Wheels of the desktop swivel chair scraped across wooden floorboards as Seulgi stretched her limbs, breaking into a yawn. She glances at the digital clock by her nightstand and realizes that it's already two in the morning.

Damn.

She's been studying for seven hours now.

No wonder her eyelids felt heavy.

She clicks her tongue and stands to gather her things, opting to continue her work first thing in the morning. Her exams don't start until nine o'clock anyway, and she usually wakes up at around six. That's plenty of time to read and refresh her memory.

After tidying up her desk and turning off the lights, she crawls up her bed, chest warm at the anticipation of a good night's sleep. It's a different kind of satisfaction, Seulgi learns, when your head crashes on your pillow after staying awake in the middle of the night, studying your off. It's a lot more rewarding—like you actually deserve to let your body rest for once.

Seulgi smiles, pulling the covers up until the fabric reached her lips, the scent of lavender and fresh water invading her nostrils. She sighs, sinking her body further into the mattress as she lets herself slowly give in to sleep.

However

Not fifteen seconds into her peaceful state, the door to her bedroom abruptly swings open, followed by the flickering of the lights switching on.

"What the--"

"Rise and shine, my little butterfly!" A voice bellowed, stopping at the foot of her bed. "Get your keys. We're heading out."

Seulgi rubs her eyes as she props herself up on the mattress, a mix of annoyance and confusion evident on her face. Because who the hell barges in someone else's house at two in the freaking morning?

She narrows her eyes at the intruder and lets out a groan.

Park Sooyoung, apparently.

"What the actual hell, Joy?" Seulgi grumpily mumbles, blinking her eyes to adjust to the offensive light. "Why are you here?"

The taller girl plops down on the edge of the bed as Seulgi glares at her expectantly.

"I need you to drive me to the university." She bats her eyelashes sweetly at the brunette, only to have the other girl throw a stuffed animal her way. "Hey! No need to get aggressive!"

"Are you serious?" Seulgi snaps, successively hurling pillows towards Joy's direction. "At this hour? I told you to only use the spare key for emergencies!"

A round pillow lands square on the taller girl's forehead, much to Seulgi's satisfaction. "Ow! But this is an emergency!" She yelps as she continues to dodge the brunette's attacks. "Why the hell do you have so many pillows?"

Seulgi only glares at the other girl, holding back her violence. "I'm going to give you thirty seconds to explain." She says, crossing her arms against her chest. "This better be good." 

"Ah, seriously..."

"Twenty seven. Twenty si--"

"Alright! Geez, so impatient."

"Because you're ruining my sleep!" Seulgi yanks a pillow from her side, threatening another onslaught at the girl in front of her.

"Not the face!" Joy cowers, shielding her head behind her arms. "Okay! Okay! I need you to drive me to the university because my car's at the shop and I forgot to pick up the preparations for Wendy's surprise birthday party tomorrow." The taller girl replies hurriedly.

"What?" Seulgi blinks. "You said you had it all taken care of!" She shouts, throwing a notepad at the younger girl.
She was running out of ammo.

"I did!" Joy ducks, letting the stationery item hit the wall. "But I fell asleep early yesterday and only woke up now." The girl pouts, collapsing onto the swivel chair by the desk.

Seulgi could see the bags under the girl's eyes, clearly stressed out with everything that was happening. She couldn't blame her, though. Joy had to prepare a birthday party on top of their laboratory activities and midterms, and even though their friends were helping too, Joy was still basically the one constantly on her feet.

It was for her roommate, after all, and she'd do anything for Wendy.

"Come on, Seul. I planned this out for weeks. You've got to help me out." She pleads, looking up at Seulgi with all the hope in the world.

Seulgi sighs. It was clear that her friend really needed her help, but she was just so tired. She had been anticipating a good night's sleep since Tuesday! Her midterm exams have proven themselves to be one hell of a drainer, and Seulgi just wanted time to recharge. Was that too much to ask?

"You know I love you," Seulgi starts, not missing the frown on Joy's face when she slowly slipped back under her covers. "But I haven't slept properly in days. I don't think I have the energy to st--"

"I also need to drop by the convenience store, by the way." Joy informs her mid-sentence, and in one swift movement Seulgi was already out the room.

"Well, what are we still doing here? You know I can't let you go alone at this ungodly hour, it's far too dangerous!" Seulgi shouts from the living room, hastily putting on a hoodie over her head as she scrambles to find her car keys.

Joy blinks. "Unbelievable."

The younger girl chuckles, shaking her head in amusement as she watches her usually composed friend stumble over her own furniture. All because there was a possibility that she'd get to see her crush again after a whole week of focusing on school.

"I'm gonna go start the car, Sooyoung. I'll meet you downstairs." Seulgi quickly states, not even sparing the other girl a glance before walking out the door and racing down the stairs, leaving a cackling Joy inside her apartment.

--

The outside of the convenience store was pretty much empty, except for the two people screaming at each other like they weren't in a public place in middle of the night.

"Get the hell out of the car!" Joy shouts as she forcefully yanks Seulgi by the arm, propping her foot at the bottom of the door to gain some leverage. "I thought you wanted to come see her?"

The two were currently in the store parking lot, having only gotten back from fetching the decorations at the university. It was a good thing that they were always friendly with the guards, getting in after school hours had become a piece of cake.

On their way back, Joy informed Seulgi that she needed to drop by the convenience store because she wanted to make Wendy a special breakfast today, but they were running low on a few things in the kitchen to make it happen.

A smile crept up the brunette's face at this. Joy and Wendy's friendship had always been different. Their friends never talked about it, but all of them knew—what the two had was special.

When they reached the parking lot, Seulgi refused to get off of the vehicle, having seen a certain girl inside the establishment.

At first, Joy thought that Seulgi just needed a little push to calm her nerves, but when she realized that the girl was really going to let her carry all the groceries by herself, the screaming ensued.

"I do! But I never said that I wanted her to see me!" Seulgi shouts back, gripping the steering wheel like her life depended on it. "I can perfectly see her from here!"

"You're unbelievable." Joy huffs, her arms aching from all the aggressive pulling. They've been at it for a while now. "I need help carrying everything, you know." She glares.

"No, you don't." Seulgi mutters, pointing at the piece of paper in the younger girl's pocket. "That list is like six bags, tops. You can handle that by yourself."

Joy clicks her tongue and crosses her arms against her chest. "Seulgi." She whines.

"Joy."

"Kang Seulgi!"

"Park Sooyoung!"

She heaves out a frustrated sigh, fingers shooting up to massage her pounding temples. The older girl was beginning to get on her nerves.

"I swear to god, Seul. If you don't get your out of that damn car, I'm going to go in there and make Irene do it." She whispers through gritted teeth, having enough of this pointless back-and-forth.

Seulgi gasps, narrowing her eyes at the other girl. "You wouldn't dare."

Joy inches forward, resting her palms on the hood of the car to look the girl in the eye. "You wanna bet?"

They stare each other down for a good five seconds before Seulgi lets out a sigh of defeat, clicking her seatbelt free and stepping out into the cold night air.

Joy grins triumphantly.

"Ugh. You're despicable." Seulgi huffs, glaring at the younger girl who was clearly pleased with the turn of events.

"That's what I thought." She smirks, happily looping her arm around the older girl's as they finally make their way inside.

"Good eveni—oh." The girl behind the register falters, eyes lighting up as soon as they landed on the familiar face by the entrance. "Hi, Seulgi." She smiles, melting every inch of the younger girl's composure.

It was insane, Seulgi ponders, how a single person can have so much of an effect on you without even touching you. She's met pretty girls before, but none of them came close to the way a simple greeting from Irene made her feel. She must be losing her mind.

"H-Hey," Seulgi stammers, feeling her face immediately heat up at the way the girl's eyebrows rose expectantly at her after. "I-Irene. Hi." She adds quickly, causing the girl's grin to grow wider.

Joy watches the interaction from the side, a teasing smile on her face as she alternates looking between the two. They were staring at each other like they were the only people in the room, with Seulgi frozen in her spot while Irene practically ignored the customer in front of her.

The taller girl snorts, breaking the bubble that the two acquaintances were in.

"You're so pathetic." Joy smugly whispers in the brunette's ear, dragging her into the aisles after smiling at the other girl in greeting. "Who knew Kang Seulgi was such a statue in front of her crush?"

Once they were out of sight, Seulgi slowly slid down and laid her back flat on the floor, confusing the hell out of the younger girl.

"Uh.. what are you doing?" Joy asks hesitantly, towering over her friend who was lying on the tiled floor with her eyes closed.

The older girl sighs. "She remembers my name." Seulgi replies with a shaky breath. "I need a minute."

Joy just looks at the girl, unsure whether she should be smitten or disgusted because even though the floor looked like it had just been previously mopped, Seulgi was still lying on a public walkway that will soon be riddled with dirt-filled shoe soles walking about.

She snaps a picture of her lovestruck friend and sends it to their group chat, following it up with a message that says "eat your heart out, romeo and juliet" before beginning her journey towards the condiments and spices.

There's a tap on Seulgi's shoulder, causing her to twist and grumble. "Why is she so pretty, Sooyoung?" She whines, sitting up as she rubs her eyes with the ball of her hand. "I can't even han--"

Seulgi freezes, eyes wide in horror when she realizes that a different raven-haired girl was in front of her right now, crouched down to meet her eye level.

Irene chuckles. "I don't know how drunk you are but this isn't exactly an ideal place to lie down and sleep." She jests, tucking a stray strand of hair behind the younger girl's ear. "Especially for pretty girls like yourself."

Seulgi just stares at her, cheeks flushed at the feeling of the girl's fingers brushing against her face ever so gently. To be honest, she didn't know whether it was because of that or their close proximity combined with the embarrassment from earlier, but Seulgi already felt like passing out.

A voice calls out from the end of the aisle, catching their attention. "Coast is clear, boss." A blonde girl states, walking towards them in a leisurely pace.

Seulgi recognizes her as the employee who usually mans the night shift when she's in need of a beer in the middle of the night.

"Creepy stalker dude just walked out a few seconds ago." The girl adds as she stops in front of them, offering a friendly smile Seulgi's way. "Hey, Doc."

Seulgi returns the grin, not noticing the confusion on the raven-haired girl's face in front of her. "Hey, Yeri. Long time no see."

"It's only been two weeks, Doc. You miss me that much?"

"In your dreams, Kim."

"You guys know each other?" Irene asks, eyebrows scrunched together in disbelief as her coworker helped the brunette up, going as far as to dust off the dirt from the girl's sweatpants.

"Don't act so surprised, boss. I'm capable of having friends, too, you know." Yeri chuckles, offering the girl a hand at the same time Seulgi did.

The two looked at each other and laughed, opting to help the older girl up with both hands instead to which Irene gladly went along with.

Seulgi ignores the burning feeling in her palm when she held the girl's hand briefly, trying her best to not look so obvious this time around.

"I often come here in the middle of the night to buy snacks or a few drinks," Seulgi explains. "And Yeri's usually the one on duty so we became fast friends."

Irene nods thoughtfully, making a mental note to ask Yeri about the girl again later. She was curious. Very curious.

The blonde politely excused herself to attend to a new customer by the register, leaving the two by themselves once again.

"So.."

"Hm?"

Irene was arranging toiletries on the shelf when Seulgi piped up, remembering something the blonde had said earlier that really bothered her.

"What was Yeri talking about?" She asks the older girl hesitantly, handing her boxes of soap to place on the rack. "If you don't mind me asking, of course."

"Oh, that." Irene replies, smiling gratefully as Seulgi helped her with the stacking. "Yeah, no, just some guy that used to follow me around after my shift."

Seulgi's eyes grow wide in concern. "Seriously? Does he follow you home?"

Irene shrugs. "Only sometimes."

"But it's actually happened?"

She nods. "About three or four times, I guess?"

Seulgi gasps. "That many?" She asks incredulously, eyebrows shooting up in alarm.

"Yes, but it's really not that big of a deal." Irene chuckles, bumping her shoulder with the other girl's playfully. "He's pretty harmless and I'm a big girl, Seulgi. You don't have to worry about me." She teases, flashing the brunette a reassuring smile.

Seulgi furrows her eyebrows. "But I do, though."

"What was that?"

The younger girl stares forward blankly, mind deep in thought.

"Where do you live?" She asks after a while, ignoring the fluttering in her chest.

"Just a few blocks from he--"

"I'm walking you home." She declares, biting her lip at her own sudden confidence.

Irene stills her movements, turning her head to the side to look at the younger girl in disbelief. Seulgi couldn't blame her. She was surprised, herself.

"Are you serious? You really don't have to, I--"

Seulgi shakes her head. "I want to."

"B-But I still have two hours before my shift ends and--"

"That's fine." Seulgi chuckles, completely enamored by the older girl's flustered state. "I can wait."

Irene tries to reason again, not wanting to bother the younger girl. "But that's two hours, I can't make you w--"

"Irene." Seulgi interrupts, inching her face closer to stop the girl from talking. It worked. "It wasn't a question."

The older girl freezes, her face feeling incredibly warm all of a sudden under the younger girl's gaze.

It was captivating, the way the girl looked at her. She'd never felt such intensity before, pushing her over and pulling her in like the moon does to the tide.

Irene shakes her head, a face-eating grin adorning her beautiful face. "Interrupt me like that one more time and I'll kiss that smile off your face." Irene whispers, making Seulgi widen her eyes and retract immediately, much to the older girl's dismay.

"S-Sorry." Seulgi stammers nervously.

"Don't be." The raven-haired girl chuckles, admiring the beauty in front of her. "But what about your friend? Didn't you guys come here together?"

Seulgi palms the back of her neck out of habit. She forgot about Joy for a second there.

Under normal circumstances, she'd never let anyone—especially Park Sooyoung who was known to be the queen of broken fences and parking tickets—drive her car alone. But after hearing about the raven-haired girl's stalker, she felt the need to protect the girl at all costs. Even if it meant entrusting her baby with the most dangerous driver in the neighborhood.

She just hopes that no innocent lives will be put in harm's way tonight.

"She'll be fine on her own." Seulgi decides. "I'll just let her use my car on the way back."

Irene hums. "What about you?"

"Don't worry about me." Seulgi smiles at the girl reassuringly, stacking up the last of the items in the box. "I'm not the one with the creepy stalker here."

Irene rolls her eyes. "Is that a hint of concern I hear?" She teases playfully, making the younger girl chuckle.

"What if it is?" Seulgi counters.

Irene stays silent, eyes tracing every inch of the brunette's face at such close proximity.

She smiles softly, making Seulgi forget about that good night's sleep she was complaining about a while ago. Her body can handle another night. 

Irene inches closer, looking up at the girl with a tender glint in her eyes. "Then you'll have to tell this heart to slow down because I'm afraid it's going to jump out of my chest."