Su-bong and you had been best friends since middle school — the kind of friends who could argue for an hour about which fast food place had the best fries and then still split a milkshake after. you were never "together" in the romantic way people assumed. just two ride-or-die kids who understood each other better than anyone else.

then came Byeol.

neither of you had planned for her. not that night after homecoming, not that conversation in Su-bongs car six weeks later when you said 'i think im pregnant,' and definitely not when you were sitting in the grocery store parking lot, trying to figure out if you were supposed to be parents…

now, at nineteen, you all shared a tiny apartment, a crib that took up half the living room, and a bond stronger than ever.

“dude,” you called from the kitchen one morning, holding a mug Byeol had managed to break by hurling it off the high chair.

“that was your favorite one.”

Su-bong looked up from the floor, where he was trying to assemble a new toy Byeol would probably destroy by lunch.

“she has taste. that was the only mug i liked.”

you grinned, tossing the broken handle into the trash.

“you say that like you werent drinking instant coffee out of a Batman sippy cup yesterday.”

“it had a lid. thats survival, not preference.”

Byeol, now a wild-eyed one-year-old with fists of fury, had recently discovered that breaking things was a lot more satisfying than playing with them. unfortunately for you.

the laundry basket? snapped in half when she climbed inside and rocked it until it split like a cheap canoe. your alarm clock? smashed after she pulled it off the nightstand, unplugged it, and hit it with a wooden block like a tiny hammer. the standing fan? Byeol pushed it over with both hands.

every day was a new casualty. and so was today.

one afternoon, after a very brief and overly quiet ten minutes, you walked into the living room to find Byeol standing on the coffee table, trying to reach something from the shelf nearby. the table was holding on dear life, tilting to the side, nearly dropping everything that was there onto the floor. and oooh- there was a lot of things on it; your laptop, coffee, some flowers, remote, Su-bongs tablet..

"BYEOL!"

you gasped, lunging forward and- it was too late. you groaned, putting your head in your hands and just rethinking your whole life. while you were in the middle of it, you felt two, warm hands on your shoulders.

"relax. not the first, not the last time, ay?"

Su-bongs voice said from behind you. he always took those 'disasters' easier than you..