“Welcome to my humble home,” I said as I slipped off my shoes.

    “I will never go into that monster contraption of yours ever again.”

    I looked back to see Seulgi leaning against the doorframe with a sick look on her face. As soon as I had started the car and pulled out of the lab facility, Seulgi’s eyes had turned brown - a color that’s supposed to be normal but still somehow managed to look stunning on Seulgi - and was still retaining that color up till now.

    “It was only a forty-five minute drive. Calm down.”

    Seulgi groaned, pushing off of the doorframe and dragging her feet towards me. “It was the worst forty-five minutes of my life. I will never go back into it ever again”

    I laughed and rolled my eyes before walking into the kitchen to get some water. I was thirsty, and anyway, Seulgi would probably be fine after getting some liquid into her system. After I drank my fill, I filled up another glass and handed it over to Seulgi who had followed me into the kitchen. Seulgi took the cup from my hands without hesitation and practically drained it in one gulp. When she handed the cup back over to me, I looked to see the deep, earth-brown color of her eyes swirl and turn a light gold instead. I took that as a sign that she was feeling better.

    “Thank you.”

    “Mhm,” I hummed, placing the cup onto the counter next to mine.

    “Do you live alone?”

    I paused, blinking a couple of times at the unexpected question. I felt my chest constrict with that familiar pang before I turned away from Seulgi and nodded slowly, my voice coming out a little strained. “Yeah, I do.” Although Seulgi seemed sort of slow in the way only innocent people could be, she must have picked up on my mood, because she didn’t pry further into the question. Instead, I turned around to see Seulgi looking around my house with a sort of awed look on her face.

    “Are these the kinds of homes that humans live in in this time?”

    “Why do you always talk like you’re not human?” I asked, chuckling.

    Seulgi suddenly looked at me, and I froze when I found myself looking into a pair of cold, steely gray eyes. She looked serious for the first time since I’d met her, and it sort of scared me. Then, the solid gray seemed to melt away as her eyes returned to that soft, liquid gold that they frequented. She gave me a lopsided smile. “I do not know. It is fun.”

    I was still trying to recover from the slight shock of seeing Seulgi looking grave for once, but I quickly gathered myself. “Alright, I guess. Uhm, follow me. I’ll show you where you’re going to sleep.”

    I patted Seulgi on the shoulder as I walked past her - catching that stupid, tantalizing scent that she had - before making my way towards the spare room. I hadn’t needed to use that room in a while, and when I opened it, it was like seeing a new place for the first time.

    “I like the window.”

    “Agh!” I whirled around, only to be face to face with Seulgi, which led me to stumble back. I squeezed my eyes shut - waiting for the impact - but none came. Because suddenly, I felt a grip on the front of my shirt that pulled me back up and balanced me. When my eyes flew open, I was met with the sight of Seulgi with her right hand firmly balled up against the collar of my t-shirt, and her eyes a shocking electric blue that matched the surprised look on her face. To any onlooker, it probably looked like Seulgi was about to punch me in the face.

    “Why are you falling over? You should be more careful. Humans are not strong.”

    I snapped out of my stupor at Seulgi’s words, and I gently slapped at her hand a few times before she let go. I smoothed down my now rumpled shirt, before looking up at her and glaring. “I wouldn’t have stumbled if you hadn’t jumped out of nowhere! See? This is how I hit you with my car! You come out of nowhere! Walk with sound, Seulgi! Sound!”

    Seulgi’s eyes reverted back to amber as she crossed her arms and pouted. “It is not my fault that you do not have good hearing.”

    I raised my eyebrows at her and scoffed. “Really? You’re pulling that card on me?”

    “Yes. Fix your hearing.”

“Kang Seulgi!”

~~

    “Seulgi, are you dressed yet . . . oh. Wow.” I trailed off as Seulgi stepped out of the guest room and walked towards me, tugging at the shirt and jeans I had let her borrow. They were obviously a bit small on her, but she still somehow looked like she’d just walked out of a fashion magazine. Seulgi looked rather uncomfortable, however, and it showed in the way her eyes were mixing colors in a mesmerizing way.

    “This is rather uncomfortable,” Seulgi said, giving another tug at my shirt and grimacing before looking up at me.

    I shrugged. “Well, they’re a bit small on you, but it’ll have to do for now.”

    “Why can I not just wear the other clothing I had worn earlier?”

    “Because, I don’t want you walking around and advertising where I work,” I said, standing up.

    Seulgi was pouting, and I only now realized that it oddly looked like the way I pouted. I grinned mischievously before pouting back at her. “Is this what you’re trying to do? Because it’s not working.”

    “N-No it is not.”

    Seulgi’s eyes turned purple, and I stopped pouting and laughed. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Come on. We’re going to go eat out.”

    Seulgi suddenly shrunk back. “We are not riding in your monster contraption, are we?”

    “There’s no other way to get there, Seulgi.”

    “No, no. I do not need food. I will just stay here.”

    Seulgi was actually being really cute, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Come on, Seulgi. You only felt sick because it was the way down from the mountain. You’ll be fine, and it’s only a ten minute drive.”

    Seulgi crossed her arms and stepped away from me, shaking her head and looking up at me with childish disobedience. How old is she, five?

    I then thought of a way to lure her in. “Do you have a favorite food? Do you remember?”

    Seulgi looked brooding for a second before she reluctantly spoke up. “I like . . . bread.”

    I tilted my head at her, confused. “Bread?”

    Seulgi’s nod was more vigorous now, and her eyes began to show specks of gold. “Yes. Bread is very good. I have always liked bread.”

    “Uh . . . alright. If you come with me, I’ll buy you a lot of bread. Deal?”

    Seulgi’s eyes suddenly sparked into blue before turning back into a wary purple. “You are not lying to me, are you?”

    “Really? What do you take me for? Money isn’t a problem for me, Seulgi. I’ll buy you as much bread as you want,” I said, rolling my eyes and spinning my keys around my finger.

    Seulgi narrowed her violet eyes slightly at me before her posture relaxed and she sniffed. “Fine. Let us go.”

    I smirked. “That’s the spirit.”

~~