Nayeon would come back when she was ready to. As of now, she was not ready. So, she manufactured an ‘emergency’ and went out for lunch. While at a local restaurant, she binged ate, a means of comfort eating. This was not her normal thing to do, but this was not a normal circumstance.  At best she’ll feel better, at worst she will spend extra time in the gym.

Either way, she’ll work out what needs to be done to resolve the issue. She always does. This was not the first time that she and Seulgi have butted heads. Nor would it be the last. For that matter, with her personality, Seulgi was not the only one that she found disfavor with. But, with her obnoxiously cheerful demeanor, she also had fairly quick resolutions. Usually.

This time, however, might take a bit longer. Nayeon did not always act like an adult – she tried to pretend to be the youngest in every group, even when she was the oldest. She likes to clown around, but at the same time, she knows when she needs to act like an adult. If she could not be a responsible adult, she would never have made the elite group with Seulgi to begin with.

So, eating lunch alone, she had time to sit back and think about things. Since she was alone, she did not have anyone to act for and could just think. She normally did her deep thinking when she was working out or when she was alone at home.

Today, however, was a day for deep, contemplative thoughts.

She was sure that Seulgi was trying to protect both her and the rest by keeping things from them. So, she should start from the prospect that she had good intentions. That was usually a safe bet to start with. How much was from good intentions and how much was from not believing that she and they would not be helpful?

That was an ugly thought, wasn’t it? Would she actually be helpful to Seulgi right now? Or, would she just be in the way? She said that there was danger. What would she do if they were attacked by someone? She had no defensive training. She had no weapons training. She had a pretty smile and a penchant for being able to talk to everyone. Would those talents be helpful? Evidently not.

Nayeon even managed to frown prettily when deep in thought.

Should she start taking physical defense classes? Yes, she probably should. Not for Seulgi, but for herself. There were creeps everywhere, after all. Even after what is going on, whatever it is, she would still need to mind her surroundings and be vigilant.

Thus Nayeon’s thoughts were still heavy and dark, but with the beginnings of being productive.

Tae found something odd. She was looking through the videos of the security cameras - don’t ask how she got access, if you please – and she noticed something odd going on in the garage.

There was a huge man walking down the ramp and then disappearing into the shadows. Something was glinting in his hand that looked metallic. Maybe like a knife. This was about two minutes before Seulgi exited the elevator.

Then there was a time skip for about fifteen minutes. Seulgi’s car was gone and so was the large man that had been hiding. This was intriguing.

One of Jeong-Hui’s people came in.

“Someone has accessed the video feed from the camera we tagged.”

Without looking up from her paperwork, she said, “Investigate it.”

The person who brought her this information bowed without saying anything further and quickly walked out.

Taeyeon’s life was about to get very interesting.

Yeji followed Seulgi back to her office after lunch. She handed the letter to her and then requested a half day off. Seulgi read the missive, came around her desk, and hugged her. She was granted her half day off and she quietly left.

When Yeji left, that was when Seulgi noticed that there were a pair of wet spots on her shoulder, where the other woman’s head rested for just a moment. Yeji was not one to make large, emotional outbursts, so silent tears were much more her style.

She must have really loved her cousin, Seulgi thought. She wondered how they had gotten along as children, if they played together, and all the normal things. Then she remembered that her cousin was nearly a decade older, so they would not have played together, but that did not mean he was still not close to her.

Still, she had to write an email to HR and the big boss saying that she granted Yeji a half day off for personal/family reasons. She did not go into details.

She did BCC Bhuwakul, though she assumed that he already knew.

Soo-Young was having an unpleasant afternoon. She was at the gym and someone was creeping on her. She was fairly used to it, so long as they kept their distance. This person didn’t, he got too close one too many times. She heard him sniffing the air next to her over her headphones. That was over the line.

However, when she was moving from one machine to another, he came by and patted her butt. Her reflexes kicked in faster than a thought. She turned and punched him dead in the center of the face.

Being who she was and how she looked, many people witnessed this. So, she did not get into any trouble, but the guy who touched her did.

Jackson sat alone in the hospital room. He was so bored that he was twiddling his thumbs. He had read every trash magazine that was on the floor. The nurses aided and abided in his voracious literary appetite. Still, it was not enough. He tried watching television for a while before turning it off. There was only so much mind-numbing schlock he could tolerate.

He looked at the clock for the umpteenth time in the last thirty seconds and realized it was still a few hours before Gillian got off work. His mother was off doing who-knows-what. He was in his thirties and still did not know what his mommy did for a living.

Sighing, he guessed he never would.

There was a knock on his door. Granting permission to enter, a man and woman flashed detective badges and asked if he would be willing to give a statement as to what happened. Unhappy about reliving the episode, but relieved of boredom, he welcomed them in,