IV - Comforting Lies
"Unnie- wait, don't press that one-! Oh my- don't do that-"
"Why not?!"
"Because-! Ah, stop pressing the button-"
Chaewon looked up from her phone and raised an eyebrow as she observed the comical scene unfold before her. Their lovely leader had shared her interest in wanting to learn the controls about Minecraft and because Hyejoo seems to be the only one willing to do it - Chaewon kind of forced her - they were all stuck in this limbo.
Haseul was carefully studying the controller, hardening her glare at the buttons as if waiting for information to pop up out of nowhere; Hyejoo, on the other hand, was practically pulling her hair out at this point. Chaewon was actually surprised with how well Hyejoo was biting back from berating Haseul - then again Hyejoo always did have a soft spot for their leader (not that she would ever admit that).
"Don't- ok if you press that you will place a block down." Hyejoo sighed, placing her own controller aside, her voice slow and steady as if she was talking to a child, "If you press this one - look - it breaks the block. Do you get it?" She smiled, feigning patience which Chaewon knew Hyejoo was slowly breaking.
Haseul nodded but it was clear she didn't focus on Hyejoo, rather she was training her eyes on the screen in front of her.
Their attention was suddenly torn from the television as an audible knock echoed in the house. Haseul let out a huff- muttering how she wanted to play more - and took slow steps towards the door, peaking through the small hole before letting a soft smile grace her features. Judging from the expression Chaewon and Hyejoo already knew who it was.
"Jungeun he-! Hey, what happened, why do you look like that?" Haseul's eyes softened at the sight of the platinum brunette trudge her way into her home.
"Thanks for letting me know I look like shit." Jungeun grumbled, kicking her shoes aside. She halted in her movement and looked at Haseul, a frown quickly replacing the tired growl she was holding beforehand, and muttered an apology.
It only took a few minutes before Jungeun was able to move pass the living room and down into the basement, her steps swift and quick as if she was planning to do so once she arrived. Chaewon's eyes followed her retreating figure the whole time but only responded with a greeting when Jungeun did so - she probably almost forgot to considering how quick she was moving towards the basement.
Haseul sighed, "We'll be down stairs if you need anything." She smiled, though it seemed forced, before following Jungeun's footsteps.
"Have any idea what they're gonna talk about?"
Chaewon shrugged, "Nope. I have a feeling it's about tomorrow though."
"Right, tomorrow's Thursday." Hyejoo looked away from the television screen, meeting Chaewon's eyes.
"Exactly." Chaewon muttered.
Hyejoo didn't reply after that, choosing to continue her game rather than to dwell on territory they all did so well on avoiding. Chaewon couldn't blame her; if anything, she was as ignorant as Hyejoo was, if not more. Their names were much rather pushed to the back of their minds, ignored out of fear of facing reality and realizing the losses that they carried so heavily on their backs.
Chaewon shook her head and laid beside Hyejoo, opting to just focus the pixels of Hyejoo's game.
****
"Any news?"
"Nothing yet. Hyejoo knows but I didn't say anything more - not like there's much to go on." Haseul grunted, leaning over the large glass table with her eyes closed.
Jungeun watched as their leader traced her eyes across the table, her glare hardening as she pays attention to an array of files, reports, and paperwork laid out - each one regarding news of the group that once dominated the heroes. Although it may seem that it meant information, majority of the reports scattered on the table were filled with nothing but a myriad of far fetched rumors mixed with tainted stories meant to put the audience into this twisted excitement.
(It was just a continuous spiral of empty words that are meant to be dramatic and imitate the adrenaline of having a new threat - which was not at all exciting.)
"Staring at those reports won't do you any good." Jungeun chuckled, running her hand up and down on Haseul's back. She can feel her muscles tense a bit but soon relaxing when the touch continued; Jungeun found herself smiling at that. "You know these reporters only want more action just to earn money - we probably need to do our own digging."
Haseul groaned at the suggestion, shooting up straight as she threw her hands up in the air in exasperation, "But where do we start is the question! Even other heroes are having trouble. All of this started because of some rumors anyways, we don't even know if they're back."
Jungeun looked away, "We almost won Haseul. Them coming back is higher than a possibility - you know that."
Haseul stopped, her shoulders drooping, "I know."
"And the rise in crimes are nothing short of an upcoming change." Jungeun mumbled, her fingers played with the corner of one of the newspapers, "This might just be stage one of their plan - we don't know."
Haseul turned her back to the table, "That's the problem, we don't know. All we know is that now there are some groups who advocate for their organizations. Who knows what kind of people they have now?"
Jungeun sighed, pushing herself away from the table and standing in front of Haseul. Albeit being the taller one, she still found it odd that Haseul had managed to be able to draw authority to herself, demanding attention when needed.
It was one of the many things Jungeun found so alluring.
"At least we have a place to start, right? We just need to observe for now, see if we can have any leads to their branches or groups." Jungeun glanced behind Haseul, scanning for a headline that could possibly help her point, "Like-Like J. Luckily he hasn't killed anyone yet but there are cryptic messages left everywhere in the city. He's probably part of them."
Haseul giggled, patting Jungeun's shoulder, "I appreciate your attempt at making me feel better but this - J - is only a rumor and you know that. There's no real solid evidence of his crimes."
Jungeun let out a huff and shyly wrapped her arms around Haseul's waist, pulling her closer with a bashful expression. "I'm trying."
"I know-" Haseul smiled, softly, and ran her thumb against Jungeun's cheeks, "-And I appreciate your effort. Do you want a reward?" Her eyebrows raised teasingly.
Jungeun's cheeks flared red, "You enjoy my suffering don't you?"
Haseul giggled, "You're just too cute when you aren't the Kim Lip of Loona." She brought her hands up, squeezing Jungeun's cheeks as if to emphasize her point and to further annoy the younger girl.
Jungeun groaned and pulled away, rubbing away the numbness that stung her face after having it pinched. She snapped her head up - making Haseul jump - and lunged at the shorter girl, laughing as Haseul shrieked in shock.
The two wrestled - clumsily - and pushed against each other, hoping the other would fall against the couch. Haseul could've won but Jungeun was quick enough to pull her down before she can pull away. A laugh echoed in Jungeun's ears and she never thought something so simple, so easily attainable, sounded so angelic.
Haseul laid against Jungeun's chest, her bits of laughter slowly dissolving into giggles while the younger girl stared at her - almost longingly. "I forgot you were kind of strong."
"Kind of?" Jungeun playfully scoffed, "You know I'm strong."
Haseul rolled her eyes and tucked her head under Jungeun's chin. Although it was a bit cold in the basement, their body warmth was enough to fight against not using a blanket (either that or they were just too lazy to stand up and grab one).
Everything was perfect. Hyejoo's complaints and Chaewon's not-so-subtle insults were merely a muffled noise but it was still interesting to hear their two youngest members bicker over something small. And the silence that enveloped them both was serene, almost as if they were on a beach during the afternoon where it was devoid of life yet somehow still lively enough to feel vibrant.
"Hey, Haseul." Jungeun whispered, feeling guilty in being the cause of breaking their rare silence.
"Hm?"
Jungeun pushed her face slightly into the older girl's hair, taking in the subtle smell of lavender and all that is sweet and so Haseul. "I promised you, and I won't break it. You know that, right?" She said.
There was a brief silence and Jungeun was afraid she ruined the moment.
"I know." Haseul mumbled, her finger traced Jungeun's collarbone but it was so light the younger girl could barely grasp the feeling.
"Yeojin's out there, somewhere." Jungeun sighed, her hand ran through Haseul's brown locks, trailing it through to her back. "I promise you we'll find her. I won't break that promise."
"Don't worry, I haven't given up yet." Haseul chuckled.
Jungeun shifted, "If we did, Hyejoo would kick our asses." She thought for a bit and smiled, "And Chaewon's going to, for sure, allow it."
The scenario left a funny yet a bitter taste to their tongues - they'd rather not get kicked by Hyejoo because knowing her she wouldn't hold back.
Haseul smiled and Jungeun felt the crease of her lips against her chest, "Those two haven't given up yet. I'm sure we'll find them with those two around always nagging us."
Jungeun let out a light laugh, "I feel bad for Yeojin. Hyejoo's probably gonna get mad at her and never let her live it down."
Haseul giggled, "I'm sure Sooyoung going's to get the short end of the stick more than Yeojin is. Hyejoo's probably going to kick her or something."
Their smiles slowly faded into frowns and the silence that fell on them was nothing like before. It was isolating and it made them feel heavy.
"Sooyoung is a alive, right? Jungeun?" Haseul muttered, the underlying uncertainty matched Jungeun's but the latter tried her best to not let it show.
"Yeah, she is." Jungeun's stomach twisted at the lie that effortlessly left her mouth but she knew better than to think that Haseul believed every word she said. It was a comforting lie - a lie, yeah - but a comforting one.
"If Hyejoo believes she's still alive. We should too."