[004] one of them

                                                                          Love's smile is bright and radiant, shining through the dim lighting of the night and guiding Eun-jung right to her. They were now standing right in front of Anavrin, Love pulling out the keys so she and Eun-jung could unlock the door and make their way inside.

                                                                        "Why do I feel like I'm breaking a law here? Or at least several?" Eun-jung teased.

                                                                          Love chuckles. "Are you always so paranoid, Caitlyn?"

                                                                        "Guilty," Eun-jung chuckles with her.

                                                                        "Well, don't worry about it. We'll be fine. Seeing as I own the store, we can do whatever we want. Including borrowing the kitchen for dinner," Love winks at her, soon unlocking the door and motioning for Eun-jung to walk inside.

                                                                         Eun-jung smiles. "Thank you."

                                                                        "You're welcome," Love responds back, her gaze never leaving Eun-jung's figure as she and Love made their way inside.

                                                                          Love soon took the lead, walking right to the kitchen with Eun-jung close by her heels. Flipping on the light, Eun-jung took the moment to admire the place while Love started getting everything prepared.

                                                                        "Wow, this is pretty impressive," Eun-jung acknowledges with a small whistle.

                                                                        "It is, isn't it?" Love responded, nodding. "You're not vegan by any chance, are you?"

                                                                         Eun-jung shakes her head. "Nope."

                                                                        "Oh, okay. Just wanted to make sure since being vegan is the new craze these days. I even tried it out for, like, a couple weeks before I reverted back to my old ways," Love explained.

                                                                        "I can help, if you want. I'm far from a chef but I'd feel bad just watching you do all the work," Eun-jung responded.

                                                                        "If you want to. Maybe I could even give you a little lesson in the process," Love agreed. 

                                                                          Eun-jung decides to help Love out with getting everything and preparing the chicken, the meal being chicken alfredo. Eun-jung had decided to start boiling the water (probably the easiest task in the world) while Love was preparing to cut the chicken into slices.

                                                                         "So...," Love trails off when Eun-jung stands beside her, watching the process.

                                                                         "So...?" Eun-jung repeats with an amused look in her dark eyes.

                                                                         "Come on, tell me about yourself. We have all the time in the world to talk," Love prompted, lightly nudging the woman beside her.

                                                                           Eun-jung chuckles. "I'm sorry to disappoint but there's not a whole lot to talk about with me. I'm absolutely boring."

                                                                        "What about your family? What are they like?" Love inquired.

                                                                        "The personal questions already. You waste no time," Eun-jung chuckled.

                                                                        "Will hasn't told me anything about you so I figured I'd ask you upfront. Get to know his mysterious best friend from school," Love admits with a shrug.

                                                                        "Alright. Well... my parents don't really love me. I don't think they even like me," Eun-jung sighs, looking away from Love and down at the meat getting chopped up by Love's knife.

                                                                        "Why do you think that?" Love furrows her brows.

                                                                        "Mm, I'm their only child so they place a lot of expectations and responsibility onto me. And I... I failed them both. I just didn't want to be what they wanted me to be," Eun-jung answered.

                                                                       "And what did they want you to be?" Love responded.

                                                                      "Some rich man's wife. And the fact that I wasn't really attracted to men certainly didn't help," Eun-jung replies with a soft scoff.

                                                                      "How'd you know?"

                                                                      "That I was into women?"

                                                                      "Yeah."

                                                                        Eun-jung thinks back to when she was sixteen, sent off to boarding school when her behavior back at home was too out of control for her parents to keep contained. But that tended to happen when Eun-jung couldn't control her temper and one of the kids who kept bullying her ended up having their leg permanently broken.

                                                                      Nevertheless, Eun-jung fell in love with one of her fellow students at boarding school. Her name had been Yvette, a pretty redhead who had been incredibly kind to Eun-jung. The two of them quickly became friends and Eun-jung's infatuation for Yvette grew. She sought to protect Yvette and prove her love, hurting and sabotaging anyone who went against her. And once Yvette found out, Eun-jung professed her feelings for her - only for Yvette to turn her down and call her a monster.

                                                                       That very same night, Yvette would be found dead in front of campus - having jumped to her death due to being depressed. In reality, Eun-jung would be the one to push her out the window. She'd never be able to forget the look on Yvette's face. Eun-jung would never forget the way her eyes remained frozen wide open in fear or the blood that pooled around her head, several shades darker than her actual hair color.

                                                                      "My parents sent me off to boarding school because I was acting out at home. And I met a girl who I really liked. She was so nice to me and she made me feel so special. But... she didn't like me back. It'd only be after boarding school that I'd be able to fully explore my sexuality and date girls who actually liked me back," Eun-jung replies, deciding that story would be better to tell than the truth.

                                                                      "So is it an ex of yours that brought you here? You mentioned losing someone you loved and needing a fresh start," Love recalled.

                                                                      "Yeah. I loved her so much. Her name was... her name was Guinevere and she was... amazing. But... somebody came between us. Somebody who was no good for her. They used her for what they could get and when they were done with her, they broke her. She... ended up taking her own life shortly after that," Eun-jung confessed.

                                                                        It was a total lie but Eun-jung knew she couldn't be upfront with the truth yet. She needed to be able to win Love over and dissuade her from Joe before she could tell her the truth. Besides, Eun-jung doubted that Love would know anything about Guinevere Beck anyway.

                                                                       Love sighs before she rushes over to Eun-jung, pulling her in for a hug. She couldn't really touch her since she had been handling raw meat and all but she did her best. Eun-jung was a little taken aback by it all, seeing as she wasn't expecting it. But eventually, she'd hug Love back and rest her head on the brunette's shoulder. It was comforting and most of all, it was real.

                                                                      "I'm so sorry to hear that. I can only imagine how heartbreaking that was for you. Whoever that guy was, he deserves to pay for what he's done. I can't stand monsters like that," Love replies, trying her best to comfort Eun-jung. And to some degree, it does work.

                                                                     "Although I'm going to miss her very much, I have to admit that... you have to be the best thing that's happened to me ever since I arrived," Eun-jung declared.

                                                                       Love only pulls away slightly, her hands resting on Eun-jung's shoulders as she continued to look up at her. An unexpected yet dangerous feeling flickers inside of Love's chest. "Seriously?"

                                                                     "Of course. I feel like you're the first real friend I've made since I've moved here. You're so kind and so sweet...," Eun-jung remarked.

                                                                     "But nosy, right? Gosh, I've been asking you so many questions and I haven't given you a chance to breathe. I'm so sorry, Caitlyn," Love apologizes, reluctantly pulling away from Eun-jung before she got back to work.

                                                                     "No, it's fine. Plus, it gives me an excuse to talk about you next," Eun-jung assures Love, a smirk creeping onto her lips.

                                                                       Love chuckles. "There's not a whole lot to talk about. I guess I'm just... your average rich girl trying to make ends meet."

                                                                      "Bullshit. You're way too interesting. There's more to you than what meets the eye. I'm never wrong about these things," Eun-jung remarked.

                                                                      "Are you now?" Love asks, raising a brow.

                                                                        Eun-jung nods. "Of course. I always know these things. Now let me help you with these while you tell me more about you."

                                                                        Love would go on to talk a bit about her family and her twin brother, Forty, mentioning how they had been named after tennis goals since their parents loved tennis. She'd mention how he was a film writer and director, but worked at Anavrin as the bookstore's manager (which was conveniently where Joe now worked). She mentioned how they had always been attached at the hip ever since they had been born.

                                                                        But just as Love would start talking about her parents, she'd make the mistake of cutting her finger with the knife. "Oh, shit!"

                                                                        "Oh, no, are you okay?" Eun-jung frowns.

                                                                        "Yeah, I - I just cut my finger. I'm usually not so clumsy," Love softly chuckles. Admittedly, she had been pretty distracted by Eun-jung. She had been staring at her as she talked, enamored by how beautiful and sharp she looked. Love had never quite anyone like Eun-jung before.

                                                                        "C'mere," Eun-jung gently beckons Love forth.

                                                                         Love does just as she's told and Eun-jung grabs a hold of her finger, slipping it into her mouth and licking the blood off. Love's eyes briefly widen in surprise and yet she couldn't pull away, her face and her body feeling completely hot. And it didn't help when Eun-jung met her gaze with dark, almost seductive eyes. Love stood there, utterly frozen, until Eun-jung was done but she couldn't tear her gaze away from Eun-jung who now began looking around.

                                                                          "Do you have a bandaid or...?" Eun-jung trails off, biting back a smile as she took note of Love's flustered reaction. She could still taste Love's blood now staining her tastebuds.

                                                                          "Uh, yeah. The first aid kit is just over there. Thanks for helping," Love says, shaking her hed in an effort to snap out of her daze.

                                                                           Eun-jung softly chuckles before she turns back to Love, wrapping the bandaid on Love's finger for her. "No problem. We should get back to cooking, yeah?"

                                                                        "Yeah," Love breathes, plastering a smile onto her lips. "Yeah, let's do that."

                                                                         They'd finish cooking dinner together, Love doing the honors of preparing the dishes for them both. In the dimly lit kitchen, the two now sat at the table and prepared to eat. But, of course, Love wanted for Eun-jung to take the first bite and say how she liked it. It already smelled amazing and when Eun-jung took the first bite, she'd hum in delight over how good it tasted.

                                                                        "I think this is the best meal I've had in a long time," Eun-jung declared, making Love smile.

                                                                        "Really? Oh, I'm so glad! I wanted to make sure that everything was perfect. Cooking's my first love and I just want to make sure that I'm perfect at it. I can't really imagine myself doing anything else," Love gushed before she started to eat.

                                                                        "That must be nice, having a passion or just... simply being good at something. I don't really have that," Eun-jung admits. Well, she was pretty good at killing people. But that wasn't something Eun-jung could simply admit out loud.

                                                                        "I'm sure you'll figure out. This is the perfect city to discover your talents. And, of course, if you need any help... I'd be more than happy to help you out," Love assured.

                                                                        "Thank you, Love," Eun-jung says with a smile.

                                                                        "Hey, Cait, you can totally say no but I was wondering if...," Love trails off, glancing down at her food while she thought of what to say next.

                                                                        "If?" Eun-jung prompted.

                                                                        "If you'd like to come with Will and I to a wellness weekend. My family loves to go often and well, I think you'd be a great addition," Love offered.

                                                                         Eun-jung perks up. "You think so?"

                                                                         "I know so! It'd be a great chance for us all to hang out and have some fun. What do you say?" Love responded.

                                                                          Maybe it was scummy of her to use her boyfriend as an excuse to hang out with Eun-jung. But still, Love was growing to like Eun-jung a lot and she wanted to spend time with her. Love couldn't explain why but at this moment, she didn't really want to figure it out. She just wanted to live in the moment and enjoy herself with Eun-jung. Or, as she knew her, Caitlyn.

                                                                        "I'd love to," Eun-jung agreed and Love's almost blinding smile graces her lips again.

                                                                        The rest of the night went off without a hitch, so much that Eun-jung would go back to her apartment laughing and dancing around with joy. To the normal outsider, she might've looked absolutely psychotic but Eun-jung was genuinely happy. She was making progress with Love and she was actually on her way to being welcomed into Love's circle of friends and becoming one of them.

                                                                       As far as Eun-jung was convinced, Joe Goldberg didn't stand a fucking chance.

(🔪🧁💔)

word count: 2178
notes: sorry for the little wait but here's chapter four! we'll be getting into the wild well-kend episode in the next chapter!