warm like a gun | ot23 nct; ot5 red velvet

Chapter 14

It's a rare day when all four women have time off together, but today happens to be one of them. Sooyoung heads straight to Joohyun's place after she's eaten breakfast, looking forward to a day of talking shit, relaxing, and probably drinking.

She keeps her expectations low, though. Ever since the launch, tensions have been a little high in their group. Yerim told Seulgi and Sooyoung what she and Joohyun had discussed at the party, and it had divided them a bit. They haven't had the chance to really talk about it, so she has a feeling the immortality conversation will be happening today. The main issue is that Seulgi and Joohyun are of completely opposite opinions, and that usually spells trouble, because as much as they love to bicker, they hate to fight. The problem is, both of them are very opinionated, and very proud, so Sooyoung and Yerim usually have to step in before things get too out of hand.

What's worse, even Yerim seems to be inflamed about the issue. Ever since the launch party, she's become serious. Gone is the sweet, unassuming little sister Sooyoung has always loved. In her place, a young woman has emerged; one who smiles without her eyes; one talks less and listens more, brooding. It's not that Sooyoung never wanted Yerim to grow up. It's just that it's all happened so quickly, Sooyoung doesn't know what to think.

Sooyoung's worries are well-founded. Joohyun answers the door to her apartment with a stormy expression. "Tell Seulgi she's being dramatic," she says instead of saying hi. "She won't listen to me."

"Is Yerim already here, too?" Sooyoung asks delicately, shutting the door behind her and untying her coat. A bot whirs up, extending a bionic arm. "Thank you," she says, handing off her coat and shoes.

"No, she said she's on her way. C'mon," Joohyun huffs, grabbing Sooyoung's arm. "Seulgi's saying I was too harsh with Yerim last week. Why she's only bringing it up now is beyond me. She's literally refused to talk to me, and now the first thing out of her mouth when she has the chance to stop by is to tell me I was wrong?"

"To be fair," Sooyoung says, letting Joohyun drag her around the corner to her living room, "you are usually a little harsher than you need to be."

"I'm very sorry if I think Yerim was right to question Joohyun's little crusade for immortality," Seulgi pipes up from where she's sitting, legs spread and arms crossed, on Joohyun's couch. Joohyun gestures Sooyoung to an armchair and takes her usual seat beside Seulgi, though she faces away from her, which Sooyoung has to try very hard not to laugh at.

"I didn't even say anything like that!" Joohyun argues. It's clear they've already visited and revisited this point before Sooyoung's arrival. "All I said was that girl was being rude for asking about the chairman's motives!"

"First of all, you were very rude," Seulgi says. Sooyoung has to agree with that. Based on Yerim's retelling, she was downright mean to a random intern asking a harmless question. "Second of all, it's not like you don't believe it would be good if the chairman could extend life indefinitely."

"And? I think it would be good! Can you imagine? A world without death!" Joohyun's eyes are alight with passion. "Death is the thing we are all most innately afraid of. If we can do away with it completely, think about all the things we could accomplish! We could change out our stomachs so that we didn't need food. We could modify our lungs so that the toxins outside the city wouldn't harm us. And then we wouldn't be trapped in here anymore! We could start over, venture out and spread that knowledge. We could rebuild the world."

Sooyoung nods along. She's not sure how possible it would be, but the idea that she could just keep replacing body parts as they fail—or even switch bodies altogether—is pretty enticing. So's the idea of leaving the city. It's not that it's all bad here. Life is good, and it's not like it feels stifling. The city is huge; though Sooyoung is already in her twenties, she hasn't nearly explored all of it yet. But still, the knowledge that this may very well be all they have—and that if something happened, and their safety here was compromised, there would be no backup—is all very terrifying. And a vast enclosure is still a cage, she thinks. It would be nice to be able to get out.