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Moonlight streams through the open gaps in Hyeju's curtains, casting a shadow of weird shapes on her bedroom floor, just inches from where she is lying on the futon. Chaewon and Yerim's soft snoring drift in her ears like white noise, although the kind that's not entirely helpful to her sleep health. At the very least, she knows that her best friends are comfy, taking over her bed like they always do when they decide to crash at Hyeju's place instead of going home to their own apartment one block away for whatever reason (this time, it was a promise of a home-cooked breakfast from Hyeju's sister in the morning).
The sheets rustle with Hyeju twisting to a more comfortable position. She punches her pillow a couple of times and catches sight of the time on the bedside table above her in the process. The red digital numbers read 2:10 AM.
Two things happen at once. A soft thud emanates from the fire escape outside her window and her phone lights up to show the blinking red dot whose location she had been monitoring has reached home.
Hyeju immediately kicks off her blankets. She crosses the room and sticks her head out the window, catching sight of Jungeun just as she takes her helmet off. Her thick mane of blonde hair flows down like a golden waterfall over the bright red of her ranger suit.
Feeling her heart race in her chest, Hyeju swallows. She does it again when Jungeun finally looks at her with a tired smile.
"Did I wake you?" Jungeun says apologetically, sitting down on the steel flooring of the fire escape, her legs dangling over the edge.
Hyeju slips out her bedroom window entirely, closing it gently behind her and taking the empty spot next to Jungeun.
"Nah, you didn't." She looks over her shoulder and lowers her voice even though the curtains are safely obscuring them from view. "Chaewon and Yerim slept over. Their snoring is what kept me up."
While she talks, Hyeju's eyes dutifully scan Jungeun from head to toe, searching for indications that she's hurt from her night of crime fighting.
"Rough night?" She asks when Jungeun quirks a brow at her, a tiny amused smile on her lips.
"Hmm, not really," Jungeun answers, wincing lightly when she leans her back against the wall. "It was more of the usual patrol. Except for that one shady dude hanging around the public swimming pool.”
At Hyeju’s frown, Jungeun stumbles to say more. “Don’t worry. I caught him in the act and even helped the police find all the spycams he was installing! They have him in custody now. You could probably ask your sister about it in the morning! Or on Monday since it's her day off tomorrow and—”
The rest of Jungeun’s sentence cuts off as Hyeju ducks back to her bedroom window. She grabs the first aid kit conveniently placed near her desk and pops back out to the fire escape.
Jungeun’s eyes widen with surprise but remain firmly fixed on her when she returns. Hyeju, for the life of her, can’t bring herself to meet that heavy gaze. So she stares everywhere but back at Jungeun.
Sitting back down next to her, she takes out a tube of ointment from the kit and lamely gestures for Jungeun to turn around.
Jungeun chuckles, a soft, airy, mirthful sound that's music to Hyeju’s flaming ears, but compiles. Gloved hands gather Jungeun’s hair, holding it up loosely to reveal the clasp that hides the zipper of her ranger suit.
“Hyeju, you know you don’t have to do this,” Jungeun says even softer, in contrast to the sound of the zipper opening in Hyeju’s shaky fingers. “I heal fast, remember?”
"Only with cuts,” Hyeju mumbles, squeezing an ample amount of the medicine on her finger and carefully blotting it over the purplish-brownish spot on Jungeun’s back, where her tank top doesn’t quite cover. All the while, she ignores the heat flooding her cheeks at the feel of Jungeun’s skin under her touch. “Bruises like this one will still hurt. Especially in the morning. You always say so.”
Jungeun gives no warning when she turns her face, peering at Hyeju over her shoulder. The sudden closeness would have (should have) caused Hyeju to instinctively jump back but the way Jungeun’s eyes lock on hers is magnetic, a strong enough pull to keep her in place.
“It’s nice to know you pay attention to me,” Jungeun whispers.
Even with the faint moonlight overhead and the distant glow of the lamps from the far end of their street, Hyeju's eyes are able to take in everything about her — how her pupils shake a little before her eyelids flutter close, how her lips part slightly as she holds her breath as if in anticipation.
But she knows only the wishful part of her is reading into it. After all, there's no way Jungeun, the light ranger and protector of the city, only known to get tangled up with beautiful, financially-stable older women, would want Hyeju (23, code monkey, barely leaves the house, and has two friends).
So, she runs her stupid mouth with the hopes of dispelling her delusions.
“It’s hard not to when your complaining is the only thing filling up my earpiece.”
The way Jungeun punches her on the knee in retaliation is immediate and Hyeju has to scoot away from her, laughing. If Jungeun ever shows disappointment with her answer, Hyeju doesn't notice.
“Oh, right.” Hyeju perks up, remembering something. “Give me your helmet. There’s something I have to check.”
Jungeun tosses the headgear to her and Hyeju catches it easily, peering at the recent upgrade she installed on the visor.
"Any issues with the UI so far?” She taps her phone against the helmet, syncing up Jungeun’s recent GPS history to her device so she’d know which traffic cams to hack into and wipe clean of any incriminating footage later. “I'm almost done with version 2.0, that's gonna let you customise your dashboard more freely. And also adjust the opacity so your visibility isn't as compromised."
"No, nothing like that," Jungeun says and Hyeju can almost hear the smile in her voice. "I'm still just happy to own any sort of tech now. Makes my job so much easier!"
With no intention of dropping the headgear, Hyeju lowers Jungeun’s helmet, resting it on her lap. The reminder of how shitty an organisation the Multiverse Light Corps is, makes her blood boil.
She doesn't know how Jungeun has been able to put up with it all this time. Imagine being hunted down by an alternate version of one’s self from another universe, being given a handful of powers, a silly ranger suit, and barely anything else, and then being expected to defend an entire city from the endless dangers threatening its peace.
If it were Hyeju, she would have let Spectrapolis perish on day one. She’d likely save Yerim and Chaewon and Sooyoung and their parents. But everyone else is on their own.
And that says a lot about how noble Jungeun is, taking up the mantle.
Hyeju often wonders what it would have been like if she had not figured out Jungeun’s identity as Red Light.
For her, it would likely be the same routine over and over again. Work in the mornings. Play at night. Put up with Chaewon and Yerim's shenanigans. Argue with Sooyoung about whose turn it is to take out the trash. And Jungeun… well, she'd just be their neighbour who no one knows a thing about and is always out.
It would have been uncomplicated, for sure. Hyeju wouldn't have to lie to Chaewon and Yerim so they could leave her alone and she can provide support for Jungeun while she's on a mission to foil some crime syndicate's diabolical plans. Nor would she have to stay up so late every night, wondering what time Jungeun would return from patrol and what sort of injuries she'd gotten this time.
But as Hyeju watches Jungeun yawn into her gloved hand, she knows this is for the best. At least, this way Spectrapolis's underequipped superhero has some help. Someone to give her tools and upgrade her gear when her own useless organisation won’t. Someone to worry about her because no one else knows the type of danger she gets into for everyone’s safety. And, not to mention, someone to pine for her just because she’s Jungeun (although, Hyeju's pretty sure she's not the only one in that department).
“We should probably be heading to bed now,” Hyeju says. “You have work tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah, the shoot starts at noon but, you know how it is. I have to get all the equipment ready before then.” Jungeun mumbles and then gets a little bouncy as she scoots closer to Hyeju. “It’s going to be for V magazine! Do you know the ballerina Myoui Mina?”
It would be hard to find someone who hasn’t heard of the woman. Her face is plastered on several of the most prominent billboards in every commercial shopping district.
“That sounds… fun.” Myoui Mina does seem like she’d be Jungeun’s type. “I’m happy for you,” She adds.
“It does,” Jungeun says softly, eyes looking at Hyeju like she’s expecting something. “It would be really great if at least one of my shots makes the final selection. Just one.”
“Of course, your shots will make it. You’re a great photographer.” She hands Jungeun her helmet back with all of her good luck tucked in, desperately wishing she could transfer it to her.
Jungeun takes the headgear in her arms, holding it against her chest.
“Hey, Hyeju?” She gazes up at Hyeju from underneath her lashes. “If I wake up late, can you save a spot for me?” Hyeju tilts her head in confusion and she explains. “Sooyoung unnie invited me over for breakfast again.”
“Ah,” It hits her like Red Light’s famous high kick to the face.
Even if Jungeun isn’t interested in Myoui Mina, it’s likely that she has something already going on with Sooyoung. All the time she spends hanging around their apartment is enough indication. Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time that a girl she likes falls for her sister instead.
Sibling rivalry and jealousy leave a familiarly unpleasant aftertaste in Hyeju’s mouth that she swallows hard. When she offers Jungeun a smile, she can only hope it’s not strained. “Just remember, Chaewon and Yerim will be there too.”
Jungeun rolls her eyes at that and it’s quite cute that Hyeju smiles. “And I don’t know how I’ll ever get them to like me.”
She chuckles lightly. “No, it’s just Chaewon. Yerim thinks you’re pretty cool.”
“Well, I hope that’s true,” Jungeun’s grin is suddenly goofy like the thought of Yerim having a positive opinion of her makes her giddy. “I’ll see you in a few hours then. Goodnight, Hyeju.”
Hyeju waves, watching Jungeun jump the short distance from the fire escape to her own bedroom window. In usual Jungeun fashion, her foot slips as she lands and, for a moment, she flails her arms around, trying to find her balance. Hyeju swings one leg over the railings, with every intention of pulling her back to safety but it isn't needed because Jungeun catches herself. She turns to Hyeju with a sheepish smile and Hyeju lets out a helpless sigh.
For her peace of mind, she waits until Jungeun gets inside her apartment before she herself returns to bed. With both hands cradling her head, she gazes at the ceiling, desperately willing her racing heart to settle.
Friday finds Hyeju and her friends at their all-time favourite spot. Like always, they claim the corner booth of the Bored Game cafe, along with a couple of games (Cards Against Humanity because Chaewon is feeling like her usual mean self and Munchkin because Hyunjin wants to bully Yeojin). Between cracking up over Chaewon's dark and witty card combos and watching Hyunjin devise creative ways to keep Yeojin from moving up the board, a sleepy sort of contentment settles over Hyeju. Or maybe she’s just tired from all the socialising.
She lazily stirs what’s left of her second glass of iced Americano, staring idly at her friends as they get up to do their own things for a bit.
Hand-in-hand, Yerim and Chaewon wander off to the counter to browse the desserts on display while Yeojin disappears to the washroom for a much-needed pee break. Interestingly, Hyunjin seems to have had enough with the cafe part-timer (the name tag reads Heejin, a bunny sticker tucked in the end) stealing glances at her but never finding the courage to come up and start a conversation.
With equal parts amazement and annoyance, Hyeju looks on as Hyunjin talks up the part-timer who gets redder and redder in the face by the second. Hyeju’s glad she’s far enough not to hear whatever stupid pickup line that weirdo is coming up with.
The sound of chair legs dragging across the floor gets her to look away. Suddenly, all she can see is Jungeun’s smiling face looking down at her.
“You look like you’re having fun.” She sits on the chair she had pulled up, lightly bumping Hyeju’s shoulder with her own.
“I didn’t even see you come in,” Hyeju mumbles, trying to ignore the warmth spreading in her entire body from the singular point where Jungeun made contact. She’s so pathetic and she hates it. “Where'd you come from?”
Jungeun grins and nods to the backroom. “I was helping out with inventory there. My friend’s uncle owns this place, you know.”
Hyeju whips her head to stare at the girl with bangs manning the counter, smiling so brightly at Yerim while she orders cake, almost like the two of them are having a sunshine-off. Disbelief slips out of her before she can stop herself. “Jiwoo is your friend?!”
“Hey, don’t sound so surprised now. Plus, you really shouldn’t talk. I mean, you’re friends with Yerim.” Jungeun points out. As if on cue, Yerim lets out a giggle that rings over the whole cafe. Jiwoo follows and it’s like they’re harmonising. Hyeju feels her energy drain just by seeing the interaction.
“I wasn’t judging,” Hyeju turns back to Jungeun, smirking as she gives in easily to the urge to tease. “I’m just surprised that you have friends.”
Jungeun throws a fist at her and Hyeju's fast enough to catch it. When her hand lingers, holding Jungeun’s in her own for the briefest of moments, well, she hopes to god that no one, especially her friends, notices.
“You’re so annoying,” Jungeun grumbles. She crosses her arms over her chest and tucks her chin into the neck of her oversized hoodie like a sulky child. “I don’t know why I'm talking to you.”
It's funny to think that Spectrapolis’s big bad light ranger looks so tiny and pocket-sized on her days off. Seeing her now, Hyeju can almost let herself forget. Away from the dark of the night and the things that go bump in it, Jungeun is just like the rest of them.
That little semblance of normalcy is comforting. Maybe in another universe where Jungeun isn’t a Light Ranger, in some remote world where the stupid MLC can’t reach her, she’s just a regular girl, doing regular things. Perhaps in that universe, with the lack of superhero responsibilities to complicate things, Hyeju would be brave enough to let Jungeun know how she feels about her.
Her train of thought de-rails as Jungeun shoots her a glare. It’s enough to make her chuckle. “Hey, I don’t have a lot of friends myself, but if you need more, you’re always welcome to hang with u—”
A loud crash interrupts Hyeju when Yeojin comes rushing out of the washroom. “GUYS! New Red Light pic just dropped!”
Jungeun’s eyes go wide in alarm. She throws a frantic look at Hyeju as Yeojin, Chaewon, and Yerim make a beeline to their booth. Of course, Chaewon just has to bump into Jungeun on her way, uttering a meaningless Oh, sorry, didn’t see you there, Jungeun, before she joins Yeojin who’s already hunched over her iPad in earnest.
“So,” Jungeun clears her throat. She tries to sound as casual as she can, but Hyeju hears the slight tremor in her voice and feels her chair move as her knee bounces. “What’s this about,” She swallows. “Red Light?”
Yerim smiles widely, a conspiratorial glint in her eye that Hyeju doesn’t miss either. “Chaewon and Yeojin look up to Red Light a lot. She’s their idol.” She slices through her cheesecake with a fork but her eyes stay on Jungeun.
Apprehensive, Hyeju feels around the table for Yerim’s foot to nudge her in a warning. When it’s Yeojin who yelps, she knows she got the wrong foot.
“That's an understatement.” Hyeju supplies for Jungeun’s benefit despite the secondhand embarrassment creeping up her neck. “They’re… dedicated fangirls. These two run the most followed Red Light fan blog.”
“It’s what they deserve,” Yeojin says with a snazzy snap of her fingers, not bothering to look up from her device.
“Actually, Red Light deserves way more but Yeojin’s still a broke college student and I don’t get paid enough as a healthcare professional,” Chaewon says with deep dissatisfaction at the circumstances.
Yerim gives her a look overflowing with sympathy, placing her hand over Chaewon’s consolingly. “Babe, it’s okay. You’re already doing so much.”
“I’d say you’re both doing too much.” Hyeju deadpans. Noticing how Jungeun’s panic only visibly increases to the point that she’s now biting on the nail of her thumb, she presses on. “Anyway, what kind of pictures did you get your hands on this time?”
Yeojin stops typing and thrusts the tablet screen in front of Hyeju.
She squints at a zoomed-in, highly pixelated image of a red blur and frowns. “What am I looking at?”
Next to her, Jungeun breathes again.
“That’s obviously Red Light!” Yeojin exclaims incredulously. “This was submitted by a blog community member who happened to be at the subway when Red Light stopped the extremists’ bomb attack! See? That’s them leaving the crime scene after it was handed over to the police.”
“Yeah! If you look very hard, you can almost see Red Light talking to one of the detectives and they look pretty close. Huh?" Chaewon leans forward, tiny fingers gliding across the screen to futilely increase the magnification when it's clearly maxed out. And then she gasps in realisation.
"Hold on a minute, isn’t that Sooyoung unnie?”
Hyeju's stomach twists in knots. Her mouth dries up as acid rises from her gut to the back of her throat. That second cup of Americano is a terrible idea.
Blissfully ignorant of her inner struggle, her friends carry on.
“No way. No. Freaking. Way." Yeojin exclaims. "Now that you mention it, it makes sense!”
“Right?" Chaewon grins maniacally, way too satisfied with the validation. "They probably get to see each other a lot with how often they collaborate in cleaning up crime. There might even be more to it than we know.”
Chair legs drag across the poor worn-out wooden floors again as Jungeun shifts forward. Hyeju just wants nothing more than to disappear. Now would be a good time to excuse herself to the bathroom. But then Jungeun asks: “You guys think Sooyoung unnie and Red Light are… a thing?"
In the face of Yeojin’s unwavering, juvenile enthusiasm and Chaewon’s unhinged intellect, Jungeun’s flimsy resolve of maintaining her cover would disintegrate into ashes. Hyeju literally found out she was Red Light by seeing her unlock her door while she was in her suit (Jungeun had tried to deny it was her behind the helmet but Hyeju has had too many suspicious run-ins with her at that point to believe it). So, for her sake, Hyeju sits through the discomfort.
”Yeah! Considering the list of lovers Red Light has had in the past, it’s extremely plausible.”
Jungeun blinks twice before her eyes look like they will pop out of their sockets in disbelief. “There’s a list?”
If Hyeju weren’t in so much pain, she’d find it stupidly funny.
“Mhmm.” Yeojin fiddles with her iPad for a bit, opening a new tab and showing a detailed blog post of Red Light’s rumoured past relationships, each one accompanied by a questionable photo as proof. “Look, this is Red Light with the news PD Cho Haseul. You know she was rescued by them so many times.”
Jungeun freezes, eyes darting to Hyeju for help but she can only shrug. Why is Jungeun so bad at subtlety and what can they do about it? Hyeju doesn’t know.
“Red Light was also involved with an influencer that everyone hated,” Yeojin continues, almost sadly.
“Oh, yes! Hwang Eunbi. I ran into her in the ER once during my shift. It's a good thing she wasn’t my patient.” Chaewon says with a shudder. She pulls Yerim’s dessert towards her and helps herself to some as if to chase the horrific memory away. With her mouth full, she adds. “But you know, among Red Light’s Ex-Girlfriends, Prosecutor Sung is the fan favourite.”
Yeojin nods solemnly. "They were together for a while. They must have been quite the match."
The silence that follows is heavy. Jungeun doesn’t talk about Jiyeon often but Hyeju knows how difficult the break-up had been on her. Even now, the simple mention of her name brings a regretful look on her face. Her own pain aside, Hyeju reaches out, placing a hand on Jungeun’s knee under the table. Their eyes meet again and Yerim suddenly clears her throat.
“So," She gives Hyeju a side glance. "Do you think Sooyoung unnie would live up to that title?”
Yeojin snorts, going back to her iPad. “You should know. You dated Sooyoung unnie.”
Yerim rolls her eyes, annoyed at being put on the spot. “Well, she’s hot and was a good kisser but all she ever did was work." She looks directly at Chaewon. "And I like my women cute, fun, and quirky with a great sense of work-life balance.”
Chaewon eyes grow bigger than they already are, sparkling with so much affection that Hyeju has to look away in slight envy. “Aww, babe.”
Yerim plants a kiss on Chaewon’s cheek and they giggle like giddy school girls. Hyeju focuses her attention on Jungeun again who's still too shocked to speak. She understands. The amount of details Yeojin and Chaewon have on her dating life is astounding. If regular people like them are capable of getting this much information—
“Sorry, guys. I gotta go,” Jungeun stands abruptly, her eyes everywhere except on Hyeju. “I just remembered there’s something I have to do.”
So Hyeju tries to catch her gaze, rising to her full height. “I’ll see you later then?”
Jungeun doesn’t even respond. She rushes out the door, waving a hurried goodbye to Heejin and Jiwoo on the way out.
Hyeju doesn’t get the time to process what just happened because, as soon as Jungeun's out the door, Chaewon turns to her like a feral chihuahua.
“Son Hyeju," Her best friend hisses between gritted teeth. "Why do you never listen to me?”
“Park Chaewon,” Hyeju frowns, sitting back down. “I literally have no idea what I did or didn't do.”
Chaewon huffs. Her eyes roll at maximum level as she whines. “It gets on my nerves that she hangs around us all the time! She's so lame. How can she not know a single thing about Red Light?"
It's Hyeju's turn to roll her eyes over the irony. Knowing who Jungeun is would devastate Chaewon. So, she makes a silent promise never to tell her but Chaewon isn't done with her rant.
"If you don’t plan on dating her, just tell her to leave you alone!”
Hyeju nearly falls off her chair. “Date her? What are you on about now?”
“Oh god," Yerim exclaims softly. "Don't tell me you don’t know.”
“Don’t know what?” Their combined dramatics only annoys Hyeju even more.
"She's a lost cause," Yeojin adds, unhelpfully.
“You’re hopeless, Hyeju." Yerim tuts. "I totally get why Chaewon said she gave up on her fruitless crush on you in high school.”
Hyeju jumps to her feet in disbelief. "CHAEWON DID WHAT NOW?"
"Babe," Chaewon whines, a little red in the face."That was so long ago. Why'd you have to bring it up now?"
Yerim just shrugs. "It's cool, babe. I told you before that I thought Hyeju was cute but she never asked me out and Sooyoung unnie did. Just saying being dense is her biggest flaw."
Hyeju waves her arms around in indignation. "Can we back up a little? I'm hearing all of this for the first time." She turns to Chaewon. "You liked me in high school?"
Chaewon rolls her eyes for the millionth time and Hyeju resists the urge to poke the spot in her forehead, between her eyes. "Who wouldn't? And that’s not the point."
Hyeju opens her mouth with every intention of demanding an explanation but she’s interrupted by Hyunjin's return.
"Hey, guys. What'd I miss?"
Yeojin welcomes her with a nod, tilting her head to the part-timer organising the shelves. "So, did you ask her out?"
Hyunjin grins from ear to ear. "Mhmm. We have a date in three days."
"Good for you," Chaewon almost spits out. "You've got good taste, by the way. Can't say the same for this one here." She sticks her tongue out at Hyeju and pointedly turns away from her, signalling the end of the conversation.
Hyeju sits down again, leaning back on her chair with a pout. As if to soothe her sulking, Yerim moves to her side from her seat across the table.
“You two are so obvious, by the way." Her eyebrows wiggle suggestively and Hyeju’s apprehension makes a comeback. Could it be— "The next time you sneak out to meet her on the fire escape, just tell her how you feel.”
Hyeju’s jaw drops but Yerim puts a finger to her lips before she can say anything.
“Yes, I know. And relax, I didn’t tell anyone, especially not Chaewon.” She frowns at Hyeju as if the mere assumption offends her. “Are you kidding me? Chaewon would be devastated if she knew who her idol really is.”
Hyeju sighs in relief. At least they’re in agreement.
“You know I love my baby too much.” Yerim props her elbow up on the table as she gazes longingly at Chaewon, still occupied with writing Red Light updates on her and Yeojin’s blog. “I will never risk breaking her heart like that.”
When she turns to Hyeju again, her stare is almost menacing. “What about you, though? What are you willing to risk, Son Hyeju?”
It's been weeks since Hyeju last saw Jungeun.
For some reason, she just stopped dropping by Hyeju's fire escape after her nightly patrols and instead went straight into her apartment without so much as a wave in Hyeju's direction. Hyeju supposes it's on her for not being able to break the routine of waiting up for Jungeun. But it's hard to ignore how, these days, the first-aid kit on her desk stays in the same spot, unused.
And whenever she tries to make conversation during their support calls, the short, clipped replies she gets are so distant and empty, far from the playful bickering that used to flow in her earpiece and fill up the space in her room.
Even if Hyeju wants to whine and sulk, and maybe bite Jungeun's head off a bit, for the sudden change, she knows there's probably a good reason for it. This could be Jungeun trying her hand at keeping her life private, especially now that she's obviously going out with Sooyoung.
For her workaholic sister, the change is subtle but still noticeable. She comes home early these days so she'd have time to go out to meet Jungeun wherever it is they go to do whatever it is they do. But more importantly, Sooyoung looks happy. She’s cracking jokes again and being silly like she used to before she broke up with her long-time girlfriend, Jinsol.
So even though the recent lack of Jungeun in her days is making Hyeju antsy, leaving her with nothing to do but miss her, she's not going to get in the way of her sister’s happiness.
All this thinking brings Yerim's words back to Hyeju’s mind, playing in an annoyingly endless loop like bad elevator music: the next time you sneak out to meet her, just tell her how you feel. So she groans in relief as the lift doors slide open to their floor. With her arms cradling full-to-bursting grocery bags, she steps out into the hallway. Jamming one bag between her arm and chin, she frees one hand to fish around her pockets for her keys.
She considers calling out to Sooyoung to open the door for her. It's partly her fault why Hyeju had to get so much stuff anyway (the other part is Chaewon and Yerim, of course). Remembering how Sooyoung has a date tonight, she decides against it and instead, powers through unlocking the door on her own. She catches herself eyeing Jungeun’s door wistfully as she does.
Finally making her way inside, she deposits the bags on the kitchen counter. Maybe she’d play several rounds of League to get her mind off Jungeun. Just as she steps to her room, the door swings open and in comes Jungeun, suit half-on, one hand desperately trying to slip inside the armhole.
Relief fills her frantic face when she sees Hyeju. “Oh, god. You’re here and you’re safe.”
The hurt Jungeun has caused rushes back to Hyeju but now is clearly not the time to unpack. “Huh? Why wouldn’t I be? What’s going on, Jungeun?”
“There’s this new group of bad guys calling themselves Big Bastards Corporation, terrible name, I know.” She finally slips her suit on and zips up. She continues but her eyes look away like she’s getting shy. “And, well, they sent me a message saying they captured my beloved and won’t let her go unless I surrender to them.”
“I mean, that’s clearly not true since you’re here and…” Jungeun’s face gets increasingly red with each word. “I’m just gonna stop talking now.”
But Hyeju’s brain refuses to process all the information. “Hold up, are you saying…?”
“I’m in love with you, Hyeju,” Jungeun admits, finally looking Hyeju in the eye.
“With me? But what about Sooyoung?”
“What about Sooyoung? I don’t have feelings for her. I have feelings for you.”
“Then the past few weeks–”
“I’m sorry, I was trying to protect you. I knew they could use you against me and I was afraid of putting you in danger.”
Hyeju swallows, unable to believe any of this. “You like me?”
“Yes, I do. Can you try to keep up?”
“But why would you?”
Jungeun scoffs. “Why wouldn’t I? Really I should be asking you: how do you feel about me?”
“I—” Hyeju doesn’t even know where to begin. All the nights they spent together out on her fire escape. How her heart beats wildly in her chest every time Jungeun is around. The way she really, really wants to hug her right now.
Hyeju's phone suddenly rings, cutting through the silence of her trying to come up with words. She glances at the caller ID once and picks it up on instinct.
“Jinsol unnie? Why are you calling me?”
“Hey, Hyeju. Do you happen to know where Sooyoung is?” JInsol’s usually lazy drawl is somewhat panicked. “We were supposed to meet at the movie theatre an hour ago and she’s not picking up her phone. By any chance, is she with you?”
“Oh my god,” Jungeun exclaims.
At the same time, Hyeju figures it out.
”The Big Bastards Corporation has my sister.”