Monika let out a sigh. When she was contacted by the producers to star as a judge on Street Woman Fighter 2, she was aware that Jihye unnie would be on the show as a member of Mannequeen, a crew created specially for the show.
Jihye, known professionally as Buckey, had been Monika's first krump teacher all those years back. They had danced alongside each other in the crew Monster Woofam for several years, before the crew had dissipated. Monika had known Jihye unnie longer than she had known Hyowon, or LipJ, her current housemate.
As the years passed, contact between her and Buckey had become sparse, and after Monika's rise to fame in Street Woman Fighter, there was barely any since she was extremely busy.
During the filming of Street Woman Fighter 2, Monika never had a direct encounter with Buckey. Monika didn't know whether to thank for that or not, since she wanted an opportunity to chat with her face to face and clear up any... unresolved tensions. Of the romantic kind.
After all those years as a crew in Monster Woofam, it was natural for Monika and Buckey to acknowledge the feelings they had for each other. They were lovers, comrades, and everything one could ever hope to find in a romantic partner. They supported each other's dreams every step of the way... Until they had naturally drifted apart. Granted, Monika hadn't completely let go of her feelings for Buckey, and she wanted to know if Buckey felt the same.
When LipJ appeared on SWF2 to help out Mannequeen for the Mega Crew mission, Monika's resolve to talk to Buckey strengthened. If she never straightened out her feelings for Buckey, she would be leading Hyowon on, and that was the last thing she wanted.
·
The day of the Final arrived. After Monika announced the winning crew, every dancer came on stage.
As Buckey passed by her, she caught her eye.
"See you at the afterparty?" Buckey asked.
Monika nodded.
Buckey held her hand in hers and said: "I'm looking forward to it— we have so much to talk about." before moving away to celebrate with the other dancers.
That was enough to get Monika's heart beating again.
·
The said afterparty was more like a gathering of the dancers in a dingy local restaurant, drinking to their hearts' content. Yenicho was hugging Rena like she would never let go, Redlic was crying and Capri was snuggled in Bada's arms like a baby bird.
Buckey caught Monika's eyes from across the table.
"Let's go," she mouthed to Monika, and stood and left.
Monika threw a casual glance at her phone. There was a new message from Hyowon:
Soonie❤️
i'll be waiting for u👉👈
Monika's heart stilled for a moment. Then she set her lips in a determined grimace. She turned her phone off, leaving the message on read, and followed Buckey out into the night.
Tonight she would either let the glowing embers die... or rekindle an old flame.
A/n: Buckey revealed to fans that she was talking to Monika about the upcoming hweshik, or dinner with co-workers ('afterparty' in this case)