Chapter 22

 

They jumped on the train back to Seoul. At the train station, Seulgi picks up her sports car in the carpark and before going to her house, she drives Irene to her house first to pick up her clothes.

 

Chaos erupt in two different locations when the two are finally separated.

 

In Irene’s house:

 

Staring at her limited wardrobe with a look of resignation, Irene lets out a loud sigh. She should have taken Jennie’s advice and shopped for more clothes usually. 

 

She decides to ring up her friend for some advice.

 

Finally turning on her phone in hours, a stream of notifications showing missed calls and worried messages flood in. Thinking back, Irene felt really bad as she knew how much her close friends in council would worried when she suddenly ran away without a word. 

 

Baechu: Heyy, everything is okay. Sorry for making all of y’all worried :(

 

Her friends immediately pop up online and reply to her message, as if they have been waiting all day. 

 

Jendeukie: THANK GOD U R STILL ALIVE. Where have you been!!! 

How dare you make us worry >:(

 

Wannie: yayyyyyy 

are you really okay? 

u can always call me if you need to talk :”) 

 

Bogummie: God Bless. As long as you are safe, that’s all that matters. Joohyun, have a good rest okay? 

 

She smiles at their heartwarming messages, admiring them for a while but she soon realises that is not her agenda for the moment. Irene quickly clicks onto Jennie’s call icon to focus on her current task.

 

Jennie picks up in an instant. “What’s wrong, Joohyun! Are you okay?” 

 

Irene could hear from the background that the girl is on the streets, probably on the way home after her extra lessons. 

 

“Relax, friend. Everything is fine...” Irene reassures her friend. 

 

“This is not The Good Place. Don’t lie to me.” 

 

They both giggle together at the joke, which is a reference to one of their favourite Netflix series. 

 

“Thanks Jennie. I needed it.” Irene finally chuckles and she lets out a small sigh. "I really did."

 

“You are welcome. So....is everything fine with Seulgi?” 

 

“Of course. Why do you ask?”

 

“Um, it’s just-never mind! Hahahahaha!” 

 

“Wait,” Jennie’s weird reply only made her even more curious about what is going on. “what did you think was going to happen?” 

 

“Nothing!”

 

“Jennie.” Irene calls her name in a low, threatening voice. 

 

The girl over the phone clicks her tongue in defeat. “Fine...basically the entire school forum is like going crazy over this rumour that y’all have broken up. There have been multiple personal recounts floating around about how y’all have been avoiding each other for the past few days.” 

 

“What the heck?” Irene scoffs in disbelief and goes onto her laptop to check out the website herself. Indeed, the forum is flooded with multiple threads about them and comments from literally everyone. 

 

“Maybe you shouldn’t read it...”

 

Irene ignores Jennis's warning and clicks onto one of the personal recounts titled: 

 

Told ya so 

Their breakup is not unexpected to me. They have not been lunching together since 3 days ago. And, the captain has been looking sad recently. Isn't it obvious enough??? Also, last week, I was about to enter the gym toilet, when I heard a familiar voice arguing with someone over the phone. Words like “I hate you” and “I’m tired of this mess” were used. I couldn’t recognise who it was, until the person walked out and I realised it was Kang Seulgi! She flashed me an uneasy smile and walked away quickly, like she had a guilty conscience. I’m 100% sure that’s Irene LOL wells it was mildly interesting while it lasted. RIP Seulrene.  

 

“This is so stupid!” 

 

Irene slams down her laptop in a fury after reading it. Who are these people to comment on their love life, make speculations and even false accounts. Her relationship is something precious to her heart, not some drama that is meant to entertain the rest of the school.  

 

“Ignore them. The fake recounts are just from people trying to seek attention. You are better than that.” 

 

“Why would anyone think we broke up?” Irene continued to rant. 

 

“Uh...” 

 

“Wait, did you think I would seriously break up over this too?” 

 

A nervous chuckle followed. Jennie tried to thread lightly with her careful reply, “I didn’t think so but I wasn’t sure too hehe...” 

 

“Jennie!” 

 

The lack of faith from Jennie felt like an insult to Irene, who knows her deep feelings for Seulgi more than anyone else. 

 

”Hey hey hey, it isn’t just me. The rest of our friends thought so since you know, um, your studies used to be your entire life.” Jennie quickly scrambled to explain. 

 

Indeed, Jennie was right. 

 

Irene Bae, the top scorer of her cohort, would not bat an eyelid to eliminate any sources of distraction in her life. From her extracurricular activities to her hobbies, she cut all of it since middle school as long as it affected her even slightly. 

 

Irene Bae would never ever date anyone in high school, the most pivotal years of her life. Dating is a waste of her precious time and energy, which can be better directed to studying instead. 

 

Irene Bae thought she would be unwavering, until a cocky dance captain confessed to her in the middle of the cafeteria. The captain called her “Joohyun” and as time passes, she brought out the “Joohyun” in Irene, a side of her that has been buried away with years of hiding behind a perfect model-student shell.  

 

Now as Bae Joohyun, it is hard for Irene to imagine how she used to live that soulless life, without truly enjoying every moment to the fullest. 

 

So she replies, “You are right. The old me would have done that in a heart beat but,” Irene halts in her sentence and walks towards her window, to catch a glimpse of her silly captain who is talking animatedly on the phone inside her sports car. A wistful smile appears on her face and she continues, “It’s not that easy to let go now.” 

 

It is as if Jennie could see Irene’s smile, because the girl’s voice softens in the next moment when she asks, “You really like her that much?” 

 

The question struck Irene right where it matters. 

 

When Seulgi dropped everything and came all the way to Gyeongju to find her on the beautiful beach, Irene has already decided to entrust her entire heart to the captain in that moment their eyes met.

 

And Irene realised that from the start till now, it was always about Seulgi. It would always be. 

 

“Yes.” Irene is still looking upon her captain at the window. “I do.” She whispers, loud enough only for one to hear. 

 

Seulgi

 

Her name is the only word that fills Irene’s mind. Her breath suddenly becomes shallow when her heart swells with a myriad of emotions. 

 

Tears pool in her eyes, as Irene finally realises how much Seulgi means to her now. 

 

Everything. 

 

Nothing less than that. 

 

“Jennie.” 

 

“Yes?”

 

“I think I love Kang Seulgi.” 

 

 

 

 

In the car,

 

“Mrs Kim, can you make sure the house is perfectly cleaned before I arrive? But don’t make it too clean or it will make the house look cold and lifeless, as if no one lives here.”

 

“Also, change my bedsheets to something nicer please. What design? Hmm something lavish that shows off my family’s wealth but yet humble enough that it makes our guest feel at home.” 

 

“Food? A simple spread will do since only Hyunnie and I are eating. But I think it is nice if we can have a few better dishes like lobster, wagyu steaks and so on. Ah I know, we can have a chocolate fondue for dessert!” 

 

After Seulgi makes her endless list of requests, she ends off excitedly with a final question. “You know what to do right?” 

 

The housekeeper, Mrs Kim, pauses for a split second and then immediately reassures the young mistress that everything will be perfect by the time she reaches home. 

 

Right then, Irene opens the door and the first thing she does is to smile at Seulgi, who immediately reveals an equally bright grin and ends her phone call quickly. 

 

Seulgi takes over Irene’s bag from her hands and puts it nicely in the backseat. 

 

“All packed up for tonight?” The captain asks excitedly, to which Irene nods while still smiling at Seulgi. 

 

Seulgi notices how the look from Irene‘s eyes tonight is different from usual. It is a much softer kind of affection, like a calming sea that sends ripples down her heart.  

 

“Why are you looking at me like this?” Seulgi asks casually, a playful glint shimmering in her eyes. 

 

“Like what?” The other girl replies, with a slight curiosity. 

 

“Like you are in love with me.”

 

That is what she thought about, but Seulgi held back from saying it. 

 

“I love you.” 

 

“Seulgi, why aren’t you saying anything?” 

 

The three words are what she meant to confess, but she never found the courage to say it. 

 

Especially when those innocent looking brown orbs are staring back at her. 

 

Seulgi gently caresses Irene’s cheek and replies, “Never mind. I was just gonna say something stupid.” She ends off with a cheeky grin, to Irene’s dismay about not knowing what Seulgi is about to say. 

 

“Tell me.” Irene demands, with her arms crossed.  

 

“No.” 

 

“Kang Seulgi, I demand to know what you wanted to say.” 

 

“Nah.” Seulgi dismisses her again cheekily and notices Irene has yet to put on her seatbelt yet. Seulgi leans in to help her and the sudden closeness causes Irene to freeze instantly. 

 

The poor girl holds her breath all the while Seulgi is meddling with the belt buckle which seems to be stuck today. 

 

Sensing the sudden silence, Seulgi looks up from the buckle and asks with an innocent look, “Is there something wrong?” 

 

“W-What? No. Um, Seulgi-yah, let me do it myself.” Irene replies awkwardly and takes over from her girlfriend, fixing it herself while Seulgi just looks over at her quietly. 

 

It must just be the nerves that is making it awkward, Seulgi tells herself. She swallows a nervous lump in and proceeds to start the engine, letting its roar fill up the silence between them. 

 

They drove off with a unexplainable weird tension in the air. 

 

 

 

 

First, the car passes by Wendy’s neighbourhood, which is already the milder part of the wealthy population living in the area. As they continue, they drive pass Jongin’s neighbourhood, where she stayed over for a night for Seulgi’s birthday. The last time she was there at night so she did not see it clearly, but now in the day, she can clearly see the entire street is filled with modern bungalows like Jongin’s lined up in a straight row. 

 

The car reaches the foot of a hill, which is guarded by a towering gate unlike most hills. The security guard recognises Seulgi’s car and he gives her a wave, as the gates open up into an exclusive neighbourhood Irene has never seen before. 

 

Along the road, Irene marvels at the uniform bushes and trees trimmed perfectly in round and pretty shapes, while exquisite white-coloured street lamps are rooted every few metres. 

 

It is intriguing to the girl how the houses get larger and larger and soon, each subsequent house is farther away from the previous one. 

 

“Seulgi, which is your house?” Irene asks in a gasp, while her eyes are still peeled to the large mansions outside of the window. 

 

Seulgi takes a glance at Irene’s reaction and chuckles, “Top of the hill. Hyun, look to your left. This is Jisoo’s house. You asked me before why we’re so close right? She lives only a few houses away from me so we naturally became best friends since young.” 

 

Irene looks out of the window and sees an extravagant white mansion with a light blue roof, with a fountain. One house that spans an area larger than the entire apartment complex she is staying at. 

 

“I thought Jongin was rich but you guys are really...crazy rich.” Irene shakes her head in disbelief. 

 

“Jongin just moved out to a smaller house to live alone that’s all. He used to stay in his family house, the brick-red castle we saw just now.” 

 

“Wow...” Irene just directs her gaze back into her lap, as she is completely speechless about how real their wealth seems to her now. 

 

“Now you know how amazing your girlfriend is, don’t you?” 

 

Seulgi drives them through two big metal gates and down a winding path, into a big lobby area overlooking a beautiful biege coloured mansion. 

 

There are a row of butlers and maids lined up at the entrance in a perfect straight line, who bow and greet them when they step out of the car. 

 

The overwhelming welcome scares Irene, who awkwardly bows back while Seulgi stands there amused. The captain throws her keys to the butler who opened their door and tells him to park it in the second level garage. 

 

“Babe, lets go.” Seulgi slips her fingers into Irene’s hand and gives it a light squeeze. The shorter girl who is literally gawking at the entire place around her, turns her head to look at Seulgi with a look of disbelief. 

 

“You’ll be even more surprised when we enter. Come on,” Seulgi muses and literally has to tug at her girlfriend’s hand to get her moving. The housekeeper and two butlers follow behind them.

 

They first walk into a beautiful guest reception area, then through a giant corridor lined up with paintings and finally, into the giant living room. The ceiling seems to reach all the way up to the sky, where a massive diamond chandelier hangs proudly above their heads. It is truly a magnificent sight to behold. 

 

The entire living room is decorated in a Victorian interior design, which is a definite sign of the family’s old money roots. The classic music in the background further adds to the posh atmosphere.  

 

“Wait here for a minute babe. I have some things to ask the housekeeper.” Seulgi informs her and then walks away to talk to the middle-aged lady dressed like a hotel manager. 

 

The sounds of her sneakers reverberate in the room as Irene steps forward to touch one of the arm chairs and feel the unfamiliar cloth beneath her fingers. 

 

Seeing all of these riches in real life feels like a weird dream to Irene. And, seeing Seulgi waltz around this place so naturally makes her further feel an invisible distance between them, like they are from two different worlds.   

 

“Dinner will be ready soon.” Seulgi’s words snap her out of her thoughts. She quickly notices something is wrong and asks, “Why are you frowning?” 

 

“Nothing much.” She smiles faintly. “I’m just a little tired.” 

 

Tired of reality showing her how different they are over and over again. 

 

Tired of hearing from others how they are worlds apart and realising they are correct over time. 

 

Tired of the stupid insecurities inside her heart, despite how Seulgi never once made her feel like she is not enough. 

 

“Okay,” Seulgi raises a brow but does not press her further. She knows that Irene will tell her everything eventually when she is ready. “I’ll bring to somewhere where you can take a rest.” 

 

“Where are we going?” Irene asks when Seulgi leads her up the stairs and into a wide corridor. 

 

“To my room.” Seulgi chuckles nervously, unable to meet Irene’s eyes while replying. “I’m actually feeling kinda nervous showing my room to you.” 

 

“Has no one been inside before?”

 

“I had friends over for sleepovers last time.”

 

“Then why are you nervous?” Irene asks in a teasing voice. “Unless you have something to hide from me?”

 

“Nah...” Seulgi chuckles. “It’s just different. It’s you, you know.” Seulgi replies casually, but a blush is already creeping up Irene’s cheeks at her sweet words. 

 

“Well, we are here.” Seulgi announces when they reach a room entrance with two doors and labelled ‘Seulgi’ in a golden nameplate. “You go in first,” Seulgi nudges Irene towards the door excitedly. 

 

“Okay...” 

 

Irene places a hand on the handle and pushes it lightly. The door opens and reveals a enormous room space. One would assume the usually flamboyant captain’s room to be decorated with bright summer colours, but it is also a surprise to Irene when she is greeted by a sea of black and white. 

 

“Feel free to look around.” Seulgi stands in the middle of the room and opens her arms out proudly. 

 

To Irene, Seulgi’s room looks like something straight out of a furniture catalogue, with the modernistic and cold vibes. It is a stark difference to Irene’s small and homely corner. 

 

Right beside the door is a large black grid on one side of the wall filled with countless pictures. Irene gasps in awe at the amount of memories captured here through the years, which consists mostly of Seulgi and her friends from preschool to high school. 

 

“Y’all look really cute here.” Irene comments at a picture of the childhood friends in pre-school. 

 

“Can you recognise me?” Seulgi asks her, looking at the picture herself with a wistful smile. 

 

“Seriously?” Irene asks while pointing at the one in the middle who is obviously Seulgi smiling with a missing front tooth, recognisable from her eyesmile. The handsome boy beside her is probably Jongin, and then the pretty little girl laughing at a side is probably Jisoo. 

 

“Eh?” Irene mutters to herself. There is another girl sitting right next to Seulgi that Irene cannot recognise. 

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“Is this...?” Irene cautiously asks and Seulgi’s nod confirms her doubts. 

 

“Seungyeon.” Seulgi replies with a melancholic expression while still looking at the picture. It is the only picture on the grid with Seungyeon. “We were so young back then.” 

 

“You seem like you miss her, Seulgi-ah.” 

 

Seulgi looks away from the picture and tells Irene with a sad smile, “It’s too late to fix anything now. We have both changed too much...” 

 

“But you can always give it a second chance?” 

 

“She betrayed my trust, Hyun-ah.” Seulgi replies with a tone of finality and there is hurt in her eyes. “She gave up on our years of friendship first. She hurt me once and that is it. I will never trust her again.” 

 

“It must have been hard. I wish I was there for you.” Irene gently caresses Seulgi’s cheek, and Seulgi mutters something in return, so quick and soft, that Irene cannot catch. “Hmm?”

 

Seulgi shakes her head lightly and then reveals a small smile, “Nothing.”

 

“Seulgi-yah, I’m just asking out of curiosity. What will you do if I betray you one day? Will you give me another chance?” 

 

“I honestly don’t know and don’t wanna think about it.” Seulgi squishes Irene’s cheeks together with one hand to her girlfriend’s invalid protests. “What about me? What if I betray you?” Seulgi continues to ask with a smile. 

 

“I will end it with you,” Irene states it seriously. Seeing the unchanged smile on Seulgi’s face makes Irene feel slightly unsettled. “Why aren’t you worried at all?”

 

“Because I will never betray you, Hyun-ah.” 

 

A kiss is rewarded on the bear’s cheek for her sweet words. 

 

“Hyun, do you wanna see something you’ll like?” 

 

This piques the shorter girl’s interest and she squints her eyes onto the captain, while taking Seulgi’s hand and letting her lead them to the bedroom area behind a large beige coloured brick partition wall. 

 

“Hey Pikachu!” Irene exclaims and runs forward to cuddle the soft toy who is tucked into the white bedsheets on Seulgi’s bed. Pikachu is now wearing a mini replica of Seulgi’s hoodie, with the word “captain” printed at the back. 

 

“Is this what you wanted to show me?” Irene muses, while propping her head up on the yellow toy. 

 

“Look at this.” 

 

Seulgi beckons Irene to the cabinet beside her king-sized bed, where the space above is decorated with framed pictures of both of them. There is their first selfie as a fake couple, and then their iconic picture of them Yeri took secretly while on their school field trip, then their first date, second date and so on.

 

Seulgi plops down onto her bed and observes Irene’s reaction carefully. Irene seems to be too surprised to even show any reaction, just looking at the pictures silently. 

 

“Yeah here is a little corner in my room I dedicated for us.” Seulgi breaks the silence with a nervous smile, scratching her head in embarrassment. “This is the ‘Irene shrine’ Yerim told you about.“ 

 

On the table are other items of their memories together like bottles of different perfumes, handmade scented candles and a vase filled with fresh roses. 

 

“Do you like it?” Seulgi asks the girl who is busy looking through their memories with the same straight face. 

 

When Irene does not reply again, Seulgi immediately starts to worry if showing all of this to Irene will be too burdensome for the latter. 

 

“You don’t have to do anything for me in return. I did it for my own sake and I not spend much time on this anyway-“ 

 

“I love it.” Irene’s face finally breaks into a beautiful smile, one that reaches the corners of her eyes. “Come here,” Irene pulls Seulgi in by the collar for a surprisingly deep kiss as a reward. 

 

“That was...wooooow.” Seulgi smacks her lips with a satisfied look while looking at Irene after they part. She certainly did not expect Irene to be this good. 

 

“You deserved it for all of this.” Irene continues to shake her head in disbelief at the display before her. “This is all of our memories together and you actually kept record of everything...” 

 

“I am still updating this constantly. Look.” Seulgi points at the bottom frame. “This is a recent picture of us at my birthday party.” 

 

“Silly bear I...I just can’t.” Irene sighs and pats Seulgi’s cheek dreamily. Seulgi is just too perfect to be true. 

 

“Look inside the cabinets.” Seulgi informs her excitedly, like there is another surprise. Irene opens the first one and sees a file. She opens it and inside are all of her love letters to Seulgi kept nicely in folders. 

 

Just a glance at some of them sends goosebumps to Irene, unable to believe how cheesy she sounds in them. Only Seulgi is able to bring out that cheesy side of her. 

 

The next cabinet is filled with something funnier, as Seulgi tells her those are all rejected love letter drafts she has written. 

 

“I used to be clear like egg white but after being with you, I feel as if I am as whipped as meringue. Kang Seulgi, I am so glad you didn’t use this.” 

 

“Ugh...why are you reading them out loud?!” Seulgi collapses onto the floor beside Irene dramatically and whines cutely. “They are rejected for a reason.” However, she does nothing to stop Irene from continuing to read them.  

 

“Hey what’s this?” 

 

Seulgi’s heart stopped when Irene fishes out an old letter that looks way too familiar. 

 

Thank you for being there for me- 

 

“It’s nothing!” The captain immediately takes it back before Irene can read on any further.

 

“It’s dated all the way back to 2016. I didn’t know you back then. Did you know me?” Irene asks her with eyes widened. 

 

“Nah!” Seulgi denies it with a cheeky grin and dismisses it quickly. “It’s just a letter for another person that I misplaced.” 

 

“You had a crush in 2016?” Irene suddenly asks in a cold voice. “Is she pretty?” 

 

At this point, Irene has already accepted the fact that she is the jealous type, no matter how hard she denies it. The thought of Seulgi chasing another girl is just annoying. 

 

“Let’s not get there haha!” The captain tries to slip away but Irene pulls her back and interrogates with a stern glare, “Who is she?” 

 

And, how dare Kang Seulgi misplace another person’s love letter into our pile of memories? 

 

Unacceptable. 

 

“I-I don’t know her name either! As you can see, the name is missing on the letter too!” Seulgi carefully reveals the top part of the letter in her hands, which indeed shows a blank beside the word ‘To:’. 

 

“So you had a crush on someone whom you don’t even know the name of and you kept your love letter till now?!” 

 

“Yes-“

 

“Yes?!” 

 

“I mean no-“

 

“Why do you still have this letter?”

 

“She is someone who I am grateful for because she helped me through a tough time when I was young. I kept this letter as I hope to return the favour one day.” Seulgi quickly explains with a sheepish look. 

 

After hearing from Seulgi, Irene started to feel her anger subside slightly. Knowing Seugi’s personality, she is indeed someone who deeply appreciates others and will do anything to return someone else a favour. It is good knowing her girlfriend is kind but it still irks her how Seulgi has misplaced the letter. 

 

A trickle of cold sweat flows down her spine when Seulgi notices the thunderclouds above Irene’s head. “Okay, I think we need to take a deep breath here-“ 

 

“How come you never told me you had a crush on Sunmi unnie or Jimin or anyone? It upsets me that I have to hear about it from someone else all the time!” 

 

“Technically you never asked if I had any crushes before so why would I voluntarily send myself to my own death? Hahaha!” Despite seeing Irene raising an eyebrow, Seulgi continues to defend herself. “A-And what about you?” 

 

“I did not have a crush on anyone before except...” Irene’s voice trails off at the last part. 

 

“Park Bogum.” 

 

“How did you know?” Irene gasps. “I left it out when I told you the peanut butter, jelly and jam story!” 

 

“It’s obvious. I saw the way you look at him last time.” Seulgi deadpans.

 

“But it didn’t last for long...” 

 

“I remember how you used me and played with my heart to block yourself from Bogum’s advances.” Seulgi clicks her tongue unhappily. “It hurt me because I really liked you.” 

 

It is Irene’s turn to panic and try to butter up to her girlfriend. “It’s all in the past. Seulgi-yah, I’m sorry, don’t be upset pleaseeee” 

 

Irene wraps her arms around Seulgi’s waist in a back hug and whines cutely until the captain finally smiles and gives in. “I know you were just trying to be a good friend to Wendy so you gave him up. It’s upsetting to me but at least, I won you over in the end. That’s all that matters.” Seulgi finally holds onto Irene’s hands. 

 

“No it was yo