Chapter CV - Between Us Girls

Walking up to the front door of the Park Household, Moon huffed as the rain took her by surprise.

“Should’ve checked the forecast. . .” Moon mumbled to herself, annoyed as it was still summer.

She rang the doorbell with a smirk, hoping blondie was going to open, but to her surprise, it was Sophie who took the initiative. The two had never met, but Sophie’s expression made it clear she knew who Moon was. After all, the blue hair and tattoos were a dead giveaway.

“Moon?” Sophie mumbled, looking at her confused while grabbing her elbow nervously.

“Huh?” Moon looked confused before realizing who she was. “Oh! You must be the sister. The eyes are a dead giveaway.”

“Wait, Soph. . . Here’s the–” Walking into the hallway with her wallet out, thinking it was food delivery, Irene’s eyes went wide after seeing Moon standing at the door. She immediately rushed to Sophie, grabbing hold of the door handle. “What are you doing here?”

“Good to see you too, blondie.” She crosses her arms, still standing in the light rain. “Gotta talk to your BF.”

“He can’t see you right now,” Irene said, annoyed she had to even exchange a single word with her. “Come back some other time.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t take him from you. . . yet,” she teased.

“Like you could. . .” Irene sighed.

“Is that a challenge?”

“I don’t have the energy to do this with you. Just leave. . .”

“Not really your choice, now is it?” Moon furrowed her brows. “Stop wasting time.”

“Could you not do this today?” Irene genuinely asked, throwing a quick glance at Sophie.

“You’re the one who forced Oppa into fighting, weren’t you?” Sophie mumbled, averting her gaze from discomfort.

“Soph, you should get back in and let me handle this,” Irene suggested, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Moon kept her gaze fixed on Sophie until she dared look up. Their eyes briefly met, but Sophie shied away immediately.

Clicking her tongue, Moon turned around and started walking away. “I’ll come back tomorrow.”

Moon took them by surprise as both looked toward her.

Irene sighed in relief, turning around and saying, “Let’s get back inside.”

However, as the rain intensified, Sophie couldn’t help but notice Moon was going to walk back from where she came.

“Hey, wait!” Sophie yelled out, confusing Moon but getting her to stop.

“What are you doing?” Irene looked back at Sophie.

“I–” Sophie mumbled.

Irene sighed, recognizing the look on Sophie’s face.

“Get in,” Irene told Moon, opening the door hesitantly.

Standing in the rain, Moon contemplated if she should enter or not. One look at the girls standing at the door was more than enough for her to know she was unwanted, but considering it was raining and she foolishly decided to go for a walk, Moon had no real choice.

She walked up to them and threw a glance at Sophie as the young first-year finally dared gaze into her eyes without looking away.

“Thanks,” Moon whispered, stepping inside.

“Just. . . please don’t cause trouble,” Sophie said with a low voice.

They walk her over to the living room, and the first person Moon saw was Iseul. She sat with her legs crossed at the table, leaning back while browsing her phone. Noticing a new person walking in, Iseul set her phone to the side and locked eyes with Moon.

“God damn. . . Who the fuck is this hottie?” Moon furrowed her brows, turning to Irene.

“Moon, Iseul. Iseul, Moon. . .”

“So the antagonist shows herself, huh?” Iseul comments jokingly, having only learned moments ago what plagued the Park Household.

“I like the sound of that,” Moon chuckled, pulling up a chair and turning it around before sitting down with her arms resting on the top rail. “So, where’s our lucky star?”

“Moon?” Arthur’s voice stole their attention as he and Amelia entered the lively living room.

“Hey–” Moon said but then blanked for a second upon seeing Irene’s sister. She shook her head and blinked a few times, looking back and forth between the sisters. “Another one? Jesus. . . What kinda harem are you building here?”

“Is. . . this?” Amelia looked at her sister confused.

“Yup,” Irene sighed.

Visible discomfort started showing on Amelia’s face as she walked over to Irene and sat down next to her on the couch.

“What are you doing here?” Arthur asked.

“Good to see you too.” She chuckled with a playful grin to Irene’s annoyance. “Came to check up on you and to see how you’d do. I presume they know what’s up?”

“They do.” Arthur leaned against the wall while everyone else was seated.

“Good. Saves me the trouble,” Moon said, cupping her cheek while her elbow rested on the top rail. “Anyway, my plan fell through since it had to fucking rain in August.”

“So you invited yourself in?” Arthur furrowed his brows.

“No, I invited her in,” Sophie interrupted.

Considering she was wet and the rain had only started, Arthur took a deep breath and just accepted his sister’s wishes. After all, it was her house too.

“You’re making me jealous,” Moon smirked at Sophie.

“Huh?” Sophie didn’t understand what she meant, and Moon wasn’t willing to elaborate either.

Everyone sat in silence awkwardly, throwing daggers at Moon with their gazes.

“Well, this is fun,” Moon said, standing up. “But I think Imma go.”

“Already?” Irene said sarcastically.

“My quota for social interaction’s been filled up for the year thanks to this,” Moon joked. “Besides, it was entertaining enough, and I don’t want even more holes in me.”

“It’s still raining,” Sophie pointed out as not even five minutes had passed. “Let’s just all relax and wait it out.”

“You confuse me, kid,” Moon expressed, rubbing her neck awkwardly while staring into Sophie’s eyes. “Shouldn’t you hate me?”

“I’m mad that Oppa has to fight to keep us all safe, but. . . it wasn’t you who made Grandpa borrow money, nor were you the one to hurt him.”

“That’s–” Moon didn’t know how to respond.

“Give up,” Irene cut in, turning to Sophie and pinching her cheek. “This one doesn’t have a bad bone in her body. . .”

“Not true,” Sophie mumbled. “I hated what Hana and others did to me, and I wanted them to feel hurt too.”

“That’s different,” Irene pointed out.

“Is it?” Sophie wasn’t convinced.

“Yeah. It is,” she reassured her and looked back at Moon. “But I’m willing to go along with her wishes, so I’ll offer you a one-time deal.”

“What are you on about?” Moon crossed her arms.

“Until all this is over, we can bury the hatched since we’re all in the same mess, but you need to stop being an ass.”

“Why would I care?”

“Want things to be awkward forever?” Irene asked, letting out a sigh.

“Hmm. . . Fine, but under one condition.” Arthur watched as Moon slowly approached Irene, leaning down to whisper into her ear.

Whatever she was saying took a while and had Irene’s interest piqued.

“Ow.” Irene pushed her away with little to no strength, pinching her ear. “Did you just bite me?”

“So, we got a deal?” Moon asked, glancing back at Arthur, giving him a wink.

Everyone was surprised, but Irene didn’t make a fuss about it, so escalating it wasn’t worth it.

“Freak. . .” Irene mumbled, letting go of her ear.

“It wasn’t even hard,” Moon pointed out.

“But, wait. . . How old are you anyway?” Irene asked, confused beyond the fact that Moon teasingly bit her earlobe.

“Seventeen?” Moon raised an eyebrow.

The question ‘What?’ was on everyone’s mind as she looked closer at Amelia in age, despite her crazy appearance. Arthur also assumed she was older because of where she worked. The boys always assumed she was twenty.

“No way. . .” Irene mumbled.

“What? Wanna see my ID or something? How old did you think I was?”

“Whatever. . . Fine, we have a deal, but only if you swear not to cause trouble, or I’ll make you regret it.”

“Oh, I love it when you talk like that.”

It was obvious to everyone that Moon found it thrilling to tease Irene. The boys would’ve been shocked to see someone managing to rile up Irene like that, a sight never seen before. She knew how to push all the wrong buttons.

“What did she ask for?” Amelia asked.

“She’s the older one, right?” Moon looked at Irene.

“Yeah, why?”

“You can tell her later, but keep it from others. I want it to be a surprise.”

“It’s kinda obvious. . .” Iseul sighed, having a similar guess as Arthur.

“Whatever it is, are you two done messing with each other?” Sophie spoke up.

“Dunno if I’d say it like that. She’s fun to tease.” Moon smirkingly looked at Irene. “But. . . I’ll try.”

“Irene, you okay?” Arthur asked before his glare befell Moon.

He wasn’t particularly pleased with what Moon was doing.

“Huh? Yeah. . . Don’t worry. I can handle her.”

“You sure?”

“It’s cute how protective he is,” Moon commented.

“Yeah, as long as she keeps her promise.”

“Promise?” Arthur asked.

“That one’s between us girls,” Moon cut in. “Don’t get nosy now.”

“Fine, but you get only one warning.” Arthur looked her dead in the eye, sending a chill down Moon’s spine. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Trying to kill me with that gaze of yours?” She chuckled. “Relax. . . “

“You’re wet still,” Sophie spoke up, breaking up the tension. “Want to take a shower? I have a few shirts that might fit you, and you can dry your hair.”

“I’ll be fine, but I could use a towel.”

“I’ll go get it for you,” Sophie said, leaving the room.

Moon sighed as she awkwardly looked around the room. They waited for Sophie to return as she handed her a blue towel that matched Moon’s hair.

“Thanks,” she said, using it to wipe her hair.

“No worries.”

It was still awkward, but at least the tension dropped significantly.

“So,” Iseul spoke up. “You gonna tell us more about the debt?”

“Her brother said that Ryung borrowed money from their father,” Arthur explained, pulling up a chair for himself to finally sit down. “While he doesn’t know about it, he did mention that you were closer with your father than he ever was. Do you know something more?”

“If you know anything, could you please tell us?” Sophie asked timidly, gripping her forearm.

Moon had no intention of sharing information with them when she first arrived, but the more she awkwardly stared at Sophie, the more inclined she felt to go along with it. After all, she invited her in and gave her a towel, so it was a way to break even.

“Fine, fine. . .” Moon sighed. “But listen carefully, I won’t say it twice.”

“Thank you.” Sophie smiled, making Moon awkwardly avert her gaze.

“This kid, I swear. . .” She mumbled, taking a deep breath. “Yes. . . Your grandpa borrowed money from my dad many years ago. They first met when Father was in his mid-twenties and had worked together before, but one day he came asking for money and a large sum at that.”

“But why?” Arthur asked.

“He needed cash to pay off a house your parents left unpaid. Your parents divorced, right?”

“Yeah. . .” Sophie looked down, clenching her fists.

“Maybe there was some lying going on, but it all fell on your grandpa in the end. Still, my dad offered him money, but he wouldn’t take it, so they made it a loan. One that my father never intended for him to pay back.”

“Wait. . . If that’s true then–”

“My father died, and Kyung is a jackass. He saw an opportunity to get some extra money and took it since Dad didn’t leave him almost anything.”

“Wait, where’s Kyu?” Arthur asked, looking around for the cat.

“Relax, Oppa. He’s sleeping in my room,” Sophie chuckled.

“Oh. . .”

“Anyway. . .” Moon raised her eyebrow, wondering if she should continue. “Ignoring what that asshole did, your grandpa took the money to pay off whatever needed to be paid and took extra so he could send you to school and so on.”

“So you knew they were friends, and you were still coming to hurt him?” Arthur glared at her.

“No? I came here to take him to my Kyung as I was asked to do. You don’t expect me to go against him on the account of my father’s old friendship? Don’t throw a fit now. We’re in the same dumpster anyway.”

“What about the extra money their grandpa left them?” Irene asked, referring to the cards.

“I don’t know anything about that. My knowledge is limited to what was written down in my father’s notebook and what he told me growing up. He mentioned your grandpa before, but I never asked for specifics.”

“Is that it?” Arthur asked.

“Pretty much. Now we have a mess to deal with.”

“Thank you for telling us,” Sophie said.

“Don’t get used to it, kid. . .” Moon sighed.

“You’re a year older than her,” Irene pointed out.

“With a lifetime of more experiences. . .”

“How many men you’ve been with has nothing to do with this.”

“Hey!” Moon raised her voice but realized Irene was smirking. She huffed, letting out a small chuckle. “Damn, you got me. . .”

“See? Two can play that game,” she said smugly, crossing her arms and leaning back.

“We’ll see about that, blondie.” She grinned.

“You two are impossible. . .” Arthur sighed, recognizing that this was his life now. “Anyway, you mentioned you wanted to see how skilled I was, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Tomorrow, we’re going to a friend’s place who is gonna gather a few people to fight me as a warmup. I’m trying to show them that I’ll be fine. You’re free to come and watch.”

“What?” Irene asked, having heard about it for the first time.

“Tjay’s father is helping me out. Don’t worry.”

“Don’t know who that is, but fine by me. I still wanna fight you though.”

“You’ll get your chance, maybe. . .” Arthur sighed, hoping the rain stopped soon.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.