Chapter Text
Seo Soojin was weird.
She appeared in their bakery one day and immediately made them all fall in love with her. It was hard to not like her. She was soft-spoken, kind, and attentive. She'd shown Minnie a few of her favorite recipes, let Shuhua dance all around the seating area, and praised Miyeon's decorations.
She was nice. But weird. Yuqi couldn't bring herself to trust the girl even if others seemingly did.
How could she when Soyeon brought her out of nowhere stating she'd been thinking of it for a long time. Since when had she been thinking about it? How and when she'd found Soojin? Why hadn't she talked to them? Maybe they didn't want a manager! They were fine on their own!
She saw Minnie scowl at the newcomer for the first few seconds before Soojin beamed at them and expressed her gratitude for welcoming her so warmly.
She was really nice. Minnie, still resentful after that horrible day, grumbled for two hours before retreating into the kitchen. At that point, even Miyeon refused to enter it even though they worked together.
“She's unbearable when she's mad," she reminded them with a shrug.
Or she was explaining the situation to Soojin, who titled her head to the side, squinted at her, glanced at Soyeon then disappeared into the kitchen. Ten minutes later, she emerged with a cup of coffee and a confirmation that everything was working out well.
They didn't see Soyeon much after that. Yuqi hadn't seen her much before that either; Soyeon was always too busy and doing everyone's work for them to stop and talk.
Not that Yuqi minded not interacting with her at all. It was still hard to look at her. Every time their eyes met, which she ensured would be rarely, her mind would fill up with that mistake she'd made and her face would flush up.
That's the what you get for worrying, Song, she reprimanded herself. What had she been thinking?!
She hadn't. Of course, she hadn't. Too worried, too relieved they were all right. Just too much, as everyone had always said. Song Yuqi, the queen of exaggerated emotions. Not her fault she felt things strongly!
Soyeon had always been her role model, after all, the person Yuqi looked up to. Not only because Soyeon's self-composure fascinated her but because Soyeon gave her a chance when no one else did. Apparently, having a degree from a prestigious Seoul university meant nothing when you were a foreigner with zero working experience. It had been her last resort, a new bakery not far away from her apartment that would not be too picky and accept her without much resistance. The pay was higher than in other cafes, which should have alarmed her back then, but Yuqi had been a foreigner with zero working experience—how was she supposed to know!
She planned to work there for a year at most, to gain experience and move onto her coveted field; the one she could barely remember anymore. Her salary was still reasonably higher than even the entry jobs in her field, so she stopped bothering after a while. Plus, it was obviously much more fun than any office work she could've been doing otherwise.
Four years later, she still didn't regret her decision to not move back to Beijing as her parents had urged her to do or go back into the field she'd studied so hard for. Just a thought of leaving her friends behind was making her heart ache. How could she? They were here by her side every single day! She couldn't imagine not seeing them early in the morning anymore!
The bakery was like a vacation for her. Of course, there were rush hours that exhausted her physically, but she loved what she was doing, she loved talking to new people and recognizing new faces. She loved spending so much time with her friends and never got tired of them! Would have she gotten so much happiness from the office work? Yuqi doubted it, now more than ever.
Whose boss had a career in murder as a side hustle, after all? She bet hers was the only cool one!
That day was still vivid in her mind. Soyeon wasn't a stranger to random disappearances–sometimes so much that Minnie's idea started sounding legit even if it contradicted everything they knew about their boss–so when she walked out of the building in the middle of lunch and didn't return even when they started closing, Yuqi didn't think much of it. She'd be here in the early morning anyway.
Her surprise when that didn't happen overwhelmed.
“Where's Soyeon?"she wondered, looking around the seating area as though waiting for her to jump from behind the table and scare them.
Minnie shrugged. “Home, probably. She'll turn up eventually."
The ease with which Minnie approached life should be studied. Even Yuqi who, admittedly, was great—no, amazing—at being chill about everything couldn't reach her levels of never giving a fuck.
Or maybe Minnie was happy no one would be nagging her about her cooking experiments.
When Soyeon returned in the morning, much later than anyone had expected, looking like a ghost that had seen a ghost then died, Yuqi was truly concerned. When she attacked Miyeon, everyone was concerned.
“Are you okay?" Shuhua kept on examining Miyeon's neck, who seemed so shell-shocked, she didn't react at her question at all. Dark bruises had already started forming on her neck; in the clear shape of someone's fingers. She ended up spending the whole day wearing a scarf and avoiding the seating area at all cost and no one could blame her. They were blaming Soyeon.
“What is wrong with her?" Minnie muttered, eyeing the door with caution.
Everything! Yuqi wanted to yell just a few hours later as she and Minnie sprawled behind the tables, silently praying for the horror to end.
Now, see, Yuqi was fearless. She hadn't been scared for a second to move to a different country with minimal language knowledge at the tender age of sixteen because she hadn't been scared to do an entry exam to an international school with exams so hard, only 1% ever got in. She hadn't been afraid to confront her teachers when they acted unfairly towards her. She once went bungee-jumping with her university friends and it had been the most adrenaline rush she had gotten to this day. She had been intimidated by Soyeon's unimpressed look but still riled her up at least three times a week. See? Fearless!
Terror gripped her from the inside. She felt like puking and her insides were twisting uncomfortably. Her heart was beating so fast, for a moment it was all she heard. Minnie was squeezing her hand tightly, but Yuqi barely felt the pain. The only thought? They're dead!
It was all Soyeon's fault! Obviously! She heard thumping and hitting but had no guts to look up. She was fearless, yes, but she was a very reasonable human being and wouldn't want to risk her pretty head.
A scream startled both of them. Minnie whimpered and closed her eyes, probably praying to gods to save her. Yuqi took a shaky breath and craned her neck to peek at the chaos but shrank into herself, hitting her head on the table. Black stars swirled before her eyes, like in all those cartoons she loved in childhood.
A gunshot followed but Yuqi didn't have time to process it as Minnie squealed and elbowed her hard. Yuqi understood why. There were two more men, one just meters from them, another next to Shuhua, who was screaming bloody murder. Her ears started ringing, Minnie's hand was shaking.
They were gonna die. They were gonna die. They were gonna die.
She was too young to die! She hadn't even become a super-famous TikTok star like she'd planned to! She was already on her way to greatness, it couldn't end just like that!
She shut her eyes tightly. There were so many regrets. She hadn't called her parents in weeks. She hadn't told them how much she loved them. She hadn't created a TikTok trend yet. She hadn't traveled to LA and met LeBron James like she'd wanted to her whole life! She–
Another shotgun rang through the air, then something heavy hit the floor. Yuqi opened one eye. She had to physically bite her tongue to avoid screaming. It was a body! Lying before her! Voices around her grew louder but only much later did she remember what they said. At that moment, all she wanted was out. To see her girls being safe!
Minnie wasn't. She had let go of her hand and was hugging her knees, not moving at all. Others... Yuqi carefully craned her neck again, this time clearly seeing Soyeon with a gun in her hand aimed in their direction. As though a sick joke, another man was right behind her! Yuqi couldn't help the yell.
It was then that she mentally clicked out. Later, when they were left alone in Soyeon's apartment, Miyeon asked why she'd been talking so much and Yuqi stared at her mutely, with obvious shock. She didn't remember. Nothing after that image of a gun aimed at them retained in the memory.
And it was her friend holding it. Her friend who was killing people for money. A hitman for hire. Something she'd only ever seen on TV.
What in the world possessed her to volunteer to help? Thank God, Soyeon was smart and stubborn and didn't let her do something so stupid. Because despite what Shuhua might believe, she was neither stupid nor reckless. She valued her life a lot!
So here they were. Locked in the apartment of their boss who doubled as both their friend and a hitman for hire who had gone to save their other friend, all because of a flash drive she'd found earlier in the day.
She was also super worried. For Shuhua. For Soyeon. What if Shuhua was hurt? She heard screams! Shuhua was a fighter but they were big! And mean! How was Soyeon not scared? She was, like, half their size! Heck, each one if them was taller than Soyeon could even dream to be! She was tiny but looked so damn calm and sure in herself when she left them here that Yuqi couldn't help but gain same confidence in her. But now, away from her sharp look and reassurance, Yuqi couldn't stop overthinking. What if something went wrong? What if they didn't return? What if... what if something horrible would happen? What if they got hurt? Why had they let her go so easily? She should have put up a fight!
Her mind was reeling so hard, she couldn't handle it anymore. Focusing on no thoughts was better than thinking.
“I'm bored," she said after an hour of aimless wandering around the tiny living room. Of course, it was just enough for someone as tiny as Soyeon but it absolutely did not feel comfortable with the three of them. She kept on hitting Miyeon's feet! All the time!
“Go amuse yourself," Minnie mumbled, staring at the bottle, a second one that they'd snatched from their storage.
She didn't let any of them have a sip.
“I can't!" she whined. Miyeon's lips pulled up and Yuqi stared at her pleadingly.
“All right!" Miyeon groaned, getting to her feet. “But if Soyeon gets mad, I'm blaming it on your cuteness."
Yuqi's smile hurt her cheeks. It's so good to be too cute sometimes!
They entered the kitchen. A small one as well and so painfully yellow her eyes hurt. It was like staring at the sun filled with sunflowers, how could she live like that? Blinking rapidly, Yuqi opened the fridge and chuckled. Of course, there was nothing but rows of water and some chicken leftovers.
“We're out of luck," she stated flatly, shutting the door. Miyeon raised an eyebrow. “Cupboards?"
There was nothing either. It's like she didn't even eat here! How could she not have any food? Did she want them all to die of hunger?
“She probably just didn't think of it," Miyeon tried to reason as they returned to the living room where Minnie was lying face down on the sofa cushion--not yellow, thankfully–and groaning. She gave them a middle finger when Yuqi ruffled her hair.
“Doesn't sound like her at all."
Because when did Jeon Soyeon not think of everything? There hadn't been a time she'd forget or misplace something in all four years they'd known each other.
Makes one wonder how she'd managed to lose that damned flash drive in the first place.
“She looks like a clean freak, too, which she obviously is not," Miyeon gestured around the living room.
Which... yeah. For someone who demanded everything to be neat and perfect, she barely picked up her clothes from the floor. Yuqi had already stumbled at least twice on a sweater that seemed to have been lying here for months. They had to move four plates from the coffee table and throw a raincoat off the couch before Minnie hogged it all to herself.
For someone so organized she was messy.
Obviously, her bedroom looked even worse!
“How does she find anything?" Yuqi marveled, her eyes popping out in amazement.
She must have cleaned up before letting them in all those times before because, apparently, she didn't make her bed. Ever. And she liked throwing pillows around? Her blanket was on the floor in a messy pile as though she'd fallen out of the bed and forgotten to put it all back. Then there were clothes. Everywhere. On the floor, on the chair, some even hang from the side of her desk!
Miyeon made a noncommittal noise. “Are you sure you want to do this?"
“What's the worst thing we can find?" Yuqi reasoned.
Before, she wouldn't even have given it much thought. She wouldn't have cared. Now? Every corner felt like a trap that would send an arrow through her chest if she walked the wrong way. Every piece of clothes was a landmine of its own that Yuqi had to hop over to get to the other side. She plopped on the chair with a heavy sigh. For such a small place, it honestly had too many things crammed together. Most of it was clothes. Yuqi had to fight the urge to push it all in the corner.
“What are you trying to find?" Miyeon asked, looking around with a thoughtful expression. With two fingers, she picked up what appeared to be a green shirt and spun it around, examining it with a critical eye. It looked almost identical to the one Miyeon's was wearing, hers was just blue.
“Something clean," Yuqi grumbled.
Seriously, how come they never noticed what a slob she was? There was no way to clutter a space so small with so few pieces of furniture, yet she managed and none of it looked personal or intentional.
Yuqi glanced at the vanity standing against the wall. She hadn't put much thought into it before, stupid. She hadn't paid attention to how… impersonal her bedroom was. Like she used it because she was supposed to have one and not because it was her home. Everything here was mismatched to hell! A bed that might have been made two centuries ago and a desk from the shop Minnie had been ravaging for a year now? A closet that definitely came with the building and hadn't been even painted over? Books with a layer of dust on them but a new–like, new–laptop? Almost like she didn't care about anything in here, even though Yuqi knew perfectly well she used it.
She was overthinking it, wasn't she?
“She will kill us, you know." Yuqi stared at Miyeon in disbelief. Miyeon? Showing reason? In response, Miyeon smiled. “So we gotta be sneaky."
Being sneaky in this mess shouldn't be so hard. She would probably not even notice in between a T-shirt and a book that something was amiss. Yuqi doubted she knew what she had in this room at all.
Miyeon went straight for the closet, stomping on pieces of clothes like they were snow hills. Yuqi closed her eyes and heaved a breath. The air in the room was stale like it hadn't been aired in days; she could smell subtle hints of some spices and a familiar scent of some flowers.
Miyeon let out a snort, prompting Yuqi to straighten up and look at her.
“You'll never guess what she's keeping in her closet," she giggled, stepping away and letting her see the inside of it.
Three neat stacks of books looked at her from the depths of the closet. That's it. Only books. She squinted at the names but didn't recognize a single one of them.
“Manga," Miyeon breathed out. “What's next, teddy bears?"
“She wouldn't dare!"
She didn't. Between shoes with heels so high and sharp she might have used them as weapons at least once and a pair of pajamas pants with yellow ducks on them she didn't actually have any more nerdy things. Just unbearably cute, which didn't settle in with the idea of Jeon Soyeon she had.
They might really not know her all that well, after all. Yuqi didn't expect... well, yellow ducks, she expected. Everything else? Soyeon knew how to hide things. And hobbies. Yuqi didn't even realize Soyeon might have hobbies; she never gave them a reason to think that.
Yuqi almost crawled out of the bedroom, unable to stay on her feet any longer. She had three coloring books, a lot of yarn, and a half-knitted sweater. Yellow!
“Kim Minnie!" she exclaimed though suffocating laughter, swinging the knitting needle like a sword. “I'm Zorro!"
Minnie raised her head, groaned again and dropped it back on the cushion. A middle finger in their general direction was off by a few meters.
Miyeon behind her back giggled.
“Eonni is making a sweater!" Yuqi announced like it would actually interest Minnie. “With some guy in a straw hat and with crazy eyes!"
“Monkey Luffy," Miyeon commented off-handedly.
Bemused, Yuqi whirled toward her, the needle almost scratching Miyeon's arm. Miyeon screeched and leaped away, hitting the door jamb and tumbling on the floor. Yuqi dropped the needle, rushing to help her.
Minnie's chuckle could be heard all around them.
She didn't shut up from that point on. Ten minutes were okay. Twenty? Of Minnie's hysterical laughter mixed in with tears and a hazardous knitting needles swinging? Miyeon tried to snatch it from her hands but both ended toppling over the coffee table. Yuqi winced, feeling their pain.
At least, the knitting needle was safely secured away from Minnie, who went on the next level of her drunkenness: clinginess. The reason none of them ever drank with her again. Or let her have more than a glass.
“Kishme," Minnie mumbled, practically licking Yuqi's ear. Yuqi leaned away from her with a squeal of disgust that made Minnie snicker.
“Eonni, save me!" Yuqi pleaded, pushing Minnie, who was now giggling menacingly, away.
Miyeon scratched the back of her head with the knitting needle and shook her head.
“She's your headache now."
Sometimes Yuqi regretted being friends with them. Especially, when they were drunk out of their minds or disappearing to kill a couple of bad guys that they'd accidentally sicced on others.
Another twenty minutes had passed. Minnie was getting on her nerves, now sulking because Yuqi refused three of her kisses in a row. Miyeon kept on whirling the knitting needle in her hands, staring at it thoughtfully. And Yuqi, she wanted to go home. Somehow she felt exhausted. She never felt exhausted! She was the most energetic out of them all!
“Miyeon-ah!" Yuqi whined, shoving Minnie to the side, who immediately wrapped her arms around Yuqi's and kissed her cheek; strong presence of wine hang in the air between them. “Save me!"
Miyeon hummed appreciatively and poked the armrest of the armchair with the knitting needle.
“How does she use them?" she asked out loud.
Yuqi groaned. Can Soyeon hurry up?! She be a good employee and friend and not bother her for a week--no, three days! She wouldn't complain about anything!
“Why you s'cute?" Minnie wondered, poking her on the cheek, evoking a jolt from Yuqi.
“Get off me!" she commanded but Minnie just cackled and poked her on the cheek again.
Then she lay her head on Yuqi's shoulder and grunted. When Yuqi lifted it, she yelped and finally sat straight.
“Mimi, she bullin'!"
Miyeon hummed in agreement, carefully pressing her finger against the pointy part of the needle and exhaled loudly. “How do you use them? Do you know how to knit?"
Yuqi slumped on the couch to the sound of Minnie still giggling, this time saying how 'QiQi mad' and finding it even funnier than before. She poked Yuqi between eyebrows, too.
Unable to hold it in anymore (and wondering how she'd lasted this long), Yuqi leaped to her feet, ignoring a squeal that escaped Minnie, and stomped into the bedroom. Mountains upon mountains of clothes or not, it clearly was less annoying.
Yuqi opened the door, caught clothes all over the floor, and slid down with a sigh. No, it wasn't less annoying. This bedroom irritates her even more than Minnie swaying from side to side, laughing maniacally and Miyeon avoiding self-maiming by miracle. She closed her eyes and tried to detach herself from everything.
It was between Minnie cackling like a crazy witch and Miyeon waving the knitting needle like a sword, that a knock on the door made her perk up.
They're here!
She rushed to the door, paying no mind to Minnie calling after her--she wouldn't say anything wise anyway. All Yuqi cared about was that she could finally complain.
“Thanks God you're–"
She caught only a glimpse of a tall bulky man at the door before she tried to shut it in his face. Her scream might have alerted Miyeon because next thing she knew, Miyeon was hovering around her and the scary man, pointing the knitting needle at him.
“Go, Mimi, go!" Minnie yelled from her place, bouncing on the couch.
Miyeon pursed her lips and advanced at him, outstretching her arm so much, the needle almost punctured his chest. The man moved to the side, trying to strike her but Miyeon jumped away from him, immediately stumbling on her own foot, and crashed into Yuqi.
“Nooo, Mimi!" Minnie screeched, suddenly booing. “Go 'im! Go! Go!"
Accompanied by the chant, both circled around the armchair, Miyeon still holding the knitting needle. The man grunted. Stopped at the armchair then lunged at them over it. Yuqi screamed. Minnie screamed with her. Miyeon jolted and pushed the knitting needle through the man, who jerked up and staggered backwards.
Yuqi could only watch in horror, frozen in place and unable to move a finger. Miyeon advanced at him as the man hit a few frames that hang on the wall behind him. Those cracked under the pressure as the man groaned and touched the back of his head.
“Bitch!" he spit out.
In response, Miyeon started waving the knitting needle chaotically and frantically. Everything in Yuqi's vision blurred together with her sanity. Not thinking much, she grabbed Minnie by the elbow and yanked her up. Minnie raised her arm, still cheering Miyeon on, and wobbled after Yuqi, who tried her best to drag her to the bedroom where they both could be safe.
Miyeon was doing amazing! Yuqi cheered her on too, but from the safety of a room with a lock!
“Mimi!" Minnie yelled, waving her hand. “Whooho! Hit 'im!"
Miyeon got distracted just for a split second but it was a second too much, for the man charged at her. Yuqi screamed again, letting go of Minnie, who decided to run to them but stepped on her foot wrong and dropped down on the floor.
“Minnie, no!" Yuqi rushed after her but ended up tripping over Minnie's leg. With a huff, she toppled over and went limp.
It was like a horror movie all over again. One second, the guy was trying to grab Miyeon's arm, who was surprisingly dexterous, and the next, the knitting needle went right through his shoulder. His voice rang through the living room, freezing Minnie up.
Miyeon blinked. Glanced at her own hand then started giggling.
Yuqi did not know how she managed to shove Minnie in the bedroom and close the door. She didn't want to stay with her and she didn't want to watch Miyeon stand over the body, still giggling like a mad woman, holding the damned knitting needle like a sword of victory.
When are they going to get back?!