"So, what happened exactly?" Chaeyoung asked after Jisoo murmured 'thank you' as she handed her a steaming mug of hot drink.

"Love happened, I guess," Jisoo replied weakly and took a sip on the hot tea. She felt so tired she almost couldn't hear her own voice.

It was five past three in the morning. They were sitting from across each other on Chaeyoung's island table in the kitchen. They were both holding a mug of their own and Jisoo's sleep-deprived, bloodshot eyes had already wandered curiously, although unwillingly, around Chaeyoung's place before the redhead had returned from fixing herself after they took care of Lisa's friend. She was particularly musing about how almost everything in the redhead's place speaks music, including the red bistro mug she was holding, which had tiny musical notes painted around it, but was too tired to even start a conversation about it.

"That's profound," Chaeyoung said as she looked over at the couch, where Doona was sleeping, covered with a fleece blanket. "I hope the profundity also explains why she drunk herself to death?" she inquired.

They had changed Doona's clothes with one of Chaeyoung's pair of pajamas after they cleaned her up, with Jisoo somewhat hesitant to helped Chaeyoung undressed the overly-intoxicated, semi-conscious Doona. It was Jisoo's first time seeing a naked body of a full-grown woman, other than her own, of course, and it made her feel slightly awkward. Which Chaeyoung only brushed off by telling her that, "What you see is what you have, Jisoo Kim. It should be easy."

Only, it wasn't. Doona had made sure it would never be easy for Jisoo. What with Doona mumbling on her sleep, with occasional screamings and yellings of profanities about rude drivers and the Empire State and would flung her arms sometimes, making it hard for them to change her with something that doesn't smell of bile and vodka, and there was Jisoo avoiding to take a glimpse on Doona's naked body.

A small tin pail was placed beside the couch, in case Doona would suddenly wake up and vomit. She had thrown up, twice, since their arrival and it absolutely surprised Jisoo how Chaeyoung had handled the whole situation with such placidity, like she was used to it.

"Possibly. She was very dedicated to drink every glass," Jisoo said. "She missed the last one, though. She said she was aiming to complete the forty shots bef--"

"FORTY??? She's crazy!" Chaeyoung choked with her tea, with wild eyes in disbelief.

"--fore she'd go home and suffer a bad hangover when she wakes up tomorrow. Her words," Jisoo continued.

"No wonder Lisa's tolerance to alcohol is exemplary. She's got an outstanding teacher," she said with a hint of sarcasm, shaking her head in bewilderment. "Did Lisa drink that much, too?" she asked.

Jisoo shook her head after she took several sips from her mug. It was black tea. Sweet and spicy and it was nothing like the last drink that the redhead had given her. She could still taste the disgusting cocktail on her mouth whenever she would think about it. And the kiss, too.

No! Jisoo screamed internally as she pulled her thoughts away from that memory. She shouldn't be thinking about that right now, Jisoo reminded herself calmly. Not when she reeked of vomit and looked harassed. And especially not when she was still inside the redhead's lair, which, by the way, smelled of raspberry and something else she couldn't wrap her mind around yet, with all these weird-but-in-a-good-kind-of-weird-looking tiny figurines of fish and flowers placed on a corner shelf and a goldfish inside a tank aquarium on the living room that had been staring at her since their arrival. As though it was judging her.

"No," Jisoo said, shaking her head to free herself from the unwanted thoughts. "She looked sober when we found her," she added. The tea, she decided, was good for her. It was soothing and it was stabilizing her nerves.

"Found her? What do you mean 'found her'? Was Lisa in trouble?" Chaeyoung demanded with a worried look.

Jisoo wondered when was Chaeyoung Park not worried about Lisa? Probably never, she thought. Because Chaeyoung had been looking out for Lisa, she told herself, like how she was always looking out for Jennie all these years. At least, they had that one thing in common.

"Well, not exactly. It's not life-threatening, if that's what you want to know. Anyway," Jisoo said and stood up, "I have to go," she told the redhead who looked mildly surprised at her sudden intention of leaving. "Thank you so much for the help and for this." She meant the tea. She took another sip of it before putting the mug down. "It's delicious," she said.

"No, wait!" Chaeyoung said in a rather panicky voice and hastily stoop up, almost toppling her chair backward, surprising the dishivelled, raven-haired Jisoo.

The wooden feet of her chair made a scraping sound against the tiled floor that it made Doona stir on the couch and changed her position. The fleece blanket dropping so slowly on the carpet. Her back was on them.

"You can't go," the redhead declared in a hiss, carefully toning down her voice so she wouldn't disturb Doona again from her stupor.

Jisoo raised her eyebrows and just stood there, staring at the redhead and waited for something. An explanation, maybe. Or whatever. This wasn't the first that Chaeyoung Park had stopped her from leaving. And the last time that the redhead did, well, it didn't end up well.

"I mean, you can't go just yet," Chaeyoung reiterated, now in a milder voice. "What if Miss Doona will wake up and...I don't know," she shrugged dramatically, "I might need help?" she said in a faltering tiny voice at the end.

If there was one thing that Jisoo knew why she liked and possibly hated Chaeyoung Park (although, hate, she realized, might be a strong word to describe her disinclination or whatever it was she would feel when she's with the redhead), it was the fact that whenever she would look at her, she would be reminded of that night when Chaeyoung was tapping melodies on her piano with a solitary light bulb above her head. It was beautiful. Jisoo liked and hated that. She hated the fact that she liked that. And at three in the morning, Chaeyoung looked oddly glowing. Or maybe it was due to the aesthetic light decor hanging directly above the island table. It made the redhead's red head glowing like an ember and made her skin shone, like she was some sort of a divine apparition. And Jisoo liked and hated that, too. Weird.

"She doesn't look like she's going to wake up anytime soon, though," Jisoo commented after she took a quick, assessing look at the sleeping Doona. "Besides, I'm really exhausted. I just want to go home and sleep."

"Exactly. You can't drive in that state. It's dangerous," Chaeyoung argued, still hissing and whispering. "I can drive you back to your place, but I can't leave Miss Doona here, alone..."

"I can't stay here," Jisoo said in a more dignified and hurried voice that she thought for a moment it wasn't hers.

"Why not? I'm not asking you to leave," Chaeyoung replied with genuine curiosity.

Jisoo didn't want to stay there because being inside Chaeyoung's place for the first time was giving her weird feelings, no matter how much she tried to ignore it from the second she stepped inside the apartment. She felt like she was treading in a place too personal for the redhead. All the photo frames being hung on the wall and above the mantelpiece, the trinkets and vinyl collections that covered a whole wall, the small piano in the corner, the lights and ornaments, the small casserole on the electric stove and the ref magnets and small papers, which looked like bills, being held in place by a koala magnet and the strong essence of raspberry, chamomile and a hint of kimchi--all of it spoke so much about Chaeyoung Park and Jisoo, no matter how many times she told herself to keep it together, was starting to feel like she could not keep it together anymore.

It wasn't like Jisoo was expecting for things to happen and escalate, that she was feeling weird and awkward. No. She felt weird with how she felt comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time when she walked in, and she liked and hated how much she was trying to convince herself that she needed to leave and she absolutely felt awkward that she was now under the redhead's forbearance and grace. But she couldn't tell Chaeyoung all of that, obviously, or she would risk exposing her 3 AM weird self to the redhead. And she couldn't do that. She shouldn't, unlike what she did the first time that she and Chaeyoung had spent their wee hour inside the Orange some weeks ago, drinking Chaeyoung's cocktail. Unless she wanted to embarrass herself again. So, no. Especially since she still hadn't figured out what to make of it and it would definitely only make her feel weirder than she already was. Also...

"I need to shower. I smell like vomit," Jisoo deadpanned.

She had never made up an excuse so lame, it made her want to slap herself. Jendeuk owed her, Jisoo told herself. Lisa owed her, too. And this Doona woman owed her. A lot. She regretted again why she offered to chaperone Doona when she could've just went home and reunite with her dog and her bed. But then again, of course, she would never do that. She had already figured it out. She would risk anything for Jennie Kim, including her sleep and bedtime reading. And Lisa, too. Because that tall Thai woman had already grown on her and had become part of the deal. Those two were a tandem now, obviously.

"At this hour?" Chaeyoung reacted with wide eyes and a look that clearly said 'Are you crazy?'

"Many important life decisions are made in the shower or at three in the morning," Jisoo said defensively. "What do you think will happen if I'd do both at the same time?"

"You'll catch cold, most probably," Chaeyoung suggested with a shrug.

Okay. So, maybe that was funny, Jisoo thought. And she really wanted to laugh. Out. Loud. For god's sake! But exhaustion and her weird awkward 3 AM self was preventing her from doing so. So, instead, she gave the redhead a lazy smirk and started towards the door.

"I really have to go," Jisoo said.

But Chaeyoung beat her to it. It was her house, anyway. She knew how to race and beat someone at the door from leaving with those long strides of hers. And a determined spirit, too, Jisoo thought. Chaeyoung Park definitely looked determined to stop her from leaving.

"I mean, it's not like I'm bragging or anything but I have a hot shower and I have extra pairs of pajamas you can choose from. No dog-printed ones, though, but they're okay," Chaeyoung said, her hands flinging in front of her like that of a conductor.

Jisoo regarded the redhead suspiciously and placed her arms across her chest

"Do you do this often?" Jisoo demanded.

Chaeyoung blinked, slightly taken aback from the attacking tone and said, "What?"

"This. Bringing a drunk person in to your house, dress them with your own clothes, allow them to sleep on your couch and then offer the same thing to the next person available," Jisoo said.

"The last drunk person I allowed to sleep on my couch was Lisa, if that's what you want to know. So no, I don't do this often. And no," she raised a finger, like a warning, "don't look at me like that because I haven't seen her naked in all the years that I've known her," Chaeyoung said upon seeing the look that Jisoo was giving her.

"I didn't say anything," Jisoo smirked.

"No, you didn't. But you were insinuating. And I really can't let you drive at this hour. I'm serious, Jisoo. It's dangerous. I don't want to wake up tomorrow and learn that you hurt yourself or other people because I allowed you to drive when you obviously can't right now," Chaeyoung insisted.

Jisoo opened her mouth and closed it again. She sighed in resignation. Even at the most ungodly hour of the day, they were still on the brink of coming at each other's throats and it only made her more exhausted. It was funny and annoying at the same time how they just couldn't seem to converse without getting under each other's skin.

"Fine," Jisoo said. "But since you only have one room, I'll sleep on the floor. No buts," she added.

"Why don't we discuss the set-up once you're done with whatever you need to do?" Chaeyoung suggested, with a voice that clearly said she won this round and started to walk away from Jisoo as if gloating her victory at the raven-haired.

"Where are you going?" Jisoo hissed, afraid that she might wake Doona up and followed the redhead.

"What are you doing?" Chaeyoung hissed back, wondering why her guest was tailing her.

"What?" asked Jisoo who took a step backward because she almost collided with Chaeyoung. The raspberry was seriously making its way through her nostrils, it was delicious but unnerving.

"Why are you following me? I thought you said you need to take a shower?" Chaeyoung inquired.

"Yes. But what will you be doing while I'm in the shower?"

Jisoo was curious. What would Chaeyoung Park do at three in the morning when everyone else was asleep and she was still looking like a breath of fresh air, clad in a silky pajamas with her long hair tied in a bun above her head?

"Play music, write songs. I don't know. That's what I usually do when I couldn't sleep," Chaeyoung replied and settled herself in front of her sleek black upright piano.

Of course. Jisoo nodded as she watched Chaeyoung's fingers running above the keys, as if warming the black and white tiles with her touch. Chaeyoung breathed music like it was her oxygen.

"You can't sleep?" Jisoo asked a little too gently.

"With Miss Doona and you here? I don't think I could," Chaeyoung replied and tapped an ivory key softly. The sound of it was slicing through the silence of her apartment, like a warning.

"And yet you won't let me leave?" Jisoo asked curiously.

And another key. Until Chaeyoung Park was expertly tapping the verse of a classic Elvis song but slowing down its tempo. Her long, thin fingers hopping and dancing softly above the keys.

"Aside from the precautionary reasons, I don't think Jennie and Lisa will thank me if I let you drive right now," Chaeyoung replied.

"So, you're doing this for them?"

"I'm doing this for all of us, Jisoo Kim. I'm still edgy about your people coming at me and Lisa's asses just because we've associated ourselves with you and Jennie," Chaeyoung said, rolling her eyes and chuckled after.

Chaeyoung was hitting the chorus now. Jisoo could imagine a swan in her head, floating and gliding above a seamless water in harmony with Chaeyoung's melody, with the moon hanging above it. It was beautiful. She was beautiful. With how her slightly parted lips moving, as if mouthing the words of her melody, singing it ever so quietly. And Jisoo was trapped in a trance. In Chaeyoung Park's trance, that she jumped a little and snapping out of it when the redhead turned to her and spoke.

"You can use the bathroom in my room, by the way, and find something you can wear in the closet when you're done," Chaeyoung Park said, nudging her head towards the direction of her bedroom door on their left.

Jisoo remained rooted on the floor. She wasn't entirely sure why but she did know she wanted to get things straight before she'd soaked herself under the shower at three in the morning.

"Can I ask you something?" Jisoo asked.

"You already did. But, sure. What is it?" Chaeyoung asked as she started another piece now.

"That's not entirely the reason why you stopped me from leaving, is it?" asked Jisoo.

Chaeyoung paused and dropped her hands to her lap. She looked at Jisoo and offered a weak apologetic smile.

"No," Chaeyoung said, shaking her head. "I thought I could use some company tonight."

Jisoo huffed. She rolled her eyes and chuckled softly.

"You could've asked me nicely instead of going psycho on me, you know?" Jisoo teased, shaking her head. "I'll see you in a bit," she then told Chaeyoung and headed towards the door on the left.

If Jisoo felt weird and awkward that she was treading on a personal space when she stepped inside Chaeyoung's apartment door, she felt entirely different when she stepped inside the redhead's bedroom. There was a weird aching familiar feeling in the gut, like she had known before she had seen what she should be feeling.

The raspberry scent was stronger in the bedroom. The bed was loaded with plushies and big pillows that looked like giant marshmallows. A light bulb that shaped like a rose was providing a faint shade of red light in the room, just enough for Jisoo to distinguish what is what in where.

A guitar was placed in one corner and another shelf of vinyls and CD collections had taken half of the wall panel. There were wardrobe cabinets, a set of drawers, a life-sized mirror beside it, a dresser with makeup kits and on the mirror were Polaroids of Lisa and Chaeyoung, of what seemed like the Park family, of a teenage Chaeyoung Park with a mic on her hand in what looked like a Sunday worship service, of Chaeyoung and the girls crew of the Orange, of a laughing Chaeyoung in a record store. And there was a door that would led her to her destination.

There was a bathtub in Chaeyoung's bathroom and a glass shelf where bottles of liquid bath soaps and shampoos, a box of Kleenex, a can of air freshener, a tall scented candle and a book that was lying upside down beside the Kleenex. It was a memoir of a rockstar, Jisoo checked. Chaeyoung was still halfway through it.

It wasn't the first time that Jisoo was having a shower at 3 AM. In fact, she would sometimes spend her 3 AM inside her own bathtub, soaked in fragrant bubbles and read a book when she couldn't sleep. But she wasn't in her house and she only asked for a shower. Not a languid bubble bath time in the tub. And so, Jisoo hit the shower. And when you're inside a tile-walled room with lukewarm water running down your skin at 3 AM, either it would make you wonder how crazy you were to even think of taking a shower at 3 AM or make you recall the last worst decision you made for the night.

It was both for Jisoo.

"I didn't perceive you as the religious type," Jisoo said and quickly added, "Sorry," when Chaeyoung jumped a little on her seat in front of the piano.

Shower time had only lasted for about five minutes. Not her usual range, of course. But it wasn't her house, it wasn't her shower and it was past three in the morning. Her hands and feet were cold and clammy, despite the hot shower and despite the PJ she chose from Chaeyoung's closet, and she badly wanted to ask that question after she saw the Polaroid.

"Do you always have to sneak at people like that?" Chaeyoung demanded, a hand was clutching on her chest, as she scooted over to make room for Jisoo beside her.

"I'm sorry," Jisoo said and settled herself beside the redhead. "So, are you? I saw your Polaroid in the mirror..."

Something had probably happened with Jisoo inside the shower and Chaeyoung in front of her piano because sitting beside each other without even trying to bite each other's heads off was definitely not normal, but there they were. With their shoulders touching and their arms grazing.

"I used to sing for our church in Melbourne before we moved here. It was then that I realized I love music," Chaeyoung said. "Does that answer your question?"

"No," Jisoo replied. "So, that's where the accent