Seulgi and Irene. Almost always. Whenever there's Seulgi, Irene's name follows and vice versa. Neither of them complained about that - in fact, Seulgi is quite happy about the situation.

She could still remember during her rookie days when she was first introduced to the most beautiful girl she had ever seen in her life. Not that she is attracted to girls, but she definitely knows how to appreciate a work of art, so she was too busy admiring the beauty in front of her that she failed to see the outstretched hand waiting for her to shake. She only realised that she was zoning out when the smile on the other girl's face started to falter.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry", she said as she shook the girl's hand. "I'm Seulgi by the way."

The girl's smile grew wider and boy, Seulgi thought she'd seen an angel. "I'm Bae Joohyun but you can start calling me Irene."

Seulgi didn't answer. She just kept on staring and after what seemed like forever, she finally blurted, "You're pretty. Like very, VERY pretty." Yup, she definitely needs to get a filter for .

Irene pulled her hand back, Seulgi didn't know she was still holding, to tuck an invisible strand of hair behind her ear. She started to blush. "U..uuh..hmm. Thanks?", she said as she looked down and giggled. That's when Seulgi realised Irene is a shy person, and she thought it's cute.

Days, months, and a couple of years have passed and Seulgi and Irene grew closer. They have found a best friend in each other where one knows the other like the back of their hand. Seulgi learned that she is 3 years younger than Irene, and that the other girl may be shy sometimes but she could be one naughty girl whenever she feels like it. They would always have practice and trainings together so it didn't really come as a surprise to them when they were asked to do a dance video for the song Be Natural.

The younger girl admits that she isn't really one to initiate skinship because she values personal space. It wasn't really much of a problem until she met Irene. You see, Irene is touchy. She CLINGS. A lot. To the point where Seulgi feels like she couldn't breathe. But she eventually got used to it. Irene reminds her of vanilla and lavender and she finds it intoxicating and addictive. She could now prepare for when Irene hugs her from her back out of the blue because she could sense her through her smell. (A little creepy but hey, you couldn't really blame her.) Well, too bad she couldn't prepare for this. Be Natural's choreography, she reckons, is very elegant yet sultry. If she didn't know any better, she'd say it looks like two people flirting. Every time her skin touches Irene's she feels adrenalin rushing through her veins. There was a moment when Irene turned and she didn't realize she was standing too close so their faces were just inches apart. She almost lost balance because she took a step back so quickly, trying to process what the hell just happened. Her heart was beating twice as fast she thought she was gonna have a heart attack.

"I'm sorry", Irene said with a concerned look plastered on her face.

"No! It was my fault I wasn't paying attention. I guess I'm just too pumped up and nervous at the same time. This is the biggest thing I have done for SM just yet so...", Seulgi said more to convince herself than Irene.

Irene just flashed a comforting smile and gave her a side-hug. "You'll be fine. You got me and I got you. We both got this!" This brought a smile to Seulgi's lips although she could still feel her heart hammering in her chest.

She heard the cameras rolling and the director yell "Action!" so she took a deep breath, smiled when she felt a hand squeeze hers, and switched her dancing mode on. "Let's get this over and done with."

The video came out amazing. They were praised by everyone for having such chemistry even science couldn't explain. The girls were happy but they were beyond elated when they were told they are soon to be debut-ing as a part of a group TOGETHER. That night, they both held each other as tears of joy spill from their eyes. Their dreams that used to be intangible are now on the works of coming to life. Seulgi felt honoured to share that moment with Irene. Everything felt surreal so for the first time ever, with her heart swollen with delight, she tilted her head and planted a soft kiss on her unnie's forehead. If the latter was surprised, she's really good at hiding it because she just closed her eyes, smiled softly, and took in what happened like it was the best damn thing in the world.

Soon, they were introduced to the other members, Wendy and Joy. She found them both fun to be with. She shared the same querky attitude as Wendy, but Joy, being the maknae, gets the award for being the best in pranking. They got their own dorm where Irene gets a whole room to herself (although she insisted that Seulgi should share it with her) while the other three gets a room together. Seulgi realized that things became a bit different. There were more practices as their debut comes closer, more recordings done, more choreography to learn, more people to talk to.

She got excited (maybe even a bit too excited) when she learned that their first single would be "Be Natural", and that Irene would be her dance partner again. Their group was instantly loved by the people. They held interviews, attended music awards, and gained more popularity than she had expected. People know them now. They notice even the smallest detail of her clothes or her hair, or who she was with. She started finding candids of her on the internet. "Wow. I look like crap in this. Why would people think it would be a great idea to post it online?" She also saw pictures of the other girls but for some reason, she would take just a little bit more time scanning through Irene's. She read the comments too. 'Pretty'. 'I am in love'. 'Marry me'. 'Bae indeed'. "Yep. Bae indeed." She sighed as she shut her laptop close.

She misses Irene. People may think she is crazy because she is in the same group as her and she basically lives with her. But what do they know? She used to speak to the leader more than anyone. But since their debut, they've gotten busier and would be given different schedules so it's hard to be like how they were when they were still rookies. Besides, it's not only the two of them. There's also Wendy and Joy. Not that she's complaining because she loves them to bits. She just misses her time with her best friend who is now out with Wendy for a show guesting. She couldn't make it because she's sick while Joy has to do something for school.

She opened her laptop and saw posts about 'Wenrene'.

"Wenrene? What's a Wenrene?', she said to no one.

She scanned through the photos and saw Wendy and Irene holding hands and laughing at something together. That brought a pang to her chest.

Seulgi and Irene. That's how it used to be. But now it's Irene, Wendy, Joy, and finally.. Seulgi.

"Our names are too far apart", Seulgi said and then scoffed at her ridiculousness.