The next day didn’t turn out as planned for Seulgi. She woke up early, but the pitter-patter of raindrops on the window was only a sneak preview of the great big storms that would roll in and stay for most of the morning.

She knew early on that she wouldn’t be able to finish the shutter job over at Irene’s so instead she headed for the clinic to make herself useful.

They were down a receptionist and she’d volunteered to help out whenever she could. That seemed to make her parents happy, which was kind of her goal as of late.

She spent the morning organizing patient charts and scheduling, skills she’d picked up in high school and slid easily back into. Her dad joined her mid day in the break room for lunch, cutting his sub sandwich in half for them to split.

He still wore his very official white coat she’d admired as a child, the pocket outfitted with a few token lollipops for the younger patients and a few demanding older ones. His hair was entirely gray now, and he’d shaved off the moustache he’d had for much of her childhood.

“It’s nice having you around again, baby bear. I could get used to this.”

She smiled. She and her father didn’t always see eye to eye, but she enjoyed spending time with him one on one. He was a good guy.

“You say that to all your kids.” But then that sounded strange because really there was just her and Minhyuk now.

He must have seen the realization flicker in her eyes. “Don’t look that way baby. I still have 3 kids, you know. 5, counting Hani and Joohyun.”

Seulgi nodded solemnly, knowing it was true. She played absently with the corner of her sandwich.

Her father slid her an inquisitive look. “So how are things with Joohyun these days? You two do much talking since you’ve been back?”

“A little. She seems okay. Why do you ask?

He grabbed for a chip. “Your mother and I worry for her sometimes. She has a lot on her plate with her father’s declining health and managing the bakery all by herself. She’s there at 5 a.m. each morning and doesn’t leave sometimes until well past dinner time. She doesn’t let us help enough, and for Taeyeon’s sake, we should. We should all be watching out for Joohyun.”

Seulgi nodded and contemplated telling her father about the financial trouble at The Velvet, but decided that Irene had confided in her alone. She should respect that.

“I guess I didn’t realize she pulled so many hours. But I think she’s managing.” However, as soon as the words left , she knew she wasn’t at all convinced.

“And what about you? When does the studio need you back in the saddle? Or have you decided to listen to reason and leave that world behind?”

It was no secret that her father found the entertainment industry frivolous in comparison to the rest of the family’s noble work. She was the family black sheep, and she was used to her part. But for whatever reason, she needed to be honest with him in this moment. And she needed for him to understand.

She bit the bullet and recounted the details of her less than dignified dismissal from the set the week prior. When she finished, she met her father’s eyes, and any hope of understanding or compassion on his part left her immediately. Instead, she only saw disappointment. And, as always, it was crushing.

“That’s no way to conduct yourself, Seulgi.” He shook his head in disapproval. “That’s not how you were brought up.”

“Yes, sir. I know. I lost my temper and had a momentary lapse.”

“And look what it’s cost you. If I have a momentary lapse when working on an important case, someone could lose his or her life. There’s no room for that kind of behavior if you want to succeed in life. Time for you to grow up, Seulgi. I don’t want to have to worry about you so much.”

She nodded. “You’re right. Of course, you’re right.”

They finished eating in silence before he went back to work. But the air was thick with tension.

She put in 2 more hours in the reception area before packing it in. Her morale was a little low, but she ordered herself to snap out of it as she headed out into the drizzly afternoon.

So she was still disappointing her father, she just suffered through it a little quieter these days. Maybe she had grown up.

***

Seulgi watched Irene anxiously from the corner booth as she pulled down the shades and flipped the Open sign to Closed.

“Are you going to tell me how it went last night or make me sit here and wonder? The suspense is too much. I may die.” It was close to 5 and that meant closing time at The Velvet.

Irene shot her a look. “Trust me bear. You won’t die.”

Seulgi sighed dramatically, but truth be told, she felt better hanging out at the bakeshop. It had been a good move to swing by after work. Something about the place was cheerful and light and pulled her out of the mood she’d been in since lunch with her father.

Or maybe it was just spending time with Irene, who was strangely very tight lipped about the whole evening prior.

Try as she might, Seulgi hadn’t been able to gain much ground in the way of sordid details regarding Irene blind date. She did, however, manage to score a fluffy blueberry muffin, which she’d polished off quicker than was probably polite. Lucky for her she had a great metabolism or she’d be in real trouble.

“Good night, unnies.” Yeri puttered by on her way home for the day. “I’d stay and chat, but I gotta make it to my place before 'Descendants of the Sun' broadcast starts. Song Joong Ki is my sweet boyfriend.”

Seulgi shook her head. “You’re out of his league, Yeri.”

Touched, Yeri grinned and moved to Seulgi, squeezed both of her cheeks, and then pulled her into a great big hug. “I knew I missed you unnie. You’re too adorable for words and you know how to make a young girl feel good. Come by tomorrow and I’ll set you up with my special cinnamon coffee. I don’t make that for many people.” She squeezed Seulgi’s cheek again and headed for the door.

“You’re on.”

Irene rolled her eyes but was smiling as she went back to work, refilling the sugar dispensers one at a time.

Once they were alone, Seulgi turned back to Irene. “Please tell me.” She then offered her most hope filled expression complete with crescent shaped eyes and a pouty mouth, which earned her a laugh from Irene.

Jackpot.

“You know what? It was bad. Let’s just leave it there.”

Oh, that was entirely too little information. Seulgi pressed on. “Okay, I can work with bad. Let’s dissect a bit, shall we? Are we talking we just didn’t click at all bad? Or I might need to take out a restraining order bad?”

Irene sighed and sank into the booth across from Seulgi. “It was more like you have a gambling problem and you’re not taking me down with you horrible.”

Seulgi’s mouth f