CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

One thing I learned later that week was that Son Seungwan liked to communicate. Not just with spoken or written words, but with emojis, stickers, GIFs, videos, and tons of photos. I needed to do some personal things and did not go to the TV studio on Friday when the band recorded the song. On Saturday it was physically impossible to get close to Wendy. I could see her sitting in the technicians' area when I was behind the stage, but she didn't see me there. Obviously, I left long before she did.

We ended up communicating a lot via cell phone on those days when we didn't see each other – several messages during the day and phone calls at night. Seungwan was adept at sending multiple messages without waiting for a response. She understood that I couldn't respond immediately because of work. That's why she was content with a monologue about her day-to-day life. I responded when I could, trying to follow and respond to everything she said. It was impossible because when she saw me online, she would start typing all over again.

But I felt lucky nonetheless. It felt like I was following an extension of what she posted on her official account and her personal account. I was sure no other fan could see photos of every ingredient of whatever she was making to eat. With the entire cooking process step by step right after. Nor the dozens of selcas she sent without fear of wrong angles or lack of makeup. More importantly, I was sure that no other fans were getting to know Seungwan the way I was.

I was happy with that, which made me look anxious about Sunday's date. But time felt stagnant that week with so much on my mind. I was so sure that I would go back to college, but Sooyoung's proposal invaded my thoughts. Receiving phone calls from bar owners asking if the band was free didn't help at all! I was surprised that they kept my number from the time we arrived in Seoul and I tried to find some places for them to perform. I think I was right; when the band appeared on television it would be easy to arrange something.

It was impossible not to feel excited about it, but I also felt a tiny bit angry about leaving when things seemed to be starting to work out. The future looked bright. Well, except for the music copyright part. It remained a mystery because no one would tell me what they decided. When I asked Sooyoung, she replied, “You'll know when we're there,” sure that I would go along with her. Of course, I wouldn't let her go alone and face Wendy. The point was: that wouldn't get out of my head either.

When Sunday afternoon arrived, I felt relieved. Seungwan's message warning that she was in front of the house felt like a lighthouse seen in the middle of a storm. A rainbow after the rain starts to dissipate, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It felt like I was taking my first breath after days of suffocating in thought. I knew that spending the day with her, even for a few hours, would clear my mind. I already felt that way every time I unlocked my phone with dozens of message notifications from Seungwan.

It pains me to admit that I left my room with a huge smile on my face and practically jumped like a bunny. I didn't even know if anyone was in the house at that time, my eyes were glued to the exit door. Then my eyes were glued to Seungwan, the car was parked right in front of the house this time. She was leaning against the back door, a smile as big as mine. She looked cool and charming. Very different from the last time she was at the front of the house, running away from Park Sooyoung.

But that smile began to fade as I approached her. For a moment, I thought Sooyoung had appeared behind me. That wasn't the case, especially because Seungwan brought a hand to her chest as if she was in pain. My feet wobbled for milliseconds, as if they knew something wrong was about to happen and decided to stop moving. However, I almost instantly materialized in front of Seungwan as she started to slide her back into the car door.

My hands held her shoulders, preventing her from sliding to the floor. I was sure my eyes were almost popping out of my head as I looked at her face, “What happened?” I asked, already starting to despair.

Seungwan looked at me dreamily saying “I can't take it,” and let out a long sigh.

“Seungwan-ah, what are you feeling? Tell me,” I pulled her up so easily, keeping her upright. She felt so light or maybe it was the adrenaline boosting my strength.

“How… how can you become more beautiful?” She said and I couldn't believe it.

Maybe I had heard wrong. My heart was racing with that situation, maybe the pressure in my ear had made me misunderstand. But no. She really said that.

“What– aren’t you sick?” I hesitated a little but slowly moved my hands away from her shoulders. Seungwan was perfectly standing, with her hand still on her chest and closed eyes.

“A beautiful woman is my weakness.”

If her heart couldn’t handle beauty, I hoped her arm could handle my slaps, “Yah!” I shouted as I continued slapping her and taking her by surprise. "You scared me!"

“Can you blame me?” she tried to avoid my slaps that lost strength with each new attack, “Did you look in the mirror today?”

“Of course, I looked!” I gave one last slap before I was satisfied. I didn't even care if I had crossed the line with that, Seungwan deserved it for making me think she wasn't okay.

“A warning beforehand would be nice,” she rubbed her hand on her arm, maybe I was hitting too hard. “Is that why you haven’t sent me any more photos of you since Friday?”

I wish I could deny that question because she was so right. On Friday morning I went to a beauty salon to change my look, opting for a change not as radical as Sooyoung's red hair. Regardless of what I was going to do for the rest of the year, I was going to face it with a new me. I must admit that I wanted to surprise her on Saturday. However, since Seungwan was unreachable that day, I left it to do that during our date.

Black was my choice. It was so dark that it actually scintillated against the light. I think it might be shocking to see myself without my natural brown. The bangs were the hairdresser's suggestion, I hadn't had one since childhood; It looked great and helped shape my face. The final touch was the extension that increased the length to halfway down my back. I looked older, but not aged. Mature would be the word I would choose for that look.

“Yes,” I admitted without looking at her. The floor was much more interesting at that moment.

“You are truly beautiful, Bae Joohyun-ssi,” Seungwan said opening the car door, giving me room to enter. I followed her every movement with my peripheral vision, “It’s kind of unfair to mere mortals.” I opted just to whisper a simple thank you and get into the car still without looking at her.

This time I didn't even bother to ask where we were going, Seungwan wouldn't answer me—much less Seulgi, who was wearing a driver's uniform like last time. I was wondering if I should apologize on her boss's behalf for that. I knew she was getting a bonus by making this weird wish for Seungwan, but it was just ridiculous. If making her employee wear a uniform was anything to impress me with, I wasn't impressed at all.

One thing I didn't fail to notice was how Seungwan's hand sneakily reached for mine right after she put on her seat belt. She was looking straight ahead, acting cool as if this was normal. We did that the other time when we were coming home. That contact didn't bother me. On the contrary, the warmth coming from her hand was pleasant. I wouldn't mind holding her hand throughout the date.

Imagine my surprise when Seulgi stopped the car in the exact same place the week before, at the pottery studio. Before I could ask if we would have more classes, Seungwan excused herself and got out of the car. Still not moving from my seat, I watched through the window as she walked into the studio and disappeared for a minute or so. She came back hugging a paper package that was handed to me as soon as she got in the car.

For a few seconds, I was confused. Seungwan had already given me so many gifts that day. Gifts that surprisingly didn't break after she dropped them on the floor when Sooyoung pushed her. But then I remembered the pieces we did there and my excitement went through the roof. It was all there, painted and shining like ceramic. My mug, Seungwan's strange heart plate. The flower vase I made last was painted white and it was beautiful, I was so proud of it.

“Where is your vase?” I asked jokingly.

“Some things cannot be saved,” Seungwan's dramatic tone made me smile and I reached for her hand this time.

“At least your talent will save us today,” she said, squeezing my hand lightly.

What Seungwan said could have been a hint for the date, but it was delivered at the last minute. It didn't take Seulgi more than five minutes to stop the car once again at our final destination. It was a flower shop. It was actually a flower shop that was temporarily converted to teach us how to arrange flowers. Apparently, it was the new trend among housewives with money was make flower arrangements by themselves rather than buy one.

“So, this is the most delicate thing you promised?” I whispered while the teacher was focused on showing us how to make the right cut to trim the stem of a rose.

We were sitting side by side, with a table in front of us. The teacher, a young woman who was probably my age and definitely freaked out a little when she saw Wendy, was sitting on the other side of the table. Flowers, plants, scissors, gloves, and other utensils were spread out before us. She was teaching us about color harmonization, starting with a monochromatic arrangement.

“We need flowers for your vase, don’t you think?” Seungwan leaned t