It had been three days since their ship had sunk to rot at the depths of the ocean. As a result, the group had split up due to the tragedy, each left to cope with the loss in their own ways. When the girls are called to reunite, they can't help but...
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Jiwoo rushed down the stairs as quietly as she could. She had to tell someone, anyone, of what she just witnessed. Whatever Haewon did back there was incredibly suspicious. The peculiarities of her dear captain only kept piling up since her late arrival to the reunion. Jiwoo knew deep down in her gut that something was up, and she was determined to find out what it was. For one, Haewon was never late to her own meetings. That was a fact.
Jiwoo reached the ground floor. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she spotted Bae sitting on the concrete diving board of the abandoned swimming pool. If Jiwoo were to tell anyone of her suspicions about the leader, it would be Bae. She walked outside to meet her.
"Bae!" She called out.
"Jiwoo!" Bae replied.
She approached her. "Can we talk? I really need to tell someone–"
"About what you saw, mhm," Bae cut in, which annoyed Jiwoo a little. The older girl leaned back, "Go on."
Jiwoo sat beside her and started in a hushed voice, "Don't you think Haewon has been acting a little weird lately?"
Bae thought about the most recent encounter she had with her captain. She remembered last talking to her after the reunion, when the group was trying to figure out ways to get back on course. While she did notice a few members go in and out of the captain's office, she only assumed that her skill set wasn't needed at the moment. Bae didn't have much input to give, so she responded to Jiwoo's question with another.
"How so?"
"Haewon is never late to her own meetings!" Jiwoo pointed out.
"She's not perfect, Jiwoo," Bae countered. "Besides, it was only a few days after the ship sank. I think you can cut her some slack."
"But she was the one who called for it! Just think!" Jiwoo said. "Why would you be late to a meeting that you arranged?"
Bae gave it some thought. What the younger girl said was indeed true. It didn't make sense for Haewon to be late to a meeting that she arranged. She'd always been punctual no matter the kind of situation. It was one of her many traits that made her such a great leader.
"I guess that's true..." Bae finally said.
"I've been following her since then. She's planning something," Jiwoo added. "I overheard her talking to Sullyoon about how 'the ship never sank'. Then later, she had Kyujin fix broadcast equipment for Lily to send out a message."
"How come she never told us about this?" Bae questioned.
"That's not all! When Lily left the room, she broadcasted her own message–in morse code!"
Bae raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued. It was definitely strange considering...
"Haewon doesn't know morse code!" Jiwoo finished for her. "She couldn't have learned it in such a short time either!"
Bae let all this new information about their captain hang over her head. Jiwoo had a point. Why was Haewon moving so discreetly? Not divulging her plans? Suddenly knowing how to communicate in morse code? She wasn't like this before. Something must've happened during the time they separated, but what could change their captain's demeanor so drastically?
"Can you recall what she sent out?" Bae asked.
"No. I don't know morse code." Jiwoo flicked a stray pebble next to her. Bae's eyes followed its trajectory down the cemented pool floor.
"How much do the others know about this?"
"You were the first person I thought to tell," Jiwoo replied. Bae nodded, deep in thought.
"I think we should keep this between us for now."
"What? Why?"
"We need to avoid Haewon's suspicion. If more people knew the easier it would be for this 'theory' to slip out and reach her." Especially with Lily, Bae thought, remembering the multiple times the blonde girl took her leader's side during disagreements.
"That's fair," Jiwoo muttered. "So you believe me?"
Bae placed a hand on Jiwoo's shoulder, looking her straight in the eye. "I trust you."
Jiwoo averted her gaze, sighing. "I just don't like how we're keeping them under the dark."
"Haewon is doing the same, isn't she? If she can keep a secret, why can't we?"
"But it feels dishonest..."
"Listen, it's only for the time being. We'll tell them once the time comes, but for now we can continue digging into whatever happened before the meeting. Whoever we're dealing with, I don't think–" Bae hesitated before continuing, her voice now an octave lower, "I don't think it's our Haewon."
Jiwoo conceded. She was positive the other girls had their own suspicions already, especially Sullyoon. But, as much as she wanted to affirm their ideas, Bae was right. Airing it out was risky, and there was still a slight possibility that they could both be wrong. An insignificant thing could easily snowball into something worse and, well, they've already gone through a lot, haven't they?
"When we have more solid proof, we'll tell them," Bae assured her, lightly patting her back. "For now, you work on not acting suspicious."
Jiwoo frowned. "How am I acting suspicious?"
"You don't have a very good poker face. I mean, I could see your confusion from miles away–ow! Hey, where are you going?! Kim Jiwoo!"
Jiwoo absolutely refused to look back at Bae, who was now rubbing her wounded arm.
"Getting more solid proof!" She shouted as she climbed down the diving board, ignoring Bae's commotion.
Unbeknownst to the two girls, just several meters away, in one of the many buildings that surrounded the pool area, was Haewon. She watched silently with a noticeable skew on her lip as the second youngest made her way back to their base area.
"Tsk. You're making this harder for me, aren't you, Kim Jiwoo?"
