Irene woke up with a splitting headache. 

"Omo." She clutched her head. What the hell happened last night?

The events of the previous night slowly unfolded in her mind and as she recalled what happened with Seulgi, gradually hung open.

"Oh my god." Irene fumbled for her phone and checked if they really had a phone call last night. Sure enough, she saw Seulgi's name listed at the top of the call history. Irene smacked herself in the face and instantly regretted it as the rush of dizziness came in waves.

She slowly got up and headed for the bathroom to throw up.

---

"Well, you look like crap." Yeri smirked as Irene walked out of her room half an hour later, hair still wet, looking like she wants to throw up again.

"I am never drinking again." Irene swore. "You and Sooyoung-ah truly are evil little maknaes."

"Who are you calling little, shorty?" Joy said in a muffled voice. She was lying on the sofa next to Yeri with her legs on the maknae's lap and her face pressed up on a pillow. "Ugh, my head feels like it might split open."

"Scoot over." Irene nudged Joy's  so she can squeeze in between her dongsaengs on the couch. 

"Where's Seungwan?" Irene asked after a while. 

"Out getting food, bless her soul." Yeri placed a hand on her heart. "I was so hungry when I woke up. I wanted to wake you unnies up so you can make breakfast but you looked like you've been through hell and back."

Irene wanted to ask if Seulgi has woken up yet but she's not sure if she wanted to see her just yet.

A few minutes later, Wendy got home laden with recovery food.

"Someone please drag Seulgi-unnie out of bed," Joy said. "I want to eat already so I can sleep this off."

"Seulgi's actually not here," Wendy replied. "She left earlier."

"Doesn't she have a hangover too?" Yeri had a puzzled look on her face. "What's she doing out?"

Wendy just shrugged. Irene felt relieved that she wouldn't need to deal with Seulgi yet but part of her also worried that Seulgi leaving had something to do with their phone call last night.

They ate quietly since Joy and Irene were still pretty hungover. Irene stole furtive glances at Wendy and the latter returned it with a reassuring smile, signaling that they'll definitely talk later. 

---

"You feeling better?" Wendy said as they washed the dishes. Irene offered just so she could do something with her hands or else she wouldn't stop fidgeting. Wendy joined her as the maknaes returned to their rooms gratefully. 

"Yes," Irene smiled warmly. "Thank you so much for last night, Seungwan-ah." 

"It's not a problem, unnie." Wendy nudged their leader and they resumed their activities. "So, have you considered what to do about Seulgi?"

Irene closed her eyes and and furrowed her brows. "I think I did something stupid, Seungwan."

---

Seulgi fidgeted with the sleeve of her coat. She felt so uncomfortable and it really didn't help that her head was throbbing from all the alcohol she consumed the previous night. She faintly heard her phone ding continuously as the notifications piled up. Her hand itched to check her phone but she knew it would be very rude to do so. Instead, she turned her attention to the woman sitting in front of her.

"So that's it?" Naeun looked forlorn. "That's your explanation?"

"Again, I'm sorry." Seulgi said, not meeting her eyes. "I don't know what else to say."

"Was it ever real?" Naeun asked. "Us?"

"Of course." Seulgi looked at her. "Why would you ask that?"

"Because," Naeun bit her lip. "I always felt like you were holding back. Like I wasn't really who you wanted."

"Naeun.." Seulgi started. But then, she couldn't figure out what to say next. 

Because it was true. 

Naeun was great. She was beautiful, smart, funny, and a great kisser.

But all the fun times Seulgi had with the girl didn't compare to what she felt when she was with Irene. 

They didn't even have to do anything; Seulgi felt happy just being with Irene. 

So she figured that Naeun didn't deserve this. Seulgi clearly had feelings for another girl and she can't keep covering it up by using her. 

So when Seulgi saw Irene biting her lip in concentration as she struggled not to sink the glass when they were playing Titanic, she just couldn't supress the giggle that escaped .

Then something just tugged at Seulgi's heart and she realized that she was utterly head over heels in love with Irene.

Seulgi reached for her phone and typed out the date and time on her notepad, wanting to preserve this memory. 

The only thing left to do was break things off to Naeun and she felt bad about letting her down, but Seulgi knew it was the right thing to do.

When Seulgi ended things, she couldn't really explain the reason why. She just said that it wasn't working out anymore and that Naeun deserved someone better.

"I'm really, really sorry." Seulgi said with as much sincerity as she could. 

Then Seulgi's phone rang. She hastily put it to vibrate and she turned back to Naeun.

"I guess if you're not gonna bother being honest with me, then maybe you don't really deserve me." Naeun replied.

"I'm being as honest as I can." Seulgi said. Her phone rang again and she ignored it. "I really did like you. Please believe that."

For the third time, Seulgi's phone rang. Naeun gestured to it. "Go ahead, answer it."

Seulgi shook her head. "Let's talk first."

But her phone kept buzzing and Seulgi finally picked it up, quite annoyed to find that it was Wendy who kept calling her. "Seungwan, now's not really a good time."

"Come home. NOW." Wendy said in such a serious and commanding tone that Seulgi was taken aback.

"What? Why? What happened?" Seulgi's face was etched with concern.

"NOW, SEULGI." Then Wendy hung up.

"Something wrong?" Naeun asked. 

Seulgi scanned her phone and her eyes widened as she saw the numerous texts from Yeri, Wendy, Joy, and even their manager. 

"I have to go." Seulgi stood up suddenly and walked away without another word.

As soon as Seulgi stepped foot inside their building, she sprinted towards their floor, forgoing the elevator. Seulgi marched in, out of breath as she scanned their dorm. Wendy, Joy, and Yeri were huddled around the living room, talking solemnly among themselves. 

"Where is she?" Seulgi ran to them.

"In her room." Yeri looked so lost. 

"She won't come out, unnie." Joy added. "She was just on the phone with manager-nim earlier. 

"It's bad." Wendy looked on the verge of crying but she kept a hard face. "She won't even talk to us."

They all gathered around outside their leader's door, hesitant to make the first move.

"Unnie?" Yeri called. "Come out and talk to us."

"Yeah, we're all worried." Joy pleaded.

"No."

Wendy tried this time. "Let's talk about this, unnie. We're all here for you." 

"Go away, please."

Seulgi instructed everyone else to stand back as she approached Irene's door and knocked softly.

"Joohyun-unnie." Seulgi called. "It's Seulgi. Can I come in?"

It was met with silence. 

Seulgi sighed and started to walk back to the rest of her members.

And then the door swung open.