was gone. The first rows of the seating area were also gone. Walls of what
appeared to be solid concrete blocks had been erected, a good deal higher than if two men were to
stand on each other's shoulders. This wall enclosed the central area in a circle, reminding Rosé very
much of a fighting ring like in the gladiator arenas of ancient Rome. There were even two dark
entryways positioned on opposite sides, hollowed out in the walls, leading away into the recesses
of the Slammer backrooms.

Was Lisa somewhere in there, waiting for her fate, alone and scared?

Hang in there a while longer. We're coming baby, Rosé thought, wishing she could communicate
with Lisa somehow. She quickly carried on with her observations before she could spiral.

Due to the wall's addition, the seating area had been reduced, but there was no real problem for
that. Rosé counted thirteen pairs already in attendance, including herself and Hani, and there was
room for at least twenty-five more pairs as well.

"We can talk, you know. I'll die of boredom otherwise," Hani said, interrupting her train of
thought. And indeed, all the other animal pairs seemed to be engaging in animated conversation,
hiding their faces behind their hands, casting furtive glances around them or bumping their heads
when they leaned in to whisper.

"Do you recognise anyone?" Rosé said in a low voice.

"I have my guesses. The men can be easier to tell apart because of their hairy chins. And I have no
doubt other people have recognised me, but they don't know that I'm not exactly welcome here,"
Hani said.

"Unless they do know, and they're waiting for the perfect time to pounce," Rosé fretted.

"I can see why you and Ace get along. Paranoid much?"

"I think you underestimate Jinyoung. If you'd step in our shoes, you might think differently," Rosé
said dryly.

"You think you're special because your life has come under threat? Join the club. I could just seal
myself in a bunker by now, but that's no life. You got to keep moving, because life certainly will,
no matter how much you whine and gripe about your fortune." Hani tapped her knee absently.
"God, can't it start already, I need a cigarette real bad."

"You don't even have cigarettes. Or anything to light it up with."

"I'm sure other people could loan me if I ask nicely. I'm too nice to turn down."

"Not the point. You still can't smoke here, there was a clear 'no smoking' sign hanging at the
entrance," Rosé admonished.

"That's why I can't wait for this to be all over," Hani drawled.

"We've just sat down."

"Not being able to smoke while waiting has me antsy."

Rosé gave up trying to reason with her. It was easier to negotiate with a stubborn five-year old.

Newcomers gradually joined them, a total of five pairs: Toad, Fox, Bear, Deer, and Hog, the tusks
gleaming. Whilst the fuss of their entry died down and they settled in their given seat, Rosé took
the time to get a closer look at their fellow attendees.

She could make out a Bull pair, and then another animal with horns that she couldn't make out,
and what looked like a Lion, a Wolf, an Eagle, an Owl, a Rabbit, a Jaguar, a Falcon, a Rat, a
Rooster, a Monkey and a Panda. She guessed that there were at least three female mob bosses
besides Hani: the Eagle, the Rabbit and the Jaguar. She could only see their lower jaws, which
were softer and smoother than most of the men's.

The seating arrangement was interesting to Rosé. Jinyoung had the animal pairs sit isolated from
each other, with at least two car lengths of space all around them. Jays sat squarely in between
those spaces, unmasked and still as statues. Jays stood guard at the end of each row. There were
also Jays stationed at the exits.

"Jinyoung is covering the security for all these gangsters," Rosé said, realising that everyone was
basically vulnerable to attacks at the snap of a finger.

All the crime bosses had left behind their security detail and were at Jinyoung's mercy, and in
extension, each other's. No doubt there was some animosity brewing between some of the
gangsters themselves and to have them sitting in such close proximity to each other was asking for
trouble. There was a palpable tension in the room now that Rosé sank in further in her analysis,
watching how people seemed tense and shifty, shooting each other furtive glances.

"That's right," Hani said. She alone seemed unconcerned, her posture relaxed, voice a lazy drawl.
"I told you we're gonna be in the presence of some pretty important hotshots from the city's
underworld. Jinyoung wants to impress and solidify his standing. Maybe he'll get to do that before
a brawl breaks out."

"They trust him that much?" Rosé wondered. "He could snipe us. He could blow us up to kingdom
come. Seoul would be his for the taking. They're putting their lives in his hand just like that?"

"I have no doubt some of them might have sneaked in a weapon or two, just in case." Hani cocked
her head when Rosé stared at her. "We did that, why wouldn't others?"

Rosé's mouth ran dry as all sorts of disastrous scenarios ran through her head.

"It won't happen," Hani said calmly, cottoning on to her anxieties. "That's why the Jays are there.
Crowd control. If anybody wants to risk upstaging and upsetting Jinyoung, I don't think that snake
will show much mercy. Need I remind you how upset he was with you two ruining his fun the
other night? People will behave, for now. It's just precautions."

"That's why you're not worried about people finding out we're not supposed to be here."

"Yeah because if they do, the Jays will have already gotten to us," Hani said grimly. "But don't
worry. If we keep the masks up and don't speak out loud, we'll be fine."

"I hope you're right," Rosé said.

"Look, you got your kid back home. Focus on staying alive for her. And if that's not enough
convincing, try this: if you die on my watch, I know Jennie will kill me. Even if she died too, she'll
come back from the dead and kill me. So let's both stay alive for my sake at the very least, yeah?"

Rosé could only blink mutely but Hani sounded deathly serious.

"Besides, it's not like you're without protection. You got the blade and the smokies," Hani added.

Rosé took comfort in the slightly clunky weight at her heels, where a couple of smoke bombs were
carefully packed in the secret compartment of her boots.

"To answer your earlier question about Jinyoung," Hani said thoughtfully, "it's not about trust.
They know he needs them, just as much as they need him, in the moment at least. They recognise
he's not to be messed with, not unless you can match him in power and resources."

"Surely, someone out there can match him then?"

"Yang was one of the more powerful mob bosses," Hani said quietly. "But he joined hands with
Jinyoung and perished, in the name of his vendetta. Now Jinyoung seized all his assets. It was the
nail in the coffin. I don't think anyone can match him now, no."

It was strange to remember that she had been the one to end Yang Hyun-suk's life—he barely even
featured in her waking thoughts any longer. She hadn't even dreamed of him once. He simply
ceased to exist. Rosé clasped her hands together, the hands that had held the gun steady and fired
without a shred of remorse. He hadn't deserved her pity and he wasn't about to earn it now.

But she did wonder how all this mess would have turned out if Yang was still alive and in power.

"Remember what I say about all this, a tight-rope balance act?" Hani said thoughtfully. "We're like
cowboys at a standoff, watching each other, waiting to shoot. Jinyoung wants our approval, to
submit to him. In return, people expect him to share his breakthrough."

"Tiger King," Rosé said bitterly.

"They want a finger in this pie badly. Tiger King means power. So for now, they won't attack.
They don't want wars, wars hurt all of us and our businesses. And nobody is powerful enough to be
top dog, yet. We're trying diplomatic niceties first. So, here we are."

"What if they all banded up against Jinyoung? Like what you're doing? Why not get everyone on
board?"

"Too late for that. Some of the people here are the biggest suck-ups." Hani's mouth pressed into a
thin line. "There had been...very early talks, before this whole Tiger King situation even started.
He had already been snatching smaller territories and consolidating his power, but I think nobody
realised the level of threat he'd present, until it was too late."

"So now...?"

"So now, there's nothing except playing the game he's lording over," Hani said grimly.

That wasn't a very comforting thought. To have someone as ruthless and fiercely indomitable as
Hani express her misgivings about defeating Jinyoung didn't inspire any hope in Rosé.

"How long till it starts?"

"Five minutes," Hani said, glancing at her watch.

Rosé bit her lip, debating if there was enough time to check in with Jennie.

She was going to be the main point of contact for the trio, though Hani had her own earpiece as
well. But Hani and Jennie had come to an agreement that the mob boss would take a backseat and
let Rosé handle communications. To Rosé, it was a relief they made that agreement, because she
feared Hani and Jennie would inevitably butt heads over something during the course of the
operation and give themselves away. Especially under the Jays' watchful gaze, it was crucial that
she and Hani kept it cool.

"If you're thinking of talking with her, I'd advise against it. Let them stay focused on their task, they
can't afford to lose time," Hani said, perceptive enough to pick up on her internal debate. "They'll
be in contact themselves soon enough."

Rosé opened the programme of events. She scoured the page even though she knew it blindfolded.
They had pored over it during planning meetings, figuring out the best slot to sneak in, snatch Lisa
and run. Hani and Rosé were set to deploy the smoke bombs should the Jays need a distraction to
keep them occupied.

The words on the page in front of her melted and swirled, utterly incomprehensible as her mind
wandered to the terrible outcomes Jennie could face if she was caught—

Focus, she coached herself. Jennie is tough. She's with the twins. She'll be okay.

Their best bet was to infiltrate once the showcase started, when Jinyoung would be separate from
Lisa. They were banking on the fact that Jinyoung would rely on theatrics and drama to introduce
Tiger King, thereby allowing them a short slot of time to locate Lisa and snatch her before she's
brought out to be presented to the audience.

"Jinyoung will probably monologue for fucking ever. That's when you move in," Hani had said. "It
all hinges on your knowledge of getting around the Slammer, Ace. Make use of it."

"No pressure," Jennie muttered.

"It's starting," Hani drawled, breaking Rosé out of her thoughts as lights dimmed.

A hush fell on the audience. Rosé could just barely make out silhouettes of the animal masks now.
All attention turned to a powerful spotlight illuminating the central enclosed circle in the arena
below them. The ground was hard concrete with remnants of dust from construction debris still
creating dust motes floating in the spotlight.

There was no introductory fanfare. Whispers broke out as a figure in a suit and tie briskly walked
out of the right tunnel and into the centre, stepping into the bright ring of light.

Rosé's mouth dropped open because the man smiling brightly up at his shadowy audience was not
Jinyoung: he was blonde and had a slit eyebrow.

"Hello friends of Jinyoung!" Bang Chan warbled enthusiastically, "I'm Bang Chan, an associate of
Park Jinyoung." He bowed deeply as his voice echoed around the arena, revved up for public
proclamation like a circus impresario giving a grand show. "I'm so honoured you could indulge us
with your presence tonight for our, or should I say, Jinyoung's showcase. He asked me to step in for
him but he will join us shortly."

"Son of a bitch, that snake," Hani hissed as the low hum of mutters and murmurs broke out around
them.

"You think it's on purpose?" Rosé asked, heart thudding in her chest.

"Has he chickened out?" someone boomed across from Rosé, loud enough for his voice to carry.
The commotion seemed to be incited by the Bull, a bulky, double-chinned man who seemed ill-
fitted in his suit. "I knew he'd back out at the eleventh hour. This is all smokes and mirrors. We're
wasting our time."

The nearest Jay stood up, intimidating the crowd around him, abruptly cutting the hubbub that
broke out. The Bull didn't speak again.
Bang Chan didn't balk at the jeers that echoed the Bull's dissent. He calmly turned to face the Bull.

"It seems we have some sceptics amongst us. Jinyoung didn't want to stall the fun just because of
some minor technical difficulties. Rest assured, the show will go on. Your presence and precious
time will not go to waste."

He spread his arms wide, eyes twinkling. "Ladies and gentleman, let's not beat about the bush. You
are all here for one thing and one thing only. You are here for Tiger King."

He paused for dramatic effect, smiling as the silence of a tomb answered him—he had their
attention and he knew it as he took them along for the ride, now fully in his element.

"You all have that programme of events, I assume? Eh forget about it! Rip it to shreds, who cares!
We're doing this the fun way. If it were up to me, we'd all be drinking! My colleague, Mr Elordi,
he was in charge of planning this event, but he's too stuffy for fun the way us Koreans do it here.
Now I'm sure you're all curious about what's going on," Chan said and he clapped his hands. "So
let's get this show on the road, as we say back in my hometown. The night is young and who
knows?"

There was no doubt about it; when he next spoke, Chan turned in Rosé's direction, stopping short
of direct eye contact.

"There may even be a few surprises in store," he finished, voice dripping with sinister promise.

Next to Rosé, Hani drew a sharp breath and suddenly went rigid.

"Ha—what is it?" Rosé whispered, almost letting slip Hani's name as dread overtook her.

"We have a problem," Hani said, strained.

>

For once, Jennie was prepared: she knew the Slammer's backrooms like the back of her hand.

She knew the locker rooms, a minute staffroom, storage room, the changing rooms, the showers,
the tiny pantry, the even tinier medical room consisting of a tiny cot for emergencies, the common
room for fighters to adjourn there either before or after a fight with some vending machines selling
last year's snacks, the janitor closets, the referee cubicles, the toilets, a media room where some
geek slaved away to record footage of the shows and transmit them online in real time...

Although they had no idea where Jinyoung could possibly keep Lisa, Jennie was confident that
they had a real fighting chance. She had the advantage of knowing her way around the Slammer,
even before Youngdeuk had obtained detailed plans of the establishment, which helped them hash
out further backup plans.

The only real problem was figuring out when Jinyoung would actually need Lisa.

"Getting her hours before the showcase is a gamble. We don't know for sure that she's there. We
can't risk alerting Jinyoung with a failed infiltration. He might cancel it altogether," Youngdeuk
had argued, to which Hani had agreed.

The twins and some other Dasoni members had done reconnaissance around the Slammer area in
the days leading up to the showcase, taking turns to keep watch even throughout the night. They
had seen plenty of black vans and a strong presence of Jays, but no sign of Jinyoung or Lisa. On
the day of the showcase, Youngdon did report back that the Jays were very busy in the morning
transporting bulky boxes the size of fridges in through the back of the Slammer. Yet again, there
had been no sign of Lisa or Jinyoung.

"Ten minutes till the show begins," Youngdeuk muttered in the seat next to her. "Get ready."
Jennie, who had been fiddling with her tattoo, covered her wrist with the sleeve and braced herself
for the order to leave. There were two other vans with them that would wait for them to return with
Lisa and cover for them in case they're pursued.

Jennie and the twins were already kitted out in black gear, with ski masks to hide their faces. The
twins had ropes and handcuffs strapped to the belt at their waist, in the event they needed to subdue
Lisa. All of them had guns, knives and a smoke bomb in case they needed to make a quick exit.
Up front, Rosé also had smoke bombs, to create a bigger diversion in case they needed to lure Jays
away from the trio.

Jennie frowned, brushing her ear. She could do with hearing the other girl's voice right now, just to
ground her and reassure her before she set off to save her sister. Maybe there was time for a quick
—

"Move out," Youngdon said as he took the lead.

Jennie pushed Rosé out of her head. It was show time.

They exited the car together, greeted by the balmy summer night as they walked briskly towards
the wired gate that led into the small parking lot. They got over it with each other's help. Jennie's
shoulder tweaked a little when she pulled herself up but the pain was dull, like the roll of distant
thunder and she could ignore it. TK Beta did its job to deaden the sensation and hurry up the
healing process.

The twins helped her by balancing on top of each other's backs and she shimmied over
Youngdeuk's shoulder to get over the other side then jump down and roll. The twins followed.
Youngdeuk also unlocked the gate for an easier getaway route once they had Lisa with them.

The parking lot was empty except for the ominous black Jay vans that reminded Jennie of the
Rkive parking lot, all lined up with vans just the same way. It felt like a lifetime ago. They scoured
the area, Youngdon leading and carefully peering around corners before signalling for Youngdeuk
and Jennie to follow.

They kept to the shadows, even though there was no CCTV to worry about—the Slammer wasn't
some top-notch facility with state-of-the-art security systems, despite money pouring in. Its
management was shoddy when it came to maintaining the facility, but Jennie wasn't about to
complain about the safeguards when the payouts were so generous and the careless management
was so helpful to her right now.

The lack of surveillance was what had Jennie hoping they would actually be able to pull off this
operation undetected, provided they weren't unlucky enough to run into an army of Jays.

At the backdoor, Youngdon pulled out some lockpicking tools and got to work on the lock.

"How are we on time?" Jennie asked, voice muffled behind the mask. She felt perspiration drip
down the back of her neck.

"Ahead of schedule actually. If Don gets this open in the next minute, we'll have six minutes till it
all starts," Youngdeuk said as he checked his watch.

Jennie nodded, keeping her anticipation in check. This was only the easy part. She kept her hands
on her gun and her attention on their surroundings. The parking lot was quiet as a graveyard, and
the vans looked like coffins themselves, reflecting what little light reached them from the
surroundings.

"Easy, easy," Youngdon muttered as he eased the door open. Jennie was thankful it wasn't as
creaky.

"Lead the way but stay alert," Youngdon said as he stepped aside so she could walk in. They
closed the door behind them then started navigating their way through the dimly lit passageways
that reminded Jennie of miner's tunnel lights. These areas were always chilly in winter, separate
from the main arena area that house central heating for patrons.

"We'll be passing by the staff latrines first," Jennie recalled, "and after that the pantry and locker
rooms."

They advanced briskly but quietly, moving together as a unit. The passages were silent, almost
eerily so. Jennie could only hear the low breaths and shuffling steps of her companions. She had
never been present in the absence of noise in the backrooms of the Slammer. She had to admit it
was starting to unnerve her a little.

Where were the Jays? Was nobody staying in the back to guard Lisa? Were they keeping that quiet
while on duty?

"Hey, do you smell that?" Youngdon muttered by her ear, making her jump.

"Hey, can you back up?" Jennie gritted, taking a step away from him. "What smell?"

"Smells like...fresh plaster?" he ventured uncertainly.

"Huh?"

She had been too focused on any Jays popping up and taking them by surprise to notice anything
else. But now that Youngdon pointed it out, the chemical smell of plaster lingered in the air,
especially when Jennie stepped closer to the walls. She touched the wall and her fingers came
away covered in chalky dust. She frowned.

"Let's keep moving, it's about to start," Youngdeuk said, touching his earpiece. Hani must have
contacted him and ordered him to get moving.

Jennie agreed, dismissing the odd discovery with a shrug as she turned back towards the passage.
Right now, they had bigger things to worry about than the Slammer's summer renovation projects.
Hani seemed to be keeping her word of not interfering with Jennie for now but she didn't want to
invite her comments so she forged on.

They advanced forward until they came to a corner. Youngdon went ahead to check for Jays,
peering carefully around the corner then signalling the others to join him as he rounded the bend.
Jennie once more took the lead, trotting ahead of the twins.

"Okay next up is the common room for the fighters," she said in a low voice, "that's where fighters
usually just lounge around till it's time...to...fight..."

She stopped stock still as a cold chill stole over her.

"Jen?" Youngdon asked warily. "Did you hear something?"

"No," she gritted, eyes darting in their sockets as she glanced left and right. Her heart pushed up her
throat. "The common room isn't here."

"Huh?"

"What?"

She heard them fumble with the building floor plan to confirm but she didn't have to look to know
that something was very, very wrong.

"The plaster we saw back there...they renovated the entire place. All the rooms are gone. They
changed everything, do you understand? The floor plan is useless. My memory is useless," she
hissed, clenching her fist as anger mounted. "Jinyoung did this."

"But why would he do that?"

She couldn't tell which of the twins started talking, her mind was swirling with panic and rage.

"I gotta tell Rosie," she said faintly, reaching up to ear to connect with her. "I gotta—"

One of the twins gave an abrupt yelp, snapping her out of her stupor.

Before she could whip around, a dart of pain pricked her arm, piercing through her tight black shirt.
Jennie held her arm up, seething when she spotted a familiar dart embedded in her flesh.

"Son of a—"

Darkness claimed her just as she hit the ground and dimly, she heard Jinyoung's distant laughter
echo.

>

"Oh never mind, false alarm," Hani said, relaxing. Rosé stared at her, bewildered by the sudden
switch.

"Are they in danger or not?" she demanded. "Jennie hasn't contacted me. Neither the twins."

Something wasn't right but she couldn't check in with Jennie, not without tapping on the earpiece to
switch it on, possibly raising suspicion with her gestures. Unless she could risk making it look
natural enough...

"They're fine, Youngdeuk said they had a brief altercation but they subdued the Jay, it was a lone
guy," Hani reassured. She glanced at Rosé. "I may have agreed to not talk with Jennie, but doesn't
mean I can't talk with the twins. They're keeping me updated."

Rosé released a breath, dropping her shoulders. "Okay. Don't scare me like that."

She frowned down at Chan. "Something's still not right. Jinyoung isn't here. Is he really having
technical difficulties or was that some excuse?"

"These things happen at events you know. You try to organise something of this scale to impress
and something will always go wrong. Just look at our own operation at Burning Sun the other
night," Hani said sagely.

But Rosé wasn't buying her reassurance. Hani might have been reluctant to admit, but Rosé could
read the tension behind her words: she was worried too.
Bang Chan still stood in the centre, gleefully keeping up a patter.

"Tiger King is the star of the show, but first, we shall give you a little taster of what each of you
stands to gain from allying with Jinyoung." Chan's eyes glinted. "Each of you is here for a reason,
with all sorts of motives and agendas. Is Tiger King really real? Can I have my own Tiger King?
How does it work? You are all wondering if Jinyoung has truly discovered the solution to all your
problems, and whether he'd be generous enough to share."

Chan smiled slyly, his slit eyebrow raising slightly. "Of course he will share, abiding by certain
conditions, naturally. We are all business people after all. But enough talk. By the end of the night
you will have your answers, and you will see that truth is, as they say, stranger than fiction. Tiger
King will be a mystery no more as you will witness with your own eyes the impossible made
possible."

With that closing note, he turned around about himself as though seeing his surroundings for the
first time. "You know what I'm thinking? I'm thinking this place is perfect for a good, old-
fashioned brawl. Let the fighting begin!"

Enthusiastic roars of agreement did the rounds, reflecting a contagious energy that swept everyone
up with sudden fervour, their initial misgivings all but forgotten as excitement mounted.

But Rosé's heart sank as several Jays emerged from the tunnels in a file, leading in several hulking
figures in shackles and chains.

All of them had piercing yellow eyes.

>

"Wake her up."

A sharp clap next to her ear had Jennie jolting up in shock, struggling for several seconds before
she realised three things: a) she was tied fast to a chair, hands bound behind her back b) Jinyoung
was standing in front of her a few paces away and c) the twins were nowhere to be found.

Some Jays were in the room with them. The air reeked of plaster and paint, with a bright
flourescent light tube overhead casting harsh shadows on the squad of Jays lining up the wall.
Jennie sensed movement behind her and she twisted her head back and forth to see, disoriented.

"Dony, Deukie!"

The blank faces of the Jays and the fact that she seemed to be utterly alone in the centre of the
room had her heart thud with fear.

She turned to face Jinyoung who strolled forward into the light, arms behind his back and a sinister
smile stamped on his face.

Jennie swallowed. "If you've hurt them, I swear I'll—I'll..."

"You'll...?" He prompted then gestured at her bound limbs. "I don't think you're in a position to be
issuing threats, Jen."

"What do you want?" Jennie said, agitated. "If you're going to kill me, then do it."

Jinyoung chuckled. "Kill you? No, not yet. It's not the time and place for that."
He tilted his head to one side, amusement glinting in his eyes. "Glad you could make it to the show
by the way. I could have given you a little tour of the place if you had only asked. What do you
think of the renovations? You should see the front, the arena is really spacious now, more suited
for...fighting."

Jennie snarled and struggled but was helpless; the rope held tight.

"Are you going to stand there jib jabbering all night? Spare me the torture and kill me right now."

"Do you have a death wish?" Jinyoung wondered. "You seem awfully eager to die."

"No bozo, I just know that by the end of this you're not going to turn me loose," Jennie said. "Are
you?"

"Hmm, that largely depends on whether you co-operate. I don't want trouble with Dasoni."

Jennie took a deep breath. "Look, I'll do anything you want, just show me the twins and let them
go."

"I wouldn't go throwing about rash promises," Jinyoung advised. "The last time your promised
anything, you gave away your own sister."

Jennie bit back a curse. "Show me the twins. Or I swear—"

"Save your empty threats. The twins aren't here, but rest assured they're not being harmed."

"Right, and the Buddha is my cousin," Jennie snorted.

Jinyoung shrugged. "Jennie, if I hurt you or the twins, the Dasoni bitch wouldn't be happy with
me." His smirk said otherwise. Jennie didn't believe for one second that he wouldn't step over the
line and taunt Hani by torturing her prime henchmen. He held all the power, that was obvious for
all to see. If a war broke out, Hani would be the one to suffer losses.

"Also, be reasonable. If I let the twins go, they would alert Dasoni and she could potentially ruin
my show. We can't have that," Jinyoung added.

"Are you still salty about the car, is that it?" Jennie blustered, desperately stalling and clutching at
straws. Whatever torture he had in mind, she had to find a way to dodge it somehow, but her odds
were dwindling fast.

"The Porsche? No, that's water under the bridge. It was a fun show and you managed to spring a
surprise, like always." He bared his teeth. "I wonder if you have more in store?"

She kept silent, trying to get her bearings. But the room was bare and dusty, and all of the Jays
staring back at her were strangers without a speck of compassion for her. Worse, she distinctly felt
the absence of her earpiece, the earring stud that had been fastened to her earlobe gone. She was all
alone.

"Jennie, I just want to have a little chat so I hope you'll indulge me. I don't think we have ever
gotten to talk properly since that night in Rkive, am I right? And I'm sure you must have some
burning questions so better start thinking them." He checked his watch. "I'll try to keep it short—
Chan is holding down the fort and rather enjoying it, but I'd like to make an appearance myself,
with Tiger King naturally. I didn't prepare for all this to go waste."

"Lisa?" Jennie croaked. Her fists tightened uselessly. "Where is she?"

He smirked. "Maybe you'll get to see her later. But first, allow me to introduce you to someone.
He's so glad you stopped by today. He has some burning questions for you."

Something was off about the whole proceedings, everything was going too smooth for Jennie's
liking, as though Jinyoung had actually slotted time for her.

But she couldn't quite grasp what was bothering her, other than being helpless at Jinyoung's total
mercy.

"Who's he?" she asked, trying to quash her fear.

"All in due time." Jinyoung nodded at one of the Jays, who peeled away from the shadows and
went out the door behind Jinyoung. Several long seconds later, the door opened again and
Jinyoung stepped aside, turning to look expectantly at the newcomer.

Jennie stared as the Jay pushed in a gnarled, withered old man— basically a living corpse—with an
oxygen mask over his face and a pressurised tank mounted on the back of the wheelchair. The
newcomer squinted against the bright light, his beady eyes startlingly sharp and clear despite his
evident age. A woolly shawl draped over his lap and covered his legs, even though it was the
height of summer. His hand shook as he pulled off the oxygen mask, making Jennie immediately
wrinkle her nose at the sight of his leery grin displaying discoloured teeth.

"We meet at last, girl," he croaked. "I have heard so much about you."

"And who the fuck are you?" Jennie said. Jinyoung stepped forward, bottom lip trapped between
his teeth in amusement as the old man tutted.

"Jennie, meet my father, Jinyoung Park Sr., the founder of JYP Pharma," he said, standing next to
the wheelchair. "Father, this is Jennie Kim."

"She needs no introductions. A feisty spitfire you've caught for yourself." JYP scanned her from
head to toe, leaving Jennie feeling very exposed, even though her clothes were untouched. "Quite a
pity she's not of pedigree."

"Father, not this again," Jinyoung sighed.

"I'm merely making an observation," the old man drawled. "If it weren't for her history with that
damn whistleblower, I might have turned a blind eye."

Jinyoung closed his eyes and heaved a sigh, all the while Jennie sat beyond confused in her seat.

"What whistleblower? What do you want with me?" Jennie said.

"What do I want with you?" JYP rasped, wheezing every other word and taking a puff from his
oxygen mask. "I want answers. Most of all, I want closure. I vowed to myself I will keep pushing
to stay alive until I have answers." He spread his arms—veiny and bony, with the skin sagging in
places. "I am old, and sick. I long lost hope in being able to retrieve Tiger King and revive the
program. Then along came my son and against all odds, he has succeeded. I was...impressed."

Jinyoung's mouth twitched at the corner, the beginning of a smug smile.

"We clashed, often. Our models for conducting business were obviously different," JYP confided.
"He has his ideas, I have my own. But for a business to flourish, you need to have a united front.
Yet, I was reluctant to let go of my passion project, my Tiger King. I was the Ringmaster, you
know, the brains behind it all. It was my life."
"I couldn't care less," Jennie said.

JYP ignored her and droned on. "Pride is difficult to let go of, but hard decisions have to be made.
Two tigers cannot share the same mountain. As I said, I am old. I decided to relinquish the reins...if
only I would get my answers. And the boy once more stepped up to grant me closure. If he's
anything, he's efficient."

JYP lifted a bony trembling finger, pointing at Jennie. "He arranged to have this meeting—"

"He what?" Jennie burst out. She whipped her stupefied gaze to Jinyoung."You knew..."

"Ah, cat's out of the bag," Jinyoung said lightly.

Jennie's head spun. "You...how long..." she whispered.

"Long enough," Jinyoung said.

And the words echoed again in her head, the memory that had slipped from her head like
water: "By the way, Ace, Rosé as good as pulled the hood over my eyes with her mask and dye job,
I admit that."

Jackson. It had to be Jackson who betrayed them. She never trusted him, not for one second!

He was nowhere in sight right now, but he had stayed close to Jinyoung, his right hand
man Jinyoung called him right in front of her and Rosé. He duped them all. He had been flaky
since the start. And he wasn't here because he was torturing the twins, not being able to face
Jennie.

That low-life piece of shit.

"You fucking snake, you knew all this time! That's why you let us go at Burning Sun? All that talk
of me being scared of you was just hot air!" Jennie burst out.

Jackson had been there too, not even lifting a finger to help Rosé as the perverted Jay made his
moves on her friend. The memory made Jennie's blood boil.

"Was it?" Jinyoung's smile just grew wider and wider. "I admit, I only knew that Dasoni's
infiltration team would go there to retrieve information from Yang's old dead drop. And I was
going to let it happen, because I obviously needed you to come here. But after that run-in with
Elordi and the twin...it was all real.

"I was honestly pissed that my friend's fun was ruined. I didn't recognise Rosé until you came
along. The Jays masquerading as the KNP were merely to fan the flames and throw you into panic.
The fire sprinklers had nothing to do with you. My Porsche could have sat there all night and been
totally unharmed. And you could have pulled the gun's trigger anytime when you were in front of
me, Jennie. Yet you didn't. What does that say about you?"

Jennie tossed and stamped her feet, struggling to loosen the ropes to no avail. "Let me out of this,
you coward! I'll show you who's scared! Let me go!"

He ignored her. "Oh that reminds me, did you get the photos? Stroke of good luck I was able to get
them to you directly."

"You'd know if we got them, wouldn't you?" Jennie spat furiously. "Ask your fucking mole,
shithead!"
The image of tortured Jisoo flashed through her mind, momentarily making her waver. Jackson had
promised he hadn't tortured her but look at where they were now. It was all lie after lie after lie.

"How crude," JYP tutted. Jennie didn't spare him a glance; her fury was directed all at Jinyoung.

"Go on then, gloat!" Jennie said. "Bet you're just dying to do that! Bet you got a kick out of your
sick games! What else do you know?"

He shrugged. "Try asking."

Her mind raced, going over all the information Jinyoung could possibly have uncovered, all that
they prepared. Of course he always was one step ahead: they had a traitor in their midst, passing on
crucial information about their next moves.

And oh God, Rosé. She was still out there, with Hani. She had no idea the grave danger she was
in. Jennie's panic doubled. She clamped her mouth shut, refusing to even look Jinyoung in the eye
for fear of him somehow reading her face. If he didn't know about Rosé and Hani yet...

"Smart that you're choosing to stay silent," Jinyoung said. "But it won't protect anyone, least of all
Rosé and the Dasoni bitch. Yes, I know about them. Wearing tiger masks and midnight blue
blazers. Waltzing in through the door as though they own the place." His smile broadened as
Jennie looked at him in horror. "What a coincidence that they got the tiger masks, right?"

Jennie tried to stifle her shaking, her mind running haywire.

How was she going to alert Rosé? How was she going to save her and Hani from the psycho
standing in front of her?

"Believe me Jennie, I want to gloat, truly," Jinyoung said, stepping forward and squeezing her
shoulder. Jennie recoiled from his touch but his fingers held firm, gripping tightly. "I have so much
to gloat about, with you. All my planning is finally bearing fruit. I've worked hard to revive the
Tiger King project while juggling so many other things. How could I not gloat? Here's a taster: I
was the one to stop V or rather, Taehyung, from penetrating Rosé back in the forest because you
failed to get to her in time. I was the one who saved her, not you."

"Shut up you sick bastard! Don't talk about her like that! Shut up shut up shut up!"

Jennie retched at the memory of Rosé sobbing on the forest floor, crumpled into a ball. Guilt
threatened to overwhelm her and she shook her head violently to get rid of the memory.

"The subjects wore cameras. Suga, or rather, Yoongi did too. I could monitor everything that was
going on." Jinyoung pinched her shoulder harder, forcing her to look directly in his eyes as pain
shot up her neck. "I saved your life, Jennie. He was going to snap your neck but I called him off
just before he did. A 'thank you' is in order."

"Die, you piece of shit," Jennie gritted out.

"I could have ended it all there and then. But I didn't. I'm a merciful man. I called them off just
before they could hurt both of you worse. You owe me so much. That's just the tip of the iceberg."
Jinyoung straightened, smiling serenely at her stupefied expression. "But we'll shelve that chat for
now. Let's not keep our elder waiting much longer."

He let the stunned girl go. Jennie slumped in her seat, biting back on curses. Her heart thumped
like a runaway horse and she forced herself to breathe, to calm down and face them again. The
nightmare was far from over.
Jennie levelled her baleful gaze at JYP. "What do you want with me, old man? I don't know you, I
don't have answers for you."

"On the contrary," JYP rasped. "You are the key to the past." He motioned to Jinyoung. "Show
her."

Jinyoung nodded at another Jay, who stepped forward with a small bundle in his hands and set it
down on the ground in between Jennie and JYP. It consisted of a single folded jacket and a photo
on top of it.

Jennie blinked and swallowed hard when Hwangssabu's bright eyes met her gaze, smiling up at her
from the piece of paper at her feet. It was the photo she had of him back at the Vault, along with
his vintage leather jacket.

"You...how did you..."

"I own the Vault now, remember? My men found these articles belonging to the previous tenants
whilst cleaning out the place. I was hanging on to them for safekeeping but the tenants never
showed up to claim them."

Jennie scowled at the smirk in his voice then turned to JYP. "I still don't understand."

"Don't be so obtuse," JYP croaked. "You were Hwangssabu's protege, were you not?"

Jennie's frowned. "You knew him?"

"In a manner of speaking. He was the reason we lost Tiger King." JYP's voice turned harsher. "He
was the reason all my life's work went up in flames. Him and that damned doctor."

Marco Bruschweiler, Jennie thought. Her mind raced, trying desperately to connect dots, because
she still wasn't understanding. Why was JYP blaming Hwangssabu?

"I...I don't understand."

"Don't you?" JYP mocked. "Wasn't Tiger King left in your care?"

"I...yes."

"Didn't you know Hwangssabu's involvement in tracking down Tiger King when he was still active
in the military?"

"Yes, I did. He told me. He never was successful though."

JYP drew a rattling breath. "Then you'll expect me to believe you when you say you didn't know
about Hwangssabu's plan to break Tiger King out of the facility and expose it to the public?"

Jennie's mouth dropped. "What? No he didn't! We found Tiger—we found Lisa in the alleys with
Dr Marco, he was dead. It was just a very lucky coincidence! Hwangssabu...he didn't...he didn't
even know the doctor..."

But hadn't he? Jennie remembered how Hwangssabu hadn't been afraid, or surprised, when they
came across Lisa. He had immediately sprung into action and took responsibility of Lisa, no
questions asked.

Had Hwangssabu and the doctor been in contact without her knowledge? Had Hwangssabu just
played dumb and hid it all from them?
The very thought turned all that Jennie knew upside down on its head.

"What were Hwangssabu's motives?" JYP barked, snapping Jennie out of her thoughts. "Why did
he keep Tiger King instead of exposing it?"

Jennie swallowed dryly. "I...I don't know."

"Lying bitch!"

"Father," Jinyoung chastised.

"Get the photo," JYP ordered, ignoring him. His eyes were trained on Jennie like a hawk. "Let's see
if she talks then."

Jinyoung obediently took up Hwangssabu's photo, right beneath Jennie's anxious gaze. She sucked
in a breath when Jinyoung grasped the fragile photo roughly, creasing it. Her heart crumpled with
it too but she resisted the urge to shout at them. They held the upper hand right now.

"I'm going to ask you again," JYP said evenly. "And if you don't answer...there will be
consequences."

Jennie shook her head, hands growing clammy when Jinyoung brought out a lighter, flicked it open
and held it underneath the photo, facing Jennie.

Hwangssabu's warm smile tore her to shreds and she wrenched her gaze away, barely able to face
him. Perspiration beaded on her temple as she sat, helpless. She watched as the tongue of fire sat
just beneath the photo, out of range. All Jinyoung had to do was raise his arm and...

"Please," Jennie whispered.

"What were Hwangssabu's intentions with Tiger King?" JYP rasped. "Why did he have it train and
even go into boxing matches? What was his end goal?"

Hadn't Momo asked the same thing? Hadn't she questioned Hwangssabu's true agenda? Jennie
bowed her head, tasting bitter bile.

God, she had been so naive, so stupid, so trusting. She went along with whatever Hwangssabu said
was best for Lisa. She was terrified of Lisa, kept her at arm's length as instructed because Lisa
could hurt her. Because Lisa wasn't like them. Because Hwangssabu hammered it into her
head: kiddo, she's not exactly like us, okay? We have to adjust around her. Stay alert or you could
be hurt. You saw how she was punching the bags downstairs.

Why didn't she ever ask? Why did she go along with whatever Hwangssabu said, carrying out his
wishes like a faithful dog?

"I don't know," Jennie whispered. "I don't...I don't know."

"Look up, Jennie," Jinyoung ordered. She did. The tongue of fire kissed the edge of the photo, with
Jinyoung lightly flaming the paper. Jennie watched as the edges browned, started to curl.

"Stop," Jennie croaked. The photo was the only reminder she had of what Hwangssabu looked like,
the only proof that he had been a real person, the only proof that he had been her father in all but
name.

Her father, working long hours to make ends meet. Her father, laughing and joking as they ran
together on their morning runs.

Her father, bantering with her when he gave her piggyback rides. Her father, lying and keeping her
at arm's length.

Her father, smiling and reassuring when one day she returned with shrunken clothes from the
laundry with Lisa.

Her father, never there to protect her when she truly needed him. Her father, giving up the last
noodle pot for her, because he said he was full even as his stomach growled.

"Remember anything yet?" Jinyoung prompted.

"I don't know, okay?" Jennie burst out. "He never told me. I thought he was just being kind, I don't
know what he was planning."

The burning smell of paper reached her nose, made her eyes water. From grief or the smoke, she
couldn't tell.

"Please, it's going to burn up," she choked. A tear ran down her cheek. "Look, you should have
asked Yang when that fucker was still alive, okay? I don't know anything!"

"What about Yang?" Jinyoung said with interest. He flicked off the lighter, instantly making
Jennie's fists slacken with relief.

"I...we followed Hwangssabu once...before he died," Jennie whispered. She closed her eyes to
relive that terrible night. "I—I saw him talking with Yang. I...I don't know if they had agreed to
meet up and what they were talking about. But I think it was about Tiger King—no please!"

Jinyoung had flicked on the lighter again. "Not a satisfactory answer I'm afraid."

"Burn it," JYP drawled.

"No!"

Jinyoung's smile was cruel as he pinched the photo from a corner and held up the lighter at the
bottom.

"Want to know what Hwangssabu's intentions were?" Jinyoung asked.

"How would you know? You're nothing but a liar!"

"Tell me your truth then," Jinyoung urged. "Or is your truth merely what you allow yourself to see
to protect yourself? Are Hwangssabu's secrets that far removed from your reality?"

"You're making this out to be more than it is. Hwangssabu just found Lisa and kept her. He cared
for her and just didn't let her go," Jennie insisted.

Jinyoung shook his head almost pityingly. "If only it were that simple. Don't take it personally,
Jennie. Hwangssabu was a disgraced soldier, socially ostracised because of his dishonourable
discharge from the military. He was even set up in exile in Auckland, with his mother, so that he
wouldn't try to interfere back on the mainland. He used you to come back to Korea, pretended he
was smuggling you in for trafficking. That way, he could pay actual criminals to get him passage
for you and himself through the undercover route and get in the way criminals do, undetected,
undocumented, unseen."
"Liar!" Jennie shouted in horror. "How could you—that's just bare-faced lies!"

Jinyoung was relentless. "It was a stroke of luck that you needed to return, because Dr
Bruschweiler had just made contact with him, starting a correspondence. The doctor wired him
money to be able to bring both of you here, with you acting as Hwangssabu's cover. They were
going to blow the whistle on the whole Tiger King program and shut it down once the doctor had
gotten out. As for Lisa, or rather Tiger King, the doctor's notes implied they made plans to execute
the subject after they revealed all to the public, to avoid it from falling back into enemy hands.
Hwangssabu was in charge of doing that, because the doctor was too soft."

"No!"

"Killing it was simpler than reversing the programming," Jinyoung said.

"You're lying!" Jennie yelled. "He would never do that! He took care of Lisa! He cared for us, he
cared for me, he—"

"He was waiting to sell Lisa to the highest bidder that would help him restore his honour and his
name. He was using her. He was merely an opportunist that decided rather than killing something
so powerful, he could use it for his own gain. He bid his time and waited."

Jinyoung shrugged as Jennie shook her head, vehemently denying his words. "Yang couldn't do
that for him so...Hwangssabu just wasn't going to give her up. Yang wasn't happy and Hwangssabu
got killed for it. The rest is history."

"Liar! Fucking liar!" But Jennie's eyes stung. She shook her head. "You're lying! That's not true! He
wasn't like that!"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Jinyoung dropped the photograph to the ground as flames
engulfed it whole. There was nothing she could do—just as she had been helpless to save
Hwangssabu the first time, she had to watch him die yet again.

Jennie went ballistic, shouting and struggling violently, sobbing without care. The rope chafed her
raw skin but the pain was nothing compared to her broken heart.

"Dad!" Jennie screamed, rocking dementedly back and forth in her chair. "No! Hwangssabu,
please, no, no...no...Dad..."

The photo disintegrated, Hwangssabu's face vanishing out of existence right under her eyes, eaten
up by the cruel greedy flames. Black ashes scattered at her feet, remnants of the man Jennie had
once admired and looked up to.

"Dad," Jennie sobbed.

"You still have his jacket," Jinyoung said consolingly. Jennie didn't even have the strength to look
up at him. She didn't react when Jinyoung gathered the jacket and walked behind her to slip it
around her shoulders in a maliciously wicked act of sympathy.

"There we go," Jinyoung said, his voice bordering sick tenderness. "Feels better already, right?"

The scent of the jacket didn't remotely smell like Hwangssabu but it did have her sister's scent,
faint but there.

Lisa.
Jennie drowned in it, wanting to disappear into its leathery embrace.

"You knew all that about the whistleblower and you didn't tell me?" JYP piped up for the first
time, sounding distinctly disgruntled. "Where did you find all that out?"

"Matthew Jeon. Hwangssabu's confidante, and the girls' guardian." Jinyoung smiled and looked at
Jennie's stupefied expression. "Matthew Jeon got some handsome compensation in return for
allowing me full access of Hwangssabu's secret accounts. They were hoarding a wealth of
information and history. Hwangssabu trusted all of his plans and notes with his old military pal for
safekeeping. And now that Matthew Jeon has cut you out of his life, he's eager to not be tied to
anything incriminating that Hwangssabu had going on. He was all too happy to hand over
administrator rights to the accounts when I purchased the Vault from him. He agreed to sell it all to
me for a premium price, so long as I never revealed his role in the whole thing."

Jennie's head spun. Matt had sold her and Lisa off so easily, just like that?

"This is all very fresh information uncovered days ago, but I had had a hunch that Hwangssabu
must have left trails, must have some sort of storage where he's keeping all his secrets. And I was
lucky enough that Mr Jeon was looking to sell the Vault so...here we are. My people worked
around the clock to piece together the story."

"What?" Jennie whispered. "Matt...Matthew...he knew?"

"Oh no, he didn't know what Hwangssabu was truly up to. He didn't know about Lisa and Tiger
King. Jeon is an honourable man, he didn't pry and he kept Hwangssabu's secret....till now,"
Jinyoug added nastily. "No, he merely had Hwangssabu's accounts and storage lockers with secret
documents set up in his name. There were forged documents for your passage to Korea, old
classified military documents digging into Tiger King. There were pages and pages of emails that
the doctor and Hwangssabu shared back and forth, all under anonymous encrypted accounts of
course. And I'm sure if I kept digging, there would be plenty more in there to add to our story."

Jinyoung clasped his hands together. "Well, I would have brought all those papers along with me
for show and tell, but I wasn't intending this conversation to take too long. Let's wrap up, I have a
showcase to attend." He tapped his ear, indicating he was being kept updated of the situation in the
arena. "Chan is enjoying himself a bit too much, I need to slow him down."

Jennie didn't hear. She was floating outside of her body, all sounds muffled and far away.

It was hard to believe all that Jinyoung was saying but too much was happening all at once and so
much of what he said seemed to have a grain of truth in it....

What if she was only refusing to believe because it was Jinyoung telling her what she didn't want to
hear?

"I thought we had an agreement, boy. Where's your honour to uphold your word?" JYP huffed.
"You agreed to keep me informed yet it seemed like you knew a lot all this time."

"The show was worth it though, wasn't it?" Jinyoung said lightly. "It would have been sweeter still
if we got a confirmation out of her, though. Guess she really was kept out of the loop."

Jennie curled up in herself. She wouldn't believe Jinyoung without concrete proof but his
poisonous words festered in her mind like infection, spreading doubt, tainting Hwangssabu's
memory. There would forever be a stain on his name now, leaving her to wonder what he truly had
been hiding for his intentions with Lisa.
And had he really just used Jennie? Had he never truly cared for her? Was it all just for show?

Fresh tears welled up at the realisation that nobody would be able to answer her now. Jennie
suddenly felt incredibly tired. She slumped in her seat under the weight of all the revelations,
giving up on making sense of it all.

"You're too smitten with your toy," Jinyoung's father sneered. "You were waiting on an excuse to
see her again, admit it."

Jinyoung sighed. His voice was tight when he next spoke. "Please escort my father back to his
hospital room. Keep an eye on Jennie till I return—"

"I won't be dismissed so easily!" JYP barked, wheezing in between words as he got more worked
up. "Back off! Don't touch me! You insolent boy! We had an agreement, and you went behind my
back. All to see her again. I warned you, she will be your undoing if you're not careful."

With great strength, Jennie raised her head at the commotion. The Jays crowded around them,
conflicted as Jinyoung and JYP squared off.

"That's funny. I distinctly remember you saying you'd turn a blind eye if I were to choose her as my
partner," Jinyoung said coldly.

"That's before I realised the dangerous hold she has on you. I was intrigued, but now, I've come to
understand she poses a significant threat to our work. You gave me your word that you could
concentrate on the Tiger King program. I went along with your word but clearly, you can turn on
me, on anything, at the drop of a hat, for her. She is your priority now. You'll go behind your own
father's back for a common street whore," JYP retorted.

"It's my business whether she's my priority or not," Jinyoung shot back, sharp and angry. His jaw
worked, a vein jutting at his temple. Jennie stared at the two men fighting over her. If she wasn't so
exhausted, she'd be laughing.

For an old man on Death's door, JYP's fire had not yet gone out. Jennie sat in the awkward silence
along with the other Jays as father and son glared. Sourness twisted in Jennie's stomach, slowly
morphing into dread.

"You went back on a deal with your own flesh and blood. You chose a common whore
over me. You chose her over your word to your own father." JYP huffed resentfully. "And then
you question me why I lament the future of my estate, my legacy? It will all come crashing down
before you know it.

"You are done, old man. I don't have to answer to you," Jinyoung snarled, startling Jennie at the
barely suppressed rage in his voice, "forget about your legacy. It's my turn now. You're a footnote
in the history book. But I? I will be the fucking book."

A ringing silence fell.

JYP's eyes narrowed. "I see how it is. But luckily, I had plans of my own."

With surprising agility, JYP flicked the blanket off his lap and raised a jet-black gun, aimed
directly at Jennie's heart.

>

Rosé thought she vomited three times in her mouth already. The Jays were keeping a close watch
as she desperately feigned normality, sweaty and faint.

The sickening spectacle below was nothing short of a bloodbath, like something out of a slasher
movie where the director is very enthusiastic about gore and innards, with blood gushing and
splashing everywhere, complete with torn limbs scattered around the arena.

Bang Chan had said the TK subjects would fight to the death, and that was exactly what was going
on.

She had seen pictures of brutal combat and documentaries about gladiator fights. Hell, Lisa was
involved in this kind of fighting too, in PFB. But the level of senseless savagery was insane, more
than she could take. It reminded her of her own brushes with violence, how much it had taken from
her.

And the worst part of the whole situation was that the audience were loving it. They clamoured for
more as the stench of blood made Rosé gag every time she forgot to breathe through her mouth.

"Steady, Rosé," Hani muttered, "just four fighters to go." Her hand was clamped on Rosé's thigh,
gripping firmly enough for her nails to dig grooves in the skin beneath the fabric. She didn't seem
to be suffering as much as Rosé, but her stiff posture let Rosé know she was far from comfortable.

Rosé didn't push her hand away—the pain kept her from passing out. When she closed her eyes, it
only helped somewhat. She could still hear the dreadful, throaty roars, the shrieks, the horrid sound
of bones snapping and cracking, the vile cheering of the crowd, and Bang Chan's hoarse voice
shouting from the safety of his own seat up on a balcony overlooking the ring.

"How can they just sit there and...and like it?" Rosé whispered. The raucous spectators opposite her
cheered for the remaining fighters still savagely tearing into each other down below. Rosé could
only close her eyes and breathe shallowly, trying hard not to picture Lisa in that exact position.

"Because they're all hardened criminals. They know what they signed up for. This is what they
want to have," Hani said. "They're probably wetting their pants thinking of how their enemies will
go down."

But Rosé shook her head, her tolerance reaching a breaking point. If this was going to be Lisa's
fate, she wouldn't be able to just sit and take it. She hoped and hoped that Jennie and the twins
were close to finding Lisa. She wouldn't relax until she knew that Jennie and Lisa were safe and
sound.

"What's the status with Jennie?"

"Still looking," was the terse reply.

As though on cue, Rosé heard weird feedback crackling in her earpiece and almost lifted her hand
to her ear when it abruptly cleared.

"Thorn?" someone said. It wasn't Jennie or the twins.

Rosé stifled a gasp. "Jackson?" she said quietly. Next to her, Hani's grip tightened momentarily.

"We need to meet, I have something important to give you, for Hani. It's...it will be quicker if
I show you. Can you come to the bathrooms?" he said urgently.

She glanced at Hani. Her mask made her face impossible to read. She couldn't tell if Jackson had
hijacked Hani's feed as well.
"Pretend you're sick," Hani said abruptly, shoving Rosé's head down.

Rosé didn't even think twice. She groaned and dry-heaved loudly, which wasn't all too hard to fake:
she was seconds away from vomiting for real. It did the trick of attracting the attention of the
nearest Jays over the sound of the shouting and roars of the audience.

"She needs to go," Hani told the Jays as they gathered around, deepening her voice to mask her
identity, "she's going to hurl."

>

Everything came to a standstill, seconds stretching into minutes as Jennie stared down the barrel of
the gun, her vision tunnelling.

"Sir what do we do? Jinyoung? Sir?" clamoured the Jays. Jinyoung never replied.

JYP cocked the gun, his eyes fixed on Jennie. "Toys are a distraction, Jinyoung. I'm only doing
what's best for you in the long run. For your legacy. She's too dangerous, can't you see that? Have
you learned nothing?"

Jinyoung didn't answer. JYP's hand trembled a little and he steadied it with the second hand. "I
warned you, attachment doesn't help in business. When you mentioned this girl, I thought she
would just be a minor fling to keep the stress at bay, or maybe someone more serious, someone to
keep you company, staying quiet in the background, to expand the lineage. But she's not staying in
the background now, is she?"

He levelled the gun at Jennie, still addressing Jinyoung. "Remember how I took you to watch those
cockfights? Remember how the more the animal was provoked, the better it fought back because it
grew enraged?"

He motioned at Jennie. "The more you chip away at her, the less she has to lose. You'll turn her
into a fiend that is unstoppable. The less she has to lose, the more you do. You need to be rid of her
before it's too late. You're already pushing it."

He licked his rubbery lips, his wrinkled sagging face set. Jennie cast a glance at Jinyoung and
found him still frozen, his lips parted as he watched his father.

Nobody moved, as though the room was holding its breath, its very last.

Jennie's mouth stretched in a bittersweet smile. At least, there had been someone capable of
stopping Jinyoung dead in his tracks, even though it was at the expense of her life. It was ironic but
if this was the last thing she got to witness before she left the world, Jennie was strangely at peace.

But she hadn't gotten to tell Jisoo she loved her. She hadn't gotten to see her again.

And suddenly, Jennie realised she couldn't die yet.

Not yet. Not yet. She had to stall. There had to be a way.

"Wait!" Jennie blurted out. "Please wait!"

"Hold your tongue, slut," JYP rasped. "You're only good for a cocksleeve! The Park legacy
will not be tainted because of a low-life whore."

"Excuse you!" Jennie fired back hotly. "Don't try to be so high and mighty with me! You're worse
than dogshit! Just a common zainichi."

"What did you say?" JYP whispered. Even Jinyoung whirled around, genuine shock on his face.

"I said you're disgusting second-rate low-life scum," Jennie spat with venom. "You're not a full-
blooded Korean, shithead. You wish you were, but you never ever will be, no matter how much
money you have." Her lips peeled back in a dreadful smile. "Guess that places a low-life whore
like me higher up the ladder, don't you think?"

JYP's eyes had opened so wide that she could see the whites of his eyeballs. Deathly silence
blanketed the room. Jinyoung still stared at Jennie, speechless. She barged on.

"You're not the only one doing the digging on other people's backgrounds," she revealed with a
triumphant smile. "So before you come around insulting me, take a good look at yourself."

"Enough!" JYP bellowed. The gun shook in his hand.

"What, didn't your precious Jays know? Didn't your own son know?" she mocked. Jinyoung
probably did know, but it was more the shock that she herself was aware that had him astonished.
He was looking at her now, a strange glint in his eye, observing her like he was seeing her for the
first time.

But Jennie ignored him; her target was JYP, still aiming the gun at her chest.

Jisoo, I'm not dying until I see you again. I promise.

Jennie couldn't have cared less if the old fart was from Mars, but her hunch that his obsession with
legacy and purity would be a sore point to target proved true; it was rooted in the fact that JYP was
the son of a Korean woman and a Japanese soldier, conceived in the era of the Japanese
occupation. For someone race-obsessed as JYP seemed to be, this heritage was a humiliating
burden to carry.

She was glad she had paid attention when Hani was going over their trove of information on the
Park lineage—it gave her ammunition to stall for time.

JYP's face contorted as he seethed, thrown off as much as the rest of the room was by the sudden
revelation.

"Don't you dare look down on me," he spat. His eyes grew haunted. "You youngsters think you've
seen it all, but you have no clue the struggle I went through just to gain respect from fellow
countrymen. My mother was a comfort woman, a sexual slave with nothing to her name. Hell
knows who my depraved fath—sperm donor —was. You girl, you don't get to throw around that
—that word— like it's nothing to you."

A tortured expression crossed his face. "I've fought to gain respect. I've fought to be on equal
ground. I've worked for the glory of this magnificent country. I studied hard to be able to avenge
our country. I did my time in the military, serving proudly. Can you imagine my outrage when we
rolled over for the Americans to settle here, like lazy lapdogs? What are you staring at, don't you
know all this?" JYP said, spittle flying.

Jennie eyed the gun warily but decided to go with the truth. "Uh...history isn't my strong suit," she
mumbled, wincing when JYP threw his hands up in exasperation.

"What has the world come to?" JYP cried. "You don't know the history of your own country?
Disgraceful!"
"Yeah well, not all of us got the best education," Jennie fired back. "And guess what? We all got
traumas. You ain't special. Some of us don't turn out to be psychopathic child murderers, in spite of
what we've been through."

"Child murderer? You call me a child murderer? You don't know how the Japanese did worse!
Look up unit 731 in the world war! How do you think we know so much about the effects of
frostbite and venereal diseases? How do you think we know so much about the effects of blood
loss? They were slaughtering infants like savages! They raped and murdered entire villages! They
killed people for the thrill of it! Don't you dare compare me to them, I have nothing to do
with them," JYP spat.

He broke down into coughs, angrily jamming his mask on his face until his breath steadied.

"I don't care. You're still sick to me," Jennie said relentlessly.

"You don't understand sacrifices have to be made for science to progress, for justice to win and our
past to be avenged," JYP said fervently when he recovered. "You think I wanted to hurt children?
My life was devoted to science. I wanted my home country to advance. We were a third world
country while everyone else trampled over us! I wanted us to be free of wars. I wanted us to be
feared and submitted to. I wanted us to hold the power. Sacrifices have to be made for that."

"Spare me the patriotic drivel," Jennie snorted. "You don't get to talk about sacrifices to me. I'm
supposed to be proud that you used hundreds of innocent children for your sick experiments, all for
what? To make us strong or something? And not to mention, those kids were all non-Koreans
weren't they? No precious Korean blood must go to waste for your experiments, right? So you're
racist as well, on top of everything. A real treasure you are, you and your son."

"You don't get it!" JYP screamed. "You sit there judging me and you don't even know the horrors
this country has gone through! The civil war, the dictatorship, the Japanese occupation! Do you
even know when Liberation Day is? Or Memorial Day? You're just an ungrateful ignorant bitch!"

"Father, enough," Jinyoung said, breaking out of his stupor and reaching for the gun. JYP swung
the gun on him, his eyes wild.

"Tell her why I made Tiger King," he gritted out. "The bitch won't listen. She won't understand!"

Jinyoung closed his eyes and gave a long-suffering sigh. Abruptly, he turned to Jennie, clearly
eager to get rid of his father as quickly as possible.

"Father was initially looking into ways to enhance the physical body, to help advance the Korean
race as a whole, make us the new world power using the country's best asset: its own people. But
after my older brother Jaebum succumbed to a strange disease that turned out to be hereditary,
Father pivoted towards a cure. He didn't abandon the original research entirely but...you could say
it gave him the basic foundations for his greatest breakthrough."

"I created Tiger King," JYP rasped, "I created the original TK serum to create my superhumans.
The possibilities were limitless. But our options to research were limited at first. We needed money
for research and resources, so we loaned out Tiger King as an assassin and it performed perfectly,
earning us the income we needed. But before we could truly study the benefits it could have for
medicine, how to properly adjust and adapt the serum to each individual's biochemistry..."

JYP's hold on the gun tightened. "My greatest contribution to science, the fruit of my labour, stolen
and ruined. Do you know the kind of rage that turns you blind with fury?"
"Do I look like I care?" Jennie said recklessly. She knew she was playing with fire but she couldn't
help but snap back, provoking JYP. Maybe if she got him mad enough, he might die from a heart
attack. He looked frail enough for that.

"Ungrateful bitch! Even mere people on the street like you can benefit from this," JYP hissed.
"Junior wants to expand on its scope and bring it to commoners like yourself, so everyone can
enhance themselves. We'd be a nation of unstoppable, superhuman—"

"I'll pass," Jennie said coldly. "I wouldn't touch your stupid TK even if I was dying."

"Then die!" JYP screamed.

Jennie shut her eyes as the gun fired, splitting her eardrums with the loud crack that echoed like
thunder.

No bullet hit her, no sudden force tore through her. As seconds passed, Jennie released her breath,
heaving from shock. But nothing hurt beyond her sore wrists. Had she died that quickly?

The only sounds she could hear was short shallow breaths of shock from the crowd of Jays
surrounding them.

Jennie opened her eyes, jaw dropping open at the scene.

JYP slumped in his wheelchair, head dropped back with his mouth hanging agape. His gun was in
his lap next to the oxygen mask. Jinyoung stood over him, pointing a gun at his father, his jaw
taut.

There was nothing but cold, clinical resignation on his face.

Jennie blinked, mind racing. She tried to form words but no sound emerged.

Wordlessly, Jinyoung whipped around and marched to Jennie. He crouched in front of her and
gripped her jaw.

"Are you hurt?" he demanded roughly, twisting her face this way and that. She struggled and
snapped at his hand but he held her firm, checking carefully until he was satisfied and stood back
up, releasing her. His face was black as thunder as he turned to address the Jays.

"Turn off the oxygen. Take his body to his residence," he said quietly, "I'll deal with him later. The
rest of you, attend to Chan."

They filed out, leaving Jinyoung and Jennie alone. She squirmed in her seat, unnerved by the
sudden turn of events.

"You...you killed him..." she whispered into the deathly silence.

"I did." He turned to look at her. His eyes flashed oil black in the light, with no sign of remorse
reflected in his hard gaze.

"You could have blown us up," Jennie said, her mouth dry. She didn't understand the proper
mechanics, but she knew oxygen and a spark that happened to be a smidge too close could have
spelled a disastrous explosion.

"I know. I was far enough."

"Why?" she whispered, unable to frame the whole question. Her mind was still scrambling to catch
up.

"He doesn't get to kill you," Jinyoung said darkly. He crouched in front of her again. "He has taken
away too many things from me. He doesn't get to take you. I say when you die."

Jennie's nose wrinkled in disgust. "I'm not some possession of yours. What the fuck is your deal
with me?"

She held her breath when his hand gripped her jaw, hard.

"I've watched you for a long time," Jinyoung said quietly. "When I came to the Slammer, I noticed
you. Always in the shadow of your louder sister who easily stole the show. You were always the
overlooked one, weren't you, Jen? Even with Hwangssabu."

"Shut up! You don't know shit about us!"

"I can tell you're someone like me on a fundamental level. Like calls to like. We're more similar
than what you think."

"Shut up!"

"You say that because you can feel it and you want to deny it."

He sounded wistful as his repulsive thumb stroked her cheek. Jennie desperately tried to ignore his
touch to focus on his words before she hurled.

"I felt a kinship to you right away. I knew how it felt to be the underdog, to always be overlooked,
forgotten. I know how it feels to have your efforts constantly ignored, undermined. My father
doted on Jaebum, his true heir. I was the illegitimate bastard in the household, the second option to
carry the flame upon my brother's demise. Doesn't that sound like your situation with Lisa and
Hwangssabu? Chucked aside once Lisa was there, and then lumped with the enormous
responsibility to care for something you didn't even fully understand once Hwangssabu died.
Always having to follow someone's commands. Always having to put someone's needs before
yours. The more I looked into your background and who you are, the more I could see myself in
you."

"I'm going to be sick," Jennie croaked. She was not going to entertain being even remotely similar
to the monster in front of her for one second.

"I carry my father's tainted blood." Jinyoung gave a faint smile. "I'm not talking about my Japanese
heritage. I too am a carrier of Father's disease. One day, it might get me. But until then, I will
always claw my way to the top, as I have done so far. As have you. We're the underdogs of our
individual stories."

He let go of Jennie and stood up. "Look at you Jen. You've come so far. You've become the main
heroine of your story, fighting for your sister and your girlfriend. How does it feel to be the one in
the spotlight now? I made you like this. I sculpted you to reveal your inner strength. I made you
come out of your shell. It's in the face of adversity that we find out what we're made of. Honestly,
you should probably be thanking me."

Jennie stared, her jaw dropping. "Thank you?"

She began to laugh. She threw her head back and laughed and laughed at the top of her lungs,
terrible mirthless and visceral laughter, the kind of laughter streaked with a touch of insanity,
because she was dangerously on the brink of cracking.
Lisa and Somi would probably call it a Joker laugh. The reminder only made her cry and shriek
and laugh as pain mingled with her hysteria.

It was all wrong—Jisoo should be the one to make her laugh, the girl who helped her live again,
not the monster that had taken away her lover.

He stood now, watching her impassively as she laughed her head off, tears mingling.

"You ruined everything! How dare you?" Jennie gasped. "You took Lisa, you took Jisoo, you
killed Somi, Dahyun and Momo. Hell, you killed your own fucking father."

"Didn't I tell you that for you, I'd risk anything?" Jinyoung said quietly, freezing her on the spot.
He shook his head. "You never took me seriously, even though I've shown you over and over. I
told you before: in another life, we would have ruled together."

"Stop," Jennie said flatly. Her streak of hysteria was replaced with icy calm—death lurked in the
shadows, waiting for her. She had run out of time.

She nodded at the gun in Jinyoung's grip. "If you're going to end this, just do it. I'm tired. At the
end of the day, you're just screwing with me and when you're tired of your games, you'll kill me.
I'm done."

She tilted her heard back, squeezing her eyes shut as tears streamed. Jisoo, I'm sorry. I can't take it
any longer. I'm so tired.

Jennie gave a nasty chuckle, broken and humourless. "God, Jinyoung, you don't know how much
I fucking hate you. I didn't even get to see Jisoo again."

She heard him approach and quickly snapped her eyes open to find him looming over her, blocking
the light.

He smiled like a devil, his head rimmed with dazzling white light like a halo.

"Darling," Jinyoung drawled, "all you had to do was ask."

>

Rosé managed to lose the Jays, especially after making some horrible vomiting noises. She quickly
discovered that the floor plan of the inner rooms within the Slammer had changed drastically,
different from the floor plan she memorised. Grimly, she pushed on, hoping to find the bathrooms
that Jackson mentioned before the Jays found her again.

Luck was on her side when she saw the fluorescent sign indicating the rest rooms. She ducked into
the women's bathrooms, which seemed empty. Urgency made her throw caution to the wind.

"Jackson?"

He peeped over a stall, relief washing over his face. The comical visual of him probably standing
on a toilet to hide nearly pulled a smile from Rosé. She tapped her earpiece to inform Hani. "We
made contact."

"Good. I'll have Youngdon pick you up and keep extra watch. Youngdeuk and Jennie can
keep on their search," Hani replied curtly. Her voice was definitely bordering strained
now. "What's taking so long, I'm not liking this..."
"Thank goodness you're here," Jackson burbled as he hastily barrelled out of the stall. "Quick,
before they suspect I'm gone."

He was missing his usual snapback, but he was standing straighter than Rosé remembered, even
though he looked just as gaunt and worn. He also wore a jacket that seemed to be several sizes too
large for his wiry frame.

"I've been working on this day and night, in secret," Jackson said breathlessly as he rifled in his
jacket. "It wasn't easy, there were close calls, and I couldn't keep asking for samples from Lisa's
blood but—"

His hand finally pulled free with a rectangular package wrapped in newspaper. It was't unlike the
packaging for an iPad's Apple pen. "Don't shake it. I wrapped it up myself but I don't want to risk
breaking the contents. Careful! It's fragile."

"What is it?" Rosé whispered. Thankfully, it was quite slim and flat so she could hide it on the
inside of her blazer pocket easily, which she did, marvelling at how lightweight it felt.

"TK-Ultra antidote. Two vials in packing chips," Jackson said in a low voice but his eyes burned
with feverish energy. Rosé didn't remember seeing him so energised before. "Once you get Lisa
back, Hani can have her teams clone this formula, so they can produce the antidote indefinitely.
You can have endless supplies of it this way. But get this to her safely first, okay?"

"You got it—"

They froze when the bathroom door swung open noisily. Jackson didn't have time to fall back into
the stall, and Rosé didn't have time to grab her tiger mask again. She only had time to curse herself
before a man in a ski-mask stepped into the bathroom.

"Oh there you are! Hani sent me," the figure said, taking off the mask to reveal Youngdeuk. Rosé
almost breathed out in relief until something clicked.

"I thought she was going to send Youngdon?" Rosé frowned.

"I was closer. We split up to quicken the search." Youngdeuk bit his lip worriedly. "We can't find
Lisa. The floor plans don't match up."

"I know where she is," Jackson piped up. "Follow me, but we have to be really careful—"

Youngdeuk raised his gun and fired. Rosé fell back against the counter in horror, covering her
mouth to stifle her scream. Jackson gasped and propped himself up, staring down at the hole in his
jacket. Blood seeped out in spurts. Youngdeuk had hit true.

"Youngdeuk, what the...what the hell..." Rosé whispered.

Youngdeuk ignored her and knelt down in front of Jackson, who was feebly pressing on his chest
wound, trying to staunch the blood. His glassy eyes were quickly losing focus as Youngdeuk held
out a phone and pressed a button, speaking into it. "He's here."

"Jackson, if you're getting this, it's the end of the line for you," Jinyoung said coldly, turning
Rosé to ice at the sound of his voice. "Father got one thing right—he smelled your betrayal
from a mile off. Thank you for your work. Now burn in hell."

"Jin...wait...I..." Jackson said faintly. His skin had gone pallid and sweaty and he gasped for breath.
"Jin...young..."
"Put him out of his misery," Jinyoung sneered. "Say hello to your bitch for me, cousin."

Rosé wanted to run but her legs were rooted to the ground as Youngdeuk raised the gun and fired
again, this time taking Jackson with a clean shot to the skull. Jackson slumped back, lifeless. Rosé
wrenched her gaze away before she could see the light leave his eyes. She heaved over the basin
but managed to suppress the urge to puke.

There was more urgent things to address than being sick right now. Self-preservation instincts
kicked in as she forced herself to confront the traitor. Her heart thundered as Youngdeuk turned
towards her, his face absolutely impassive. He was blocking her exit, hemming her in.

"You...how could you?" Rosé choked out. She flung her arm out. "Don't touch me! Don't move! I'll
tell Hani!"

"Go ahead," he drawled, almost bored.

Rosé didn't take her eyes off Youngdeuk or the gun trained on her as she fumbled with her
earpiece, shaking so badly that she scratched her earlobe several times before finally pressing the
earpiece to connect to Hani.

Her heart tumbled to her feet when the unmistakable sound of dead air greeted her, just like back in
Burning Sun.

"It was you back then too," Rosé whispered, watching the smirk form on his face, "you were in
charge of the communications, you could override and switch them off easily, and claim they were
damaged."

"Better late than never," he quipped. "Figured Hani might sniff me out but thankfully, she's too
preoccupied. You didn't wise up to what I was doing either so...sucks to be you."

Rosé gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, feeling rage building up. "How long have you been
working with that scum? Is Youngdon in on this too? How could you?"

"Not important. What's more important is..." he nodded at Jackson's corpse, strewn between them.
"What did he give you?"

Rosé stifled the reflex to clutch the precious antidote. It would give away the hiding place within
her blazer and encourage Youngdeuk to make a move on her. She had to be careful.

"Not your business. Why, will you shoot me now?" she asked, her voice quavering.

"Not unless you give me reason to. Come on, we can figure this out, sweets, don't be so dramatic."

"How dare you!"

Her mind screamed danger but she remembered something important: the knife in her sleeve. She
could fight back and escape Youngdeuk to raise the alarm. Her resolve hardened. One way or
another, she was going to get out and find Jennie before it was too late. If Youngdon betrayed them
too, he might have already hauled Jennie to Jinyoung.

Cold sweat broke out on her brow when she finally understood why communication had been dead
all this time: the twins (or at least, Youngdeuk) had been blocking them and Jennie had been at
their mercy.

"How could you betray Hani? How could you turn your back on us? Where's Jennie now?" Rosé
 said, surreptitiously sliding her hands behind her back to slide out the blade. "What did Jinyoung
promise you? And your brother...are you working together? God, when Hani finds out—"

He chuckled then stepped forward, all traces of mirth vanishing. "Let's make sure that bitch doesn't
find out."

He lunged. Rosé swung her arm, revealing her blade in the nick of time. She slashed the air in an
arc.

Youngdeuk screamed as her knife sliced right through the ridge of his nose, making him stumble
back and cover his face, clearing the way out to freedom.

Rosé raced out of the door with heart in her throat and didn't look back.

Chapter End Notes

thoughts? reactions :VVV the show ain't over just yet!

 Die Another Day
Chapter Notes

Part 2 of double update :)

trigger warning for graphic violence and dark stuff in general.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

They left Hwangssabu's jacket behind. In her heart, Jennie had already said goodbye to
Hwangssabu yet it felt all the more heart-wrenching to leave the very last remaining part of him
behind, for good. She was sure she wasn't going to see the jacket again.

Jinyoung returned after briefly leaving the room Jennie was in to do god knows what—Jennie
didn't care very much. But all too soon, he came strolling back in, cut the ropes tying her to the
chair and hauled her to her feet, giving her time to adjust because her legs had gone numb. Her
hands were still tied behind her back so the jacket slipped off her shoulders.

Jinyoung didn't even look at it. Jennie didn't ask about it. She closed the lid on the memories and
turned away towards the door.

She tried guessing how close to the arena they were as they walked, but it was impossible to tell—
though she did catch muffled shouts and sounds of an ongoing boisterous fight, they sounded
distant, like thunder rolling over on the horizon of the vast ocean. Jinyoung had pulled no punches
in renovating the entire Slammer and employing noise-cancelling techniques in the infrastructure.

But Jennie barely paid any mind to such design choices. Her mind and heart were bruised and
beaten, warped beyond recognition. What remained was a shard of sanity still clinging on
desperately, stubbornly refusing to give in to Jinyoung and collapse in on itself.

"Keep moving," Jinyoung prompted, prodding the gun in her back.

Jinyoung pushed her through dusty, half-lit passages without otherwise saying a word, unnerving
her. No Jays were around. She still had her hands tied behind her back, wrists chafing with
circulation blocked. Her arms ached from being twisted behind her back for so long, especially her
healing shoulder. Jinyoung pressed the muzzle of the gun in her spine whenever her pace flagged.

According to him, they were going to see Jisoo.

Jennie's guts twisted into knots. She wasn't sure if he was messing with her to draw out her torture
before finally killing her or worse.

She didn't dare let her anticipation of finally seeing Jisoo rise. Her fears were returning, together
with her guilt. How was she going to face Jisoo? How was she going to face her and tell her about
her parents? And in what state would she find her girlfriend?

She didn't have to brood for much longer once they arrived in a passage with many barricaded
heavy metal doors situated on either side. Jinyoung pushed her towards the third one on their right.
The doors looked new, though dusty. There was a sliding panel just above Jennie's head, which she
could reach if she stood on tiptoe.
Jinyoung startled her when he unceremoniously slid the panel back with a bang and nodded at
Jennie.

"Take a look. She might be groggy though. We kept them sedated."

Heart thudding and her mouth drier than a desert, Jennie swallowed and warily approached the
door, her attention divided between the panel and Jinyoung.

Bright light flooded out from the opening, making Jennie squint. A sour stench of sweat and piss
made her stagger back before she could peek in. It was hard to balance on tiptoes with her hands
still tied behind her back.

Jinyoung simply stood next to her, waiting and watching.

Jennie forced herself to look again, holding her breath and scanning the bare room desperately. Her
field of vision was limited, but her eyes landed on the crouched figure huddled up at the furthest
corner of the cell, hunched up and hissing fearfully.

"Chu?" Jennie whispered. "Jisoo...is that you?"

At her call, the person scrambled to stand then keeled over in its haste to rush closer. It was
wearing rags that hung from its frame in tatters. There were huge purple bruises blooming all over
its bare arms and legs. It dragged itself on hands and feet as fast as it could like a drunken crab,
feverishly mumbling words Jennie couldn't understand until it was just underneath the door,
keening and mewling helplessly.

"More, please, more, more, more, please, more, more more more more," moaned the pitiful
creature.

Jennie almost recoiled, hadn't her heart shattered to pieces upon recognising her girlfriend.

"What have you done to her?!"

Jisoo looked virtually unrecognisable. Her beautiful silky raven hair had been sheared off; now she
only had stubble on her bald head. Her eyes were huge in her face, hazy and unfocused as she
pleaded and gasped for more more more more.

"What is she saying? What does she want? Chu, it's me, I'm here, it's Jennie! It's going to be okay!"
Jennie said, her voice cracking at the end.

Jennie's frantic calls finally caught Jisoo's attention. She looked up properly for the first time, her
brows furrowing as their eyes met.

"Jagiya," Jennie choked out. "It's me. It's me. Don't you recognise me?"

And then Jisoo's face cleared, recognition registering as her eyes brimmed with tears. "Jen?
Jendeuk!"

Jennie thought she had died and gone to heaven. "Yes, yes I'm here!" she said though glad tears.

Jisoo grunted and panted as she hauled herself up seemingly with great difficulty, leaning on the
door for support. She puffed hard when she finally stood at Jennie's level, her face pressed up
against the rectangular opening.

"Chu, oh my god," Jennie said shakily. She sagged against the door, all the strength suddenly
leaving her. That was Jisoo's effect, rendering her incapable of speech and movement when she
finally saw her again, so close yet so frustratingly far.

Jisoo backed up then wordlessly reached out through the panel and cupped her face, answering
Jennie's silent plea to be held. Her caress nearly made Jennie melt on the spot, because it felt like a
dream. But everything was real: the dust in her lungs, the dried tears on her face, the stink of bodily
fluids, Jisoo touching her...

Jisoo's bony fingers were plastered with dry blood, her knuckles scraped and scabbed over. Jisoo
herself smelled awful but Jennie couldn't care less. Even though Jisoo's skin was papery dry and
grimy, Jennie sank into her girlfriend's touch like it was the softest pillow, her knees giving way
beneath her when Jisoo softly stroked her cheek with her thumb.

She was home at last and the tears just wouldn't stop streaming.

"Where's my precious mandu cheeks gone? They're so thin," Jisoo said, frowning and tilting her
head. The familiar gesture had Jennie whimper as Jisoo cradled her like she was fragile porcelain,
stroking her face tenderly.

Jennie puffed up her cheeks, heart cracking down the middle when Jisoo chuckled, squishing and
poking them.

"Oh there they are! Mandu is here!"

It had been much too long since they last touched and Jennie never wanted it to end. She savoured
this delicate moment, suspended in time, and longing to wrap Jisoo in her arms—

Jisoo's face suddenly contorted. Her hands withdrew from Jennie's face and flew to clutch at her
head. With a pained howl, she sank to the floor behind the door, crumpling up in a heap and rolling
from side to side in seemingly excruciating pain as she moaned.

"Jisoo! Chu, what's happening?" Jennie cried, kicking the door in panic. "Jisoo!"

"More more more more," Jisoo gabbled, "more more more more more more more—"

"Jisoo! Snap out of it!" Jennie yelled, terrified. "Chu!"

"Jen," Jisoo sobbed. "It hurts, more more more more more more more—"

"Where does it hurt? Jisoo, talk to me!" Jennie banged her knees as she struggled to stay on tiptoes
and peer in through the panel, adrenaline pushing away all pain. "Just tell me what you want, don't
worry I'll fix it, I swear—"

"She wants TK," Jinyoung spoke up, startling Jennie. She had all but forgotten his presence.

"What?" Jennie asked, breathless.

"She wants TK," Jinyoung said again. He glanced into the cell. "She wants all that she can take, it's
never enough. It's in her system now. Didn't take long, she took to it like fish to water."

With a cold flash, Jennie remembered: TK-Ultra had the added side-effect of being addictive.

"No," Jennie whispered. "How can that....it's only been...I didn't..."

"I did try to warn you," Jinyoung said, "but as usual, you didn't take me seriously." The corner of
his mouth lifted in a nasty smirk. "Yet again, you fail to save someone in time."
She shook her head wildly, Jisoo's sobs tearing at her sanity. She was not letting Jisoo suffer more
at the hands of the monster, even if it meant she would have to take her place and endure
excruciating torture. As long as Jisoo wasn't in pain anymore, she could take anything.

Jennie dropped to her knees, begging. "Help her...please help her, I'll do anything! Torture me
instead, just for the love of god, help her, give her TK, anything!"

"You'll do anything?" Jinyoung quirked his eyebrows as Jisoo's howls reached a crescendo. "You
certainly have a knack of throwing away everything at the drop of a hat, don't you? All for her? Is
she that special?"

Jennie squeezed her eyes shut as Jisoo's screams echoed. She wondered if people in the arena could
hear them.

Jinyoung's hands grabbing her from the jaw had her eyes snap open. She struggled to wrest herself
out of his grip but he clung on grimly. His piercing gaze made her squirm.

"Would you take TK for her? Would you turn yourself into a monster, just for her?" Jinyoung
murmured.

Jennie spat in his face. He let go and reeled in disgust as she fell back.

"You want a monster?" Jennie snarled. "I'll give you one!"

She charged, barrelling towards him like a stampeding bull. Jinyoung blindly scrambled out of the
way; he had been still wiping his face.

"Face me you coward!" Jennie peeled after him.

Jisoo's cries rang out over and over but Jennie's vision tunnelled, focusing only on Jinyoung. He put
space between them, hurriedly fishing in his pockets.

"Fine fine you can have her! Look!" he yelped and brought out some kind of device that he pointed
at the door.

Jennie turned when Jisoo's door creaked open with a dull groan. All thoughts flew out of her head
when Jisoo threw herself out of the cell, writhing and scrabbling on the ground like a parched man
in the desert desperately searching for water. Her fingers were curled into claws, her tongue lolling
as she panted. Her eyes burned, manic and unfocused.

"Jisoo!" Jennie veered towards her crying girlfriend, dropping to her knees next to her. "Chu, it's
okay, let's get out of here, it's going to be okay, I promise."

"Jen, I can't stop, I need more, it hurts," Jisoo sobbed.

"We'll get you TK, I promise, come on. Hang on to me," Jennie coaxed. When Jisoo didn't react,
Jennie shoved herself under Jisoo's arm, nudging her desperately. "Chu..."

Jisoo's bleary eyes found her and she smiled weakly. That smile alone had Jennie go nearly crazy
from holding back the need to kiss her. But it wasn't the time and place to do so, they were still in
danger.

"Jen, you're here."

"Of course," Jennie choked out, "I've missed you so much. Now put your arm over me."
"You have?" Jisoo's face contorted and she breathed harshly through her next words.
"I...thought...you weren't...coming back."

"You're my girlfriend, of course I'd come back for you," Jennie said brokenly.

"Always?"

"Always." Jennie swallowed thickly. "Chu, I...I lo—"

Without warning, Jisoo slumped against her and tipped her head back in an agonised wail. Jennie
struggled to support her. She still had her hands tied behind her back and there was Jinyoung
standing not too far behind them but Jennie didn't care. Her only priority was getting Jisoo far far
away and she was going to do just that or die trying.

She glared when Jinyoung's footsteps approached. He walked up calmly, far too calm for her
liking, with his hands in his pockets.

"Stay back," Jennie snarled.

"I'm staying," he said.

Out of options to do much with her girlfriend helplessly fighting her withdrawals, she carefully let
a whimpering Jisoo slide to the ground.

"Don't leave, more more more I need please it hurts Jen I can't hold back—"

Resisting the urge to hold her tightly, Jennie turned to face their tormentor, standing up to face him.

"Whatever you're playing, it won't work," she growled. "I'm not giving up Jisoo. You'll have to kill
me to get to her." She squared up to him as best as she could, even as her insides twisted into knots
when he shrugged, always with that smug smile on his face.

"Is that all? She can do that, then," Jinyoung said.

"What?"

Jinyoung looked behind her. "Soo-ya, take her down."

Jennie whipped around in time to see a flash of yellow and a fist fly in her face.

>

Youngdeuk cornered Rosé pathetically all too soon. She was running like a headless chicken in a
maze and he probably knew all the ins and outs of this place.

"Stay back," she barked, holding the knife out in front of her.

But just because she was cornered didn't mean she was about to throw in the towel and give up.

He held his hands up. She took satisfaction to see the thin red line crossing his face over the bridge
of his nose, scarring him.

"Rosé be reasonable. I haven't called any backups yet. We don't have to do this the hard way. You
don't have to get hurt. Don't make me involve Jinyoung."

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" Rosé snarled. The wall was a cold slab of concrete behind her
back. She had found herself in some older part of the Slammer where renovations were still sparse,
even though wires hung loose everywhere.

"You'll leave me no choice if you don't co-operate. There's nowhere to run."

Still stubbornly, she sought for any way out, her mind churning over what possible negotiations she
could go over. What could she give up? How could she contact Hani?

But her options looked bleak. If she tried to make a run for it, he would only block her or catch up
to her. How long till his patience ran out and he would indeed drag her away to Jinyoung? The
antidote dug into her side, like the proverbial thorn.

She had the smoke bombs which could give her a quick cover to get away. But what was the use if
she would only get lost again? And it's not like Youngdeuk was going to wait for her to actually
take out the smoke bomb and set it off.

"Take me to Lisa and then we'll talk," Rosé said firmly. "I want to see that Lisa is okay with my
own two eyes."

Youngdeuk rolled his eyes. "I can't just do that without permission."

"Then get permission from that snake," Rosé said cuttingly. "I'm not budging. And if you step
closer, I'll gouge your eye out this time."

Youngdeuk sighed and drew out his gun. "Why do you and Jennie always have to be so damn
dramatic all the time?"

Rosé mouth ran dry, courage deserting her all at once. "Deuk, don't—"

"Relax, I'm not killing you. Just cutting to the chase is all. You wanna see your girl? Let's go then."

Rosé ducked away when he fired but there was no loud gunshot. Instead, Rosé felt a a burst of pain
prick her right in her belly. When she looked down, she saw the dart that had sprouted just to the
left of her navel.

"No..."

The knife dropped from her limp hands and Rosé followed, falling first to her knees and then
keeling over without so much as a whimper as everything went black.

>

Jennie crashed to the ground, stunned from the powerful punch. She turned her head and spat
blood. Her vision bounced in doubles before she shook her head and the gloomy area swam into
focus again. Dust flew in her lungs and she coughed it out.

"Stand back, Soo-ya," Jinyoung's voice rumbled.

Jennie lurched up into a sitting position, her shoulder throbbing from the violent fall. Disoriented,
she sought out the direction of Jinyoung's voice and Jisoo's desperate cries. Her stomach dropped
when she saw Jisoo grovelling at Jinyoung's feet, pleading with a cracked voice.

"Ringmaster, please please more more more more Ringmaster, please—"

"Soon," Jinyoung said simply and kicked her aside. Jisoo whimpered and curled up, holding her
side.
Jennie saw red. "Don't hurt her!"

Jinyoung merely smirked cruelly and aimed another kick at Jisoo's body, catching her in the ribs.
He did it again and again as Jisoo wept, the sounds more than Jennie could bear.

"Stop it you monster!" Jennie yelled. With great difficulty, she pulled herself to her feet and
powered forward to knock him away but Jinyoung was quicker.

"Soo-ya!"

Jisoo whipped around. She leapt and tackled Jennie down with a snarl, careening into her with
unnatural speed and strength, as though she hadn't just been rolling on the ground in pain. They fell
back with Jisoo on top, her hands around Jennie's neck, pinning her down but not squeezing.

"Chu, Chu it's me, don't do this, please, snap out of it," Jennie burbled. Terror seized her when she
spotted the dreaded yellow eyes glaze over in her lover's face, burning into her own.

Her nightmare had come alive.

"No," Jennie sobbed. "What did you do to her?"

There was no sign of her girlfriend in the cold murderous gaze trained on her every movement,
every breath. The hands at her throat were not the loving hands that caressed her face only mere
minutes earlier.

How could Rosé look into the face of such a monster and claim to still love the person hiding
beneath?

"You're still in there. Please don't do this, please remember," Jennie begged, desperately hoping it
was true. "Jisoo, please..."

"I told you she might not remember you, Jennie," Jinyoung said lightly, "but you never took me
seriously."

He crouched next to them, stroking Jisoo's head with that repulsive smile plastered on his face.
Jennie wanted to snap his neck so badly but she was immobile, helplessly pinned down by her
girlfriend.

"Jisoo doesn't remember you when I say so. If I like, she can kill you right now. She won't
remember that it happened after, if that's any comfort. I can even kill her. She won't lift a finger to
stop me."

His hand strayed down Jisoo's face, stroking the cheekbones jutting out harshly.

"Total subservience. Killer instinct. Sper strength. Super sharp reflexes and reaction time. That's
what we're after. You can do as you please but they will only ever obey whoever owns them, no
matter what you do to them. They're dependent on me for survival, and for the TK. Just like circus
animals."

Jennie gnashed her teeth when he flashed her a grin and patted down Jisoo's body, clearly relishing
Jennie's dismay. Stricken, Jennie watched as Jisoo never showed any sign of even being aware that
Jinyoung was violating her personhood.

"Not convinced? Let's amp it up some more," Jinyoung said, his smile bordering sadistic.
Bile rose up Jennie's throat when Jinyoung's fingers curved around Jisoo's jaw. He forced two of
them past her lips and into her mouth. Jisoo never stopped him, her gaze fixed solely on Jennie
even as Jinyoung plugged her mouth.

"Suck," Jinyoung commanded. Jisoo did, her tongue slobbering all over Jinyoung's fingers as he
worked them into her mouth.

"That's my little bitch. Who's my good girl?" Jinyoung cooed.

Jennie felt vomit rush up her throat. Before she could turn her head aside to puke her guts out,
Jinyoung spoke up.

"Squeeze her neck."

Jisoo squeezed, blocking her air intake and instantly the urge to vomit went away as Jennie kicked
and writhed, gasping for air.

"Release her." Jinyoung was enjoying himself.

"Stop it," Jennie said hoarsely when she was able to breathe again. She screwed her eyes shut, on
the verge of screaming. "God, make it fucking stop."

With a lewd pop, Jinyoung pulled out his fingers as Jennie snarled at him. She froze when he shot
her a smirk and cupped Jisoo's face, turning her to face him.

"Soo-ya, give me a kiss, will you?" Jinyoung said lazily. Still holding Jennie down, Jisoo
obediently reached up to him, chapped lips puckering up.

"No!" Jennie screamed.

"So possessive," Jinyoung laughed and swatted Jisoo's face away. "Alright, alright, don't get all
worked up. I'm just giving you a demonstration. Of course, the programming is very rudimental,
she would need years of it to be fully integrated with no slips in her behaviour. But for the limited
time we had to work with, I'm very pleased with the results."

He nodded at Jennie's horrostruck face. "She can do any command I like, as long as she's in the
trigger state of course."

"Trigger state," Jennie repeated, hanging on to his words even as she looked up into Jisoo's
unflinching gaze. Jisoo was starting to breathe hard through her nose, the colour of her eyes
flickering. Jinyoung noticed.

"Yes, you see that? She's not entirely ready. Still have to remind her now and then by triggering her
frequently, with a lot of TK supplement. But otherwise, she can do pretty much anything I tell her.
Just like a good bitch."

"What's the trigger?" Jennie asked, ignoring the burning tears welling up, matching the burning in
her throat.

"Well, you know that triggers usually result from strong emotional states, right? We dug a little
into her background...turns out there's a lot of unresolved parental issues that your girlfriend
repressed. She just pushed them aside and never dealt with them. But those issues came in useful to
trigger her."

Jennie thought her heart couldn't break further but it did. She recalled her last conversation with the
Kims, especially Mr Kim ranting about his youngest daughter. It gave her a glimpse into Jisoo's
relationship with her estranged parents. Jisoo had never given the impression that she had been too
wounded, seemingly bouncing around like a well-adjusted individual if you overlooked her weird
tics and humour. She had smoothly brushed over the strained state with her parents and never
brought it up again.

But how much of Jisoo was actually secretly hurting? Jennie had no clue, and the realisation of
how little she knew about Jisoo's past devastated her.

"Oh dear, never got around to talking about mummy and daddy issues? I thought you would have
covered it by now?" Jinyoung said, relishing Jennie's dismay. "Well, Jisoo told us plenty about it
and we were able to extract what we need to induce her trigger state. All I have to do is call her
Soo-ya, just like daddy dearest used to do when summoning her to berate her, right? He was always
yelling at you, wasn't he? Whatever you did, nothing seemed to be good enough."

Jisoo's eyes flashed and her lips trembled the slightest bit.

"Stop it," Jennie begged. "Whatever you want, I'll do anything, just please...stop hurting her."

"Soo-ya, get off her."

Jisoo stood, tottered to the side and then crashed to the ground, lifeless.

"Jisoo!" Jennie screamed. She scrambled to stand, hindered by her limited range of motion before
Jinyoung's foot pressed her down on her stomach.

"She'll be fine. She's just crashed from the toll it takes on her body." Jinyoung's eyes gleamed.
"Now, what to do with you, hmm?"

Through the haze of tears, Jennie dared to tilt her face up. Her shoulders burned, she could no
longer feel her hands and in place of her heart was an empty hole.

"Let Jisoo go. I'll take her place. I'll do what you want," she choked out. "The Dasoni tattoo...you
can burn it off. It would nullify my membership. I just..." she glanced at Jisoo again, tears
brimming anew.

I just want to save her.

All the plans fell through. She couldn't save Lisa. She couldn't save Rosé or even Hani and the
twins. Her survival instinct narrowed down to saving Jisoo. Because if she could somehow
guarantee Jisoo's return, then at least someone she loved would be saved. She would die knowing
that at least, she did one thing right.

"Jennie, what I want from you is really simple. It's surprising that you haven't gotten it yet. But I
suppose all the stress and TK you've been taking have messed with your head. Yes, I know you've
been taking TK-Beta."

"Of course, Jackson told you," Jennie said. Jinyoung pressed harder on her stomach, making her
hiss and kick out.

"Jackson?" Jinyoung said, tilting his head. "What about him?"

"Don't play dumb with me, I never trusted him right from...the start..."

Too late, Jennie realised her fatal mistake. Jinyoung did as well, judging from his sinister smile.
"Oh he wasn't my mole, but my dear cousin was also sneaking around. I actually had the mole
dispose of him earlier. Remember I left you alone for a bit?"

"What?" Jennie whispered. Jinyoung didn't give her time to process the bombshell.

"Here's the deal Jen." He nodded at Jisoo. "I have no use for her. She's not a true TK candidate.
We've just been using her as a control. Mostly, I've been using her to make you understand one
thing: I mean business. What I did to her, I can do to anyone you ever care about. Rosé. Ella.
Seulgi and Irene. Dahyun's friend Chaeyoung. And in case you're wondering, we could always
check on the effects it has on animals. Do you think Jisoo would mind awfully if we borrowed
Dalgom?"

Jennie's blood turned to ice but Jinyoung wasn't finished.

"What I want from you is to leave. Back off. Back off from Dasoni. Leave and forget about Tiger
King. It's mine now. Got that? Tiger King is not your sister and it's not Lisa. It never was." He bent
down closer, his face a menacing mask. "Can you do that, Jennie? Do you take me seriously now?"

Jennie forgot she had a tongue. Speechless, she simply gazed back dumbly.

"I killed your friends. I used your girl. I killed my father. If you push me, I can murder Rosé's kid
and her minders at the snap of a finger. Rosé too. You decide when it all stops, Jennie. Only you,"
Jinyoung said quietly. "I can keep this up till it's just you and me left."

Jennie closed her eyes, exhaustion seeping into her bones. "I can't just walk out of here with Jisoo,
can I?" she muttered. "You wouldn't let us go like that. You're too sadistic for something so
simple."

"As a matter of fact, I have a proposition for you." His thoughtful tone made her open her eyes, but
she wished she hadn't. His keen gaze let her know whatever he would say was nothing good.

"What if I gave you the option to fight for your and Jisoo's freedom in the arena?"

Jennie gave a dry chuckle. "I thought you didn't want anyone to kill me but you."

Her words cut off abruptly when he pressed down a little firmer on her stomach. She was sure she
had internal bruising from how long he had been stepping on her.

"Well, I'm betting on you to make it out alive. The odds aren't exactly stacked in your favour but...I
have a thing for the underdogs." He gestured towards Jisoo's motionless body. "If you don't make
it, I will reclaim her. And I'll keep Rosé too. She'll be joining you in the arena."

That had Jennie's mind snap into overdrive, panic levels shooting to the stratosphere as his words
sank in.

"Rosé's going to be in the arena too? No, no deal, she can't, you can't, are you fucking insane—"

"I think you'll find you don't have much of a choice," Jinyoung said smoothly. He stepped off her
just as footsteps echoed down the passage from the farther end. Jennie rolled on her side, tilting her
head up to see who the newcomer was. He was too far to make out but his build and his gait
seemed familiar.

"Ah there you are," Jinyoung called. "Everything in place?"

"Yes sir," said the man, coming to a stop a few paces away, arms behind his back as Jennie looked
on with her jaw on the floor.

"You?" she gasped as recognition and betrayal slammed into her like a freight train. Before she had
a chance to yell, Jinyoung spoke up again.

"Jen, meet my latest recruit, Jay-YK or as you know him better, Youngdeuk. He's been working
hard to make sure all the pieces are in place for the finale."

"You're working with him?" Jennie screeched as Youngdeuk glanced her way impassively. "You're
the mole? What the fuck—"

"Get Jisoo," Jinyoung interrupted. Jennie had to watch, blood boiling as Youngdeuk hauled Jisoo
up like a ragdoll, manhandling her none too gently when he slung her over his shoulder like a sack
of rice.

"The sooner we get going, the sooner you get to be with her again," Jinyoung said, making Jennie
turn around to face him. He flashed her his smirk. "That is, if you survive. Don't let us down now,
will you darling? I'd be most disappointed if you die."

>

Jennie was going to die.

She was sore, bruised, battered and utterly exhausted. She didn't know where Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé
were. She didn't know if Hani was still there, or had scarpered.

As always, she was alone. That undeniable fact broke her more than the certainty that she was
going to die.

When Jinyoung shoved her into the arena like she was some pig for slaughter and announced that
he had the terrorist that was recently terrorising Seoul, the crowd was in uproar, such that even
Jinyoung had trouble containing it.

He didn't seem to mind, if his secret smile was any indication. He released Jennie and left her
stranded in the middle of the arena while he retreated away to safety, being lifted on a platform and
stepping onto a balcony that had been newly constructed. He smiled down at Jennie as he lifted his
hands to quieten the crowd.

"It's alright, she's completely harmless right now. As the cherry on top of the iced cake for our
finale, we will demonstrate how the best of our TK subjects can dispose of such a brutal heartless
killer."

Jennie was numb as he announced her death sentence—it all felt like a fever dream, something she
was hallucinating before she opened her eyes back to reality. But the ground beneath her was dusty,
gritty and bloody. Her wrists were prickling as blood rushed back into her fingers, which turned red
and shiny, almost swollen. She didn't even lift her head to stare defiantly, that took too much
strength. She buckled under the weight of all the shouts and insults they flung at her, since of
course, they all believed Jinyoung.

She was not a helpless girl to them; she was Northern scum and they wouldn't bat an eye if she was
machine-gunned on the spot.

"Now in the interest of fairplay, we will give her a chance to fight back." Jinyoung pointed to the
left tunnel opening despite uproarious complaints and noisy disapproval. "There's a single knife in
there that she can use for self-defence. It will be up to the TK subjects to avoid being wounded by
our lethal killer."

"She could stab herself!" Someone yelled from high above, soon echoed by others. Jennie squinted
but could barely see with all the bright and hot spotlights pointing down. She could only make out
strange silhouettes of figures with animals masks.

"I think she has every reason not to do so," Jinyoung said evenly. Jennie glanced up in his
direction. He was flanked by two other seemingly male figures, one short, one tall. Those would
probably be Bang Chan and Jacob Elordi, going by Rosé's descriptions from Burning Sun.

Jennie could just barely make out Jinyoung's face but she definitely heard the smug smile in his
voice.

"You have a friend waiting for you in the tunnel," Jinyoung said, sending Jennie's heart into
overdrive. "So better get moving. You can have a headstart, since you're at a disadvantage. Go."

Jennie's head swivelled to other tunnel behind her, where the metal grille started to rise noisily with
a groaning grating sound. All she saw within the dark depths of the tunnel were several pairs of
glowing yellow eyes, trained on her.

Jennie turned and ran.

>

Rosé had no clue what was happening. The last thing she remembered was falling when
Youngdeuk darted her.

She woke up when she heard Jinyoung's voice blaring, gleefully proclaiming he had captured
Seoul's terrorist.

Jennie.

She was still groggy but in her disoriented state, Rosé realised a couple crucial things:

a) her mouth was taped shut; b) her hands were tied behind her back, gripping some sort of smooth
handle; c) she was lying on her stomach, still in her blazer, still with the antidote pressed to her
side, and her legs were free of restraints; and finally d) she was trapped in a sort of ante-chamber
leading out to the arena. Behind her, there were metal bars, like a jail cell, that blocked her from
returning to the beginning of the tunnel.

The only way out was through the tunnel opening, which had the metal grille lifting as Rosé
watched, her heart stuttering. Bright light poured in, making her squint. Thunderous roars
resounded outside, muffled somewhat. She had been too caught up in categorising her situation to
notice if Jinyoung had said something else.

What was she doing here? What was her purpose? If the TK subjects came in here...

She tried to check over her shoulder to see what exactly she was holding. The tantalising glint of
light rays reflected back into her eye pushed her to stretch her neck far enough to see the sharp
gleam of a wide blade, grasped firmly in her palms.

Rosé's heart all but stopped beating at the sight.

But she didn't have time to even formulate any thoughts: she felt the ground vibrate beneath her,
followed by the sound of rapid thumping footsteps of someone running desperately for their life.
Next second, in hurtled Jennie, gasping for breath as she skidded to a halt. Their gazes met and
Jennie's eyes widened. Rosé barely caught glimpse of a huge bruise on her face before Jennie
doubled over, wheezing as she wobbled over to where Rosé lay.

"Shit—Rosie—no time—huh—"

The stampede of footsteps was closing in and Rosé knew she was going to die. The moment Jennie
ripped the tape off her mouth, she gasped her words out.

"Save yourself, I have antidote, give it to—"

"Shut up!" Jennie snapped, feverishly wrestling with Rosé's wrists. She worked off the rope
binding her hands and snatched up the knife just as the first TK subject—Rosé swore he looked
familiar—careened into the tunnel with a roar.

Jennie yelled and met him halfway as she leapt up, driving the knife straight into his stomach with
tremendous force. He had been hurtling in so fast that she actually still moved a few paces back
with the momentum.

He tottered backwards when Jennie wrenched the knife out. Everyone stared at his blood-soaked
dirty tank top, blood splashing the ground in a sputtering stream. When he raised his face, Rosé
recognised the once-round cheeks chiselled to a sickening depth making him look gaunt and ill.

"Jimin," she whispered.

He dropped to his knees and keeled over without a sound, eyes losing their gleam not long after
that. Rosé stared at him, a jumble of emotions clamouring for attention as incoherent shouting
outside swiftly brought her back to reality.

"Incoming!" Jennie yelled, racing past her. "Stay in here!"

But how could she? Even as she stood, trembling to hear the chaos, Rosé knew that whatever
happened, she would be at Jennie's side till the end.

And she wasn't entirely helpless. Hurrying to remove the fake sole at the heel of her boot, Rosé
dislodged the smoke bombs.

These would have to do.

Hefting them in her hands, she closed her eyes for a moment to steel herself before she tore out into
the blood-soaked arena.

>

Jennie ran.

She had taken off running to draw the brutes away from the tunnel and to avoid outright
confronting them, slipping through their ranks by running around the perimeter of the arena. When
she dared look back over her shoulder, she spied two of the brutes were in hot pursuit. All of them
had shaven heads like Jisoo, making them almost indistinguishable.

Jennie ran.

She had no game plan and no tactic. She was merely a girl with a knife, terrified for her life and
fleeing like a headless chicken running frantically in panic.
The crowd loved it, their cheers and roars muffled. All she could see was bodies and limbs from
the previous fighters strewn across the arena as she dodged and ran on, panting.

Jennie felt the stitch in her side stretch all the way up to her lungs. Her pace started to falter but
even so, she gritted her teeth and pushed on, too terrified of what would happen the moment she
stopped.

But soon, she would run out of energy. If she stopped now, maybe she'd have enough energy to
strike back and take out another one of Jinyoung's precious subjects out. Let him smirk then.
Maybe if she did it suddenly, it would catch the brutes off-guard, giving her the element of
surprise.

Out of nowhere, she remembered Rosé's story of facing down Seokjin in the alley.

I ran towards him, instead of away, Rosé had narrated.

You're crazy, Rosé, Jennie had said, torn between being impressed and incredulous.

Fighting the urge to keep running away from danger, Jennie switched directions without warning
and ran full tilt with a terrific cry straight back at the brutes on her trail, bloody knife pointed at
them. She only glimpsed their bewildered expressions before she collided with the shorter man as
she skewered him right through the throat and fell on top of him. Her arm bore the brunt of the hit,
her injured shoulder jarred by the movement as she drove the knife in.

Blood sprayed everywhere: her eyes, her nose, her mouth. She had slashed his arteries for sure. He
gargled and struggled beneath her as his friend snatched her up with a visceral roar from her waist.

"No!" she cried when her slick grasp around the wet knife slipped. He pulled her off effortlessly
even as she kicked and fought. His unforgiving grip crushed all air out of her lungs as his arms
tightened around her.

"Let—go!" Jennie wheezed. She tried to elbow him but he was an immovable mountain of bulk.

Jennie strained and gasped while he clung on, his harsh breathing crashing into her ear like a
draught of wind. Dimly, she felt him haul her up higher above his head, making her fight even
more furiously when she read his intentions: he was going to dash her to the ground.

The crowd's chanting and roars of enthusiasm were all blurring together, echoes clashing and
bouncing back and forth, disorienting Jennie. But then the brute holding her sneezed, at the same
time as Jennie caught a whiff of sulfur.

The crowd's yelling changed cadence, now sounding more like cries of outrage. The brute holding
her paused, confused. And Jennie scanned the arena, her gaze falling on a cloud of unnaturally
mustard yellow smoke engulfing the remaining fighters, blanketing the arena and swallowing
everything from view.

Rosé.

Jennie remembered she and Hani had the smoke bombs.

This was her chance. She swung her foot hard back, catching her bewildered captor right in the
chin. He let go and she dropped like a stone, breaking the fall and rolling over and over to get away
from him as fast as possible even as the silent yellow cloud reached them. She backed away as he
roared and dived into the smoke but Jennie simply moved quietly away from him, watching his
movement swirl the smoke and hear him stomping around in fury. Dimly, she heard the other
brutes duking it out somewhere. The crowd was completely hidden from view, with the spotlight
overhead dimmed as well.

She tripped over ripped, stiff limbs, doing her utmost to not look too closely as she blindly walked,
hearing the horrid sounds of dull thuds and fighting all around her but not seeing anything.

Jennie had counted on the smoke screening her, but she also didn't reckon that it would prove to be
the perfect hiding place for the other TK subjects to find her.

She only had a split second's chance when she saw the burning yellow eyes emerging from the
smoke before hands shot out of nowhere and clamped around her throat.

This one was well and truly deranged, grunting and snarling in her face as he lifted her off the
ground with raw brute strength. She kicked and struggled in mid-air, her lungs crying for oxygen
as she whimpered in fear beneath his menacing glare. He shook her like a soda bottle. Jennie felt
her brain rattle in her skull.

"Where's the girl?" bellowed the brute, "where's the girl? Tell me!"

"Huh?" Jennie croaked. Without warning, the man threw her at his feet. Jennie's head cracked
against the hard ground, throwing up a cloud of dust that made her cough.

"Where's the girl?" screamed the creature above her, its yellow eyes darting everywhere in their
sockets and its muscular arms riddled with yellow veins running up and down the length. It danced
around maniacally, shouting over and over: "Where's the girl? Where's the girl?"

Jennie's head felt so heavy. All she wanted was to close her eyes and pass out. But she still
possessed a sliver of self-preservation. Seeing her attacker seemingly spiralling into whatever
lunatic craziness his juiced up mind was conjuring, Jennie started to carefully ease away, hoping to
disappear into the smoke.

She tried to move slowly, taking care not to make sudden movements but the soft rustle of her legs
dragging along the ground unfortunately caught his attention. He let out an angry yowl and threw
himself forward.

Jennie covered her face and braced for impact that would break her ribs.

It never came. Instead, she felt something power past in a rush, disrupting the heavy smoke settling
around her and making Jennie cough. A hard thump to her side had her look up and gasp to see
another brute engage in combat with the crazy one.

Transfixed, Jennie watched as the newcomer wrestled with the crazy brute, pushing against each
other, grunting as they planted their feet and strained. The newcomer was shorter but Jennie
couldn't see his face as they clashed and spun around swiftly, an explosion of movement that had
Jennie dizzy trying to keep up.

With an almighty roar, the newcomer finally got a good grasp on his opponent and flung him away
into the smoke. He crashed to his knees and propped himself up on his elbows as he clutched his
head. Jennie stared dumbfounded when she heard the unmistakable sounds of whimpers coming
from the brute.

She stood up slowly, finally getting a good look at his back. Her unlikely saviour had looked
familiar in the glimpses she caught during the fight but now she confirmed his identity.

"Yoongi," she said, her mouth dry when he swung around.

Something was wrong.

Gone was the arrogant, cold smile, the powerful haughty expression, the clinical set of his jaw,
and even his hair. Since the night she had last seen him, Yoongi looked like he had aged twenty
years. His skin was cracked in places, open sores and blisters dotting his arms. His head was
shaved and his eyes burned the same way Jisoo's had. His face was gaunt, the skin stretched thin in
places. Spit frothed at the corners of his mouth, drool dripping as he panted open-mouthed.

"More more more more," Yoongi croaked. He crawled haplessly towards a stupefied Jennie.
"More more more more it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts."

Jennie backed away. Yoongi just kept crawling as he dragged himself on his hands and knees, tears
streaming, snot bubbling from his nose. His yellow eyes flickered erratically. He was a snivelling,
trembling wreck.

"What the hell did he do to you?" Jennie whispered. Her heart all but seized in her chest when
Yoongi lunged in desperation and latched on to her legs, almost unbalancing her.

But he didn't try to pull her down. He clung to her legs, sobbing into her knees. His shoulders
convulsed violently and Jennie knew it wasn't just from crying.

"TK-Ultra," Jennie realised. "You're having withdrawals. He's not giving you enough of it?"

"Prime," Yoongi gritted out with great difficulty. "All for Prime not enough not enough not enough
—"

"Yoongi, let go," Jennie said, kicking him off. She stumbled and fell backwards, stifling her panic
as he crawled resolutely towards her, crying and shaking.

"Stay—stay back!"

"Kitten," he croaked. "Please please help me—"

His babbling turned incoherent but he managed to point at his pale throat, drawing an unsteady
line.

"Please," he wept. "It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts—"

Jennie stared and stared, blinking. "You want me to..." She covered her throat with her hand
because she couldn't even voice out what he was asking of her. He nodded frantically before
yelping and covering his head, curling in a ball.

Jennie's heart thudded. The other brutes hadn't found them yet and the crazy lunatic hadn't
returned. But with all the noise Yoongi was making, Jennie would be a sitting duck if she didn't
make up her mind. What if it was a trap? What if he was trying to lure her by fishing for her
sympathy?

But he had saved her. And he was behaving even more desperately than Jisoo. It was no act.

Releasing him from his misery, it was the least she could do.

Dread in her stomach, Jennie flung herself forward, seizing Yoongi up in the chokehold that was so
familiar to them, her front pressed to his back, legs bracketing his hips. Yoongi immediately
relaxed in her arms, even letting out a tiny sigh, which had Jennie more conflicted than ever.
Thoughts clamoured, dashing and crashing into each other, more confusing until it was all just a
buzz in her head.

"I'm supposed to hate you," Jennie said in his ear. "I'm supposed to hate you but right now..."

The more she thought about it, the harder it would be to carry out his request. Hwangssabu had
been wrong, it didn't get easier to kill, especially if it was someone you knew, someone you were
forced to mercy kill with your bare hands.

But then again, Hwangssabu had been wrong about a lot of things.

"Thank you kitten," Yoongi said quietly, suddenly lucid. His trembling arm patted her thigh. "I'm
ready. Do it. For real this time."

He had never thanked her before. Her resolve to spare him his cruel fate hardened.

Tighter, Jen, feel the muscle and squeeze hard, whispered Hwangssabu in her mind, guiding her.

Jennie closed her eyes and squeezed, harder. A loud snap, then Yoongi's head lolled forward and
his whole body went limp. It was over before she even drew a full breath.

She ignored the lone tear that rolled down her face, and the way her heart actually stuttered feebly
when she realised that yet another death was on her hands. In death, Yoongi looked positively
ghastly but his unnatural stillness lent him an air of tranquility, something Jennie knew he probably
had precious little in his lifetime.

Of all people, she had been the one to give that to him. It gave her a sliver of ill-befitted comfort.

As Jennie got to her feet and stood looking down on her dead ex, her grieving was cut short by a
maniac roar as the lunatic brute returned, emerging from the smoke too fast for Jennie to move.

But a tall brunette got to him first.

>

Jennie never got to run after Rosé. Someone shoved her to the ground from behind, taking her by
surprise. She yelled and twisted in their grip, trying to grapple with the brute that got her but he
caught her hands and pressed a knee down on the centre of her back, effectively pinning her down.

"Stop moving," commanded the hateful voice that she never wanted to hear again. Jennie froze,
glancing behind her. Her heart burst into a stuttering rhythm when she spied Jinyoung nodding at
Youngdeuk, who carried Jisoo's limp body in his arms. They both wore handkerchiefs covering
their mouth and nose, but their eyes still streamed, irritated from the smoke. It didn't stop them
from carrying out whatever nefarious purpose they had to do.

Youngdeuk laid Jisoo next to Jennie, who immediately struggled to edge closer to her unconscious
girlfriend.

"Chu. Chu, are you okay? Wake up," Jennie pleaded. "What happening? What are you doing?"

"Keeping my word. You won so I'm giving her to you, as per the deal we made," Jinyoung said.
She didn't need to see his face to know he was smiling evilly. "I bet on the underdog. I knew you'd
manage to stay alive."

"Rosie," Jennie choked out. "She's still there, there's other brutes, there's—"

"Tiger King Prime will take care of it. It's already disposed of the others. But you wouldn't know of
course, since our mutual friend released all the smoke."

It gave Jennie a smidge of satisfaction to hear the displeasure in his tone. But she couldn't gloat for
long: nearby sounds of roars from the brute Rosé was fighting raised the hairs at the back of her
neck.

"My, quite a lover's reunion they're having," Jinyoung commented. "And I see you had your own
too. Tell me, Jennie, how does it feel to kill someone you fucked?"

"Lover's reunion?" Jennie said, her mouth dry. "That brute is..."

"V. Or Taehyung to you," Jinyoung said pleasantly in the face of her horror. "Must be fate."

Jennie didn't get the chance to yell because Youngdeuk swiftly interrupted.

"Boss, they've infiltrated."

"Then we should leave. I'll just check in with Tiger King first but before that..."

Jennie heard the rattle of metal, and turned her head just in time to see Jinyoung latch a set of
cufflinks to her wrist and click it locked. Now she was virtually helpless to do anything.

Jennie heaved when Jinyoung stood up, gasping for air and coughing on the pungent sulfur smell.
She glanced over her shoulder to see him pull out a square device and look at it intently. Jennie
deduced it was a tracker and he was following Tiger King's—Lisa—movements on it.

"It's not far, good," Jinyoung told Youngdeuk. "Go back and support Jay-T's squad. And here's a
special assignment for you: get that detective alone and kill him. I'm sure Dasoni would appreciate
the gesture."

"Consider it done," Youngdeuk sneered and ran off. Jennie clenched her fist.

Chanyeol. Hani. They were still unaware of the twins' betrayal, and the danger it put them in. Or
was it just Youngdeuk working on his own? Jinyoung and Youngdeuk never mentioned
Youngdon, almost as if he didn't exist.

What if they had killed him? Would Youngdeuk really kill his twin brother in cold blood just to
keep the secret?

"What's going on?" Jennie frowned as Jinyoung pocketed the tracker and turned to her.

"Dasoni gave us the slip the moment the smoke bombs were set off. She released her own and did
a disappearing act. Then she brought in reinforcements, even the detective she wants to fuck
showed up. He brought his own merry band. We're dealing with them. Now..."

Jennie let out a nasty laugh when he brought out a jet black gun.

"Of course you're going to kill me," she said bitterly. After all she had endured, after her harrowing
brushes with death multiple times, after his false promises and empty words, it was still Jinyoung
who had to be the one to end her. She was starting to think the universe had some sort of ongoing
joke involving her death circumstances.

"Kill you when you've just won? That would be overkill." Jinyoung had the audacity to chuckle.
"Relax, this isn't a gun. Here's what we're going to do. You're going to have a nice nap and rest
after all the hassle you've been through tonight. Wait until your friends come to pick you and Jisoo
up. Whether or not Rosé will join you later is down to her."

Jennie snarled and balled up her fists uselessly. She didn't protest when Jinyoung brought Jisoo to
lie closer. She took comfort in the fact that the sleeping girl seemed to be breathing normally, her
back rising and falling slightly.

"As an extension of my congratulations for making it through this trial, I'll throw in a bonus just for
you, Ace," Jinyoung proposed. He gestured with the gun towards the general area where Taehyung
and Rosé had disappeared. "Tell Rosé she'll have a surprise waiting for her at the safehouse if she
makes it out alive. And if she doesn't....well, guess the surprise will pass on to you and become
your responsibility."

It took Jennie all of two seconds to figure out what—or rather who—he was talking about.

"Leave Ella out of this you sick son of a—"

Jinyoung pulled down his handkerchief to smirk at her before he fired and sent Jennie tumbling
into the familiar dark nothingness.

>

Rosé didn't even blink when she had seen Taehyung, the monster of her nightmares, explode out of
the smoke ahead of her straight towards Jennie.

She had picked up Jennie's knife in her blundering wanders, miraculously unharmed by the rest of
the Tiger King subjects prowling the arena in the smoky trap she had unleashed. She had heard
Jennie and Taehyung's voices combined, and desperately raced towards them, fearing the worst
when they abruptly cut out. She had run, too afraid to call out, too out of breath to think of a plan.

Jennie was in danger and unarmed; that's all that mattered.

And then she finally spotted Taehyung leaping for Jennie, and her world turned red.

Rosé ran, harder than she had ever run in her life, and jumped just as Taehyung pounced.

"Rosie!"

Jennie's scream was the last thing Rosé heard before she and Taehyung crashed to the ground and
rolled. They separated but Taehyung charged as Rosé leapt to her feet and took off, intent on
drawing him far away from Jennie, intent on getting away from him herself.

She may have the knife but she felt insignificantly powerless when facing the terror head on. He
gave chase after his new quarry. Rosé didn't know if he had recognised her but she was praying
with all her might that he wouldn't realise.

He was too fast, gaining on her in an alarmingly short time. Her nerves broke and she turned to
slash the blade at him. She caught his forearm, razing down the length as he snarled at her. Too
late, they locked gazes, and his expression contorted into something purely inhuman.

"You!"

Rosé screamed as he lunged for her. She slashed the air as she backed away but he dodged. He
stayed low, out of reach, pressing into her space until he finally threw a punch that knocked the
wind out of her lungs, making her stumble back and bend over her knees, wheezing.
He moved, sweeping her off her feet with a clean kick at her ankles. When she was down, he
grabbed her from the ankles to thug her. The memories flooded Rosé, and panic overtook her
senses: she was back in the forest, being stripped and violated within an inch of her life.

"No!" she screamed, kicking and lashing out. Tears streamed. "No no no Tae don't do this don't do
this don't—"

He didn't listen, grunting as he pulled. She kicked and lashed out, hands scrambling frantically on
the ground as she searched for the knife. She picked up a handful of dust and flung at it Taehyung's
face. He reared and bellowed, letting go of her. Rosé was quick to draw her legs and roll away. The
knife came under her hand and she didn't think: seeing him doubled over rubbing his eyes out,
totally vulnerable, had a savage hatred rise up within her that wiped out her terror. And like a snake
poised to strike, she attacked.

Rosé descended on him like a pack of hounds out for blood, catching him off-guard as she attacked
from the back, bringing them both down. She stabbed over and over, thrusting the knife with all her
strength, feeling blood spray her face, feeling his powerful body writhe beneath her as he reared
and threw her off. The blade flew from her hand as well.

She thumped to the ground, groaning from impact but immediately flipping over and searching
frantically for the knife before Taehyung found it or got to her.

"You take girl! Where's the girl?" he screamed, dark bloody stains blotting his dirty shirt. He was
still walking upright, more enraged than ever. Was he even aware of his wounds? How long did it
take for the life to bleed out of him?

Now that lucidity had returned, her body responded. Her agile reflexes, honed from years of pilates
that made her lithe like a cat, saved her when he lunged for her. His paws grasped thin air as she
dodged, leaning back and jumping to her feet and dodging aside as she ran into smoke, hoping to
lose him.

His footsteps came soon after, doggedly pursuing her like a bloodhound on a trail. Jennie was
yelling her head off somewhere, but Rosé had other things to worry about. Her escalating panic as
he chased relentlessly inevitably had her trip because she kept glancing over her shoulder. She hit
the ground, gasping and panting with tears squeezing out as she dared to look back at the
lumbering monster approaching her.

In his hands, he held Jennie's knife and he took his sweet time to reach Rosé, knowing that his prey
was his for the taking, or killing, if the murderous gleam in his eyes was any indication.

"You take girl," he snarled. "You take girl from me!"

She was going to die. There was no time to get up again. She could try but it was useless.

Rosé put her head to the ground so she wouldn't face the killing blow, and prayed that he would be
quick and painless. But quick and painless, as she recalled, wasn't in Taehyung's vocabulary. It
only brought back memories of the horrible night in the forest once more, how she had cried out
for Lisa but of course, Lisa couldn't save her when she needed saving herself.

Lisa, Lisa, Lisa, her pulse throbbed.

Sweat broke out on her forehead. She trembled when his panting grew louder and harsher above
her.

Goodbye Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa, Ella. I love you all.

Like a kid hiding away from a scary movie, Rosé covered her head and started burbling nonsense,
her heart thundering to the tune of a hundred galloping horses as his ominous shadow loomed over
her. She saw him raise the knife high above his head. The air stilled. She didn't shut her eyes. Fear
had her utterly frozen, wide-eyed and watchful, waiting to die.

And then she grew aware that the desperate mumblings falling from her mouth weren't just an
incoherent litany but a single name, repeated over and over with breathless fervour: Lisa, Lisa,
Lisa, Lisa.

In the forest, nobody had come to her rescue as she cried pathetically for her girlfriend.

This time, someone (or something) answered her prayers.

It appeared silently like a second shadow, making Rosé whip around in time to see Taehyung's
head get ripped clean off his neck, sinews and skin ripped to shreds. Blood gushed and splattered
everywhere.

Rosé let out a soundless scream as Taehyung's frozen face rolled to a stop a few feet away, his
expression still caught in the mad snarl it was twisted in. The dull thump of his body falling to its
knees and then keeling over wrenched her gaze away as her saviour revealed itself to be—

"Lisa," Rosé trembled.

The hulking figure in front of her barely resembled Lisa, with its shaven head, glowing yellow eyes
and bulging physique that seemed to have doubled in size.

But Rosé knew as sure as day that her rescuer was her girlfriend, present in the flesh. Though
whether it was still Lisa that was burning holes into her with her murderous yellow eyes was up for
debate.

Rosé sat, mute with shock, torn between jumping into Lisa's arms and taking off running in the
opposite direction.

Lisa had as yet to make a move. Her face was drawn, cheeks all but gone. Unlike other TK
subjects, she wore a fitted black uniform of sorts: black tank top, black cargo pants and tough
black boots. She had elbow-length gloves that ended with claws at the fingertips, dripping blood.
Most horrifying of all, she had some sort of bulky black mask covering her nose and mouth with
minute vials of yellow liquid slotted into it, lined up like numbers on a clock face. Rosé heard the
harsh rattling breaths behind the mask. Her skin practically glowed the same yellow of her eyes,
splashed with blood that Rosé was certain wasn't her own.

"Lisa," Rosé said again, seeing Lisa still hadn't moved, still watching her. "Lisa...it's me."

No flash of recognition, no sign of having even heard her. Lisa might as well have been a stone
statue.

As Rosé tentatively and slowly got to her feet, bracing herself to step up to Lisa in a bold move,
someone else stepped out of the smoke, the usual smug smile hidden behind a handkerchief
covering his mouth and nose, and not a hair out of place.

"Rosé, hello. I see I don't have to re-introduce you two," Jinyoung said.

"What did you do to Lisa?" Rosé whispered.

"That's Tiger King to you," Jinyoung said. "Tiger King Prime, if you want to be precise. The best
of the best. And its work here is done."

"Done?"

"Killing the remaining TK subjects." His placid tone was tinged with a hard edge. "Of course, you
had to go and release those smoke bombs. Not cool Rosé. It ruined the whole show. And thanks to
you, the Dasoni bitch gave us the slip as well."

Hani escaped. Rosé's heart swelled with relief. She grew aware of a sudden new hubbub rising
above them in the stands, making her turn her head and search for the source of confusion, with
barked commands and frustrated shouts piercing through the smoky stillness.

"We've got company. Your friends finally made it to the show," Jinyoung said. He didn't sound too
bothered by this fact. Rosé was starting to wonder that very little could shake him.

"Friends," Rosé said dumbly.

"That useless cop that the Dasoni bitch seems very attached to, he showed up as well."

Chanyeol. Rosé's mind spun. They were saved. They were going to be okay. If only the police
would find and unmask some of the other showcase attendees, or even apprehend Jinyoung in time,
the whole nightmare would be over.

Jinyoung turned to Lisa. "Let's go Tiger King."

Under Rosé's stupefied gaze, Lisa followed obediently like a dog without another glance back at
her.

"Lisa...Lisa wait!" Rosé called louder, her voice cracking. "Don't—don't go."

She thought she was stalling for time, to give the authorities the chance to catch them. But all that
flew out of the window when Lisa stopped and turned back, so familiar and so alien at the same
time.

Rosé had told Jennie that Taehyung scared her more than Lisa in her Tiger King state. And even as
they stood facing each other, with Lisa's stony expression bearing no resemblance to the absolute
adoration that used to shine in her eyes whenever she looked at her, Rosé still knew Lisa was there.
She had to be.

Because Lisa had listened, and turned.

Curiously, Jinyoung merely looked on without trying to intervene, hands in pockets. But Rosé
didn't care about him. They held gazes, with Rosé silently pleading for Lisa to recognise her some
way, somehow. She spoke softly, like one speaks soothingly to a frightened animal.

"You remember me, don't you? You're still in there deep down. I know it."

Rosé heard shots being fired somewhere in the Slammer's recess. But it all felt far away and
disconnected from reality, her reality, which narrowed down to just Lisa and herself looking at
each other from across a deep ravine.

"Lisa, I just want you to know I miss you so much. I love you. Come back home. Please. I need
you."

It wasn't even a sliver of the emotions she was bursting to convey and make Lisa understand, but
all prepared heartfelt declarations deserted her in that moment.

But Lisa would know. Lisa would understand.

Rosé held out her hand. Lisa kept looking at her, eyes so terribly blank and empty.

Behind Lisa, Jinyoung sighed and shook his head. "The sooner you get this into your head, Rosé,
the easier it will be to get on with your life. Lisa was a mask. Nothing more. And you fell for that.
How pathetic." His sneer cut through Rosé's heart like a burning knife. "The mask is gone now.
Live with it."

He nodded at Tiger King. "Tiger King, come."

He stepped away into the smoke and once more, without a second glance back, Tiger King
followed its master, disappearing as silently as the smoke itself.

Rosé didn't even scream after them or try to follow. She knew it would be futile; her Lisa was
gone.

Jinyoung had won.

Later, Hani and Chanyeol found her curled up in a ball, weeping and clutching her arms to hold
herself from falling apart.

>

Ella woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of gentle but firm knocks on the boxroom
door.

Right away, she knew it wasn't Seulgi unnie or Irene unnie. Instinctively, she clutched Flora close
and huddled in the bed, shutting her eyes tight. Maybe if she pretended to be asleep, whoever it was
would go away.

"Um, El?" Seulgi called out, making her eyes snap open. "It's...it's me. Are you up?"

Ella didn't reply. The knocks came louder.

"Who's out there with you?" Ella called bravely. "I can tell. There's someone scary with you, isn't
there?"

And then she heard a man's chuckle, a familiar laugh that she still heard in some bad dreams.

"Sharp, isn't she? Ella, why don't you come out here so we can have a little talk?"

"You'll hurt us," Ella said. "I know who you are. You're Jinyoung. You're the bad guy who hurt
Mommy and Lisa and Jennie unnie and Aunty Jisoo."

"Ouch," Jinyoung laughed. "My reputation precedes me. Well Ella, if you don't come out here, I
suppose I will have to take Dalgom instead. Maybe Bori too? Or the kittens, you won't miss those."

"I'm coming I'm coming," Ella burst out, jumping out bed. She grabbed the nearest hard object she
could find in Irene's boxroom—a snowglobe—and cautiously tiptoed to the door to peep through
the keyhole.

She spied Seulgi and Irene's standing close to each other, surrounded by men in black.
"Ella, it's going to be okay," Seulgi said, her voice strained.

"If you try any funny business, Dalgom will definitely not be okay," Jinyoung added.

Out of options, Ella silently put down the snowglobe and slowly opened the door. Her heart
thumped but nobody lunged to get her. The adults all stood looming over her, watching her.

"There you are. Look at you, the spitting image of your mother. But I'd say you've got your father's
eyes. I've just come back from seeing him actually," Jinyoung said.

"My dad?" Ella blurted. She strained to remember what her mother had said about running into her
father in a forest, that he was working for Jinyoung.

"Yes." Jinyoung peeled away from his men and crouched down level with her. "Matter of fact, I've
seen your mother too. And Jennie. Your mother and father had a little chat together as well. Quite
beautiful to see."

"How did you get in?" Ella wondered, ignoring him. She turned to Seulgi and Irene, who looked
paler than usual. "Did you let him in?"

"Sometimes all it takes is to knock and say the right words," Jinyoung said. Ella didn't like his
smile. It reminded her too much of a snake, the bad types.

"Jinyoung, what do you want?" Seulgi said at last.

"I'm here to take Ella to her mother," Jinyoung said, shrugging when Seulgi and Irene's jaws
dropped. "What? I'm no parent but don't you think this girl has been away from her mother more
than necessary? All because her mother insists on chasing a ghost?"

"A ghost? Lisa is not a ghost. She hasn't died yet...right?" Ella said, brows furrowed.

"If you think I'd trust you with Ella, you've got another thing coming," Seulgi seethed, her fists
balling up. "You arrogant, psychotic bastard—"

She fell silent at Irene's touch. Jinyoung shrugged again.

"If you must know, I was feeling generous. Jennie and I...we had ourselves a little wager. She won.
And me being a good sport, I decided to reunite Rosé and her daughter as a treat. Call it a bonus
treat."

"I don't believe you," Irene blurted out.

"I don't care very much what you do," Jinyoung said. He turned to Ella. "What about you, El?
Would you like to see Mommy again?"

Ella did.

She missed her mother badly. She read her letters over and over. She chose a different one to read
at breakfast, at dinner and supper, and the rest several times over throughout the day. By now, she
had memorised a good chunk of the more important bits. She put the rest of the letter pile under her
pillow and slept with the letter she read before she fell asleep.

Her favourite letter was the one where her mother talked about the time Ella was a baby and said
'mommy' for the first time, and how that day, her mother felt like she had achieved her greatest
accomplishment in life. Another moment was how her mother revealed that Ella made her be
brave: standing up to Taehyung, to Yang, falling in love with Lisa—it was because of Ella that she
learned bravery, to constantly search for something better to hold on to.

The letters made Ella understand what everyone else had been trying to say: her mother loved her
so much. She just loved other people too, and Ella had to share her mother's capability for love
with them.

"Yes, I want to," Ella said quietly. Irene and Seulgi looked stricken as Jinyoung smiled
triumphantly.

"Well if you come with me, I guarantee you'll get to see her before morning."

"Ella don't listen to him," Irene said urgently, backed by Seulgi. "He's trying to mess with you, you
don't have to go, he's just trying to mess with us."

"But he'll hurt people if I don't go with him," Ella said softly. "Or the animals. It's okay, unnies. I
know I'm a kid, but I know what I'm doing."

She really didn't. Inside, she was quaking and in turmoil. She had no guarantee that Jinyoung
would keep his word, or if he would hurt her or kill her.

But the unnies needn't know. She could lie just as well as her mother did. White lies, her mother
called them in the letters. She wanted to be brave as her mother and protect the people she cared
about, even though she was only nine.

She turned to Jinyoung. "If I go with you, will you promise to leave the unnies and pets alone? No
cheating."

"I will, if they don't cheat and tell other people," Jinyoung said promptly. "Snitches end up in
ditches, as the kids say."

"You won't right?" Ella asked Seulgi and Irene.

"No, we won't," Seulgi choked out.

"Why don't we all do pinky promises? I know you swear by those, El," Jinyoung suggested. He
smiled with all of his teeth when Ella shuddered and shook her head furiously.

"Pinky promises aren't for bad guys," she said primly.

"Ella," Irene said faintly. Seulgi squeezed Irene's arm, seemingly coming to a decision. She bent
down and opened her arms. Ella immediately went into her embrace, with Irene joining them.

"If he lays a hand on her..." Irene whispered. Seulgi squeezed Ella tighter but Ella didn't complain.

"I'll be okay Irene unnie, I promise."

"You're so brave El. I'm sorry we couldn't protect you better," Seulgi said soberly.

"You did good unnie. It's my turn to protect you now." She put her fist up, past caring that
Jinyoung and his men were watching them. "Super Gay, here to save the day," Ella whispered.

Seulgi's strained face broke into a weak smile. "Be safe. Kick and scream up a storm if they try
anything, let people hear you."

"I know. Give lots of kisses to the cats for me."

 Seulgi released her, not bothering to conceal her glare aimed at Jinyoung. "You hurt one hair on her
head and I promise you, I will make you regret being born."

Jinyoung yawned. "How original. Alright people, let's move out. Lots of work to do. Jay-CV and
Jay-LP, make sure our hosts get a goodnight's sleep, will you?"

Jinyoung swiftly grabbed Ella from the shoulder and steered her away from the scene, but not
before Ella glimpsed the nearest Jay pull out a black gun and take aim.

Chapter End Notes

thoughts? i'd love to hear :PPPPP thanks for the kudos and especially the comments,
they make my day!
 The Darkest Hour
Chapter Notes

Previously:
the rescue mission to extract lisa from the slammer showcase went terribly wrong,
with the Kwon twins' betrayal coming to light. Jennie is tortured by jinyoung, where
several revelations happen as well. rosie is given the antidote by jackson, who is shot
in front of her by youngdeuk. jennie and rosie battle in the arena, facing yoongi and
taehyung respectively. jennie kills yoongi and is knocked out by jinyoung. rosie fails
to get lisa back. hani and chanyeol retrieve chaennie and run.

warning: graphic depictions of violence

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Jennie....Jennie...

Jennie blinked her eyes open, smiling to see Jisoo smiling back from above her. Sunlight filtered
through the treetops in the park.

Sleepy today, Jisoo teased as Jennie stretched.

It's a nice day out. And you're so comfortable, Jennie said, feeling Jisoo's legs shake beneath her
head as she laughed.

Okay then carry on sleeping. I just wanted to tell you something, but it can wait, Jisoo said.

Tell me what? Jennie said.

You really want to know? Jisoo said.

Of course. What piece of trivia you got this time? Jennie asked sleepily.

I belong to Jinyoung now, Jisoo said.

What? Jennie said.

Jisoo turned to Jinyoung, who was suddenly sitting shoulder to shoulder with her, wearing his
smug smile. His eyes flashed black in the bright light.

I won, Jen. She's mine now, Jinyoung sneered.

They turned their faces to each other as Jennie stared, frozen in place. Jinyoung's eyes never left
Jennie as he leaned in, brushing noses with Jisoo, mouths parting, tongues brushing—

Jennie woke up kicking and screaming.

"DON'T TOUCH HER YOU FILTHY PIG YOU'RE DEAD YOU'RE DEAD YOU SICK FUCK
—"

"Jennie!"
"Jeez christ!"

Hands grabbed her wrists, holding on grimly as Jennie shrieked her head off.

"Jen, Jen, it's alright, it's over! It's just a bad dream!"

"Ace, snap out of it, come on!

"I couldn't save her!" Jennie sobbed, lashing out blindly. "God, I couldn't even save her!"

"Get a hold of yourself!"

A hard slap and Jennie jolted upright, heaving as she came face to face with a haggard Rosé and a
dishevelled Hani.

"Jisoo!" Jennie sobbed. The disturbing scene was branded into her brain; she knew she'd never
forget it. "He kept touching her!"

"It's alright," Rosé said softly. "She's safe now."

"Where?" Jennie's eyes darted everywhere, her grip tightening as panic settled on her like a
soaking wet blanket. "Where is she?! Tell me where she is—"

"Fucking calm down or I'll slap you again!" Hani roared, making Jennie fall mute. To her horror,
her lips started to tremble. Jennie ducked her head before she burst into tears like a baby.

"Jisoo..." she whimpered.

Her head ached, her face was numb, her whole body was sore and her heart was a shattered empty
husk. It was a wonder she was able to cry at all.

"Hani, she just woke up all confused and scared. Have some tact, please?" Rosé said, pained. She
turned to Jennie and wordlessly opened her arms. Jennie immediately fell into her embrace.

She didn't care that it made her look weak: she badly needed someone solid and kind right now,
someone to banish away the bad dreams like a mother's hug. And who better for that than Rosie
and her wonderful tight warm hugs?

Jennie felt her breathing slow, her senses calm and her mind whir back into action the longer Rosé
held her, rocking her gently and murmuring softly in her ear, banishing the malicious whispers of
her nightmare.

"It's alright. You're okay. We're okay. It's going to be okay," Rosé soothed, even though Jennie
could hear her own unspoken pain clearly. She resolved to ask and properly comfort her friend, as
soon as she got answers.

"Where's—where's Jisoo?" Jennie said when her tears dried.

Hani sat back on the van's floor and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I'm transporting your girlfriend to my hospital as we speak, along with some of my guys that got
injured. They'll be hidden away from the world, nobody will find them, you have my word. And
I'm checking in frequently. To make sure nothing happens to them." Her words were clipped and
dry, devoid of her nonchalant drawl.

Jennie now grew aware of their surroundings: the gloomy interior of a delivery van on the move,
with flashes of other car's headlights and streetlights splashing inside, illuminating Hani and Rosé's
faces briefly.

"How—how long have I been out? Did everyone get out okay?" Jennie said.

"Thirty minutes since we found you," Rosé said.

"Jinyoung got away. That slimy snake got away. No sign of Tiger King," Hani sniffed. "Even with
Chanyeol's surprise sting operation, he still got away, and the other hotshots too. He had some
contingency escape route and herded them all away through there. I got away from Chanyeol's men
in the nick of time too. Otherwise, they would have nabbed me." She tossed her head with an angry
snort. "Chanyeol wanted to play the hero of course. I could have handled it, even with those
fuckers working against us."

"She knows about Youngdeuk. And Jackson," Rosé told Jennie. "And we managed to salvage
some of the antidote. Taehyung beat me up...but there was still some left in one of the vials, thank
goodness."

"Antidote?" Jennie asked, vaguely remembering Rosé mention something about it back in the
arena.

"The TK antidote. To fight TK-Ultra's addictive effect. Like what you give to a recovering addict
to wean them off drugs," Hani put in. She ducked her head, her clenched knuckles bone-white.
"Now Jackson's gone and we can't even ask him anything about dosage and shit. We have to wing
it."

She punched the van's wall, startling them both.

"Hani—"

"The twins," Hani spat, "fucking piece of shit traitors! God, when I see them, I'll rip them to
fucking shreds."

"You caught them?"

"Chanyeol found Youngdon locked up in some backroom. Then Youngdeuk tried to kill him but
Channie isn't some walkover. The man knows how to fight."

Jennie remembered Chanyeol's surprising adept fighting skills. His lanky appearance and unkempt
airs belied his quick reflexes and martial arts skills.

"Are we sure they're both traitors?" Rosé asked carefully. "Youngdeuk...he didn't give me a
straight answer but I got the impression he was working alone—"

"I don't care," Hani said dangerously. "Those two are each other's shadows. Where one goes, the
other follows. They were in this together, I just know it. The bastards will answer for their crimes.
Dasoni doesn't give second chances to anybody."

Jennie gulped, felt the tattoo imprinted on her wrist sear with sudden uncomfortable heat. She
shared a glance with Rosé then cleared her throat, eager to keep the conversation going and dispel
the heavy tension in the air.

"Where—where are we headed?"

"New safehouse location. The other has been compromised. Jinyoung won't know about this one—
I don't reveal safehouse locations until we need to use them. They're my own secret."

Jennie nodded, relieved, until she remembered Jinyoung's parting message and gripped Rosé's arm.

"Wait! We have to go back to the old one!"

"Are you deaf? I just said—"

"Jinyoung is going to get Ella," Jennie cut in, making Rosé gasp, "he told me, before he darted me.
He said he'll drop a surprise for Rosé at the safehouse as a bonus for surviving the arena. He—he
said if Rosie didn't survive Taehyung, then the surprise would become my responsibility. He had to
be talking about Ella."

"Oh my god," Rosé said, ashen-faced.

"You sure you didn't hallucinate all that?" Hani said sceptically. "We found you and your girl and
you were sleeping deep as the dead, not even gunshots could wake you."

"Fuck you, I know what I saw," Jennie snarled. "You have no clue what I've been through. He
darted me twice and he fucking violated my girlfriend right in front of me and he burned
Hwangssabu's photo and...fuck, he threw me into an arena of bloodthirsty fiends with Rosie. I
killed two of them! One of them was my ex. He was begging me to kill him. I thought Rosie was
going to die. Hallucinating that psycho is giving Ella back would be the nicest thing I've been
through since this shitshow started!"

Jennie clenched her hands, remembering how she snapped Yoongi's head with the chiropractic
move that was meant to relieve people of muscle strain. Would Hwangssabu approve of what she
did, even if it was a mercy killing?

Forget him. He didn't care about you. Jennie shook her head.

"Hani, we have to go see! Oh my god, if he hurt Seulgi and Irene....and my baby..." Rosé shook
like a leaf in a gale as she covered her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut. "Please, please, I can't
lose Ella too."

"Too?" Jennie suddenly burned to know what Rosé had gone through, a sinking sensation mingling
with her curiosity. "Rosie..."

"Don't start with the waterworks!" Hani bit out. "We still have so much to do to clean up this mess!
We didn't even get Tiger King and she was the main goal of this whole operation. And no, we are
not stepping foot anywhere near that place, don't even think of it. Jinyoung is just baiting us at this
point, and I'm not going to fall—WHOA!"

Even Jennie leaped back when Rosé slammed Hani up against the van's wall, gripping her from her
shirt.

"Turn this van around right now," Rosé snapped.

"Boss!" the driver yelped up front.

Hani pushed Rosé off, backing her up against the other wall with a snarl. "Don't touch me you
pathetic little shit or I'll slice you up like sushi—"

"Okay okay time out!" Jennie yelped, lurching to push them apart. "Everyone's tense right now but
fighting won't help!"
"What, you want us to hold hands and sing nursery rhymes together or some shit?" Hani scoffed in
disdain. She glared at Rosé who eyed her equally balefully.

"I'm not taking chances when it comes to my daughter. I've fucked up enough times as it is," Rosé
growled. "If you genuinely think Jinyoung would be out to get us again after letting us walk
away so easily, then call one of your back-up teams for extra protection." She hunched in on
herself. "He's got Tiger King. He doesn't need us."

"If we go again, that could be his reason to kill us while we're all gathered together! It could be his
trap! Take us all out in one go."

"He could have killed us already!" Rosé burst out. "We were all gathered there at the Slammer, on
his turf even! But it's like—it's like he's putting off killing us directly..." She swallowed and
looked at Jennie, her questioning gaze filling Jennie with mortification.

She knew why Jinyoung didn't kill them all the moment they stepped foot inside the Slammer.

Jennie closed her eyes. "Yeah. Turns out you were on to something, Hani. That—that psycho is
fascinated with me, confirmed," she said heavily. She remembered the unforgiving echo of the
gunshot that killed his own father. "When I was with him, Jinyoung shot JYP because JYP was
about to shoot me."

"Jinyoung killed his father? For you?" Hani said incredulously. Rosé's mouth dropped open,
mirroring her.

"There was no love lost between them, trust me. He was probably just waiting on an excuse to off
him," Jennie muttered, squirming uncomfortably.

"Yeah but still! His own father. He killed his own father for you, with his own hands. That's huge."
Hani held her head in disbelief. "Girl. Girl. What k-drama is this?"

Jennie didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Seems like Jinyoung has strong opinions about who
gets to kill me, and when. That is, only he gets to do it. Like Rosé said, he just wants us to back off
and forget about Tiger King. God knows what goes on in his head and his sick mind games,"
Jennie said bitterly.

She cleared her throat, eager to dispel the stunned silence following her statement. "While you're at
the old safehouse, you can scope out the place for anything that could incriminate the twins. I'm
sure they've left behind some sort of trail. Please Hani. I'm begging you. This isn't a hallucination
or a trap. Ella will be there."

She wasn't sure how her mind had sputtered to life in the span of seconds but she was ever so glad
inspiration struck in the nick of time: compassion wouldn't appeal to Hani. Gathering dirt on her
traitor henchmen, that would be what convinces her to mobilise.

Just as Jennie predicted, Hani's face turned thoughtful. Seconds ticked past. Rosé migrated to
Jennie's side, defiantly staring down Hani.

"I'll be the one to approach Ella," Rosé said flatly. "And I want to go inside the safehouse too."

That made Jennie look up with a frown.

"What for?" Hani asked.

"Not your business."

"It damn well is—"

"What does it matter?" Rosé said impatiently. "Look, if something happens, if you lose anybody, it
will be just me. I'm expendable, right? You won't lose anything if you lose me. "

"Rosie..."

Rosé didn't look at her; she held Hani's gaze steadily. Hani finally seemed to come to a decision as
she grabbed her walkie talkie.

"Fine. Kyungsoo, head to the old safehouse," Hani called to the driver up front. She pointed the
walkie talkie at Jennie and Rosé. "Just so you know, if we die tonight after all this shit we've been
through, I'm going to be even more pissed."

"You have permission to kick my ass in the afterlife if we do," Jennie muttered. It drew a tiny but
genuine smile from Rosé.

Jennie counted it as a win.

>

They couldn't stop Rosé from throwing open the door of the still moving vehicle and jumping out
the moment Ella came into view in front of the condo.

"Ro—"

Jennie's heart pushed up her throat at the sight of Rosé sailing out without even flagging in her step,
as though jumping out of moving vehicles with little care for her own life was a common
occurrence. Miraculously, she didn't snap her ankle on impact either; she hit the ground running
like a sprinter.

"Ella! I'm coming! Mommy's coming, stay there!"

"Mom? Mommy!" Ella cried.

"Let her go," Hani grunted, recovering from the sudden braking.

Jennie watched through the windshield as Rosé dashed towards the small figure standing at the
gate, blinking in the harsh glare of multiple headlights. She swallowed around the lump in her
throat when mother and daughter slammed into each other like magnets. They cried, rocking back
and forth fiercely like a ship in storm-churned seas.

Jennie could distinctly make out Ella's arms around Rosé's neck and her face buried in her mother's
shoulder. Rosé meanwhile was just sitting in the middle of the road, curled around Ella and
hugging her like no tomorrow, still in her bloody blazer suit.

"Alright, the rest of you, move in. Let's get this place cleared out," Hani ordered over the walkie-
talkie. She turned to Jennie. "Feel like joining?"

"I'll pass," Jennie sighed, holding her head. "I—I actually wouldn't mind having a few minutes to
myself."

The enormity of the ordeal she had been through hadn't even begun to sink in. Jennie knew the
moment she laid eyes on Jisoo again or the moment her head touched a pillow, the dam would
break. Everything would come rushing back like a tidal wave, taking her under.
Because once she stopped running, that's when all hell would break loose inside her head.

Hani went quiet. Jennie didn't pay her mind, so she flinched when Hani reached over and firmly
gripped her shoulder, startling her. But she didn't push Hani away, reading her intention to comfort
her, even though her shoulder throbbed.

"I underestimated him," Hani said quietly, stunning Jennie with that simple admission. "I'm not
fishing for forgiveness, or sympathy. But if you're looking to blame someone...don't blame just
yourself."

She jumped down from the van, leaving Jennie staring in her wake.

>

The moment they arrived at the new safehouse, Hani transformed once again, barking out rapid
orders as several other vans converged underneath the condominium in the underground parking
lot. Dasoni henchmen poured out like a stream from the vehicles. Hani waited for all of them to
gather around and stand in front of her, forming a rough semi-circle. Jennie, Rosé and Ella joined
them, huddled together and hemmed in by the men from all sides as they waited with bated breath
for Hani's next move.

Hani's hard gaze hovered over every face as she paced. "The Kwon twins will be arriving shortly,
in Park's custody. They will be made an example of for breaking their loyalty and putting us all in
danger." Hani's nostrils flared. "You will all understand why you shouldn't make a mockery of my
trust. The wasp sting burns worse when you're stung by one of your own." She flexed her hand.
"They will not find forgiveness here."

"Mom what's going to happen? What's the boss lady going to do?" Ella whispered. She was still
unaware of what was going on, with Rosé only introducing Hani as a 'friend' that they had been
working with to save Jisoo and Lisa.

Jennie grimaced and shared a worried look with Rosé. She herself was wary of the stormy
expression that had taken over Hani's face, and the barely suppressed rage she could see in the
broken glint of her eyes, the working jaw. Whatever was coming, it couldn't be anything pleasant.

"I'm not sure honey, but we'll find out soon enough," Rosé said, worrying her bottom lip.

"It will be over soon. We'll check in with Seulgi and Irene. And we'll have a bath. I need it," Jennie
added, trying to distract Ella.

"Oh. Won't you go see Aunty Jisoo?"

Jennie smiled. There was no getting away with anything when Ella was around. "I'll do that after I
have a bath, so I'll be all clean and fresh to see her."

The reminder that she was seeing Jisoo again had Jennie's heart pick up speed, as though all the
brooding she had done in the van hadn't been enough to drive her almost crazy.

Would Jisoo recognise her? Would she be able to remember? Would she be angry with Jennie?
Would the antidote work? Would Jisoo always have to live with the spectre of Tiger King, just like
Lisa? Would she be traumatised? Was she, Jennie, ready to live with the possibility of a changed
Jisoo?

Jennie desperately wanted to talk with Rosé but the night was far from over; it was not the time and
or place to do it.
"Rosé, a word," Hani called abruptly, startling them. Her cold eyes slipped to Ella, mouth pursing
as though she'd been force-fed lemons. "Without the kid."

Rosé stiffened, reluctant to let go. Ella gazed up worriedly.

"Are you in trouble?" she whispered.

Jennie held her breath too when Rosé shrugged uneasily and dropped her hand. Slowly, she made
her way over to Hani, just a few steps away. Jennie patted Ella's shoulder, hoping to reassure Ella
and herself. Danger lurked; Jennie could smell it in the air, sharp as the lingering exhaust and the
sweaty stink from the men and herself.

"Good. Mingyu, take the kid to the apartment," Hani said curtly, addressing one of the nearby
henchmen. "Jump to it, we have no time to dilly-dally."

"I'll take her. Jennie can fill me in," Rosé said, turning to follow after Mingyu.

"No you won't," Hani said sharply, stopping her in her tracks. "Mingyu, go lock her up and return."

Mingyu yanked Ella away before Jennie could stop them.

"Hey!" Jennie gasped in shock.

"No no Mommy wait, isn't she coming? Let go!" Ella cried, struggling with the tall henchman as he
dragged her away. "Mom!"

"Don't touch her! Let her go! Ella!" Rosé yelled, dashing after Mingyu as Ella kicked and
screamed.

"Jeonghan, Wonwoo!" Hani snapped.

Two more men rushed forward and grabbed Rosé, forcing her to her knees as she shouted.

"Hani what the hell?" Jennie gasped. "What are you—"

She froze when Hani whipped around, her face twisted up into a vicious snarl.

"I am going to teach all of you a lesson, and you will all witness what happens when you cross a
Dasoni. It's not something children should see," Hani gritted out.

Rosé was still crying out for Ella as the girl was briskly hustled away, crying for her mother. The
sounds tore at Jennie's heart.

"But isn't this too much? I'm sure Rosie will get the gist, I can tell her what went down later, she
should be with her kid, she isn't even part of—"

"Would you like to join the twins?" Hani barked. She raised a warning finger. "Toe the line, or
else." Her words rang with grim authority, echoing around the underground parking lot with
finality.

Nobody else said a word as Jennie gritted her teeth, her fists clenching. She stood her ground,
challenging Hani without uttering a word.

Hani's eyes narrowed. "Heesung, Jisung, get her."

In two blinks, Jennie was shoved to her knees next to Rosé and held down. Struggling was useless
in their vice-like grip—it only made her injuries flare up. She locked eyes with Rosé next to her.

"Why?" Rosé whispered shakily. "My baby, I promised her everything was going to be ok. I said
I'm not leaving her. I promised...."

"I've told you before, both of you," Hani said. "You join the Dasoni, you follow my orders, my
rules. This isn't your playground where you do as you please. This isn't the place for you to strike
out by yourself. You damage the integrity of the whole organisation when you do. You either work
with us, or you're against us."

Jennie raised her head, catching Hani's raw furious gaze head-on, and understood.

Hani's world had fractured, all the screws that held it in place coming undone by the betrayal that
rocked her and her gang to the core. Such a shake-up could have ripple effects, inspiring other
mutinies and rebellions, breaking down the gang from the inside with infighting.

Jennie now remembered the scolding Hani had given her just after escaping Burning Sun, how she
emphasised the need for control and obedience because people could turn on her easily if people
were given free reign to do as they please and flaunt her rules.

The twins' betrayal wasn't just a shocking blow to her ego, it endangered Hani's hold on the Dasoni
itself, undermining the confidence in her leadership, portraying her as weak and ineffective. And if
Hani didn't wrest back control with a show of force, it could even lead to her removal as the head
of the gang.

Jennie's head spun with the realisation of just how serious the situation could turn.

If they didn't have Hani backing them, who would be there for Rosé and herself?

"Rosie, let it go. We'll explain afterwards," Jennie said quietly to a distraught Rosé. "Ella isn't
dumb. She'll know it was out of our hands."

Rosé listened, though she still levelled her hard glare at Hani. Unfazed, Hani didn't spare them a
second glance as she turned to face an approaching van that joined the rest of the parked vehicles,
headlights blinding them.

Chanyeol stepped out first, followed by a couple more of Hani's men and finally, Youngdeuk and
Youngdon, hands tied behind their backs.

Their handsome faces bore bruises. Youngdon hunched over as though he wanted to be swallowed
up and hide from the world but Youngdeuk walked with his head held high. They were shoved to
their knees in front of the semi-circle. Chanyeol came to stand next to Hani after she gave a curt
nod in his direction.

Everyone watched the twins in stony silence, waiting for Hani to speak as her jaw worked the
longer she stared at them. Jennie could feel the unease ripple throughout the men gathered, as well
as hear the hum of low muttering.

"So," Hani began, "anybody want to tell me what the fuck is going on here?"

"Hani, I didn't do anything, I swear," Youngdon burbled in distress. He was in shambles, shaking
and on the verge of crying, unlike his brother who was calm and defiant as he glared back at Hani.

"Not what I asked," Hani snapped. She swung around on Youngdeuk. "You. You killed Jackson
and worked with Jinyoung. You even tried to kill several of our own. Why?"
"Wouldn't you like to know," Youngdeuk said arrogantly.

Gasps from the crowd, but not from Jennie and Rosé. Hani back handed him, keeling him over with
the force and he crashed on his side. Youngdon pressed his head to the ground, grovelling on his
brother's behalf in sheer terror.

"He didn't mean it, he's just being cocky, Hani please don't do this, he's sorry, he just made a
mistake—"

"Shut up," Youngdeuk snarled at his brother. He pulled himself back up on his knees. "Shut up
with your snivelling, pathetic ass. I didn't make mistakes and I'm not sorry. I knew you were too
weak to get involved for this. You'd rather get pegged and whore yourself out like a slut than be a
man and stay true to what you want."

"What are you saying? Deukie, come on, it's me, your brother. We always do things together."

"Exactly. Maybe I got tired of that," Youngdeuk shot back. He scowled at Hani. "You were happy
being her lapdog. You don't care that she can switch up her plans and ideas without caring
what we think. You don't care that she doesn't care about us, that she's only using us. No, you're
happy just being a faithful dog eating scraps. Well I'm done with that. I'm fucking done."

"What the hell are you talking about? We're just runners, we have no stake in the clan. That's our
place," Youngdon said, beyond bewildered.

"Yeah, so what the hell have we been doing these past seven years doing every goddamn bidding
without ever questioning anything? What's in it for us if we're not even part of the inner clan
circle? We should have been by now! I'm done. This was the last straw."

"This? What do you mean, this?" Youngdon said. Hushed whispers broke out, sounding just as
confused as Youngdon looked.

Rosé looked at Jennie, a flash of understanding mirroring in their eyes.

"Tiger King," Rosé mouthed and Jennie nodded, heart sinking.

Revealing Hani's secret agreement to hide Lisa instead of keeping her as everyone was probably
assuming could turn out to be the straw that breaks the camel's back for people who were
hungering for power within the ranks.

People clearly like Youngdeuk.

Jennie was sure there were many more like him in the Dasoni. After all, the gang wasn't comprised
of charitable people. They did what they did to gain power, status and riches. Hani might be
thinking long-term to prevent a crisis that would throw the clan as a whole into a bloody power
struggle, but the henchmen and the rest of the Dasoni clan and their few allies likely wouldn't see it
that way.

They wanted power, and they wanted it now, with no care for whoever gets trampled and hurt
along the way. Clarity might hit them down the line when the stone drops on their own foot but by
then, it would be too late for everyone.

Moreover, an awful lot of people would know the scheme Jennie, Rosé and Hani were concocting
to hide Lisa's identity. Jennie doubted Hani could bully everyone into keeping a secret that big.

"You still haven't answered my question, Kwon," Hani barked, the harsh sound bouncing and
echoing against the walls around them. "How long have you been colluding with Jinyoung? What
was the reason you switched loyalties? You know damn well what the price for that is."

"Do they all know?" Youngdeuk burst out, making Jennie draw a sharp breath, her fears
confirmed. "Do they all know your new plans? You poor bastards, do you know that she's not even
keeping Tiger King, all because of those two strays she picked up? She's just a weak soft-hearted
woman after all."

"Say that again," Hani snarled. She grabbed his chin in a crushing grip, wrenching his face up and
practically spitting in his face. "Say that to my face again, you piece of shit."

"Han—Dasoni," Chanyeol said warningly.

Youngdeuk laughed. "Come on, hit me, Boss. Beat it out of me. Show them how you treat your
faithful minions."

"You betrayed the Dasoni," Hani seethed. "You betrayed us. You turned us over to that snake and
for what? For what, Youngdeuk? Answer me or so god help me, I'll slice you up and paint this
whole place red with your blood."

"You're going to do that anyway," he said contemptuously.

"Maybe if you give us answers, I'll make sure not to draw out your torture," she retorted.

Jennie held her breath when Youngdeuk went strangely quiet. He turned his head, eyes roving
intently until his gaze landed on Jennie herself. His mouth quirked up in a smirk.

"Ace," he said. The nickname rang hollow as everyone's attention snapped to her. Jennie shrank
away from the piercing eyes, scrutinising her from head to toe.

"What about her?" Hani said sharply.

"I'm not talking until she's here," Youngdeuk said and pressed his lips shut. More whispers, more
mutterings, the low hubbub making her skin prickle, especially in her tattoo area. Jennie felt her
face go hot, a strange buzzing in her ears.

Hani's nostrils flared and she rounded on Jennie. "Jennie, come out here."

Jennie felt Rosé's grip on her arm loosen as she walked forward, almost trance-like. Her heart beat
like a drum, a steady tattoo of rising dread as she joined them in the centre.

"What do you want?" Jennie said roughly.

"I want people to know who is responsible for opening my eyes and pushing me to do what I had
to," Youngdeuk said, smiling. It was a devilish smile that had Jennie grit her teeth.

She knew what he was doing. Youngdeuk's words were poison, intending to turn people against
her, to view Jennie as the source of corruption and Hani, its enabler. In short, he was casting off his
blame on to Jennie and Hani.

"What are you talking about?" Hani said.

"Jinyoung contacted me three days before they," Youngdeuk gestured with his chin at Jennie,
"showed up. He asked me if I was interested to join him. Said he was looking to expand and
wanted to hire new recruits. He apparently heard of my skills and wanted to scout me."
"That snake," Hani rasped clenching her fist. "How dare he? How dare you even consider—who
else is on this?"

"I didn't tell Youngdon. I slept on it. I don't know if Jinyoung talked to anyone else."

"Did he?" Hani bellowed, rounding on the men gathered. She shook her fist. "By god, if I find out
any one of you entertained his shit, I will rip off your fingers and stuff the knuckles down your
throat one by one, you hear me? One by one."

And now Jennie could smell fear, see it in the darting glances, the suspicious frowns, the shifty
eyes. She sneaked a glance in Youngdeuk's direction and wasn't surprised to see his smug smile.

Someone seemed to have taken a few tips from his new master, Jennie thought ruefully. He's
turning them against each other.

"Carry on, Youngdeuk," Chanyeol said firmly, thankfully redirecting everyone's attention back to
the culpable twin. Youngdon was just bent over his knees with his head hanging, unreactive to his
surroundings.

"Yes, carry on before I put a bullet in your head," Hani growled. Youngdeuk threw Chanyeol a
disdainful look but surprisingly, he continued his story without any fuss.

"Then they came, the girls. And you, Boss, you switched your whole plans, just like that, so easily,
like it was nothing. It opened my eyes then. We really are nothing to you, just using us to fuck and
be glorified errand boys catering to your whims. I've been doing this for seven solid years now.
And I was torn on what I wanted but seeing how my brother is just a braindead lapdog happy to do
whatever you ask, I couldn't make moves. Then I talked with Ace. Jennie."

He tossed his head. "She gave me the push I needed. She told me I should do things for myself and
stand up to you."

"What?" Hani snarled, whipping around. "You?"

"Not like this!" Jennie exclaimed, forcing herself to face Hani's fury. "I never once said to betray
the Dasoni! He's twisting my words to justify what he did!"

"What did you tell him?" Hani said dangerously.

"You're seriously attacking her?" Rosé piped up from her spot still on her knees. "Whatever she
said, Youngdeuk is the one that betrayed you!"

"Silence! I will not have people speak out like this! How else do you think the end starts?" Hani
turned to Jennie. "What did you tell him?"

Jennie swallowed. "We...we talked. About Tiger King and how things stand in this power struggle
with Jinyoung and other mobs in Seoul. And I told him if he's got any grievances with your
leadership, he should talk to you, since he claimed you were close, like family. I told him to...to do
something he wanted to do and let you know that as things are, it wasn't working out for him."

She gritted her teeth when Youngdeuk gave a nasty chuckle.

"So you see boss, there you have your answer," Youngdeuk said. Jennie turned around at the
bitterness in his voice. "I admire Jinyoung more than you, plain and simple. He's a man's man. He
keeps his word and he goes for his goals without humming and hawing about it. He just gets it
done. And he reaps the rewards. He's done so much in such a little time. He's a genius."
"Deuk...stop..." Youngdon said weakly. He raised his head, his eyes pleading. "What about me,
Deuk? Your brother? We've been on the streets together—"

"Would you have come along with me, brother?" Youngdeuk said. He sneered when Youngdon
paused and turned away. "Thought not. You're too soft."

"But this is madness, we have it so good here," Youngdon said. "We have everything we could
ever possibly want."

"You did. Not me," Youngdeuk insisted. "But I knew you wouldn't understand. You're weak, just
like the bitch that fucks you."

"You little shit," Hani growled, raising her hand. But Yongdeuk wasn't done. Relentless, he
gabbled out his words, all the suppressed resentment bubbling up to the surface.

"I wanted to join Jinyoung. Because he has a vision and he's going after it, unlike you. So I did.
Because I'm done having to look over my back and always waiting for the other shoe to fall. I'm
done being a doormat waiting to be inducted properly in this 'family.' Ha! Family! Face it Hani,
Dasoni's power has crumbled away and you're struggling to cling on. Tiger King was supposed to
change all that but you're throwing it away. So get fucked for all I care."

Jennie heard the dreadful schlick of Hani's blade as it shot out of her sleeve.

"No!" Youngdon screamed.

"Dasoni!" Chanyeol shouted.

Jennie turned away just in time as Hani slashed Youngdeuk's throat out. His body took ages to hit
the ground and when it did, Jennie's breath came out in harsh gusts as she dared turn to face the
scene, heart thumping.

Hani stood looking down at the dead man lying face down in a pool of blood. Hani's face was
splattered with a single splash of blood. She gripped the bloody blade tightly. There was too much
blood.

"No...Deukie..." Only Youngdon's choked sobs echoed in the underground parking lot. The men
gathered looked on in stony silence.

Jennie couldn't tear her eyes away, couldn't even check back on Rosé; the bloody scene imprinted
on her eyes turning everything red like a gruesome filter, until even Hani herself was soaked head
to toe in blood. She shook her head, willing herself to say something yet at the same time, fear held
her back.

She was standing the closest to Hani. Right now, one wrong move could spell the same fate for her
as Youngdeuk's. Jennie touched her neck, remembering the ghostly kiss of the blade as Hani held
her at knifepoint in the car the other night at Burning Sun. Her skin crawled at the memory.

Right now, Hani was no different than Jinyoung, holding their lives in the palm of her hand and
easily able to snuff them out on a whim.

"Dasoni, this...this isn't...what..." Chanyeol held his head, helplessness quickly transforming into
righteous indignation. "You think this is justice? Killing him in cold blood?"

"This is how we deal out our justice," Hani snarled. She pointed the blade at him but Chanyeol
didn't even flinch, his face scored with hard lines.
 "Don't interfere," Hani said. "In his moment of death, I looked him right in the eyes instead of
having him gunned down in some back alley by my men. I gave him space to talk. That's more
than what other cowardly scum would allow him. So back the fuck off, Park."

Youngdon was still crying, his knees soaking in his brother's blood. Jennie desperately wanted to
shake him and shout at him to shut up. Her panic shot through the roof when Hani lifted her dead
eyes to look at him, like a predator alerted to the calls of their prey.

"No," Jennie whispered. Nobody heard.

"Youngdon," Hani said clearly, making him startle, "did you work with Youngdeuk on this? Are
you still in contact with Jinyoung?"

"No, I swear, I had no idea! I promise Hani, I'm only loyal to the Dasoni, please, I never talked
with Jinyoung!"

"How will you show your loyalty to pay back for your brother's crimes?"

"Anything, I will do anything!" Youngdon burbled. He bowed his head to the ground, his forehead
splashing in the congealing pool of his dead brother's blood repeatedly. "I will do anything just
spare me please, I give you my life! My life is yours! I pledged my life to the Dasoni but I'm
pledging my life directly to you now! Please!"

He wept and sniffed as Jennie held her breath, watching Hani warily.

"Dasoni, let's take it easy now," Chanyeol cautioned. "There's no evidence that he was working
with Jinyoung. Let's look at the facts and think it over. Please," he added beseechingly.

A lengthy pause ensued as Jennie watched Hani like a hawk, just like every other person gathered,
waiting for her move.

"I accept. Lift your head," Hani said at last.

Youngdon raised himself straight immediately, sitting back with his forehead painted red, beaming
tearfully with relief.

"Oh thank you, thank you Hani, you won't regret—"

Hani slashed his throat with a violent swing of her blade before he could even finish, before Jennie
could even scream. Blood sprayed everywhere.

"Unfortunately, I don't trust you anymore," Hani said flatly. Youngdon's lifeless body thumped to
the ground, joining his brother's.

"Hani!" Rosé screamed from behind Jennie.

"Dasoni!" Chanyeol gasped.

"He said his life was mine, and I accepted," Hani said. She turned to them, lips peeling back in a
dreadful smile, spattered with blood. "I can do what I want with it."

Jennie was sure she had swallowed her tongue; when she opened her mouth, no sound came out.
Hani's eyes glinted like splinters of a broken mirror.

"I can do what I want," she repeated. And then her face cracked.
With a visceral cry she spun on her heel and pounced on Youngdeuk's body, brutally stabbing him
over and over as she screamed curses. Aghast, Jennie didn't even shield herself from the frenzied
attack, didn't even walk backwards. She was rooted, drowning in horror. Everyone else was
similarly fascinated and just stared, utterly stupefied by the demented display. Nobody moved or
said a word.

Nobody, other than Chanyeol.

He moved like a blur and before Jennie's own eyes, managed to grab Hani's wrists and stop her
mid-air as she screamed and yelled in his face.

"Dasoni, get a hold of yourself! Stop this!" Chanyeol urged. His words were firm, his voice was
steely and calm, in control. Yet Jennie could still hear the note of concern as Hani struggled to
wrest herself out of his grip.

"Let go of me, let go! This bastard isn't dead enough yet!"

"No, I'm not letting go. Not until you stop," he grunted as they wrestled on top of Youngdeuk. He
had the upper hand, but Hani wasn't giving up. Even though she was smaller, she was still giving
Chanyeol a hard time to keep his grip.

"Get a hold of yourself right now! You still have a job to do!"

"You spineless piece of—"

Jennie screamed silently as Chanyeol's grip slipped and Hani's wrist, with the hand holding the
bloody blade, broke free. Hani brought it down over her head with a scream but Chanyeol never
blocked her; if anything, he seemed to bare his chest even more, completely vulnerable for the
killing blow.

"No," Jennie whispered.

Hani froze just a hair's breadth away from plunging the knife in Chanyeol's chest, breathing hard
with wild eyes burning into Chanyeol's stern gaze. Her clenched hand trembled with the effort to
hold her momentum. Her other hand was still trapped limply in his.

"That's it. It's alright. It's done now," Chanyeol said softly, taking her hand with the knife and
lowering it. "It's over."

Hani dropped the knife and stepped away at the same time as Chanyeol let her go. Awed whispers
broke out through the ranks of the men gathered. Even Jennie released her breath and held her
thundering heart, relieved that Hani's brief rampage had been swiftly shut down by Chanyeol's
crazy stunt.

She was sure she was going to die of a heart attack one of these days. It was quite incredible she
hadn't yet.

But as Hani recollected her composure with a shake of her head and immediately started barking
out orders to clean up the scene and vacate the area, Jennie couldn't help but wonder as she snuck a
thoughtful glance between the ruthless mob boss and the determined detective.

>

"So it seems you're all set here. I still have to report back to Headquarters about the failed sting
operation. Don't worry about it, the boys think we were after some drug lords auction or something
like that, and the fighters had already cleared out thanks to all the smoke so they didn't see much.
I'll handle it," Chanyeol said.

Hani stood at the window, silent and arms folded. She cut a lonesome figure, standing all by
herself with the city's lights filtering in splashing on her silhouette.

Chanyeol rubbed the back of his neck, uncertain how to tackle the heavy tension between them. He
was still a little stunned by his reckless moves earlier, the way he had immediately leaped to stop
her from escalating into some sort of killing spree, the way he instinctively knew, somehow, that
she wouldn't hurt him. The memory still had his heartbeat spike up though, because in her eyes up
close he had seen the murderous rage burning up. If she had been any more lost to her senses, he
wasn't sure he would have survived.

"Why did you get involved?" Hani said, the first time she had spoken since he had followed her up
to the apartment floor. Much like the other safehouse, she had occupied an apartment and given
another to Rosé and Jennie. Briefly, he wondered how the girls were handling all that transpired
throughout the night. They had looked particularly shell-shocked, eyes blank.

"Excuse me?"

"The sting operation. I specifically told you not to get involved." Her voice hardened with each
syllable but she still didn't turn around.

"I know. And I can't say sorry for trying to do my duty. It's my duty to act on information that
could potentially help me bring in individuals that are a menace to society."

"Oh well, why not bring me in too then?" Hani said sarcastically. She whipped around. There didn't
need to be any light in the room for Chanyeol to know that she was glaring at him, her eyes two
tiny angry pinpricks.

"We're working together. You're my lead. That would be just a bad call," he said, trying to keep
calm. "If I lose you, then I could just kiss this case goodbye."

"You might as well! It's fucking over either way. That bastard fucker was right. God, fuck. I..." she
turned away again. "I'm not sorry for how I handled it. They deserved worse," she said darkly.

"Was it the best course of action? It could have your men lose respect for—"

"They need examples to know that they have to toe the line," Hani said. "Chanyeol, I'm not the
same righteous moral person as you. Killing them felt so fucking good."

"Even Youngdon? Potentially innocent?"

"He was a liability the moment he begged for his brother's life," Hani said. "They were too close.
He would have ended up resenting me. Betrayed me down the line or resented me for the rest of
his life. I killed him because there was no other choice than exile. I regret nothing. I regret no—"

"It's only me here," Chanyeol said quietly. "You can stop pretending like you're not affected."

"I'm not affected!"

"No more bullshit. I'm a detective. Murders and all that, I deal with daily," Chanyeol said, feeling
his reckless streak make a comeback. "When you slashed their throats I would have thought, okay,
murder in cold blood, and that's it, typical criminal modus operandi. But Dasoni, you gave yourself
away. You went back and stabbed Youngdeuk's corpse, very violently. Multiple stabbings like that
in such context is considered a crime of passion, done by someone running on very volatile
emotions—"

"I'm not fucking volatile—"

"He betrayed your trust. He hurt you, badly. Even though I don't agree with your...justice, you're
allowed to grieve."

"That's the fucking thing! I can't grieve!" Hani shouted in his face. "I'm not—I can't—you don't
know anything!"

"I know everything about being betrayed," Chanyeol said steadily, stopping Hani in her tracks. The
familiar disgust swirled in his system, pooling in his memories as he grimly dredged up the old
wounds.

"I know everything about wanting to kill your traitor, the person you looked up to and cared for
most, the person that made you, the person that was your god. I know everything about having
your life ruined forever. I know everything about never having personal revenge, the kind where
you wipe someone off the face of the earth for good. I'm jealous of you, that you're able to do that.
Because not a day goes by when I wish I could take a gun to Lee Sooman's head for making a
mockery of justice, and for ruining me."

He heaved, all the years of resentment and anger towards his old mentor rushing back, leaving him
drained. But it needed to be done. He needed her to understand that she wasn't alone, and he was
giving her the space he never had to grieve the two people that had been closest to her.

She shook her head furiously. "I just can't, Chanyeol. I can't deal with emotions right now. That
outburst back there was me blowing a fuse. It was wrong. I need control now. There's too much to
take care of. Too many people depend on me to have my shit together right now. Grieving is the
last thing on my mind. And I'm not grieving those fuckers that cost me so much."

Chanyeol knew when he had lost. "At least make time to mourn your lost time and your broken
trust. You're only human."

He turned to go but stopped in his tracks when he heard her say: "you are too."

Chanyeol glanced over his shoulder to see her approach him from behind, an uncharacteristic
timidness to her step.

"Turn around," she said.

He obeyed, feeling his heart pick up speed as her cool hand slid up his jaw, thumb stroking his five
o'clock shadow stubble. It wasn't the temperature of her hand that had him flinch but the
exceedingly gentle touch: tender caresses that intensified the heaviness in his heart.

"You always look out for me, my dark knight. But who looks out for you?" Hani said, searching
his eyes.

'I look out for myself' would have been his usual, practised answer, but something about her
vulnerability had him peel off the layer of stoic armour he usually cloaked himself in.

"Nobody," he said quietly. "Dark knights work alone."

She sighed and moved closer, pressing her forehead to his chest without warning. Her hands
slipped down to the side to hold his, fingers brushing, cradling.
"I told you not to get involved tonight. Youngdeuk almost got you. And then I..."

She trailed off but Chanyeol felt her slight shudder, knew she was remembering how she almost
stabbed him in the same spot where she currently rested her forehead, feeling his heart beat steady
and sure.

"You're crazy. Crazier than me," Hani whispered. "I could have killed you."

"I knew you wouldn't."

"How?"

Chanyeol paused. "A hunch."

"You jumped out at the demented woman with a knife to stop her, based on a hunch?"

"Hani, it's over," he said firmly, catching her attention when his hands closed over hers. "Stop
ruminating. What's done is done. You can't bring Youngdon back. You can't turn back time and
stop yourself from attempting to stab me. You need to keep moving forward. People need you, like
you said. Stop worrying about me and...do what needs to be done. And make time to grieve."

Heart heavy with unspoken words even he didn't understand, Chanyeol turned to leave again.

"Stay."

He froze, not daring to face her. He didn't know what would happen if he did. Something had
changed after the violent execution of the twins, and their brief struggle. Something had changed in
between confronting her and then exposing her raw, hurting core, breaking it out in the open like a
husk.

"Channie, stay."

She leaned against his back and he almost swallowed his tongue when her arms wrapped around
his middle.

"I'm not asking for anything. I just want you close. You don't even have to be in the same room as
me. I just...need you," Hani murmured, but Chanyeol heard her clearly. The apartment was silent as
a tomb except for the soft hum of the fridge in the kitchen. The weight of her against him was
pleasant, surprisingly so. How long since another person had hugged him in some capacity?

"I have to go to Headquarters," he said. She burrowed her face between his shoulder blades.

"Stay," she said, and her arms tightened in anticipation.

It wasn't that difficult of a dilemma. He was arguing with logic, when already, he knew what he
wanted, what Hani needed, what he would give her.

The report and the rest of that usual shitshow could wait. He would face the usual titters from his
colleagues and slew of tiresome reporters hounding the department in the morning. He would hand
in the stupid report eventually, and he'd spend the rest of the day drowning in bureaucratic red tape.

But he was closer than ever to figuring out Hani's attachment to him. It's what had him believe that
she wouldn't kill him, even in the heat of battle. It's what had him decide against the logical part of
his brain.

"Alright. I'll stay," Chanyeol said, feeling her go still against him.
 Dimly, he wondered if there were still any lines to cross; their strange relationship had blurred
them all. He undid her hands and turned to face her, playing his card.

"I'll stay, on one condition. Tell me why...why you chose me. Why me?"

Hani sighed, rolled her shoulders as though bracing for a punch, and took his hand.

"Come with me. It's time you meet someone."

>

"It's probably too late for chicken, isn't it?" Jennie sighed as she sank down in the bathtub. She
blew bubbles in the water, making Ella sitting on the stool next to the tub giggle.

"Chicken?"

"Your mother and I always crave chicken after...a night out," Jennie reminisced. She winked at
Ella. "Rosie even said she'd sample some raw chicken."

"Ewwww!"

"I most certainly did not!" Rosé called from the shower.

"No take backs! I remember it clearly."

"You must be tripping. Ella, has she gone cross-eyed? Check if she's got a nosebleed too, hurry!"

Rosé had a smile in her voice, her chuckles joining Ella's. Jennie smiled too, relaxing in spite of the
slight pinch of her heart, the aches flaring up with the slightest jerky movement.

Too much was wrong, but at least, having Ella back with Rosé, both of them safe and sound, was
something good. Jennie's suffering hadn't been absolutely for nothing.

The moment Hani dismissed them, Rosé all but tore up the exit stairs to the apartment, in spite of
her many bruises. Jennie could only huff and pant on her heels. Mother and daughter had a second
tearful reunion while Jennie quietly went to draw a bath, their tether to some semblance of
normality.

They would have time to talk, later.

"Unnie, are you still going to see Jisoo?" Ella asked when the laughter had subsided.

And there came the question that had Jennie go rigid, frightened but thrilled all at once. A part of
her couldn't wait to see Jisoo, balling up her stomach into knots with nerves of anticipation. She
longed to hold Jisoo's hands, hug her and kiss her and glue herself to her because she'd be damned
if she let her girlfriend out of her sights again.

But another smaller, cowardly part of her was dreading the meeting, scared of the new Jisoo, of
what she was capable, of how her eyes brimmed with alien coldness. Her Jisoo didn't look at her
like that. The creature—person—that punched her and choked her so easily, that obeyed Jinyoung's
commands without batting an eyelid...that was something else. Someone else. Yet at the same
time, still Jisoo...

"Hani said she'll come for me soon, she's taking me to see her," Jennie managed after a long pause.
"After I wash up."
Rosé came out of the shower and made a beeline for the tub without even towelling herself dry,
sinking into the water opposite Jennie with a sigh. And to Jennie, the world felt like it was sewing
itself back together, piece by piece: Rosé was there, alive and sitting in the tub in front of her, like
they had been doing the past few nights, laying back with eyes closed and her hair up.

"It's been a long night," Jennie said gently when she saw Ella's face of concern scrutinising her
mother closely. "Your mom and I...well, we had some tough times. It was no walk in the park."

"Jinyoung said he talked to my dad. And that you talked to him too," Ella said, taking them by
surprise. Jennie held her breath as Rosé lifted her head up to look at Ella.

"We did meet. And I met Lisa too," Rosé said quietly. Her lips pinched together and trembled.
Jennie's heart seized in her chest when she realised Rosé was going to cry.

"You did? Did you save her? Where is she? Is she at the same hospital as Aunty Jisoo?" Ella
frowned.

"No baby, I wasn't able to," Rosé said faintly. She ducked her head. "I—I don't think she wanted to
be saved."

"Rosie," Jennie whispered. She took a deep breath and nodded at Ella, who was sitting there wide-
eyed.

"Honey, I'm going to have an adult talk with your mom. I hate to say this but could you step out for
now?"

"She stays—"

"No more of that," Jennie said, but not unkindly. "The girl's past her bedtime anyway. If you want
to talk about all this later, be my guest. But not when I'm around. She's still a kid. She's been
through enough."

"I'll be right out, El. I love you," Rosé said, after beckoning her for a quick kiss. Ella left with little
fuss, making Jennie's heart pinch again. That kid was one resilient girl, like her mother.

But right now, Rosé looked the very opposite of resilient: she looked like she was going to fall
apart in front of Jennie.

"She saved me Jen. Lisa saved me," Rosé said. Her eyes pooled and she shook her head, wiping
them furiously. "She saved me from Tae, but I don't think she's there anymore. I don't—I don't
think there's anyone left to be saved. She's...gone."

"What?" Jennie wracked her head urgently, desperately clutching at any excuse. "You can't know
for sure. She saved you but she didn't hurt you. That has to be something. She's still in there."

"Do you honestly believe that?" Rosé said sharply. "You didn't see her. You didn't shout after her
only for her to ignore you."

"But—"

"She turned the first time. She just looked at me. She didn't recognise me. And then she followed
after Jinyoung and they left. She...left. She left me. Again." Rosé ducked her head. "She left me
again." Her voice cracked on the last word.

"Y-You have to believe she's still in there," Jennie said weakly, squirming when Rosé pinned her
with a hard gaze.

"Do you believe that for Jisoo then? Answer me straight."

"I—of course I do! She's my girlfriend. I fucking endured all the shit Jinyoung pulled, I'm not
going to give in to him now. He's not going to win. Jisoo will pull through. We have the antidote.
She'll be right as rain," Jennie said, voice wobbling. "Won't she?"

"I don't know." Rosé shook her head. "I'm so tired of this shit, Jen. I just want Lisa back. Jinyoung
keeps saying Lisa doesn't exist, that she was just a mask. I don't know what's real anymore."

Jennie grimaced, the memory of Hwangssabu's photo going up in flames stinging. "I don't know
what's real either. The Kwons...was Youngdon even a traitor at all? Hani just lost her shit back
there."

"She stands to lose a lot if her leadership is questioned. We've been undermining her, threatening
her standing. Youngdeuk betraying her like that doesn't look good. If dissent spreads to her
henchmen, there could be real mutiny," Rosé sighed. "It's always like this in mobs. They rule with
an iron fist, or else, the moment you show weakness, that's when people pounce."

"If Hani loses control of the Dasoni, there's no guarantee we'll have their backing to rescue Lisa,"
Jennie concluded.

"If Lisa even exists," Rosé said.

Jennie looked at her, really looked at her, dismayed by Rosé's bleak words. "Rosie..."

"Don't," Rosé choked out. "I just...I'm still processing it all. I have my baby back and if it wasn't for
her...I don't know where I'd be right now. Shrieking my head off in a straitjacket probably."

She covered her mouth, stifling a sob. "Jen, it could be over. Do you understand? The Lisa I know
and love...I could never get her back. You wouldn't know because you had a glimpse of Jisoo at
least. You can hope. But me? I wasn't even given that scrap. And I'm tired of fighting. I'm trying to
protect myself. I can't afford to break down because I have Ella. She depends on me."

"Rosie." Jennie didn't waste time to scoot to Rosé's side and hold her as water sloshed over the tub's
edge. "You think I'm not scared that what you're saying is all true? You think I'm not hanging by a
thread? Jinyoung fucked with my head so bad, I honestly think I prefer if he had fucking raped me
and got it over with."

"Don't say that, oh my god—"

"Yes I will, because fuck, I don't know what's real anymore either. Did Hwangssabu ever care for
me and Lisa? Was he really going to kill her? Sell her off like cattle just to restore his name? Had
he been using me all this time? Fuck, Momo questioned him and I defended him!"

"What?" Rosé whispered but Jennie barged on, the dam wall collapsing.

"Jinyoung corrupted my precious memories of him forever. He burned his photo and he has his
jacket. I have nothing left of my dad now." The tears streamed, an unstoppable deluge. "That's
right. Hwangssabu was the real dad, a shitty dad but the real deal nonetheless. But now, I don't
even know. God, I was so fucking naive."

"You were young," Rosé murmured comfortingly but Jennie shook her head.
"I was starving for affection. I was blind. Forget about him now. He's fucking gone and I'm
fucking alone and I fucking miss him so damn much—"

Rosé held her as Jennie sobbed in her shoulder.

"It's not just him. Jinyoung—Jisoo—he's fucked her up—I couldn't save her. He assaulted her and
humiliated her right in front of me. I don't know if I can fix her. It's all my fault. He tortured her
and brainwashed her. Everything is my fucking fault. He hurt her because of me. He hurt her
because of me. I can't take it Rosie. I can't take it anymore."

The flood just wouldn't stop, accompanying the word vomit. Jennie didn't know she had so much
tears left in her. Pathetically, she clung on in the tight space pressing against Rosé, skin to skin and
crying ugly, her tears mixing with the water.

"I've managed to get Hani's prime henchmen killed, even the innocent one, all because of my
stupid big mouth. Hani warned me but I didn't listen. I've probably started Hani's downfall too.
And where does that leave us? I ruin everything! Jinyoung is probably laughing his head off.
Everything plays right into his hands, because of me."

"Jen—"

"Everywhere I go, everyone I know, they die. The Kims. Yoongi. Dahyun and Momo and S-Somi.
I'm cursed, there's no other explanation. I'm cursed and if you have any sense, you pack your shit
and you run far away—"

"Okay, enough," Rosé said firmly, wrenching Jennie out of her spiralling. "Enough, Jen. A lot of
what you said isn't your fault. It's Jinyoung. He's used us and he's messing with your head. He
wants you to feel guilty to leave him alone. He wants to break you."

She smiled wanly and cupped Jennie's face. "Don't let him break you. You're my hope for any sort
of justice in all of this. If we can't save Lisa, I want to see that fucker dead."

Jennie gulped, taken aback by Rosé's sudden shift. "Uh..."

"Maybe I haven't given up entirely," Rosé admitted. "Seeing you in pain like this...that snake will
pay. If I can't have Lisa back, then we'll make him pay. Some way, somehow. If I focus on that, it
helps keep me sane. I want true revenge. Not him getting a slap on the wrist for all this shit—he'd
secure his release before they even get him on trial. I can't be okay with just that. He took too
much. I want him to suffer, and then I want him to die."

Jennie nodded, her resolve hardening as agreement took root, nourished by her pain. "Yes,
absolutely. We can't let authorities interfere. Chanyeol can't get to him before us. And if Hani isn't
able to help...we'll deal with it ourselves."

Rosé sat up straighter. "I got something from the safehouse that might be just what—"

"Mom," Ella called, knocking on the bathroom door, startling them. "The boss lady is here for
Jennie unnie."

"Boss lady? I like that," Hani chuckled from beyond the door.

"Coming, we're still in the tub!" Jennie called.

"You got five minutes. Chanyeol and I are leaving to the hospital, with or without you."
"What did you get from the safehouse?" Jennie asked urgently.

Rosé put a finger to her lips and lowered her voice.

"Remember Hani threw away the information about the cult that Jackson gave me? I got it back,
from the garbage. Lucky we hadn't emptied it yet. Don't ask me why I got it," she added, water
trickling as she held up a hand upon seeing Jennie's eyes widen. Her own eyes hardened in a way
Jennie had only seen in recent times. Rosé let her hand fall back, her voice distant.

"I honestly don't know why I even did it. I just thought...I want what options we can get to settle
this, once and for all."

>

"We've checked in with Ella's minders. They're groggy but otherwise unharmed. Seems like
Jinyoung had darted them as precaution, in case they try to call the police on him," Hani told
Jennie as Chanyeol steered, following the gps on the dashboard.

"You sure they're okay? Are all the pets accounted for?"

"One white maltese, the three cats of your description and seems like they had their own cats too.
It's quite the cat paradise. Are this Seulgi and Irene lesbians or something?"

"Not my place to tell," Jennie said shortly.

"Lesbians it is."

The drive to the hospital where Jisoo was staying was quiet after that. It was still pitch black
outside, somewhere in the late hours of night, or the early hours of morning. Chanyeol didn't mind.
He was driving, with much of the streets deserted, but still it kept him suitably occupied from
having to keep up a conversation. Hani and Jennie both sat in the back, long pauses in between
their conversation as it petered out, subdued and heavy.

He wondered if the mystery person Hani was going to introduce him to was also at the hospital.
She hadn't answered any more of Chanyeol's questions, and Chanyeol wisely hadn't brought it up
either once Jennie joined them.

The girl in question had cleaned up and looked marginally less shell-shocked. She still shuffled
slowly, her face bearing a huge bruise that had Chanyeol suppress a wince when his eyes set on her
properly. He recalled the first time he had run into her at the murdered girl's wake, she had also
borne a similar bruise.

Seemed like Jennie regularly took batterings but the latest one was taking its toll.

He couldn't help but eavesdrop when Jennie and Hani picked up talking again—the interior of the
nondescript car was small. Hani had opted for a more discreet ride than taking her whole entourage
of henchmen with her, especially after the explosive outburst in the underground parking lot.

"I have to admit, it doesn't look good, Ace," Hani was saying. "The elders called me. They're not
impressed with my conduct. There will be repercussions, I'm sure. Tighter restrictions on my
administrative duties, probably some babysitter sent over to keep me on a leash, at the very least.
At worst, they replace me. It's just the opportunity they've been waiting on to boot me out. I'll find
out when they hold the emergency assembly for the clan soon. They'll call me."

Chanyeol had been there when she got the call, sat through it as Hani had stiffly accepted the
summons and weathered through the barrage of berating that followed without so much as a fiery
retort, though her teeth gnashed incessantly.

He heard the flick of her lighter as she now lit up a cigarette and rolled down the window.

"I'm sorry," Jennie said quietly.

Hani chuckled. "Oh you! You're not sorry. You're sorry that it could jeopardise your goals. I get
it."

"No I really...it isn't fair. You've been leading the mob all this time and all you're trying to do is
bring down Jinyoung. How can they just...forget all your good? I heard you really had a booming
business going on here on the Gangnam party scene."

"Memory is funny like that. Reputation and appearance, that's all that matters. And right now,
thanks to that snake and his slick little propaganda rumour mill, the Dasoni don't exactly have the
cleanest laundry in town. I'm an inept, weak spoiled little brat on a power trip. I regularly provoke
and invade other territories. I'm a party girl intent on destroying the fragile ecosystem we got going
on in this damned city. I slaughter my trusted minions without batting an eyelid, be they innocent
or not. And apparently, we're the ones being condemned for cosying up to the cops. Never mind
that everyone else is screwing with them in the same bed too."

That last remark stung Chanyeol, enough for him to speak up.

"Well not everyone is in cahoots with the mobs. Not everyone is corrupt," he protested.

Hani and Jennie both snorted, leaving Chanyeol to frown.

"Pipe down before you hurt yourself, my dark knight. You're the straightest nail in the drawer but
here you are, in cahoots with us. Where does that leave you?"

He huffed, grumbling when Hani cooed at him. Chanyeol was all too glad when the GPS indicated
their destination was imminent.

"Where...where does that leave me and Rosie if things...change?" Jennie said. The uncertainty in
her voice caught Chanyeol's attention.Hani sighed, a plume of smoke engulfing Chanyeol, making
him hold his breath until it dissipated.

"I truly don't know."

"Who would take charge?"

"I have two older brothers," Hani said. "They fucked off to run their own Dasoni branches outside
Seoul. Last I heard, one of them was in Busan dealing with yakuza. Another I think has dealings
with some Filipino gangsters. I'm not sure if they'd want to run back here and deal with this
dumpster fire. But they might have to, if the elders summon them. Can't say no around here, else
you end up disowned or blown up."

Hani's breath whistled as she blew out smoke. "Aside from booting me out of the leadership role,
the elders might decide they had enough of this Tiger King crap and throw the whole thing out.
The bad news is, they might decide they want to do spring cleaning too. They could whack anyone
of y'all associated with this whole thing, to cover their tracks."

"Whack? Beat us up?"

"No. Whack as in, kill. Murder. Usually gunned down in some abandoned place. I hear dockyards
are a pretty popular spot, eh Chanyeol? It's pretty quick and painless, or so I heard. So there's that,
at least," Hani said, as casually as though she were discussing the weather.

"I see," Jennie said, her voice gone up an octave. Chanyeol didn't blame her. He had seen the
ruthless handiwork of hitmen and it certainly wasn't for those with a queasy stomach.

"Rosé and the kid would be the first to go, since they're not members. They're undesirables, leeches
in their eyes. You, since you're a member, they might think twice about killing you."

"They better not touch them. They're my family, I'm a member on their behalf," Jennie snarled
vehemently.

"Easy, Ace. I'm speculating the likely scenario here. I certainly won't back down without a fight. If
push comes to shove, I'll advocate for you guys. I'll send you all into hiding."

"Alright..."

"Don't sweat it. It's my fight. For all we know, they'll just give me a slap on the wrist and let me
go."

The jaunty confidence in Hani's voice didn't fool Chanyeol but he didn't know if Jennie was buying
into the optimism. He knew enough of clan hierarchies and how they operated to understand that
Hani was going to be set a serious challenge demonstrating her competence to judgemental, proud
and conservative elders who had probably been biding their time.

"If they do let you go...will you still try to get Tiger King?"

Chanyeol's gaze flicked to the overhead mirror in time to see Hani's wan smile.

"I'm fighting my own shit over here, Jennie," Hani said quietly. "My priorities might have to shift,
temporarily. Getting Tiger King doesn't sit very high on that list right now."

Chanyeol knew Jennie got the bleak message when the silence stretched indefinitely until they
arrived at the hospital.

>

The hospital wasn't different from any other hospital. It smelled clean and sanitised, the chill air
welcoming them in from the muggy summer night outside. There were doctors and nurses milling
about the stations, checking clipboards and drinking coffee, there were janitors in overalls and
there were overnight visitors checking in and out in the lobby.

Chanyeol catalogued all of this, alert for any sort of disturbance or suspicious movements. Some of
the staff seemed to know Hani to some degree, with many bowing as Hani bowed back before they
were on their way.

"This way," Hani said, taking Chanyeol by the hand.

They closed the door on Jennie and a sleeping Jisoo after being given an update by her attending
physician, Dr. Kim Taeyeon. Hani never let go of Chanyeol's hand as they walked down the
corridor, pulling slightly ahead of him as though impatient to get to her destination. Mystified,
Chanyeol wracked his brains to deduce what Hani's intentions could be. Was she going to pounce
on him in the fire exit? Drag him into an empty ward and try to seduce him?
Or was the person Hani wanted him to meet also a patient? But who?

Chanyeol frowned when up ahead, he saw two men standing, guarding a door presumably to
another hospital room.

"At ease," Hani told them, drawing up to the door. The men bowed and left. The door was plain,
unmarked and without any number to indicate who the occupant was, just like Jisoo's.

Security purposes, Chanyeol thought. This ward was hosting someone who needed to be hidden
and well-guarded, by the Dasoni no less. From whom the mystery patient needed such heavy
protection, and for what, he couldn't even begin to fathom. His curiosity intensified.

The similarities with Jisoo's ward ended there because now that Chanyeol looked closer, there were
more technological features present that elevated the level of security compared to Jisoo's more
normal looking ward.

Hani stepped up to a panel on the wall next to the door and pressed her hand to it. It scanned it
fingertip to the heel of her palm and then beeped. The door opened with a click. Chanyeol followed
Hani into an antechamber of sorts where cabinets and medical trolleys lined the walls along with
lidded bins lined with yellow trash bags.

"We have to wear gloves and masks. She's had a bit of a cold recently so she could be immuno-
compromised," Hani said, handing him the items.

She?

Hani smiled at his mystified expression.

Another scanner on the wall next to the door, which scanned Hani's eyes this time, and then they
were inside the private ward, with two beds situated opposite each other, just like Jisoo's room.
And just like in Jisoo's room, only one was occupied. A stark difference was that the walls were
painted in warmer tones than the cool, neutral hues Jisoo had.

Chanyeol stopped stock still, hesitant to follow. It felt like he was treading on sacred ground, being
allowed in on Hani's secret, which he still wasn't understanding fully.

Hani flitted around the bed, patting the foot of the woman beneath the sheets. She nodded at
Chanyeol to join her.

The woman in the bed didn't wake. She had dark short hair cropped close to her skull. Wires and
tubes disappeared beneath the sheets, going in her nostrils. According to the beeping monitors, her
heartbeat was steady, her breathing regular with the sound amplified. Of note was her face: it had
an odd shape, seemingly slightly inflated, giving her a moon-like appearance. Her face was
covered almost entirely by a respiratory mask.

The other thing Chanyeol noticed in the homely room was the burst of colours from the array of
greeting cards that stood on the bedside cabinet. He squinted and could just make out one of the
cards reading 'Happy Birthday Solji'.

"Unnie, you have a guest today," Hani said, making Chanyeol whip his head up at the utter
tenderness in her words. "He's a friend of mine. I often told you about him. Remember? Detective
Park?"

She glanced at Chanyeol, who pulled himself up straight and then bowed.
"Detective Park Chanyeol from the Seoul Police Bureau, at your service!" he said, giving his
official greeting. He snuck a glance at Hani who nodded, eyes crinkling in delight. He had never
noticed her eyes doing that before.

No reaction from the sleeping woman. It was obvious that she was in a deep coma, and not even a
firework going off next to her would wake her. Chanyeol's brows knitted, questions bubbling on
the tip of his tongue as Hani softly hummed a tune he didn't recognise. He didn't dare speak, even
after she finished.

"I'll drop by tomorrow. See you soon unnie," Hani said. She blew the sleeping woman a kiss. "I
love you. Sweet dreams."

Chanyeol's mouth was dry, his mind whirring as he mutely followed Hani back out into the ante-
chamber and disposed of his gloves and masks. Slowly, he turned to Hani expectantly, uncertain if
he was allowed to ask.

"My sister," Hani said quietly, seeing him at a loss. "That's my older sister, Solji. I've told her all
about you. I wish she could meet you."

"Older sister?" Chanyeol frowned. "I thought there were only two older brothers beside you? You
said they're running their own Dasoni branches outside of Seoul?"

He knew this to be true, it was in the Dasoni files as well.

"Yes and no. Solji is the eldest by far but...she's also my step-sister."

"There was no record of your father having another child," Chanyeol said.

"Because my father made sure to wipe off any such records. Not because he didn't care, mind you;
quite the opposite, he doted on her. She was his favourite."

There was no malice in Hani's tone, only soft wistfulness.

"You didn't dislike her for that?"

Hani shook her head. "She was the best big sister I could ever ask for. She was my best friend. She
always stood up for me when our brothers teased too much, but then, she was able to rag around
with us too when we got wild. She loved us to bits. She was always there when we got into scrapes
to tend to our injuries or cheer us up with snacks."

"And your mother? Didn't she object that her own children were being sidelined in favour of a
mistress's child?"

"My mother...I think she understood that she always would be a second choice to my father. It was
an arranged marriage they had; my mother is from the Lee clan down in Daegu. Not that it was a
loveless marriage by any means, but you could say my father had loved someone else far more,
prior to being bound to my mother. Solji was his only tie left to her. My father was honourable
enough not to sabotage the clan's alliance agreement, at least as far as I know, so he cut all ties with
his lover after he married my mother, but he kept the child."

"I understand."

"To my knowledge, my mother never resented Solji. Solji was a filial daughter through and
through. She never shirked on her familial duties and I'm sure, she probably ended up being my
mother's favourite too. I don't blame her. She was my favourite person too after all. Solji was loved
by everyone. She was kind and bright and caring..."

Hani trailed off, her eyes dimming.

"What happened?" Chanyeol asked, bracing for some tragic accident sob story, or a tale of family
betrayal. His heart squeezed seeing Hani shake her head.

"She was snatched off the streets," Hani said softly. "I remember my father's panic, him making
phone calls long into the night and reduced to begging for help. She was snatched off the streets
one night coming home from her library job...and it was like she had disappeared into thin air.
Nobody knew who she was, you see? She had been invisible, living as our nanny. Otherwise, I'm
sure the traffickers would have thought twice about snatching Dasoni's eldest daughter."

"Traffickers?"

"Child traffickers," Hani said in distaste, making Chanyeol do a double take. "It was a whole
viper's nest of them, all protected by the highest echelons of government officials we had. They
were in the business of trafficking children, foreign and local."

Chanyeol's mind was running and skipping ahead as he grasped at threads, working out timelines in
his head. But he didn't say anything; he let Hani continue her story.

Hani bowed her head, her hands betraying her emotions as she clenched them, no doubt reliving
memories better forgotten.

"We got her back, but it was too late. They rescued her from some sort of labour camp here. She
had been...she was broken. What she had been through...it was too much. The doctors said there
had been signs of miscarriage too..."

"I understand," Chanyeol said, trying not to let his imagination fill in the blanks.

"She hasn't woken up since. It's been years. She's turning almost thirty-five soon. She...she became
a woman in that bed, right there. The doctors said growing in her sleep like that affects the body's
development so she has that moon-face. We...we haven't pulled the plug on her. I can't bring
myself to do it. I just can't. I'm not ready to let go."

Chanyeol swallowed, or rather, tried to swallow around the lump in his throat. The anguish in
Hani's voice was new, and it struck deep, deeper than he thought was possible.

"You care for her a lot," he managed lamely, stating the laughable obvious.

"I lost my best friend, my other half and my sister," Hani said. "I haven't been truly myself ever
since. A part of me is gone, with her. It's never coming back. I'm just keeping her alive because I'm
too much of a coward to say goodbye. The clan has been lobbying to let her go but I won't. Not yet.
That's why I keep her here and pay for her out of my own pocket."

"It's not cowardice. She's clearly well looked after and cared for. You love her." Chanyeol smiled.
"She must have been really special to earn such fierce loyalty from you."

Hani chuckled, sniffing. "You have no idea." She sighed. "You saw the second bed, didn't you?
Sometimes, I stay overnight, just to keep her company. She would do that, when I was little and
still scared of the dark. She'd sleep in my bed, telling me she'll scare away all the bad dream
monsters. I'd like to think I'm also keeping any nightmares at bay, if she has any."

Hani turned her head but Chanyeol still saw the grief swimming in her eyes.
"The whole ordeal took a toll on my father. He was never the same again either. None of us were.
Who would be? Solji was the family's heart. Without her, everything unravelled. But after rescuing
her, we had one more thing to do, as a family. Bringing the fuckers behind it all to justice." Hani's
smile was bitter. "How ironic that for all the wealth and power we hold, we still weren't able to go
far. There will always be a bigger fish in the pond. We learned that the hard way."

"So they were never caught?" Chanyeol said, dejected.

"Oh the trafficking ring was busted," Hani said, surprising him, "and we learned valuable
information about the main client sourcing kids from them. But we couldn't get him, because we
didn't have the grounds to do so. It was all theorising and hearsay. He covered up tracks well."

Chanyeol felt a tingle of electricity travel up his spine as he leaned in, waiting for the ball to drop,
watching Hani like a hawk.

"We had hit a block," Hani said, so quietly that Chanyeol only knew she spoke because he saw her
lips moving. "We would never have even gotten the names of the traffickers if things continued the
way they were. People kept a tight lip. Their protection was robust. Like I said, top government
officials were involved in this whole dirty business, paid to close an eye and look the other way.
Not even Dasoni money could get anyone to crack."

Hani's eyes burned into his own. "In the end, it wasn't money that burst the whole thing wide open.
It was one young officer's sense of justice, calling foul and exposing the whole scheme, even
though he sank with the whole rotten ship in the process. It took that young officer making the hard
decisions and refusing to be corrupt, at the expense of a potentially illustrious career, for us to get
closure."

Her mouth lifted at the corner. "Any guesses as to who that young officer happened to be?"

The answer was spelled out in Hani's gleaming eyes, in his pounding heart, in his racing mind.

"You saved me from going crazy," Hani said softly. "You gave me closure. You gave me answers.
You gave me justice. You're my hero, Chanyeol. I never looked away from you ever since then."

The air felt like a brittle stick about to snap. He wasn't sure what would happen when it did but he
couldn't focus on that. There was more to the story he still had to hear yet.

"Guess who we suspected as the main client of the trafficking ring?" Hani said.

It didn't take a genius to see where the plot was going.

"JYP," Chanyeol said, his mouth pursing. "Sourcing kids for his experiments. You don't think your
sister..."

"No, there was no sign of that sort of experimentation on her. Of course, we couldn't prove
anything about the information we obtained. And we didn't know about Tiger King back then,
beyond the legendary aspect of it, nor his ties to it. There just seemed to be strange trails leading to
him. We had no idea what use he had for those poor kids, at the time."

"But you know now. And you want revenge on your sister's behalf. This is all a revenge plot, for
you," Chanyeol said slowly. "And you roped me into this because you put me on a pedestal."

"I didn't," Hani said. She stood toe to toe with him, peering up into his eyes with ferocious
intensity. "I've watched your efforts to clean up the police force. I've watched you carry out your
duties. I've watched your talents and energy be squandered by those inept superiors you got. You
always remained true to your principles. I knew you were someone I could trust. I needed your
strength at my side."

He didn't flinch when he saw her hand come up to his face out of the corner of his eye. It was
almost as though he was anticipating it now when the conversation shifted towards uncertain
territory.

"All this time, I wanted to know more about you, as much as I could learn, even though I know it
was foolish. There's no place for romantic feelings here. We're on opposite sides, and I will not
give up my place in the Dasoni for anyone, just the same as you won't give up your principles for
someone like me. I knew there was never any chance for us."

"Romantic feelings?" Chanyeol thought his jaw couldn't drop further.

The corner of Hani's mouth lifted before she pressed her forehead against his chest without
warning. She clutched at his shirt, bunching up the fabric.

"If there's anyone I would have chosen to give what's left of my heart, it would be you, Chanyeol,"
Hani said quietly. "My dark knight. I know better than to act on something that wouldn't work out
in the first place. So don't worry. My feelings are my responsibility. But indulging myself, being
close to you these last few days, especially when I needed you most...I knew I could count on you.
It's what I dreamed of."

Wordlessly, Chanyeol's arms rose and he held her, one hand across her back, one hand behind her
head. She gripped his shirt tighter.

"Didn't peg you as the hugging type, Channie." Her voice was light but it wobbled at the end.
Chanyeol wasn't fooled.

"I have my moments." Chanyeol pulled back enough to gently lift her face up and wipe away a
lone tear. "I'll be here as long as you need me, Hani. I don't know how I feel about all this, but I'd
be lying if I said I didn't feel anything."

He exhaled, avoiding her gaze as he tried to explain. "When I'm with you, I feel like someone
finally understands what I've been through. Like someone appreciates my efforts, justifying and
validating what I do. I've...I haven't felt like that in a while."

This time he went rigid when she gave him a proper hug, her hands looping around his lower back,
fingertips barely reaching around his torso.

"Hug me back," Hani said. He obeyed, smiling at how his long arms wrapped around her, pulling
her small firm body to his. Her head came just under his collarbone and her fragrance tickled his
nose. When he sneaked a peek, he found her smiling to herself.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

She turned her face up to him. "It sounds nice when you say my actual name," she said, almost
shyly.

As though in a trance, he obliged right away. "Hani. Hani. Hani."

He caressed her cheek, surprising himself with his uncharacteristic tenderness as he curled strands
of hair behind her ear, framing her face. She leaned into his palm, eyes falling shut in contentment,
and Chanyeol's face grew warm at Hani's display of utter trust.
Here he was, an officer of justice, entwined in an intimate embrace with a criminal and a murderer.
Yet, strangely, he wasn't even remotely repulsed. Gone was the morally righteous, emotionless
detective—somewhere down the line, he had thawed out, like Hani had pulled him out of a freezer.

They stood suspended in time, neither willing to break the sacred silence that enveloped them after
such emotional revelations. Something was growing and unfurling in Chanyeol's chest, hurried
along with the drumming of his heart. He would have been embarrassed for Hani to hear it when
she leaned against his chest again, but that was the old Chanyeol always hiding behind his stoic
facade. Now, he decided he didn't care.

"Thank you for introducing me to your sister. I understand better now," Chanyeol said at length.

She burrowed against his chest. "Channie?"

"Yes?"

A pause, then: "Don't freak out on me but...would it be disrespectful to ask you to sleep in the same
bed with me, tonight? Just sleep. Nothing more. I just...I just really don't want to be alone," she said
hopefully.

"Since when do you care about being respectful?" he said, aiming for a light-hearted jab.

"Since you and I became more open with each other," she replied, throwing him for a loop. She
stood still, waiting for an answer.

Chanyeol was about to slam the brakes and refuse outright, but the image of Hani curled up alone
in a vast empty bed after the horrific night she just had made up his mind for him. Cruel he was
not, especially not after he promised that she would always have him. Besides, her body warmth
was comforting, in a way that hugging yourself to fall asleep wasn't. It was melting all the hard ice
out of his body the longer she hugged him, her small hands caressing the small of his back.

"Just tonight, because you asked nicely," he managed to say. She grinned in delight.

"It will be fun, like a sleepover. Have you ever got your nails painted?" she chuckled when he
pulled a face, which quickly transformed into a yawn. "Oh, is my dark knight sleepy? You've
probably only slept like three hours again! Let's go, we'll see if Jennie is sleeping here—"

Shouting down the hall grabbed both their attention, all the tension and banter gone in a blink.
They sprinted out of the door into the corridor as one.

"Hak-Ju! What's happening?" Hani demanded as one of her henchmen ran past.

"The girls!" he bellowed over his shoulder. "It's code red! Call backup!"

>

Jennie had tried staying stoic in front of Hani, Chanyeol and Dr. Taeyeon Kim as they were given
the report on Jisoo's condition. It proved difficult, especially the longer Dr. Kim listed the obstacles
facing them for Jisoo's recovery.

"So first off, I want to say that this case is unprecedented so we're moving with extreme caution in
case we cause further damage," Dr. Kim said crisply. "We're doing what we can but this is the first
patient of her kind that we're dealing with so we want to make sure we don't endanger her further,
especially with such unknown substances in her bloodstream. I have bloods working round the
clock to get to the bottom of it and in the morning, I would like to order the full range of body and
head scans so we can assess what's going on inside better."

"You couldn't do them now?"

Dr Kim shook her head, loose silver blonde strands trailing with the movement . "Morning isn't far
off. We've poked and prodded enough to know she's in no imminent danger. For now, the girl
needs rest. She's been through enough. I refuse to put her through further stress in such a short
time."

The doctor adjusted her glasses, casting a glance in Jennie's direction as she did so.

"You look like you should be hospitalised too," Dr Kim noted, eyeing her critically. She looked
seconds away from whisking Jennie away on a gurney. Jennie managed a wan smile.

"I'm hanging in there. Please go on."

Dr Kim shrugged and nodded. "We will continue to monitor and hopefully, her body will
gradually flush out the TK. This won't happen overnight. I also understand this is a more powerful
variation of TK, not like TK-Beta, which we've dealt with before. I've read your report on what
your people could find about the properties of TK-Ultra and its users, Hani. I'm concerned about
the state of her cognitive functions once she wakes up but the good news is, the human body is
quite resilient. Since she hadn't been ingesting TK for a long time, I think physical recovery is
likely. Difficult, yes, but likely. Mentally however...that's not my area to discuss. Trauma can be
irreparable, even with proper support."

"You're...you're saying she could lose her memory?" Jennie rasped. She wanted the doctor to scoff
at her and suggest she had been watching too many k-dramas, the same way she used to tell Somi.

Instead, Dr Kim sighed, cornered. "Technically, I was talking about PTSD. I don't want to scare
you without having any facts at hand, but memory blackouts and other cognitive dysfunctions
might be possible. In the morning, we can start piecing the picture better. Leave it to us."

"We'll take it step by step," Hani said calmly, her hand resting on Jennie's shoulder. Jennie started,
realising she had been gripping the bed railing so tight that it was starting to rattle. She let go and
exhaled.

"Doctor, can I ask something else?" she said, eager to stay away from her thoughts.

"Of course." Dr Kim blinked behind her glasses.

"You ran tests on Jisoo right? Like to find out what she went through?"

"Yes."

Jennie swallowed, wondering if she was ready to hear the answers. "So..."

Dr Kim swiped through her tablet. "So we've documented instances of needle injections,
contusions all over the body, cranial bruises, electrical burns, dehydration, malnutrition, incisions,
instances of minor extravasation—"

"Uh..."

"Fluid from a vesicant drug that ends up burning the surrounding tissue when the IV isn't inserted
properly," Dr Kim explained kindly. "A vesicant drug is the type of drug that can cause such
damage when it exits the vascular pathway, usually because it's more acidic or alkaline than your
blood's pH. Regular saline drips won't hurt the tissue. Some type of antibiotics do. TK is with the
latter category."

"Oh okay. Thank you."

Dr Kim perused her tablet again. "We also ran tests to determine if there was any possibility of
sexually transmitted diseases. It's protocol for our hospital when dealing with incoming patients.
We need our healthcare workers to take the possible precautions for their own safety when dealing
with bloodwork," she assured Jennie, who had gone stiff. "The good news is, we found no instance
of sexual battery, no signs of penetration or semen deposits in her pubic area. Same null results
were also reported for anal and oral tests. She's clear."

"Very thorough, doctor, and at such short notice too. We appreciate it," Hani smiled, patting
Jennie's back. Jennie almost turned to give Hani a weak smile of relief.

"When do you think she can get started on the antidote, any estimate at all?" Chanyeol spoke up.
Jennie had all but forgotten his presence, he had respectfully stood a foot away, giving them space.

"I understand the urgency of the matter but I urge you to exercise patience and consider her safety,"
Dr Kim said, not unkindly. "We're trying to have her excrete the TK first. In the mean time, we're
not prescribing any sort of drug, not even painkillers if possible. Since we know little about the
makeup of TK Ultra itself, the rest of the medical team and I fear adverse drug interactions. I
consulted with resident Head Pharmacist Gong on this as well and he is in vehement agreement to
wait. We need more time to assess before we can start reversing the damage. Hopefully, we can
avoid any infections or dangerous situations while we decide on a plan."

She nodded at the various IV stands Jisoo had surrounding the bed, some which were in active use
pushing and draining fluids.

"Those IV's are a necessity that we are also being very cautious about. But to fight the TK, her
body needs to regain its regular functions. We'll see about inserting a urinary catheter later too,
once her body starts excreting its waste materials. Like I mentioned earlier, it's lucky that she hadn't
been on this TK regimen long. Her body should still remember that food is essential, as are fluids,
and it will start booting back up."

"Lisa recovered and she had been on TK longer. Even though it was a different TK I guess," Jennie
blurted out, remembering Lisa's obsession with bagels.

"A TK subject she was in contact with," Hani explained at the doctor's questioning look, smoothly
covering Jennie's slip.

Jennie could only look at her sleeping girlfriend, heart squeezing at the doctor's grim prognosis.
Memories of Jisoo stuffing her face with popcorn and ice cream and noodles and meat came to the
fore, which had Jennie clutching the railing tightly.

"I just hope it's not too late," she whispered, realising Hani heard her when a hand rubbed across
her back.

"Dr Kim will draw up a recovery plan and we'll take it step by step from there. I'm sure she'll
recover, she's tough," Hani said comfortingly.

"A holistic care plan is already drafted. I just have to consult with the rest of the team so we can go
ahead and implement it," Dr Kim said promptly. "Starting with the scans in the morning."

"There, see? You just focus on being there for her. Make sure you get rest too," Hani said, giving
Jennie a glimpse of the softer side she had seen earlier in the van when she had woken up. "Would
you like some time alone?"

Jennie nodded, averting her gaze to avoid their sympathetic faces.

"If you need anything, buzz for the nurses," Dr Kim said as they filed out.

"Channie and I won't be far either," Hani said over her shoulder, taking Chanyeol's hand.

Briefly, Jennie wondered if they were going to make out somewhere. For someone who had
spiralled into a violent double killing spree, Hani looked perfectly calm and put together now.
Similarly, Chanyeol next to her didn't seem to mind the close contact with a murderer. Jennie had
eyed them closely when she rejoined them after leaving the tub and she could have sworn there was
something charged in the air between them, an unusual tension that was different from the
annoyance Chanyeol usually expressed with Hani's presence.

But her thoughts soon turned back to gloomy brooding as she took a seat next to Jisoo and sat
observing her. It was still a bit startling to see Jisoo's shaved head, so small without its usual silky
black locks. The soft beeps and the clean smell of the room gradually had Jennie's nerves settle as
she searched for words to say to fill the silence.

"Hey Chu," Jennie said quietly. "It's me, if you can hear me. It's Jendeuk. I bet you're dreaming
about running around with Pokémon right now, eh?"

Jisoo being so silent should have unnerved her, but the familiar sight of her peaceful sleeping face
only brought back lovely memories for Jennie, of waking up next to her girlfriend and lazy
morning make outs in bed.

"Hani splashed out on this huh? Maybe if I ask, they'll let me spend a couple nights in here too. Not
that I don't trust the staff but it's just to make sure you're okay...to be close." She bit her lip, forcing
away the memory of Jisoo crying and choking her. On impulse, Jennie took Jisoo's hand in hers.
Jisoo's hand was clean now, cool and moisturised with bandages wrapped around her split
knuckles.

Jennie squeezed it tightly, smiling to see how their fingers interlaced. They still fit perfectly
together, like two halves of a clam.

"I missed you so much, Chu. I have so much to tell you. If you're hearing me, make sure you wake
up soon, okay? You're going to beat this shit, and I'll be there every step of the way with you. I
promise."

She raised Jisoo's mangled hand to her lips, coating it with loving kisses. As she did so, she was hit
by a memory that had the long-held tears finally spring:

"Jen, what's wrong?" Jisoo said in concern.

"My period came," Jennie grumbled, dumping herself on the stool at the counter. "Bummer, I was
looking forward to some strap later."

"Is that all? We can still have sex if you're up for it, silly," Jisoo laughed, plating food. She raised
an eyebrow when she spotted Jennie gawking at her. "What?"

"But...wouldn't it be gross?"

"Nah, not at all, not to me." Jisoo leaned over to kiss Jennie soundly on the lips. "Orgasms are
good to help you relax. And that's science saying it, not me. I don't mind, Jen. If you want to, we
can."

Later in the day, Jisoo looked up when Jennie hobbled out of the bedroom after a nap.

"Cramps?" she asked sympathetically and Jennie's face scrunched up.

"I forgot they're such a bitch. When I wasn't eating much before, I wasn't getting them regularly.
Now...the show is in full swing." She pinched a sizeable amount of her stomach and groaned.
"God, I'm getting all flabby too and—whew, I stink! How can you stand me? What's next, pimples
the size of moonpits? Never mind, don't answer that! Don't come near me, I'm just a toxic waste
cesspit of shit and hormones. Ugh I hate this!"

Jisoo smiled but didn't push her. Later, w hilst Jennie was still grappling with getting comfortable
on the couch, Jisoo came to her and pulled her to her feet.

"Come on, have a warm bath at least, it will make you feel better."

A lovely surprise awaited her in the bathroom. Jisoo had filled the tub and dropped a bathbomb in
it. Scented candles lit up the room, and low soothing music was playing somewhere. A plate with
Jennie's favourite snacks was sitting at hand.

"Chu, what's all this?" Jennie said in awe.

"I got the idea from Dalgom. He always mellows when I pamper him a little extra after he's had an
off day," Jisoo said proudly. "I even give him pedicures! And put his ears in a bonnet. And we
watch Legally Blonde on my phone while we eat popcorn, he likes that movie. I think he likes all
the pink."

"You give your dog the spa treatment?" Jennie wondered. It wasn't the most out of pocket thing for
Jisoo to do, but still very Jisoo of her.

Jisoo's eyes softened. "You need some pampering too, Jendeuk. Let me take care of you."

"Do we have to watch Legally Blonde?"

"Oh come on, you love Legally Blonde," Jisoo laughed. "But no, we can watch whatever you want,
of course."

Jennie's lips trembled when Jisoo took her hand and lovingly kissed it all over. She allowed Jisoo
to pull her in and tenderly undress her to do as she promised. It was one of the first instances when
Jennie had almost said 'I love you'.

"I'm going to take care of you, Chu, just like you took care of me when I had those bad cramps,
remember? I've got you. Just hang in there," Jennie pleaded, hoping her words weren't for nothing.
"Hang in there for me."

"Uhm, excuse me," came a hesitant voice.

Jennie looked over her shoulder at a bespectacled brunette in scrubs and a stethoscope around her
neck. She held a tablet to her chest and timidly trotted over to Jennie's side, extending a hand for a
handshake.

"Sorry, I kinda snuck in but I didn't want to interrupt. Uhm, I'm Dr Kim's intern." She seemed
rather starstruck, staring a bit longer at Jennie when their hands dropped before she cleared her
throat and showed her lanyard to Jennie. "My name's Karina. You must be Jennie?"

"Yeah. Karina, you said? Sounds foreign."

Karina tilted her head, smiling. "I could say the same for your name."

Jennie had to concede with a chuckle. "I suppose. Did you need anything?"

"Dr Kim sent me to have a look at her IV's. Ignore me, I'll be out of your hair in a second."

"She was just here though?"

"Oh you don't know Dr Kim. She didn't get to be the head of the department for nothing. She's very
very fastidious." Karina gave a little a shake of her head as she walked around, inspecting the fluid
levels and jotting down notes on her tablet. "But I admire her work ethic. I want to be just like her,
even if it will run me to the ground eventually."

She flashed another sweet smile. "By the way, I do hope I'm not offending by saying this—Dr Kim
always scolds me about overstepping boundaries—but really, it's beautiful what you two have
together." She gestured between Jisoo and Jennie.

"Uh, thank you I guess?" Jennie shrugged. She was past worrying about who sussed out her
relationship to Jisoo— the whole hospital could find out for all she cared. She wanted the whole
world to know that Jisoo was her girlfriend, and even though Jisoo was potentially dangerous and
under the influence of TK right now, nothing was going to make Jennie stay away. She loved Jisoo
and she was going to fight.

"Well that's about it," Karina said, nodding with satisfaction. "Seems everything is in order here,
I'll just sign—drat."

Karina looked up apologetically at the sound of her buzzing phone. "Would you excuse me please?
I need to take this."

So saying, the young intern (she couldn't have been much older than Somi, maybe even
younger, Jennie thought, her heart giving a pang) put the tablet aside and fished her phone out. She
stepped away to take the call.

Jennie turned her attention to Jisoo to give her privacy but she could still hear Karina's side of the
conversation. The young intern seemed caught up in some sort of heated discussion.

"Yes yes, everything's in position. Alright. No, she's not here. Yes, I understand. Who do you think
I am, some amateur?"

Jennie rubbed Jisoo's hand with her thumb, hoping her girlfriend was feeling her touch. She was
watching Jisoo so intently that she started when Karina leaned over the opposite side, her phone
call apparently finished.

"Everything alright?" Jennie just had to ask. Unease settled on her shoulders when Karina flashed
her another dazzling smile. She was fumbling in her pants pocket with one hand, holding her phone
in the other.

"Everything is perfect. I just have to do one last thing, hold on."

Jennie's stomach lurched when Karina pulled out a syringe filled with yellow liquid.
"No!"

Jennie lunged but Karina was faster—she stabbed Jisoo's neck, emptying the syringe's contents as
she batted Jennie's hands away.

"Get away from her you bitch—"

Jisoo heaved, freezing Karina and Jennie in their locked position grappling over her. Without
warning Jisoo jolted upright, her eyes snapping open. They burned yellow.

"No," Jennie whispered.

"Now!" Karina bellowed.

"Soo-ya, kill Jennie Kim," Jinyoung commanded from Karina's phone.

Jisoo lurched, arm held back by an IV line. She tore it out and immediately started bleeding, but it
gave Jennie the time to fall back.

"Chu, Jisoo, it's me, don't do this! You'll hurt yourself!" she shouted, watching as Jisoo tore out
every needle, line and monitor attached to her body. Terror mounted, her heart thundering as Jisoo
whipped around, face contorted in a snarl. Blood trickled from her neck, her arms, leaving snail
trails that dripped on the bed.

"Jisoo—"

With a roar, Jisoo leapt for her, hospital gown billowing. Jennie rolled out of the way and
scrambled to stand. Dimly, she was aware of Karina, huddled in a corner of the room out of harm's
way.

But Jennie wasn't going to worry about that traitor bitch—her girlfriend was going to kill her if she
didn't run. And so Jennie did run, straight to the door, with Jisoo hot on her heels.

Jennie jiggled the knob frantically, heart sinking when she realised that it was locked. Karina had
probably locked it when she had snuck in.

Jinyoung, Jennie thought. He strikes yet again.

She tore away from the door at the last second as Jisoo pounced. Jennie winced when Jisoo
smashed face-first into the door, bouncing back and shaking her head, disoriented. Jennie resisted
the urge to check on her and instead scurried away, her mind running haywire.

The buzzer! It should alert the nurses, if all the noise didn't.

"Help! Get in here, somebody!" Jennie bellowed at the top of her lungs as she desperately ran
around the bed while Jisoo tailed her. "Karina you bitch, call someone! You're going to die too!"

"She's only after you. She won't harm me," Karina said.

"Is that what the slimy rat told you?" Jennie said. "What the fuck's your deal?"

"It's no use, Jennie Kim. Either you kill her or she kills you," Karina trilled.

"Shut up, bitch!" Jennie snarled, feinting like crazy on her side of the bed as she tried to locate the
buzzer. Her heart sank when she spotted it on the floor, disconnected.
Jisoo's grunt as she hefted one of the monitors over her head gave Jennie a split second's warning
before Jisoo flung it at her. The monitor's stand whacked Jennie in the shoulder, taking her down.
Jennie slammed to the ground, curling up as she held her shoulder and gritted her teeth to stop
herself from screaming.

"Jisoo stop it! Stop it!" she croaked.

But Jisoo never heard. She sprang over the bed, clearing it like an Olympic jumper. If Jennie
wasn't freaked out of her mind, she would have actually complimented Jisoo for showing so much
athleticism.

Jennie didn't think; she kicked upwards with both her feet, catching Jisoo in her middle and tossing
her over her head. Jisoo crashed to the ground behind Jennie with a pained groan.

"Still got some fight left in you, huh Ace?" mocked Jinyoung's voice. Jennie dared to glance in
Karina's direction, disbelief and rage mingling at the sight of Jinyoung's face on Karina's phone,
apparently set on FaceTime.

"You fucking son of a—"

Jennie didn't get to finish her sentence as Jisoo climbed to her feet, fists balled up. Her glare
stabbed Jennie right through the heart.

Blindly, Jennie hefted the monitor stand that Jisoo had thrown at her, which was now disconnected
from said monitor, and held it up like a spear, grasping it from the base. She backed away even as
Jisoo approached steadily, one foot in front of the other.

Unafraid, unlike Jennie who trembled like a leaf in a storm.

"Please don't make me hurt you, please," Jennie said firmly, but her voice came out in a whimper.
She swallowed when Jisoo kept on advancing. "Jisoo please..."

I can't hurt you. I can't hurt you.

"Somebody help!" Jennie said, raising her voice in vain hope that somebody passing by might be
alerted. But her hope was fast dying—if Jinyoung had infiltrated the place, it wouldn't be surprising
if he had somehow managed to clear the floor with the help of insiders, like Karina.

She was all alone.

"Nobody's coming to save you, Jen. It's either you or her," Jinyoung said. "It's that simple.
Choose."

"I thought you didn't want to kill me," Jennie huffed, her eyes on Jisoo, waiting for her to pounce.

"Never miss an opportunity to try. Unless, you choose to die first."

Jisoo lunged. Jennie was ready: she planted her feet and thrusted forward. Jisoo dodged, catching
the pole and gripping tightly with both hands as she and Jennie grappled for control. Jennie tried
not to stare into Jisoo's yellow eyes, lest the fear consumed her whole.

She kicked out, aiming at Jisoo's ankle, and managed to sweep her off one foot. Losing balance,
Jisoo staggered back, taking Jennie with her. She fell to the floor under the weight and Jennie fell
on top of her, pinning her down with the pole even as Jisoo roared and snapped and struggled.
But Jennie grimly pushed down, sweating with effort. She managed to lock her elbows when she
had the pole pressed down on Jisoo's neck even as her heart stuttered at the idea of choking her
girlfriend to death. Jisoo kicked and roared, rocking them from side to side.

"Jisoo stop, just stop please," Jennie begged, tears welling as Jisoo fought and shrieked her head
off. She seemed unable to tap into TK's true strength. If it was Lisa, Jennie would have been
knocked off. Or was Jisoo actually holding back?

Distant shouts reached Jennie's from outside beyond the door, sparking her hope of making it out
alive.

"Jinyoung, they're coming!" Karina hissed as Jennie tussled with Jisoo, sweaty hands slipping on
the smooth metal pole.

"They'll be held up for a bit more. But you still need to do your part, regardless," Jinyoung
said calmly.

"What?" Karina exclaimed, frightened. "But, but you said—that's only—"

"Your choice—the pill or my gun."

"You said you'll take care of my family if I work for you!"

"I did and I will. But you've outlived your usefulness. You need to go if I'm to continue doing
that. Otherwise, I'll just retract all the previous payments for the past three years and claim
fraud. They will go to prison not even knowing why," Jinyoung said calmly as Karina turned
white. "The cyanide pill is quick and easy. Do it."

"Cyanide? What, where—"

"The knockout pill. It's cyanide. For a medical graduate, you really should have looked
closer, Yu Jimin."

"Karina, he's using you," Jennie gritted out through her teeth. "Turn yourself in and take the fucker
down! Hani can help!"

"No...it's over," Karina whimpered. "It's...it's over. I ruined it all...I can't go back."

"Now you're getting it," Jinyoung said.

"Don't listen to him!" Jennie bellowed as Karina slowly pulled out a small pill box and took out a
single white pill.

If only Hani could reach them in time—

"Jen?" Jisoo said and for a moment, her eyes had cleared and she was looking up at Jennie,
confusion and exhaustion lining her face. The ghost of a smile quirked the corners of her mouth.
"Jendeuk..."

Jennie's heart almost burst out of her chest.

"Chu," Jennie whispered, resisting the urge to smother her in kisses. Sweat trickled down her back.
"Oh my god Chu you're alright, you're okay. Everything will be okay. Stay with me. We'll get you
help."
"Jen everything...everything is burning—" Jisoo's face contorted in pain. "More more more more
—"

"Shush, it's okay, I'll go get a nurse, just stay—"

Jisoo's eyes screwed shut. When she opened them again, Jennie's heart all but seized: Jisoo was
nowhere to be found, replaced by the eyes of the killer once more.

And Jennie then knew her fate. She accepted it as simply as rain that fell from the sky.

She was alone. It was going to be too late by the time help came. She had to choose between
herself and Jisoo. That was probably the easiest decision she had to face.

Her grip slackened on the pole. Jisoo immediately picked up on the wavering hold, springing to
action as she swiftly flipped their positions and now pinned Jennie underneath her, snarling in
triumph.

"Choosing the easy way out, Jennie? How cowardly of you," Jinyoung called, where Karina
still stood frozen like a statue with the pill in her hand.

Jennie didn't fight Jisoo at all. She made herself look up into the face of her ruthless executioner,
bravely holding gazes.

Jinyoung was right. She was choosing the easy way out. The hard way would be to incapacitate
Jisoo, possibly hurting her or worse, killing her.

She couldn't kill Jisoo. Not when Jisoo was right there, unreachable just beneath the surface. She
would never be able to live again without guilt choking her every waking moment. No, it was
better if she died. Jisoo wouldn't remember, Jinyoung said as much. Jisoo probably
would never remember the exact moment of Jennie's death. Her conscience would be clear. She
would be spared.

It was easier to die. Death was preferable than to live with Jisoo's murder on her hands. Her hands
were drenched with blood: she had too many deaths on her hands already. Karina was the latest
addition.

Jisoo wasn't going to be one of them.

And so Jennie lay gasping like a fish as Jisoo pressed down savagely on her windpipe and Jennie's
mouth lolled open, only one thought bursting like fireworks over and over in her head: I love you I
love you I love you I love you—

Dark spots clouded her vision and there were alarms ringing and Jinyoung's gleeful laughter and
there was shouting, lots of shouting, loud crashes, banging, more fading lights, pain and fire and
heartbreak—

The pressure on Jennie's neck disappeared abruptly but Jennie could only wheeze, half-blinded.
Something wasn't working right. Hazy shadows dashed back and forth in her line of vision. More
shouting. There seemed to be some sort of struggle going on but her brain was shutting down,
unable to catalogue what was happening.

One shadow loomed, but it was still a big bleary mass that was melting and warping as she faded
away.

"We got you it's alright we got you," Hani said, her voice raw with emotion. "Focus on my voice.
 Breathe."

Hani wasn't emotional. What was wrong?

"Take her to ER, stat—"

"The patient—"

"Took cyanide—"

Hands cradled the back of her head, stroked her hair out of her face. Jennie wheezed in and out,
unable to breathe more, unable to expel air. Her lungs burned. She tasted iron in her mouth. The
light faded and she was falling, falling, falling into the welcome darkness. Jinyoung was there,
lurking in wait, his sinister smile welcoming her, claiming her.

You ran out of luck, his smile said.

"Jennie, stay with me," Hani whispered, crying.

Hani never cried. What was wrong?

"Chu," Jennie croaked and closed her eyes.

I never got to tell you I love you.

>

Alone in the confines of its bare cell, the exhausted monster curled up to sleep. Its chemical breath
whistled with every wheeze and cough. Blood was everywhere, clinging to its body like a second
skin because Ringmaster said they'd handle clean-up in the morning. The monster could not escape
the offending smell intruding on its rest, even as it screwed its eyes shut...

But then the scent of strawberries appeared, blooming in a burst of sweetness out of the
nothingness, stamping out the scent of death.

Strawberries. A stream of gold. Plush lips. Gentle hands. Two twin brown stars, warm and alive.

Lisa, come back to me. I love you.

A lone tear rolled down the monster's cheek in its sleep.

Chapter End Notes

i know i know things looks bad but we are in the darkest hours of the story right now.
maybe next chapter, things will start to change? we'll see :P

thanks for the kudos, reads and comments!

 You Only Live Twice
Chapter Notes

Previously: after returning from the disastrous rescue mission, Rosé is reunited with
Ella and Hani executed the Kwon twins. Chaennie discuss their options going forward
and Rosé brings up the cult of Tiger King that the now-deceased Jackson had
informed her of. Hani, Chanyeol and Jennie travel to the hospital to check in with
Jisoo. Hani informs Jennie about the complications of catching Jinyoung now, and the
possibility that she would no longer be the head of the Dasoni. Hani introduces
Chanyeol to her comatose sister, as well as explaining her feelings for him. Karina, a
hospital intern secretly working for Jinyoung, gains access to Jisoo's ward and triggers
Jisoo. Jisoo attacks Jennie in a brutal fight that nearly took Jennie's life, because Jennie
couldn't bear to hurt her girlfriend. In a lonely cell, Tiger King dreams.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

People fled out of the way when Rosé —wrath incarnate—swept into Jennie's ward at seven on the
dot.

"Where the fuck is that bitch?" Rosé bellowed.

"Ma'am please calm down or we'll have to call security—"

"Do I look like I fucking care—where is she? I'm gonna annihilate her—"

"Are you talking about Jennie, Jisoo or Karina?" Hani said calmly, standing her ground as every
other person in the room took a step back when Rosé rounded on her, practically breathing fire.
"Because one is in la la land, the other is in a straitjacket, and the other is currently turning into a
human popsicle."

"Hani, I'd appreciate if you approached the situation with more levity, please," a silver-haired
doctor said stiffly. She seemed to be the senior in the room. "We're talking about real human lives
here, real people."

"And one of them turned out to be in league with a dangerous madman. She compromised all our
safety. She doesn't deserve my respect, Dr. Kim," Hani shot back. Dr Kim wilted, bowing her head
and turning away. The rest of the medical personnel gathered fidgeted or looked at the floor, in
various states of discomfort.

Hani pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "I'm sorry. That was out of line. I know
Karina...was one of you."

Dr. Kim simply nodded. "Apology accepted."

Hani turned back to Rosé. "It's been taken care of, okay? It's over. Karina, the girl I mentioned on
the phone, she took cyanide."

Rosé started. "Cyanide? Oh no..."

"Exactly. There was no saving her. She's in the morgue now, if you feel like chilling out one on
one with her."

Rosé exhaled and dropped her shoulders. "I'm—I'm sorry. I just—I've been going crazy. Are Jennie
and Jisoo really okay?"

"Jennie actually came around fifteen minutes ago but she's exhausted and is resting. Just sleeping,
not a coma," Dr Kim reassured, seeing Rosé stiffen. "Kim Jisoo is currently sedated despite my
reluctance, but we had to, there was no other choice to get her in line. She was...unstoppable."

"Karina and Jinyoung triggered her. Jisoo was dead-set on killing Jennie. Came damn close to
throttling her too if we hadn't got to her in time. But Jennie still has the luck of the devil on her
side. If she hadn't gotten immediate medical attention, she'd be a goner."

"I hypothesise that having taken TK-Beta before has definitely increased her odds. It helped her
body to keep firing on all cylinders despite having air intake temporarily blocked."

Dr Kim swiped through her tablet and held it up to show a cross-section of an anatomical diagram
of the head and throat. She pointed with her finger.

"Now there is definite trauma to the beginning of her lower respiratory tract, especially the pharynx
area, where she was strangled. Secondary to ischemia, we feared she might also asphyxiate on
blood. Laryngeal suctioning thankfully worked out and we can only hope she doesn't develop
pneumonia from residual blood that got caught in the lungs," Dr Kim said.

"Translation: she died, but she's fine now. Right Dr Kim?" Hani asked.

"I mean that's simplifying it by a large margin but yes, I suppose so. She's stabilised and out of
danger. We will obviously need to continue monitoring."

Rosé shuddered, processing the overload of information. "Can we go see her? I need to see her with
my own eyes..." She held up her trembling hand. "I haven't stopped shaking since you called. And
Jisoo, is she okay?"

"Sure, she's sleeping. She wasn't hurt. We can only hope that when she next wakes up, she would
have forgotten Jinyoung's kill order or at least, it would have faded. But we're not going near her
for now," Hani added.

"We need to amp up with more intensive investigations on Jisoo, so yes, seeing her right now is not
possible, especially given her current unstable condition she's under lock and key," Dr Kim
explained at Rosé's frown. "Which reminds me: Hani, I was about to tell you we've located a
tracker, injected sub-dermally at the base of her skull. It's how Karina was able to find the patient
right away, despite no information or records in the system to identify her."

"Son of a—" Hani caught herself and shook her head. "Rosé, did you bring the kid with you?"

"Uhm yes, Ella's waiting outside this ward with a nurse."

"What possessed you to leave her?" Hani said incredulously.

"I'm trying not to traumatise her further—"

"Bring her in here immediately. You, go fetch her." Hani ordered one of the interns, who
immediately scrambled for the door.

"But Hani—"
"I'm doing this for your safety. It's too late to think about traumatising her, she already is." Hani
spread her arms wide. "Karina could have had accomplices among the staff. Jinyoung could have
them whisk Ella away on a whim. I haven't vetted the entire staff yet. I'll get on to it and root out
any other possible conspirators. For now, everyone in this entire hospital will be considered a
suspect. So therefore, you're keeping Ella close at all times. That's an order."

She flashed a quick glance around her, making people in the vicinity shrink away under her
piercing gaze. Rosé half expected Hani to flick out her blade from her sleeve.

"Hani, I can't say sorry enough," Dr Kim said soberly. "We betrayed your trust. Karina betrayed us
all but most of all, she betrayed her duty to protect a patient, to not harm them. For that, I feel I am
to be blamed. She was my intern, my responsibility, and if you'll accept, I'm prepared to hand in my
resignation from my position and leave this hospital."

"Dr. Kim," protested several of the congregated medical staff.

"What's done is done," Hani said stiffly. "But I wouldn't terminate your tenure without tangible
reason. Karina was your responsibility, it's true. But unless I find evidence that you wilfully
ignored any signs of her under-the-table dealings with Jinyoung, I don't think it's fair to take the
sole blame. Your work ethic is admirable, Dr Kim, and you have a dedicated team. I'd hate to lose
that. I'm—I'm working on granting second chances, when they're possible."

Rosé watched on in amazement, barely able to conceal her surprise, and she wasn't the only one.
Only earlier, she had watched Hani kill a potentially innocent man without batting an eyelash as
she ranted about not handing out forgiveness. Now, the mobster was faced with yet another
dilemma, but handling it very differently.

Hani took a deep breath, speaking slowly as though it was a struggle. "I'd hate to lose you all when
you do such remarkable work around here. However, you will be held under suspicion until
cleared. This is a matter of safety, for me and the people around me. It's unfortunate...but those are
the circumstances." She waved her arm. "Dismiss, go back to your jobs. You'll hear from me some
other time."

Rosé bit her lip, burdened by the dejected faces around her.

A double betrayal, in the space of hours, was yet another blow to Hani's battered defences. Hani
had promised the hospital was a safe space but even in this sanctuary, Jinyoung's wicked and
powerful presence managed to invade, throwing the system into chaos.

"That was a good start. Quite reasonable, considering what we've been through," Rosé said as
people dispersed.

Hani gave a wan smile. "I'm trying. I don't want to give Jinyoung the satisfaction of pushing people
away from me when I need them the most. Even if it goes against Dasoni code. We don't do second
chances. Second chances will have people biting the hand off that feeds them."

"Forgiveness in this case isn't weakness. It's just good sense. You'd be losing labourers over
nothing," Rosé reasoned. "And you'd have to go through a more rigorous vetting process for new
employees either way, and till they settle in a new environment, it's always a headache."

"I know, Thorn."

"Rosé."

"Rosé, right. My bad. It's been a long night." The dark shadows under Hani's bloodshot eyes were
testament to her exhaustion.

"Didn't you sleep at all?" Rosé wondered out loud.

"No. I couldn't. I had to bring things back under control and amp up security. And when all that
was done and Jennie was in the clear, that's when I called you. I knew if I called you when it
happened, you'd want to come over right away. You already didn't like waiting for an extra hour,
let alone more."

"Can you blame me? What if she died?" Rosé whispered, the very thought making her blood run
cold.

"I know. But I didn't want to drag you back out of bed at some godforsaken hour. You got a kid
too. And we had it under control. You needed the rest."

"You too. You're only human."

Hani's mouth quirked up at the corners. "Channie said something like that too. But what good is a
leader if you're only capable of working when you're running on a full tank? The real test for any
leader is when you're exhausted, but you still push on. That's when you show true leadership."

Hani fidgeted, clearly itching for a cigarette. "Last night, I was telling Jennie how I might not be
around to help with Tiger King if the clan elders decide I'm not longer fit to head the Dasoni.
They're going to meet and talk soon."

"What?" Rosé said, startled. "Already?"

Hani gave a crooked smile. "You might not see them physically, but they know everything that's
going on. And I suppose this was the last straw, especially since that Slammer fiasco will smear
the Dasoni's rep. Anything I have done will be called into question. They'll call me unhinged for
how I dealt with the Kwons. They'll call me reckless and foolish for taking on Jinyoung. They'll
call me stupid for letting go of Tiger King. They'll call me soft for doling out second chances.
There's no winning."

"Oh," Rosé whispered.

She dreaded to voice the swirling questions in her head: she was well aware of how gangs disposed
their dirty secrets and covered up history. If Hani was no longer around to protect them and if the
Dasoni clan elders were as ruthless as Yang was, Rosé knew she and Ella would be the first to go.
The thought made chills ripple down her back, icy claws of fear latching on to her heart.

"You know what happens next, don't you? You've seen it before," Hani murmured. "But I
promised Jennie, and now I'm promising you: I'm not backing down without a fight. If worst
comes to worst, I will hide you."

"I'm tired of hiding. I'm tired of looking over my shoulder. I thought Yang would be the end of it
all. I...I want Ella to have a normal life," Rosé said pathetically.

Hani patted her shoulder sympathetically. "Right now, that's just not possible. I'm sorry, Rosé."

"Yeah..."

Rosé's spirits hung low. She managed a weak smile when she was finally reunited with Ella.

"We'll be right behind you," Rosé told Hani who shrugged and went into Jennie's room alone.
"Hey sweetie. Did you enjoy the croissant?"

"Mom, I thought you said I had to wait?" Ella asked as Rosé knelt level with her and fussed with
her daughter's clothes; they had dressed in a hurry, with Rosé throwing on whatever clothes she
grabbed from the drawer.

"Change of plans, baby."

"Why?"

"Safety," she said, finally pulling her into a tight hug. She tried to hide her trembling; Hani's
ominous statements about their potential fate had her paranoia switch to high alert.

"Mom, you're shaking. Are you scared? It's okay to be scared, you can't be strong all the time,"
Ella whispered.

Rosé tried not to cry. Ella hadn't even bat an eyelash when Rosé had hustled them through a quick
breakfast consisting of just yoghurt so that they could dash out of the door and tumble into the car
Hani had waiting for them to bring them to the hospital. Rosé had retained enough of her wits to
hustle Ella to the hospital cafeteria and get her an extra big, crispy croissant as a small consolation.

"I have to be strong, baby. I want to be strong for you, for Jennie, for Jisoo, for everyone, because I
don't want anybody to get hurt. I love you all so much, it hurts me to see any of you in pain." Rosé
tenderly stroked her face. "But you're right, it's okay to be scared, as long as we're not alone. How
about you? How are you feeling?"

Ella shrugged. "A bit scared too. A lot is happening."

"I know. And I can never say sorry enough for what you had to go through because of me." Rosé
bowed her head. "You were supposed to just have a regular summer with your friends, playing the
piano."

"A problem is a cube, complicated like a 3D shape instead of a simple 2D square," Ella said
wisely. "Sometimes, you think a problem is a square but suddenly, it turns into a cube. Things get
complicated. That's life."

"That's...actually very true. Where did you learn that?"

"Seulgi unnie told me," Ella said proudly.

Rosé nuzzled her lovingly. "You've been so strong too, even though you're not supposed to bear all
this. You make me want to be strong."

Her heart thumped when Ella gave her a sweet smile. "I know. I read your letter."

"You did?" Rosé whispered.

"It's my favourite one," Ella nodded. "I take it to bed with me and put it under my pillow."

"Oh El," Rosé smiled tearfully. "That makes me feel strong enough to rip a mountain in two!"

Ella's giggles had Rosé's resolve hardening. "Baby, when we get home, I want to have a long talk
and hear all about that you been up to, alright? I've missed you so much."

"I missed you too. I was..." Ella scuffed her toes then sighed. "I was mad at you. I'm sorry."
"That's okay, I'm not mad. It's more than justified. I haven't been a great mother, dragging you into
all this."

"I know. But bad guys don't really give you a choice, do they mom? They make you do...not-good
things, sometimes."

"Unfortunately, yes," Rosé grimaced.

"You did what you could, and you were trying to help get Lisa back because we love her, right?
And now...they got Jennie unnie."

Rosé patted her head. "Jennie is strong too, she'll be alright. I hope."

Ella surprised her by copying her and patting the top of Rosé's head. "You'll be alright, and I'll be
alright too. Because we're together," she said.

Rosé nearly wept.

>

Rosé was surprised to find Chanyeol in the room when she and Ella finally entered. He was in
conversation with Hani at the foot of Jennie's bed, and they were holding hands, standing
practically toe to toe with each other.

"I'll see you around. Call me if you need anything," Chanyeol was saying. His eyes were pinched
almost shut from exhaustion, much like Hani's.

"Go sleep, you workaholic," Hani said fondly.

"Back at you."

"I will, I will." Hani sighed. "I'm sorry our...plans got derailed."

"Plans, huh? I'm sure you'll find another way to ask me to stay again." Chanyeol gave her a rare
smile that had Rosé gawk—she couldn't remember a time when she saw the stoic detective crack a
smile.

Rosé held her breath when Hani's free hand trailed along his face, lightly caressing his stubbly jaw.
Chanyeol's eyes slipped shut, his face relaxing at her touch. Rosé almost dragged Ella back the
way they came to not disturb their private moment.

"Right in front of my salad," said a disgruntled, creaky, quavering voice from the bed. Hani and
Chanyeol sprang apart just as Jennie slowly sat up, blinking peevishly at them behind her oxygen
mask. Her throat was covered with bandages and Rosé had never seen her look so pasty. Yet, as
she rolled her eyes at the pair in such a familiar gesture, Rosé knew that Jennie was okay.

"Jen!" Rosé called happily. Jennie removed her mask and broke into a faint smile as Rosé and Ella
approached the bed. Chanyeol nodded one last time at Hani before he stalked out of the room, his
face back to his usual stoic mask.

"What was your boyfriend doing in here?" Ella asked Hani curiously. "Is he like a bodyguard? Was
he watching over Jennie unnie?"

"Ella!" Rosé said mortified.

"What?" Ella frowned.

"We...we don't ask private questions like that," Rosé said.

"But if it's private, wouldn't they be doing it at home? They were making googly eyes at each other
like you and Lisa did," Ella shrugged. Rosé felt the heat flush her cheeks and Jennie let out a noise
that sounded suspiciously like a snort.

"He's not my boyfriend," Hani said softly. Her cheeks were dusted pink. "But I care about him a
great deal. He's a detective."

"Oh? That's cool. Does he fight bad guys?"

"All the time. He's the best."

Rosé and Jennie shared a glance as Hani sighed and shook her head. "Well, good morning to you,
Jen. Welcome back to the land of the living."

"How are you feeling?" Rosé asked, concerned to see Jennie grimace whenever she moved her
head, managing only slow, halting movements. She stroked over Jennie's legs, hoping to comfort
her.

"Here's a keypad to help you while you rest your voice," Hani said, handing her a hospital tablet.
"You can do text-to-speech if you prefer."

Jennie nodded and got busy typing. "I'm fine. Groggy. Face hurts. Shoulder hurts. Body hurts.
Throat hurts real bad," said the tablet's robotic voice.

"You scared me," Rosé said.

"You scared all of us," Hani added, betraying a trace of emotion. "You basically died in my arms.
I'm not being dramatic," she said when Rosé rounded on her, startled. "She passed out in my arms,
not breathing. She was clinically dead. A little more time without oxygen to her brain and organs
and...well, you can fill in the rest."

Rosé squeezed Jennie's leg tighter over the sheets. Jennie didn't shake her off.

"You're very lucky we're in hospital Jen, and that we resuscitated you before the period of oxygen
starvation settled in. Dr Kim thinks the residual TK Beta in your system helped to lengthen the time
and increase your survival rate. Don't put me through that shit again."

Jennie rolled her eyes. "Don't get all sappy on me. Where's Chu?"

"She's safe, sedated. Nothing happened to her but we had to do it, to stop her."

"Please don't hurt her. She didn't know what she's doing," Jennie said, her brows drawing together
in sudden anguish.

Hani sighed. "Jen, I know she means a lot to you but...you're more important than she is. If she
ends up being a liability, we won't have much of a choice—"

Jennie's furious typing cut her off. "If you hurt her, I'll kill you." Jennie wore an equally ferocious
expression as she glared at Hani.

"Feisty as ever, I told you she's fine. Look at her, you can't even tell that she just died," Hani told
Rosé.

"Stop saying that."

"Sorry. Look, let's try keep the death threats to a minimum, m'kay? We've had enough deaths."

"And let's take it step by step," Rosé suggested pacifyingly. "When can she come home? That way,
she and Jisoo won't be near each other and I'll be able to help take care..."

She trailed off when Jennie stabbed out her thoughts.

"No. I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here." Jennie looked at them defiantly.

"It's not safe. We don't know who's with us or against us. Jinyoung infiltrated this place to have you
killed. He can do it again. I'd rather have you at the safehouse, I can monitor who goes in and out
of that place better," Hani said tersely. She turned aside. "I'll have to...see if there's any danger
keeping my sister here."

"You have a sister?" Rosé and Ella asked immediately.

"You told me you have two brothers," Jennie said and fixed Hani with a pointed stare.

"It's a long story. But basically, she's been in a coma in this hospital for a long time. I will see
whether to move her or not." Hani spoke steadily but Rosé heard the grief lacing her words.

"The court case," she said slowly, recalling the court case Dasoni had been involved in that she had
told Jennie about days ago when they had first gotten to the first safehouse. It was starting to come
back to her now. "That's what it was about, wasn't it? Your sister was caught up in that trafficking
ring. And she ended up in a coma."

Hani went rigid before she deflated with a sigh. "Yes. We lost her and...it's been that way since."
She waved her hand dismissively at their wide eyes. "Spare me your sympathies. It's old news now.
And she has nothing to do with you, she's my responsibility. We have bigger issues to handle. We
have to figure out what's going to happen to you two."

"And me," Ella piped up.

"And you. And Jisoo as well," Hani agreed.

"I'm not leaving," Jennie insisted.

"Jennie unnie, what if you get hurt again?" Ella said earnestly. "Mom was really scared."

"We all were," Hani said quietly. "It's not something I was expecting, walking in on you getting
strangled within an inch of your life. That shit will haunt me, and I don't say this lightly."

Jennie wavered. "I can't leave Jisoo. He could hurt her too."

"At this point, you staying here poses more risk for everybody," Hani said. "Jinyoung is after you.
He will do whatever it takes to break you. He will keep on using and killing people. That Karina
girl? We dug a little into her background. Her real name is Yu Ji-min. Her family is in insurance
debt to some medical insurance company that he owns. So of course, he knew what strings to pull,
under the guise of a benevolent sponsor. He's been helping her for the past three years and now,
he's cashed in on his favour. And he doesn't care who dies. He killed his own father."

Hani eyed Jennie sternly. "Do you want more blood on your hands? Do you want Jisoo dead? Rosé
and her kid here?"

Jennie flinched.
"Hani," Rosé scolded.

"Hey, we're tough," Ella said, puffing up her chest as she stood on tiptoes. "I'm tougher than I look,
I swear. And Jennie unnie taught me how to punch."

Hani sighed. "I'm sure you'd make a great bodyguard, kid, but you're a few years too early to the
job. And several feet too short." She turned to Jennie.

"If you want to protect Jisoo, you need to stay away from her. I mean it," she said firmly at Jennie's
stricken expression. "Seeing you right now would only confuse her. We'll figure something. We
just need more time to assess. The doctors need to study how she reacts to the antidote to decide
whether she's safe enough for you two to interact. And if they say it's unwise to do that ever
again..."

"Hani! A little tact!" Rosé barked as Jennie's bottom lip trembled.

"I'm preparing her. She's not a baby," Hani retorted. "I don't want her to hang on to hope and then
be crushed later. I hope I'm wrong of course, but she needs to be aware that things are dire."

"Jennie unnie can't ever see Aunty Jisoo again?" Ella said, eyes wide. "Will we still be able to?"

"No sweetie it's not like that..."

Jennie hung her head, shoulders slumping. The sight crushed Rosé, reminding her of her own
predicament. She rubbed Jennie's back sadly, guessing her thoughts. If Jennie felt anything about
Jisoo as much as she felt about Lisa, Rosé knew that the idea of never interacting with her
girlfriend again was devastating.

"I promised....to be there...by her side," Jennie whispered, her voice faint.

"Maybe you can still peek in on her? Like when she's sleeping?" Rosé suggested. Jennie didn't
react.

Hani stood up. "I'll go talk to Dr. Kim to see when you can get discharged and what your care plan
looks like. The sooner you're out of here, the better I'll feel." She left strolling briskly, the picture of
control and authority. But Rosé wasn't fooled: she glimpsed Hani's sombre glance back at them
before she went out the door.

Hani cared about them, in her own way. But it was the wrong time for feelings to emerge,
especially when they could cloud the mobster's judgement and get in the way of her duties and
loyalty to the Dasoni clan. Rosé wondered if Hani would actually go up against the Dasoni and
hide them from hitmen. Hani's words from earlier painted a bleak and uncertain future, cemented
by Jisoo's unstable condition.

Rosé swallowed and turned to Jennie, who hadn't looked up.

"It will be okay, Jen. Give it time," Rosé whispered, hoping it was true. She hugged her close, with
Ella nestling in for the hug as well. Jennie leaned into them, limp as a ragdoll. It was only when her
shoulders trembled that Rosé realised Jennie was crying.

~*~*~*~*~

Two Weeks Later

Rosé was roused from her fitful sleep by Ella patting her shoulder and calling her insistently. She
blinked in the gloom. Rain drummed the windows in a steady downpour.

"Baby wha—"

"Jennie unnie," Ella said immediately.

Rosé didn't question anything else. Lucidity flooded her as she rolled out of the couch bed and
hurried to the bedroom, Ella padding in her wake. At the door, Rosé paused. She didn't hear hoarse
screams yet, unlike previous nights, but she heard sounds of tossing and turning within the room,
indicating another terrifying nightmare was in progress.

"JISOO!"

Rosé rushed inside the bedroom, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the gloom. By the light of the
night light, Jennie's skin glistened with sweat, her brows furrowed and her teeth clenched as she
wrestled whatever horror she was dreaming.

"No..." Jennie whimpered, going rigid. "Don't....please don't hurt her take me, take me!...Jisoo
NO!"

"Jen, wake up," Rosé called. She dashed to Jennie's side and took her from the shoulders. "Wake
up, it's a bad dream."

Jennie's eyes flew open. "Let go!"

She kicked and struggled but Rosé immediately obeyed and let go, heart pumping hard as Jennie
panted and looked around her in confusion, clarification slowly seeping in as she took in her
surroundings. Her eyes settled on Rosé, fear ebbing away as they held gazes.

"It's okay. It's over," Rosé said softly.

Jennie's shoulders slumped as she fell back against the pillows that propped her up.

"Not again..."

"It's okay," Rosé said again, kneeling to be level with Jennie. Tentatively, she reached for Jennie's
clammy hand, but Jennie snatched it away upon contact. Rosé ignored the pang of hurt.

"Wanna...wanna talk about it?" she asked timidly, knowing the answer but still determined to try.

Jennie never wanted to talk anymore: she spent the days in bed, staring vacantly out the window. It
was like a canyon had opened up between them, and the connection they had forged was a rickety
wooden bridge that had rotted and crumbled into the unforgiving gorge.

Still, Rosé tried.

"I'm fine now. You can go," Jennie croaked, not looking at her. "I'm sorry for waking you." Her
voice was still hoarse and creaky but she was able to speak in full sentences now, though the
doctors advised not to strain her vocal cords with excessive shouting.

"It's alright. You...you sure you don't want to—"

"What is there to talk?" Jennie said harshly. "You want to know what I dreamed? I dreamed the
fucker turned into a TK brute and was torturing her. In front of me. Again. For the fucking nth
time. And I couldn't help her because he snapped my arms off. Happy?"
"Jen, I'm just trying—"

"Well then, don't! Just go away," Jennie said abruptly and turned her whole body away from Rosé.
"Leave me alone."

Rosé swallowed. "If—if you need anything, we're here for you."

Jennie never replied and Rosé quietly closed the door behind her, drifting forlornly back to her bed
with Ella, who had seen everything from the doorway.

"Let's sleep baby, you have an early start for school tomorrow," Rosé said, stifling a yawn.

She smiled as they climbed in and Ella immediately snuggled up for cuddles. Her wounded heart
always got patched up by Ella's soothing presence. If she didn't have her daughter, Rosé wasn't sure
how she would have survived being stuck inside the apartment with her estranged friend giving her
the cold shoulder while her girlfriend (probably ex, sneered her inner voice) was god knows where
doing god knows what.

"I'm sorry Mom," Ella said contritely.

"Hm? For what, baby?" Rosé said, kissing the top of her head and smoothening out her hair.

"For telling you about Jennie unnie."

"Why? You have nothing be sorry for. We agreed that you'd wake me if you heard her having a
bad dream."

"Yeah but she's...she's always mean now."

"She's sad, darling. Sad and mad. She doesn't know what to do anymore. She misses Jisoo."

"Sad people are mean?"

"They can be, yes." Rosé kissed her forehead. "It's natural to feel that way sometimes. But when
you hurt other people in the process, that's when you have to check yourself. But on the other hand,
we need to be kind. Being sad and mad don't make for a good cocktail. We have to be patient and
ride it out until she feels a little more like herself, as long as it takes. We have to help her, because
she's our friend."

"Yeah but she makes you sad too."

"Of course. She's a dear person to me, like Lisa and Jisoo are. I hate to see her like this. But there's
nothing to do about it except to keep trying. Maybe soon, she will feel like opening up to us again."

"What if it takes years?"

Rosé hugged Ella. "Don't worry about this. It's not your job. You're already shouldering too much
and hanging on so well, always being so strong for me. But this is an adult thing. I'm the adult
here, it's my job to worry, not yours, okay? Let me handle this."

"What's my job?" Ella said with great interest.

"You just focus on being my little girl, have fun at school with your friends, and stop growing so
fast."

"Maybe if I don't eat seaweed all the time, I won't grow as fast," Ella offered hopefully, pulling a
fond chuckle from her mother.

"Nice try, baby. The Tickle Monster would certainly have a thing or two to say about that."

Ella soon drifted off to sleep but Rosé stayed up long into the night, sorrow nipping at her
consciousness. She often glanced towards the bedroom, wondering if Jennie was still crying all
alone.

Unlike Jennie, Rosé had Ella, her light in the dark. Jennie seemed dead-set on proving that she had
nobody, intent on enduring everything alone. Rosé desperately wanted to show her how wrong she
was, but Jennie wasn't letting her.

The moment she had been transferred from the hospital, Jennie clammed up and refused any of
Rosé's offers to talk, cuddle or even have a bath together. Jennie would huff and puff as she hauled
herself out of bed, her injuries hindering movement but she refused any help. Rosé maintained a
respectful distance, understanding Jennie needed space, hoping that Jennie would seek her out
when she was ready.

The days passed in a monotonous humdrum of nothingness as Rosé settled into a routine involving
endless pilates, cleaning, cooking, channel surfing whilst on the couch bed, chatting with Ella,
calling Seulgi and Irene sometimes for updates on the pets and to stave off her melancholy, and
checking in on Jennie, patiently waiting for her friend to come to her.

She realised only too late that Jennie had lapsed into her old ways: suppressing all that she was
feeling, cutting off communication and taking on all the burden by herself with no intention of
sharing her suffering and opening up, preferring to wallow in her pain alone. She gave no
indication that the languishing situation would improve, hollow and numb to any of Rosé's attempts
for dialogue. Emotions were reserved for fending off Rosé in angry outbursts that strained her
voice.

Talk to me, Jen. Please don't cut yourself off.

Talking won't do any fucking good, Rosé. I'm tired. Go away.

Don't do this Jen, Jisoo wouldn't want you—

Don't you dare say her fucking name to me. Don't. You. Dare.

Let me help you. I'm here for you. We're a team, you and me, remember?

It's over. I should be dead. I feel dead. Leave me alone.

At a loss, Rosé could only watch helplessly as Jennie drifted further out of reach, lost to her
torment. To make matters worse, Hani was too busy negotiating her future with the clan to
concentrate on giving them concrete details about Jisoo's progress. They were not allowed to leave
the condo either, although Hani did allow for Rosé to accompany Ella to and from her music
classes. She claimed it was out of safety.

Jinyoung hadn't killed Jennie, but he'd extinguished her spark. As a result, Jennie was more dead
then alive; Jisoo's attack was the final nail in Jennie's coffin.

Rosé hadn't been able to get much out of Jennie, but from what she gathered, Jennie being
strangled by Jisoo had been intentional. Jennie's guilt manifested in her nightmares and had given
Rosé the gist of what happened: rather than hurting her girlfriend by subduing her, Jennie chose to
let herself be killed in her place.
Cornered like that, taunted by your enemy and forced to choose death out of love and desperation
was enough to screw with anyone's head. And Jennie was bearing the brunt of it all and the rest of
what had happened all by herself.

Rosé blinked up at the ceiling and wiped the silent tear that escaped her eye. Her hand strayed of
its own accord inside her pillowcase, comforted by the familiar crackle of paper.

The cult.

She kept the crucial information hidden from Hani and she hadn't brought it up with Jennie again.
Going to the cult on the off-chance they would help them was a measure of last resort that she
wasn't going to fall back on unless it was of absolute necessity.

"I'll wait for you, Jen," Rosé whispered, clutching the scrap of paper tightly. "You can count on
that. I'm not giving up. Not yet. Lisa, Jisoo, you guys hang in there too."

She turned on her side to snuggle with Ella, eventually falling asleep. Lisa was waiting in her
dreams, arms spread open and waiting, her bright smile beckoning her invitingly. But no matter
how much she ran, Rosé couldn't reach her; Lisa always remained farther away on the horizon.

>

Hani dropped by the apartment two days later. She always spaced out her visits but today her smile
seemed a little fixed, alerting Rosé to something unusual. Hani didn't say anything, and so Rosé
didn't ask either.

"How are you all holding up?" Hani asked in between bites of her gimmari. The TV was playing
softly in the background on some random channel, because Rosé liked to have it on while she
washed or cleaned to keep her company and distract her from her thoughts.

Rosé shrugged, scrubbing at a pan. "The usual. Jennie's going to fuse with the bed soon at this rate.
And Ella's fine."

"Just fine?"

"As fine as the situation allows. Nobody has commented on her absent days, I think El said Seulgi
had given the school some excuses about a stomach bug. And at least, Ella's still talking to me and
doesn't seem mad at me..."

She trailed off and glanced in the direction of the bedroom, the implication clear.

"That girl has moped enough. You've been patient but now it's time for some tough love," Hani
said, hitting her palm with her fist for emphasis. "I'm tired of her wallowing, it's time she pulled up
her bootstraps."

"That's rich coming from you. You're not even giving her anything to hold on for. I've told you,
she's giving up. I'd be lying if I said I'm not scared sometimes."

"And I've told you, the situation is delicate. Jisoo could still switch up on us. If Jennie is going to
base her entire life around her girlfriend, then it's toxic. She shouldn't depend on someone to that
extent."

Rosé turned off the faucet and turned to face Hani with her whole body. "Hani, I had to hide the
razors in the bathroom because...because sometimes I look at Jennie and I see nothing. Just a dead
girl that is still somehow breathing. That's how far gone she is. I'm always terrified she'll just...take
the shower pipe and...or she'll draw a bath and get in and...never gets out..."

She couldn't bear to finish her thoughts. "All I'm saying is, she needs help. I can't reach her. I've
tried to be patient but she won't listen to me. Maybe if we tried getting her some professional help,
a therapist..."

Hani gave a snort. "Ace doesn't need a shrink. She needs to be shaken out of her apathy. We all get
funks. So what? She ain't special."

"She was going to let Jisoo kill her," Rosé said harshly, making Hani pause. "Did you know that?
No, of course not. You know nothing. You don't hear her screaming at night, begging for Jinyoung
to kill her instead of Jisoo. You didn't watch her barely have any strength to lift the spoon to her
mouth. You didn't find her face down on the floor sleeping in her own piss because she didn't have
the strength to leave the bed. You don't know shit, Hani."

"You didn't tell me," Hani said loftily.

"You never showed any indication that you cared," Rosé spat, all the resentment and stress that had
been building up exploding at last. "Hell, all you care about is you you you. Did you just come
back from another thrashing? Have the elders kicked you out for good? Should I be waiting for
thugs to bust down the door now?"

"That's enough, Rosé," Hani said tersely getting to her feet.

"No it's not enough. I'm tired of being in the dark. What's going on with Jinyoung? What about
Lisa? What's going to happen now?"

"I told you, they're not my priority right now. I've got other shit to deal with," Hani said warningly.
Her eyes flashed as she faced Rosé head on who tossed her head contemptuously.

"They're never going to be your priority again unless it's to your benefit."

"Yeah because guess what? That's how the real world works," Hani snarled. "Law of the jungle
and all that, sweets. You were neck deep in that shit, you know how it works. You prioritised your
safety and wellbeing. Don't come lecturing me about priorities, don't you think you're all high and
mighty now that you're free of Yang. You're just as rotten as the rest of us."

Rosé took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm. "Hani, all I'm asking for is...anything. Literally
anything that can help us. Everything is stuck right now, I'm going to go crazy."

"Oh boo-hoo, poor princess stuck in her gilded cage," Hani taunted. "You ungrateful bitch, you're
sitting here—still alive, mind you—by my own grace, living it up in my condo wasting my
money while I have to be the one to worry about several things at once. You have no clue the shit I
am going through either."

"Because you don't talk! You're just as bad as Jennie, you keep everything to yourself!" Rosé
exclaimed.

"What's talking gonna do?" Hani said sarcastically. "Are you going to intercede on my behalf?
Grovel in front of the elders? It's too late, they already decided that I'm done! Happy now?"

"What?"

"ROSIE!"
Hani and Rosé whipped around just as Jennie burst into the kitchen, dishevelled and wheezing as
she brandished a mop wildly. All three stared at each other for a split second before Jennie's eyes
narrowed and she lowered the mop.

"Oh, it's just you. I thought we were under attack. Can you keep the yowling down?"

"Jen," Rosé whispered dumbly. Seeing Jennie out of bed for the first time in weeks had her eyes
fill. "Hey, how are you—"

"How's Jisoo?" Jennie interrupted, rounding on Hani.

Frustratingly, Hani shrugged. "The usual. Doesn't say much. Enjoys the jelly cups. Wacks out now
and then when the withdrawals hit but less frequently so the antidote is working."

"Can I see her?" Jennie said. A hint of hope tinged her voice but Hani swiftly nipped it in the bud.

"Not yet."

Jennie turned on her heels and stalked back the way she came, carrying the whiff of unwashed
bodies with her. "Carry on, sorry for interrupting."

"Wait, Jen come back—"

Hani caught her wrist. "Leave her." She eyed Jennie's departing back thoughtfully. "Pushing her to
talk won't work. She responds to shock better than talking, clearly."

"But..." Rosé started but Jennie had disappeared, slamming the bedroom door shut for good
measure and making all the window panes rattle.

Hani let go of Rosé and folded her arms. Her cream blazer, draped around her shoulders, complete
with her cream high-waisted trousers, white shirt and high heels flaunted her powerful CEO image,
but Rosé wasn't intimidated in the least as she looked at her defiantly. Hani broke gazes first.

"So you're not the leader anymore," Rosé said. She didn't know why her voice was hushed, as
though they were discussing some indescribable horror. But that was exactly what she was feeling:
her safety net had ruptured and death was suddenly in their midst, hovering so close Rosé felt the
hairs on her arms rise.

Hani gave a grimace. "I told you it was a possibility. My elder brother, the one in Busan, is
returning to discuss with the clan elders tonight. He still hasn't taken up the mantle but...it's not like
he can say no." She looked away.

"Hani," Rosé said, at a loss. But Hani shook her head, squaring her shoulders.

"I'll drop by tomorrow and let you know how things go with my brother tonight. Oppa is a
reasonable guy, I will strike a bargain with him regarding you three, so rest assured all is not lost
yet. Just stay vigilant."

"Vigilant? Should I prepare cookies in case some hitman drops by?" Rosé asked sarcastically.

"Nobody's sending hitmen after you," Hani said firmly. "They'd be invading on my turf and that
would be going too far, even for the elders, hunting their own flesh and blood. We don't do that. By
the way, those gimmari really are divine— what?" Hani asked at Rosé's shaking head.

"You're running off again without answering anything of what I asked about Lisa and Jinyoung."
"Ever think that maybe I don't always clue you in on what's happening to protect you, like this
unfortunate piece of news just now? Look at Jennie's state," Hani said. "You think she's fit to
hear any sort of news?"

"I thought you said what she needs is to be shocked," Rosé said, ignoring Hani's incensed stare.

"Fine. Ever think that maybe, I'm not used to handing out information willy-nilly? You saw how
easily trusting someone can turn against me, twice—

"Do you really not know what's going on?" Rosé wondered, interrupting her. "Is that why you
always side-step questions about...about anything?"

"Fine!" Hani finally snapped, her ego stung. She whipped around and stomped to the TV, swiping
the remote off the couch. "I'll show you how much I know. Tell me, how updated with the news
are you?"

"Uhm....I don't really watch it, it's always the same old, same old: politics, murder, war and
scandal." Rosé was bemused when Hani impatiently beckoned her over.

"Might want to pay more attention then. The answers you want are right in front of you," Hani said
shortly as she switched channels. "Here we go, let me rewind it back for you, your highness."

"There's no need to be petty," Rosé said, stung from Hani's rebuke. She reached for the remote.
"Give me that, I can rewind it myself."

"...and this marks the fifth mob leader that was found dead in the space of days. As with the
previous victims, the fifth casualty was also found in his office, throat ripped out. Authorities are
still determining the motivation behind today's crime, but currently have not detained any
suspects or witnesses. Experts are pointing towards patterns of growing gang unrest and
violence, especially in the wake of eminent mobster Yang Hyun-suk's demise. Authorities advise
the general public to remain—"

"That's Lisa," Hani said shortly, making Rosé snap her head up. "Jinyoung's on the move, he's
solidifying his grip on the city. It's a show of force. A matter of time before he tries going for the
bigger gangs like me."

"You don't know...how can you know it's them?" Rosé whispered, her mouth dry

"Anonymous killer? Targeting mobs? No witnesses or suspects? Authorities baffled? The supposed
experts blaming it on gang violence? Please, they don't know shit if it hit them in the face. Or else,
they're in cahoots with Jinyoung."

"It didn't say they were baffled—"

"Of course not, you want them to admit they're incompetent?" Hani snorted. "Chanyeol's told me.
He's not on the case but his superiors are kicking up tantrums because they're stumped. This is the
fifth consecutive death, not first, in a matter of days and they're stumped. They don't even know if
it's the same person even though all the victims died the same way."

Hani flipped through more channels. "Oh here we go, check that out. This was just this morning."

Rosé squinted at the screen, playing a news broadcast of an event at the Blue House. People were
seated in front of a podium and giving an applause as the speaker stepped off and bowed to his
audience. The news ticker read: 'Announcement Of Joint Korean-Australian Venture For
Cutting Edge Pharmaceutical Research'.

"A press conference announcing some sort of bogus joint research effort in pharmaceuticals
between the two countries," Hani grunted. "Funny, what do the Australians have, that, I don't
know, a closer neighbour like Japan hasn't?"

Rosé focused on the people shaking hands jovially on screen and stifled a gasp as her gaze settled
on the speaker when he turned to shake hands with the President's staff.

"Bang Chan?"

"Bingo."

"What is he doing there?"

There was no mistaking that slit eyebrow and blonde hair. He posed for pictures with the President,
even throwing up a cheeky peace sign.

"What the hell is going on?" Rosé said, dread making her stomach sink.

"Jinyoung," Hani muttered pointing to a figure standing artfully hidden to the side in such way that
unless you were looking for him specifically, he wasn't easily visible amongst the sea of faces. He
blended in with other political bigwigs in suits, looking politely interested.

The muscles in Rosé's jaw worked. "What the hell is he planning now—"

"He's pulling a Choi Soon-sil most likely. Remember that scandal? The businesswoman that
influenced the president back then? Jinyoung is worming his way into the Blue House, using Bang
Chan as a proxy. He's gunning for the top dog."

"To become president?"

Hani stopped short of smacking her own face. "No, to get cushy subsidies and allowances and
sanctions that allow him free rein to do whatever he likes in the name of advancing the area of
pharmaceuticals and strengthening diplomatic relations. He's getting a free pass to resources and
state sponsorship for his Tiger King projects. And look at all the military brass in attendance. Bet
you they'll benefit from all this, didn't Jennie say the old man wanted to create an army of Tiger
Kings? It's the next step to go global and ship Tiger Kings all over the place."

"Whoa, aren't you running a little ahead now?" Rosé yelped.

"You think he's doing all this out of the goodness of his heart? Because he truly wants to improve
diplomatic relations, or because he's actually interested in pushing the boundaries on
pharmaceuticals? Sure, he could be interested in the latter, but only if it benefits him. And it only
benefits him when he's gaining more money and power."

Rosé shook her head, overwhelmed.

"He's a snake," Hani spat. "A coward. Look at him, taking the backseat and making sure his name
isn't the one being pandered around, while other people do the work on his behalf. Bang Chan is
the proxy, the target. If things go to shit, Chan will be the one in hot water and Jinyoung will just
bounce, as always."

"They should know about Tiger King. Jinyoung will be stopped then. Chanyeol....Chanyeol should
say something, they'll listen to him," Rosé said.
"And then everyone will know and the authorities will get Lisa," Hani said, making Rosé pause. "I
thought all the secrecy you and Jennie went through was to protect Lisa?"

Rosé bit her lip and turned away, stung by Hani's words. "It was to protect all of us," she said
quietly. "I didn't want the authorities to find out about my connection to...to all this because they
might take Ella. And Jennie...she's an illegal immigrant. Who knows where she'll end up? And
Lisa..."

"See, and then you come and lecture me about priorities," Hani said snidely. She tossed the remote
on the couch. "Look, maybe you're right. Maybe it's not Lisa, maybe it's some other Tiger Kings,
I'm sure he's got a bunch of them flying off the conveyor belt."

"Not if he's focusing all his efforts on Lisa," Rosé said, thinking fast. She remembered Taehyung,
and Jennie's brief description of her final encounter with Yoongi, the very last time they had bathed
together.

"Suddenly you're agreeing with me?" Hani frowned. "What gives?"

Rosé shook her head. "I'm just piecing things together. If we go up against Jinyoung, we need to
know what we'll be facing. And it will probably be just Lisa. With the rate things are moving, it
has to be Lisa doing all the killings. All other Tiger Kings, if he has any, wouldn't be in a state to do
much. They're not as... as finalised as Lisa is."

"So he's pumping all the TK into Lisa? What makes you think that?" Hani said sharply, her eyes
gleaming with marked interest.

"Jennie told me Yoongi, her ex, had been a wreck when she saw him again—"

"A heartbreaker, huh? She's a woman after my own heart—"

"Hani please! Yoongi is the tiger king subject we had met in the forest, he had attacked her there
and he was in the arena too. But he was different, in the arena he was having really bad
withdrawals, he was a wreck. Jennie killed him to put him out of his pain on his request."

"And listen," Rosé continued feverishly, "TK-Ultra isn't in some endless, cheap supply. If he's
creating it synthetically, and they need a great deal of it to keep Lisa functioning without breaking
down all the time like all the Tiger Kings eventually did, like Yoongi....then I'd think Jinyoung
would try to concentrate all his resources on the one Tiger King that he already has perfectly ready
to carry out whatever he orders. And that's Lisa."

Rosé bowed her head, bitter. "Jinyoung did make one oversight switching to TK-Ultra, but it
hardly counts."

"Withdrawals. He gets faster, better results but at the cost of the Tiger King subjects breaking
down if they don't get frequent doses of it," Hani said grimly.

Rosé didn't want to think of what facing Lisa in her current state would be like. A big part of her
was in mourning, accepting she'll never have Lisa back. But another tiny part of her still clung on,
against all odds: she'd get Lisa back someway, somehow. But this part of her dwindled despite its
tenacity, as the odds of Lisa returning looked to be insurmountable, especially restoring Lisa to her
old self.

"So...it's like I said then. The killer on the rampage is probably Lisa all juiced up with all the TK
Jinyoung can spare. Lovely." Hani sighed. "Soon, he'll start to climb the ladder and target bigger
fish in the market. Mark my words, one of these days Jinyoung will send a hit after me and
then...I'm not gonna hesitate to put a bullet in her head. Priorities, you get me? I'd like to stick
around a while longer."

"Why are you telling me?"

"Warning you out of courtesy. And also, just to let you know it's not hard feelings between us if it
happens. We're all just trying to survive here."

"I...I understand," Rosé said, her voice wobbling.

Hani eyed Rosé with the same thoughtful look she wore when she was observing Jennie. "I have a
question for you."

"Tell me," Rosé said immediately, hoping to inspire openness in the mobster. She braced herself,
stifling the urge to shrink away from Hani's keen gaze.

"It's very simple really. If it came down to it, between your girlfriend and your daughter, who
would you bear to lose the least?"

"What?" Rosé said, stunned.

"Between Lisa and Ella," Hani said slowly, "who do you choose to keep?"

Rosé stared at her, blinking as the TV yakked on in the background. Hani held her gaze steadily
and this time it was Rosé who had to look away.

"I don't choose," Rosé mumbled. "It's impossible. I love them both so much. And either way, they'd
both be taken away if we went public on all this. I'd be taken away."

"You might be given a choice to spare one of them. You have to choose. Who will it be?" Hani
said simply. She showed no intention of leaving before Rosé answered, standing solid and
immovable as a mountain.

"I don't—"

"You have an answer, I can see it in your eyes. You'll just hate yourself for it, or fear it will become
reality. But you have to face the music, Rosé. If you could save one of them, who shall it be?" Hani
reiterated.

Dread choked Rosé, making her fight to give her answer. "Ella," Rosé said at last, her voice barely
above a whisper. "I'd choose Ella, of course. My baby...what kind of mother abandons her
daughter?"

But I can't lose Lisa, she pleaded silently..

Ella was her pride and joy, but Lisa was the one to make her heart sing, her spirit soar. Without
Lisa, she would be more of a wreck than before they met: foregoing Lisa was like touching heaven
and then flung back to earth—it was a cruel punishment that her heart wouldn't take.

She'd survive of course, she'd do it all for Ella, and she'd maybe heal over time, but it would take a
long long long time, and maybe she'd never truly be happy again.

Hani nodded gravely, receiving the message. "We'll keep the lid on Lisa as long as we can," she
said softly and left, the door shutting behind her with a click.

>
Loud noises and distant shouts roused Jennie, making her grumble as she sat up in bed in the pitch
black dark. The luminous clock face on the nightstand let her know it was a little past eleven in the
evening.

"Seriously? Bitching at this time of night? I swear I'm gonna kill Hani..."

She fumbled for the nightlight next to her bed, switching it on and and then swinging her legs out
and standing with great difficulty. She had to reach out to steady herself against the nightstand,
taking a second to breathe, for her legs to hold her up and for her head to clear.

After being discharged from hospital, Jennie hadn't felt like waking up again. Every day when she
opened her eyes, she was immediately flooded with guilt and helplessness. Even when
she wanted to leave the bed, her body didn't listen, as though it was too exhausted to do more than
keep her breathing. Getting in and out of bed was a feat that left her drained and dizzy.

Before Jennie had a chance to take a step, the door burst open and in barrelled Rosé, white as a
sheet.

"Jennie! Jennie wake up! We gotta go!"

She was clutching Ella in her arms, her eyes wild and her hair in disarray. She was barefoot,
wearing only her nightclothes. But Jennie didn't have time to question anything before Rosé
grabbed her arm and dragged her out in great haste, almost tripping over her feet in the process.
Shouts echoed down the passage, and Jennie thought she recognised Hani's voice, angry and
strained.

"Rosé hold up, what's going on?" Jennie gasped.

"Someone's trying to break in," Rosé said urgently as she headed for the bathroom. "Hani was
being chased and she came in here. She's holding them off at the front door. Hurry before they get
in!"

"She came here?! What about us?" Jennie spluttered as Rosé slammed the bathroom door shut and
locked it behind them. The bright light hurt Jennie's eyes as she adjusted but she felt more awake
and sharp than she had in weeks as adrenaline pumped and her heart hammered.

"It's her safehouse too, where else was she going to run?" Rosé said breathlessly.

"Well where's the panic room? And the security?"

"I don't know okay? I just know the exit out of here!"

"Huh?"

"Gimme a sec." Panting, Rosé put Ella down. "Whew, you're getting big. Baby, you okay?"

The question was laughable but Jennie marvelled at Rosé's firm and calm tone, reassuring her
daughter as she cupped her face.

"Are the bad guys after us?" Ella said breathlessly.

Jennie's panic surged. She turned to Rosé.

"Rosé, shit. What if it's a Tiger King sent by Jinyoung?"

"I don't think so," Rosé said by her voice wobbled. "Hani said it's a hitman she was running from."
"A hitman." Jennie held her head. "A hitman. That's worse. Fuck—"

"Language."

"—Rosé don't you get it?! That hitman's either after Hani, or he's after us! Like Hani had said. The
Dasoni want to get rid of us."

And now Rosé's terror surged as the realisation crashed over her. She clapped a shaky hand to her
mouth and swiftly tugged Ella to her side.

"Mom?" Ella whimpered.

"I won't let them," Rosé rasped, as though she was capable of bending reality to her will. Jennie's
hands curled into fists, the choice before her clear as day as she swallowed, her body steeling itself
for what's to come.

"You two hide in the shower. I'll go and help Hani—"

"I'm not leaving you behind," Rosé snapped as she ran to the body-length mirror. "Help me move
the mirror, there's a switch somewhere."

"What?"

"Hani told me the escape route is behind this mirror. There's stairs leading down into the basement
car park. Come on, help me," Rosé said, briskly taking charge as she scrabbled behind the mirror
with her fingers without waiting for Jennie to join her. "Ah, got it!"

In disbelief, Jennie stared as the mirror swung inwards like a door, revealing a flight of stairs lit up
with fluorescent lights just like fire escape stairways.

Rosé swiftly picked up Ella. "Come on Jen—"

A terrific crash somewhere inside the apartment followed by louder voices, more thumps and more
crashes had them freeze for a split second before Jennie was surging forward and shoving Rosé
down the stairway.

"You two go. I'll hold them off," Jennie decided very quickly, even as the odds looked decidedly
against her. "Hide until I come for you, okay?"

"But—"

"Go!" Jennie hissed as footsteps thundered down the passage heading towards them. Rosé ran with
Ella as Jennie pulled the mirror back into its original position. But before she could breathe in
relief, a deafening thump on the bathroom door had her cower.

"I know you're in there, you can't hide," the intruder roared. His deep voice didn't belong to
Jinyoung. Icy darts of fear stabbed Jennie in the heart: she couldn't tell if it was a normal man or a
raging Tiger King outside, with a mere wooden door separating them.

When was she ever going to be free of violence?

Powerful thuds echoed, spurring Jennie into action as the man kicked the door relentlessly, making
it rattle on its hinges with every hit. She didn't have time to think whether Hani was still alive: she
was the last line of defence for Rosé.

Rosé and Ella had to survive.

Jennie rushed to the shower and savagely yanked at the shower hose. Hysterical strength had her
tear the whole thing from the faucet and she crashed to the floor with the hose and showerhead in
her arms at the same time as the door groaned and collapsed to the ground.

Jennie rolled out of its path, narrowly avoiding being flattened as timber splintered and cracked. A
man shot inside immediately, but Jennie was waiting. She had sprung to her feet, whirling the
showerhead like a lasso as she flung it at the intruder when he barrelled in.

He dodged, just barely, but Jennie didn't give him a chance to back up. She could barely feel the
ground beneath her, and her dizzy spell was returning as she surged forward, moving faster than
she had in weeks.

She didn't know what weapons he hid, and she wasn't going to give him a chance to show her.

Jennie threw the showerhead at him, reeling it back in like a fishing line in effort to strike his
shoulder. The man's face wasn't hidden, but she couldn't even begin to discern his features, they
were moving too fast. He wore all black and in his hand—

Jennie swung back, sucking in a breath as the man's knife whizzed right past her nose. Like
lightning, she trapped his wrist with the shower hose, twisting it up and locking his arm. In
retaliation, he grabbed at her hair, making her holler.

"Let go!" she screeched, swatting at his arm with her free hand. He caught it, glancing at her inked
wrist.

"Oh you're Dasoni," the man grunted whilst Jennie shrieked her head off, locked in the stalemate.

"Let go and fight me coward—"

"Where's the other two?" he demanded.

Her eyes slid to the side without thinking for only a moment, but it was enough to seal their fate as
his gaze followed hers to the mirror.

No!

He was strong—she realised now as he easily shook her off like a dog shakes off water that he had
been the one stalling her, fishing for information to get Rosé and Ella.

"No!" Jennie cried, scrambling to stand as he ran to the mirror.

A deafening crack and the hitman shattered the mirror with a powerful kick. But before he took
another step, Jennie leapt and latched on to his back. She looped the shower hose round his neck
and twisted, clinging on for dear life with her legs locking around his waist.

He choked, dropping his knife as he toppled backwards. Jennie hung on grimly like a monkey,
pulling as hard as she can. He lurched and slammed back against the wall next to the sink, cracking
Jennie's head against the cream tiles. Black spots danced in front of Jennie's eyes as he hit the wall
again and again until her grip loosened and she crumpled to the ground, dazed and whimpering.

"You're only delaying the inevitable. And making me madder," the man grunted as he retrieved his
knife whilst rubbing his neck. "Stay there." He darted out, leaving her amongst the wreckage.

Jennie wanted to roll over and pass out; her head thumped with bursts of pain in time with her
hammering heart. She was no match for a seasoned fighter. The residual TK had long vanished
from her body, no chance of a sudden boost to sharpen her reflexes. She hadn't moved in weeks and
it showed. If he wanted to, the hitman would have killed her without breaking a sweat.

Rosé. He was going to get them!

The bright lights burned like lasers, urging her eyes to close, to just give in, but Jennie gritted her
teeth and stuck out an arm, latching on to the doorway. Breathing hard, she wrenched herself to her
feet, slowly pulling herself to stand upright.

When Jennie lifted her head, she had to blink several times until the scene in front of her steadied.
The stairs melted and reformed, unable to keep their solid state. Jennie leaned heavily against the
doorway, steeling herself. Far below, the hitman was still running down, his shadowy figure
shrinking as she looked on.

"I'm coming, Rosé," Jennie gritted and took one step forward.

>

"Mom, Jennie unnie will make it right? She's gotta make it. She's...she's Super Gay," Ella
whispered. Rosé hugged Ella tightly, wishing and wishing that Life dealt them a fairer hand.

"It's going to be okay, of course she'll make it," Rosé tried to reassure but the sinking feeling in her
stomach grew as time ticked by and still, Jennie didn't appear.

Rosé had taken refuge behind some bins lined up for waste collection near the exit of the car park.
Moving them had been a strain but thankfully they seemed to be quite empty, and the wheels well-
oiled. From here, she could keep a look out for Jennie, waiting directly opposite the emergency
exit they had escaped from.

If the killer got past Jennie...

Rosé shook her head, breathing slow to steady her stuttering heart. She knew she didn't stand a
chance: weaponless, barefoot, and with a vulnerable child. The odds were stacked against them.

"Someone's coming," Ella alerted.

Rosé squinted past the bins. Her heart jumped in her throat when the hulking figure of a man in
black emerged. The lights glinted off his blade, which seemed clean enough, but maybe he had
wiped away Jennie's blood—

Rosé clapped a hand to her mouth to stifle a sob and clutched Ella's hand. Ella on her part sat
absolutely still in the cramped hiding place.

The hitman looked around him, guarded and alert, a hunter seeking out his prey as he stealthily
walked across the parking lot, glancing this way and that. He checked in between cars, even took a
moment to have a quick glance beneath them too.

"Maybe he won't notice us here," Rosé whispered, barely moving her lips, "maybe he'll walk right
past and think we already got out—"

"You're delaying the inevitable. Come out and it will be over," the hitman told the air as though he
had heard her. "Your friend's dead, and now it's your turn." His voice echoed, letting the words
sink in.

Jennie. Dead. No.

Rosé's heart cracked down the middle and this time, she rammed her knuckles in her mouth to
conceal her agony as her vision blurred with tears.

How could it happen? How could Jennie survive so much and then be taken out unceremoniously
by a random killer? It didn't make sense. Nothing was making sense. Had he killed Hani too?

"Come out and I promise, I'll be quick. I guarantee you won't suffer. You and your kid," the man
said.

Fear rooted Rosé in her place, such that not even a hurricane would have moved her an inch. She
gripped Ella's hand tightly and watched—heart thundering so loud in her ears she was sure he
could hear—as the killer approached steadily, checking his surroundings all the while.

Rosé rapidly assessed what little they had at their disposal. If they managed to tip the bins on him
when he was close enough, it might be enough to give them a head start to run but Rosé wasn't
strong enough to do it, especially alone.

Alone. Jennie's dead.

A sob wrenched from deep within her before she could stop it and immediately, she knew they
were doomed with the way Ella's eyes widened. The hitman stopped stock still, staring directly at
the bins.

He tilted his head and hefted the knife more firmly in his grip. Rosé watched on breathlessly as
without a word, he took off walking briskly, eyes set on the target, on them.

But he never got to walk more than a few paces before the sound of panting echoed in the parking
lot, making both the hitman and Rosé pause as they looked towards the source standing at the
stairway exit.

"Stop...there...you...jerk," Jennie wheezed, bent over her knees. She grimaced but managed to strike
a stance, arms up once she recovered. "Fight...me!"

"Jennie," Rosé squeaked as relief flooded her. "Oh my god...oh my god..."

The man turned to face Jennie fully. "You've got spirit, but it will serve for nothing tonight."

"I'm not letting you get Rosie and the kid," Jennie snarled vehemently.

"You're only delaying the inevitable," the man said. "Be reasonable. I'm not after you."

"But they're my family. I'll die protecting them if it's the last thing I fucking do," Jennie spat and
Rosé's heart fluttered uncontrollably as she fought to keep the tears at bay.

Jennie was barefooted, dishevelled and unsteady, but the fire in her eyes was back, the spark of the
old Jennie who refused to stay down even when she was trampled and downtrodden.

"Come on unnie, you can do it," Ella cheered under her breath. Rosé clasped their hands together,
straining to keep her eyes open without blinking: she didn't want to miss a single moment. Their
fate lay in Jennie's hands and her determination alone.

The hitman sighed and slid the knife into a scabbard at his side. Rosé watched raptly as he held his
hands up.

"Alright. Let's get this over then. I have work to do."

"What, you gonna fight me without your knife? Think I'm that much of a walkover?"

"No. I just don't want any trouble. You're not part of the job."

Rosé thought that without his knife, the scales would balance a little, or that he would go easier on
Jennie, but she was gravely wrong.

The man was a seasoned fighter, dispatching hits and kicks with frightening accuracy and speed.
He blocked many of Jennie's attacks, which to be fair were sloppy, but even so, the clinical
brutality had Rosé shielding Ella's eyes while she herself could only peek through the crack of her
eyelids, trembling with every horrific punch that battered Jennie.

"Come on, is that all you got?" Jennie taunted with every bit of bravado she had left. Next second,
the hitman had sent her flying backwards with a roundhouse kick. She crashed to the ground,
rolling over and groaning as he loomed over her with folded arms.

"Are you done?" he asked, no smug smile or taunting tone. He looked only mildly disgruntled, like
Jennie was an annoying fly he couldn't shake off to get to his true target.

Rosé thought about making a run for it while he was distracted fighting, but she had Ella. They
wouldn't get far. Where would they hide? Where could they go? Who would they turn to for help?
She wasn't sure Hani had survived either but that wasn't something to worry about now.

Jennie jerked and then propped herself up, spitting blood. "You hit like a limp noodle," she
groused, standing and tottering unsteadily. "Come on, hit me for real, you big sack of—"

Stop antagonising him, Rosé thought in distress, wincing as another punch found its mark. The
echoes of grunts and bone colliding with bone were everywhere.

Jennie fell down, over and over as the man battered her to a pulp. But still Jennie dragged herself
up to face him, now bleeding freely from her nose. He on the other hand barely had a scratch on
him.

"Mom, we gotta help her," Ella said suddenly. "We're the good guys, we gotta do something!"

"Like what?" Rosé said helplessly. "There's nothing. There's..."

She stopped, her mind running furiously as her gaze settled on the stained metal wall in front of
them. "Or maybe..."

The waste disposal bins in front of them appeared like the answer to her prayers. It was a hare-
brained plan, but those seemed to be her speciality.

Jennie's piercing cry—the hitman had her on the ground, arching back as he pulled her hair—tore
through her stupor and Rosé made her decision. She turned to kiss and hug Ella tightly, pulling
back to look her daughter in the eye.

"If anything happens, I love you, I love you so much and I'm sorry. I'm going to help Jennie."

Despite her fear, Ella smiled big and proud up at her mother. "Super Gay, here to save the day,"
she said, putting up a fist. Her smile alone boosted Rosé with a dose of much-needed courage as
she fist-bumped her daughter then braced herself for action.

In the tiny cramped space where you could barely squeeze in another limb, Rosé brought her knees
up to her shoulders, thankful for her flexibility. She rested the soles of her feet against the metal
bulk, breathed and pushed out in a sudden, powerful explosion of movement.

The bin trundled forward several paces before it came to a creaky stop but it was enough noise for
the hitman and Jennie to look up in the midst of grappling. Time slowed down, chaos came to a
standstill.

"Let her go!" Rosé bellowed, running to push the bin again in effort to create a diversion, if only
for a few more seconds. "Jennie, now!"

Jennie snapped back to action in record time, wrenching out of his grip and launching herself like a
cannon ball to knock him down.

"Hey!"

The hitman went down, legs flying up as his back cracked against the ground. Jennie was upon him
like wolves upon a deer, her feverish hands snagging on his scabbard before he could swat her
away.

With a triumphant shout, Jennie wrested his knife free and backed away, half of her face swollen
and blood smeared everywhere as she brandished the blade.

"Run Rosie! I'm gonna skewer this jerk like a fishcake!"

And Jennie would have done it, Rosé saw the mad rage in her eyes as she brought up her second
hand to the handle and raised the knife above her head with a visceral cry.

But someone slipped up behind Jennie before Rosé could scream out a warning, a wicked blade
appearing under Jennie's chin. Jennie froze, her face caught between fury and fear.

"Damn, remind me not to cross you when you go mama bear mode, Ace," drawled Hani from
behind her. "Will you chill? We chill?"

"Hani?" Rosé faltered, her worst fears popping off in her brain. She gulped, eyeing the hitman
nervously as he stood up and calmly dusted himself. "Are you gonna...will you...I don't..."

"The knife," Hani told the hitman. He leaned over and plucked it from frozen Jennie's hands.

"Hani, you piece of shit, are you gonna slit my throat right here? Like you did the Kwons?" Jennie
said bitterly.

"Not at all." Hani withdrew her knife and swiftly stepped back out of Jennie's range, a broad smile
pasted on her face. "I'll explain in a few seconds but I think a congratulations is in order, ladies. I
knew you still had it in you." She clapped as Jennie and Rosé (and Ella, who had run to her
mother's side) stared on.

"What the hell is going on, Hani?" Jennie said, her voice dangerous. "What bullshit are you up to
now?"

"I'd like to know too," Rosé said hotly, tugging Ella close. "We should all be sleeping right now,
not fighting for our life out here!"

They started when the hitman let out a little chuckle. He had stayed quietly to the side, watching
the scene before him without uttering a word, hands behind his back.

"Something funny?" Jennie snarled. He straightened and levelled his gaze at her but unlike
Jinyoung, no haughty smile or smug smirk accompanied his words.

"You wouldn't be here if you were really fighting for your lives," he said simply. "It was an act."

"A what?" Rosé said shrilly.

"Excuse me?" Jennie spluttered. "You beat me up like a punching bag and you call that an act?"

"One thing at a time. Girls, meet my brother, Haein, the new Dasoni head," Hani said, making
them freeze. Haein bowed, the hint of a smile tugging at his mouth when he straightened back up.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I've heard a lot about you two," he said.

Rosé could see it now, the way he tilted his head and the way his mouth quirked up, and his eyes
and nose—Hani's likeness was stamped in them. She had been too freaked out to stop and look at
him properly before.

"So what, you gonna hand us over to him? To butcher us?" Jennie stepped in front of Rosé as she
spoke, assuming a protective stance. "You got another thing coming if you think—"

"I was testing you," Hani drawled. "Like he said, if he had been really trying to kill you, neither of
you would be alive right now."

"Testing us," Rosé repeated sarcastically. "And what exactly was the purpose of this test? What
could you possibly gain from traumatising my daughter, and us, by having a killer hunt us out of
the apartment?"

"What she said," Jennie chimed in. "What the hell's your deal? Why couldn't we have talked
something out—"

"If you'd just shut up and listen, we'll tell you." Hani nodded at Haein. "Well?"

Unlike Hani, Haein sat in quiet contemplation as he thought over his words.

"You were right, they are something," he said at last. "But I don't think it warrants going against
our ideals. Dasoni doesn't give second chances."

"Huh?" Jennie said. "What do you mean?"

"I know, oppa," Hani said quietly. "But maybe this one time, an exception can be made."

Haein laughed and even his laugh was quiet, measured. "Exceptions, huh? The last time you told
me that, someone died."

Hani rolled her eyes. "Still salty? She wasn't worth that much anyway." She turned serious. "It's
different this time. You asked why you shouldn't execute them and well... they've shown you they
deserve exceptions."

"Uh excuse me, we're right here?" Jennie interrupted. "What shit did you cop out now? What did
we show you?"

"The elders are in favour of closing the Tiger King chapter, like I predicted, tying off loose ends.
Haein's first task once he assumes leadership in a few short hours is to decide what to do about you
three. But instead of hearing biased views from hearsay and old farts, I wanted him to see for
himself."
"See what?" Rosé said impatiently. "I don't see why we couldn't have all had a civil talk around the
table."

"Be real with me, Rosé," Hani said. "Was Jennie actually going to drag her sorry ass out of bed for
talking? You two haven't even interacted properly in two weeks now."

"You don't know what I would have done," Jennie said angrily.

"I didn't," Hani agreed, "which is why we decided it was better to go ahead and test you instead.
You could say unorthodoxy runs in the family."

"You mean psychopathy runs in the family," Jennie snorted.

"Jennie, you showed me this morning that despite everything, you're still determined enough to
fight and protect the people you care about. I wanted to test that more by putting you on the spot so
Haein could see first-hand evidence just what you're made of, both of you."

As Jennie blustered and spluttered in outrage, Rosé recalled how Jennie had come running out of
her room in her defence the moment she heard raised voices.

"So sending a killer after us was your idea of testing?" Jennie finally said incredulously.

"You respond better to shock than coddling," Hani shrugged. "You respond better when your
saviour complex is triggered."

"I do not have a saviour complex—"

"You respond better under duress, when people you care about are in danger. Even with TK Beta
out of your system, you don't back down out of a fight, if someone you care about is in danger. I
wanted to show Haein that." Hani lifted her eyes to Rosé. "More than that, you also showed me you
two can still work as a team. I'm thankful for it. It took a stressful situation to bring it back, but I'm
glad it did."

Realisation dawned on Rosé with Hani's words as she understood the mobster, for all her
questionable methods, was right.

"Well great, we passed with flying colours and I have some new bruises to add to my collection,"
Jennie said sarcastically, "now what?"

"Now, it's in his hands," Hani said, turning to Haein. "What do you say, oppa?"

Haein was thoughtful, studying them each in turn.

"I would like to spare Jennie. Ace," he said and held up a hand when Jennie opened her mouth to
shout. "Let me finish. You're a good fighter despite recent injuries. Plucky. Gutsy. You're loyal and
you don't back down. I'd hate to dispose of such a Dasoni member. We need more people like you."

Rosé clutched Ella tightly to her side, stifling her trembling as he turned his heavy gaze on her.
Though his eyes weren't cruel like Jinyoung's, they were stern and hard. She saw her fate spelled
out before he even uttered a word.

"Unfortunately, the two of you are unneeded—"

"If you kill them, I'll kill you," Jennie spat. "I'll kill both of you. I won't rest until you're all run
down to the ground."
"Congratulations, you've officially been added to her hit list. And I wouldn't take it lightly if I were
you," Hani told her brother.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Haein starting to pace back and forth then abruptly turned to them. "Ladies, I don't know you. It's
nothing personal. I appreciate you're a capable team together. But you must understand I'm in a
tough spot here. I have elders breathing down my neck pressuring me to clean up...whatever they
think needs cleaning up. To disobey or flaunt their word is to invite disgrace and dishonour. I
honestly am in awe that you kept it up for so long, Hani, but here I am now, back in the pits," he
grimaced.

"Do you have to follow everything they say like some dog?" Jennie said. "Do you have to carry out
their every whim like a puppet? How pathetic."

Both Hani and Haein gave the same tight-lipped, knowing smile.

"Why do you think I left the city to go head my own clan?" Haein asked. "But sometimes, you
follow rules to survive, to have people maintain their allegiance to you. Otherwise, they can easily
cast you out and that brings a whole new set of problems with it. Enemies will be on to you before
you even take a step out of the front door. Families can be such a headache."

"Can't you...can't you discuss it more with them? Or maybe we can talk to them too," Rosé said
timidly. She squeezed Ella's hand, remembering the piece of paper hidden in her pillowcase.
"Show them that there's still a chance to close the case without...without me and my daughter
being..."

She swallowed hard. "We're still here, we're still standing. We can still get Jinyoung and Lisa. Give
us another chance and we'll do it."

"Ah, a glimpse of the infamous Thorn," Haein said thoughtfully. "Hmm, your previous skills could
prove useful—"

"She's not working as a runner, she's not working for anybody!" Jennie said vehemently, pausing in
confusion when Rosé touched her arm.

"No, it's alright. If it's the way out of this...I'll do it. I'll work for you," she said steadily, hoping her
voice conveyed none of the anguish building up in her chest. "Just please, don't hurt us."

"Haein?" Hani asked. She had her arms folded, fingers fidgeting subtly with her sleeves: she was
nervous too.

"I just don't think it's a strong enough argument to change their minds," Haein sighed. He paced
back and forth, deep in thought, until he looked up sharply. "What I can do is buy you some time to
get out of the country—"

"Not leaving without Jisoo!"

"What about Lisa—"

Haein held up his hand. "It's either that or..." he paused, looking uncertain for the first time. "I can
convince the elders that you two can bring down Jinyoung and get us Tiger King, within two
weeks at most. I can safely delay their ruling until then. I'll distract them with other issues."

"Ruling? What is this, some court of the mobs? We'll be better off telling the cops everything!
Hani, get Chanyeol—"

"Jennie, we can't! If the authorities find out everything...you know what happens, to us, to you, to
Lisa..." Rosé said, silently pleading with Jennie to remember their grim circumstances: an illegal
immigrant and a former drug runner single mother.

Jennie deflated, her fists clenching as she rounded on Hani and Haein.

"Two weeks then, is it?" She said roughly. "Hypothetically speaking, do we get any help at all
from the Dasoni?"

"Not officially, no. You're on your own," Haein said. "You're considered liabilities to the Dasoni at
large. I won't mobilise any help."

"But of course, if things go to plan and Jinyoung is taken down somehow, you'd want to get the pat
on the back and take credit for it," Jennie said bitterly. "And we're supposed to be grateful you
spared our lives, working for you till we die."

Haein smiled humorlessly. "Now you're getting it."

"What about you, Hani? Can't you help at all?" Rosé wondered.

"Oh they embargoed me," Hani said bitterly. "Grounded me like some kid. I retain control of my
nightclubs because those are legally mine, and other properties I own, but they're making moves to
take them as well, to discipline me further. Even Solji..." she kept a stiff upper lip. "They're
campaigning like mad to...terminate her. They'll make me flip the switch."

"No, if it comes down to it, I'll do it," Haein interrupted. His voice softened when Hani turned to
him. "You looked after Solji noona all these years while me and hyung were away, I know it
would kill you to do that. I'll fight to keep her but if worst comes to worst, let me do it."

"Are you two for fucking real? You'd bow down to a couple old farts and—and terminate your
sister just because they say so?" Jennie said incredulously. Rosé stared too, hugging Ella tighter to
her side until Ella was squirming.

"If you want to survive, sometimes you have to do what you don't want to," Haein said quietly.
"The repercussions for Hani are only just starting."

"It's the way things work, Jen," Hani shrugged. "Leave those problems for us. Focus on your
problems. Do we have a deal?"

"We'd like to sleep on it, please," Rosé interjected immediately. "Tomorrow, you will have an
answer on how we're proceeding."

>

"Jennie, walk with me," Hani said once back in the apartment.

Jennie wanted to do anything but walk with Hani in that moment, still simmering from their
conversation with Haein. His suggested deadline—what the hell were they supposed to do in two
weeks?— flashed in her head like neon signs: TWO WEEKS TWO WEEKS TWO WEEKS.

Jennie glanced back at Rosé who was cuddling Ella on the mattress bed. Rosé's eyes softened
when their gazes met but Jennie ducked her head away, heart heavy as she marched out after Hani.
The elevator took them up to the roof and Hani immediately lit up a cigarette and took a long drag.
The roof was bare except for appliances and air-con units but Jennie spied a BBQ grill under some
tarpaulin, as well as deckchairs.

There were still some leftover puddles from the recent rain. The night was clear and fresh and
Jennie breathed in deeply, clearing her memory of the stuffy bedroom she had locked herself up in.

"I know it feels unfair," Hani said at length. "And I'm not here to make excuses for my brother. We
handle things differently. Certain things we agree about. Other times, we lock horns. Like how he
had one of his favourite girls murdered just because I fucked her. I told him it was a pity, that he
should make an exception just this once because she was really a lovely little thing but...well, you
don't get to be a mobster by making exceptions."

"What do you want now, Hani?" Jennie said wearily.

Hani breathed out smoke. "You left too quickly. He wanted to tell you he asked for Jisoo to be
discharged. You can see her starting...well, in a few hours, when it's morning."

Jennie blinked, physically feeling her eyes widening with that unexpected statement. The wind was
knocked out of her lungs, her stomach churned, her heart fluttered—her body was going haywire at
the news and suddenly, she couldn't feel her aches and bruises at all.

Jisoo. She was going to see Jisoo again.

"Chu," Jennie said softly like a prayer. Her heart throbbed; whether it was joy or fear, she couldn't
tell.

"She will be moving into the floor beneath you and monitored until we ascertain it's safe for her to
join you three in your apartment," Hani said. "But you're allowed to visit."

"I—wha—how come now?"

"Haein thinks it can help motivate you to have her close by. I argued it will only make you lose
sight of your goals till she adjusts, because you will only focus on her and sideline everything else.
Let's see which of us you'll prove wrong. I hope it's me."

Hani pushed off the railings and nodded at Jennie. "You got a second chance Jennie, a second
chance to live. We don't hand those out regularly around here. Don't waste it."

>

When Jennie quietly let herself back into the dark apartment, Rosé was waiting for her in the
illuminated kitchen, arms folded.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hey. You waited up," Jennie said.

"Of course."

Tentatively, Rosé opened her arms and Jennie didn't think too much—she shuffled forward and let
herself be enveloped in Rosé's warmth, sinking into her with relief. Rosé sighed too, holding her
close and rocking them gently from side to side.

"Missed this," Jennie mumbled, eyes shut in contentment. She had beat herself to the point of
refusing Rosé's efforts to be let in, making her feel even more alone as she wallowed in her misery.
"Me too."

"Sorry. Been kind of a jerk, for a change," Jennie said.

"You were. But you were sad too," Rosé said simply.

Rosé's heart was right beneath Jennie's ear, beating away gently and reminding Jennie of lazy days
sleeping on top of Jisoo. The tears brimmed before she could stop them.

"Jisoo's coming back," Jennie muttered. "That's what Hani wanted to talk about."

Rosé gripped her tighter. "She is? Oh Jennie..."

"Yeah." Jennie sniffed. "I missed her so much. But I don't...will it really be okay? Like before?
How am I going to explain everything?"

"It will take time, but you'll make it," Rosé reassured. "You love her, and she loves you. She had
told me."

"Really?" Jennie said curiously. Although Jisoo had told her plenty times, she was curious to hear
what Jisoo told other people.

"Yes, the day when that dating news happened. She was worried about you and she confessed that
she loved you then." Rosé cupped her face. "It might be awkward and uncomfortable at first. Or
maybe it won't. There might even be some fights because some things are hard to swallow, or
maybe there won't. However it goes, it will turn out okay."

"I hope so." Jennie undid her arms from around Rosé. "Well, better head in, then."

"Jen, stay. Please?" Rosé said, holding her back from her arm. Jennie wavered, the urge to leave
and brood by herself strong, but Rosé's pleading eyes were stronger.

"I'm not exactly uh, smelling like roses. And is there even enough space?"

"It's fine. And there's always enough space."

And so it was that Jennie found herself snuggled to Rosé's side just like they used to do before,
while Ella latched on to her mother in her sleep from the other side. The couch bed fit them just
right, yet Jennie couldn't help but think that Lisa should be the one here with Rosé and Ella, whilst
she should be curled up with Jisoo.

Two weeks. Two weeks to do the impossible.

Two weeks to do what Hani hadn't been able to do with all the resources at her disposal.

Jennie's heart gave a pang as she watched Rosé drop a kiss on Ella's head. When Rosé turned her
head, her eyes were glossy by the faint light from the window.

"Jen, I'm scared," she whispered. Jennie didn't have to ask to know what she was talking about.

"We'll figure it out. I will take care of everything. Your first priority is to stay safe." Jennie
interlaced their fingers together. "Unnie's got this, okay? I'm here now and I will take care of
things."

She was puzzled when Rosé gave a little chuckle.

 "Maybe you do have a little of that saviour's complex. You always want to solve things by yourself.
I'm here too, Jen. You can talk to me."

"I can try." Jennie took a deep breath. "We're backed up in a corner right now. I feel responsible to
keep you safe. But we don't have anybody to turn to now."

"There is one thing," Rosé said, sounding conflicted. "But...I really don't want to use it..."

"The cult," Jennie remembered. Even her guts stirred with unease at the mention.

Her brushes with cults amounted to the usual recruiter on corner streets soliciting people and
handing out flyers, or the more conman types that approached you and scammed you with aura
readings and spouted rubbish mumbo jumbo. Lisa had almost accidentally joined such groups once
or twice, being weirdly fascinated with all their talk about the reincarnated soul and spirits and
other such nonsense.

"Let's leave that option for very last, please?" Rosé pleaded. "I really don't want to get entangled
with the likes of them. I've had my fill of being involved with sketchy people for a hundred
lifetimes."

"Same here. We'll talk more in the morning, let's sleep for now," Jennie coaxed when Rosé failed
to stifle her yawn.

"Mhm. Night, Jen," Rosé mumbled and tucked her head just under Jennie's chin, her breath
gradually evening out.

Meanwhile, Jennie stayed up long into the small hours of morning, thinking about second chances.

Chapter End Notes

haein joins the party (i thought it be funny to introduce him cos of the memes between
him and jennie) (i took so long that irl jisoo got herself a man XD)

this was like a breather, so hopefully next chapter we start gearing up towards a final
showdown of sorts :V

thanks for the kudos and comments!

 You and Me
Chapter Notes

Previously:

after the harrowing aftermath of jisoo's attack at the hospital, jennie goes through a
bout of depression whilst she recovers. hani and rosé clash. an intruder invades the
apartment and turns out to be haein, hani's brother and the interim head of the dasoni.
hani used him to shock jennie out of her funk. haein proposed to either give chaennie
two weeks to bring in jinyoung and tiger king or else they can go into hiding. hani also
announced that jisoo would move into an apartment in the same condo and that jennie
can finally go visit her.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Jinyoung had Jisoo in his clutches, sneering as Jennie ran towards them.

"Let her go!"

Jinyoung released Jisoo, only for Jisoo to launch herself at Jennie instead, snarling. Her eyes
burned yellow. Jennie stopped dead as Jisoo dropped out of the air on top of her and locked her
hands around Jennie's throat, squeezing hard. Jennie gasped underneath her, yelling her head off.

"Jisoo stop it's me! It's me! This isn't you, snap out of it!"

"You don't know me," Jisoo growled.

Jennie jolted awake, soaked and her heart thundering. The ghost of her cries died on her lips, the
trail of her tears drying up as she took in her surroundings. The apartment was silent and sunlight
filtered into the living room where she slept. It was late in the morning.

Rosé and Ella weren't around; they must have already left for school.

Jennie's hand trailed up her neck, the vivid memory of Jisoo's phantom fingers squeezing her throat
making her shudder. Dream Jisoo slowly faded but her words were branded into Jennie's brain
now, poisoning her thoughts.

You don't know me.

Why did she have to dream that today of all days, when she was about to reunite with her
girlfriend? Her anticipation fizzled as her doubts grew.

Would they really be able to go back to normal? Would they be able to pick up where they left off?
Would she still love Jisoo?

Jennie resisted the urge to flop back on bed and instead hauled herself to the bathroom. The cold
shower woke her up properly: she didn't have time to dwell or mope. There was work to be done,
decisions to be dealt with.

She needed to get back to the gym and ask Hani for TK Beta to boost her body up for the inevitable
showdown.

Tonight was their deadline to give Haein an answer on how they were going to proceed. She had to
talk with Rosé before Jisoo was discharged and brought over. Hani hadn't given a precise time, but
implied Jisoo's arrival would be in the afternoon.

Jennie's head buzzed with thoughts and she left the shower in a daze. When she was rummaging
through the fridge to rustle up something for breakfast, Rosé returned.

"Oh, hi Jen," Rosé smiled brightly. "Had a good sleep? You looked like you needed it."

"We need to talk," Jennie said briskly, wiping her mouth after downing half a jug of mango puree.
"The deadline is tonight. We need to see what we're going to do."

"Good morning to you too," Rosé laughed before she sobered and took a seat at the kitchen island.
"Okay, talk. You seem to have thought about it already."

"Haven't you?"

"I have." Rosé fidgeted with her fingers. "But I don't like either option. She bowed her head, her
voice bitter. "No matter how I slice it, it's never in our favour. We don't have much of a choice."

"We don't," Jennie agreed. "So we've got to prioritise safety. Yours and Ella's safety."

Rosé shook her head. "I had a feeling you'd say that. What about your safety? And Jisoo? Haein
never mentioned what's going to happen to her either."

"I'm expendable, Rosie," Jennie said quietly.

"Don't say that. Don't prove Hani right about the saviour complex thing."

"It's true though. I'm nobody. I have no ties—"

"Jisoo and Lisa. And me," Rosé said promptly. Jennie gritted her teeth.

"But you're part of a unit. You have Ella. She needs you. She shouldn't be involved in all this shit.
She's been involved way too much and now things are going to get really dangerous. Either
Jinyoung kills you, or the Dasoni kill you both. The sensible thing is to go hide away from here. I
would have suggested Seulgi and Irene again...but that would be putting them in the cross-fire of
the Dasoni. I can't do that to them."

Rosé bit her lip. "Hypothetically, if Ella and I do hide, what then?"

"Then I will figure a way to get Lisa back and bring down Jinyoung. If it works, then I'll get to live
and be a gang member. If shit hits the fan, I'll run. They would only target me."

"Where would you run?"

"Somewhere. I could hide in Busan or Jeju for a while. Hani said people think I'm dead after
Jinyoung's stunt back at the Slammer, so I can sneak around fine."

Now that the whole terrorist debacle had been laid to rest, Jennie had reckoned with the
possibilities of living rough, skipping towns, sticking to rural communities and keeping a low
profile.

She was used to being invisible but running from a powerful mob eager to clean up after their mess
was a different story. She didn't tell that to Rosé though—if she was going to sell the act, Jennie
knew she had to appear confident and firm in her decision, even as she quaked on the inside.

"I thought you wanted me involved in decisions. Looks like you got it all figured out," Rosé
pointed out.

"I changed my mind," Jennie said firmly, "your priority is Ella, not me. You should stay away
from all this. Haein did give us that option to hide, so you must take it."

"What if I think differently? My priority is all of you," Rosé retorted. "It's Ella, it's you, it's Jisoo,
it's Lisa. Why do I have to choose?"

"Because Ella comes before all of us. If you stay, you will either get killed or be forced to work for
the Dasoni if things work out. Please, think with your head," Jennie pleaded. "Things go terribly
wrong all the time. Look at our plans, look at how we almost died every time. Ella should always
be your priority. You can't be reckless...or selfish."

Rosé's lips trembled and she ducked her head. "Did you talk with Hani or something? She pretty
much told me the same thing. She asked me who I would choose between Lisa and Ella."

"And what did you say?" Jennie said, mouth dry. Her fears were put to rest when Rosé gave a
lopsided smile.

"Ella of course. But..." Rosé trailed away, squirming in her seat. "I can't just give up Lisa."

"You won't be giving up anyone. I'll be getting her back on your behalf."

"But she won't be free. Haein isn't giving us concessions like Hani. He wants her as Tiger King
because his stupid clan wants to get their dues for all the shit that's gone down," Rosé said bitterly.

Jennie lapsed into silence, unable to counter that point.

"Maybe I can negotiate something?" she said hesitantly.

"Maybe," Rosé said, unconvinced.

"In any case, you'll be helping by keeping your head down and staying safe."

"I know. That's the rational logic. But at the same time, I have a gut feeling that...that me being
there could help her, if at all. It's stupid and irrational, I know. I don't like the idea of you going up
against Jinyoung alone. I should be with you. I should be there to get Lisa, at least. See her one
more time..."

Rosé clenched her fist. "But I can't, because you're right. I can't be selfish, I can't afford to risk my
life. Yet, I can't stop...wanting. I shouldn't even have to question who I choose, because what kind
of mother does that make me? I'm so scared, Jen."

She covered her face. "All I wanted was a family. And with Lisa, it felt so perfect, like I had been
waiting for her to just click into place, like a puzzle piece. It felt too good to be true and it was.
God, I'm a shitty person for putting my daughter's life on the same scales as someone I haven't
even known for a year."

"You have nothing to be ashamed of." Jennie pulled Rosé's hands away from her face and held
them, squeezing gently with a watery smile when Rosé dared raise her head.
"My sister is a damn lucky person," Jennie said softly, "to have found someone who wants to fight
for her. Don't be ashamed, Rosie. You love her. It's okay to feel that way. You're a mother, and you
also happen to be a lover. It's not a bad thing to be torn in two ways. It just means you love a lot.
And deep down, you know the right choice you need to make if it came down to it, but you're still
fighting it because you care, and you can't accept that there is no other choice, that you could lose
someone in the outcome."

"What about yourself?" Rosé whispered. "You think the Dasoni would leave you alone if things
went to shit just because you have their mark?"

Jennie touched her tattoo, which no longer itched. The ink was jet black, sharp and commanding.

"I don't know. I honestly don't know," she said at last. It wasn't a comforting thought knowing that
her guarantee of safety was flimsy as paper.

"Jennie, I can't leave you to face this alone. You need me."

"You will have to. Haein wouldn't spare your life when you're still here if things go wrong. He
might spare mine. I'll chance it."

"And...and what about Jisoo?"

Jennie exhaled. "I will try arrange for her to go with you, just to be safe. To give me peace of mind
and let me focus. And of course I'll ask Haein to arrange to have medical staff accompany her,
given that she might still be unstable. I don't know. It's all up in the air."

"You think she will go?"

"I'll ask her to. If she doesn't want to go...I don't know."

The future was uncertain, bleak and unfathomable. But Jennie had vowed to secure Ella, Jisoo and
Rosé's safety at the very least and she was focusing on that first.

Rosé sighed unhappily. "Can you at least tell me how you plan to fight Jinyoung?"

"No idea about that yet, but approaching the cult is looking more and more likely," Jennie
grimaced.

>

Jennie paced endlessly, too restless to occupy herself with the TV like Ella and Rosé while they
waited for Hani to come and escort them down to Jisoo's floor, where the latter was currently being
set up in her own apartment.

"Jennie, breathe," Rosé called. "It's going to be alright."

"What if she wants nothing to do with me?" Jennie fretted. "What if all this is for nothing?"

"We'll take it one step at a time. Remember, just like what we practiced."

"I'll apologise and explain everything. I'll answer any question she has. It will be a civil talk as we
take it nice and slow to get back on even ground. No initiating touch unless she does," Jennie
recited. "Focus on reconciliation and catching up and being in the moment. Rein it in if she gets
upset at any point and redirect the flow of the conversation...." she paused, frowning. "Rosie are
you sure that's all going to work? It sounds like a lot of mumbo jumbo to me."
"Trust yourself, you'll know," Rosé reassured. "You know Jisoo. You just have to be gentle and
delicate."

"Oh yes, because I am the dictionary definition of gentle and delicate," Jennie snorted.

"Maybe you should have gotten flowers," Ella said. "Flowers usually make people happy."

Jennie gave a wan smile. "That's actually a pretty good idea El. I'll have to remember that for next
time. If there's a next time," she added gloomily.

All three looked up when the front door opened and Hani poked her head around the door.

"Ready?"

Jennie grimaced. "Sort of." She glanced at Rosé. "You'll come down, right?"

"Of course. We can meet her too if she wants."

"Better not go in all at once, we don't want to overwhelm her," Dr. Kim interrupted, also peeking in
around the door. "I recommend just Jennie for now. You may of course accompany her downstairs
though, if you like."

Jennie looked over at Rosé pleadingly but she needn't have worried because Rosé was already up,
as was Ella next to her.

"Can I hold your hand unnie? Just until we get there," Ella asked without preamble.

"Uh..." A little taken aback, Jennie glanced at Rosé who was biting back a smile.

"What a great idea. Can I also hold your hand, Jen? I don't want to be left out," Rosé asked, eyes
twinkling.

Jennie's heart warmed at their combined effort to comfort her so she puffed up her chest and played
along. "No need to fight ladies, there's plenty of me to go around."

She expected Hani to crack some joke too but the mobster was uncharacteristically solemn as she
turned to leave, shoulders hunched. "Let's go."

And so Jennie walked out of the apartment hand-in-hand with Rosé on her right and Ella on her
left, feeling a little less afraid and a little more like a determined general setting out to her greatest
battle yet.

>

"Did she mention me at all?" Jennie wondered out loud as they drew up to Jisoo's apartment. It
sounded laughable, but Jennie was bracing herself for the worst; the dream she had that morning
still lingered at the back of her head, taunting her.

Two Dasoni henchmen flanking the door stood to attention and respectfully slipped to the side
when they approached.

"Yes. She missed you," Dr.Kim said quietly, glancing over her shoulder. "She was lonely without
you. Every time she woke up from her TK haze, the first person she looked for is you."

Jennie's heart ached.

"She knows she almost killed you," Hani put in, walking next to Dr. Kim. "She knows you've been
recuperating."

"What? Why did you tell her that?" Jennie said aghast, her momentary relief evaporating.

"Jen—"

Jennie tore her hands away from Rosé and Ella and caught up to Hani. She all but clutched her
from her shirt and shoved her up the wall. "Why did you tell her she almost killed me?" she
demanded. "Why would you do that?"

"You wanted me to tell her she killed you for real?" Hani barked.

"Say nothing!" Jennie snapped. "She didn't have to know!"

"Jen," Rosé pleaded.

"She woke up crying to see you every single time after an episode, what did you want me to tell
her?" Hani said.

"Make something up, you're good at that," Jennie said hotly. "Why didn't you tell her the same
things you told us? That she had to wait because she was being monitored? Or were you lying
about that too?"

"Enough, both of you," Dr. Kim said firmly, stepping in between them. "Jennie, you're more than
justified to be upset but you need to rein in your emotions when you're with Jisoo. She can be a
little unstable right now. Try not to escalate the situation further, you need to exercise utmost
control or it could spell disaster."

"Unstable," Jennie repeated slowly. "Are you calling my girlfriend crazy?"

"I am not," Dr. Kim said calmly in the face of Jennie's hostility. "She has been having drastic mood
swings and aggressive outbursts, somewhat stabilising after her doses of Anti-TK. It's still a
delicate period, we're trying not to undo our progress so far. People tend to be moody after they've
been on TK, as I'm sure you're aware."

"Oh. Right..." Jennie muttered, chastised.

"She's still flushing TK out of her body so we have to keep that in mind. Your unchecked emotions
could be enough to trigger a mood change and we don't want that right now, the circumstances are
volatile as it is. You will be discussing touchy topics so it's up to you to try and maintain control as
much as you can, starting now. Are we clear?"

"Yes, yes, okay I get it," Jennie said. Her anxieties doubled as the pressure to have a perfect
reunion mounted, but nobody needed to know that.

However, Rosé seemed to sense her tension as she swiftly came up behind her and softly patted her
shoulder.

"You'll be okay," she reminded and Jennie nearly cracked on the spot. She needed that reminder
more than she thought. She had never seen a truly angry Jisoo and her imagination immediately ran
haywire picturing Jisoo screaming at her, blue in the face.

"Hani did what she thought was best to make sure Jisoo wasn't agitated or distrustful of us," Dr.
Kim said. "It was imperative that Jisoo co-operated with us and for that, we had to answer some of
the harder questions truthfully. Rest assured, we have honoured your right to tell her the whole
story yourself, so there's plenty you have left to tell her. I'm sure you'll be bombarded with
questions once we leave you with her."

"Sounds like something Jisoo would do," Rosé remarked. Jennie managed a weak smile because
yes, that sounded just like her Jichu—not resting till she got an answer about anything that piqued
her interest.

And I never answered her most important questions. Time to change that.

Jennie shook her head and gestured at the door. "Let's just get going. Rosie..."

"We'll be waiting out here," Rosé nodded, her eyes soft. "Say hi to unnie for me."

"For me too!" Ella piped up.

"We'll go in with you and make sure she's alright to receive you, and then we'll step out to give you
some privacy," Hani said. "She has an ankle monitor and a chest monitor to alert us if she tries to
break out or starts hulking out. We won't be far."

Jennie gulped as Hani turned the key in the lock and the door opened.

"Jisoo, Jennie's here."

>

Jisoo was waiting for them on the couch in the living room. She immediately stood up, rubbing her
clasped hands when Jennie, Hani and Dr Kim crowded into the area.

"Chu," Jennie whispered, eyes watering at the sight of her girlfriend. Her heart kicked in her chest.

"Jen," Jisoo whispered back and Jennie's knees went weak, almost collapsing on the spot.

Jisoo looked much healthier than the last time Jennie had seen her, so pale and thin in the hospital
bed.

Her face had more colour, she wore a regular plain T-shirt with khakis and bed slippers, her
cheeks were fuller and her whole frame wasn't as gaunt as before. Her hair had grown too, now
resembling a mown lawn rather than shaved stubble . More importantly, her eyes were a perfectly
normal brown and she wasn't wailing or grovelling. There were still plasters on her arms, entry
points for IV Jennie suspected. The ankle monitor drew her attention, a black bulky ring clamped
around Jisoo's leg just above her ankle.

"This won't take long," Dr. Kim jumped in quickly before any silence could settle as both girls
stood tongue-tied just drinking each other in. "Jisoo, scale one to ten, how do you feel? Be honest."

"Seven," Jisoo said without taking her eyes off Jennie.

"Pain, scale one to ten?"

"One. Just a little headache."

"Any auditory interference?"

"No, the headache came after the antidote, like usual," Jisoo responded. Mystified, Jennie glanced
at Hani in askance.
"Remember Jinyoung can communicate with Tiger Kings with a high-pitched sound like dogs?"
Hani muttered and Jennie immediately remembered Jinyoung's smug smile back at the Slammer as
he explained how he spared her life in the forest. "We suspect he was still testing Jisoo to see if she
was receptive but she's been battling it. Don't worry, neither he or any of his minions were
anywhere near, I personally made sure of it. The sound can just travel long distances."

"I think she should be okay, we're all done here," Dr. Kim said. "We'll be outside if you need us."

Jennie exhaled the moment the front door closed. Now that her buffers were gone and she was all
alone, her nervousness reached a breaking point as Jisoo continued to just...stare at her. No smile,
no readable expression, no warmth.

"Hey," Jennie said quietly, breaking the heavy silence as she tentatively stepped forward.
"How...how are you?"

Jisoo shrugged. She sat down on the couch, hands in her lap and glanced at the empty spot next to
her before she glanced at Jennie, her eyes conveying a silent invitation.

Jennie swallowed, thrilled and terrified all at once by the idea of sitting so close to Jisoo again. Her
skin tingled at the memory of brushing so freely against each other before.

"You...you sure?" she croaked, hesitating. The memory of Jisoo's yellow eyes taunted her.

Was Jisoo going to pounce on her? Was Jisoo mad at her?

"You're scared of me," Jisoo said.

Jennie shook her head vehemently, banishing the tormenting thoughts. "No I'm not."

She immediately marched over and flopped down on the seat, determined to show the opposite. It
was going to be a feat considering the memory of Jisoo strangling her surfaced very easily, but she
was fighting it with everything she got. She was going to save their relationship.

Jennie looked over at Jisoo, smiling hopefully when their eyes met. "I...I have so much to tell you, I
don't even know where to start. What do you know so far, have they told you about Jinyoung?"

"How do you know my old babysitter?" Jisoo said.

"It's a long story...wait what?"

"Hani," Jisoo said as Jennie stared, flabbergasted. "How did you link up with her?"

"I...I...she found us actually uh...your babysitter?" Jennie stuttered.

"The one I crushed on when I was young. The girl my family fired because I stole chocolates and
they blamed her," Jisoo clarified.

Jennie reeled. "That was Hani?"

Jisoo had never mentioned her name nor brought up that girl again save for that first time when she
was describing her gay awakening.

"We didn't talk much but she recognised me too. She didn't say how she got involved with you.
Said that was a story for you to tell." Jisoo looked at her expectantly. "So, how did you?"

Jennie stopped short of face-palming, her mind whirling as a bubble of hysterical laughter almost
escaped.

Her girlfriend's first crush was the mobster she had joined hands with. Could the world get any
smaller?

Aside from that staggering revelation (why hadn't Hani said anything?), Jennie's heart sank as a
new dilemma reared its head.

From what she was getting, Jisoo didn't know Hani was part of the mob.

How would she react to the fact that Jennie was now also part of a criminal gang, wearing their ink
and answering to Hani's beck and call? Would she be upset? Horrified? Disgusted? Guilty?

The last thing Jennie wanted was to trigger Jisoo. For now, it wouldn't hurt to keep her gang
membership discreet as long as she could, even if it meant not telling the entire truth. But she had
practice in bending the truth. She could live with some more guilt added to the mix, it was second
nature now, no matter how far she tried to run.

Jennie slowly hid her tattooed wrist behind her back, pulling down the sleeve of her jacket. She
was glad the chilly AC gave her good reason to wear long sleeves.

"Right, uh meeting up with Hani...uh, it's a long one. I, I should start from the beginning huh?"

Jisoo never spoke, her face blank and neutral, arms folded as she waited. Jennie felt her hope wilt
as the feeling of foreboding grew—Jisoo hadn't smiled, her posture stiff, with an undercurrent of
cold hostility tinging her clipped answers.

She didn't even call her 'Jendeukie' once.

The space between them stretched wide as a canyon, even though it was barely three fingers' width.
She shook her head and took a deep breath, prepared to soldier on and finally reveal the whole
story of Tiger King from the start.

"Before anything, I just wanted to say sorry, Chu," Jennie said quietly. "There's so much I could
have done to prevent all this. I never wanted to hurt you. All I wanted was to protect you."

"Yeah well, you clearly failed. Sorry isn't going to fix anything now," Jisoo said flatly.

"I know." Jennie swallowed, forging past the aching pain in her chest. "And I'll spend the rest of
my life making up for what I—"

"No. Stop. Stop it. I don't want to hear!"

Jisoo abruptly stood up and turned to face her. Jennie's heart stopped cold at Jisoo's glare.

"I'm tired of your empty promises, Jennie," Jisoo said bitterly, frustration laced in each syllable. "I
tried so hard to be understanding. I gave you space. I trusted you. I waited for you. What did I get
in return? This!"

She gestured at herself. "I get kidnapped by a madman. I get tortured and poisoned and drugged. I
get humiliated and pushed to the brink of insanity. My body was a test subject for that sick bastard.
And my hair!"

Jisoo clawed at her head, angry tears glistening in her eyes. "They shaved my head! Look at me! I
look like some ugly bald bird! I'm hideous! I'm disgusting!"
"Chu no—come on, you said you'd consider you'd go bald one time, remember? You could never
be ugly," Jennie burbled but Jisoo was too worked up to hear.

"Jinyoung told me you're never coming back and it sure as hell looked like it. I didn't want to
believe him but you never came. Where were the police Jennie? Where were you? Where the hell
were you?! I waited for you!"

Jennie jumped to her feet when Jisoo's face crumpled. "Chu—"

"What took you so long?" Jisoo asked, anguished. She wrapped her arms around herself. "Jen,
why...why didn't you come? I waited so long."

"I tried! I was trying so hard but you know we can't involve the police in this, I was scared
Jinyoung would hurt you and he...he did. Your poor body..."

"Don't touch me!" Jisoo held her hands out in front of her, trembling, before she clutched head. "I'm
—I'm a freak. Look at me! I don't know who I am anymore. They've turned me into
this...this thing. I can kill people! I'm a monster."

Jisoo's haunted eyes pinned Jennie to the spot. "I saw Lisa. I saw the other subjects. The lab people
were pumping me with that yellow drug. Turning me into this zombie killing machine. They were
making me like Lisa. And it's...this is why you didn't want anything to do with Lisa, right? And
now—now I'm just like that..."

"I was wrong! I was a bitch! I was mean and cruel," Jennie cried, unable to bear seeing Jisoo in the
depths of self-loathing. "I was cruel because I was scared, but I'm not going to be scared anymore. I
lost too many people because I was scared. I sure as hell am not going to lose you too. We'll get
through this."

"You don't get it! You should be scared! Jennie, I fucking strangled you," Jisoo burst out. She
wrung her hands. "I can't control it! When it happens, I can't control it! It takes over me!"

"I don't care! I'm still here and I'm not going anywhere," Jennie shouted back.

"You should! I'm not the same now. You're just saying that but you don't know shit. I'm not your
manic pixie dream girl anymore!" Jisoo said. Her shoulders slumped. "I'm nothing, anymore. You
don't know what I am. Some kind of monstrous freak."

"You're Jisoo. My Jisoo," Jennie said firmly. "You came into my life and I became a better person,
for you and because of you. Because you always were the better person between us. And you're
still you. You're not gone. This is just...a new part of you," she added on sudden inspiration,
remembering her conversation with Rosé what felt like decades ago on the train. "A new part of
you that we'll learn about together."

Jisoo shook her head, conflicted. "I don't know. I don't know..."

"But I do know. I know you, Chu, the important parts. I know you. You're still you. I will learn all
about the new parts of you, and I will love every single one of them as well."

Jisoo's head snapped up. "What did you say?"

Jennie reached out to her, pleading for Jisoo to take her hand, aching to hold her and kiss her. The
truth tumbled out, desperation clinging to each word.

"I'm not giving up on you or on us, Jichu. I love you."

Jisoo's eyes widened, but not out of glad surprise. She backed away from Jennie, shaking her head
vehemently as tears streamed.

"No. No don't say that. Not now," Jisoo whimpered in distress, holding her head. "Not like this. I
don't believe you. Shut up."

Jennie's heart shuddered to a halt. "What?"

"You don't love me. You don't know that you love the new me. It's too late. I'm not Jisoo, not
anymore."

"What? Of course you're still Jisoo!" Jennie said frantically as Jisoo continued to shake her head,
like a cursed man drowning in despair.

"I'm not," Jisoo bellowed. "I'm a monster, I strangled you! I'm not Jisoo anymore I'm some kind of
creature freak thing! I—I," she choked on her words and curled in on herself, cowering away from
Jennie. "Stay away from me!"

"Chu it's okay, shit happened but I'm still here! Listen, I'll love the new you too, okay? But you
have to listen to me," Jennie begged, practically on her knees. Her eyes stung—everything was
horribly wrong. "Chu please believe me, please—"

"I said shut up!" Jisoo shouted, holding her head with her eyes screwed shut. To Jennie's horror,
she started to hit herself, violently. "Shut up shut up shut up shut up—"

"Stop it, you'll hurt yourself!" Jennie rushed to stop her, grappling with her. "Jisoo!"

"Let me go!"

The door crashed open, startling them out of their shouting match as Hani, Dr. Kim and the two
henchmen rushed inside.

"Get Ace," Hani said tersely. She pointed a taser gun warningly right at Jisoo. "Stay back, Jisoo."

"What are you doing?" Jennie snapped. "Get out! This is between me and her. She's not doing
anything. Get out I said!"

"She pinged the monitor. Her heart rate and blood pressure are too high, we don't want to risk
triggering her," Dr. Kim said grimly. "Time out for both of you."

"No! I have to talk with her! Let me go!" Jennie shouted as the henchmen darted forward and
plucked her out of Jisoo's range, who remained frozen. They quickly frog-marched Jennie out of
the room even as she struggled and strained against them, shouting at the top of her lungs.

"Don't hurt her, please don't hurt her! She wasn't doing anything! Jisoo!" Jennie yelled desperately,
looking over her shoulder. She managed to get an arm out and reached back for her, tears
streaming. "Jisoo!"

"Jen!" Jisoo screamed, coming alive. She dodged Hani and ran after them. She latched on to
Jennie's arm, pulling strongly. "Let her go! Don't leave me Jen, please! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Abruptly, her cries cut off with a yelp of pain and she lurched forward, dropping Jennie's hand.
Hani loomed behind her, taser gun in hand.

"No don't!" Jennie croaked.

Hani delivered another charge with clinical precision. Jisoo hit the ground, groaning.

"Don't hurt her!" Jennie yelled, struggling worse. She succeeded in elbowing one of the men but
his colleague put her in an armlock, trapping her. "Jisoo! Jisoo just take it easy, everything will be
okay, I promise! Stay down, don't move!"

Jisoo lurched to her feet, swaying like a drunk. Her furious gaze locked on Jennie and Jennie
gulped.

"Go," Hani instructed breathlessly. They all dived for the door, falling out into the hallway in a
heap. Dr. Kim pulled the door shut just as Jisoo slammed into it, roaring and kicking and hitting it
dementedly, crying for Jennie. The door rattled on its hinges but held, its bulky reinforced frame
more than a match for Jisoo's fists.

"Jen!"

Rosé appeared, dropping in front of Jennie and scooping her up frantically. She cupped her face,
frightened eyes anchoring Jennie in place. "Jen, shit. What happened? Talk to me."

"I—I said it all wrong," Jennie wept. "I ruined everything."

Jennie buried her face in Rosé's neck and sobbed, beyond heartbroken. Rosé didn't say a word—she
merely held her tightly as Jisoo continued to scream and batter the door.

>

Hani sent them back to their apartment. Jennie took to bed and spent several hours crying and
dozing fitfully, with Jisoo's terrible rejection thumping around in her head. Rosé joined her in bed
at some point and Jennie let herself be cuddled and consoled as she hiccuped and tried to string
words together.

"I don't know what came over me. I just said it. I told her I love her. I mean it. You know I mean it,
right? I thought it would help. I was so fucking wrong. I made it worse. I ruined everything."

Jennie flopped on her stomach listlessly. Her chest hurt, like physically breathing was tearing open
a wound that drained her of life instead of sustaining her. She closed her eyes as Rosé stroked up
and down her back.

"She's in a bad place right now. She's still coming to terms with everything and it all came to a
head," Rosé said softly. "I'm sorry you bore the brunt of it. It doesn't mean all is lost though."

"It feels like it," Jennie said morosely, face in the pillow. "I want to die."

"I've been there."

Jennie glanced up but Rosé was carefully avoiding her gaze.

"You have, haven't you?" Jennie said in realisation, shame washing over her; she had been wholly
ignorant to the depths of Rosé's feelings. "This is what you felt, isn't it? When Lisa left?"

Rosé didn't immediately say anything but her eyes glistened and Jennie bit her lip, afraid she had
gone too far. It seemed that no matter how much she tried, she always ended up fudging things and
making them worse.

"I hope history doesn't repeat itself and you can find a way to get Jisoo back," Rosé said at last,
quietly.

"It's not over for Lisa either," Jennie reminded, squeezing her hand. "It's not. It's not."

Rosé sighed and continued rubbing Jennie's back. "You haven't eaten all day. I made some gimbap,
you should come have some. You'll feel better with some food inside you."

"Yes mother."

Rosé rolled her eyes but her mouth did quirk up at the corner, so Jennie counted it as a win.

"Will you talk to Haein about the deadline later?"

"I don't want to see any of those bastards right now," Jennie grouched, "but yeah, yeah I will. I'll
iron out details and make him swear on his life to not let anyone of the Dasoni know about you
leaving. And I'll ask him to take Jisoo too, for sure, even if he has to keep you separate from her.
Leave it to me."

"Just tell him to postpone our departure as much as possible," Rosé said soberly. "I just want to be
here for you until the last possible moment, Jen. I don't want you to go through this alone."

"We've been over this," Jennie sighed wearily before squeezing her hand. "I appreciate your
concern Rosie, I really do. But I told you, safety is your top priority. I don't want to risk you staying
here, the Dasoni could send a whole bunch of hitmen tomorrow. Or Jinyoung might decide to nuke
the city for shits and giggles, I don't know what the fuck goes on in his head."

She breathed in deep. "Ultimately, I'm the one that will be fighting Jinyoung. It was always going
to end that way: me, facing him alone. The sooner you get going, the happier I'll be."

"That's what he wants, though. To isolate you and single you out. You'd be easy picking. What's a
single girl going to do going up against someone like him? Think about it, because I certainly
have," Rosé said quietly. "All he's done to break you and toy with you—he wants you to suffer and
endure alone until you break. So far, you've survived just because he didn't feel like ending his
game yet, and because you have unbelievable luck as well. And because you have me and Hani to
save you from spiralling."

"You're making me sound like some hapless damsel in distress."

"Jennie, I'm serious."

Jennie knew Rosé was speaking out of a place of concern but her desire to keep what people she
cared about safe won over any logic. Aside from processing Jisoo's rejection, her brain had been
whirring non-stop, sizing up their next moves for the future. Bleak as it was shaping up to be,
Jennie had made up her mind that she could live knowing Jisoo, Rosé and Ella were out of harm's
way, even though exiled, if it came down to that.

"I hear what you're saying. It doesn't change my opinion that you should flee as soon as humanly
possible. Meanwhile, I'll be careful," Jennie said.

Rosé still looked sceptical but there wasn't much she could argue with: time was not on their side.
It seemed that nobody really was, for that matter: they were only alive because their allies were
waiting for them to deliver tangible results to then decide on their fate. They were only alive
because the enemy had not struck them down yet.

They were alive, and alone.

Alone. Always alone, Jennie thought despondently.

A sharp knock on the door had the girls look up.

"Come in, El," Rosé called.

"Actually, it's me." Dr. Kim poked her head in, her silver plait falling over one shoulder. "I hope
you don't mind Rosé, but your daughter simply wouldn't hear of me not taking a gimbap roll so I
had one. It's very good by the way, compliments to your culinary skills."

"Oh...thank you doctor," Rosé said bashfully. "Sorry about Ella, I think she might be a little in awe
of you. She was asking me about the silver-haired doctor unnie just earlier."

"No worries, I'm glad she's not intimidated by me, a lot of people are. She's a sweet girl." Dr. Kim
glanced at Jennie. "Can I borrow you for a bit, Jen?"

Rosé got off the bed. "She's all yours. I'll catch you later, Jen."

"What is it?" Jennie asked once the door shut behind Rosé.

"Thought you might like an update on Jisoo. She's taken her afternoon Anti-TK dose with no
incident, but she had already calmed down by then too. Would you like to see?" Dr. Kim asked,
joining her on the bed. She motioned towards her tablet, which displayed surveillance cameras set
up in Jisoo's apartment.

Jennie had to squint because her eyes were puffy from crying. She wiped her nose on her sleeve
and took the tablet from the doctor. The place still looked immaculate, save for some pillows on
the floor, arranged in a pile. Jisoo herself was staring out of a window, her back to them.

"She was curled up in them like a nest up until a few minutes ago," Dr Kim explained softly. "But
she's just pacing around now. She didn't go...hulk, as Hani termed it."

At the mention of the mobster's name, Jennie's mouth soured. "Where is she? Is she scared or
something? I need to talk with her."

"She'll be along. Said she wanted to give you space. I can call her."

"Oh she wanted give me space, huh?" Jennie said sarcastically. "Like how she tasered Jisoo to give
us space? Jisoo wasn't doing anything, we were just...having a domestic argument. I bet Hani
doesn't know what that is, she'd just lob off people's heads when they disagree with her."

Dr. Kim didn't say anything else right away, head bent as she pored over the tablet for a while
longer. Then she pointedly set it aside and raised her head, adjusting her glasses as she looked
Jennie head on.

"We were drastic in our actions because we want to make sure none of you are hurt," she said
firmly. "We are prepared to send you in again, if you feel up for it. Hani's instructions, by the
way."

Jennie's dark mood ebbed before it returned in full force. She turned away, her grieving heart sore
and heavy.

"Jisoo told me to go away."

"I also clearly heard her tell you to not leave in the midst of all the chaos," Dr. Kim said. A prickle
of hope bloomed in Jennie, despite the dark cloud hanging over her head.

"She won't want to talk to me. I ruined everything. I broke her trust." Jennie pulled up her knees
and hugged them tightly. "I can't bear to see her hating herself like that. She's understood that's
why I used to be wary of Lisa...but things are different now. I'm different now. It's Jisoo. I love her.
I don't want to be scared of her."

"One thing at a time," Dr. Kim said calmly. "Nothing is ruined. Right now, you both are going
through a lot. Cut yourself some slack. Emotions are going to be all over the place and like I said,
especially for Jisoo, she's less uninhibited in her aggressive behaviors, verbal and physical, due to
the TK still in her body."

"The fucking TK," Jennie said bitterly.

"Yes." Dr. Kim pushed the glasses up her nose. "I will not pretend that this will be an easy journey,
Jennie. You both have much work to do, to reconcile and build back the foundations of your
relationship with new adjustments. Especially if there had been things you weren't honest with each
other about, before. But it doesn't mean it won't be worth to try."

Jisoo had never shared the extent of her past emotional abuse and neglect at the hands of her
parents, save for a glimpse here and there. And Jennie hadn't been truthful about her past or Lisa,
but she wanted to do things over. She had to try.

"I just...I just don't know if Jisoo wants this anymore," Jennie said brokenly. "I can't tell, anymore.
She was so...hurt. A lot of it is because of me."

"We all have our baggage. Try not to lose sight of your own healing at this point in time as you
focus on helping her," Dr. Kim said. "Blaming and taking on unnecessary burdens won't help
anyone."

"But it's true! I kept a lot of things from her even though she was so patient and loving and oh god,
how am I going to tell her shit now? Her parents are dead, because I—"

"Because Jinyoung killed them," Dr. Kim said simply, as though there was no other possible
answer. "Many of the people you encountered are dead because of Jinyoung."

"Maybe, but others died indirectly because of me. If I didn't go to the Kims, they'd still be alive."

"Maybe. Maybe not. You can't know that." Dr. Kim patted Jennie's shoulder. "Jennie, survivor's
guilt is very real. I understand you've had brushes with violence since a young age. It will mess
with you because all your body knows is survival and defence. But though you might take
accountability for what happened, understand that you shouldn't shoulder all the blame. Keep
things in perspective. You were only trying to seek help. You're an ordinary girl thrust into
extraordinary circumstances outside your control. People will get hurt. People will die. You can't
save everyone. You simply cannot. You have to learn to live with that fact if you have any
intention of living."

Jennie raised her eyes to look at the earnest doctor properly. "Have you..."

Dr. Kim smiled gently, the lines in her face pronounced up close. "I will spare you details of my
life. But suffice to know that, yes, I've had my own instances of guilt related to my work, that I had
to work through. Saving people as a job also involves losing people. It comes with the job
description. Nobody prepares you for it. Without any support, one can easily spiral. But you do
have support, if you let them in to help you. And now, Jisoo will look to you as well. You can't be
propping up someone while drowning in self-loathing."

"Bet," Jennie said gloomily. Dr. Kim shook her head.

"Jisoo will be dealing with a lot of trauma. She will get better if she keeps working and fighting.
TK can get out of her system, the physical side-effects will fade. But the mental and emotional
scars, those can change you. That's what she has to contend with now. You can help to ground her
and remind her who she is, if you so choose."

"What do you mean if I so choose? Of course I want to help her! It's her I'm not sure of. I don't
think she wants to see me anymore."

"We were monitoring your conversation. I'm sorry but we need to for now," Dr. Kim said
contritely even as Jennie stiffened, "but one thing of note: I think Jisoo is feeling like the only
reason you'll care for her is because you're hoping to have her 'old' self back and pick up where you
left off. That could have her feeling inauthentically about the situation because it would seem like
you only care about the past Jisoo."

"I don't!"

"If you help her, you must understand that some changes might be here to stay, especially because
trauma can affect you long-term."

"I...I understand that," Jennie choked out. "Rosé said as much about Lisa. And look at me, I'm
basically the poster-child of long-term trauma effects. I want to believe I can keep loving Jisoo
despite any changes. That's the meaning of love, isn't it? Keep on being there for someone even
through changes."

"We all have good intentions. Don't blame yourself if you find it untenable. But I think it's brave
that you're willing to try."

"You want me to give up on someone who did nothing but love me and show me how to live for
myself and be me again? No chance. I don't want to be scared of her. I was scared before with Lisa,
but I won't repeat mistakes. I just want to be there for Jisoo,"Jennie said. She held her head. "I don't
know where to start. I keep saying the wrong things and making things worse."

"Then show her instead," Dr. Kim said. "Remind her of your time together. Remind her of the good
times, of why and how you got together. Remind her what you liked about each other, how you
resolved problems together as a team. Start from scratch if you have to, and date her again. If
things don't work out...then maybe it's time to let go because this is where your journey together
ends. Not all relationships are meant to last. But at least try."

Jennie nodded thoughtfully, ideas already popping up in her head like mushrooms. The enormous
task of taking on Jinyoung paled in comparison to helping Jisoo put herself back together when she
herself was just as lost and scattered.

But Dr. Kim was right: Jennie thought she was alone most of the time, but the rest of the time she
knew she wouldn't have made it this far without other people supporting her.

Jennie slid out of bed. "Call Hani. I'm ready to go again. Oh and I have a question."

"Tell me."

"Is it okay for Jisoo to eat regular food?"

Dr. Kim's brows rose, caught off-guard. "Oh, of course! The more food she eats, the happier we'll
be because it means she's gotten her full bowel functions back."

Jennie smiled.

>

"This time, I will definitely make sure to say hi for you and Rosie," Jennie told Ella as they ate
fresh gimbap that Rosé had just plated. Jennie had a surprisingly ravenous appetite after all the
hours of crying and the gimbap tasted divine. Dr. Kim had given her blessing for Jennie to take
some for Jisoo, which Rosé had more than happily provided.

"You're really brave to go back a second time, Aunty Jisoo sounded scary," Ella said thickly,
breaking off with a cough.

"Careful you don't choke, sweetie, slow down. Don't talk with your mouth full," Rosé called.

"What can I say? I love her. It makes me brave," Jennie shrugged in between shovelling another
gimbap roll down in two bites. She chuckled when Ella's eyes grew round. "And don't worry, Jisoo
wasn't going to hurt me. She's not a bad person. People just got scared, is all. They over-reacted."

"While I'm happy you're chipper about the second attempt, Ella's got a point. Do be careful, don't
do anything drastic," Rosé said anxiously, coming around to join them on the couch. She handed
the plastic container of food to Jennie. "Promise me."

"I will, I will. I'm not that dumb. Where's Hani?"

"Don't fight her," Rosé pleaded. "She'll be along soon, why the hurry?"

"She's just arrived in the building," Dr. Kim announced, startling them. She had curled up with her
tablet and proceeded to blend into her surroundings, declining food as she busied herself answering
emails (I don't get the opportunity to wind down this often so I'll be productive while I'm at it, she
had said).

"You've asked about the Boss Lady like a gazillion times in the past twenty minutes," Ella noted,
holding her hands up to count and going cross-eyed in the process. "I can't even count to gazillion,
but it's a big number. Maybe she's scared of you, that's why she took a long time."

"Oh she better be scared. I got some questions that she better answer me straight. For example:
Rosie, did you know that Hani was apparently Jisoo's babysitter?"

Rosé's brows furrowed. "Her what?"

"Not only that, she was Jisoo's crush-slash-gay awakening."

"Her what?"

"I can see why. Boss Lady is scary, but scary pretty," Ella said thoughtfully. "Like Tigress in Kung
Fu Panda. Maybe that's why Aunty Jisoo likes you, unnie. You're scary, but scary pretty."

"I...don't know what to say to that," Rosé said weakly as Jennie gaped at her.

"Precocious one, isn't she? Watch out for the teen years, Rosé, she'll certainly keep you on your
toes," Dr. Kim smiled from her corner.

>
Afternoon was gradually giving way to dusk when Hani finally arrived with Haein in tow.

Haein was dressed all in black from head to toe in a casual shirt, pants and combat boots, with the
distinct outline of a bulletproof vest under his T-shirt, and the bulge of a gun in his pocket. Hani on
the other hand was channelling breezy and summery in a flowery chiffon top and summer blue
culottes. However, she did wear a sandy bomber jacket on top of the ensemble and Jennie had no
doubt that she was hiding her notorious blades in the sleeves.

The stark contrast between brother and sister was jarring, but Jennie wasn't fooled by Hani's softer
outfit: she was the more dangerous sibling to watch out for.

Although Haein could beat her to a pulp, Hani's cunning eyes watched her every move like a hawk,
making Jennie's paranoia spike.

Jennie stood up to greet them. "I'm ready to see Jisoo again."

"Hello to you too," Hani drawled. "That didn't take long, I thought you'd put a brake on things for
the night."

Jennie shook her head. "I don't have much time. I want to reconcile with Jisoo. But first, I want to
talk about the deadline you gave me and what we've decided."

"Let's have it," Hani said, losing all traces of nonchalance as her keen eyes zeroed in on Jennie,
making her feel exposed.

"First thing first, I want to know what you mean exactly by sending us into hiding," Jennie said.
"Lay it on me, clearly."

"We will ship you to Jeju. From there on, you are free to travel anywhere else you like. Nobody in
the Dasoni will know, or touch you," Haein said promptly. "You will be under no obligation to me,
but the moment you step back on the mainland, the deal is nullified. Should we catch you, you will
either work for us or you die."

"Even say, a decade later?"

"The best way to bury secrets is to kill them," Haein said. "The second best way is to keep them
close on a tight leash and muzzle."

Jennie grimaced, receiving the message. "And if we stay to fight Jinyoung?"

"If you fail, execution. Jinyoung would probably take care of it before we do. If you succeed, we
want Tiger King and you'll work for us. Rosé included."

"Yeah, no deal." Jennie said immediately. "Here's my suggestion: take Rosie, the kid and Jisoo into
hiding. I will stay behind and fight Jinyoung. Whatever happens to me, they have nothing to do
with it."

"It can be done," Haein shrugged. "I honestly don't care either way. I just want to clean up anyway
I can."

"Rosé agreed to that?" Hani asked shrewdly.

"She's choosing her kid," Jennie said quietly, her throat locking up. "She's losing Lisa either way.
That's something else I want to talk about. Is there no way I can have Lisa back?"
"I'm afraid not. Unlike my sister, I'm interested in keeping Tiger King," Haein said.

"Hani had agreed Tiger King is a liability to everyone, even all you gangs and businesses. It could
upset the whole balance of the damn city. She agreed it's best to have it...go away."

"Again, unlike my sister, I am interested in figuring out a way to use Tiger King. Hani has nothing
more to do with this," Haein said. His words were a solid stone wall, immovable and impenetrable.

Jennie clenched her fist, glad they couldn't read her mutinous thoughts. "Alright."

"Are you sure about your decision?" Hani said, watching her closely. "You're losing Rosé and Lisa.
Why not hang on to Jisoo at least?"

"What, like you care all of a sudden?" Jennie snorted.

"Me? I don't care about anyone," Hani scoffed.

"Ouch," Haein said.

"You know what I mean! I'm not caring about...about outsiders!"

"Ouch," Jennie said dryly. "That was for Chanyeol. And I could have sworn I heard you cry when I
died in your arms in the hospital. Does that mean I'm no longer an outsider?"

"Chanyeol? Oh Detective Park?" Haein asked with great interest. "So you finally made a move.
But maybe you can aim higher? We'd get better cuts on deals if you got cosy with say, the Senior
Inspector? Too ambitious?" he asked sheepishly when his sister glared at him.

"Go fuck a skunk. And you Ace, you heard wrong. I don't cry over shit," Hani said forcefully.
"Answer the question."

"Well to be perfectly frank, I don't trust you," Jennie said bluntly.

"Ouch," Hani said, holding her chest.

"Are you going to take care of Jisoo indefinitely? There would be some catch down the line. I also
don't trust Jinyoung. He's been too quiet. He could come for her to get to me. No, I want her out of
the way and safe, even if she doesn't want to. Her family won't be looking for her."

"So you're letting her go," Hani said thoughtfully, nodding.

Jennie smiled wanly. "I have two weeks left with Jisoo. I'll make them count."

She had managed to keep up a cheerful facade in front of the others, boosted in part because of her
revitalised plan to help Jisoo but at the back of her head, she knew she was running head on into a
brick wall. She was only delaying the inevitable collision.

Only two weeks with Jisoo. Probably even less. Her heart threatened to waver but Jennie gritted
her teeth and held strong. She was going to make the time she had left worth it all.

"I'm sorry we couldn't have met under more auspicious conditions, Jennie," Haein said sombrely.
"It's the way mobs rule. The small guy at the bottom gets fucked over by the big guy at the top.
The big guy will always hold the power."

"Spare me the sympathy," Jennie said roughly. "And one last thing. Rosé and Jisoo cannot know
the full extent of this agreement. Do we have a deal?"
Haein nodded. "I will personally make sure that Jisoo, Rosé and Ella are set up on Jeju as a base.
Where they go from there is up to them. Jisoo will have the medical support she needs, as will
Rosé and Ella. Could we have Dr. Kim oversee their cases, perhaps?" he asked his sister.

"Not unless you want to keep a clean track," Hani said. "Hand them over to a new case officer,
that's my advice. I can personally vet them. Dr. Kim has enough on her plate without dealing with
extra stress. She's been very gracious to come down and help see that Jisoo is settling down."

"I'll see to it," Haein promised and turned to Jennie, holding out his hand. Jennie took it, shaking it
firmly. Contrary to what she expected, his hand was smooth and supple.

"I'm hoping you have enough honour in you to keep your word," Jennie said, holding his gaze
sternly.

"He's more honourable than me, I'll give you that. The Dasoni Golden Boy," Hani chuckled but
there wasn't any malice in her jab.

Haein merely smiled and stood back with his hands behind him when they pulled away. "I can
have a temporary place set up in the next five days in Wolpyeong-dong, it's on the outskirts of the
main city on Jeju, as well prepare the necessary files, IDs and documents for all three of them. It's
your call when to send them over to Jeju."

"Thank you." Jennie turned to Hani. "I have a favour to ask. Can I talk to Chanyeol? Preferably
face to face."

Hani raised an eyebrow. "And may I ask why?"

"It's about my status as an undocumented migrant. I want to see what's the legal framework and
what I can do to change it so I'm legal," Jennie said smoothly, making sure to keep eye contact.
Hani mulled over her answer before she shrugged.

"We have our lawyers to deal with that but I get it, you don't trust me, I heard you. I'll call him for
you. Is it urgent?"

"The sooner I talk with him, the better. I'm a busy woman, I need to get things done and out of the
way," Jennie said. "Oh and Hani? I'd like to talk to you about Jisoo."

"What about?"

"Maybe the fact that you were her babysitter and you didn't mention a word about it?"

Hani's eyes widened. "Ah."

"I'm out, you two have fun...catching up. I have to run, busy busy busy, up to my neck in
spreadsheets," Haein said, barely able to stifle his wide grin as he dismissed himself.

"What do you want to know?" Hani sighed.

"Honestly...I don't know. Just, why didn't you say anything?"

"What's there to say? I'm not one to get all wishy-washy about these things. It was a long time ago.
I only recognised her when she woke up and called my name. She's all grown up, hardly
recognisable from the kid with the triangle gimbap haircut."

Hani smiled wistfully. "I told you I worked typical odd jobs when I was younger, didn't I? My
brothers did that too. It was our lesson—learning to fake our identities and cover our tracks. Father
didn't want us to be trust fund spoiled brats. He wanted us to have a taste of the world and what it
means to earn your keep. Also, it didn't hurt to covertly scope out rivals or potential targets either.
But I got unlucky with the Kims."

Jennie nodded. "Jisoo told me how you were dismissed unfairly and got the blame."

"Unfairly?" Hani repeated, eyebrows raised. "I got nabbed pinching priceless heirlooms. I may be
in the mob but I'm not mincing my words about this. I got caught, plain and simple. Rookie
mistake. The only unfair thing was my rotten luck."

Jennie stared. "But...Jisoo said she had been wanting to give you fancy chocolates and she stole
some and then her parents booted you out because they thought you stole them. Jisoo was so
regretful of how it all happened..."

They stared at each other, processing each other's version of events.

"So...seems like someone was kept in the dark, huh?" Hani said.

"Let's go see her right now," Jennie declared.

>

Jisoo's head hurt, but it was nothing compared to the terrible ache in her chest, like somebody
ripped a hole out and stole her heart, leaving behind a hollow cavity. She curled up in her nest of
pillows, the tray of food the nurse left for her untouched. Her appetite had disappeared after the
afternoon's events.

I love you Chu.

Jisoo let out a strangled sob.

How long had she waited to hear those words from Jennie? How often had she dreamed of Jennie
saying it to her?

And now that it finally happened, Jisoo couldn't contain her tears, because nothing could have been
more wrong.

Jennie didn't love her. How could she? Jisoo was a monster now. She had screamed and punched
the door until she ran herself hoarse and then slumped down and wept, certain that Jennie would
never come near again.

What had she done?

Jisoo held her head. "Stop thinking, stop thinking."

The Anti-TK helped immensely, each day making Jisoo feel a little more normal with every dose
she consumed even as the phantom claws of madness scratched at the back of her mind, keening
and crying to be let out. Every once in a while, they were too strong and Jisoo couldn't hold them
back, leaving her suspended and reeling with helpless horror as her body reacted, beyond her
control.

Her fried brain tormented her with fragments of memories from her time in torture: Jinyoung's
taunts and electric shocks that made every nerve in her body scream interspersed with her past, of
bad memories and humiliation at the hands of her parents, tutors and people around her.
Through it all, Jisoo hung on to the memory of Jennie like a talisman. But as the days passed and
the torture weakened her body and the drugs consumed her mind, Jisoo faltered and drowned.
Now, she emerged less a magnificent phoenix but more like a hideous creature from some hellish
nightmare.

How could Jennie love her?

Jisoo had spied Lisa in times when she remained lucid enough, present in the same lab and torture
cell, pumped with the same yellow drug. She had pieced together the reason for Jennie's harsh
treatment of Lisa.

How could Jennie love her when she was clearly so fearful of Lisa, enough to dominate her and
brutally crack down on her sister any time Lisa tried to stray away from Jennie's control?

The sounds of knocking on the door had her sit up, blinking furiously.

"Jisoo? We're coming in. Jennie's here."

Jennie. She came back.

Jisoo's heart slammed back into her body and danced, making her choke on air. She hurriedly
scrambled to her feet, wiping her face and automatically reaching to fix her hair before her hands
faltered in mid-air when she remembered.

She stuck to waving awkwardly as Jennie timidly trooped into the apartment, flanked by Dr. Kim
and Hani.

Jisoo was still trying to reconcile her memory of Hani with present day Hani, standing before her in
the flash with a stoic face behind Jennie.

"Hey Chu," Jennie said quietly. Jisoo didn't miss the yearning in her voice, the way it wrapped her
in a blanket of warmth. And just like that, her misery magically vanished, if only for a fleeting,
blissful moment.

Jennie had always had that effect, like a tonic.

"Jen," Jisoo whispered. Even as she warred with her self-disgust and bitterness, all she wanted was
to run into Jennie's arms, to hold her and be held and never let go because she felt like she was
about to scatter like sand.

"Let's run diagnostics again, shall we?" Dr. Kim said. "Jisoo, how are you feeling, one to seven."

Jisoo glanced at Jennie, who shot her a tiny, hopeful smile and Jisoo felt more warmth curl under
her skin.

"Seven and a half," she said and Jennie's eyes brightened just a bit.

"Pain, scale one to ten?"

"One. The headache is still there."

"Auditory interference or anything else?"

"I'm good," Jisoo said quietly.

Dr. Kim nodded. "Well, that should be good. We'll be outside."

"One sec," Jennie piped up. "Hani, something you want to say to Jisoo?"

Hani nodded and locked gazes with Jisoo even as Jisoo stared, confused.

"Jennie tells me you thought I got dismissed from being your babysitter because I got the blame for
something you did, right?"

"Uh...yeah," Jisoo rasped, the knot of discomfort tightening in her chest. She was always hit with a
wave of guilt and sorrow whenever she randomly remembered the incident, a thorn she was sure
she would never properly pick out.

"Well, let me set the record straight. You weren't to blame. I pinched some of the family
heirlooms. You must have misunderstood, or else they let you believe some falsehood because you
were too young. Truth of the matter is, I was caught red-handed." Hani's voice softened. "I'm sorry
for never explaining properly before I left. I guess I was selfish."

"Selfish?" Jisoo repeated, still processing the bombshell as years' worth of guilt hanging around her
shoulders for not being enough, not fighting harder, fell off like a deadweight.

"I was a jerk. It inflated my ego to no end knowing you worshipped the ground I walked on. I think
I just wanted you to still see me the way you always did. Like the sun shone out of my ass or
something."

"Poetic," Jennie mumbled and Dr. Kim stifled a cough.

"I'm sorry Jisoo," Hani said softly. "Don't blame yourself anymore. It was all me."

Jisoo merely stared, open-mouthed and overwhelmed. "I...I..."

Hani seemed to understand that she wasn't going to get an answer and nodded at Dr. Kim.

"We'll be outside. Don't go getting too frisky you two, we got the surveillance cams," Hani added
lightly, winking at Jennie's annoyed expression.

Jisoo was still tongue-tied and processing the revelation when Jennie immediately shot to the door
and locked it behind Hani and Dr.Kim's retreating backs.

"Jen?" Jisoo squeaked, anxiety skyrocketing. "If I lose control and hurt you—"

"I'll handle it. I don't want them coming in and interrupting us again, no matter what happens. If
we're going to argue, I want it to be just us, just you and me," Jennie said firmly. Despite the hard
words, she immediately softened when she locked gazes with Jisoo. Jennie smiled hopefully and
stepped forward, holding out a container of food.

"Here, Rosie made gimbap. I figured you'd like some actual food."

"Rosie?" Jisoo said, her attention snagging on the way Jennie said Rosé's name.

"Oh yeah, Rosé and I are good terms now, can you believe it?" Jennie chuckled. "We've been
bonding."

"What? No way," Jisoo goggled. The last she remembered was Jennie and Rosé being civil, but
bonding? That would take some time getting used to.

"Yeah I know right? Pretty unbelievable that we were ever fighting in the first place. I was such a
jerk. It only took you and Lisa to go missing to bring us closer but...well, stranger things have
happened. She and Ella said hi, by the way. They want to meet you when you feel up for it." She
looked at Jisoo fondly. "I have so much to tell you. Wanna eat and talk?"

Jisoo's stomach growled suddenly remembering that she hadn't eaten all day. Gimbap made by
Rosé sounded perfect when she remembered that her friend was an avid cook.

"I'd like that," Jisoo said shyly, heart skipping a beat when Jennie beamed, wide enough to show
her gummy smile.

"I'll get some plates," Jennie said, putting the container down on the kitchen island and getting to
work.

She looked so beautiful. Picturing her face in the early days of her capture, her body and their
perfect time together was what got Jisoo through the nightmarish ordeal that gradually had her lose
sight of herself.

Jisoo suddenly ached to touch her face up close, to reassure herself that it was all real and this
wasn't some hyper realistic hallucination.

The bruises marring Jennie's face let her know that everything happening was very much real. She
frowned, wondering where Jennie had gotten them as a stab of anger prickled at the back of her
head, followed by a swell of protective urge to pull Jennie close and defend her from whoever hurt
her.

I hurt her.

Jisoo shook her head, fighting the invasive dark thoughts that sometimes appeared, unwelcome and
unannounced. She pushed the thought away to focus on Jennie fussing around the counter as she
rummaged in drawers to find plates and chopsticks.

Jisoo started salivating the moment Jennie opened the container's lid: the delicious aroma made her
taste buds tingle in anticipation.

She hadn't had a good gimbap in...how many days was it again? Weeks? Months?

Jisoo frowned.

How long had she been absent? What else had changed? Had Jennie moved on? Were she and
Rosé more than just friends? How did Hani come into all this? And what was the black mark
Jennie had on her wrist? Why was she beaten up? Was it her fault and she somehow didn't know?
Was everyone lying to her?

"Chu, you got chopsticks here?" Jennie called, "cos' I'm not seeing any..."

She paused, eyes falling on Jisoo's white-knuckled grip on the back of her chair, caught in the
throes of spiralling.

"Hey." She rounded the kitchen island and walked up to Jisoo, speaking softly. "What is it?"

"I...I can't think properly," Jisoo fretted. "Every time it's going good, something comes up to
remind me—remind me that I'm not the same and things have happened and moved on and—"

"And I'm still here. I haven't moved on," Jennie reminded softly, "and I'll be here as long as you
want me to, Chu."
Tentatively, she laid her hand on Jisoo's, encouraged when Jisoo didn't flinch. "Is this okay?"

Jisoo closed her eyes. "How are you not disgusted by me?"

Jennie actually chuckled, making Jisoo snap her eyes open in shock.

"That takes me back. I asked you the same thing, remember? When you came into the attic after
that big fight I had with Lisa?" Jennie said fondly. "You saw me in all my pathetic glory, and you
didn't turn away. Not to mention, I was a toxic bitch acting of sound mind and sound body. But you
stayed anyway."

"You don't have to stay for me out of some obligation," Jisoo said irritated. "I don't want you to
stay here just to pay me back!"

She wilted when Jennie blinked, hurt crossing her face.

"Wait, I didn't mean...ugh, see what I mean? I'm taking this all wrong!" Jisoo held her head.

Keep calm breathe in and out, in and out, in and out. Calm. Zen. Peace. In and out.

"I'm sorry," Jisoo sniffled. "I—I hate this. I can't even hold a conversation before I ruin it."

"It's okay. I'm still figuring things out too. It's okay—"

"No it's not! The old me wouldn't ever hurt you!"

"Did you want to hurt me just now?"

"No. Maybe. I don't know," Jisoo said helplessly. "I don't know anymore. I don't like...me."

She looked at Jennie. "How...how aren't you scared of me? I strangled you, I hit you, I yelled at
you, I lost control. I could have really really hurt you earlier the first time. Why aren't you scared?"

"I am scared," Jennie said and quickly squeezed her hand when Jisoo deflated like a popped
balloon. "I'm scared, but you know what I'm more scared of? I'm scared of losing you again."

"Jen..."

"No, listen. I'm scared, Jisoo. I'm scared of your effect on me. You have no idea the power you
hold over me. My heart...you could shatter it with just a word, because it's all yours. But the thing
is, I wouldn't have it any other way."

Jisoo stared, unable to string words together.

"Chu," Jennie said quietly, "can I hug you please? I've missed hugging you."

Jisoo whimpered and shook her head, ghostly images of her hands around Jennie's neck surfacing.
"I don't trust myself."

"I do. I still see the same dorky awkward girl who put up a front to mask her true self. Right now
she's struggling to process a terrible, harrowing ordeal she's been through and she's burdening
herself, expecting everything to go back to normal like before, in a blink."

Jisoo looked at her, breathless even though she hadn't been the one speaking. Jennie always bowled
her over with her succinct sharp observations; an attractive trait that reminded Jisoo just why Jennie
had pulled her in: she was one of the few who really saw right through her.
"Jennie, why can't you understand? I can hurt you. I did already. I strangled you. It can happen
again. I'm a monster."

Jennie shook her head. "You think yourself a monster. Would a monster worry about me like you
are doing?"

Jisoo paused, frowning hard as the realisation sank in. "But the other part of me is uncontrollable.
I'm just...I don't..."

"Let me take care of myself," Jennie said quietly, drawing up closer even as Jisoo took an uncertain
step back. "I know what I'm doing, Jisoo. Listen, Dr. Kim explained that the antidote is good for a
couple hours. She told me what signs to watch out for in case things go wrong."

"You locked the door. You're trapped in here."

"I can open it just fine too. I promise Chu, I'm prepared. But I'll be damned if I hurt you in the
process like Hani did."

"That's why you did that in the hospital, isn't it?" Jisoo said, rooting Jennie to the spot as her eyes
widened.

"What are you talking about?" Jennie said in a hushed voice.

Jisoo turned her head away. "I...when I lose control, I still...I can still see what's happening but like,
from far away. And I can't stop it. Sometimes there's a breakthrough and I wrest back control, only
because I'd be fighting it so hard..."

She had regained lucidity briefly in the hospital when she had been triggered, waking up to a
dishevelled, frantic and sobbing Jennie on top of her, pinning her down with an IV pole rod.

"I don't understand. What did I do in the hospital?" Jennie said hoarsely but her eyes were fearful
and Jisoo knew she had arrived to the conclusion Jisoo was about to reveal.

"I know you let me get the upper hand even when you could have knocked me out. Because I was
still weakened and groggy. You could have done it. But you didn't. You let me kill you."

She had seen Jennie's limp body, had seen Jennie's wheezing breath die out even as she was pulled
away and subdued, but Jisoo had seen what she needed to and it was enough.

Jennie's bottom lip trembled. "You weren't supposed to know," she said in anguish. "God I thought
—I thought you weren't—weren't present."

She suddenly paled. "Does this...does this mean you know that he—at the Slammer when you held
me down and he..."

Jisoo clenched her fists, trying hard to banish the memory of Jinyoung's taunting sneer, his probing
fingers in her mouth that made her gag now as she remembered. "I know," she said hoarsely. "I
know he...violated me in front of you."

"Jisoo," Jennie whispered. She looked as ill as Jisoo felt.

"Why did you let me kill you?" Jisoo asked before she could retch.

Jennie's lips trembled. "When given the choice, I'd rather be the one to die rather than killing you,
Chu. I just couldn't hurt you, I was so scared. And I thought it didn't matter, that you wouldn't even
know what happened when you came around, because I thought...Jinyoung said...god, what have I
done?"

Her eyes glistened and she sank to her knees in front of Jisoo. "Forgive me, Chu. I swear, I didn't
mean to burden you like this. I was only trying to protect you."

"I know Jen. But...it still doesn't take away the fact that you were going to let me kill you. I can't
forget that."

Jennie swallowed and climbed to her feet. "It won't change anything. I'm still here. I'm not running.
Jinyoung targeted you because he thought you were my weakness...but I don't think loving is a
weakness, not anymore."

Jisoo's brow went up. She had said that very same thing to Jennie, she remembered it clearly. Was
Jennie also remembering?

By the looks of the shy smile growing on Jennie's face, she did.

"That had been your first confession, wasn't it?" Jennie said quietly. "I was still confused at the
time. I still didn't trust that something like love couldn't be a weakness. Jinyoung certainly seems to
think so. That's why he took you. And I'm ashamed to say I almost believed him."

Jisoo listened raptly, drinking in every word.

"But he didn't succeed because he's wrong. You're not my weakness. You're what made me fight,
and what will continue to push me to fight." Jennie straightened and wiped her face as she sniffed
furiously. "I haven't slept properly the past few weeks because all I could think of was you. What a
stupid fucking idiot I've been, keeping you at arm's length about everything. That will change. I
want you to know everything and I'm not turning my back on you."

Jennie opened her arms wide. "I'm going to hug you. Then we'll eat. You need some food in you
for sure, it will help. And we'll talk. You can yell at me all you like, I can take it Chu. I promise I
can. I have a thick skin, remember? I'm going to win you back if it's the last thing I do."

"Win me back?" Jisoo lowered her hands, eyes wide. She twisted her hand in her shirt at her chest.
"You...you're serious?"

"I swear on my heart, mind, body and soul," Jennie said quietly. "Kim Jisoo, I'm going to make you
understand the extent of my feelings for you over and over again until you get it into your head that
you're worth it all."

Jisoo stared, swallowing hard, her heart skittering erratically in her chest even as she fought to
contain her rising excitement: she didn't want to ping Dr.Kim's monitors.

"If...if we're doing it like this, you have to be honest," Jisoo said at last. "Jen, you have to tell me
everything, okay?"

"I will. But you have to tell me about your past too. I feel horrible for never asking."

"I wasn't exactly eager to share," Jisoo grimaced. She cast a quick side-glance at Jennie, an idea
brewing that made her tingle with mischief, a sentiment that felt ill-placed in the midst of all the
serious conversation and tears.

"You know, if you want to...woo me, why don't we start out like it's our first meeting?" Jisoo asked
casually.
Jennie blinked, nonplussed. "Uh...okay?"

"I'll go first." Jisoo braced herself, suddenly barely able to contain her glee as she raised her hand
for a little wave. "Hi, is your name wifi? Cos' I was feeling a connection."

Jennie stared, her mouth falling open in a perfect O and eyes widening in recognition.

"Jisoo!"

And to Jisoo's astonishment, Jennie laughed. A proper, throaty guffaw, not the usual dry chuckle or
snorts. And it wasn't just one, there was a whole chain of little giggles that followed. Jisoo found
herself enchanted; Jennie's laughter sounded so much better than what she imagined.

"Jen, you're laughing. I didn't know you laugh now," Jisoo said in awe. Jennie couldn't even speak
right away as she bent over knees, wheezing.

"Oh my god, you didn't," Jennie said at last straightening. "That was...quite the call-back."

"You laughed," Jisoo said again, thrilled. Jennie's eyes softened and she drew in close, stopping
just short of leaning into Jisoo's space and kissing her. Jisoo's skin tingled in anticipation, equal
parts hesitant and waiting.

"Of course I laughed. I'm happy. Truly happy," Jennie said, even as tears welled up. She tapped her
cheek, not bothering to hide them as they rolled down. "These are happy tears."

"I know," Jisoo said simply. Tension cloaked them but it was the good kind of tension, the kind
where Jisoo noticed the quiet, desperate yearning in Jennie's eyes reflecting her own desire to feel
Jennie close, hold her with nothing keeping them apart.

Screw starting over! Jisoo just wanted to pick up where they had left off, that awful night when she
was ripped out of her home and out of Jennie's reach, taken just before Jennie told her the whole
story and confessed the depths of her feelings.

Jennie slowly spread her arms, waiting invitingly.

"Let go, Chu," she said softly. "I want this as much as you do."

Jisoo cracked—she crushed Jennie against her in an all-consuming embrace, holding her tight
enough to lift Jennie off her feet for a moment. She wavered when Jennie stiffened in her grasp.

"Oh sorry sorry was that too much—oh."

Jennie clung to Jisoo like she was clutching at straws in danger of drowning, letting Jisoo know it
wasn't too much at all. She tucked her head in the crook of Jisoo's neck, a familiar gesture that had
Jisoo physically brace herself because her knees turned to jelly. Jennie's warm breath tickled the
slope of her neck, and visceral hunger had Jisoo almost keening to have Jennie's lips fasten to her
skin.

"Chu, I missed you so much," Jennie rasped just below her ear, choked with emotion as she
snuggled against her. "Welcome back."

Jisoo wept into Jennie's shoulder, smiling through her tears.

"I'm home, Jendeuk."

>
The three women bent over the tablet watching the emotional reunion immediately broke off in
various exclamations the moment Jennie and Jisoo hugged.

"Finally!" Rosé squeaked, punching the air in jubilation.

"Huh, no wonder Jinyoung nabbed Jisoo. Who knew Ace was such a softie?" Hani snorted.

"Indeed, she switched up entirely," Dr. Kim said with a small but satisfied smile. "This is a major
leap for their relationship, I only hope things keep on improving."

"Of course they'll improve! Oh, I'm so happy," Rosé beamed.

"Settle down, they still haven't covered some important shit like the fact her parents are dead.
That's gonna be the real test. Or the fact Jennie's in the mob now." Hani tapped her chin in thought.
"That was an interesting comment Jisoo made about her Tiger King state. Does every Tiger King
do that? Are they all somewhat present? Or was it just Jisoo?"

Rosé frowned, also troubled. "I'm not sure. Jinyoung said—"

"The more I hear about what Jinyoung said, the more irritated I am," Dr. Kim interrupted, startling
her. "And not just because he's a criminal. I'm talking about him being a disgrace to medicine at
large. He talks big game about his wonder drugs and cutting-edge research but where are the
clinical trials? Where are the empirical results? Where are the samples and the million other
procedures you have to do to ensure your drugs are up to standard and not just some bogus
placebos?"

"The TK did work, though? I don't know what else he has said," Rosé said uncertainly.

"He's not a pharmacist. His father was. Jinyoung Jr. is just the CEO, but a lot of people forget
about that part. And he doesn't try hard to remind them, it makes his claims sound more credible
when in reality, they can be hogwash," Dr. Kim said bitterly. "His job is to market and hype up his
products, make them sound like they're the next medical marvel. And while yes, things like TK do
seem to have fantastic effects, they're dangerous. Without proper understanding of what you're
playing with, without due diligence and rigorous clinical studies to ensure what is safe and what is
ethical, you have inconsistent, erratic results and low reliability."

"Well I'm not sure Jinyoung cares very much," Hani shrugged. "His father burned up all the
documents related to the TK studies so Jinyoung has nothing to go by, unless you count the handful
of Tiger Kings he's created...then butchered."

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Don't take everything he says as the gospel. He could be way off
the mark because he just isn't rigorous in his research. He only repeats what his people give him:
inaccurate and substandard data. You can't claim your drug can do X and Y based on an
indeterminate population sample. How do you know they're not the outliers? How do you know if
TK reacts differently according to race, gender, age and other biological factors? There's so many
more variables, those are just off the top of my head," Dr. Kim said.

"So, Jisoo said she was still somewhat present but unable to break through when she was under the
effect of TK," Rosé said slowly, heart hammering hard in her chest as she raced to the conclusion.
"So...so what if Lisa...can also do that? What if because she's deeper in the TK program, she's
buried deeper and it's harder to get out of it? Just like someone caught in a toxic relationship, or
even alcoholics and metheads."

Rosé's eyes shone with new hope. "Lisa might never be actually gone, like Jinyoung claimed. She
could still be there! She's still there!"

"Hold your horses now." Hani held up her hand. "We have no proof of that—"

"She didn't attack me! At the Slammer," Rosé said feverishly. "I thought she didn't recognise me
but what if she was actively holding back from hurting me? What if she knew I was there all along
but she couldn't show me, because she's...she's all brainwashed and on TK...oh, Lisa..."

"Now look what you've done," Hani told Dr. Kim. "You went and raised her hopes up."

"In the face of incorrect factual evidence, am I supposed to stand by and do nothing? That is not in
my integrity as a doctor," Dr. Kim said calmly. "While I caution against being too hopeful...I also
can't deny the fact that what Rosé said could be possible."

They stared at each other until Hani finally broke away with a sigh.

"Whatever, I'm going out to smoke on the roof. Let me know if the lovebirds decide to kill each
other."

>

"We might have a problem," Hani said unceremoniously when Haein picked up the call.

"Already? I was giving it till tomorrow at least," Haein said mildly. "How serious is it? Your
voice sounds awful."

"This is my fourth," Hani rasped, waving her cigarette. "Listen, it's Ace. Jennie. She's being too
agreeable and compliant for my liking. I have a bad feeling she's up to something."

"I'd be surprised if she wasn't," Haein said.

"You're not worried she could turn rogue? Go total renegade on us?"

"She risks losing too much if she doesn't toe the line," Haein pointed out.

Hani smiled grimly. "I get it, you haven't known her long. But you're severely underestimating
how far that girl will go for her friends. She'll find a way to turn on us. You heard her, she doesn't
trust me, after all I've done for her," she added, unable to mask her disdain.

Haein didn't reply right away. "You care about them, don't you? Or Jennie, at least. You care
about her," he said delicately.

There was no condescending jab in his question. He was asking her as her brother, not as the head
of the mob. Still, she bristled, irritated to be reminded of vulnerability especially by someone who
knew her too well.

"It doesn't matter. They were never meant to last long," Hani said harshly, shutting him down. She
puffed on her cigarette, eager to drive away poisonous thoughts. "You know I don't care about
outsiders. They're just a means to an end. And in the end, I only do what's best for the family."

"The family being you?"

"Of course it's me. I am the Dasoni, the Dasoni is me," Hani said harshly. "You know you're only
here temporarily, right? Don't get too comfortable, oppa, you've got your own gang to piss back
off to."
"I'll tell Solji. You heard that, noona? Our dongsaeng is being a brat again. She's saying
she'll kick me out of Seoul. The nerve of that, huh?" Hani heard him say, presumably to Solji.
He had mentioned he'd visit her after stopping by the condo.

"Oh please," Hani laughed. "We aren't ten anymore, Haein."

"I know. But it got a laugh out of you. You know things are grim when I'm the one making
bad jokes, right?" Haein said and she could hear the rare smile in his voice before he turned
serious again. "We'll take care of Jennie if she turns out to be a problem. Same for the others.
I'll do it myself if it comes down to it. You know oppa is only here to help, right? Tiger King
and Park Jinyoung could go jump off a cliff for all I care. I just need people to co-operate to
help me clean up and make the elders happy so I can go back home."

Hani shook her head before she remembered he couldn't see her. "It would be a waste not
to...capitalise on their usefulness," she said slowly.

"Scheming already?" Haein said. "I figured, seeing as you had the time to smoke four
cigarettes before you called me."

"Scheming is all I can do. I'm grounded, remember?" Hani said petulantly. "I can't do shit. They'll
take my clubs or Solji if I step out of line."

"The Hani I know never lets something like being grounded stop her."

Hani paused, the ghost of a smirk returning to her lips. Simple but effective, Haein's words ground
her whole world to a stop before it suddenly took off spinning dizzyingly fast like a carousel. Hani
sat up straighter, flooded with restored determination.

"You're right, oppa. I'm getting back what the elders took from me. Right now, I'm taking a step
back and letting those old turds have their little party. But they've got another one coming if they
think I'm going to stay down. Watch me. My game is only starting, they won't know what hit them
once the pieces start moving."

"There she is. So, to extend the game metaphor, you're the queen, the girls are the pawns.
Then who's the king you're intending to catch? Jinyoung?" Haein wondered.

"No," Hani said quietly. "Tiger King."

She glanced up at the stars and sighed. "It was always Tiger King."

"So you lied."

Hani whipped around, biting her lip foolishly as a tall man sauntered out of the shadows. She hadn't
heard the roof door open, making Hani bite back on a curse for lowering her guard.

Chanyeol's face was carefully blank when he came to a stop in front of her.

"I'll...I'll call you back," Hani whispered before she cut the call. "Chan—Channie?"

"I'm here to see Jennie," Chanyeol said tightly. "But they told me she's still with Jisoo."

"So you came to find me? Missed me that much?" Hani cooed, desperately feigning normalcy.
"Awwh, Channie, that's so—"
"Cut the crap," Chanyeol said harshly. "I heard you, plain as day. You weren't ever intending to
give Lisa back to her sister, were you? You were just stringing us along on empty words and false
promises."

"For your information, Jennie already agreed to a new deal and she knows she won't be getting
back Tiger King," Hani snapped, dropping her act in a blink.

"Of course she won't, because you're counting on her to perish at the hands of Jinyoung," Chanyeol
retorted.

"No it's because it will work...for...what?"

Chanyeol tossed his head when Hani stared.

"That's right, I heard everything. I've been standing here like an idiotic fool, trying to think of a
way to approach you after you go MIA on me and then you call your brother and all I hear is you
being a cowardly bitch."

"I'm not a cowardly bitch—"

"Then let's go tell Jennie right now," Chanyeol challenged. "Let's march in there and tell them that
you were never in their corner, you were only just using them. A means to an end," he spat,
repeating what she said. "And what am I? Just a distraction? An indulgence? Did you mean
anything you told me in the hospital? Was it all lies? What the hell am I doing here?"

"Chan...I..." For the first time in a long time, Hani was rendered speechless. But anger and hurt
surged, mingling like a powerful cocktail as they pushed words out of her mouth.

"I told you we'd never work. I told you I'm not like you and here's your proof! What did you expect
from a mobster?"

"I don't know! A level of decency perhaps. You gave your word, at least keep it," Chanyeol said.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, his voice shaking with fury.

"All this time, I thought...I really thought there was something else to you. But no, you're just like
the rest. You only care about power. About family," he mocked. "Well, glad to know where I
stand. Was I going to end up dead in a ditch after all this shit is over? Honestly, the only reason I
haven't gone public about this is because I'm protecting Jennie and the others."

"You wouldn't dare. You'd die, someone would kill you for the truth," Hani croaked, ripples of fear
spreading like winter cold seeping into her bones. "Chanyeol, exposing all this will have you end
up in a ditch for sure."

"Would you put me there yourself? Go ahead, shoot me, put a bullet to my head! See if I care!
You'd only prove me right," Chanyeol said bitterly.

"You don't understand. Things have changed. I'm only trying to get back what's rightfully mine. I
have to do shit that's cruel and unkind. That's how survival works. I don't care about fighting dirty
if it will bring me results."

Chanyeol's jaw worked and Hani rushed to elaborate.

"I told you I had to fight hard to get to where I am today, especially because I am a woman. I told
you I painted my hands with blood. Did you think I was talking in metaphors? This is my world,
Chanyeol. The ugly side that nobody wants to see."
"Why do you..." Chanyeol put his hands on his side, restraining himself as he shuffled on the spot,
deep in conflict. Hani's eyes watered when she smelled a whiff of his cologne. It was new, and
coupled with his fresh haircut, clean-shaven jaw and freshly-pressed clothes, it was obvious he had
cleaned up.

Was it because he was coming to see me? Hani thought but quickly pushed the thought aside when
he spoke again.

"Why do you want Tiger King now?" Chanyeol said, sounding pained. "Your brother doesn't care
for it. Why do you?"

"Because it will be the ticket to restore my position as head of the Dasoni," Hani said, her voice
bleak as Chanyeol's face darkened. "Because it will show those old farts I have what it takes to be
the leader of their sorry asses. They won't be able to turn me away if I have Tiger King. They'll
have to take me back."

"But you agreed with Jennie, before. You agreed that Tiger King is volatile and dangerous and
threatens the mob ecosystem across Seoul—"

"Jinyoung is already doing it just fine. What difference does it make if I'm the one upsetting things
instead?" Hani scoffed. "I'm done playing it safe with other clans. Everyone turned their backs on
us after the Slammer fiasco. I'm going to be the one to fix it. The small man will always be
trampled by the powerful man at the top. You should know that by now."

"Then I want none of this," Chanyeol said, turning away. "Forget about my help. Forget about...me.
I'm done. We're done. I shouldn't have gotten entangled in all of this in the first place." He
hesitated, his voice wavering the slightest bit. "I thought— I really thought you were better than
Jinyoung."

It hurt more than Hani would ever dream to admit, the knowledge that she disappointed someone
she admired so wholly. She rolled her eyes back to stop the irritating tears from leaking out.

Chanyeol was just out of reach, his broad back to her as he heaved with fists clenched after their
argument, but she knew there was no way she could reach him now. The night air did nothing to
cool the rising tension between them, but there was none of that heated potential present from
before, when Hani had spilled her heart out at the hospital and they had hugged. Now, everything
was cold and brittle, about to snap.

"I can't be sorry, Chanyeol. This is how things work. But my feelings for you are real," Hani said
quietly. "If you believe one thing about me, believe that...my dark knight."

"I'm not your dark knight. I'm not your anything. Not anymore," Chanyeol said stonily. He
marched away without a second glance back.

Hani made sure his footsteps had faded before she wiped away the single tear that rolled down her
cheek.

>

Jennie knew that their emotional hug from earlier couldn't cushion Jisoo from the shock of her
parents' deaths. But as Jisoo gripped her hand tightly and urged her to continue in a choked voice
instead of screaming at her, Jennie knew that they were on their way to being okay again.

"God, Jen," Jisoo said in a hushed voice when Jennie finished with the mansion's explosion. Tears
brimmed in her eyes and she bowed her head. "Eomma...appa..."
"I can never say sorry enough. I hope you find it in yourself to forgive me. If I hadn't gone to see
them..." Jennie swallowed. "Dr. Kim told me I shouldn't blame myself entirely for what happened.
Jinyoung had a very big part. I was merely the catalyst that set it all in motion. But still...I can't
help thinking of the what ifs..."

She didn't realise she was crying herself until Jisoo's timid hand brushed just underneath her eye,
swiping away her tear.

"I can't help thinking about the what-ifs too," Jisoo said quietly. "What if you and Rosé had gotten
hurt? What if Jinyoung had you kidnapped? What if he tortured you so much worse than me?
What if...what if he killed you? I'd have lost everything."

Jennie instantly grabbed her hand and pressed the fingers to her lips, desperate to reassure but
hesitant to initiate more intimate contact like throwing her arms around Jisoo and kissing her full on
the mouth.

"It didn't happen. I'm still here. We're both here."

Jisoo smiled weakly. "Yes. Yes we are." She withdrew her hand from Jennie's grasp only to gently
take it and kiss it just like Jennie had done, making Jennie's heart flutter uncontrollably.

Jisoo looked up at her, eyes warm with compassion and understanding. "There's nothing to forgive.
You were only trying to get help."

Jennie almost leaned in and kissed her for real this time, holding back out of respect.

It was funny, a mere half hour of eating gimbaps together (sans chopsticks, there seemed to be not
a single utensil in Jisoo's apartment) and Jennie barely remembered the afternoon's disastrous first
encounter.

Jisoo was shy and still wary, flinching when Jennie moved too quickly, wincing when Jennie made
some loud noise to embellish her story.

However, she didn't say no when Jennie pulled up a chair next to hers and she didn't pull her hand
away when their pinky fingers grazed, often. Her eyes crinkled into half-moons when she boldly
fed Jennie a gimbap roll. Jennie was prepared to eat a whole room of gimbap if it meant she could
see Jisoo's eye smile that lit up her whole face.

But once Jennie got into the story properly, there wasn't much time for shy flirtations: the mood
turned dark and sombre as Jennie explained all about Lisa and Hwangssabu, as well as all that she
and Rosé had been through in the immediate aftermath of Jisoo and Ella's kidnapping.

Jisoo hung on Jennie's every word, gasping out loud in places and screwing her eyes shut in pain
when Jennie described her and Rosé's encounters with Yoongi and Taehyung in the forest.

"God, you didn't catch a break, did you? It sounds like some horror movie. Sure beats that weird
one we watched about the bat monster on the creepy island."

"Yoongi and Taehyung are not even the worst, believe it or not, though I'm not sure that's a good
thing either. Wait till I tell you how I became a terrorist," Jennie said dryly. Jisoo's eyes bulged in
her head.

"What?"

"Surprise surprise, it was Jinyoung, he framed me for blowing up your family's house. And of
course he pushed it to national headlines, because he's got the money. And that's...where Hani
came in."

"I still don't understand how you met," Jisoo frowned.

Jennie bit her lip. "How much do you know about...her background?"

Jisoo's frown deepened. She rubbed her temple. "Uhm, I really...don't know."

"Chu, are you okay? Is it your headache? Has it gotten worse?" Jennie asked in concern. She
glanced out the window to the night sky outside. "Should we call it a day? It's late, maybe I can tell
you the rest tomorrow? Things get pretty heavy."

"Noooooooo I want to hear everything now-w-w," Jisoo said, barely stifling a yawn.

Jennie shook her head, resisting the urge to coo. "I know jagiya, but there's no rush. You need to
rest. I'll be here tomorrow, and I want to hear about you too. What?" she asked when Jisoo's eyes
grew round.

"Can you say it again?" Jisoo asked shyly.

"Huh? Oh..." Jennie realised. "Jagiya?"

Her heart warmed when Jisoo giggled.

"I don't think you ever called me that before."

Jennie nodded. "I realised I never called you anything affectionate besides Chu and Jichu, even
when we became official. But you always called me that and it made me melt. And then...funnily
enough, it took meeting your parents to understand why you say that and how much you mean it."

"Oh...yeah, my father always called my mother that. He...he really loved her. And she him of
course. They weren't nice with me but I always thought I'd like what they had together," Jisoo said
wistfully.

Jennie smiled. "I'll try remember to say it more. Now, you should get some rest, especially for your
headache. You're so strong to hold on like that, Chu."

"Not strong enough. I get really tired out of nowhere sometimes," Jisoo said forlornly. "I don't
know my body anymore. The antidote helps, I think. But I still don't feel entirely myself."

"That's alright. We got all the time...we got time to talk things out and let your body reset itself,"
Jennie said tenderly, longing to hold her again. "Shall I help you to bed?"

"Are you trying to seduce me, Jen?"

"What? No! I'd never do that!" Jennie blustered and then almost choked when Jisoo whispered ' I
wish you would'.

Jennie swallowed. "We'll have time to make up properly," she promised softly. "I'm just trying to
take things slow because I don't want you to be confused, or feel like you have to do anything out
of obligation. If it's any consolation, you're not the only one suffering here."

On sudden inspiration, she added: "I don't kiss or hook up on first dates."

That finally pulled a small smile out of Jisoo, which had Jennie's heart thumping with pride.
"Just tell me about Hani for now," Jisoo said, resting her head on the counter. "And then, more
tomorrow."

"Definitely." Jennie took a deep breath. "Hani is in the mob. She's the head—or rather, was the
head of the Dasoni mob based in Seoul here."

Jisoo's drooping eyes snapped wide open at Jennie's statement.

"You're kidding."

"I wish I was," Jennie said heavily. Swallowing, she held up her arm and pulled back the jacket
sleeve to reveal the jet black tattoo on her wrist. "And this...is her mark."

Jisoo's head shot off the counter. "Jennie?" she asked breathlessly, horrified. "Please don't tell
me..."

"I...I had no other option," Jennie whispered meekly. "Please don't—please don't hate me. It was
the only way to get help. I managed to convince them to forgo Rosé joining so I signed up on her
behalf as well, so she could receive the same protection and help."

Jisoo gave a strangled laugh. "Protection? Jennie, they're the mob!" She held her head. "The mob.
I'm being looked after by the mob. What crazy movie is this?"

"Jisoo, I had no option left. I was a wanted terrorist on the run. Our goals aligned so we thought
we'd work together to bring back Lisa and you, and take down Jinyoung."

"But now you're tied to them forever. How is that even going to work?" Jisoo said, eyes wide with
fear. "Jen..."

"I was cornered. And when I'm cornered, I always seem to pick the worst choice. I told you about
giving up Lisa in exchange for you. And this...it was a no brainer. But now...I think I'm starting to
understand how fucked I am."

She didn't care if Hani heard her over the surveillance feed: the fragile relationship between them
was on the rocks as it is so Jennie didn't care if she added badmouthing to the list of transgressions
Hani probably kept just for her.

"You know something? I'd do it all over again, because I got you back," Jennie said quietly.

"Oh Jen." Jisoo covered her mouth, holding back a sob as Jennie sat with her head bowed, avoiding
looking at her arm displaying the tattoo. She thought she disliked it before, but the level of loathing
she felt for the mark right now had those prior feelings pale in comparison.

"Can I..." Jisoo said, timidly reaching out towards Jennie's wrist.

Jennie shrugged. Jisoo's fingertip was cool on her skin as she traced the shape of the wasp almost
warily, as though the insect's likeness was going to suddenly come alive and sting her.

"If it wasn't attached to the mob, I'd say it's badass," Jisoo said at last. She tipped her head up at
Jennie, her eyes dark. "I never thought about it before but I see it now. You covered in tattoos...I
think it would be really hot. I can just picture it."

Jennie almost choked on her tongue. "O-oh?"

Jisoo merely smiled, one eyebrow lifted in challenge, her gaze heavy. "Did I stutter?"
"U-uh no but uhm, I didn't...hmm that's...yeah," Jennie said weakly. She covered her face and
groaned. "Jisoo, you tease!"

Jisoo joined in the laughter and Jennie felt a little closer to being whole again.

"Much as we're thrilled y'all are laughing it up in there, I'm gonna have to be the party
pooper and cut the party short. And you know I hate parties getting cut short," Hani's voice
drawled through some hidden speaker, making them both jump. "Jen, Chanyeol's here to talk,
like you asked. Also I'd appreciate if you didn't lock the doors on us again, m'kay?"

"The detective guy?" Jisoo asked.

"Yeah. I'll tell you about it tomorrow I hope." Jennie leaned in close so that Hani's mic wouldn't
pick up on her words. The clean smell of soap mixed with Jisoo's scent filled her nose. Jennie had
to hold herself back from taking a deep sniff like some creep.

"Remind me we need to find some place more private to talk," she muttered. "I don't want them to
be watching us like reality tv. I'll try think of some excuse to sneak you out."

"That would be cool. Like sneaking out on a secret date," Jisoo said wistfully before she shook her
head. "We shouldn't. It's for your safety, Jendeuk. I don't want you to get hurt in case I...in case I..."

Jennie stopped her with a quick peck to her cheek, not trusting herself to linger. There would be
time for more longer, tender displays of affection, she'd make sure of it.

"I get it, but I know what I'm doing. See you tomorrow, Jichu. You smell good by the way," Jennie
said, winking as Jisoo flushed red and held her face.

>

There was definitely some odd tension brewing between Chanyeol and Hani, judging by their stiff
expressions and the way they pointedly avoided interacting with each other. Rosé shrugged when
Jennie silently gestured at them in askance. She appeared just as clueless to their sudden
turnaround. Dr. Kim had retired for the night, to be replaced with a nurse that would stand in to
keep watch over Jisoo and give her the next Anti-TK dose.

After greeting Rosé goodnight, Jennie nodded at Hani. "Thanks for calling him." She gestured at
Chanyeol.

"Sure. Anything else I can get you? Side of fries?" Hani drawled, pulling out an invisible notebook
and pen. "Maybe some tteokbokki to go?"

"I'm good," Jennie said, pointedly ignoring her sarcasm. She nodded at Chanyeol. "Shall we?"

"Can we go on the roof?" Chanyeol said abruptly. "I'm feeling like some air, it's too stuffy in here."

"Uh sure," Jennie agreed. Especially after being reminded that Hani was practically listening in on
their conversations, she welcomed his suggestion to get away from the mobster's scrutiny.
Particularly because the conversation she wanted to have with Chanyeol had nothing to do with
what she fibbed to Hani.

She managed to hold her head up and walk past Hani's gaze searing into her like lasers as Chanyeol
led her away.

"Okay, we should be clear. Let's go over by the wall. I'll keep an eye out in case somebody comes
out the door," Chanyeol said when they emerged out on the roof. The crisp night air cleared
Jennie's lungs and the twinkling stars immediately reminded her of Jisoo.

Maybe we could have our next meet-up here. Do some stargazing together. Have a little cook-out,
like a Jisoo Yoga date, Jennie thought wistfully. She woke from her reverie when Chanyeol cleared
his throat.

"So, how can I be of assistance?" Chanyeol asked in his professional police voice. By the weak
light from streetlights below, his fixed gaze never wavered from his target: the exit door.

"Everything okay?" Jennie asked warily. "Are you being hunted or something?"

"No. Let's just say, I had my eyes opened and now I'm less trustful of...certain people," he said
meaningfully.

"Hani?" Jennie said lightly. "Yeah, you have to watch your back with her. I'm not trusting her
myself."

Chanyeol ignored the comment. "What can I do for you, Jennie?"

"Whatever I'm going to say now has to stay between us. Don't go blabbing it to Hani or whatever."

"Understood," Chanyeol said tightly.

"I was thinking," Jennie said, trying to keep her voice even, "what if I were to go public on all this
shit? Everything that happened, Tiger King, Jinyoung, the mob...can I get some sort of protection
for Jisoo, Rosie and Ella from the government? Or the cops?"

"You'd expose yourself?" Chanyeol's head whipped around before he turned back to the door. "Are
you...are you sure?"

"No," Jennie admitted, "but all this has dragged out this long because we've been keeping it under
wraps, to protect me and Rosie and Ella and Lisa and Jisoo. Jinyoung capitalised on the secrecy, he
knew we couldn't do anything. He pushed us into a corner, made sure we were alone and isolated.
So now, if I were to bust the whole thing wide open..."

"Have you thought about the consequences?" Chanyeol said soberly. "You'd only get some sort of
protection from the police in the event you testify in court, not just by solely exposing everything.
And not to mention, the other girls will get roped into this. Jinyoung would most certainly fight
back, he's probably got his PR lawyers on standby, ready to roll out whatever counter-claim they
can to bulldoze over you. People will either not believe you or they will be clamouring to bring in
Lisa and lock her up or kill her. They will see her as something dangerous."

"I'm counting on them to do so," Jennie said tightly. "The more people get worked up, the more
likely they'll take action. I'll risk it. Whatever happens later...happens."

Chanyeol shook his head. "You and Rosé's brushes with illegalities will obstruct your chances of
returning back to a normal life. Not to mention, once news catches wind that Jisoo is a returned heir
of the Kims, that's going to cause an uproar in upper society circles. Her siblings practically
ignored her absence but now they'll be forced to confront it in a big way. Finally, the mob would
retaliate against you all."

"I've thought of all that," Jennie said. "That's why if I were to do any sort of exposition, I'd want
the girls to have guaranteed protection from immediate threats like Hani. If anything bad happens,
I'll be taking the fall, solely me. The other girls won't be mentioned in headlines. It will be the story
of Jennie Kim fighting to save her sister from the clutches of Jinyoung and the mob."

Chanyeol didn't speak again right away. "Have you talked this over with the others?"

When Jennie remained mum, he sighed. "Why not?"

"Because they'll insist to find some other way."

"They'd be well within their right to, how would you feel if Jisoo was plotting to sacrifice herself
behind your back?"

"We're running out of time," Jennie barged on, ignoring the panicked twang of her heart at his
words. "I still am not 100% sure what I'm doing. But right now, I'm trying to make sure they're
safe from the Dasoni. I don't trust that the mob will just leave the girls on Jeju. Maybe they'll even
execute them the moment I get out of the condo." Jennie shook her head. "Can't believe Jinyoung
isn't the biggest threat right now."

"How are you going to fight him?" Chanyeol said. "He doesn't seem to be featuring very high on
the priority list."

"My friends come before Jinyoung. What's the point of beating Jinyoung if I lose my friends?"
Jennie shrugged. "As for fighting him...honestly, I don't have a clue. But you know something?
Planning never seems to work with Jinyoung. He's always prepared. The best plan has to be no
plan."

"Then it's a suicide," Chanyeol said in open-mouthed disbelief. "Are you going to walk into his lair
and hand yourself in? And you think he'll just release Lisa? And what about your girlfriend? And
Rosé? This is what the Dasoni are counting on you to do, they're waiting on Jinyoung to kill you
and take you off their hands and then they'll probably do fuck all."

"Why do you think I'm asking about that protection?" Jennie said tightly. "And I'm not daft. I'm
not going to Jinyoung without bringing hell to him, I swear to you."

Chanyeol's eyes narrowed. "So you have something brewing." It was a point-blank statement and
Jennie squirmed, debating whether to answer fully.

"I'm just still figuring it out okay? I'm working on something but I don't want to tell you. It doesn't
concern you," Jennie said, reluctant to share anything more.

She only had an inkling of a plan but the less people knew, the safer they would be. If Hani
badgered Chanyeol, Jennie wasn't sure how firm he'd stand against her, especially after seeing how
close they seemed back in the hospital. Even though sentiments seemed to have soured, Jennie
wasn't taking chances.

Chanyeol held his hands up. "Fine, alright. Sounds to me like you're all set on what to do. So why
come to me, where do I fit in all of this? Do you need contacts to get your story out? I could get
those, I know some journalists."

"That would help but once again, my biggest priority is guaranteeing a safety measure for my
friends. You said they'd only get that if I were to testify in a court of law which would probably
only happen in the event of an arraignment. That won't work for us right now."

Glumly, Jennie leaned on the railing, and let her head drop back. The night air was nice on her
skin. "So I'm back to square one."
 "Not entirely." Chanyeol leaned next to her as well. "I'm here, and I'll help. My duty is towards the
citizens of the city, but I do hope you would consider me at least if not a friend, then an ally. If
anything happens, I'll take the other girls somewhere safe."

His shoulders slumped. "I know I haven't proven myself competent to catch Jinyoung or put an end
to all this shit but you can trust me, I will keep an eye on Hani and Haein and make sure no harm
comes to the girls if something happens to you. And if you need anything else, you can come to
me."

"I trust you. I've seen you fight and you're loyal. That's all I need to know," Jennie said. "Get me
the contacts. I'll think of a way to make a face-to-face interview happen."

"We'll think of a way," Chanyeol said firmly. "I'm not letting you work on this alone. You said
Jinyoung capitalised on the secrecy and the fact that he isolated you but we're not going to play
into his or Hani's hands anymore."

Jennie opened her mouth to protest then pressed it shut, her brooding thoughts darkening with
resolve.

"Right. Of course," she said. She directed her gaze out towards the twinkling city lights and
wondered if somewhere out there, Jinyoung was thinking of wringing her neck too.

Chapter End Notes

plotting and scheming and jensoo reunion! we heading towards the final showdown,
bear with me as i gather my thoughts and somehow write my way out of this :VVV
 Tell Me (No) Lies
Chapter Summary

part 1 of 2 updates

warning: mature/graphic depictions of violence

Chapter Notes

Previously:

rosie and jennie discuss the future, mention the cult as a last-ditch option. jisoo returns,
jensoo reunite with some explosive results. thanks to rosie and dr.kim's interventions,
jensoo manage to reconnect and jennie catches her up on a good chunk of what had
been going on but there's still more left. haein, hani and jennie agree on a deal to hide
chaesoo and ella. in return, jennie is ordered to take down jinyoung and bring in tiger
king for the dasoni. jennie and lisa would both end up working for the dasoni. jennie
considers how she can break free from the dasoni and take them down. hani is
suspicious of jennie, confides with haein she wants tiger king and never was going to
give it up in the first place, even with the original plan she had with jennie. chanyeol
overhears and things take a sour turn between them. chanyeol and jennie agree to work
together to expose the tiger king story, jinyoung and the dasoni to the public without
mentioning chaesoo or ella aka only jennie would take the fall. chanyeol urges jennie
to discuss this decision with chaesoo but jennie refuses: she wants them to be left out
of the ensuing chaos.

"Ha! Get on my level, suckers!" Ella said gleefully as she threw her winning hand of cards down.
"Make it rain dolla dolla bills on you losers! I win again! Suck my dick!"

"Ella! Let's not use that sort of language, it's not nice, okay? Especially in front of other people,"
Rosé chided gently, pink in the face.

"Oh please don't mind me, I'm invisible," Dr. Kim called, curled up in her corner but she was
failing abominably to stifle her smile.

"You sound like Lisa, El. Next thing you know, she's gonna call us her greasy harlots or
something," Jisoo chuckled.

"Jisoo!"

"What's greasy harlots?" Ella asked with immense interest, immediately abandoning the game.
Rosé glared at a sheepish Jisoo. Before she could berate her, Jisoo was saved by a sharp knocking
on the door.

Jisoo jumped off the couch and ran. "That must be Jennie!"
She had been secretly counting down the minutes to see her girlfriend again. According to Dr. Kim,
Jennie had rushed out early accompanied by Chanyeol, the detective, claiming she needed to make
some errands before she saw Jisoo again.

Although it made Jisoo's anxiety spike, she trusted Jennie had good reason to miss out on their
agreement to meet that morning after last night's emotional reunion.

Besides, she wasn't alone for long: Rosé, Ella and Hani dropped by to visit with a deck of cards.
Hani didn't linger; she seemed uncomfortable in their presence. Jisoo didn't push her to stay. She
still wasn't sure what she felt about Hani being in the mob and having effectively enslaved Jennie
so she breathed out in relief when Hani excused herself, leaving Dr. Kim to chaperone them as the
stifling apartment soon turned boisterous.

Jisoo felt more at ease with Rosé and Ella, her confidence in her control boosted after her
conversation with Jennie, and the fact that Dr. Kim was present to keep an eye, at her request. Rosé
had hesitantly opened her arms for a hug but Ella had run full-tilt and hugged her around the
middle without waiting for permission. Although the contact had Jisoo flinch, her heart melted at
Ella's absolute trust.

"Jennie unnie said Aunty Jisoo is not a bad person and that everyone over-reacted," Ella shrugged
when chastised by her mother about respecting personal space. Jisoo silently thanked Jennie for
unknowingly breaking down stigma around her. Although she was still wary of losing control and
hurting Rosé and Ella, having them be relaxed and treating her normally helped her lose a great
deal of anxiousness.

"Hi," Jisoo said breathlessly when she opened the door. A wall of fresh, sweet-smelling colourful
flowers greeted her, freezing Jisoo on the spot in surprise.

"Jendeuk?" Jisoo giggled after regaining her wits. An answering chuckle sounded out. Jennie's
head popped out from amongst the blooms.

"Sorry. Too much? I couldn't decide which to get so I got them all. They're all the colours and I
thought they looked pretty."

"Is this why you couldn't make it this morning?" Jisoo said, secretly melting at the gesture as she
stepped aside to let Jennie in.

"Why? Miss me?" Jennie winked, handing Jisoo her flowers.

"Of course," Jisoo said immediately, pouting for good measure. "You said you were going to be
here." She sniffed the flowers deeply, enjoying the soft petals that brushed her cheek like delicate
caresses.

"I know Chu," Jennie said apologetically, "but I just had a couple ideas and I had to....look, let me
show you. Better put the flowers down."

"Huh?" Jisoo frowned.

"Hey Chanyeol let him go. Here ahjussi, come here!" Jennie called over her shoulder.

Jisoo gasped then squealed in delight when a familiar white Maltese dog came scampering down
the hallway, right into her waiting arms.

"Dalgomie! Oh my gosh, Dalgom! I missed you so much! You're okay!"

Judging by the enthusiastic licks and ecstatic whimpers, Dalgom had missed her just as much as he
attempted to climb all over her, almost bowling Jisoo over. Reunited with her dog, Jisoo lifted him
in her arms and cuddled him close as he wagged his stumpy tail.

"Jen, you took care of him. Oh, he smells good too," Jisoo said, feeling her eyes water. "Thank you
thank you thank you!"

She thought her heart was going to burst out of adoration for her girlfriend.

Girlfriend. They were still girlfriends right? Jennie said as much, and called her 'jagiya' too.

"Thank Seulgi and Irene, they've been taking care of Rosé's cats too while Rosé and I have been
running around like headless chickens. But of course I couldn't forget about Dalgom, he's like our
son to me," Jennie finished quietly.

She cleared her throat when Jisoo's eyes widened at her words. "I checked in with Irene this
morning, they seem to be doing okay so there's that at least. They said hi."

"Jen! You're finally here," Rosé smiled. She cocked an eyebrow upon seeing the flowers and
Dalgom in Jisoo's arms. "Is this where you ran off to this morning then?"

Jennie chuckled sheepishly. "I'm sorry for startling you guys but I just needed to move a few
things. Hey Chanyeol, you know you can come out now right?"

"Didn't want to interrupt any heartfelt moments," Chanyeol called, rounding the corner. He was
laden with bags and boxes. Rosé immediately rushed to help him, even as he shook his head to
decline.

"I'm fine really, most of these bags are light. They're clothes and plushies. Careful with that box,
that's the monitor."

"Clothes and plushies? Monitor?" Jisoo slowly turned to Jennie, who was shuffling her feet.

"I'm sorry if I'm overstepping a line," Jennie said quietly, "but I thought maybe you'd feel better
having familiar things around, like some plushies from the plush room, and your clothes, and
Dalgom, and your gaming setup. I can still remember the PIN code to your apartment so I thought
I...I wanted to surprise you. Is that okay?"

Immediately, Jisoo tamped down on her anxiety to focus instead on the sweet gesture as Jennie
watched her worriedly.

"Thanks Jen, that's...really sweet," she said at last, hoping it sounded sincere. Rosé glanced in
between them, then put down the bags.

"Ella, let's give Aunty Jisoo and Jennie unnie some space, it's Jennie's turn with Jisoo now," she
called. "Chanyeol, put the monitor here for now, we'll set them up later."

"Oh Jennie's here? I suppose I can head out as well then. The next dose isn't due until noon," Dr.
Kim said, hopping off her seat when she unplugged from her laptop. "Wow, a dog," she said
weakly, stopping well out of range of Jisoo who was still holding Dalgom.

"It's alright. He doesn't bite, he's just curious," Jisoo smiled as Dalgom arched up in her arms and
sniffed at Dr. Kim. "Look, he wants to be friends."

"Scared of dogs?" Jennie asked, remembering Lisa's initial nervousness around Dalgom with a bolt
of striking clarity. "He's really tame, he won't hurt you unless you attack him."

"Let's just say animals can be a little unpredictable for me," Dr. Kim said. Gingerly, she stuck a
hand out for Dalgom to cautiously sniff. Her face fell when Dalgom lost interest right after and
huddled up to Jisoo instead. "Oh, I guess he doesn't like me then."

"On the contrary, he doesn't think you're a threat," Jisoo assured. "Dalgom's not the energetic
friendly type with strangers, but the fact he didn't growl or bark at you means he thinks you're
harmless, a friend."

Dr. Kim shook her head with a sigh. "See? I don't get animals and how they communicate."

"Aren't humans more complicated?" Jennie wondered.

"You'd think so, but people can be surprisingly simple and predictable in their reactions as well.
We all follow patterns, sometimes to a fault. It can be easy to predict how someone reacts when
you get used to it."

Dr. Kim pointed between them and smiled. "There's tension. Address it. Rome wasn't built in a day,
it's only day 2 of you reuniting. There will be relapses. That's perfectly normal. Just talk about what
you're feeling."

So saying, she followed out after Rosé and Ella. Jisoo bit her lip, glancing at Jennie to find her also
stealing a glance. But before either of them could speak, Chanyeol finished bringing in the last of
the bags then stood back hands on his waist, nodding to himself.

"That's the last of them. Jen, you need anything else, you know where to call me."

When they were finally alone, Jennie stepped up to Jisoo. "What is it?" she asked quietly. "Talk to
me. I did the wrong thing again, haven't I?"

Jisoo shook her head. "No, it's actually really sweet. You're only trying to make me feel better, take
my mind off things and bringing me stuff I love." She nuzzled Dalgom to emphasise her point. "I
just...it's nothing really."

"No. Tell me, don't make the same mistakes that I did," Jennie urged.

"I just feel...left out. Like I was left out of the decision-making and you're taking charge and
ignoring me..."

"That wasn't my intention—"

"I know Jen. But given your...tendencies to clam up, that's how it's going to feel. You keeping
things, even something as innocent as this, makes all those bad feelings come back in full force."
She sat on the couch and took it as a good sign that Jennie followed and sat next to her as
well. "And besides that..."

"Yes?" Jennie asked attentively. Jisoo mentally kicked herself, hating herself for feeling so petty
when Jennie was only trying to help their relationship get back on track.

"Besides that, it just feels like you're still clinging on to the old Jisoo, despite what we talked about.
Maybe...maybe I'm not interested in plushies and gaming anymore. So much is going on...I...Jen, I
don't even know if we're girlfriends properly anymore. We are, aren't we?"

"Oh Jisoo."
"I mean yeah we hugged and all that yesterday, and you have no idea how I happy I was going to
sleep knowing you're here for me. But...I don't know, I keep thinking. I can't stop thinking." Jisoo
sighed. She put Dalgom down, who only lingered for a moment before he was scampering off to
survey his new home.

Jisoo held her head, miserable. "I'm sorry. I wish this never happened. I wish we could go back to
being like before."

"Do you want to?" Jennie said sombrely. "Go back to being like before?"

"What do you mean?"

"Being girlfriends. Are you sure you still want to...be with me?" Jennie said softly, making Jisoo
whip her head up.

"Why wouldn't I want that?" Jisoo asked, genuinely puzzled. "I just want us to be more honest with
each other."

"That's it?"

"Yes. I'm only scared that things aren't the same and that you wouldn't want to deal with the new
me, that's all. Why, are you getting cold feet now?"

Jennie bowed her head. "I realised I've been...selfish. I thought about it. I obviously want to be with
you, Chu. I told you I can learn to love all the new sides of you and I have no intention of going
back. I want you. But then I realised...I never really asked what you want. And I'm sorry about that.
That was selfish of me, to assume you'd still want this. A lot of crazy shit has happened so I'd get it
if you don't want to be involved with me anymore."

"Jennie. My parents were responsible for your parents' death. I should be the one asking that,"
Jisoo said with a strangled laugh. It was something that had kept her up for a good long while as
she tried to reconcile the parents she knew with the label of murderers.

"That had nothing to do with you," Jennie was quick to reassure.

"Yes. But guilt isn't cut-and-dry like that. I'm sure you know."

Jennie could only nod mutely.

"I do want this, Jen. Our relationship was the best thing to happen to me in a long long time. I didn't
run when things got weird. You were hiding big secrets, and you talked about Lisa's past and your
suspicions that the big guy that attacked Lisa and Rosé in the alley had something to do with it. It's
enough to send the regular person running for the hills just because you couldn't come out and say
it straight. Not to mention, Jinyoung was definitely acting shady too. If I were playing it safe, I
would have been long gone."

"But it's different now. You might resent me for taking so much from you. And you'd be well
within your right to think so! Because I have, I've taken too much," Jennie said in anguish.

Jisoo shook her head. "I know what you're saying. I get it. I did resent you when I was all tied up
and tortured in Jinyoung's lab, believe me. I was thinking all sorts of horrible, hateful things. I was
even regretting being with you."

She looked Jennie right in the eye, pinning her in place, and forged on. "But my head is clearer
now. Yes, it would have been great to know just what I was getting myself into, all the Tiger King
stuff. But if you think that would have chased me off, think again. I'm saying this with the benefit
of hindsight now. Because now I know, and I'm not going anywhere."

Jennie's bottom lip trembled. "Jisoo, I know you're brave and strong, way more than I could be.
But you don't know if maybe going forward, you'll resent me again. Admit it, if I wasn't in your
life, none of this would have happened to you."

"You're not getting it." Jisoo shook her head. "If you think I'm blaming you for something like my
parents' death—"

Jennie flinched.

"—or me being fucked up like this, you're wrong. In the lab, they were torturing me and I had no
idea why. But I'm sure now that if I had known what I was getting into, I'd have had...an easier
time. Because the not knowing part, that's what killed me most. I didn't know if you abandoned me,
I didn't know why this was happening, I didn't know anything."

"I'm so sorry," Jennie whispered.

Jisoo nodded gravely. "The only blame you have is not talking to me but I get it, you were scared.
Even though it hurts to know you couldn't trust me."

"I was going to. The night he took you, I was going to tell you everything, and then it was too late,"
Jennie croaked.

"I know. Which is why your blame is negligible compared to Jinyoung. He's the one I blame. He's
the one that ruined our lives. My life was perfect but he wouldn't leave us alone. I blame him,"
Jisoo said quietly. "Him, and Hani for trapping you."

She took Jennie's wrist, tracing over the tattoo. "I told you yesterday and I'll tell you again. I don't
blame you for going to my parents. You were only trying to get help. And here you are, still trying
to help me." Jisoo took a deep breath. "I'm just...I'm scared that everything has changed too much
for you to still want me."

"I do want you. I want you so much but I'm not going to force you to come back. That was stupid
of me to say, yesterday. I was all over the place," Jennie said. "Besides, I haven't told you the
whole story yet. I owe you to know the whole truth first. Things can change between us yet again,
especially when you hear what's going to happen. You might change your mind by then. No, I'm
pretty positive you'll change your mind but it's okay, I'll accept whatever decision you take."

"Jennie, you have to stop thinking about what you think I will do, or should do, by yourself. You
can't make my choices for me," Jisoo said quietly. She closed her fist tightly but there was no echo
of anger in her words, which was a good sign. Jennie might unwittingly upset her, but
paradoxically, she was also Jisoo's oasis of calm, anchoring Jisoo, grounding her in the here and
now.

"With you here, I already feel so much stronger. I feel myself getting better. Last night, after I
finally fell asleep, I think I had the best sleep in a really long time. I don't even remember any
nightmares. I don't think I had any. I could only think of you."

Jisoo cupped Jennie's cheek, ignoring Jennie's surprised flinch and intake of breath. "You think so
little of yourself. You throw yourself under the bus over and over. I understand that now; it's in
your nature. But please, try think about other people too. Think about me. Think about my feelings
for you. Think of how much it hurts me when you decide things alone without anyone's input.
Think of how much it hurts me when you get hurt. Even if you don't care what happens to you,
there's other people that do."

Jennie's shoulders slumped. "I just want to protect you. From all the bad guys...and from myself,"
she said miserably. "I've caused you so much pain."

"Shit happened. I want to focus on the future now," Jisoo said, stroking Jennie's cheek with her
thumb. "I want to know things, Jennie. Promise me that when it comes to our future, you won't
decide things by yourself."

Jennie hesitated and Jisoo's eyes narrowed.

"What is it?" She had gone easy on Jennie before, but she resolved to not repeat her mistakes.

"Do I have to tell you even when I'm planning a surprise birthday party too?" Jennie wondered.

Jisoo stared, then barked out a surprised laugh. "Okay okay fine smarty pants, maybe we have to
throw in some exceptions for such occasions. I hate getting my surprises spoiled."

"Oh you do? But you're fine spoiling it for others? I recall a certain someone promising not to spoil
the book about beavers and penguins and then boom, spoiled."

"I'm never going to live that one down, huh?" Jisoo grinned. She was pleased to hear Jennie's
chirky laughter but all too soon Jennie quietened and turned serious again.

"I know what you're getting at, Chu. You want to be involved in decision making so that we're on
equal footing with each other. So that there's no secrets about the big important decisions, even
when I'm trying to protect you. Right?"

"Right. I know you have good intentions, but it just doesn't work out that way," Jisoo said quietly.
"You didn't tell me about Tiger King because you were trying to protect me, right? How well did
that work out?"

"Terribly," Jennie said heavily.

Jisoo nodded. "There's your answer."

Jennie covered Jisoo's hand with her own and closed her eyes, sighing as she relaxed against Jisoo's
touch. Jisoo still marvelled at how easily Jennie trusted her, as though being strangled at her
girlfriend's hands was merely a fading bad dream.

Jennie's fluttering eyelashes were tempting, and Jisoo was exercising all her will not to dip down
and kiss her on the lips. She wasn't sure how much longer she was going to hold out before
cracking.

Jennie's bruises looked better than yesterday already, her skin warm and smooth beneath Jisoo's
touch. It was so much better than in her memories, to feel the pulse of life right beneath her
fingertips. Jennie was alive and here and with her, and Jisoo wanted to stay suspended in time like
this forever.

"What are you thinking?" Jisoo asked softly.

"You," Jennie said. Her eyes opened, blinking to focus. "Always you. How good you are to me
even now, when I'm the one supposed to be taking care of you. I keep slipping up. I keep
burdening you."
Jisoo shook her head, bringing her other hand to cup Jennie's other cheek. "Whenever you're
throwing yourself down, I'm going to remind you to not do that. I dislike when someone insults my
girlfriend, even if it's my girlfriend herself."

"Girlfriend, huh?" Jennie smiled her big gummy smile. "So, we're good now?"

"I wasn't aware we stopped being good? Just a little bump in the road we passed by," Jisoo grinned
back. She held her breath when Jennie's eyes dipped down to her mouth then flickered back up
quickly, probably sharing her exact thoughts.

But before Jisoo could debate what to do, Jennie was the one to break the tension first.

"I have so much left to tell you. Wanna get one of your plushies and see if you can still resist that
squishy face? And I can help set up your monitor and we'll see if you're still in the mood for
beating my ass at League." Her eyes softened. "At least try out stuff that you liked before and if
you don't like them anymore then that's okay. We'll figure things out together, like you helped me."

"Sounds like a plan," Jisoo said happily, secretly itching to veg out for a few hours and take her
mind off all the craziness. She missed her gaming time and was sure that hobby was still going to
be an integral part of her, as well as cuddling up with plushies.

She got to her feet to follow Jennie and staggered as a burst of ringing suddenly disoriented her.
Jisoo cried out in pain, clapping both hands to her temple.

Jennie whipped around. "Jisoo!"

Dalgom started whining, then yapping and finally growling. Jisoo groaned, gnashing her teeth as
the ringing grew louder until her eardrums were vibrating.

"Chu? What is it, what's going on?" Jennie said worriedly, rushing to her side. Jisoo sank down
against the couch and slid to the floor. She barely acknowledged Jennie's hands holding her
shoulder.

"Nothing, it will pass," Jisoo shouted, screwing her eyes shut. "It's the ringing... signal."

"That bastard," Jennie snarled, barely audible over the ringing in Jisoo's head. "What do I do?"

"Nothing...it will pass..." Jisoo felt her head about to split and crack open like a coconut. Sweat
broke out on her forehead and she moaned in pain. Was she going to die this time?

"Jisoo, hang in there," Jennie said from far-off, worry clinging to words. "I'm here, jagiya. I'm
here."

A few seconds later, and the agony was over, like a switch that someone turned off. Jisoo sprawled
on the floor, drained and dazed as Jennie hovered by her side.

"Chu?" she asked worriedly, squeezing her shoulder. "Is it over?"

"I'll be fine," Jisoo said faintly. "Just...give me a second."

The signal had come out of nowhere, taking her by surprise. Usually, it struck earlier in the
morning. Dalgom trotted up and laid next to Jisoo, who patted his head as he whined uncertainly.

"You heard it too huh ahjussi? I'm sorry it scared you."

She was surprised when Jennie laid out on the floor too, holding her hand tightly. She was shaking.
"I'm sorry it scared you too," Jisoo murmured.

"Don't worry about me," Jennie smiled bravely. She inched forward and tenderly cupped Jisoo's
face, looking deep into her eyes. "Do you need an ice-pack or anything? Maybe a shower is good?"

"You saying I'm stinky?" Jisoo croaked, smiling when Jennie snickered.

"No, just your breath."

"Hey! Recovering addict here, cut me some slack."

"Oh you're pulling that card now?"

"I'll pull it any time I feel like it from now on, it's pretty useful," Jisoo said.

"Doesn't make your breath less stinky."

"Jendeuk, I'm warning you."

"Warn away, what you gonna do lying over there?" Jennie said, amused.

Jisoo rolled over her in a burst of movement, making Dalgom yelp and take off. Jennie squealed
when Jisoo trapped her underneath, straddling her.

"What am I gonna do? Blast you with my Ultimate Fake Burp Stink Breath Bomb," Jisoo grinned
and opened her mouth wide.

"No stop stop, I was kidding, you don't have stink breath!" Jennie burbled, dissolving into laughter
when Jisoo tickled her. "Jisoo!"

Jisoo grinned to hear her throaty guffaws. She loved to make Jennie laugh. Hearing her laugh
openly and freely—unlike the restrained chortles from before—was something she could get used
to.

"Okay time out. You've just been through an episode, you should be taking it easy," Jennie gasped
when Jisoo paused to let her breathe.

"Feeling out of shape, Jen? Does Hani have a gym here? We should pay a visit," Jisoo said sweetly.
She dodged Jennie's flailing hands swatting at her chin. "Oh dear, missed. Missed again. Oh, that
was close, good job!"

"Are you going to sit there on top?" Jennie whined.

"Naturally. I'm the top after all."

"The hell you are," Jennie exclaimed, wriggling madly but Jisoo didn't budge.

"Wrestle me for the title then. I formally challenge you." Jisoo winked. "And tell you what, I'll
throw in a deal. Winner gets to eat out first."

She licked her lips and smacked them for good measure, making sure to keep heated eye contact as
she summoned her most devastating smoulder.

Jennie gasped, her eyes immediately darkening. "You play dirty."

"Take it or leave it, Jendeuk," Jisoo purred, applying all the seduction tricks at her disposal as she
lightly traced the seam of Jennie's mouth with her thumb. She smirked when Jennie's eyes
widened.

"I—" Jennie shook her head helplessly as she squirmed. "Jisoo, you've just been—"

Jisoo leaned down and kissed her, taking them both by surprise. When Jisoo broke away Jennie
stared up at her, pupils blown wide.

"Sorry, you were irresistible," Jisoo mumbled. She smiled sheepishly. "Stinky breath?"

"Hardly," Jennie whispered as she looped her arms behind Jisoo's neck and brought her down.
Jisoo eagerly leaned in but Jennie suddenly dropped her head back with a groan before they could
kiss again.

"No, wait! We can't do this. Jisoo, we need to talk before we do anything. It wouldn't be fair on
you."

Jisoo sighed in disappointment, the heat between them dissipating as she reluctantly sat up, pulling
Jennie into a sitting position with her. "You're right. Okay, let's...keep talking." She glanced at the
corners of the living room. "Not to mention, we've probably been giving the others a show."

Jennie groaned again. To Jisoo's delight, she buried her face in her neck and didn't move. True to
her nickname, Jennie cuddled up to Jisoo like a clingy koala and Jisoo thought her heart was going
to burst with happiness. She had missed the feeling of Jennie curling up against her front.

"This is nice," Jisoo managed to choke out. "Can we stay like this?"

"Of course," Jennie said, snuggling impossibly closer. "Until our legs cramp up, or we need to pee,
or Dalgom needs to pee. We still need to make his litter box too."

"Jennie you're making me swoon, when did you become such a romantic?"

"When I fell for you."

Jisoo thought her heart couldn't flap any harder but it did when Jennie pressed her lips to her
shoulder over her shirt and didn't move, just stationed there wordlessly imprinting her affection.
Jisoo savoured the solid body resting against her and closed her eyes, her thoughts coming to a
welcome halt as she sat in the quiet solace of her favourite person in her arms.

It still felt like a dream, but Jennie's scent and stray wispy pieces of hair tickling her skin and her
breath raising goosebumps on Jisoo's skin were real enough.

"Chu?" Jennie said at length.

"Yeah?"

"I missed you so much."

The lump in Jisoo's throat reappeared and she couldn't swallow it down. "Me too. I missed you
more."

"I missed you infinity."

"Multiplied by black holes."

Jennie's body shook with mirth. She raised her head, watching Jisoo carefully as her fingers
tentatively climbed up the back of Jisoo's neck, stopping just shy of her hairline and raising
goosebumps along Jisoo's forearms.

"Can I...?" Jennie breathed. Jisoo answered by wrapping her arms tighter around Jennie's waist. She
sighed contentedly when Jennie's fingers slowly slid up her scalp, curving around the crown of her
head and scrubbing through her short hair. Jennie's touch was soothing, enough for Jisoo to close
her eyes and just enjoy the feeling.

"It feels...different," Jennie said thoughtfully. "It kind of suits you though. I like it."

"It's growing on me. And it has its advantages, I'll admit. Less shampoo, less drying time, less
maintenance," Jisoo agreed. "I guess I was scared you would like me less looking like this."

"Bull. You can pull off any look. You'd still be sexy as hell going bald, and I'd still be jealous of
anyone who flirts with you."

Jisoo chuckled. "Thanks, but I think you're biased."

"I'm your girlfriend, of course I'm biased. But I'm also right."

Jisoo's heart warmed and she hugged Jennie tighter at the simple words that boosted her self-
esteem more than Jennie probably realised. They touched foreheads, wearing tiny shy smiles.

"I want to get out of here," Jennie murmured. "I want to be with you."

"I want to be with you too," Jisoo sighed. She lowered her voice. "I thought you had...plans to
sneak out. You mentioned last night."

"Maybe? We'd need a bunch of help. I'm still finalising."

"Care to share? I could help."

"I want to treat you, like a surprise," Jennie explained, "so I'm going to have to say no to your offer.
Don't you pout at me, you agreed that we can have exceptions for things like this."

Jisoo grumbled. "Alright fine. A hint then?"

"You're unstoppable," Jennie said fondly. "Fine. This might give away what I have in mind
but...stargazing. Would you like that? As a date?"

"Would I?" Jisoo said, thrilled at the idea of spending time with Jennie beneath the summer night
sky. "Yes!

"That's great. But we're doing this all back to front. We should talk first," Jennie said in a small
voice.

"So let's talk," Jisoo said gently, sensing the underlying dread in Jennie's words. "Let's stop running
away from everything and face it. Together."

She caressed Jennie's face, loving the soft press of her thumb against her cheek. "Talk to me,
mandu. I'm here."

Jennie smiled at the nickname then drew herself up straighter and took a deep breath. "We left off
at Hani yesterday, right?"

"Yeah. With you joining the mob." Jisoo couldn't help but give the tattoo on Jennie's wrist the
stink-eye. "I'm assuming Hani never mentioned any way of...walking away from it."

"No, she didn't," Jennie said reluctantly.

"What...what does that mean for us?" Jisoo whispered. Jennie's jaw tightened and she closed her
eyes.

"Let me tell you what we've been up to first. We'll get there," Jennie said quietly. "I'm not sure
you'll like it."

And so Jennie recounted all the escapades she and Rosé had been up to, with the stakes escalating
ever higher and Jisoo's jaw dropping lower and lower as she described the Burning Sun ordeal.

"You've been on mission impossible mode all this time," Jisoo said, torn between horror and awe.
"It sounds terrible but at the same time, I wish I was there. It's kind of exciting."

"It's been a wild time, and I want to sleep for a hundred years," Jennie said wearily.

"No shit. Gosh, I wish Lisa was here, she wouldn't believe a single thing. Or she'd be hollering her
head off. What happened after you infiltrated the Slammer? What went wrong?"

"We had a mole. Youngdeuk, one of the Kwon twins," Jennie said heavily at Jisoo's gasp and went
on to describe that harrowing mission, facing Jinyoung and his father and picking up Jisoo and
then surviving in the arena. Jisoo hung on every word, squeezing Jennie's hand until she was sure
she was turning it into a pulp, but Jennie never complained.

"You could have died and I'd have never known," Jisoo whispered. "Both you and Rosé. That's
crazy."

"We made it, somehow. I was determined to hang on until I saved you," Jennie said, her eyes filled
with so much love that Jisoo had to pinch her own thigh hard enough to wince, just to stop herself
from kissing Jennie again.

"Did they catch the mole?"

"Yes, Hani got a hold of him and his brother thanks to Chanyeol. It wasn't pretty..." Jennie said.
She went on to describe the bloody execution and the aftermath.

"She's...different from what I remember," Jisoo said, struggling to reconcile her old crush with the
murderous mobster.

"I don't think you ever knew the real Hani," Jennie pointed out delicately and Jisoo sighed,
agreeing. Finally, when Jennie had brought Jisoo up to speed on the present, there was one final
important question left.

"What now?" Jisoo asked. "What did you tell Hani and Haein yesterday?"

"This is the part that you're not going to like," Jennie said, apprehension clinging to every syllable.
She breathed deep. "You have to understand my main priority was keeping you and Rosé and Ella
safe from the Dasoni elders, and from Jinyoung. So, Haein has agreed he will ship you three to
Jeju, with new identities and everything. He even said you'll have a medical team to look after you.
He said everything should be ready in five days and after that, it's up to us when you go. As long as
you don't step foot back in Korea, you're safe from the Dasoni. You can go anywhere else you like
in the world."
Jisoo's tongue felt heavy. "And...what about you?"

"And I...I will fight Jinyoung or die trying," Jennie said slowly. "I will bring back Lisa—Tiger
King— and we will both work for the Dasoni, if we survive. That's how I will avoid being
executed by the Dasoni. I just have to survive Jinyoung first."

Jisoo saw Jennie glance over as her hands curled into fists.

"Jisoo—"

"So let me get this straight," Jisoo said, fighting to stay calm; she didn't want to set off the
monitors. "All this time, you've been talking about winning me back, flirting with me and talking
big game about having a future together. And even though you're tied to the mob now, I thought
okay, maybe some way, somehow, we'd make it work. I'm willing to try for you, Jen."

"Chu—"

"But now you turn around and you tell me that the only time we have left together is fucking two
weeks at most? And then what, we never see each other again? Jennie, make it make sense to me!"
Jisoo exclaimed. "Did I get it wrong? Did I understand you wrong?"

"No," Jennie said in anguish. "No you're right." She bowed her head. "I'm sorry for getting your
hopes up. I didn't want to drop the bomb on you like that after we had just gotten together again
and things were going so good. I was so happy to be just with you again. But the deal I made, it's
for your safety. The mob isn't...don't underestimate them, Jisoo. They have us cornered, plain and
simple, and it's my fault. I'm so sorry."

Jisoo was left staring in despair as tears brimmed. Her entire world crashed at her feet, again.

"But—"

Jennie threw her arms around Jisoo. "Play along," she whispered, her breath tickling the shell of her
ear.

Jisoo barely registered her words but she wrapped her arms around Jennie as well, holding on with
more than a pinch of desperation. She wasn't acting as she crushed Jennie against her. Jennie
tightened her arms too.

"I'm working on it," Jennie whispered in her ear. "I'm not going to lose you like this, Jisoo. But
until I end Jinyoung, I will have to stay under the mob's thumb. I can't fight two enemies at the
same time. So wait for me, alright? This is not the end, not by a long shot. But I don't want them to
know."

"Let me come with you. You can't go alone."

"No," Jennie said, a tinge of pleading colouring her voice. "I can't let you come with me. I can't.
Don't ask that of me."

"Is it because I'm unstable now? Think I'll be a liability?" Jisoo demanded, ignoring the fact that
she couldn't even throw a punch to save her life. Jennie pulled back enough to look right in her eyes
as she answered. Jisoo thought she could drown in those brown, serious depths of twin stars.

"It's because I love you," Jennie said against her mouth, the words cloaked in so much tenderness
that it made Jisoo's heart ache. "I love you, and I never want to put you in the path of danger, ever
again. I'm trying my best to minimise the risks. Please believe me. Please understand."
Jisoo bowed her head in defeat and Jennie rested their foreheads together. Jisoo was torn between
pushing Jennie away and crushing her to her chest until they melded into one being.

"So it's okay for you to run off and play the hero?" Jisoo sniffed.

"I will do anything for the people I love. If someone needs to take the fall, I will." Jennie spoke
with rock-solid certainty and Jisoo knew it would be useless to argue. Yet, she couldn't help the
swell of resentment in her chest at the cards Life had dealt her.

"Why you?" Jisoo said bitterly. "Why not someone else?"

"Rosie has Ella. And I need to save my sister. And I need to save you. I can't rely on the Dasoni
now more than ever, they're only interested in their own agendas. I can't take you with me because
I don't know the dangers. If you die on my watch after everything that's happened, I won't live."

"And you expect me to carry on living if the reverse happens for you?" Jisoo whispered as Jennie
averted her gaze, unable to answer. "How cruel."

Jennie pursed her lips. "I've survived this far because I had you to fight for. I'll keep on fighting
until I'm with you again."

"You can't promise me that."

"I'll try," Jennie choked out. "I'm not giving up, Chu."

"How can you fight alone?"

"I won't be."

"Please tell me you have a concrete plan. Please tell me you're not just saying words to throw me
off. I can't live like this, knowing you're alive without being with you," Jisoo begged. She
shuddered when Jennie leaned into her shoulder and nuzzled her neck.

"Jichu, you have to trust me," Jennie said earnestly. "I'm playing the long game right now.
Chanyeol is an ally. He's going to help me. I will bring down the mob but you need to do your part
and stay safe till then, okay?"

"Bring down the mob? That's your big plan?" Jisoo squeaked. She could hardly recognise the girl
in her arms but at the same time, the hard glint in Jennie's eyes revealed the survivor that weathered
through unspeakable dangers and torment. Jennie had hardened into a seasoned fighter and grown
stronger than Jisoo realised in such a short time.

"I'm working on it. Trust me," Jennie repeated. "I can't tell you because I don't want the Dasoni to
hurt you if they grill you about it."

"And Jinyoung? How will you fight him?" Jisoo said faintly, closing her eyes as she breathed in
Jennie's scent. Now more than ever, she needed to commit all of Jennie to memory, in case
something went terribly wrong and these precious moments would be the last remnants she has of
Jennie. The thought had chills run through her bones.

They had just reunited and already, Jisoo was grieving, mourning a future that was about to be
snatched out of her grasp.

"Jackson gave us information about a cult that worships Tiger King. Hani didn't want to work with
them, but I think they're ready to fight and get Tiger King. They're my last option right now,"
Jennie breathed. "I don't want to say more in case Hani interrogates you. But don't worry Chu. I'm
not giving up on us. I'm just...juggling a lot right now. But it will work out, in the end."

"How can you be sure? So much can go wrong from what you're telling me. There's no concrete
plan. Hani is basically counting on Jinyoung ending you and from what you're saying, it won't take
much. What's a rabble going to do against someone like Jinyoung?" Jisoo said stricken. She was
trying hard not to move her lips as she spoke, which got harder as her emotions reached a peak.

Jennie sighed against her. "I'm not sure. For what it's worth, I'm like you. I'm terrified something
will go wrong, and you will get hurt. I'm scared the Dasoni will go back on their word the moment
my back turns."

She pulled back from the hug and cupped Jisoo's cheek. Her eyes were haunted as her lips pulled
up in a sad smile. "I wanted to spend these last few days with you and focus only on us."

"Just before you leave again," Jisoo accused. "Were you even going to tell me all this?"

"Of course I was!"

"Does Rosé know?" Jisoo wondered. "She's okay with leaving Lisa behind?"

Jennie wilted then lowered her voice to a murmur. "She knows enough. And of course she's not
okay with that. But she's choosing Ella," she said quietly.

"So you thought we could go back to being all lovey-dovey like it's nothing?" Jisoo scoffed.

"No! I don't know. I was deluded." Jennie withdrew her hand from jisoo's face, her voice shaking
as she fidgeted. "Jisoo, this is what I meant, before, about being selfish. I hadn't yet told you about
the deal with the Dasoni yet there I was trying to hide away from everything and just...just be with
you. But I can't push reality away forever. It's unfair to you too."

She never raised her head but she knew Jisoo's piercing gaze was on her, drilling holes like lasers
right through her.

"You're right about me. I'm selfish. I realise how cruel it is to ask you to wait when everything is
so uncertain. To carry on living if something happens to me. But that's me, I'm a selfish jerk. So
I'm going...to do things differently. Starting now."

Jennie's hands trembled but she gripped her elbows tightly to steady herself. "If...if you want to
save yourself...break up with me. Right now."

"What?" Jisoo said, thunderstruck.

"Just do it quickly." Jennie's voice was firm but Jisoo heard the subtle agony laced within. "Say the
words. I understand totally. It doesn't mean you won't be protected."

She closed her eyes, drawing a shaky breath. "It will not change my feelings for you, it will not
change anything I feel, but you'll be free of me. You won't have to wait for me. You will have no
obligation towards me. And I won't claim you. You can...start over. Be happy elsewhere. I'm
positive you'll be free of TK and you can go back to living a healthy, regular life over time, without
all this craziness. So please, do what you need to."

"Alright. I'm breaking up with you. I'm done," Jisoo said flatly.

Jennie clenched her teeth. The words still hurt like a dagger through the heart, even though she
knew the sentiment behind them was not sincere.

"No. You have to mean it. I can tell when you don't mean it. Say it properly. I'm not playing, Jisoo.
I need to walk out of here knowing that you mean it because otherwise, I won't be able to stay
away."

She stiffened in surprise when Jisoo tipped her chin back. Jennie snapped her eyes open just in time
to see Jisoo smile, mirroring her sadness.

"You think breaking up would save me from a broken heart? You think just because we wouldn't
be together, I'd be okay with seeing you off on a suicide mission? You think breaking up would
somehow free me from you?" Jisoo breathed. "Do you truly believe breaking up will solve any of
those problems?"

"I...I don't know," Jennie said in a tiny voice. "But...the option is there. You're free, Jisoo. You're
your own person. So if you think it will save you, do it."

"It's a shitty option. I don't want it," Jisoo said matter-of-factly. "I want to be with you, through all
the good times and the bad times ahead until the end. I choose you, Jendeuk, just like you choose
me even when you're scared. I choose to be in pain with you and because of you, rather than
without you."

"I don't want you to be in any pain."

"Too late for that, jagiya. I've chosen already. And wanna know something? I think you're worth
it."

Jennie's eyes filled. "No. No I'm not. How could you say that?"

"Yes, yes you are. God Jen, I wish you could see what I see." Jisoo tenderly hooked a strand of hair
behind Jennie's ear, her hand grazing her jaw.

"I see you fighting so hard to protect us all, trying to do the right thing, trying to show me how
much you love me, and Rosé and Lisa. You don't say it in words much, but your actions say it all,
don't they? You have good intentions even if the way you go about it hurts other people
sometimes. Would the average person even be involved in this shit, no matter how guilty they feel?
Remorse alone wouldn't be pushing you to go up against powerful enemies just to be with me
again. Jen, you keep saying you love me without actually saying it. I took that for granted."

Jisoo leaned in, eyes hazy with want. "I've never had someone love me like that. So hell yes, I'm in
for this shitty ride if it means I get to be with someone who loves beyond reason. And that
someone is you, Jendeuk."

"Chu?" Jennie said, heart pumping hard enough to make her pant as Jisoo's nose brushed against
hers, their lips just barely skimming. Her fingers curled, yearning to touch. "A-Are you sure?"

She wasn't sure what she was asking about, but she wanted to make sure that Jisoo knew what she
was getting into.

"We only have a short time together," Jisoo said quietly, her eyes swallowing Jennie whole. "I want
to make every second count."

Just before Jisoo's mouth covered hers, Jennie pressed a finger to her lips. Jisoo's brows knitted.

"Cameras," Jennie sighed. She scowled at the corners of the room. "I don't want our intimate times
to be reality TV for Hani and the others."

"They're really getting on my nerves," Jisoo muttered. "I've been cockblocked by cameras two
times already." Suddenly she stiffened. "Are there cameras in the bathroom?"

"They're blurred for privacy," Jennie murmured.

"That doesn't make it any better!" Jisoo yelped, skin crawling.

"I know but they...were trying to monitor you and gauge if you were a danger to yourself and
others. That's why there's not even a single chopstick in this apartment," Jennie said heavily. "I bet
we have cameras in mine and Rosé's apartment too, come to think of it. There were speakers in the
other safehouse so...maybe cameras wouldn't be such a stretch." She shuddered.

"Why?" Jisoo wondered.

"Surveillance," Jennie said darkly. "Making sure we toe the line. Hani's big on toeing the line in
case you didn't notice, that's why I have to be careful."

"Okay okay well...I guess I'll be more careful about undressing," Jisoo said, nose wrinkling.

"I'm sorry Chu. I know people have been prodding and poking at you and now they're even
monitoring you like some lab rat as well."

"Can't be helped, I understand the line of reasoning. As long as some creep isn't wanking off to me,
I can live with it," Jisoo sighed. Jennie stroked her hands, playing with the fingers and singling
them out one by one to massage them absently. Jisoo enjoyed her touch, relaxing the longer Jennie
kneaded and talked.

"It's a pity really. I had ideas."

"Care to share? Just with me," Jisoo added hastily, pulling a snort from Jennie.

"I just thought...taking a bath together would be nice. I've been taking baths with Rosie—not in a
sexual way—"

"Oh? Should I be...worried?" Jisoo asked, chuckling at Jennie's violent shaking of her head. "Relax
Jendeuk. We all bathed together in the jjimjilbang, remember? I'm sure Lisa would blow a fuse at
the idea of you two in the same bathtub together though."

"You keep doing that," Jennie commented when their chuckles subsided. "Talking about Lisa like
nothing's changed, like she's still bouncing around being annoying and hyper."

"Maybe because that's how I remember her. But also, why not? She's still our Lisa, isn't she?
Despite all the Tiger King stuff," Jisoo pointed out. "You've accepted me despite the danger still
very much present, so why would I think of Lisa any differently? From what you told me, she's just
trapped. We can still bring her back, just like you brought me back."

Jennie's bottom lip trembled at Jisoo's certainty. "You really believe that, don't you?"

"I do. Because you're believing in me. We all need a little believing to pass it on to the next
person," Jisoo said.

Overcome with emotion, Jennie kissed Jisoo on the cheek. "Thank you."

"For what?"
"I don't really know," Jennie admitted. "But I think I needed to hear that. It's good to know that
other people beside Rosé believe in Lisa."

"You don't?"

"I'm trying to keep things in perspective," Jennie said carefully. "Deprogramming Lisa will be
harder than just giving her Anti-TK. But it's comforting regardless. So, thank you."

Jisoo nodded, accepting her answer. "Tell me about your bathtub idea?" she asked, tactfully
changing the subject.

"I just remember when you pampered me with a bath that one time on my period...so I really
wanted to have that with you, because I think it's nicer than showering together. But circumstances
being what they are, I'd rather not."

"Maybe we can cover the cameras. Or tell Hani to switch them off. Sabotage the tablets," Jisoo
said hopefully. The idea of sharing an intimate bath with Jennie was appealing and now that the
idea was snatched from under her nose, Jisoo wanted it more than ever.

"They probably won't trust us without supervision. Switching off the cameras is probably out of
question, especially since Hani is acting shadier than usual, and I basically told her I don't trust her
right in her face too."

Jisoo's smile vanished. "Ah. Do you...trust me? Do you think you're...safe with me?" she added
timidly, her hands falling away from Jennie's grip but Jennie stopped her and firmly brought them
back into her hold.

"I trust you. And we have the monitors, Chu. If something happens, they'll be alerted. But I want
you to relax around me, okay? We're okay together. I'm not scared."

"I don't want to hurt you by accident," Jisoo said anxiously. "Besides, you must still be sore after
fighting Haein. I see you wincing, don't try to hide it."

"Think you'll get triggered or hulk out on me?" Incredibly, Jennie smiled. "I'm taking TK Beta
again. Aside from helping me heal faster, it gives me a boost of strength too. I think I could hold
you off until you regain your senses if you hulk out. And you're strong, Jisoo. You kept breaking
through the TK's hold on you because you weren't under the influence for a long time."

She took Jisoo's hand and kissed it. "Trust me. Trust in us. You didn't blow your top off when there
really was reason for it earlier while I was telling you about my shitty decisions. You think you'll
hulk out on me in the middle of sexy times? I know we go hard, but damn."

Jisoo gave a shaky laugh. "I don't know. I'm just saying...I guess I still don't trust myself fully."

"I do." Jennie stroked her face. "Hey. We don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with
yet. We'll take things as they happen, in their own time. I'm confident everything will work out."

"I don't want to wait. And we barely have time as it is," Jisoo muttered. Jennie heard her and
chuckled.

"Alright Miss Top, then figure out when you're ready, and I'll come running."

"Oh you'll come alright," Jisoo smirked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Jisoo!"
Jisoo ducked her head chortling as Jennie socked her in the arm.

>

"They're getting along splendidly, don't you think?" Dr. Kim asked, pleased. "I thought things
might turn awkward when Jennie revealed the extent of her deal with Hani, but they smoothened
over that bump."

"Yeah. I'm happy for them," Rosé said absently, watching Jennie and Jisoo set up the gaming
monitor and high-fiving when they switched it on.

After all the talking, Dr. Kim and Rosé had watched Jennie fix the flowers she had bought in a tall
glass while Dalgom scampered around their legs, wagging his stubby tail. Evidently, even he could
sense the positive change that had transpired between the two as they settled into mundane
conversation while they worked.

At one point, Jisoo started an impromptu plushy fight when she chucked one of her pokemon soft
toys at Jennie's back. Jennie didn't back down and soon they were squealing and laughing and
smacking each other over the head with the soft toys on the couch. Dalgom joined in the
commotion before sneaking away one of the plushies until Jisoo chased him and plucked him up to
snuggle him, scolding him fondly. Jennie joined her to give him a quick kiss as well, both of them
locked in their little bubble of domesticity.

Rosé's heart gave a pang of loneliness the longer she watched them on Dr. Kim's tablet. The feeling
surprised her, eclipsing her initial delight that her friends managed to find a way to reconcile,
replacing it instead with bitterness that grew like unwanted weeds.

"Is it okay for them to engage in intimacy so soon?" Rosé said out loud. Just like Dr. Kim, she had
seen and heard her friends' grudging comments about being watched, squirming a little when she
caught little flirtatious comments accompanied by hungry looks here and there that telegraphed the
oozing sexual tension between them.

"I don't think it should be a problem," Dr. Kim mused. "I understand the concern, but Jisoo has
been responding positively to treatment, and Jennie's effect on her has improved her mood and even
her sleep; her monitors recorded the most regular sleep cycle so far last night. Not to mention, Jisoo
regaining her libido is a good sign, biologically and psychologically. It means her body is regaining
its full biological functions, and it also means she's moving away from her depressed state. Would
you be in the mood for sex in the throes of a depressive episode on top of a self-identity crisis?"

"I suppose not," Rosé conceded. "So...they're allowed?"

"Why not? They're consenting adults, they had the tough talks, they seem to understand the gravity
of the circumstances. If they want to go the next step to rekindle their relationship, I don't see why
not. Sex is part of the human experience, at least for those that express it. Physical intimacy can be
healing for some people. If anything goes wrong, we have the monitors." Dr Kim tapped the tablet.
"And if the tablet malfunctions, there's a fail-safe built into Jisoo's ankle monitor to deliver some
shocks to subdue her long enough for other people to get away to safety."

Rosé nodded, accepting Dr. Kim's answer.

"Something's still bothering you," Dr. Kim said, blinking behind her glasses. "Not convinced about
Jisoo?"

"No no I'm convinced. You're right, she could have gotten angry like she did yesterday but she
didn't so something's working alright. It's just..."

She trailed off, ashamed of the petty feelings that welled up. Dr. Kim watched her closely,
seemingly understanding.

"Are you perhaps thinking about your own situation?" she asked shrewdly.

Rosé kept her gaze fixed on the tablet but gave a single tiny nod. "How do you figure?"

"You stay in this line of work long enough, you learn to read people if you care enough," Dr. Kim
said sagely. "Would you like to elaborate?"

"Thank you but I'm sure you have better things to do than listening to the griping of a girl and her
troubles."

"Better things then waiting for the nurse to show up with the TK dose?" Dr. Kim smiled. "I've
responded to all my emails and am at your disposal, if you want a listening ear."

Her encouragement spurred Rosé to blurt out her feelings.

"It's just...things seem to be working out...for Jennie and Jisoo. And I was wondering if I could
even have that if by some miracle Lisa and I are reunited." She gripped her knee. "Every day, I
wake up and try to make peace with the fact that I'm choosing Ella, choosing safety over...over her.
But then I'm also wondering, if we were to meet again, would there even be any chance of starting
over? Would I even get that? Would it be too late?"

Her eyes burned, pooling with the familiar tears whenever she dwelled on her situation for too
long. "I just miss my girlfriend and it feels horrible, selfish for me to say that. And I see the unnies,
reunited and...and happy and I can't help feeling bitter that I will probably never get that again. But
I don't want to ruin it for them so got to keep a stiff upper lip in front of everyone but I'm tired."

She ducked her head away, mortification making her cheeks flame. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I just..."

"It's alright," Dr. Kim said kindly. "Need a minute?"

"I'm okay." Rosé sniffed fiercely and shook her head. "I'm sorry, it feels silly to be complaining
about this."

"Why? I think you're perfectly justified. All of you girls are thrust into this extraordinary situation
and it's completely turned your life upside down. You also have the added dilemma of your
daughter to consider in the equation. Choices are never easy. And while your head might be settled
on the logical choice, the heart doesn't feel the same. That dissonance will be painful until you find
a way to work through it. Jennie is aware of this, yes?"

"Yes she is but...there's not much she can do to help. Nobody really can. It's out of my hands," Rosé
said bitterly. "I don't know what will happen with Lisa. I don't know anything."

"I can't offer you solutions, and I'm wary of raising your hopes up like yesterday," Dr. Kim said
carefully, "so the next best thing is to seek support. And in this case, I'd advise to discuss with
Jisoo and Jennie. You're all close, aren't you?"

"I don't want to butt in too much when they've just reunited."

"Valid, but don't neglect yourself in the process either. Sooner or later, try to approach them. Talk
with them, spend time with them," Dr. Kim urged. "You need their support, and they will need you
too. Platonic friendships are overlooked but they can be a source of consolation and strength more
than people realise. And that's not just an opinion, it's scientific fact."

"Yeah...I'll try," Rosé said doubtfully.

"Maybe your chance is coming up sooner than you think," Dr. Kim said, pointing to Jennie
standing in the middle of the living room with her arms spread wide.

"Testing, testing," Jennie said loudly. "I hope they can hear me this time."

"Speak slower, like this," Jisoo said, demonstrating.

"Okay."

Rosé stared as Jennie threw her head back like she was praying to the heavens, whilst Jisoo giggled
close at hand.

"We've got no food," Jennie intoned. "We humbly pray to the goddess of cooking residing in
her abode upstairs, Rosé—"

"Pasta!" chimed in Jisoo enthusiastically.

"—Rosé Pasta to descend from on high and bless us with her culinary skills before we starve.
Please and thank you."

Jennie broke character and turned to Jisoo with a grin. "That should work I think."

"Or you can just knock and ask the guards to call her," Jisoo laughed.

"But this way, we get to spend more time together. If nothing happens, I'll try your
suggestion but meanwhile, I just want to be with you, Chu. Just you and me," Jennie
simpered. Jisoo pretended to swoon.

Rosé physically held herself back from facepalming in mortification as Dr. Kim cleared her throat.

"Uh..."

"I'll just go," Rosé announced wretchedly, red in the face, "before they decide to do something
even more embarrassing. Ella! We're going to Aunty Jisoo's!"

>

"Hi Rosie," Jennie said brightly when Rosé appeared with Ella by her side. "El, you got bored of
watching cartoons?"

"Mommy said we're going to cook," Ella said craning her neck to see inside the apartment, "so I'm
here to help. Did Aunty Jisoo really get a gamer PC?"

"Sure did!" Jisoo called, "Jennie got them for me. And I got some plushies too."

"Pokemon!" Ella cheered, darting inside as Jennie laughed.

"Well, I guess that leaves you and me," Jennie winked. "Glad we had our pantry upstairs stocked."

"Jisoo didn't have anything at all then? I thought the guards were supposed to stock up this
morning, they did for us," Rosé frowned. Jennie wrinkled her nose.

"It's just a bunch of ramen and soup packets though. Very bland. I want Chu to have something
with a little more nourishment." She leaned forward so the two henchmen standing close by
wouldn't hear. "I think Hani's trying to get back at me for being uh, outspoken to her. Can you
believe she didn't even give Jisoo a measly bottle of chili?"

Rosé sighed. "Well, I wish I had known, I would have cooked some extra for breakfast and brought
them over."

"No worries, that's what we're here for now," Jennie said and nodded politely at the henchmen.
"Knock when the nurse comes."

She pulled Rosé inside, closing the door. "Phew finally. Come on come on, let's get started! What
are we making? I'm craving some cold noodles, can we make that?"

Rosé took a good look at her, unable to help her smile seeing how relaxed and jovial Jennie looked
now. Despite the haggard air that persisted, Jennie looked as though the last weeks had already
faded from memory: her laugh was loud, her eyes gleamed, her grin stretched broad. It was evident
that her talk with Jisoo had lifted a great load off her shoulders.

Rosé didn't have the heart to ruin Jennie's newfound happiness with her own troubles and worries,
despite Dr. Kim's advice.

She quickly got down to work, ignoring the persistent pangs her heart gave every time she heard
Jisoo and Ella cheer or boo at whatever game they had going, with Dalgom joining the excitement.

Jennie often paused her assistant duties to check on Jisoo and Ella, leaving Rosé to do most of the
actual work herself. Their laughter grated on Rosé as she viciously chopped up vegetables and
stirred the pots boiling away like her irritation that simmered just underneath the surface, ready to
blow.

It should have been Lisa laughing with Ella. It should be Lisa who was here with them, tenderly
wrapping her arms from behind Rosé and nuzzling into her neck as she asked all sorts of questions
about the dish.

Can I help? Lisa would say eagerly.

Of course baby, Rosé would reply fondly, reluctant to remove Lisa's hands from around her
waist. Watch me first.

Yes ma'am, Lisa would say, settling to observe intently, the way she usually did when she needed
to focus intensely. Rosé would turn her head often to steal kisses from her, which Lisa gave away
willingly. And when Lisa later got around to successfully finishing her attempts, Rosé would
reward her with even more hot kisses, and it was absolute bliss.

Had Jisoo seen Lisa at all when she was in Jinyoung's clutches? Had she gone through the same
things as Lisa? Was Lisa okay?

Questions like these and more buzzed in Rosé's head like a hive of angry bees but she schooled her
expression and suppressed them as much as she could, even as the thread she was hanging on was
dangerously close to snapping.

"Hey Rosé, that smells really good," Jisoo complimented, startling her from her brooding. "Can I
help with anything? I'm taking a break, my headache won't let up."
Jennie and Ella had disappeared with Dalgom and Jisoo remained, smiling brightly and completely
oblivious to Rosé's internal turmoil.

"No it's fine I've got it. Go rest," Rosé said tightly.

"Eh, I'm tired of resting, I feel like a slob. Let me help with something, I can still work," Jisoo
coaxed, moving next to her and sniffing the nearest pot appreciatively.

"You still need the rest for your headache." Rosé tightened her grip on the wooden spoon, praying
for Jisoo to leave as the sharp lightning quick twist of annoyance shot through her belly. "Really,
I've got this unnie."

"You sure?" Jisoo asked. "I'm sorry, we kind of pulled you in here to cook for us—"

"Jisoo, you can leave. I said it's fine already, what else do you want me to say?" Rosé snapped. The
air crackled, brittle and cold but Rosé didn't turn around to face Jisoo, who hadn't moved or said a
word.

"Just go. Please," Rosé whispered, knowing she was doomed.

"What's wrong?" Jisoo said instead, because of course Jisoo still cared, of course she wouldn't just
go away, and of course, it reminded her of Lisa, which in turn reminded her of what hell Lisa was
going through and how she'd likely never see her again.

Rosé wanted to scream.

Instead, she took a deep breath. "Nothing's wrong. Just...please let me focus?"

Jisoo tilted her head. "Jennie's rubbed off on you. Pasta, what's bugging you? You know you can
talk to me, right?"

Rosé couldn't trust herself to not flip the pans and hastily turned off the stove then gripped the edge
of the counter tightly.

"Whatever it is, it's not your concern. Please, I need space," she whispered, not trusting to look up
because she could already feel her nose tingling, signalling tears. Since when did she get so teary?

Jisoo didn't reply immediately but when she did, her voice was sad.

"Okay. I'll...I'll be gaming," she said at last and left.

Rosé lasted all of five seconds before she rushed to lock herself in the bathroom, only to come face
to face with Jennie and Ella.

"Hey Rosie, Ella just told me—Rosie?" Jennie said in bewilderment as Rosé darted past them
down the hallway and slammed the bathroom door shut behind her.

"Why was Mom crying?" Ella asked, immediately on the alert.

"I'd like to know too," Jennie frowned, straining to hear for tell-tale signs of sobbing.

"It's my fault." Jisoo quietly approached them, making Jennie and Ella swivel around. "I was
talking to her just now and I think I upset her."

"How?"
"I was just asking if she wanted help and she...got upset."

"That doesn't sound like Rosie, she's always accepting of help in the kitchen," Jennie frowned. "I'm
going to check on her. You guys go ahead, we'll be right back."

Ella resisted. "But Mommy might—"

"It's adult talking time, sweetie," Jennie said gently. "I'll bring her back as soon as I can."

The bathroom door was locked when Jennie jiggled the knob.

"Rosie?" Jennie called.

"One sec, I'll be out soon," Rosé said hoarsely, her voice quavering at the end. Jennie's heart gave a
pang—hearing her friend in obvious pain hurt her too.

"Rosie, what is it? What's wrong?" Jennie said instead, going directly for the killing blow. "Why
were you crying? Did Jisoo hurt you?"

"No!" Rosé said vehemently. "No, I just...I just...god, I feel so stupid now."

"Why? If you're upset about something, I want to know," Jennie said resolutely. "You've been
there for me, I'm here for you too. Just please...open the door?"

After a long pause, the door unlocked with a click but didn't open. Bracing herself, Jennie pushed it
open with trepidation, heart squeezing when she spotted Rosé curled up next to the white porcelain
basin, face buried in her knees.

"Oh honey," Jennie said shakily, crouching next to her and hugging her. "It's okay, I'm here. I'm
here."

Rosé didn't lift her head from her arms. Jennie settled on the floor next to her and rubbed her back,
waiting patiently even as worry made her thoughts buzz.

"I'm sorry," Rosé sniffed at length, muffled. "I don't know what came over me. I'll apologise to
Jisoo, she didn't do anything wrong."

"That's great and all, but what's eating at you?" Jennie asked bluntly. "I'm not moving from here
until you tell me."

Rosé heaved a great sigh and tilted her head back until she was resting against the tiles like Jennie.
Her nose was red. She didn't look at Jennie as she spoke.

"Nothing. I'm just missing Lisa. And seeing you and Jisoo together kind of hammered home the
reality that I will probably not get that again. So...you could say I'm in mourning."

"Oh," Jennie said.

"Yeah. And I feel like a jerk for even feeling bitter of you two because believe me, I was over the
moon that Jisoo unnie and you are okay now but...I wasn't prepared for how I'd feel—owp!"

Jennie engulfed Rosé in a hug before the words were barely out of her mouth.

"It's okay. You're not a jerk at all. You're so brave and strong for holding on like this because I
think I'd have lost my mind already," Jennie said in anguish. "I'm sorry I didn't realise how much
we were hurting you."
Rosé blindly clung to Jennie, dry sobs wracking her body.

"You weren't doing anything bad. I just didn't know it would affect me like this. It's only now
sinking in," she gasped out in between. Jennie squeezed her tighter.

"Let it out, don't hold it in. I've got you, I'm here," she said tenderly stroking the wispy brown
locks. "I've got you Rosie."

"We both do."

Their heads shot up in unison as Jisoo entered the bathroom. She knelt down carefully in front of
Rosé and wiped away the tear streaks on her face.

"Jisoo, I'm sorry for snapping at you," Rosé choked out mournfully.

Jisoo nodded solemnly, her eyes sad. "And I'm sorry about Lisa. I wish she was here with us too.
You don't have to carry the burden all by yourself, you know that right?"

"I just...didn't want to ruin your reunion with my stupid feelings," Rosé sniffed.

"They're not stupid," Jisoo and Jennie said together in the exact same stern tone.

"We can't do anything right now...but you can talk to us, okay?" Jennie added.

"We love you," Jisoo said tenderly and Jennie nodded vigorously in agreement, "we want to be
there for you. So let us be there for you, if only to be a shoulder to cry on before you get up again."

Rosé undid one arm from around Jennie and pulled Jisoo into the hug as well, snuggling both of
them close.

"Thank you for being here," Rosé whispered gratefully.

Jennie would have liked to lay her head on Rosé's shoulder and nod off, lulled to sleep by the low
sounds of their breathing and the pleasant warmth. They didn't need to speak more; the silence was
a welcome space to have their wordless sorrow combine, countered by the tight hugs they shared
that prevented them from falling apart on the spot.

"I saw Lisa," Jisoo spoke out of nowhere, making the others look at her. She caught Rosé's wide-
eyed gaze. "Is it okay if I talk about her?"

Rosé grasped her hands. "I want to know. I want...I want to know what you've been through."

Jennie's pulse quickened, mouth running dry. Was she prepared to hear the horrors? Jisoo was
watching her, reading her hesitation. Jennie pushed aside her fear as courage surged back.

She nodded determinedly. "I want to know too."

"There really isn't all that much. There's a lot of gaps in my memory," Jisoo said distantly. "In the
beginning, it was mainly being stuck tied up in a dark room, thirsty and hungry. They interrogated
me, extracted what information they wanted and pumped me with the TK, which felt like my brain
was on fire. I wasn't lucid at that time but then I'd wake up to find myself in this...sort of small
room, chained and naked with bruises all over me."

"The photos," Jennie croaked and Rosé gripped her hand tightly, remembering as well.

"There were times when I'd be strapped down in some white sterilised lab as well, and everything
would go yellow and there would be pain everywhere. My arms and legs felt like they were being
inflated with balloons, it was excruciating. I don't even remember when they cut my hair. I didn't
even know I was existing, except for the pain, and the bright lights."

She frowned. "I'm not even sure how the conditioning worked. When I was in the dark room in the
initial days, Jinyoung would come in with other people and force me to talk about...about
everything about me. My childhood, my relationship with my parents, my siblings, my self, all my
fears and insecurities. It felt like they were emptying me, and then they'd tell me all sorts of things.
They'd beat me and Jinyoung would tell me nobody was coming back for me. I tried holding
out...but time passed and it was...hard..."

Jennie hunched up but she couldn't tear her eyes away from Jisoo.

"I saw Lisa a handful of times in the beginning, from a distance," Jisoo said. "We'd be in the lab
and there would be others strapped down with me on their own white tables. I couldn't really make
out faces at this time but her body shape and her blonde head, it was her. They cut her hair too. And
then one time, I was lucid enough to see her walking past after Jinyoung, and she was wearing
these black gloves with claws at the end, and her face had a black mask with yellow vials feeding
her TK. She looked different."

She pointed at her head. "It's stamped in my mind, the way her eyes glowed yellow." She
shuddered. "Was that how I looked to you, Jen?"

Jennie's tongue was heavy but she forced herself to nod. "But you got through, and you're working
on getting better."

"That's right." Rosé nodded. "It's what makes me hope that Lisa is still in there. I can't give up on
that possibility just yet."

"Mommy?"

They all raised their heads to see Ella standing warily in the doorway, Dalgom at her side.

"Hey baby," Rosé said tiredly, "wanna cuddle with us? Sorry, I just needed a little time-out."

"It's a bit crammed, but I think you'll fit right in," Jisoo smiled.

Ella walked in cautiously. "Are you okay now?"

"I will be when you get over here and hug me," Rosé said, the ghost of a smile on her lips. Ella
gamely squatted down and fell against her mother's chest, nuzzling close. Even Dalgom sidled up
to Jisoo to be included in the pile.

"It's Lisa, isn't it?" Ella said quietly.

"How much did you hear?"

"Just Aunty Jisoo talking about being kidnapped by the bad guys."

"Yes, I'm sad about Lisa," Rosé said honestly. "I'm sad about her not being here with us. And I
didn't want you to see me crying because Jennie and Jisoo were happy and I didn't want to ruin it
with my sadness."

"I'm sad about her too." Ella rubbed the centre of her chest. "It's heavy in my chest, over here."
Rosé sighed. "I'm sorry you're feeling it too, baby. You're too young for all this."

Jennie and Jisoo exchanged glances as Rosé kissed the top of Ella's head.

"Anytime you're feeling sad, you have to come talk to me so we can cuddle, okay? Not just at
night, even throughout the day. It won't change anything, but at least you won't be sad alone. And
maybe it will help ease the ache as well, for both of us."

Ella nodded, her head nestled just underneath Rosé's chin. "Okay. But you have to come talk to me
too."

That pulled a chuckle from the adults.

"You're not a parent, sweetheart," Rosé explained patiently. "My burdens aren't for you. But thank
you, that's very sweet of you."

"Well, talk to the unnies then," Ella countered.

"That's a great idea actually, El. And it goes for all of us," Jisoo added, reaching out to take hold of
Jennie's hand. "Right, Jen?"

But before Jennie could respond, sharp knocking at the front door had them all startle.

"Ah must be the nurse with your medication," Jennie sighed, pulling them up to stand. "Let's go."

More subdued now yet strangely relieved that she had gained a deeper awareness of her friend's
sorrow, Jennie went to open the door herself, peeking through the peephole beforehand to ascertain
it was the nurse.

"Hello nurse—Hani?"

"Hello Ace, how's it going?" Hani said nonchalantly as the petite nurse scuttled inside ahead of her
with her travel bag. Jennie stepped back and opened the door wider to let Hani in. Her eyebrows
rose higher as Haein stepped in after his sister, nodding a greeting. Dr. Kim brought up the rear and
closed the door, immediately going to the nurse and assisting her with setting up.

"Good afternoon, Jennie. Hello girls," Haein added, seeing his audience watching them crowd the
space with quizzical faces. "Dr. Kim said you're all down here so we thought we'd drop by and
check on you."

"Got your TK-Beta," Hani said to Jennie, patting her own travel pouch as she put it on the closest
table, the vials of TK clinking gently within. Her face softened when she spotted a nearby plushy
sitting on the couch.

"Still collecting?" she asked Jisoo. "You used to hang on to Pikachu really tightly."

"Uh yeah yeah, I have a whole room of them at my place," Jisoo said bashfully, making Hani's eyes
widen. She turned solemn. "Though I don't think I'll be seeing them again, huh?"

Hani glanced at Jennie. "Unfortunately not. That's another thing we're discussing as soon as you're
done."

"We'll be out of your hair in no time, I'll be heading back to the hospital as well," Dr. Kim put in.

"Oh? We can give you a lift. We're heading there afterwards too, and I know you took the bus
here," Haein said. "We're much faster, I guarantee it."
Dr. Kim paused. "It's very kind of you but I'd prefer to go by bus," she said softly, glancing at Hani.
Jennie understood: Dr. Kim was anxious about being associated closely with Hani—the director of
the hospital and her employer—by her colleagues. She could easily be shunned on singled out for
being deemed the favourite employee and her life could turn difficult.

"We're discreet, we don't have a big entourage hanging around us so we move quickly," Haein
countered.

"Leave her be, oppa, she's capable of deciding," Hani piped up, coming to the doctor's rescue.

Whilst they were talking, the skillful nurse had tied up Jisoo's arm with a tourniquet and dabbed
the chosen area with alcohol. Unperturbed by their watchful gazes, the nurse busied herself
preparing the antidote dose in the syringe, drawing the liquid from a small glass vial.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Ella asked, standing in front of Rosé with her mother's hands on her shoulders.
She cradled Dalgom, who was very subdued and quiet but wagged his tail whenever Jisoo looked
in his direction or cooed at him.

Jisoo shook her head. "Just a prick of needle, then a little burning and my body gets really heavy
for a little while, but then it goes away like nothing happened."

"Side-effects," Dr. Kim explained, "those signs means the antidote is working. Did your headache
fade away from earlier?"

"Not much but I can take it."

It didn't take long to receive the antidote. The nurse placed a blood pressure cuff on the other arm
so that Dr. Kim could take Jisoo's blood pressure and other vitals for a few minutes after the Anti-
TK was administered. Jennie watched carefully and stood close by in case Jisoo needed her but
other than Jisoo's wince as the needle went in, the process seemed relatively easy.

"Alright so that should be good for now. Keep an eye out for anything and Jisoo, speak up if the
headache doesn't go away, okay?" Dr. Kim instructed as the nurse packed up. "Don't forget to eat
either, I heard that stomach gurgle."

"You just caught us in the middle of cooking, I'll get back to that," Rosé piped up.

"Okay so, what do you want?" Jennie said bluntly the moment Dr. Kim and the nurse closed the
door behind them.

"Straight to business huh?" Hani said. "I was gonna say, can't a girl check in with her favourite
freeloaders—"

"Excuse me?" Rosé scoffed.

"Huh?" Jisoo frowned.

"It's a joke, chill. I guess y'all are too wound up tight for that, so we'll just fast forward." Hani
signalled to Haein who brought out a sheaf of paper from one of the folders he was holding.

Rosé still seethed silently at Hani for her back-handed comment but Jennie shook her head, subtly
signalling her friend to drop the issue. It wasn't worth picking a fight over such trivialities when
Hani was clearly trying to goad them into some kind of confrontation.

Jennie ran her finger over her tattoo, stifling a sigh. How quickly their tenuous, hot-cold working
relationship had soured. How was she going to stomach working for the Dasoni and doing their
dirty work if her plans failed?

If her plans failed. Jennie clenched her fist: she'd make sure they didn't.

"So if you want to gather around, I have the documents done and ready for you, fresh off the
press," Haein said. "IDs, birth certificates, passports, bank information, it's all there. All that's left
is setting up your base in Jeju, which is moving quite smoothly so I think it will be done ahead of
the estimate I gave you, Jennie. I'd say tomorrow or the day after. Then it will be up to you when
you go there."

"Already?" Rosé frowned taking the sheaf he offered her. "That's a lot of documentation to
fabricate for three people."

"I had teams working around the clock to get it done," Haein nodded.

"He's waiting for a thank you," Hani inserted.

'Thank you' was the farthest thing from Jennie's mind as her heart sank. She caught Jisoo's eye,
who pursed her lips together and silently looked over her file. Jennie sat down next to her and
dared to edge closer to pore over Jisoo's new identity, pieced together by falsified documents.

To her relief, Jisoo didn't give her the cold shoulder or try to edge away. If anything, she seemed to
brush closer to Jennie. Tentatively, Jennie cupped the small of Jisoo's back. She had to stifle her
crow of delight when Jisoo didn't flinch away from her touch but rather, leaned into it.

"Eun Young-ro," Jisoo said slowly, trying out her new name. "Eun Young-ro."

Jennie tried it out in her head and decided it wasn't such a terrible name to have.

"What do you think? Eun Young-ro. Sounds like some character name from a drama," Jennie said,
trying to lift the downcast atmosphere that had settled on them.

"I don't mind it. Has a ring to it," Jisoo said thoughtfully to Jennie's relief. "What did you get,
Rosie? What about you, El?"

"I got Park Hwa-young. That means 'beautiful flower'. I like it!" Ella nodded, pleased.

Haein smiled, faint but genuine. "I'm glad, because I chose it. Are you alright with yours, Rosé?"

"Park Chaeyoung." Rosé lifted an eyebrow at the siblings. "Did you know my old name or was that
coincidence?"

"We dug it up," Haein said simply. "This way, your history is credible and grounded in legitimate
facts, in case someone decides to snoop. Better to work with what you have already. Is it a
problem?"

Rosé shook her head. "No. Just...didn't think I'd get to see my old name again."

"Mom, this means I won't make it for the piano recital at the end of summer, right?" Ella said in
sudden realisation. "We're moving permanently. We're not coming back."

Jennie didn't know how Rosé didn't crumble on the spot because the question came like a bolt out
of the blue and she was sure she let out a little gasp. Even Jisoo froze against her.

The price for Ella to be involved in all this mess was too steep, robbing her of what little sense of
normalcy and childhood she had left to cling on.

"I...I'm afraid so, baby," Rosé said faintly. "I'll...I'll have to let Mr Lee know that we're...moving.
And the school as well, and terminate my pilates studio...I'm so sorry, baby."

Ella shook her head even as Jennie caught the tell-tale gleam of tears in her eyes. "What about the
cats? Are they going to stay at Seulgi unnie's house?"

God, Irene and Seulgi will be left to wonder where they had gone too. Jennie closed her eyes and
forced herself to breathe.

Everything was complicated and tangled up like flies in a spider's web. It was all up to her to
unravel the mess. With every passing moment, the urgency to do so was only growing as the
reasons kept piling up. This had gotten bigger and gone for longer than she could have dreamed.

"We can get them. Right Hani?" Rosé asked. "Dalgom too, of course."

"Yeah sure, whatever." Hani shrugged.

"Well thanks for this," Jennie said at last. "Anything else?"

She didn't look away when Hani turned to her, hard gaze narrowing as she scrutinised Jennie
closely.

"How's the planning for getting back Tiger King going?" Hani asked. Jennie ignored her
condescending tone.

"Getting there. I'm catching up with Jisoo at the moment too since...we don't have much time."
Jisoo's shoulders slumped a little at her last words.

Hani shook her head, glancing around at their audience. "I warned you that you'd get distracted,
and here you are proving me right. Disappointing."

"It hasn't even been three days since you gave me the deadline," Jennie gritted. "And what, like
you care all of a sudden? Why do you keep flip flopping?"

"Who's flip flopping? Am I wrong for pointing out a fact? Go on, tell us what you got planned. Tell
me to my face and prove me wrong," Hani challenged. Haein watched silently, seemingly
understanding that this was his sister's fight, and he'd do well to stay out of the way of two women
glaring daggers at each other.

"You know, maybe Youngdeuk was on to something, actually," Jennie said, relishing Hani's flinch
at the mention of his name. She pointed to the ground. "Remember what he said in the parking
garage? Right beneath us?"

"How dare you?" Hani snarled. Jennie half-expected her to slice her neck open. She glanced at
Hani's rigid wrist, ready to snap out the blades hidden in her sleeve at a moment's notice.

"He said you change your decisions on a whim, that you don't care who you trample and screw
over, even your closest companions, so long as it benefits you. I didn't give much thought to his
words at the time but...now I'm realising he was on to something. Nobody is safe with you,
everyone can be discarded in a blink."

She had known Hani put on a facade, switching on her flirtatious, charismatic persona at the drop
of a hat, or else turning cold and domineering with no chance of a compromise. But she had also
glimpsed instances of a soft side, when Hani seemed to have genuinely worried and cared for them
in her own way.

Only yesterday, Hani had stepped up and apologised to Jisoo like a decent human being would do.
But that was the last instant of warmth Jennie got from the mobster and from the looks of it, Hani
had no intention of swerving again.

As always, Jennie's speck of hope was dashed away as easily as the wind over the ocean.

But what had Hani change so suddenly after yesterday? Their hard exchanges couldn't have eroded
their admittedly fragile alliance—they had come to blows more than once before. The odd friction
between Hani and Chanyeol had also sprung up yesterday.

Had Hani finally reached her limit and caved in to the pressures thrust on her shoulders?

Hani was a mobster, pulled towards duty and loyalty to her family. They would always come first,
along with a healthy dose of greed for power. To Hani, Jennie and her friends were nothing but
pawns. Jennie had known that but was it too foolish to admit that she had hoped some sort of
working partnership could still be forged?

"Oh? And what will you do with this big epic epiphany?" Hani said sarcastically. "Situations
change. I do what benefits me. You're nothing. I own you. You answer to me."

"Technically," Jennie said, "I answer to Haein."

"Timeout," Rosé stepped in firmly before Hani could skewer Jennie on the spot. "Squabbling isn't
going to change anything. Hani, if you're so...concerned with Jennie's plans, help her. Help us."

"Things don't work like that, my good bitch," Hani said, ignoring all their gasps. "We give orders,
you toe the line and get the job done. It has been that way since the beginning, yet you keep
flaunting that particular rule and it's becoming really annoying."

"What happened to not driving people away from you?" Rosé said quietly, making everyone go
still. "Two weeks ago, you told me you wouldn't give Jinyoung the satisfaction of pushing people
away from you. You care about us, I've seen it, in your own way. But now, it feels like you're
doing the opposite. What changed?"

"Are you done psychoanalysing me?" Hani scoffed. "You out of everyone else should understand
how these things work, Rosé. I'm not the head of the clan anymore. Plans change. Alliances shift.
Priorities adjust. Emotional availability isn't a currency I can afford to gamble with when so much
is on the line. But why do I even bother explaining? Nothing seems to get into your thick heads."

She tossed her head. "We're done here. Let's go, oppa."

"Plans can change and all that but it doesn't mean you have to be a jerk about it, like you're doing,"
Jennie gritted out. Hani turned back to her.

"I do whatever I like," she hissed. "You have no idea what it's like to be me."

"I don't. But what I do know is you keep taking all the wrong calls," Jennie burst out as Hani froze.
"You're so terrified of being seen as weak that you throw away any ounce of humanity you got.
You're so scared of vulnerability you'd rather throw people close to you under the bus than be seen
as soft. You're so obsessed with approval from people who don't even give two shits about you that
you're ready to sever any true connection that you have. Instead of being decent and upfront, you
lie and hide secrets and endanger us all to reach your end goals, at any cost."
Hani's nostrils flared but Jennie wasn't finished.

"When I look at you, I don't see much difference from Jinyoung."

Ringing silence fell as her words sank in. Jennie panted after her outburst but her eyes remained
fixed on Hani. A slight twitch of Hani's eye was the only warning she got before Hani lunged.

"No!"

Jennie didn't even have a chance to blink before Jisoo exploded forward, grabbing Hani's wrists
and pinning her down in one fluid move. She panted hard, shoulders heaving as she held down a
writhing Hani who was shouting her head off. Dalgom started yapping, taking a lunge out of Ella's
grasp but she clung on determinedly.

"Chu!"

"Jisoo!"

"Don't hurt Jennie!" Jisoo cried. The door crashed open and the two guards rushed inside, ready to
attack as they gripped their guns tightly, aimed right at Jisoo.

"Permission to shoot, boss?" one of the guards barked.

"Don't shoot!" Rosé shouted over the chaos. She covered Ella and Dalgom with her entire body,
dragging them behind the couch.

"Let go of my sister," Haein rumbled, slipping out his own knife as he loomed over Jisoo.

"Shock her!" urged a guard.

"Stay back!" Hani roared at her brother, struggling furiously. "She's dangerous! Damn it, my
remote is in my—grrgh get off!"

"Chu?" Jennie choked out. She thought Jisoo wouldn't hear over the cacophony but Jisoo stiffened
at the call.

Jennie's heart pumped as though she ran a marathon, tendrils of fear slithering in through the
crevices of her mind, whispering a warning. But Jennie stood her ground, refusing to turn away.

Jisoo turned to her but only a flicker of yellow appeared in the depths of brown, and it was gone,
replaced only with concern. Jennie nodded, sweet relief flooding her.

Jisoo was in control. Jisoo was still there.

"Get off me," Hani snarled, wriggling like a snake.

"Don't hurt Jennie. Don't hurt her and I'll let you go," Jisoo grunted. Her face reddened with strain
but she didn't budge from her position.

"What an obedient bitch you got here, Ace, so well-trained. Ready to risk her life for you. Is the
pussy that good?" Hani sneered, making Jennie go still. "Too bad you're abandoning her just like a
bitch too."

"FUCK YOU—"

"No Jen!" Rosé rushed to hold her back when Jennie sprang to her feet, snarling. "Stop it, all of
you! Fighting won't solve anything."

"She's right," Haein said. "Hani, striking out against them won't do us any good if we want to get
out of this mess."

"Whatever," Hani bit back, "now get her off me."

Jisoo slowly stood up and backed away as Hani retreated to Haein's side, scowling. Haein
dismissed the guards. Rosé crushed Ella and Dalgom against her, murmuring soothing words but
her watchful eyes were on Hani, gauging for any sneaky move.

Ignoring everyone else, Jennie rushed to Jisoo, running her fingers down her face and cupping her
cheeks to steady her shaky hands.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? Talk to me, Chu," Jennie said, her voice quavering.

"I'm okay," Jisoo whispered just as shakily. She looked down at her hands that still trembled from
the sudden energy burst. "I didn't...I don't..."

"You're okay," Jennie said softly. "Nobody's gonna hurt you. I'm here. I'm not afraid." She stroked
Jisoo's cheeks with her thumbs. "I'm here."

They would deal with the consequences later and have Jisoo get checked, but for now, Jennie was
just immensely relieved that Jisoo was alright and nobody got hurt in the process.

Jisoo swayed, suddenly turning pale. "Jen, I—"

She collapsed, knees buckling beneath her as she sank to the ground.

"Chu!"

Jennie caught her before her body hit the floor, cradling her head and calling her in distress.

"Jisoo! Jisoo, what's wrong?"

"TK crash, most likely," Hani said briskly, snagging Jennie's attention. "She used a sudden burst of
TK reserve that was still in her system before the antidote could break it down, and now she's
running on empty, all her energy sapped. She hasn't eaten yet either huh? Well, no wonder then."

"Shut up," Jennie gritted out as she held Jisoo close. "Get out, you've done enough harm as it is. I
hope you're satisfied with yourself."

"Absolutely, I had it on my to-do list for today," Hani said savagely. "Good fucking day to you too.
Come on, oppa."

"Do you need help carrying her to bed?" Haein asked as Jennie struggled to support Jisoo's weight.
Jisoo had conked out cold, her head lolling against Jennie. She was breathing fine, her pulse steady
when Jennie took a few quick frantic measurements.

"I got her," Jennie said, eager to get rid of the siblings. She winced as her shoulder gave a twinge
of protest.

Haein dithered, his eyes hovering questioningly over her. Yet Jennie refused to back down:
accepting his help when Haein and his sister were the reason for all the chaos around them felt like
a joke, a slap in the face.
"Haein let's go," Hani said impatiently.

"You could hurt yourself and that's not going to be in your favour. I know I gave you a good
walloping that you don't just walk off. Put aside your pride this once," Haein insisted.

"I'll help," Rosé said, coming to the rescue as she stepped up to shoulder Jisoo. "We got this.
Thanks for the ID's."

"Yeah, whatever," Hani muttered. "I'll have Dr. Kim check in with y'all again. Can't have Jisoo go
on a rampage, there's only so much the ankle monitor can do, especially if nobody is around to
keep an eye on her."

"Are you seeing her right now? She's out like a light. Nobody's going on any rampage," Jennie said
exasperatedly then shook her head. "Just go. Leave us alone. We'll call you if something happens."

>

"I'll go back to cooking," Rosé said once they put Jisoo to bed. "It shouldn't take more than twenty
minutes, I'll call you."

"Nah, no need to. I'll eat later so you guys go ahead, okay?"

"Alright." Rosé nodded, her eyes softening as she glanced at sleeping Jisoo. "Come on El, let's
leave them to rest."

Jennie watched them go then sat on the mattress' edge and brushed the back of her hand against
Jisoo's cheek. Jisoo was already regaining some colour back, the crease in her brow fading the
longer Jennie's hand lingered in contact.

"Rest, Chu. You need it," Jennie said tenderly, leaning down to plant a soft kiss on her forehead.
"You saved me, you know that right? You're my hero."

Her heart gave a little flutter at the memory of Jisoo jumping into Hani's path to shield her,
followed by a tremor at the thought of Jisoo getting injured because of her. She could have sat
there watching her girlfriend sleep but Jisoo's eyes fluttered open only a short moment later. A tired
smile broke across her face when she focused on Jennie.

"Jendeuk?"

"I'm here," Jennie said, squeezing her hand. "What do you need?"

Jisoo didn't even pause to think. "You. Can you...lie down? With me?"

In answer, Jennie immediately kicked off her shoes and crawled beneath the sheets. They turned to
face each other, smiling shyly.

"Hi," Jisoo breathed.

"Hi. How are you feeling?"

Jisoo sighed and closed her eyes. "Tired. My body is all heavy and weird and...empty? And my
headache...it's just there."

"Wish I could take it away for you," Jennie sighed.

"You can distract me instead." Jisoo's mouth quirked up at the corner when Jennie chuckled.
"Oh? How do you propose I do that?"

Jisoo gave her answer loud and clear as her eyes dipped down to Jennie's mouth then flicked back
up again, the haziness of her gaze catching Jennie off-guard.

"Oh," Jennie breathed, recognising the raw hunger. Her mouth was suddenly dry and she licked her
lips, trying to form words. "A-are you sure? You need rest right now."

"Are you afraid of me?" Jisoo asked quietly.

Jennie shook her head. "How can I be afraid when you saved me? You're my hero, Jisoo. You
could have gotten hurt."

"My body moved in a snap, like lightning. It's like I connected the dots in the blink of an eye
before anyone else. I knew Hani was going to attack you. And I...I did that." Jisoo held up her hand
thoughtfully, examining her palm. "Honestly, feels a bit like a superhero power. Like one of Rosé's
X-Men. Pretty cool."

"I think you mean pretty hot."

Jisoo's gaze snapped to hers, widening with understanding. Wordlessly, Jennie took the sheet
covering their bodies and slowly pulled it over their heads like the shallow bowl of a dome, leaving
ample space to breathe and move, hiding them from any nosy surveillance camera.

Jisoo's smile grew bigger, in danger of cracking her face up like a coconut especially when Jennie
shifted closer until they were brushing noses. They watched each other, low pants filling the air,
exchanging hot breaths as anticipation had Jennie's skin blaze.

Jisoo made the first move, firmly taking Jennie's hand to rest it on her heart. Jennie smiled to feel
Jisoo's heart beating as fast as her own, matching the same bounding pulse.

I'm here, Jisoo's heart said, I'm here I'm here I'm here.

Jisoo held their hands tightly, her gaze filled with naked longing. She bit her lip, which had Jennie
stifling a groan.

They didn't speak—verbalising their thoughts was unnecessary when they could read each other's
eyes just the same. Any other sound would break the spell and so they drank each other in,
admiring and appreciating, memorising every detail down to the last lash.

Jennie was dying to be the first to claim her lips, but it seemed important to let Jisoo take the lead,
to reassure her girlfriend that she wholly trusted her with her life. So Jennie held on tightly to the
reins of control, even as her body was practically bursting out of its skin with impatience.

Jisoo's heavy gaze bordered on desperation as she glanced at her mouth again. At Jennie's slight
nod, she inched forward and their lips brushed and held. The sensation never ceased to electrify
Jennie, little zaps going off in her brain as they sank deeper into the kiss, into each other's arms,
like a long overdue homecoming.

It was easy to believe that only they existed in their secret world beneath the sheets, locked in their
embrace as they made out unhurriedly to fully savour being together again after everything that
happened. Time did not exist: there was only here and now. There was only Jisoo, her soft mouth
moving like a dream over Jennie's, their hands caressing dips and curves like a dance only they
knew.
Jennie lost track of how long they kissed, by turns soft and tender venturing into blistering, searing
heat, reconnecting hearts and minds as their bodies cradled together like puzzle pieces, recalling
the sublime taste and touch of one another.

Jisoo's cool hand skated along Jennie's hot skin beneath her shirt, making Jennie sigh into her
mouth upon contact. In answer, she slipped her hand beneath Jisoo's shirt at the front, splaying her
fingers against her navel and stifling a grin when Jisoo groaned at her touch.

"Jen," Jisoo croaked, her voice ragged from disuse. Her eyes were heavily-lidded, tempting Jennie
to reach up and place a sweet kiss on each, so she did.

"What do you want, Chu?" she whispered breathlessly.

Her mouth was sore and her other arm was falling asleep beneath her but Jennie didn't care right
now: Jisoo was putty in her hands and she wanted to recreate the scintillating fireworks that
sparked between them. The flames needed to be stoked to consume them whole, to cleanse them of
the horrors of the past weeks.

"I...I want..." Jisoo's eyes screwed shut and she drew a sharp breath when Jennie dared to dip her
fingers lower beneath the waistband. "Jendeuk..."

Jennie took the opportunity to mouth down the column of her throat, scraping her teeth along the
warm skin. She smiled when Jisoo quivered against her, her chest heaving.

"Someone's gotten sensitive," Jennie said mischievously. But next second, Jennie arched up with a
strangled groan when Jisoo's hand sneakily circled higher up past her ribs until she caught one
nipple between her thumb and forefinger, pinching.

"You were saying?" Jisoo husked out. Jennie simply slotted their mouths together again and let her
hand wander further down until she was cupping Jisoo between her thighs, smug to feel the
moisture collected there, delighted to hear Jisoo's harsh breathing intensify.

"This will be just a teaser, for now," Jennie promised as Jisoo tried to steady herself, her pupils
blown wide with lust. "I'll give you more next time."

"No, more now. I want all of you," Jisoo whimpered, hips bucking against Jennie's hand, seeking
more friction. Her hands dropped away from Jennie's body as she gripped the sheet beneath her
tightly instead. But Jennie didn't mind: right now, Jisoo's pleasure took precedence and was more
satisfying. She kissed Jisoo tenderly as she stroked her, preparing her.

"I don't want our time together be having to hide ourselves away under the sheets. I want so much
better for you. I want to see your gorgeous body. I want to kiss you all over where you've been hurt.
I want to make love to you without having to worry about anything else. But this will be a start.
Now, here I go. Keep your eyes on me, jagiya."

Jisoo obeyed, never blinking as Jennie eased a finger inside her, drawing a sigh from both of them.

"More," Jisoo moaned against Jennie's neck. Jennie obliged, flicking her nub and making Jisoo's
hips stutter and jerk, one arm shooting up to cling to Jennie's neck. Jennie didn't relent with her
ministrations, her languid thrusts driving Jisoo closer and closer to the edge.

"Good?" Jennie panted. She trusted Jisoo to speak up if things weren't working but judging by
Jisoo's frantic mewls urging her to keep going, she was doing alright.

Jennie ducked her head to kiss just behind her ear, her control faltering as Jisoo whined and arched
up against her. The heady scent of slick wetness had Jennie's head swimming with desire.

"God, Chu you feel so good. Are you close?"

"So close, don't stop," Jisoo whimpered and Jennie almost fucking lost it right there. She doubled
down on her efforts to bring her lover to completion.

"Jen," Jisoo gasped out a warning as her body went taut. Jennie claimed her lips, driving her hips
behind her hand for extra thrust.

"I've got you. Let go," Jennie breathed. "I love you. Come for me, Jisoo."

Jisoo threw her head back with a strangled gasp. She gritted her teeth as she went still then gave
one long exhale and lay limp and spent, her face glistening with sweat. Jennie withdrew her hand
and kissed the hollow of her throat, murmuring soft praises in her ear until Jisoo finally opened her
eyes again.

She turned to Jennie, a lazy grin slowly making its way to her face as they regained their breaths.

"Okay?" Jennie said when she was able to speak again, mirroring her grin.

"Better than okay. No really, my headache's barely there anymore," Jisoo giggled at Jennie's raised
eyebrows. "Who knew orgasms cured headaches?"

"Does this mean we could make this," Jennie smirked, pointing between them, "a regular thing?
Like any time you got a headache, we could go for a quickie. 'Cos I'm down for that."

"I'm down too," Jisoo hummed. She turned on her back, eyes falling closed and a dreamy smile
forming on her mouth. "This takes me back to our...earlier adventurous escapades, do you
remember? When we were just starting out?"

"Hm? What could you possibly be referring to?" Jennie teased, remembering exactly what Jisoo
was talking about.

"Are you being serious? You're wounding me now, Jen."

"I don't know, my memory seems to go blank while I'm looking at you," Jennie smiled, pleased
when Jisoo laughed.

"Wow, you're really buttering me up today."

"It's true. How can I think of anything else when there's a vision of perfection right in front of me?"
Jennie said sincerely. Jisoo's laughter was music to her ears and she closed her eyes in enjoyment.

"Alright alright. I'm talking about that time at the movies," Jisoo said at last.

"Oh I remember. We were trying to find out what sort of movies I like and you took me to the
cinema because I had never been," Jennie reminisced.

"Yeah." Jisoo's eyes turned misty, a little smirk curling her lip. "I don't even know what movie was
playing."

"Me neither. I was too busy...having fun."

"Yeah, you had also demonstrated how good you are with your hands at that time," Jisoo laughed
before she frowned and opened her eyes. "Wait, did you...? Have you gotten off? Let me do you—"
"I'm good. Pleasuring you is good enough for me, for now," Jennie reassured. She leaned in and
pressed a kiss to Jisoo's brow to melt her frown, then her cheeks and tip of her nose, and finally her
lips, lingering until she withdrew with a chuckle when Jisoo chased her touch.

"Come back," Jisoo mumbled.

Jennie obliged with a smile, unable to resist. She kissed her deeply, bodies practically fused
together until they needed to part reluctantly for air. It was getting stuffy under the covers too so
Jennie gave Jisoo one last peck on the lips before pulling back the covers just enough for their
faces to peek out, giving them some much needed fresh air.

They smiled at each other, giggly and giddy like drunks and Jennie thought she could die out of
happiness right now. Here in bed with Jisoo, it was easy to pretend that life was as sunny as the day
outside, with no dark cloud hanging overhead.

"Jendeuk, are you sure you don't...?"

"I'm sure. You need your rest. I swear, doing you brings me satisfaction enough. We'll have time
next time, you'll get your turn. I'm counting on it," Jennie winked. She squeezed her hand. "I'm
good Chu, I promise. Thank you."

"For what?" Jisoo asked tenderly. She reached out to stroke Jennie's cheek with the back of her
knuckles, all pink from healed skin there. Jennie's eyes fluttered at the feather-light touch, at the
sensation of wholeness it inspired in her heart.

"For being here, with me. It feels like a dream. I couldn't ask for more," Jennie said quietly.

Jisoo's eyes softened. "I should be the one saying that."

"Okay then how about, we're both here." Jennie held Jisoo's hand against her cheek. "We're both
here, we're both alive and we're okay. We're together. And I love you."

"Yes. Yes we are." Jisoo's eyes smiled along with her mouth. "I love you too, Jen."

Simple words that never failed to send a jolt right through he. And now she was sure Jisoo felt that
way too when Jennie said those words herself, if her girlfriend's eyes—shining like precious jewels
and reflecting her bliss—had anything to say about it.

"You look so beautiful," Jennie said in quiet awe, adoring the blissed-out happy smile Jisoo wore,
the rosy blush of her cheeks, her bright eyes and bite-swollen lips. "I could look at you like this
forever."

"I'll take you up on that. You know I love attention," Jisoo quipped. "Do you want to slee-ee-p—"
she failed to stifle her yawn. Jennie nuzzled her.

"Sleep. Rest. But when you wake up, you have to eat, okay? You've already skipped breakfast."

"Mm mm I will," Jisoo mumbled tiredly, her eyelids drooping. "You staying? Or actually, no. Go
eat. I know you're hungry."

"I am a bit, yeah. You sure?"

Jisoo smiled, eyes already closed. "I can stay without my girlfriend for a couple minutes, you
know. I'm not the clingy one."
"Hey, I thought you didn't mind me being clingy," Jennie pouted.

Jisoo giggled again, cracking one eye open to sneak a peek.

"I can see you peeking," Jennie chuckled. "I'll come back in bed soon, okay? Don't hog all the
sheets."

Jisoo grinned, satisfied, before settling to nap. "See you in my dreams for more X-rated sexy times,
Jendeukie."

"You have a way with words but yes absolutely, see you there. I hope Dream Jennie treats you
well," Jennie quipped.

"Oh she does, but I always prefer the real Jennie," Jisoo smirked before she closed her eyes and
quietened, her breathing evening out almost immediately.

Jennie kissed her tenderly one more time, pulling back to admire her sleeping girlfriend for a few
moments more. But the longer she looked, the louder the whisper of guilt in her ear grew, her
prickling conscience eclipsing her earlier happiness.

Because she knew what she had to do, and it was going to destroy the precious agreement they had
brokered to restart their relationship.

I just want us to be honest with each other, Jisoo had pleaded just hours prior. Promise me that
when it comes to our future, you won't decide things by yourself.

I'm sorry, Jennie thought now, aching as she watched Jisoo sleeping so peacefully, oblivious and
trusting. I just want to protect you.

She leaned over Jisoo. "I love you," she whispered in her ear, making sure to say it clear and slow,
to emphasise the singular truth that pulsed in her blood, that pushed her to keep fighting. I love you.
If you don't believe anything else, believe that.

Jisoo slept on as Jennie eased herself out of bed and with a heavy heart made a beeline for the
bathroom.
 Tell Me (No) Lies pt.2
Chapter Notes

part 2 of 2 updates :)

graphic depictions of violence

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Hidden in the corner behind the door as she fiddled with the walkie-talkie Chanyeol gave her,
Jennie hoped and hoped that no camera or microphone could pick up what she was doing exactly.
She had turned on the shower and let the water run to try and mask sounds, but decided stepping
into the shower fully clothed would arouse more suspicion than hiding behind a door.

Either way, if Hani looked over surveillance she was going to have questions, but Jennie would do
what she did best: lie and make excuses.

"Checking in. Over." Jennie muttered, pushing away the ever-present twinge of guilt as she
nervously rubbed her tattoo. Chanyeol had said he'd be on the look out for a message from her,
implying he kept his radio on all the time so she hoped he'd be able to reply quick.

He had given her the walkie-talkie to keep their conversations as secret as possible. Jennie had
been able to stash away the device in her pocket: it was quite small, no bigger than her palm, even
with the short antenna. For a moment when in bed with Jisoo, she had forgotten all about it, had
barely felt it digging into her thigh.

Afterwards—when she was hurrying away like a murderer fleeing from a crime scene—did she
remember how close Jisoo would have been to discovering the gadget and potentially forcing
Jennie to lie to her face to cover up her secret plan.

If Jisoo or Rosé knew, they wouldn't let me do this. If Hani knew, she'd kill me.

A burst of static snapped Jennie out of her brooding, letting her know Chanyeol had received her
transmission. She waited, tapping her foot and listening to the sound of running water.

Hani was going to get a high water bill.

"Jen, I'm here," Chanyeol said several agonisingly long moments later, his voice garbled with
static. "Sorry, had to go to the roof, I'm at HQ right now. What is it?"

"Did you get the names?" Jennie said anxiously. "We should get started right away."

"Yes I got them. I crunched the list overnight—"

"Don't you ever sleep?" Jennie wondered, taken aback.

"Crime doesn't sleep. Now, the names: Im Yoon-ah, Choi Soo-young and Kim Ki-bum.
Those are the journalists that fit our criteria."

"That's a small number," Jennie frowned.

"All the more easy to choose. We need to be careful who we give your story to. They have to
be knowledgeable and specific to our case—"

"I know, I remember."

Chanyeol had lectured Jennie on choosing the right candidates to handle this delicate exposé the
night before when they talked on the roof. He offered to weed out the possible options and narrow
down the pool to the journalists that were credible, grounded, worked tirelessly to defend the
voiceless and expose corruption, worked for reputable news sites, were veterans of the industry and
had robust legal protection because as Chanyeol said, Jinyoung will strike back and they needed to
be prepared.

"Are you still planning to include the Dasoni in the exposé?" Chanyeol asked.

"I'm more convinced than ever that I should," Jennie said immediately. Her fingers brushed against
the crackling piece of paper containing the cult's address in her pocket, wincing upon contact as
though it burned. She had slid it out from Rosé's hiding place in the pillowcase in the dead of night
and hoped that Rosé wouldn't go look for it.

"Do...do the other girls know? You should...you ought to talk. Once authorities get a hold of
you, you have an uncertain future ahead of you. We can't rule out deportation for your
situation. You might never see them again," Chanyeol said hesitantly, probably anticipating the
answer, probably knowing Jennie hadn't changed her mind since last night and wasn't going to.

"No. They don't need to know. Not knowing will keep them out of harm's way," Jennie said tersely,
repeating what she had been telling herself to stop the twinge of guilt from turning into a tidal wave
that ripped her apart. "Chanyeol, I have to do this alone. I'm already asking the others to make a big
sacrifice. There's a big chance they won't see me again already. And seeing Rosie just now...she's
in shambles but still, she's holding on so strong. And so is her daughter.

Jisoo...Jisoo will hurt the most but I'm hoping she will come to understand that I'm doing this
because I care about her. I love her so much. It will hurt me too, but I can take it, as long as she's
safe. And Hani...she's out of control. Jinyoung too, all the mobsters he's slaughtering while linking
up with politicians. All this madness has to stop. And if I can do something to finish it, I will."

Chanyeol was silent for a beat. "Dasoni could hurt your friends," he said softly.

"Which is why I'm counting on you to protect them," Jennie said.

"How?"

"Sticking close by from now on. Even though you and Hani are fighting. We need to hide the girls
from her somehow."

Chanyeol didn't reply right away and Jennie braced for his response.

"Jennie, this is a dangerous game you're playing. You don't strike me as the rash and hasty
type when it comes to planning so we shouldn't rush into this with only some vague idea—"

"Whenever we plan, nothing works out."

"You mentioned last night, yes, but this is—"

"My friends' life on the line. I know. I fucking know, okay?" Jennie hissed in agitation. "I'm just—
I'm trying to keep it together and prevent more deaths. We're running out of time. If Rosie or Jisoo
or Ella are hurt, I don't know what I'll do. I don't...I don't—"

"Slow down. Take a deep breath. Go on, breathe right now. That's it. Keep it up. In and out.
In...out...In...out...It's going to be okay. We'll plan it out. Planning helps, it always does, even
when things go to shit. Especially because things go to shit," Chanyeol said softly.

Jennie heaved a sigh, significantly calmer after the impromptu breathing exercise but no less
anxious. She had spoken her fear out loud, and Chanyeol basically confirmed her worries: she was
being too rash and hasty. Her decision-making suffered when she was cornered but she couldn't
afford to make poor choices this time, not when the lives of people she cared were on the line.

She couldn't repeat mistakes.

"Is this the right choice?" Jennie whispered, the paper in her pocket grazing her hand like odious
fingers beckoning her towards doom. "Am I making a horrible mistake?"

Chanyeol took even longer to reply this time. "I think the only mistake is leaving the other girls
in the dark. Because otherwise, being brave and doing the right thing is always going to be
scary and oftentimes dangerous. Because doing the right thing is rarely easy."

Jennie shook her head, forgetting that he can't see her. Telling the others was out of question. They
would only make her drop the idea and press her not to give herself up and take the fall, pushing
them back to square one and still being under the Dasoni's thumb.

You don't make a cake without breaking some eggs. And if something needed to break to free them
all, Jennie decided that it would be herself.

"Did Dasoni come by today?" Chanyeol said.

"Yeah. Both of them dropped by, gave the others their new identities and documents. Like I said,
we need to figure out some plan to smuggle the girls out and hide them, let them restart. Hani
letting me go out of the condo this morning was a big exception, and it's only because she trusts
you with me. She won't let the others just go out."

"...you, you think she trusts me?" Chanyeol said at last after several minutes of dead air. "I was
under the impression..."

"What?" Jennie asked.

Chanyeol sighed. "Nothing just...technically I'm not working with her anymore. We...have our
differences that we can't reconcile with."

Though intrigued by his cryptic answer, the spark of curiosity wasn't enough to push Jennie to ask.
Whatever had happened between Chanyeol and Hani wasn't her business. Besides, she had plenty
to deal with and had no need for additional drama.

"Well, whatever happened, she still seems to trust you. We can work with that, maybe. But that's
for later. How do I choose which journalist to talk with?"

"Im Yoon-ah has worked on several high-profile corruption cases and thanks to her rallying
efforts, managed to unite the public to pressure authorities into action," Chanyeol said,
rattling off facts like a robot. "Kim Ki-bum is an extremely meticulous and fearless journalist.
He even infiltrated an asylum once and underwent the same torture the inmates did to expose
their terrible institutional practices. Choi Soo-young has many connections across all spheres
of Seoul, she is usually one of the first to pick up on something foul going down outside of
public attention, she is always the first to break some big story."

He sounded wry. "And she is probably the police's biggest critic. I have had to face off against
her hard-hitting questions many times. But I appreciate her. Without people like her fighting
for the truth, the democratic institutions would collapse. That Burning Sun incident, she
reported on it. So she's already probably looking at trails and sniffing around. We just need
to crack the door wide open, because Jinyoung has a tight leash."

"How do we know they're not working for him?" Jennie fretted. "And if not them, how do you
know their own superiors aren't?"

She gripped the walkie-talkie tighter, forcing herself to keep her voice low even as her high-strung
emotions were all over the place. "You said it yourself, Jinyoung has control. Burning Sun, all
those people that got trampled and burned...and just a few days ago, Rosie told me he and Bang
Chan were on TV at the Blue House, lapping it up with all those hotshot politicians."

"I know it's scary to trust," Chanyeol said softly. "But trust me. Those three reporters have
been vocally sceptical about such business deals. And it's not only them. You're not alone,
Jennie. There's other people out there, fighting with all they have."

"I think you're being naive."

"Maybe so. And I won't deny, you can get burned badly by trusting. But nothing good comes
out of isolating yourself either," Chanyeol said. "Jinyoung has power and resources. We have
very little. We need to gather all that we can, not take it on all by ourselves."

Jennie clicked her teeth, struck by his earnest reply.

Although he was a detective and likely had seen his fair share of the horrid side of humanity plenty
times, it was inspiring that Chanyeol still seemed to believe in people and willing to give chances.
His answer gently chided her, subtly asking her to reconsider leaving her friends in the dark but on
that point Jennie wouldn't budge: the less Rosé and Jisoo knew, the better protected they would be.

"Alright. Here's what we'll do: we should contact all three of them. Combine forces. There's
strength in numbers, like you're saying," Jennie said thoughtfully. "They can work together. With
their combined expertise and rep, people will pay attention. These three just have to believe me
enough to conduct their own investigations."

"That's a good idea, that's a really great idea. And they will. I'll vouch for you. They will do
the rest. Regardless if they got other investigations going, I know that this is too big for them
not to jump on it," Chanyeol promised. "I will contact all three of them and give them a time
and secret place to meet. Then I will take you there on some excuse. Do you have anything
you need to step out for?"

Jennie smiled wistfully before she remembered he can't see her. "There is, but...I don't want to be
in more debt to you. I'll pay you back for the flowers someday, somehow, I promise."

"Jennie, you don't have to. I'm just helping out. Tell me what you need," Chanyeol said
patiently.
"It's silly really. I had...plans. For a...date."

"So we're thinking a bigger bouquet? A whole flower wreath?"

She heard the slight smile in his voice, indulging her. Jennie felt a rush of gratitude towards him,
how he seamlessly stepped in and filled a gaping hole in her life and fleshed out the role of a
guardian, a big brother figure that was unquestionably there for her. In a way, he reminded her of
Irene, probably the closest to a mother figure she'd had.

And even that connection had splintered now that she was fending off for herself, trying her
hardest to minimise damage.

She badly needed someone with no stakes to claim in this whole mess, to offer advice and
guidance. Stoic but kind, Chanyeol seemed to fit the bill.

She had only seen him as an extension of Hani before, like the Kwon twins, but Chanyeol's
detachment from the mobster presented him in a new, unseen light to Jennie.

"More like sleeping bags and a tent," she muttered, feeling her cheeks warm.

"What was that?"

She repeated herself, louder, and Chanyeol actually chuckled. Jennie wasn't sure she had ever
heard that noise from him.

"Ah I see. A night under the stars. I'm not sure you'd be allowed to stay out."

"I was planning on having it on the roof. There's enough space, you saw it," Jennie said.

"Oh the roof? A little more feasible, if Dasoni allows it, that is. And yes, getting that
equipment would be a good excuse to step out. Don't worry about the money."

Jennie fidgeted. Being in debt still made her anxious. "When do we get them?"

"Did you have any day in mind for your date?"

"No. But the sooner the better, preferably before the end of the week."

"Then I will contact them and let them know of our delicate situation," Chanyeol said. "Baby
steps. Hang in there, Jennie."

"Yeah. It's all I can do these days."

"Do you need anything else? I gotta go, my phone's been buzzing. Probably the Chief, to give
me an earful."

"I'm sorry, I hope you're not in too much trouble. And no that's all...for now."

"Don't worry about me," Chanyeol said breezily. "Let me know if you need anything. Now
run along, I'm sure you'd rather be with your girlfriend."

"I will. Thank you," Jennie said quietly.

She frowned at the swell of anxiety that bloomed the moment the crackling static present
throughout their conversation abruptly cut off, leaving Jennie alone in the bathroom with the sound
of water rushing as fast her thoughts.

>

Chanyeol didn't bother picking up the call knowing he was in for a barrage of scolding the moment
he showed back up at the office. However to his surprise, nobody was waiting to tell him off for
disappearing. All the other officers present were bent over their paperwork or chatting in the pantry
area over coffee, or noisily slurping noodles.

Chanyeol shrugged. He shouldn't have been too surprised. Few people cared where he went and
since he had the solid reputation of being a workaholic, nobody kicked up a fuss if he disappeared
for short intervals. After all, he was shunned by pretty much all of his colleagues as though he had
the plague.

His phone kept buzzing until Chanyeol fished it out in a huff.

"What is it, Chief?" he said impatiently. "I was about to get back to my desk."

"Detective Park, what a busy man you are. Couldn't get a hold of you anywhere," greeted a
man pleasantly. "I hope I'm not interrupting something important?"

Chanyeol frowned, trying to place the caller's voice. For some reason, he felt himself tense up, as
though his body could sense danger that his brain had somehow not caught on to.

"Who is this?"

"Ah that's right, I don't believe we ever had a formal introduction. My name is Park
Jinyoung. Ring a bell?"

Chanyeol froze on the spot, felt his heart stutter as Jinyoung chuckled.

"You," Chanyeol gritted, his momentary shock rapidly transforming into anger as he marched out
of the offices with as much calm as he could muster—this conversation was not for any careless
eavesdropper. "I'll have you know this call is monitored—"

"Since when did you deal in fibs, Detective?" Jinyoung drawled. "I thought you were
concerned with truth. Dasoni must have rubbed off on you."

Chanyeol burst out on the roof once more, hastily checking that he was alone as he clenched his
phone until he was sure it was going to break.

"What do you want?" he said roughly.

"That reminds me. Have you been keeping in close touch with Dasoni?" Jinyoung said,
ignoring his question.

Chanyeol weighed his options. Jinyoung was toying with him, baiting him. Should he entertain
him, keep him talking?

But for Jinyoung to have gotten a hold of his private number and called had to mean something.
And Chanyeol concluded that it couldn't be anything good. Jennie and her friends flashed though
his head as he gripped the railing tightly.

"Cut the crap, Jinyoung. What do you want? If you've called to threaten me, move along. You
don't scare me."
"Why so hostile, Detective? It was an innocent question, wasn't it?"

"You have exactly five seconds to tell me what the hell you want—"

"Fine, fine. Dasoni sure chose a serious one," Jinyoung sighed. "I'm calling to warn you: she
might be in dire danger as we speak."

"What?"

"You heard me, Detective." Gone was the pleasant, placid tone, replaced with a chilling edge that
made cold sweat break out on Chanyeol's brow: Jinyoung wasn't doling out an empty threat.

"Are you scared now, Detective? You've gone awfully quiet," Jinyoung sneered when
Chanyeol didn't say anything.

"It will take more than an arrogant spoiled chaebol spouting hot air to do that," Chanyeol spat. He
clenched his jaw, mind racing as Jinyoung laughed.

The recent spate of gang murders that had the police baffled surfaced in his mind's eye and
Chanyeol's dismay doubled: he had known Jinyoung was behind the grisly murders, without a
doubt.

But this call just confirmed his fears: Jinyoung had selected his next target.

He had to warn Hani.

"You wound me, Detective. But oh well, I thought I would be gracious and give you a head's
up to let you know she's currently at her hospital on visitation duty, just in case you felt like
rescuing your damsel in distress. And believe me, she will be in distress, and soon."

"Dasoni doesn't need rescuing. She's perfectly capable of handling herself," Chanyeol couldn't help
but blurt out. He gritted his teeth when Jinyoung laughed again.

"I suppose I'll see you at her funeral then."

"Why are you doing this?" Chanyeol demanded.

"Don't be late, Detective," Jinyoung said.

The call cut off and Chanyeol didn't think—he whirled away from the railing and ran.

>

"I'm going to step out for a smoke, oppa," Hani said, standing up from the bedside when her
brother returned with a cup of coffee in hand.

"Sure. Noona and I will just be over here, trading family secrets," Haein smiled. His eyes followed
his youngest sister closely. "You alright?"

"Fine fine I'm...everything is fine," Hani said bitterly. She had blithely danced around the incident
at the safehouse even after they left, pretending nothing had happened. Haein had let her be. Like
the big brother that somehow intuitively knew when to ask and when to back off, Haein hadn't
pressed her with questions.

Now, however, it seemed like he wasn't going to be satisfied with a flippant answer.
"Hani, I know that you hate looking weak more than anything," Haein said quietly. He tapped her
jacket sleeve, smiling when he felt the hard spine of the blade hidden there. "It's why I taught you
how to rig up the knives in your sleeves."

"I feel like there's more to that statement, but I'm not going to hang around for that. Not in the
mood," Hani grouched, attempting to push past him.

He slid to the side, blocking her exit with his broad chest. Before she knew it, his thick arm was
around her back, holding her fast against his body in a one-armed hug.

"It's only your family here now," Haein said softly. "You don't have to pretend all the time."

Hani squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the deluge of emotion threatening to break over her.

"What is this, some intervention?"

"In a manner of speaking. I just...worry about you, you know?"

She knew. And she knew why he had been the one to accept the elder's summons instead of their
eldest brother, much as he detested being at their beck and call.

In the aftermath of Sollji's kidnapping, her brothers had grown even more protective of their little
sister, especially Haein, who was closer to her than Siwon, the eldest. Haein had always been
secretly her favourite brother, but also the one that annoyed her most too. He had cultivated an
uncanny ability to read her, and was dogged in his pursuits to have her open up to him and the rest
of the family, especially in the wake of Solji's tragedy.

"You don't have to worry. I'm fine."

"Of course. But I still want to hold you a bit more," he said and didn't let go. Hani's resolve melted
little by little until she slumped against him in defeat.

"I hate you," she grumbled. He didn't humour her as his fingers gently combed through her hair.

"The girls made some striking observations," he said quietly. "About throwing your allies under the
bus."

Hani had known it was coming, but she was ready with her answer.

"Oppa, I want people to respect me. People don't do that when you're soft and—and gentle. They
just don't. They walk all over you. They treat you like dirt. But people respect power, they revere
people who have power, they show respect. They wouldn't dare trample over me. I have to have
that if I'm to survive all this. Tiger King is the key to all that so even if it means the girls have to
go, what's two girls over earning some damn respect? You understand," she added, almost
pleading.

Haein hummed. "So they're not your allies at all."

She stepped away from him, stiff as a board, and looked him directly in the eye. "They're all tools.
Allies will never last. Look at...look at the twins. Seven years...I thought I knew Youngdeuk. I
trusted them, him. They were my right hand people for god's sake. I thought they were always
going to be there. Turns out, I knew shit. People wouldn't do that to me if they respected me."

Their deaths didn't sting so much as the betrayal that wounded her deeply, poisoning all her other
attachments. Overnight, all the people around her turned into liabilities.
The shock dismantled all her confidence and trust in her henchmen, throwing the clan into disarray.
Being grilled and berated for weeks on end by the elders for her reckless, incapable leadership
hardened her, eroded her relationship with Chanyeol and the girls as seeds of doubt flourished.

Power was wrenched out of your grasp because you're too soft, declared the elders, sneering from
behind their silk screens in the great ancestral hall, sheltered from the world like spoiled fat
chickens. You bring shame to the family name.

They were right. She had forgotten herself. She had forgotten how hard she had fought to prove
herself. She had grown too soft, gave too many chances, exposed her vulnerabilities and
insecurities, grown too attached.

Because of you, the Dasoni will fall. You will no longer be recognised as the head of the clan. No
second chances.

But they were also wrong. The Dasoni would not fall, because she was going to be the one who
saved it and took back power from Jinyoung, the root of all the madness and chaos.

Tiger King was the key to restore her honour and reverse the Dasoni's fall from grace, even if it
meant throwing aside her previous promises to Jennie. She wasn't sure she was ever going to keep
it in the first place: Tiger King was too powerful a tool to just give up for sentimentalities but Hani
had been focused on getting it first. Moral dilemmas would be dealt with after.

The elders had given up on her but not Haein, who still consulted with her and listened to her plans
and took them on board, encouraging her.

That alone pushed her to seize the opportunity to have Tiger King. She might not have been given a
second chance, but she was going to make one for herself, by herself, without anyone's help.

"I think you're equating respect with fear," Haein said.

"Are you preaching me or something?" Hani demanded. "How do you make people toe the line
then?"

Haein sighed. "Fear, I suppose. Strict rules and punishments. Hani, I didn't say it's wrong. I just
said there's a difference and you ought to differentiate between them."

"They're one and the same. Two names for the same thing," Hani said stubbornly. "I was betrayed
because I wasn't feared enough. Tiger King will change that."

"Not everyone is going to be a traitor," Haein said quietly.

"You won't be able to tell until it's too late." Hani tossed her head and stalked past her brother.
"Good try oppa, but leave the talking to shrinks."

>

She was contemplating the skyline as she smoked her third cigarette (chainsmoking had become a
habit lately) when her phone buzzed. She flinched when she saw Chanyeol's number on display.

"Not now," she muttered, hurriedly cutting the call and dropping her phone back in her pocket. "I
don't need this right now. Why didn't I block his number? What does he want anyway?"

But she refused to answer, even as her phone buzzed relentlessly against her leg. She ended the call
two more times and lit up her fourth cigarette, cursing when her phone started ringing anew.
"Jeez he's persistent, what the hell is up?" she grumbled, grabbing the phone and swiping to take
the call. "What the fuck do you want, Chanyeol?"

"Ah, bad timing?" Jinyoung asked.

Hani turned to stone, her cigarette falling from her grasp. "You."

She glanced at the number on display, seething to see the unknown ID caller on screen. How did he
get a hold of her private number? Had Youngdeuk given it to him? Was it some other mole?

"How have you been, Dasoni?"

"What the fuck do you want, Jinyoung?" Hani snarled, recovering her composure. "You have ten
seconds before I'm cutting you off."

"Not so fast. I want answers," Jinyoung said, his voice turning icy. "Since when did you turn
into a martyr?

Hani blinked in bewilderment. "What are you talking about?"

"Im Yoon-ah, Choi Soo-young and Kim Ki-bum," Jinyoung recited. "You certainly pulled out
the big guns, let me tell you. And for such a high price too. I had no idea you had
such...virtuous inclinations. But I accept the challenge."

A strange burst of heat scaled up her spine, setting off sparks in her head. She recognised the
names: all three were journalists of celebratory acclaim, renowned for their crusade against
corruption and the Seoul criminal underworld. Nobody had as yet been able to muzzle them.
Hearing their names alone bred unease in the heart of every criminal, Hani included.

"What the hell are you talking about, Jinyoung?" she snarled again.

"Your plan to expose Tiger King to the public. The whole mess of it. Taking down your own
clan," Jinyoung retorted, making Hani's heart stop dead. "Are you really going to abandon ship
so soon? I expected better from you. Maybe you're really as weak as they say. Are you going
to run away to the States or something?"

"Has all the TK gone to your head? I have no clue what the fuck you're saying," Hani said. "Who's
feeding you all this crap? I'm not running to any reporter, least of all to turn my own family in."

"You're not? But then, could it possibly be that you don't even know..." Jinyoung trailed off
but Hani caught the smug undertone in his words loud and clear.

He was playing with her, he knew that she had no idea what he was talking about and he was
holding it over her head, like a carrot in front of a donkey.

She felt like one currently.

The knot of unease in her chest flared up into full-blown anxiety, even as she steeled her voice to
demand answers.

"You have five seconds to explain where you got such information."

"You should be keeping a closer watch on your little detective and his associates," Jinyoung
murmured, instantly making Hani tense up. "Seems like you've been neglecting him lately. He's
not as loyal as you think."

Chanyeol.

No. He wouldn't. They had talked about it. He wouldn't.

Would he?

"What do you mean?" Hani rasped.

Leave him alone, if you touch a hair on his head you're dead, she wanted to yell but she was in no
position to make demands, not when Jinyoung seemingly held the upper hand. Cool, calm and
collected, the opposite of her frazzled self right now.

He was in control and she wasn't.

And she didn't like that at all.

"I've been paying closer attention than you have. Eavesdropping on some...interesting
conversations he's been having. You really have no idea what he's been up to, do you?"

The sneer that grinded on her nerves like nails on a blackboard had her doubling down, refusing to
surrender to her fear.

"You're just bluffing."

"Whatever lets you sleep at night,"Jinyoung said smoothly. "Get your act together and stop
his meddling, or else the next thing you know he will turn up dead. That is a promise."

The call cut off with a click. Hani tore the phone away from her ear and started to pace in agitation,
her mind running haywire as Jinyoung's chilling words reverberated in her head.

Chanyeol wouldn't betray her like that. He wouldn't go up against her like that.

He was too upright. Too moralistic. He wasn't like her. Once he gave his word, he kept it, no
matter if they were on opposite sides of the fight. She knew her dark knight.

Or did she?

What if...whispered the little voice in her ear. What if he wasn't acting alone? What if somebody
else coerced him into exposing Tiger King?

Don't do it, people will kill you for the truth, she had pleaded, not even caring about the
consequences to her own clan. Her only thought had been seeing him lifeless with a bullet to the
head.

She thought he had listened. She thought he had understood. Had he no self-preservation instinct at
all?

You should keep a closer watch on your little detective and his associates...Interesting
conversations he's been having, Jinyoung sneered, soft as a snake's hiss in her ear.

With whom?

The only reason I haven't gone public with all this is because I'm protecting Jennie and the
girls, Chanyeol had said.
All her thoughts juddered to a halt as realisation dawned on Hani in a cold flash.

Jennie.

Of course.

It had to be Jennie.

Jennie had asked to speak with Chanyeol privately, with some lame excuse that Hani had been too
careless to probe further.

Jennie was the one who said 'I don't trust you' to her face.

Jennie was the one who had been insubordinate since day one.

Jennie was the one actively gunning to take her down so she and the girls would walk away free.

Jennie was the one who had turned Chanyeol against her.

Jennie was the one that ruined her life.

Fuming, Hani stormed back into the ward with staff scrambling out of her way as she marched into
Solji's room, startling Haein and Dr. Kim who had been in conversation.

"Oppa it's an emergency, get your men! We have to go back!"

"What happened?" Haein said, relaxing his stance as he withdrew his knife. He had leapt
protectively in front of Dr. Kim in a moment of instinct, caught off-guard by Hani's thunderous
entrance. "Slow down and explain."

"Dr. Kim, the surveillance tablet. Do you have it on you?" Hani barked. "I need to check
something."

"Yes, of course, here," Dr. Kim said meekly, blinking rapidly behind her glasses as Hani snatched
the tablet and tapped furiously.

"Hani, mind explaining what's going on?" Haein tried again.

Hani never replied as she cycled through surveillance footage of Jisoo's apartment in the safehouse.
Her eyes narrowed and she inhaled sharply as she finally found proof of her suspicions.

"You little snake," she hissed at the screen.

Haein and Dr. Kim crowded behind her. They stared down in bemusement as the clip played,
showing Jennie slipping furtively from the bedroom in a dishevelled state and head for the
bathroom.

The bathroom camera showed Jennie turning on the shower but she didn't strip. Although the
screen blurred for privacy, they could still make out the dark blob that was Jennie disappearing
behind a larger dark blob close to the edge of the screen—the bathroom door.

"She turned on the shower and then stayed there. It's not for undressing. Then for what?" Dr. Kim
frowned as several long seconds passed without any movement.

"To contact someone secretly, most likely. She even turned on the shower to mask sound. Clever
girl," Haein muttered. "But who could she be talking to—"
"Chanyeol. She was talking to Chanyeol," Hani said feverishly, fiddling with audio controls as she
desperately cranked up the volume to try and capture any sliver of sound she could. The deafening
noise of rushing water filled the room but beneath it all, they heard it clearly: the crackle of radio
static, along with inaudible mutterings.

"That ungrateful little bitch," Hani roared. "I protected her, I took her under my wing and
she dares turn around and bite the hand that feeds her? I'm going to annihilate her."

"Hani, what—"

"She's going public," Hani snapped, "her and Chanyeol, they're going to expose the whole Tiger
King story and take us down in one fell swoop. They've already selected out the reporters they're
going to call. It's a race against time to stop them, we don't have a moment to lose. Come on!"

"How do you know?" Haein said urgently, rushing to keep up with his furious sister. Dr. Kim
followed uncertainly, shaking her head firmly at bewildered staff as they ran past on the way down
to the parking garage.

"Jinyoung he...god, I suspected he had moles in the police force, I suspected he's been tapping into
police radio, so of course he's been observing Chanyeol. He phoned just now to taunt me about it."
Hani trembled, with rage or fear, she wasn't sure.

"What if he's lying? Look at the facts. If Jennie exposes Tiger King, she'll be outing herself too.
She'll likely never see the others again. Why would she do that?" Haein pointed out.

"That is precisely something she would do, because she's always on her self-sacrificing high
horse!" Hani snarled. Too fired up to take the elevator, she headed for the nearest emergency exit
stairway and clattered down the stairs two at a time. "Hurry up and round up your guys! I'm ending
this today."

"Hani—"

She ignored all their calls, her mind set on one single goal: wringing Jennie's neck with her bare
hands. She dug out her phone when it started ringing again, seething when she saw Chanyeol's
name on display.

"What do you want, you cowardly piece of shit?" Hani spat. "I bet you're dying to gloat about it in
my face, huh? Fuck you!"

Blind with fury, Hani hurled the phone to the ground and stamped on it hard, smiling grimly when
it finally stopped ringing. She didn't stop to contemplate how the shattered pieces resembled her
shattered heart; she was off running before her brother and Dr. Kim could catch up.

Bursting out of the emergency exit into the desolate underground carpark, Hani paused in her
frenetic dash when she found none of the henchmen waiting around the car like usual. The whole
place looked deserted. No sound reached them, the echo of her footsteps and harsh breathing oddly
stifled by the heavy silence.

The back of Hani's neck prickled as she scanned her surroundings, forcing herself to empty her
mind of rage and focus on the distinct unease building in her chest.

Something felt off.

"Hani, we'll make them pay, I promise, but you have to rein in your emotions for now,
understand?" Haein said, finally catching up to his sister. He stopped, and Hani could almost sense
his frown as he scanned the area, lit up only by fluorescent tubes. The exit passage to the outside
was the only source of natural light, weak and distant.

"Did you tell the men to go somewhere?" Hani said tersely. "There's nobody with the car." The
black Mercedes they arrived in sat alone in the deserted carpark, sleek and menacing. Hani found
herself hesitant to even step out from the exit doorway.

"No I didn't. They were supposed to wait here, all three of them," Haein frowned. Dr. Kim finally
caught up, panting.

"Hani, please reconsider," she gasped out. "I know I am stepping out of line here but violence won't
help—"

"Quiet," Haein said softly as he slipped out a blade. "Something's not right. I'm going to scope out
the car. You two stay here."

"Oppa—"

"Keep a lookout," Haein said and moved forward stealthily. But before he even made it three steps,
the sound of a roaring car engine firing on all cylinders deafened them.

Hani stared as blazing headlights flooded the carpark, momentarily blinding her as she shielded her
face from the incoming vehicle. The driver braked hard and the car came to a screeching halt a
short distance away. A familiar lanky man in dark blue uniform leapt out before he had even killed
the engine, waving his arms frantically.

"Oh thank goodness! You're okay," Chanyeol exclaimed. "I thought I was too late! You need to go,
now!"

"Why?" Haein demanded. "Nobody's moving till I say so. Where are our men?"

"There's no time. Listen to me, you have to get away from here," Chanyeol urged.

Hani's heart stopped for one moment, taking in Chanyeol's desperation. He looked at her now, his
face a cross between frantic and relieved.

"Hani," he whispered. He looked like a hunted animal. The way he said her name had chills
rippling through her chest, and they were not the pleasant kind.

Something was wrong— Chanyeol didn't get frightened. That was a wrong emotion to describe
Chanyeol.

Was he afraid of her now that he had gone against her, behind her back?

Anger clouded her senses as hurt bubbled up to the surface and eclipsed all sense of rational
thought.

How dare he show his face with such brazen audacity after backstabbing her?

"Did you come here to personally deliver me in chains to your reporters?" Hani asked coldly. "Are
you trying to lure me into some trap? What did you do to our men? Did you round them up and
now you've come back for me?"

"What? Reporters?" Chanyeol said confused before his face cleared, his mouth falling open as he
shook his head. He took a step forward. "No. No no no Dasoni...this isn't...I didn't—"
Hani never got to hear what else he had to say because someone—something—peeled away from
the shadows at the very back without warning.

Like the wind, it breezed past Chanyeol in a blur and leapt on to their Mercedes, startling them all
with the loud sound as it crouched on the car roof like a cat poised to jump. It wore all black,
background light highlighting the bulging muscles straining beneath the fabric as it sat perfectly
still, head bent and face hidden by a hood.

"What the hell? Who are you?" Haein demanded, pulling out his knife. "Did you take our men?"

The figure raised its head to look directly at them and everything else vanished.

All thoughts fled when Hani's gaze collided with murderous yellow eyes gleaming beneath the
black hood. The figure's rattling breath echoed, its mouth covered by a mask that had faint outlines
of vials containing yellow liquid arranged in a clock face pattern.

Tiger King.

Why here? Why now?

Her thoughts froze along with her feet and she could only stare in horror at the creature looming
over them.

"Oppa," Hani whispered.

"Go," Haein said under his breath, quiet and calm. He was gripping his blade tightly at his side, his
body tense like a coiled spring, and he never turned to look at her.

Hani glanced in Chanyeol's direction. He was back to stoic cop mode: his previous agitation had
vanished and in its place was grim determination as he set his jaw and his fingers inched
painstakingly slow towards his holster. His narrowed eyes never left Tiger King.

Shoot shoot shoot, Hani pleaded silently, desperately. She had seen the Tiger Kings in action in the
Slammer arena. Knives would make no difference. Guns would be their only hope to make it out
alive.

"Hani, come back in here," Dr. Kim whispered behind her. "Slowly."

But Hani was a statue, watching the unfolding stand-off with her heart thundering and her breath
coming out in shallow harsh gusts as tension mounted. Tiger King remained motionless, its sinister
gaze roving, studying them.

Was it Lisa, Jennie's sister, staring down at them? Was this the monster Rosé was so desperately,
hopelessly fighting for? Was this creature the reason why Hani's entire life was crumbling before
her eyes?

Tiger King's yellow eyes settled on Hani. She now noticed it wore black gloves that covered up to
its elbows, tipped with razor sharp black fingernails like a hawk's talons, or a tiger's claws. Hani
tried to swallow but her mouth was too dry.

What was it doing here? What was it waiting for?

Hani forced herself to keep staring right into its baleful gaze, refusing to succumb, refusing to
surrender. If the monster detected weakness, Hani knew she was done for.
Who was going to crack first? Time stretched into infinity until Hani thought they were going to
stay frozen in a stalemate.

But then an eerie high-pitched ringing filled her ears, making her wince. Chanyeol's face tightened
—he had heard the sound as well. It was almost inaudible, like a dog whistle.

Tiger King broke eye contact and raised its head sharply, listening. At the same time, Hani's
stomach lurched as the puzzle clicked into place.

Jinyoung had sent Tiger King to end them like he had all the other mob leaders!

With a vicious snarl, Tiger King sprang into the air and all hell broke loose.

>

Hani's accusations left Chanyeol reeling, his panic doubling when he realised she knew of his and
Jennie's plans.

But he barely had time to recover when Tiger King joined the fray, shoving all thoughts aside as
his instincts kicked in, all screaming at him to run.

But he fought to stay calm, to reach for his weapon and to thwart Jinyoung's plans before it was too
late. Chanyeol understood now that it was all a set-up, pulling him into the intended massacre of
the Dasoni siblings and neatly tie off loose ends.

Tiger King sprang on to Haein just as Chanyeol whipped out his gun. He fired multiple rounds,
missing the monster by inches as the bullets skidded across the car roof and hit the walls with
earsplitting cracks.

"Haein!" Hani cried.

Haein surged forward to meet Tiger King head-on, knife poised to strike, his lips peeled back in a
snarl.

Transfixed, Chanyeol could only look on as Tiger King slashed at Haein with wickedly sharp
claws. Haein struck out with the knife. They collided in a volley of kicks and punches: metal
clashed, sparks flew, blood spattered.

Haein slammed face-first to the ground with a groan but Tiger King landed gracefully and rolled. It
came to a stop in a crouch a few paces away, not even panting as it sat still, watching.

Its hoodie had fallen back in the scuffle, revealing a shaved head, glaring inflamed eyes and sickly
yellow skin, as though it had a terrible case of jaundice. But Chanyeol knew that unnatural skin and
eye colour was no symptom of disease.

"Shit," Chanyeol whispered when Haein slowly climbed to his feet, leaving his arm behind. They
all stared down at the mangled limb, severed from just above the elbow. The hand still gripped the
knife.

Tiger King had taken the first strike and ripped out Haein's arm in the process.

"Oppa," Hani said in a tiny voice. Dr. Kim covered her mouth, shaking.

Haein slowly bent down to pluck the knife out of his dismembered hand. His face was pale and he
grimaced horribly as he straightened back up, squeezing his stump with his remaining hand whilst
holding the knife. Sweat beaded on his brow, his harsh breaths echoing.

Chanyeol's stomach churned when he spied the severed bone protruding past the flesh. It surprised
him that there wasn't more blood gushing out but even so, the tattered remains of the shirt around
the area was soaked through with blood, and there were even blood splatters on Haein's face.

Swaying, Haein momentarily stumbled but righted himself just in time with a grunt, gripping his
blade tightly as he raised his head to face Tiger King again, quiet and determined. He made no
taunts but his glittering eyes delivered the silent challenge anyway.

"No! Haein you're hurt! Get away from it!" Hani said, her voice quaking with true fear, the kind
that Chanyeol had only heard when they rushed to Jennie's aid and found her getting strangled
within an inch of her life.

"Quiet," Haein gritted out. Chanyeol wanted to yell at her too—Haein was bravely trying to keep
Tiger King's attention focused on himself, to protect his sister.

Chanyeol would have done the same in his place.

"Back here, now!" Dr. Kim urged, pulling a struggling Hani towards the exit stairways. But too
late, Tiger King's attention snapped to the source of the scuffle. Its eyes narrowed.

"No!" Chanyeol and Haein shouted in unison but Tiger King had already leapt.

Chanyeol fired again, missed—Tiger King moved too fast.

"Fight me you brute, come on!" Haein snarled as he charged towards it, brandishing his blade
poised for a killing strike, coming up behind Tiger King. "Fight me!"

Tiger King abruptly changed course and spun around before Haein could leap back. Chanyeol
glimpsed its yellow eyes flash as it surged upwards, colliding with Haein mid-air.

Haein never stood a chance to retaliate. With two violent slashes to his chest, Tiger King hurled
him down like a limp ragdoll. Haein's head cracked against hard concrete making him cry out.
Blood sprayed from his shredded chest as he gasped for breath, the blade fallen uselessly from his
grip.

"Haein!" Hani shrieked from far away and Tiger King whipped around.

Chanyeol charged, his pulse roaring in his head. Pure adrenaline moved his legs, his arms, his
fingers, because all he could see on replay was the ruthless monster effortlessly taking down an
armed man.

Hani can't die like that.

Taking aim, he yelled to get Tiger King's attention as he ran and fired off rounds at the monster.
One bullet ricocheted off its back—bulletproof kevlar, Chanyeol noted grimly—narrowly missing
his leg. Dr. Kim covered Hani's head and dived for cover behind the exit door even as Hani
shouted and cried.

The lucky hit seemed to do the trick and spook it: Tiger King growled, turned tails and fled,
leaping over the car again and hopping off with the nimble agility of a parkour runner.

"No!" Chanyeol shouted in frustration. "It's getting away!"

He gave chase, anger pounding through his veins as he squeezed the trigger of his useless gun over
and over until it clicked—empty. He threw it aside and could only watch, heaving as the taunting
figure of Tiger King grew smaller and smaller, escaping from right under his nose.

"Damn it," Chanyeol cursed when it vanished out of the garage. He squatted to the ground, hands
trembling as he covered his face. His heart thundered, overwhelmed by the violent encounter that
had him escape miraculously unscathed.

Had this been Jinyoung's plan along? Was he only targeting Haein, the current leader of the
Dasoni? Was he intending to break Hani this way?

"Fucking hell Jinyoung, you fucking bastard," Chanyeol spat.

"Haein! Haein talk to me!"

Loud sobs broke him out of his spiralling and he whipped around. His stomach dropped when he
took in Hani leaning over her brother and shaking him from his shoulders as she cried, on the verge
of hysterics.

Shit.

Now that he was more cognisant of his surroundings, Chanyeol took in the three men in black laid
side by side on the ground next to the Dasoni's car, their necks stuck at gruesomely odd angles.

Tiger King had been here, waiting for them, Chanyeol thought chillingly.

"Don't just stand there! Get help!" Hani shouted at Dr. Kim.

"Yes, at once!" Dr. Kim gabbled, feverishly fumbling for her phone. She was a far cry from the
calm, dependable doctor Chanyeol was used to, badly shaken as her trembling fingers dialled.

Watching a monster brutally rip apart one of your bosses like a plush toy probably had to shake up
even the most seasoned practitioner: Chanyeol himself could still feel his whole body thrumming
like a livewire.

"There's more here, the henchmen are back here. They're...beyond our help," Chanyeol said as he
rushed to Hani's side and knelt next to her. The strict trained professional side of him had taken
over, moving his legs and voice, clinically scrutinising the murder scene.

"Haein! Haein please...oppa, hang in there," Hani wept. Chanyeol bent down next to her, wincing
at the mess.

Haein's shirt was torn, revealing his jagged chest lacerations that extended from shoulder to hip in a
trio of gruesome parallel lines. A congealing pool of blood beneath him had Chanyeol sucking in
his breath, and not because of the stench.

Haein was already displaying symptoms of shock, his waxy complexion and clammy hands
coupled with his weak movements more than enough proof. His gasps for air were agonising,
making Chanyeol clench his hands in helpless fury.

Haein was dying, no matter what they did. He knew it from the resigned expression on Dr. Kim's
face as she barked out instructions and details to the staff upstairs, so close but so hopelessly far.

Hani, however, was still in denial.

"Haein, please..."

Haein focused on her, pulling on every ounce of strength he had left to speak. Blood dribbled from
his lips and Hani wiped it away with such tenderness it made Chanyeol's numb heart ache.

"I'm...sorry. Don't...be afraid. You...hear me?" Haein breathed.

"No no no no," Hani bawled, tears dripping. "Hang in there, we're getting you help!"

Haein winced even as he threw his sister a faint smile and gripped her hand. His gaze slid over to
Chanyeol, brimming with remorse.

I'll look after her, Chanyeol wanted to say. But who was he to even voice out such a desperate
promise when he was an active accomplice to a plot to bring down their family? In the end,
Chanyeol wrenched is gaze away to look at Hani.

She looked so lost, her face screwed up into a pained mask. However, anger sparked when she
locked eyes with Chanyeol.

"Why didn't you kill it? Why didn't you do something?" she snapped. "Nobody...nobody...I didn't
even...I couldn't..." she broke down in sobs.

Chanyeol didn't say a word. He badly wanted to hug her, his hands itching to wrap her in his arms
and hold her head against his shoulder. She was so close, practically brushing shoulders, but he
didn't dare bridge the gap.

"Help is on the way," Dr. Kim said gently, kneeling next to them. Her sad face didn't go unnoticed
by Chanyeol as she looked down at Haein who was still struggling to breathe. His eyes were
closed, his brow furrowed with effort as his harsh laboured breaths echoed.

"Don't look like that. Do something! He's not going to die," Hani said savagely. "You're a doctor!
Save him!"

"There's nothing I can do right now," Dr. Kim said. She didn't blink when Hani flicked out her
blade and thrust it in her face.

"Dasoni," Chanyeol pleaded.

"Do anything!" Hani ordered.

"He has internal hemorrhaging, and he's in shock," Dr. Kim said softly, back to her professional
calm demeanour.

"Bullshit! I'll have you fired! " Hani shook like a leaf in a gale, her bloodshot eyes swimming in
grief. The knife she was holding was less of a threat and more of a pitiful attempt to project an
image of control.

"Oppa has been through worse shit," Hani insisted, "he's not going to die and leave...me..."

Her words trailed off as Haein's hand dropped from his cheek where he had been holding his
sister's hand. His chest abruptly stopped moving altogether and his jaw fell slack.

"Haein?" Hani said in disbelief.

Dr. Kim silently pressed two fingers against his neck. Chanyeol couldn't tear his eyes away and
held his breath, as though the outcome could be any different from the horrible reality that he was
sure they all knew.

He could feel Hani next to him, sitting still like a ticking timebomb about to go off, the calm
before a storm is about to strike.

Dr. Kim took an age to turn back and look at them, shaking her head. A chill descended on
Chanyeol as the fact sank in. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hani draw a shuddering breath.
And then the storm struck, sweeping Hani away in an all consuming wail that swelled like a wave
and echoed all around them.

Chanyeol pulled Hani against his chest and pressed her head into his shoulder, holding on tightly
and rocking her whilst she screamed and screamed and screamed.

>

"And it's a royal flush!" Ella announced triumphantly as she splayed her hand of cards with
flourish. Jennie and Jisoo groaned simultaneously and threw down their cards in defeat.

"My pocky," Jisoo said mournfully as Ella collected her winning shares gleefully.

"Fucking hell, I'm going broke," Jennie said just as morosely, adding two of her very last pocky
sticks to Ella's plate. Hers already had twenty, testament to her winning streak from the card games
they had been playing after dinner.

"Jennie! That's the third time in ten minutes!" Rosé exclaimed from the couch. She was watching
TV and surfing though channels at random, seemingly in better spirits than earlier that afternoon, at
least in Jennie's eyes.

"What? You want me to cuss less? Tell your kid to win less often, she's too good," Jennie
defended. "Isn't that right, Hwa-young?"

She winked at Ella who winked back as she collected the cards to shuffle. They had agreed to start
practising their new names, which made Jennie's heart ache a little because it hammered home the
reality of their situation and cemented the fact that their time together was limited. But seeing Ella
treat it as a game helped.

"Aunty Ji—I mean Young-ro, do you wanna go first this time?"

"Ah ah, you know the rules. Give me back my pocky," Jennie piped up, holding out her hand
expectantly. Ella pouted.

"I didn't say her name all the way, come on!"

"Yeah Jen, since when did you turn into such a buzzkill?" Jisoo teased.

"You're siding with her? She's clearing us out and you're siding with her?" Jennie gawked, holding
her chest. "Betrayal!"

"Hey, maybe I'm using my head," Jisoo winked. "She's more likely to share all that pocky with me
than with you, right Hwa-young?"

"Absolutely Aunty Young-ro," Ella giggled, high-fiving Jisoo.

"You won't share any pocky you get with me then?" Jennie pouted.

"Sorry jagiya, pocky is too good to give up," Jisoo chuckled.

"Is that so?" Jennie hummed, sitting back and throwing Jisoo a sickly sweet smile. "And what if I
were to, I don't know, throw in a little...incentive into the mix, are you sure you'd still want to hang
on to your pocky?"

Jisoo's eyes narrowed, cottoning on to Jennie's implication. "What's the incentive?"

"No no no don't listen to her," Ella begged.

"Oh nothing much," Jennie reassured. "A mere trifle really, nothing too important than pocky, I
assure you. In fact, forget about it. Let's play again."

"Jennie," Jisoo said, a heated warning behind her words. Jennie smiled in victory, especially when
she saw Jisoo's eyes glaze over.

She leaned forward again, smirking. "Well since you love pocky so much, I was thinking we'd skip
out on...fun times altogether later. I mean, who needs that when you've got pocky, am I right?
You're right, pocky is too good to give up, so enjoy your pocky. I mean, pocky
is way more tasty than..." she trailed off and pointed at herself, winking as Jisoo's jaw dropped, her
eyes round.

"Moooom, Jennie unnie is saying naughty stuff again!" Ella complained.

"Guys," Rosé groaned exasperatedly from the couch. "Keep it family-friendly, please? And to
think you all used to say Lisa and I were too much!"

"Snitches end up in ditches, Hwa-young, I'm sure I've told you that before," Jisoo said, her cheeks
splotched pink.

"I wasn't Hwa-young when you told me so it doesn't count," Ella said cheekily, making the adults
laugh.

Jennie shook her head. "This is why I gotta be a buzzkill, Young-ro. You give the girl an inch,
she'll take a mile and you will never know. Hwa-young keeps you on your toes."

Ella rolled her eyes making Jennie grin.

"Less of that attitude, missy, but alright, fine. Since you didn't say her name all the way, give
me one pocky back and we cool. Cool?"

"Fiiiiiiiiine, here. Aunty Young-ro, do you want to go first?" Ella asked with exaggerated emphasis
whilst Jennie and Jisoo laughed.

"Like that makes any difference, you little scamp," Jisoo said fondly as she snuggled Dalgom. She
pointed a finger at Ella. "Go ahead, deal me, but I warn you, I'm watching you closely. And so is
Dalgom."

On cue, Dalgom gave a little snore, which had all of them chuckle, even Rosé.

It had been a pleasant afternoon blending into early onset of evening. Jennie had eaten lunch after
her secret conversation with Chanyeol then joined Jisoo for an afternoon snooze. It had been easy
to fall asleep nestled next to her girlfriend just like they used to. It had even started to rain, the
soothing pitter-patter creating a cosy atmosphere perfect for snuggling.

The peace didn't last long: she was roused from her sleep when Jisoo started thrashing around, her
face scrunched up. Jennie thought it was a nightmare and moved to shake her awake but Jisoo
shook her head.

"Signal," she gasped out once it ended, flopping on to her back, limp and drained.

"That's the second time today," Jennie frowned, unable to stifle the knot of unease in her chest.
"What the hell is he up to?"

"Maybe he's trying to wipe me out or something," Jisoo groaned. "Great, now my headache's
back." She cracked her eyes open, smiling tiredly at Jennie's concerned face. "I'm not sure the
quickie route will help right now. Not really in the mood. Sorry."

"Sorry for what? You have nothing to apologise for. I'm here to do anything you want me to, not
the other way round," Jennie said tenderly, stroking her face. "What I can do?"

Jisoo sighed, closing her eyes again. "I just want things to stop."

Jennie pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, her heart giving a pang. They will stop, I'll make sure
of it, she wanted to say.

"Tell you what, why don't I get you something to eat? You need energy or that damn signal gonna
sap at what little strength you have left," Jennie said, tactfully changing the subject, "and you'll
faint on me again. We can't have you going back to starving after all the progress, Dr. Kim will
skin me."

She was pleased to see Jisoo's faint smile.

"What can I say, you tired me out real good. I forgot all about eating," Jisoo grinned. "But I think I
could eat now, yeah."

"I'm gonna bring you some of the gimbap Rosie made. Stay there."

Jisoo proved to be ravenous after she fully woke up, and they even had to visit the kitchen to grab
more food. Rosé swiftly reheated the main leftovers and plated more after being informed of the
situation. She had guessed the signal had struck again, because Dalgom had a brief whining spell
as she and Ella cuddled with him on the couch.

"Maybe Jinyoung has Tiger King on the move," Rosé had said carefully as she handed Jisoo her
third bowl of noodles. "I told you about the gang murders didn't I? It's been quiet the past few days.
Maybe he's making a move now. Careful, don't choke," she added as Jisoo slurped and gulped
down like no tomorrow.

"It's good," Jisoo said thickly. "Already feel much better."

"I'm glad," Rosé smiled. She spied Jennie frowning. "What's up?"

"You're saying he's using the signal because Tiger King is prowling around moving in on the next
target, right?" Jennie said. She fidgeted, reluctant to voice out her worry. "What if...it's
targeting...here?"

Rosé shook her head. "I doubt it. Jinyoung isn't after us, at the moment anyway." She looked out
the rain-blurred window, her face unreadable. "If anyone should worry, it's probably Hani. She said
he might target her."

Jennie frowned, disturbed by Rosé's conclusion. She was grateful when Rosé suggested they all
play games to take their mind off things. Since Ella wasn't going to school anymore, entertaining
her was a good distraction, especially when she proved to be more than a match for Jennie and
Jisoo.

"One more game and then Jisoo needs to go rest again," Jennie said now and snapped her fingers.
"Deal us."

"I'm fine now Jen, it's not as bad as before," Jisoo reassured.

"So you don't want to cuddle?" Jennie demanded, making Jisoo laugh and shake her head.

"How can I say no to that face? Of course I want to—"

"Oh my god!" Rosé jumped to her feet with a shout, startling them all. She whipped around, her
eyes wild. "Haein's dead!"

"What?" Jennie and Jisoo spluttered. Rosé motioned at the TV where Haein's photo was displayed
next to a newscaster's grave face as he relayed the harrowing news.

"...survived by his older brother and younger sister. The Dasoni family have requested for their
privacy to be respected during this time of grief and bereavement, and have called on the general
public to co-operate with investigations that could shed light on the gruesome crime. Earlier, the
representative spokesperson for the Dasoni announced a two-week shutdown of their various
portfolios for a period of mourning in the wake of this unexpected tragedy..."

A dull roar filled Jennie's ears as the newscaster droned on and on.

"What the hell?" Jisoo whispered. "Did it say who did it?"

Rosé flicked back to the beginning of the report but nothing of the sort was mentioned, only the
words 'brutally murdered in cold blood'.

"It does't even say how he was killed, or where. They're keeping a tight wrap on details," Rosé said
tersely, drawing Ella close and hugging her tightly. "That can only mean one thing." She
exchanged meaningful glances with Jennie and Jisoo.

Jennie knew they were all thinking the same thing: Jinyoung and Tiger King had struck.

"Hani's still alive," Jennie breathed, but she didn't know if the emotion swelling in her chest was
relief or disappointment. More worryingly, if this was indeed an attack mounted by Jinyoung and
Tiger King, were they going to be the next targets? What happens to them now that Haein was
gone?

Although he hadn't given her much of a leeway when it came to Lisa, he had seemed to be slightly
more reasonable than his spitfire sister.

Had Chanyeol not heard of this news?

Jennie patted her pocket, where the walkie talkie was concealed. She had to edge away from the
others who were transfixed by the TV to try and contact him.

This new development, though tragic, changed a lot of things so maybe, now was the time to strike
while the Dasoni were thrown into disarray.

"We need to contact Hani," Rosé said urgently. "The guards outside—"
"I'll get them," Jennie said, glad to be moving. She went and knocked on the front door. "Oi, you
two! We need to call Hani."

Silence responded her. Jennie hammered on the door harder.

"Have y'all fallen asleep or something? Hello?" Jennie frowned. She jiggled the knob without
thinking, the furrow in her brow deepening when the door gave way and opened.

Had Hani forgotten to lock the door after her departure? It was likely, she had left in a huff. The lit
hallway was deserted and while nothing seemed out of ordinary, there were no sign of the two
henchmen, nor of their belongings.

Uneasy, Jennie turned back to the others. "They're not here. Maybe they're on the roof? I'm going
to go look."

"I'll go with you," Jisoo said, joining her. "Dalgom, come on, let's go walkies."

Jennie tried to school her face into neutral and didn't budge from the doorway, keeping the door
ajar. The opportunity to contact Chanyeol was threatened.

"No, stay here. If Hani finds you had been out and about, she'll be mad. I'll risk it."

"You're doing that again. Trying to protect me and take the brunt of things." Jisoo put her hand out,
gently squeezing Jennie's arm. Her eyes were solemn.

"Stop treating me like fragile china, Jendeuk. Let's go look for the guys. You know bad things
happen when people split up in horror movies, right?"

"This isn't a horror movie. They probably went out for some air, or Hani called them away or
something," Jennie said.

"Don't care. I'm still coming with you. If anything, it's a quick outing. I haven't been outside in
forever." Jisoo smiled wanly. "Besides, you owe me some stargazing, remember?"

Jennie bit her lip. The terrible guilt that seemed to have claimed a permanent home in her chest had
her bow her head and whisper 'okay', giving in with little fight. But when she spied Jisoo's ankle
monitor, she raised her head again, remembering an important detail.

"Wait, won't we trip the ankle monitor?" Jennie frowned. She almost regretted bringing it up when
Jisoo's face fell.

"Oh...yeah, you're right. I guess I can't go after all."

"Oh not necessarily," Rosé smiled, surprising them. "El, get me the foil will you?"

Ella bounded to the kitchen counter and returned with the roll of foil that Rosé had brought along
to wrap leftover food.

"We don't have the tools to cut it off, and maybe it's safer to leave the monitor on for now," Rosé
said as she took a sheet of tinfoil and knelt next to Jisoo's foot. She wrapped it snugly around the
ankle bracelet as she spoke. "We also want to contact Hani. So I'm going to block the signal by
wrapping it in foil, which won't trip the alarm system. However, since they will lose the signal,
they might be alerted that something is up if they're still paying attention to us. Your last pinged
location will let them know where you had been but otherwise, you can roam around. Maybe this
way, she'll come to us faster."
She shrugged when they blinked at her. "Perks of working with criminals. You pick up a thing or
two."

"Neat," Jisoo said happily and skipped out the door. Jennie had been fearfully expecting her to be
zapped on the spot, or for alarm bells to blare, but nothing happened.

"Come on Jen!" Jisoo called as Dalgom joined her.

"We'll be waiting for you guys here. We'll be fine," Rosé reassured at Jennie's questioning gaze.

"Barricade the door, just in case," Jennie said.

>

"There we go, doesn't it feel good to breathe some fresh air?" Jisoo cooed at Dalgom scampering
through puddles and sniffing around the roof. "Here Dalgom-ah, you're going to get your coat
dirty!"

Jennie leaned against the railing, watching them with a heavy heart. The walkie-talkie felt like a
dead weight against her leg, keeping her on edge.

Contacting Chanyeol right now was impossible without giving away that she was in cahoots with
him behind all their backs, unless she was able to come up with some new excuse. But Jennie was
tired of giving excuses and half-truths: it was better to not say anything at all then spin a new lie.

The railing was all wet from the recent rain but she didn't care as she leaned her weight back
against it, letting the cool wetness soak through her shirt and into her skin. She tipped her head
back to watch the night sky, shrouded with clouds that hid most of the stars from view. It would
probably rain again later.

Weak moonlight from a waxing moon joined the streetlights from below that illuminated the roof
just enough for them to see the shapes of their surroundings.

"Guess it's not exactly ideal for stargazing huh?" Jisoo commented, joining Jennie at the railing.
"Bummer."

Jennie smiled over at her. "It sucks yeah, but as long as you're here, it's still nice. I couldn't ask for
more."

She slipped her hand in Jisoo's, rubbing the back of her hand with her thumb as she squeezed it
tightly, trying to bring her mind to the present, to focus on Jisoo and nothing but Jisoo.

"I wonder where the guards went," Jisoo said.

"Hani probably called them away earlier and we didn't notice," Jennie shrugged. She pulled Jisoo
closer, wrapped her arms around her waist and snuggled in the crook of her shoulder, her eyes
falling shut as she inhaled deeply. Jisoo's scent always had a calming effect but tonight, it was
eclipsed by a feeling of guilt so acute that she couldn't ignore.

Her heart warred with her head, remembering Chanyeol's plea to let the girls in on her exposé plan.

"Clingy Jendeukie," Jisoo teased, turning around fully to hug Jennie. "And here I was worrying you
didn't want me around."

"I always want you around. I just..." Jennie sighed, trailing off when Jisoo peppered her face with
tender feather-light kisses.

"I know. You want to protect me when things look risky, so you take off, to face it all by yourself,"
Jisoo said softly. "But you know something? Maybe I want to make sure you're safe, too. You have
to stop running and let me catch up."

That did it: the guilt rushed up her throat like vile acid and Jennie only managed to swallow it back
down in the nick of time before she blurted out everything.

Instead, she leaned against Jisoo until their foreheads connected and stood absorbing the night air,
the sound of Jisoo's breath, the sensation of their bodies touching, holding each other. She stood on
the edge of a precipice, a feeling of deja vu pulling her back to the fateful night when her whole life
was upended by Jinyoung.

"Something's on your mind," Jisoo said gently, and Jennie knew she was waiting for her to
elaborate.

It was no use hiding from her sharp girlfriend. Sooner or later, Jisoo was bound to find out.

But Jennie hesitated. She was a coward; an excuse was on the tip of her tongue, ready to silence
her conscience.

"Jisoo I..."

She faltered when she raised her eyes. Jisoo looked at her with so much love and adoration that
Jennie cracked.

She had made the mistake of keeping things from her before, until it was too late, and she lost the
chance to tell her side of the story leading Jisoo to suffer in uncertainty, disoriented by lies and
muddled facts.

That's what killed me most, Jen: I didn't know what was going on.

"Chu, I'm scared," Jennie whispered, her confession swallowed up by the darkness and by Jisoo's
bright eyes, like twin stars.

"I'm scared too. Haein's gone, and now who's going to be in charge? Will they switch up things on
us again?" Jisoo whispered back.

"That's...that's not what scares me. There's...something else." Jennie was on the verge of
hyperventilating. "Chu, there's something else. You'll hate me for it, that's why I'm scared."

Jisoo's eyes widened, her hands tightening around Jennie. "Tell me," she said gently and Jennie
could have wept.

Despite everything, despite what Jisoo herself said, she hadn't changed. Always patient, always
trusting, always loving, and maybe that was the problem: Jennie didn't do well with gentleness; she
needed the truth beaten out of her.

"Jen, you can tell me anything," Jisoo said, oblivious to the turmoil in Jennie's head. Or maybe she
was all too well aware as she leaned in, lips just shy of brushing her own. "Don't think. I'm not
going anywhere. Close your eyes and say it."

"I don't know how," Jennie said, anguished. "I swear, the problem isn't you. It's me."
She froze when Jisoo's arms fell away from around her body.

"Then maybe you need more time," Jisoo said quietly and Jennie didn't miss the disappointment in
her voice as she turned away. "I won't force you to come to me, but whenever you're ready, I'm
waiting."

But Jennie clung on to Jisoo and held her impossibly closer, shaking her head.

"No. None of that. If you keep giving me space, I'll keep waiting and waiting and never spit it out."
She dropped her face against the nape of Jisoo's neck. "I just want to protect you from everything
but I keep doing it wrong."

"Oh Jen." Jisoo turned in her arms and hugged her tightly as Jennie sniffled.

"I still think it's bad to tell you but I can't hide it anymore. When I'm with you, I can't forget the
guilt."

"We talked about this, didn't we?" Jisoo chided gently. "How we're going to be more honest with
each other. It's the better way to face things, together."

"Yes but what if it also makes us disagree and keep us in a deadlock? What if it endangers us if we
keep stalling?"

"You have to talk for us to find out. I told you, don't keep assuming what I'll do. Maybe I'll surprise
you," Jisoo added with a little wink that had Jennie sigh.

"You're right. You're an angel for not getting angry, but you have full permission to—"

"How can I be angry when you're shaking so much?"

Jisoo cupped Jennie's face, kissing her tenderly, reassuringly. "I love you, Jendeuk. Talk to me."

Jennie nodded, taking heart to blurt it out in one go. "Jisoo, I—"

Dalgom barked sharply, startling them and making them spring apart. Next second, Ella hurtled out
through the roof exit door, shouting at the top of her lungs.

"Unnie unnie, they've got Mommy! They've got Mom!"

Jisoo caught her as Ella shot straight into their midst, crying incoherently.

"What? Ella, what's wrong?" Jennie said urgently, all previous fear flying out of her head. "Who's
got—"

"Hani," Ella blurted out in tears, turning Jennie's blood to ice. "She...she said to get you. Unnie
please, she's going to hurt Mom, she's super mad, you've got to—"

"There you are, lovebirds," Hani drawled, stepping out on to the roof. There was an ominous
undercurrent in her words. "The little squirt got away but lucky us, she led me straight to you."

Both Jennie and Jisoo gasped when a squad of burly henchmen trooped out from behind her. They
all had torches that made Jennie squint against the harsh glare. The last two henchmen brought out
a struggling Rosé, mouth taped shut with her hands tied behind her back.

"What the hell?" Jisoo gasped.

"Let go of her," Jennie snapped at the same time. Ella quivered against her thigh while Dalgom
growled, all his hackles raised.

Hani threw a disdainful look over at Dalgom. "Muzzle the mutt or he'll be the first to go. And no
funny business."

Jisoo hurriedly scooped him up and retreated to Jennie's side, edging closer to Jennie which lent
her strength. The situation looked bad. They were surrounded, with only the railing at their back.

Chanyeol. Where is he? Did Hani find out about their plans and do something to him?

Jennie swallowed, pushing the harrowing thought aside. "Hani, what's up?"

"Oh nothing much," Hani all but snarled as she savagely pulled Rosé forward and shoved her to her
knees in front of them. "Just wondering if slicing this bitch up will make you talk."

"Don't hurt her!" Ella yelled, struggling furiously against Jennie's hold.

"Talk about what?" Jennie said, her mouth very dry. She gripped Ella's shoulders tightly, feeling
the girl tremble beneath her grasp. It made her heart ache. "Hani, whatever is going on, whatever
you have against me, leave the others out of it."

"Oh you still have the nerve to make demands too?" Hani said incredulously. "I don't believe this!"

To Jennie's bewilderment, Hani threw her head back and laughed mirthlessly.

"You really think you can get away with it, huh, Ace? If you've got the balls, say it to my face. Go
ahead, say it." Hani waved her hand around. "Tell all those gathered how you were going to betray
us all. Betray even your little sluts."

Jennie's face grew hot but she fought to keep calm, even as she sensed Jisoo, Rosé and Ella's gazes
switch to her, confused.

"That's right. She's been working behind all our backs to bring the whole Dasoni down. And do
you know how? Why don't you tell them, Jen?"

When Jennie didn't say anything, Hani tossed her head. "Figured as much. You always need
incentives to talk."

Jennie held her breath when Hani's blade flicked out with a sharp shlick. Rosé heard it too, her
wide eyes flitting to Jennie, terrified. Dalgom didn't stop growling and Jisoo next to her trembled.

"Hani," Jennie began.

Hani seized Rosé from her hair and wrenched her head back. Rosé cried out behind her tape,
muffled and in pain, whimpering as Hani raised the knife to her throat.

"Talk or I'm drawing blood," Hani threatened.

"Mom!" Ella screamed. Next second, she tore out of Jennie's hold and attacked Hani, pummelling
into her with unbridled fury.

Chaos erupted as Hani lost her grip and fell back with Ella on top. The henchmen rushed forward
but Jennie beat them, diving into the fray to pull Ella off and immediately push her away into
Jisoo's arms.
"Jen!" Jisoo cried. Her warning came seconds too late as Hani's blade sliced flesh and Jennie cried
out, stumbling a few feet away and grabbing her arm.

"Do you feel it burn?" Hani hissed in her ear as her fingers closed around Jennie's throat. "I bet my
brother felt worse when your sister tore his arm out."

Hani's fingers squeezed unforgivably, cutting off air and Jennie understood: Hani was blaming her.
She wanted to make her pay.

It's all your fault he's dead.

"You were supposed to be getting your freak sister back. But instead, she killed my brother."

"Am I my sister's keeper?" Jennie wheezed, eyes screwed shut as pain exploded over her scalp: it
felt like it was going to detach from her skull any moment. She choked when Hani squeezed
harder.

"Get—off," Jennie choked out, scrabbling frantically at Hani's hand.

"Chanyeol's not coming to save you," Hani said, her voice a low growl. "I made sure to stall him.
So get talking."

"Let her go! I'm warning you," Jisoo yelled. Jennie couldn't see, her head tilted back as Hani
wrenched her hair and gnashed her teeth, right next to her ear.

"Hani, stop it," Rosé begged from far off. Hani paid no heed that her prisoner had gotten free.

"Listen you little shit. I know all about what you were planning behind my back. How dare you?"
Hani said in a terrible voice, making Jennie freeze. "I took you in and you dare bite the hand that
fed you? Say it. Say it out loud for everyone to hear. Say it."

She shoved Jennie forward, and Jennie slammed face-first into a puddle. The cold water made her
gasp as she retched and flopped on her back, wheezing and coughing. Her throat burned and
throbbed, as though her thundering heart had taken up residence there.

Jennie dared to glance back at Jisoo, sweet relief flooding her body when she saw Rosé huddled
with Jisoo, Ella and Dalgom, free of her bonds.

"Jen," Rosé said shakily.

"Say it," Hani ordered, looming over her. Rage glinted in her eyes like sharp glass, cold and hot at
the same time.

Jennie took a deep breath and focused back on Hani. "I was working with Chanyeol. I was going to
expose the whole Tiger King story to the press. I was going to three reporters to give them the
story and only expose myself. The others would remain anonymous so that they're not targeted by
authorities or anyone else, and they would get to live peacefully away from everything, so that they
could start over. I was going to name Dasoni and Jinyoung to bring an end to all this, to set the girls
free. They didn't know anything about it. They're innocent. They have nothing to do with it."

Far from appeasing Hani, it only seemed to stoke the flames of anger.

Hani kicked her, splashing water, and she didn't stop, letting loose with savage fury as she
unleashed all her rage on Jennie.
Jennie cried out, curling up into a ball and covering her head. She arched and gasped as Hani's heel
struck her back, the hard blows landing like hammer strikes. The assault was too fast and
overwhelming for Jennie to fight back and she could only protect herself the best she could as
Jisoo's and Rosé's screams rang out.

"No!"

"Jennie!"

Above the torrent of insults Hani was throwing at her, Jennie heard the henchmen move, possibly
to subdue the other girls.

"Don't hurt them!" Jennie shouted, her voice joining the chaos. "Please I just—"

The barrage of kicks abruptly stopped and when Jennie dared to turn around, Hani punched her,
flipping her head back. Jennie's teeth rattled and she slumped to the ground on her back with a
groan.

But Hani seized her up from her shirt, lifting her to sit up. The crazy movement of the torches'
beams showed Jennie just enough of Hani's bloodshot, mad gaze. Jisoo and Rosé were still
clamouring from somewhere behind her but Jennie's vision tunnelled to Hani, and nothing else
existed in that moment except the seething woman in front of her.

"You have the nerve to make demands of me?" Hani growled, practically frothing at the mouth.
"You pathetic piece of shit. Everything is going to shit because of you."

"I know," Jennie whispered. She gritted her teeth as new aches flared up when Hani slammed her
down to the ground and leaned over her, holding her down. She raised the other hand with the
knife above their heads.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now," Hani said dangerously. "One damn
fucking good reason."

Jennie's heart was going to explode, her mind racing to find the right answer before the glinting
point of Hani's blade stabbed her eye out.

"No!" Jisoo's terrible cry caught Jennie's attention as she glanced back, seeing her hemmed in by
the henchmen all holding taser guns and knives. Rosé was covering Ella while Jisoo herself held
Dalgom. Jisoo looked straight at Jennie in despair.

But Jennie smiled. She had her answer. Whether it would spare her from Hani's wrath or not, it was
a damn fucking good reason either way.

"Because I'm like you," Jennie said clearly and Hani immediately froze. "Because I'm trying to
survive, just like you. Because I care for my sister, just like you. Because I'm trying to save the
people I care about, the people that I love. Because I'm so scared and alone but fuck if I care.
Because I'm willing to go through hell if it means they live. I'm willing to throw my life away, if it
means they live."

"Jennie," Jisoo whispered, her voice cracking. Jennie didn't look at her, knew she was past
forgiveness.

Hani had turned into a statue, staring down at her with eyes so wide that Jennie could make out the
gleaming white of her eyeballs. Everything had fallen silent around them, as though the air itself
was holding its breath.
Hani brought the knife down whistling through the air with a wretched yell, the blade whizzing
past wisps of hair at Jennie's temple and hitting the ground with a dull clunk just by her ear.

And then Hani was bent over her, gnashing her teeth as her shoulders convulsed from silent sobs.
Jennie laid still as a corpse and despite Hani's cruelty, despite her body aching and bleeding,
despite everything—Jennie was still moved to pity.

"My brother...is dead," Hani gritted out. "I saw it happen right in front of me. I had to take care of
his body, everything...after he was gone. He's...gone."

"I know," Jennie croaked.

A drop of water fell on to Jennie's cheek but it wasn't raining, and she wasn't crying.

Jennie lifted her arm on impulse without really knowing why, only knowing that the broken-
hearted woman straddling her was making her heart ache.

Hani slapped Jennie's hand away before Jennie could touch her face, her mouth hardening into a
straight line. Her vulnerability was gone in an instant, replaced with cold, brittle detachment as
Hani sat back and stood up, composed and in control. She still held her knife.

"You're dead to me," Hani said stiffly. "I'm letting you go. If you think about contacting those
reporters, my men will shoot you. They will be watching." She gestured at Rosé, Jisoo, Ella and
Dalgom. "And they will die too."

"What's...what's going to happen to them?" Jennie puffed out, wincing as she sat up.

"They're staying here until you carry out the original plan. Take down Jinyoung and bring me
Tiger King." Hani's eyes flashed dangerously. "It's personal now. I'm going to kill it."

"No," Rosé gasped.

"Torture it and flay it, just to make it understand what it's like to make an enemy of a Dasoni,"
Hani growled. "Just to give it ten times worse what it did to Haein."

"No! Hani, she doesn't know what she's doing, she's under the TK influence, please..."

Rosé's pleas fell on deaf ears. Hani ignored her and turned away from them all as she walked to the
railing, looking out to the cloudy night sky.

"Tonight, Ace dies," she said. "But Jennie Kim the terrorist comes back to life."

"What?" Jennie's heart kicked in her chest as Hani turned around.

"You heard me. The authorities will be looking for you. You're on your own."

"How can you?" Jisoo said, aghast.

"Why are you doing this?" Rosé burst out angrily. "Why the hell—"

"Because I'm not dumb," Hani said steadily. "If she walks free out of here, she will just waltz into
the nearest police station. Speaking of, hand over whatever you were using to talk with Chanyeol."

Jennie shook her head bitterly as she reached into her pocket for the walkie-talkie and tossed it at
Hani's feet. There was no use in fighting her—she held the upper hand.
Hani had essentially sentenced her to death. If Jinyoung didn't kill her, the authorities would show
no mercy once they got their hands on her. And if she miraculously managed to evade all that, Hani
was going to kill Lisa.

Would she really be able to deliver Tiger King—no, Lisa—to her death? Just to spare Jisoo and
Rosé and Ella?

Impossible choices, stacked on top of impossible tasks. And Jennie, as always, was facing it alone.

Jennie didn't know why she felt so calm. It was probably shock, slipping into numbness: nothing
felt real anymore. Her fleeting blissful moments with Jisoo already felt like a decade ago.
Exhaustion, deep in her bones, seeped into her mind: I just want it all to end.

She glanced at Jisoo now, remorse making all words desert her.

Jisoo's eyes brimmed with emotion. She mouthed I love you. But even as her heart gave a pang,
Jennie turned away. Saying I love you back felt like an act of hypocrisy, because how could she say
that when she had all but guaranteed their doom?

Failure to protect, yet again.

"One more thing," Hani said after she had crushed the walkie-talkie beneath her heel. "Stand up,
Jennie."

Jennie obeyed slowly as her back protested. Her legs quaked but she finally stood up straight,
facing Hani head-on. Hani's face was unreadable as she held out her hand.

"Your hand."

Foreboding twisted in her gut but once more, Jennie obeyed, slowly raising her arm. Alarm bells
blared in her head when Hani impatiently snatched her hand from the wrist and held it up to the
light of the torch beams. The jet-black wasp tattoo stood to attention.

"You won't need that anymore," Hani said and in a flash of silver, she slashed at Jennie's wrist.

Fireworks exploded in her arm as Jennie dropped to the ground with a terrible scream, curling into
a ball and grinding her teeth. People were yelling but she couldn't recognise voices, she wasn't sure
if it was Jisoo or it was all in her head.

Her hand burned like she'd been stung by a hive of vicious wasps. Pain eclipsed all other senses as
she squeezed her hand, gasping with her eyes screwed shut, rocking back and forth.

"Dr. Kim," Hani said from far-off.

Cool hands gently pushed back hair from her face, caressing and comforting even as the fingers
shook. Their touch was familiar.

Jisoo.

"Jennie, I need to see your hand," Dr. Kim's steady firm voice said, cutting through the chaos.
Jennie cracked her eyes open, squinting through the bright lights focused on her face.

"This will sting. Jisoo, tie her arm up. Like that good. Rosé, can you clean the area? I'm going to
thread the needle. Jennie, I'm doing stitches. Hang in there okay?"

"Jisoo," Jennie moaned, trying to focus on the bleary shapes looming over her. The hand holding
her shoulder tightened and Jennie scrambled to touch it with her free hand.

"Keep her still!"

"How much longer is this going to take?" Hani grouched from far away.

"Sssh ssh, I'm here. I'm here," Jisoo whispered from directly overhead and then trembling lips were
pressing to Jennie's brow, chilled but tender. "I'm right here, jagiya."

"I'm sorry," Jennie said, her eyes watering. "I failed."

"No. You're so brave and strong." Jisoo's voice bobbed from one side to the other and Jennie's head
was spinning. But Jisoo wiped her tears with her thumb, grounding her along with the sharp
pinches of Dr. Kim's needle as she stitched the gash back together. They kept Jennie from fully
falling away into the darkness, even as her eyes fluttered.

"Jen don't sleep, keep your eyes open," Rosé barked. "There's so much blood..."

"Unnie, unnie don't sleep!" That was Ella, patting her face urgently, forcing Jennie's eyes open.
"You've got to fight! You're one of the good guys. You're gonna fight, okay?"

Jennie cracked a smile. "I will," she croaked around the lump in her throat.

"You better," Rosé said. She swam into focus when Jennie followed the sound of her voice. Her
drawn harrowed face only lightened when she gave a small smile. "I'll whoop your ass for hiding
stuff from us when you come back so don't you dare try to get out of it."

Jennie felt her smile grow. A promise of return was the only thing she could give them to hang on
right now, even if she didn't quite believe it herself. But she needed it to hang on, as much as they
needed it themselves. "Wouldn't dream of it."

"Jennie, you have to come back okay? Come back to me," Jisoo said, bent over to look directly in
her eyes. Jennie focused on her upside down face, the lump in her throat melting just enough to let
her speak when their gazes collided.

"I'll come back. I'll make you happy," Jennie slurred. "It's all I ever want. I want to be happy...with
you."

Jisoo nodded tearfully. "Yes, yes so keep that in mind okay? I can't wait to have that with you."

"I'm sorry for hiding all this," Jennie mumbled quietly. "Wanted to protect you."

"I know. Dammit, you always do that. I should have known." Jisoo's tone was far from
admonishing as she stroked Jennie's cheek, her bottom lip trembling. "Jen, I love you—"

"Finished," Dr. Kim announced, undoing the tourniquet. Hani immediately swooped in.

"Aaaaaaaand that's all folks. Take them back to the apartment."

"Wait! Jen!" Rosé hollered as she and Ella were snatched away. Dalgom went yapping at their
heels but he was swiftly snagged from the scruff of his neck and carried away as well.

"No! Jennie! Jennie!" Jisoo screamed, struggling against the men tugging her away.

Two were not enough as Jisoo struggled furiously, so two more men had to join efforts and pull her
away from Jennie lying prostrate on the ground. Wetness from the puddle had seeped into her back
but all Jennie could focus on was Jisoo reaching out to her in desperation.

Jennie reached out as well, distraught and too dazed to string a sentence. "Jisoo..."

"Jennie! You have to come back! You have to promise!" Jisoo shouted one last time before the
men shoved her down the stairs to join the other girls. Jennie blinked and turned to look up at the
night sky instead. The clouds were darker, heavy with rain, covering almost all of the moonlight. It
would rain shortly.

And suddenly, it was only her, Dr. Kim and Hani left on the roof. Hani looked down impassively
as Dr. Kim finished tying up a clean bandage around Jennie's stitches.

"Breathe deep," Dr. Kim instructed. She brought out a canteen from her bag. "Drink some water,
here."

After several sips, Jennie felt a little more present in her surroundings and the haziness cleared. Dr.
Kim's eyes were sad, her touch was exceedingly gentle when she stroked Jennie's face once done
and stood up.

"Do you need me for anything else?" Dr. Kim said with a distinctly hard edge to her tone.

"You'll accompany us to make sure she doesn't faint or some shit like that."

"She should be okay, unless some sort of infection sets in over the next couple days. Jennie, you
have to be careful with it okay? Try to clean the area...if you can."

Jennie nodded, even as Dr. Kim turned away, probably aware how useless those instructions
sounded when Hani was about to kick her out on to the streets.

"I'll do what I can," she said hoarsely.

"We'll drop you off at Banpo Hangang park," Hani said. "The original deadline still stands. I
suggest you hurry. My older brother Siwon will probably come to be the new head. He's not going
to be happy with the girls leeching off us. And I'll have you know he's less tolerable of leeches
than...he was."

"I'm sorry about Haein," Jennie said, daring to say his name. It seemed important to at least let
Hani know that she sympathised, that she knew loss at the hands of violence through Tiger King.

Hani turned her back on Jennie. "Sorry won't bring him back. Let's go."

Jennie hobbled after Hani with Dr. Kim's silent help. She saw no sign of Jisoo or the others on
their way down and could only hope they were safe in the apartment.

The car ride to the park was suffocating. Jennie rode with Dr. Kim in the back, while Hani took
shotgun.

All throughout the drive, Jennie's mind ran blank. It was like somebody had pressed pause on her
thoughts and here she was, a hollow vessel devoid of feelings and humanity, numb to every
sensation. There was no past, present or future: she was simply existing.

It was only when they dropped her off in the dead of night at the northern-most, isolated point of
the park and stole away as swiftly as they had come that Jennie woke up to a very important
epiphany:
She had never said I love you back to Jisoo. She had never kissed Jisoo one last time. She had
never promised Jisoo she'd return.

What if I never see her again? What have I done?

Jennie finally broke down and sobbed as the first drops of rain fell.

>

"Cheers to another successful raid!" Bang Chan said as he clinked glasses with Jacob Elordi and
Jinyoung. He knocked back the wine enthusiastically, as did Jacob.

"More or less," Jinyoung shrugged absently.

He didn't drink as he swirled his glass around, his attention focused instead on the gigantic
suspension tank next to them.

Inside it floated Tiger King, suspended in yellow TK solution, and Jinyoung was mesmerised.

It wore a silvery bodysuit molded to its body, designed to enhance absorption of the solution
through the skin. Its eyes were closed, and the glow of overhead lights within made it look
ghostly.

Little bubbles of air floated intermittently from the oxygen mask Tiger King had strapped to its
face. Two chains around its ankles anchored it to the bottom of the tank. Around the tank itself
were coils and coils of cables and wires, some of them thick as a man's arm. Connecting to those
were the overhead platform which was used to lower Tiger King into it and below that, a wall of
monitors and screens, knobs, switches and dials that closely monitored the tank's environment and
maintained its smooth operation.

The whole set up plus the suspension tank itself—a tall glass cylinder customised to specific
modifications—had only recently been finished and put to use. It wasn't cheap but for Jinyoung, it
was worth every won. They were able to supplement Tiger King with even larger volumes of TK
this way, ensuring its success.

Jinyoung was sparing no expense to improve on his father's designs.

"What do you mean, more or less?" Chan frowned. "We struck down the Dasoni head, our teams
are poised to snatch up the rest of the assets—"

"Something on your mind, Jinyoung?" Jacob asked. Although he wasn't as exuberant as Chan,
Jacob tended to read the room better.

Jinyoung turned back to them. "Tiger King is on my mind."

Chan laughed uneasily. "Tiger Kin is always on your mind Jin, what else is new?"

"Yes. It all comes back to it. The TK demand. The turnover rate for fresh subjects. The
conditioning program." He turned back to the suspension tank, touching the glass with reverence.
"My father."

He saw Jacob and Chan's reflections glance at each other but he didn't blame them. Since his
father's death, he hadn't mentioned him beyond the dry media statement he gave the day after, and
burial arrangements. He hadn't even visited his grave.
He was too busy taking over Seoul's mobs (the ones that opposed him or proved disloyal at least)
and advancing business takeovers, political alliances both national and international and bolstering
his burgeoning little empire.

Besides, sparing his father any thought was time wasted. The old man was dead and finally resting.
Who needed him? There was so much work to do and oversee.

And yet...

"Your father?" Jacob prompted.

"My father was a nuisance. With him around, nothing I did was right. He always found something
to criticise. Always something not to his liking."

Jinyoung peered into his wineglass, smiling down at his reflection. "He challenged me. Made me
constantly innovate to improve and be better than he ever was. He was useful in that sense. And he
also admonished me when he felt I was losing sight of the end goal. That I was getting distracted
by Jennie."

"You? Distracted? Pah! Your old man couldn't have found a more dedicated person for this job!"

"Thank you Chan but you see, maybe my father was right. Not about Jennie though."

They stared at him in stunned silence. He let his gaze slide back to Tiger King. He never tired of
watching his creation. Whether it was in action or floating in slumber, he observed it with pride
swelling in his chest.

He couldn't have it be ruined. Not on his watch. He wouldn't repeat his father's mistakes.

Listen to me boy, his father used to wheeze. Don't get distracted.

"Tiger King responds to emotional triggers. To make sure its conditioning is complete, you sever
its ties. My father had it kill its parents. But then it befriended the doctor in charge of its care,
which messed with the conditioning."

"But we've taken care of that, haven't we?" Chan frowned. "It wouldn't be performing this well if it
still retained uh, emotional capacity for human emotions."

"To some extent, we have." Jinyoung's brow furrowed. "But there's one detail that has been
bothering me lately. I should have addressed it earlier because it can prove to be a liability."

"You've had a lot of work to do. Don't be so hard on yourself. It mustn't be that urgent because you
would have tackled it," Jacob pointed out.

"I wonder." Jinyoung gave a faint smile. He swirled his glass, then took a sip, smacking his lips.
"At the Slammer, Tiger King performed perfectly, except for one moment. And it has been
nagging me at the back of my head until I realised what it is. This could be a symptom of a
problem that can be disastrous if we don't tackle it."

"Don't leave us in suspense," Chan said lightly.

Jinyoung nodded thoughtfully then spilled out his observation. "Tiger King didn't kill Yang's
runner."

"Oh, that tall brunette chick we met at the Slammer? That was her right? Her name is Roses
 something."

"Rosé," Jacob supplied. "It didn't kill her?"

"No. It ignored her, even when Rosé called it. They were romantically linked before all this, but it
was still quite a fresh relationship."

"Must have been quite impactful, despite the short timeframe," Jacob commented.

"You didn't order Tiger King to slay her? Why not?" Chan asked.

"No I didn't. Truthfully, I have nothing against the girl. It seemed excessive to do so, especially
since Tiger King didn't react to her. Though come to think of it, I remember it turned back when
Rosé called its old name, but I assumed it was because of the noise, not out of recognition. I
couldn't be sure. But in hindsight, I admit I was careless."

"But they're unlikely to meet again," Chan said uncertainly, fiddling with his glass. "Tiger King
operates under strict surveillance of our operatives, and that Rosé girl is probably still in hiding
with the Dasoni. She has her daughter on the line. I'm sure she wouldn't risk being around
dangerous situations."

"Valid points but let's suppose they do indeed cross paths," Jinyoung said. "Because Life has a
funny way of catching you off-guard. Let's say they do encounter each other, accidentally. What
will the outcome be? Will Tiger King ignore Rosé and carry out its mission? Will it attack her?
Will seeing her trigger something in Tiger King? Those are all variables that don't comfort me at
all. They're too vague, too uncontrolled."

"And how are you thinking to tackle this problem?" Jacob asked.

Jinyoung turned his gaze up to Tiger King. "I don't want to take chances now that we're aware of
the problem. We should go back to the basics."

"You're saying..." Chan began delicately.

Jinyoung nodded, his smile broad. "Have Tiger King get rid of any sort of emotional attachment
that could interfere with its conditioning. That includes Rosé. It needs to happen in a controlled
environment. It needs to happen here."

"You'll leave her daughter an orphan?" Jacob asked.

"We'll get the daughter too then," Jinyoung said easily.

He was still gazing up at Tiger King as though nothing else existed, his eyes gleaming yellow in
the light.

Chapter End Notes

back again with your dose of angst, you're welcome :P XD

thanks for being patient and thanks for the kudos and comments, they make my day!
 vent out any feelings/theories/curses below XD

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