Where are you?

Irene stared at the text message she sent about 20 minutes ago. To be honest, she never really expected a reply.

Ever since that fateful night during their promotions for Monster, something felt off between the two.

They were both subtle enough that they don't show it to anyone else, even the members, but they simply can't be alone together.

"What's happening?" Joy tapped Irene's arm. "Is Seulgi-unnie on her way home?"

"Uhm," Irene hesitated. "She hasn't replied yet."

"Screw it," Yeri said. "I'll call her."

Yeri dialled Seulgi's number and set it to speaker. Seulgi answered on the third ring.

"Hey, Yerim-ah." Seulgi's voice sounded sleepy.

"Yah, Seulgi-unnie!" Yeri spoke indignantly. "Where are you?"

"On my way home." Seulgi yawned. "Why? Are we doing something tonight?"

"We're waiting for you." Wendy answered. "And why haven't you responded to Joohyun-unnie? She texted you ages ago."

"We haven't eaten yet. Buy some dinner on your way home!" Joy interjected.

"Alright, text me your orders. I'll pick up some dinner." Seulgi simply answered.

---

When Seulgi got home, she was greeted with much enthusiasm by the group.

Well, except Irene. 

"YOU'RE HOME!" 

Yeri, Joy, and Wendy rushed towards Seulgi and they quickly took the takeout food from her hands. The three were already in the kitchen by the time Irene realized that she and Seulgi were alone in the living room. 

Seulgi shifted on her feet and Irene struggled to find some conversational topics to fill the silence. 

"Where have you---" 

"I'm just gonna--" 

They both talked over one another and they both stopped at the same time. Seulgi scratched her head. 

"I'm gonna go change." Seulgi said as she walked over to her room.

Irene sighed as she went over to the kitchen to help the younger ones. 

Dinner was pretty uneventful, save for the few times Seulgi caught Irene staring. Wendy noticed how the two haven't exchanged a single word all evening but she just figured that maybe Yeri was just too loud and talkative that they didn't get the chance to talk to one another.

---

It was around 11 in the evening when Irene decided to have a glass of water. She inwardly cursed herself for not having a bottle in her room. She hated waking up thirsty in the middle of the night.

Outside, it was quiet and the single source of light coming in was from the living room. Irene guessed that the members were probably sound asleep already. She made a mental note to remind her dongsaengs to switch off the lights after they're done using it.

When she saw a shadow moving across the room, she jumped several steps back and stifled a shriek.

"Omo, you scared me!" She said, massaging her chest.

"Sorry," Seulgi grinned sheepishly. "What are you doing up anyway?"

Now over her initial shock, Irene started to get uncomfortable. This had been the most interaction they got in a week aside from when they need to talk for work. 

"I was thirsty." She regarded the tall girl. "How about you?"

"Oh," Seulgi suddenly remembered the phone on her hand. "I was on the phone."

She lifted it back to her ear and spoke in a hushed tone. "Sorry, that was my member. Hang on, I'm going back to my room. What were you saying?"

Irene wanted to ask who she was talking to, but decided against it. It's not her business anyway. But she couldn't help but hear Seulgi's dorky laugh as the younger girl walked back to her room.

Mainly, Irene felt annoyed. Seulgi shouldn't talk to someone so late in the night. They had an early meeting tomorrow morning and recordings the following week. She should just rest.

Irene was already back to her bed when she realized she wasn't annoyed. Not Really.

Maybe she was just jealous. 

---

The girls walked in the conference room one by one and sat side by side across the staff. Joy was the last to enter, yawning heavily. She was up until three in the morning playing with her phone. She slumped next to Wendy and leaned her head against the latter's shoulder.

"I hope this meeting doesn't last too long," Joy whined. "I want to sleep."

"We should've gotten coffee." Seulgi groaned on Wendy's other side. "Seungwan-ah, lend me your other shoulder."

"No way. Joy's head is already so heavy." Wendy pointed to Irene, who was on Seulgi's other side. "Why don't you go lean on Joohyun-unnie instead?" 

Irene made no move to offer her shoulder nor did Seulgi attempt to scoot closer to her unnie. 

"What were you doing up so late anyway?" Yeri asked.

"None of your business, brat." Seulgi stuck her tongue out at the maknae.

The meeting was thankfully short since it's just an update about changes in their timeline but the most exciting news was announced just before it ended.

The company gave them a week-long break with absolutely no interruptions (Irene made sure of that) and so the girls came out of the doors significantly happier than when they came in.

"So," Wendy clapped her hands together. "What should we do?"

"Sleep!" Joy and Seulgi cheered.

"Drink!" Yeri excitedly replied.

"Hold on," Irene interjected because everyone had wide-eyed smiles at Yeri's suggestion. "Our time off starts tomorrow. We have dance practice today."

The younger members groaned in unison.

Everyone except Yeri had trouble getting the choreography down. Joy was sluggish, Wendy was cautious of her movements, Seulgi kept missing the beat, and Irene was simply distracted. Maybe because she saw Seulgi smiling at her phone before the session started or maybe she's just looking forward to finally doing her laundry during the break. She settled for the latter.

"My, how the tables have turned." Yeri smirked. "My unnies are so lacking today."

"Don't get too cocky," Joy huffed. "I killed it in the last chorus." 

Mercifully their schedule for the day has ended. Wendy dragged them all to this new restaurant she had been craving for like a month now and they all munched happily as they planned for their activities during the break.

Irene offered to treat everyone to ice cream for dessert. However, Seulgi excused herself  shortly after dinner with a mere "I'll be back by curfew!" which was met with a lot of teasing and booing.

Wendy frowned. It's so unlike Seulgi to ditch them from something she won't even disclose. But again, she just shrugged it off.

Irene wished she could do the same.