Krystal's habit to come earlier was not always a good thing. Especially when she would receive a text message from Seulgi telling her she could not meet her. And although Seulgi was telling her not to worry about it, she could not help feeling nervous as to why the latter could not come. She hoped nothing bad happened to her and quickly typed a reply.

Sure, let's meet another time ! :) Hope everything's okay. If you ever need something, just call me, alright ? ;) Lov|

She hesitated a little before adding the 'Love you' <3 part. She quickly erased it before sending the text message.

There's no point in confusing her. I already know I'm out of the game...

She then put her face in between her two hands before lifting her head up once again. No, she could not let herself be this depressed at the moment. She had promised her sister she would be strong despite the pain and the sadness.

These past few days, she often thought of moving on from Seulgi. But again, she had decided to come back all the way from America for her and only for her. It would be unfair if she gave up after all the efforts she made to come back but she guessed it could not easily change one's feelings, more precisely Seulgi's feelings.

Irene and Seulgi spent the afternoon together talking, laughing and even holding hands. The former did not understand how leaving the latter's side was so difficult for her. She was going to see the other on Monday, right ? So why did parting ways with the other girl bother her that much ? After all, she could not force Seulgi to stay by her side all the time, although she would have loved to have the other girl next to her. 

She sighed rather loudly before letting herself fall on the couch.

If only she could confess to Seulgi, then maybe she would not feel so empty right now. However confessing meant she could also get rejected... No matter how cliché it could sound, she did not want to lose her friendship with the other girl. But on the contrary, something inside her was telling her she would not feel so frustrated at the moment if only she would find the courage to confess. After all, there was still a chance that Seulgi would return her feelings as she had already rejected Krystal and she still remembers when Wendy told her Seulgi had opened up to her. Maybe the chance was real.

Besides, Irene knew talking about it with Joy or Yeri would only result in them telling her to confess to Seulgi. There was no point in arguing with them. She sighed once more before throwing backwards her head and closing her eyes. 

Sure, let's meet another time ! :) Hope everything's okay. If you ever need something, just call me, alright ? ;)

Somehow, Seulgi felt bad for ditching the other girl after reading her text message. But at the same time, she would trade anything in the world to spend some time with Irene, even if it was only for one minute with her.

When Seulgi came back into her apartment that evening, she found the lights were inside and a feeling of déjà-vu invaded her as soon as she saw it was none other than Suho.

What is he doing here ?

She then remembered he still had the key of the apartment as she had not asked for him to give it back. But she could not pinpoint why he was there, waiting for her.

"I give up. She's yours." He said before she could say anything.

"What ?" She gulped when he sent a glare towards her. "I mean, why do you say that when before you clearly said you-"

"Come on ! We aren't gonna ruin our friendship over a girl ! I admit I acted like a jerk, not just once or twice... But you also know you truly hurt me..." Suho said to her before sighing. "However, the more I think about it, the more I understand there's no use in competing with you... I already know I won't win."

"How can you be so sure ? It's not like you to give up just like that."

He then smiled at her. "Nevermind... I know you truly love her. And even though it hurts me a lot, I let her go. I'm trusting you, Seulgi."

"Yeah, I know but... Do you really think everything's gonna go back to how they were before ? I mean, with all the mess which was created..."

"Of course, if we both try to stay civil with each other."

"You mean, if you try to stay civil with me."

"Yeah, whatever." He simply replied while raising his eyebrows in a teasing way and she chuckled back at him. However, his expression turned a little more serious.

"I swear, Seulgi, if you ever make a wrong move on Irene, I'll make sure you regret it, okay ?" He gently threatened her, a small smile plastered onto his face before adding, more seriously, "I'm not kidding. Take care of her as you should do."

"Thank you, Suho." Seulgi said, small tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "Hug ?" She then asked while opening her arms.

"Sure, come here." He then embraced her.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. "I truly am."

"I know, I know... Let's stop talking about it, shall we ? But I need to tell you... Maybe it's better if I back out a little from you and Irene, you know."

The next day, Irene and Jessica were hanging out. It was Jessica who wanted to hang out with the former. She needed to talk to Irene and try, as much as she could, to know a little more about Seulgi.

As they were speaking, Irene's phone rang.

"Ah, sorry. I won't be a minute." Irene excused herself.

"Where are you ?" Seulgi asked her through the phone.

"I'm... In our usual café with Jessica right now... Why ?"

"Ah, I see. Then, call me back when you're free then, it's not important and I don't wanna interrupt you."

"Oh, ok then. Bye." Irene softly said before hanging up.

Jessica had seen how Irene's eyes sparkled while Irene was speaking through her phone. They did the same way Krystal's eyes would. It did not take a genius to know what was happening inside Irene's mind.

When Irene sat back down in front of Jessica, she saw two familiar figures walking outside the café.

"What's wrong ? You've been staring into space. Or maybe... You were looking at them ?" Jessica asked her while looking behind her back, where two figures could be seen holding hands and laughing.

"Oh, nothing. It's just... I saw Wendy and another friend of mine."

"Wendy ? Wendy as in... The girl you love ?" Jessica asked warily, knowing full well it was the moment for her to talk about Seulgi with Irene.

Damn, why do I always forget about it ? Irene cursed herself in her mind.

"Why aren't you bothered by it ? Another girl holding hand and giggling with her..." Jessica . "Are you perhaps not really interested in her and more... Interested in Seulgi ?" She added.

Irene did not reply anything, and Jessica took it as a sign for her to continue.

"Come on, you can tell me. I won't be mad at you. I can't be mad at you. I've seen the way you had reacted when Krystal told you about Seulgi. You had seemed so distressed at that time but I could not pinpoint why. I can't understand why Krystal hadn't seen the way you had behaved. And I've also seen how your eyes shined when she called you earlier. I've known you for a long time Irene, you can't lie to me."

Irene sighed. "Why is everything so complicated ?"

"It's not that complicated. You just have to face it."

"How ? I don't know where to begin."

"I think you need to tell Krystal before doing anything else."

"In order for her to move on, she needs to know who's gonna bring Seulgi happiness and love."

"I understand but... I can't face Krystal and tell her I am in love with the person who made her come back. I just can't... I don't want to break her heart even more."

"I also don't like seeing her like that but you can't keep on pretending Irene." Jessica then put her hand on Irene. "Come on, you have to be stronger than that if you really want Seulgi. Please, talk to Krystal. Tell her the truth."

A. N : One more chapter left ! I'll post it as soon as it's finished ! Please wait a little more ! (I know you've already waited quite some time for this chapter...)

Let me know what you think of this chapter and what you think would happen in the next (and final) chapter ! ;)