Moon remembers as clearly as day, the memory vivid in her mind. There was nothing unusual about it. Moon had just completed a task assigned to her for delivery in Myeong-Dong. It was the start of winter, and the cold air was sweeping in through the black jacket she had on. It was really the wrong decision to wear ripped jeans at the beginning of the cold season.

"Where have you been? There is another customer waiting."

"I am here now, right? Don't get your knickers in a twist." Moon replied.

The guy just tsks and tosses a package towards her and says, "Get this delivered asap."

"Damn, this person wants to feed an army or something? How much gram is in there?" Moon asked, weighing it in her hand.

"Just focus on delivering it before 8," the guy remarked, dismissing her question. 'Whatever' Moon mumbles and shrugs, pulling up her hood and walking out of the alley quietly. The cops had started to patrol this area at night. Not exactly the ideal place where drugs are sold. The rave party getting busted by the cops must have been the reason for the extra patrol rounds.

And to be honest, the drug business sure does have a lot of money. especially when you have a sorry excuse for an abusive father at home. She had to take this, regardless of the danger this job entails. As long as there was cash coming in, enough to feed herself and her mom, who gets beaten up as well, while protecting Moon, and she also knows that if she somehow kills the man who she unfortunately calls dad, she might end up in jail, which, to be honest, won't look good on the college application. Maybe it's the guilt or the urge to just make it in the world driving Moon to get into this, not the legal side of work.

Checking the text flashing on her phone with the other thread of addresses in the chat between the sender and her doesn't baffle her in the least; she wasn't here to have heart-to-heart conversations with the one selling drugs. They only had a business relationship; she delivered and got cash handed over to her the next day. And anyway, that wasn't her forte; there are only two people she can bear with her talking personality.

Confirming that she is standing at the correct location for handing over the package, she patiently waits for the buyer to show up, pulling up her hood, which had fallen down due to the early icy wind blowing and biting at the skin like a syringe to the bones, and ziping up her jacket fully.

Suddenly, her phone starts ringing, and she silences it.

It rings again, silenced again.

She swore if it rang one more time,

It rings...

"What the fuck do you want?" Moon barks on the phone.

"For you to pick up your fucking phone for the first time. You know, when it rings, it means you have to click the green button and say hello." the person retorted, not getting faced by Moon's tone.

"Why did you call, Hoba? Your girlfriend ran away again, it seems." Moon smirks, looking up at the puff of air that escapes her mouth.

"Ha ha ha. Very funny," the man replied, chuckling.

"It isn't foreign knowledge that a girl runs away from you after using you," Moon says as a matter of fact. "You are very naive for a man who is older than me," she sniggers.

"And you still don't give respect to me. Now that is not very good for a junior, I care about, is it?" Hoseok teases her over the line.

"And you never will, dumbass," Moon assures him of that thought.

"Come on, I remember when we were in elementary school, you did cry for a certain 'hyung' to take you home, didn't you?" Damn Hoseok and his perfectly good memory for embarrassing things to remember.

"You want me to curse you every day."

"Moon,I know you are at the job again." There was seriousness in his tone. He wasn't joking around this time and wasn't asking; he made a clear statement. For all these years, Moon has known Hoseok, her annoying senior and her reliable friend, whom she curses time and again, yet he still brings her fruit yogurt when she has a bloodied nose or a lip cut. Tending to those wounds without asking for reasons, mindlessly doing it as if it were his job, and ruffling her hair in the end

"No, I... I am just out for a smoke in the neighborhood, with... Soyeon." Lying was easy for Moon; it was like second nature to her. Usually, she used to fake it each day at school.

There is a heavy sigh on the other end.

Lying was easy for Moon, but sometimes people were able to catch it, more like a pair of siblings.

"Moon, stop lying to me; I know when you lie. You promised Rae you would stop; why are you there again?" Hoseok asked gravely. "Yeah, and no, I am not lying; I am here with Soyeon." Moon answered in a serene tone.

"If she is with you, then who is on the date she was supposed to go to?" Fuck, she forgot about that. Soyeon had gone on and on about how thrilled she was to finally ask out the girl she had a crush on for weeks. Moon remembered her bouncing of the walls, as if she had a tub full of candy. She planned on taking her to a lavish restaurant with dining and classical music in the background. Then she dropped her imagination when she realized she was a broke college student. Moon tuned her voice out because it was giving her a headache with all the shrieking going on. She didn't know it was today.

"Fucking hell." Moon cursed.

"Yeah, fucking hell. Now get your ass back to the apartment, unless you want me to come there." Hoseok threatened, knowing well enough that Moon wouldn't allow him to be near the place where she works at night.

"No-"

"So please, come back home, and we will have dinner. I made your favorite gamja-tang and soondae." Hoseok offered, knowing her weakness.

"Beer too?" Moon asked,You know, just out of curiosity.

Hoseok chuckled. "Of course, dummy."

"Don't call me a dummy. I am just coming because Mirae offered to dye my hair for me. not for the extra treats that come with it.

"Yes, okay, I believe that is the only reason you will show up." Moon could sense a smirk on Hoseok's face from here. That sly minsk.

Moon knew this would lead to Mirae finding it out; she didn't want her to know. It would be the last thing she would want Mirae to get close to. She can't help but have a protective feeling over Mirae after that incident. She was an inch close to losing her, and she couldn't make herself and herself go through that feeling again.

"Hey, are you still there?" Seok asked, feeling a long pause from Moon's side.

"Yeah, I am on my way." Moon said she was scruffing her feet and pushing herself up with the help of the wall.

Looking down at her hand, she holds a paper bag with cash inside it.

"I might have to make a stop before that."

"Okay, better come soon."

"Beep"

The call had been cut. Moon made her way to stash away the cash in her hand.