"You seem distracted."

Seulgi blinked. She didn't realize that she was so lost in thought.

"I'm sorry, Naeun." Seulgi smiled. "It's just that I had a lot on my mind lately."

"Oh yeah, because of the comeback?" Naeun smiled sheepishly. "Is it still fine that we're constantly meeting up then?"

She wasn't exactly wrong. In fact, Seulgi was constantly thinking about their comeback since it demanded most of their time. But at the moment, Seulgi had one thing on her mind:

Irene.

Seulgi suddenly felt guilty for thinking about her while on a date with Naeun. She just couldn't help it. Ever since their interaction a few nights ago when she was drunk on wine, Irene had become less awkward and stiff whenever they spoke to each other. It saddened Seulgi when she imagined that maybe it's because Irene seemed appeased now that Seulgi was over her confusion. Maybe Irene even felt relieved and now they can finally move on and get back to being close like before. 

When Seulgi said she didn't mean it when she said she had feelings for Irene, she really wanted to believe it. 

After confessing her feelings and being rejected, Seulgi avoided Irene as much as she could, even going as far as staying at her own home instead of the dorm just so she could get away from the older girl. 

Irene asked her to gather her thoughts and process what she was feeling so that was exactly what she did for about a week. But each time, she only came to one conclusion.

She certainly had feelings for Irene.

So the next thing she did was try to distract herself with just about anything so that she could get over her stupid feelings. Seulgi tried meditating, getting back on her painting, running (she definitely regretted that one), and even reading so that she could get Irene off her mind. It certainly didn't help that she saw their leader almost every day so every time she felt like she had moved on, she'd take one look at Irene and she'd plummet back to square one.

Nothing really worked until she started dating Naeun.

Seulgi knew it was wrong to use another person to get over someone but the more she got to know Naeun, the less she thought about Irene. She was genuinely enjoying spending time with the other girl and Seulgi felt like she was finally free from her feelings.

"Of course," Seulgi smiled has she held Naeun's hand. "I can always make time for you."

---

Who's at the dorm?

Irene scrolled through her phone on her way home after a quick lunch date with Jennie. 

Not me 

Wendy answered.

Not shy, not me 

Irene snickered as she saw Yeri's reply.

I honestly can't stand Yerim 

Joy replied. Then Yeri answered almost immediately.

Why are you with me right now, then? 

Irene put her phone back to her bag as the barrage of texts came in. The maknaes were blowing up the group chat again and she'll just read it when she got to the car. For now, Irene wandered around to grab a cup of tea before she went home, just in case Seulgi was at the dorm. Because even though she and Seulgi were more relaxed with each other now, Irene still couldn't bring herself to be alone with her for too long.

She tried not to think about Seulgi as she perused the café's menu.

But as it turned out, Seulgi was sitting with her date just a few tables away.

Seulgi was in the middle of sipping the last of her coffee, having already settled the bill when Naeun suddenly blurted out, "Hey, isn't that Irene-sunbaenim? Gosh, she's really so beautiful up close!"

Seulgi choked on her drink as she spotted Irene paying for her tea at the counter. When she turned around, their eyes locked and she gave a small smile. Seulgi could tell that Irene really didn't want to walk over to where they were seated but being the kind and respectful human that she is, she approached their table and smiled at Naeun.

Naeun stood up to bow which Irene courteously returned. "It's nice to see you, Irene-sunbaenim."

"Likewise." Irene replied.

Seulgi looked nervously between the two. Naeun had 'awestruck' displayed clear on her face and Irene simply looked pleasantly surprised. 

"Well then, I'll be going. I just stopped by to say hello." Irene stated. "I'll see you at the dorm, Seulgi."

"Why don't you go on home together?" Naeun offered to Seulgi. "We're just about to leave anyway."

Irene hesitated but Seulgi stood up and nodded. "Okay."

"Call me when you get home, okay?" Naeun placed a quick peck on Seulgi's cheek and the latter noticed how Irene suddenly looked away. "Have a safe trip home."

She and Irene exchanged bows one last time and Naeun was the first to split, leaving Irene and Seulgi alone together.

"Let's go?" Irene gestured. 

Irene and Seulgi spent the ride home quietly, each absorbed in their own thoughts. Seulgi kept darting glances at the girl next to her, gauging what Irene thought of her seeing someone.

"Quit staring at me." Irene chuckled. "You're so weird."

Seulgi laughed nervously. "I'm sorry." 

The air around them seemed lighter not long after that. 

"So," Irene raised her eyebrow. "Does Yeri know you're dating her friend?"

Seulgi chortled. "No. And please don't tell her, I'll never hear the end of it." 

"You definitely won't." Irene's phone rang. "Speak of the devil.."

"Yerim-ah." Irene greeted. "What's up?"

"Are you on your way home, unnie?" Yeri said over the phone.

"Yes," Irene replied. "Seulgi and I are on the car. Why?

"Oh good," Joy exclaimed. Apparently, Irene was on speakerphone. "Seulgi-unnie can help."

"Help with what?" Irene asked.

"With groceries." Yeri answered. "You guys can buy all the stuff we'd need for this Friday."

"You were out with Joy earlier," Irene commented. "Why didn't you buy groceries then?"

"Because they went way over budget the last time they bought groceries." Wendy remarked. 

So ten minutes later, Seulgi pushed a shopping cart as Irene perused the vegetable aisle. 

"Do we have any kimchi left back at home?" Irene asked.

Seulgi shook her head. "Sooyoung ate it all."

"How about apples?" 

Again, Seulgi shook her head. "Seungwan snacked on the last one this morning."

They were in the middle of choosing what kind of cereal to buy when Irene casually grabbed Seulgi's arm. "What do you think of this brand? I know we always buy the other one but I think this one is also good."

Seulgi just stared at Irene's hand on her arm, feeling butterflies in her stomach. It was just a simple gesture but it was the first time Irene offered any kind of skinship voluntarily and Seulgi wanted to prolong this moment as much as she can.

"Seul?" Irene tried again. 

"Sorry," Seulgi cracked a smile. "Let's buy that one."

Soon after, Irene and Seulgi were on their way back to the dorm.

"I missed this." Irene admitted after a long comfortable silence. 

"Grocery shopping?" Seulgi asked incredulously.

"No, silly." Irene smiled fondly. "Spending time with you."

"Oh," Seulgi looked down. "Me too."

"I'm really glad we're okay." Irene flashed her iconic crooked smile at Seulgi, the one that made her eyebrow arch just a tad bit. It was Seulgi's favorite smile and she could feel herself falling all over again.

But she knew she shouldn't so instead she just focused on her phone to text Naeun. 

"Me too."