Quick note: This is a re-write of a one-shot I wrote for another pairing, but it fit Seulrene just fine! I decided to give you guys a little treat meanwhile!

Kang Seulgi could feel the tension from work vanishing with the swaying smoke. A cigarette dangled from her plump lips, her back against the brick wall with the sound of a running air conditioner nearby, decorated only by the sound of the passing cars, the chatting pedestrians in the distance and the incessant cricket somewhere around this area.

As annoying as these sounds could be, she felt them to be better than the sound of an annoying manager and entitled customers. Today had been busy, so by comparison this was silence. Breaking in the new co-workers was also not what she had in mind for a Saturday night. Now here she was, alone by the back of the store, near the dumpster and in the middle of an alleyway no one would dare to walk into at this time of the evening -- the clouds just covering the pale moon and the scoundrels looking for a fight awaiting in the corners, hidden by the thick shadows. In fact, Seulgi shouldn’t even be outside right now; she had been heavily advised not to. But it was the damned manager who said she couldn’t and they were the worst. So, she wanted to bend the rules every now and then, especially if it meant to piss them off.

She sighed, rubbing her eyes. This is the last time she accepts working on a Saturday. She would much rather--.

“You would much rather be partying right now, huh?”

Yes, indeed! In fact--.

Wait.

Seulgi, suddenly registering the voice, looked up abruptly to her side, finding herself staring at one of the newbies dressed up in the uniform. Maroon polo shirt tucked into nicely fitted jeans. But she stood out from the rest of the newbies with impeccable attire and raven black hair, short and shiny, along with those plump lips coated in a dark red (and tempting) lipstick. A stark contrast to her milky, pale skin. 

“It’s been a hectic first day for me,” the lady spoke again, her voice sultry and low with a raspy quality to it. 

Yes, the lanky veteran remembered her from earlier in the afternoon. Speaking with the cigarette still dangling from her lips, she said: “Joohyun, right? You’re under Wendy’s tutelage?”

“I wouldn’t say Tutelage,” Joohyun laughed, walking over and leaning against the wall next to Seulgi, arms crossed below her bust so elegantly and feet crossed. “Makes it sound like I’m a child in training.”

Seulgi can’t help but to laugh as well, inhaling a long drag from her cigarette and taking it off her lips. She let the bit of smoke drift away from her open lips and hadn’t at all noticed that Joohyun had been staring directly at her as she did it. “Our manager’s a prick, I’m sure you noticed.”

“Yes, I did,” Joohyun sighed out as well, looking up at the stars watching over them. “Could do with a little less yelling.”

“Yeah, had to get away from it for a while. I don’t even smoke all that often, but y’know,” Seulgi stopped there, looking over to her new co-worker. What an enchanting side profile, though that was strange to say out loud. But it truly was fascinating. She cleared for a bit. “The name’s Seulgi, Kang Seulgi.”

Joohyun looked down finally, giving the shorter girl a glance. And I do mean a glance. More like she was checking her out, from top to bottom, like assessing her new co-worker. Did she do this often? Who was to know. “Bae Joohyun, although you knew that already.”

“And I’m sure going to remember your name when the manager starts yelling,” Seulgi replied instantly. She shuddered thinking about it. 

Joohyun gave her a fond smile, but one Seulgi couldn’t quite explain. Her eyes were sultry but she wasn’t sure what Joohyun was thinking. Come to think of it, she’s not even sure she has worked with this woman or seen her around the store or the storage room yet. Yes, there was this mysterious aura around this woman, she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there was something bigger going on with this woman.

And Seulgi was a curious person. Her curiosity had her attached to mysteries like this like a magnet.

When the newbie looks away, Seulgi does too, unsure of what just happened. Perhaps it was not her place to know yet? She shrugged it off.

“Do you mind?”

With a hum, Seulgi looked on over and noticed a fresh cigarette on Joohyun’s lips, patting around for a lighter -- she supposed at least.

The bear-faced woman assumed she was asking for one. “Sure,” she said, letting her lips hold her cigarette for her as she looked for her lighter. She patted her pockets as well, finding nothing in them, which was odd. She was certain she brought her zippo lighter. Bright brown eyes looked all across the floor and found nothing. That yellow lighter should pop out from the darkness and the dull colors, but it didn’t.

“I got it,” Joohyun suddenly said.

Then Seulgi couldn’t even react.

Joohyun’s dainty fingers suddenly grabbed Seulgi by her chin, making her look up at her. Seulgi’s eyes were wide for a moment, especially when she saw Joohyun’s face so close to her. It took her a moment to realize but…

“Hold still, will you?” Joohyun said softly. Eyes half lidded, she looked at Seulgi before she gently placed the of her cigarette in the burning end of Seulgi’s own.

Seulgi felt her cheeks burning as she watched the slow flame spreading, like it was reaching her own face. It was suddenly too hot outside, her palms were getting sweaty. Her brown blue eyes suddenly were electrified and brighter, travelling from those luscious lips up to those piercing eyes. But then she noticed something change in her eyes. She couldn’t explain it. It was like sudden lust and affection got mixed together, and while those eyes looked sultry before they finally had a huge magnetic pull for Seulgi now.

It was like something had shifted inside the woman.

Then the sudden question came.

Who is this woman?

In that moment Joohyun realized she may have been playing too close to fire this time around. There was a reason why one of the rules was “No feelings on the job” and there was a reason why most people abided by them. Not Bae Joohyun, she always played with the rules, bending them, tweaking them, ignoring them… 

But this would not help her mission at all.

Foolish of her.

Finally, they both pulled away at the same time, unsure of what just went through their mind, but their eyes couldn’t quite detach themselves from each other. Their gaze stayed connected, lingering for a moment that stretched too short for them. It wasn’t until the yelling from the inside of the store broke their connection and made them both jump a little away from one another, looking at the door as if awaiting for the cacophony to be carried outside. But it never came, instead it travelled back and forth.

When the yelling and the ruckus didn’t stop, both Joohyun and Seulgi looked at each other for another brief moment. One waited for the other to move, but the other wouldn’t budge. The cigarette smoke was the only thing moving at that moment, swaying and disappearing into the air, hanging over them and watching.

Seulgi was the first one to snap out of it, tossing the cigarette down and stepping on it. “That sounds like break time is over,” she said as levelled as possible, clearing again. “We should go.”

“Yeah.”

“Y-yeah…” Seulgi couldn’t say anything more and could feel the tension rising, but she was unsure what kind of tension it was. She soon walked past Joohyun, going up the steps and opening the door for the cacophony to come out for that brief second it was open. Behind the door, she disappeared.

Bae Joohyun watched her carefully as she walked, perhaps still in awe. Just when she disappeared, she inhaled in a fresh drag and slowly exhaled it out with a sigh. Well, this was just the beginning of everything, let’s see how everything pans out. 

She will make do, as she always does, besides that loud manager of hers was the first concern above everything else. She would have to go through him to get to the very top and get the answers she needed. Now she should only hope that Seulgi doesn’t get in her way.

Unless… Seulgi can prove to be useful, aside her dashing looks. After all, she is the very first sane person (besides Wendy, she supposed) in this place. Maybe she could approach her again under any pretext?

Throwing the cigarette on the ground and stepping on it, Joohyun looked up to the ramshackled table just next to where Seulgi was. Sitting there was the bright yellow zippo lighter with a design engraved on it. A cartoony bear lying quiet. Joohyun couldn’t help her smirk when she saw it. Swiftly, she reached over and grabbed it, disappearing back inside the store, ready to put her plans in motion.