When all was said and done, Seulgi was almost killed less than twelve hours ago. She also saw her executioner get his brains spttered over one of her favorite outfits. She, however, was not about to compin. So, to expect her to be still mentally or emotionally banced would be unreasonable. She still had the occasional fsh of his face, a glint of the knife, or the looks of fear on Bhuwakul and Yeji’s faces.

  She was not looking forward to this evening when she tried to sleep. Most likely when she is unprotected in sleep, everything would come back to haunt her. She knew this. Alfred and Yeji knew this. Only one of the two was in a position to assist her.

  Ten thirty was quickly becoming eleven o’clock. They decided to end things for now. So, everyone cleaned up and put away that which needed to go. Even Alfred helped with the dishes. Both girls were surprised by this.

  He looked at them and asked, “What?”

  They both shook their heads in unison and he walked down to the second bedroom and left the door open a hand span. If he was needed during the night, a simple something like a mere door would be a very minor thing to be in his way. However, he was sure that his daughter would prefer him to not destroy anything unnecessarily.

  The girls went into Seulgi’s bedroom. Yeji initially said that she’d sleep on the couch, but Seulgi needed her closer. She could feel the dreams bubbling on the darker side of her conscious mind. Tonight was most likely going to be bad. Seulgi did not want to be alone. Suki was a healthy ward against most things, but she was not going to be enough for tonight.

  Seulgi picked up Suki and tossed her to the center of the bed. The cat squawked but didn’t get down. Both of the women got undressed to their pajamas. Then they got under the covers.

  Yeji let Seulgi lead the way with the lights. She was pretty sure the lights would probably stay on for at least a week, but Seulgi was made of strong stuff. But, for tonight, her guess was right and the lights stayed on.

  As expected, Seulgi was more ridged than a coiled spring. There was no way for her to be rexed or to calm down. So, Yeji did for her what her eldest brother did for her when she was like this, she reached over and grabbed her hand.

  Seulgi was ft on her back and nearly screamed in fright at the unexpected touch, then calmed down and rexed when she realized it was Yeji. She reached back and held her friend's hand. It was then that she felt nearly every muscle group rex, section by section. It took her nearly a half hour, but she finally rexed everything.

  And then got mad. She released Yeji’s hand and pulled away.

  “Seulgi?”

  “Be right back. I didn’t pee before getting into bed. Back in a moment.”

  Seulgi thought that she might have heard some covert snickering, but couldn’t be sure, so she just went to the bathroom.

  A couple of minutes ter, Yeji heard the toilet flush and Seulgi padding back to the bed. Suki muttered a compint as she got nudged back into the middle of the bed as Seulgi slid back in.

  Seulgi got the cat uncomfortable again when she grabbed her, turned over onto her side, and cradled the cat to her breast in an attempt to ward off bad dreams when she finally slept. Suki would put up with this for a bit, but would eventually wander off and do her own thing.

  Yeji waited up on guard against Seulgi. She knew that her friend would find some way to find the worst about the day and then bme herself for it. She knew that tonight would not be without tears and self-recrimination. When she felt the bed shaking and heard the near-silent sobs, she knew that it was time to act. She reached over to Seulgi, wrapping her arm around her ribs, and yanked her back into an embrace. So, they stayed with Seul’s back against Yeji’s chest until Seulgi cried herself to sleep. Yeji knew that words were worthless in this situation, so she sang softly into Seulgi’s hair. She was sure that her voice would reach deep and finally get her to let go, be calm, and fall asleep.

  And it worked.

  Seulgi nor Yeji knew that Alfred stood sentinel just outside the door while Yeji sang.

  Suki knew he was there, but didn’t care.

  Bhuwakul froze. He knew that this person had not been there when he swept the house earlier. He had walked by this chair twice and it was empty both times, as was the room. However, there was someone there now. He noticed that all the doors and windows were closed and locked.

  Needless to say, everything that was a weapon was within reach and he was ready to use it.

  “Oh, calm down Bhuwakul. Or, should I say ‘Harold’?” a calm, melodious said from the darkness.

  “Sonja? What are you doing here?” It was very rare for Bhuwakul to be surprised by anything, but this managed to catch him off guard. He surprised himself with how calm his voice was.

  “Qid pro quo. An exchange of data.”

  “Would you like some tea? Are you hungry?”

  “I would love some tea, thank you.“

  Bhuwakul busied himself pying host to this most unexpected guest.

  Nayeon knew that she was being excluded but not why. Yes, she was the group clown, but she was also very far from being stupid. Normally, data flowed freely and everyone was kept informed of what was going on as both a group and individually. She was unused to being kept in the dark by so many people and it was making her angry.

  She was at the gym with Katie and Katie was feeling the effects of Nayeon’s anger. Nayeon was leading the workout with a punishing effort. She was mentally punishing those who were hiding things from her. She knew that this was unfair to her friend, but could not stop herself.

  She would get answers as to what was going on tomorrow.