--- Parenthood ---

Joy never knew heartbreak until she and Wendy ended things.

The pain she felt when she and her first love broke up was nothing compared to this. That pain could be eased with a few bottles of beer, a few inebriated nights, a few expletives and then assurances of better days courtesy of her best friend, Seulgi.

But this one - this one almost took away her sanity. It took away her sleep, her desire to eat, to function, to be.

She would go on days without an idea of how hours went by, without noticing how skies have turned bright and then eventually welcomed dusk. It always just looked gray to her, like the rest of her world.

Seulgi knew that her best friend was drowning in sorrow, so she would visit her as often as she can. At nights, she will call Joy, who will initially try to sound like she's okay, but then will always end the call in soft sobs. It broke Seulgi's heart. 

Joy knew, just knew that she was in a state of half-life.

And she stayed that way, even if months, and then a full year, has already passed by.

Everything still seemed bereft of sense, of meaning, of direction.

She wanted to feel something other than pain. She tried to look for a respite from it from anything, from anywhere; from anyone.

And then one night, while alone in a crowded bar, with almost a poisonous mix of alcohol in front of her, she did something that would forever alter her life.

And Se