The Versace fashion summit is held in London in the middle of November. Seulgi pulls her coat tighter around her waist and makes sure to navigate the steps carefully, even though it isn’t cold enough for snow

“Ms Kang, your seat is over here,” someone ushers her to a seat, midway up the runway. She’s not big enough to be seated at the end, but she’s at the front, so she’s aware how much she’s being watched. She arranges her long skirt before sitting down in her seat.

Directly across the runway from her, she sees Sungjoo, in a pristine tuxedo, hair styled to look professional.

Seulgi gives him an amicable smile acrwoss the runway. He beams back brightly, but he basically radiates sunshine to everyone him, so no one realises it’s that little bit brighter.

“Ms Kang, I’ve heard amazing stories about your autumn collection! I wish I had been there to see it!” the lady beside her gushes. She’s one of the textile managers for Chanel. Seulgi gives her a pleasant smile and tries to seem enthusiastic to hear about the new textile factory they’re building in Thailand.

Seulgi doesn’t care so much where the material comes from, so long as it's good quality and serves the purpose she has for it, that’s enough for her. The company foots the bill anyway, so cost is never an issue.

Someone comes to offer her champagne. Seulgi shakes her head. She might be desperate to drown out the textile manager, but she if she drinks she might say something horribly insulting instead. She’d rather sit through the torture of the chatter.

The textile manager continues to talk, now moving onto her love for Thai food and her misadventures in cooking. Seulgi doesn’t have to check to know her perfect practiced smile is in place as she sips her water and tries to pay just a little bit of attention.

Across the runway, Sungjoo hides an amused smile, plastering his usual bright smile on his face and entertaining the ambassador’s son, listening as he tells a story about his puppy back home, until the show begins.



“Acting cold to me is probably even more suspicious, you know,” Sungjoo says when he catches her wrist when they get up to go to the adjoining room for drinks.

Seulgi smiles pleasantly at him, acting like they’re greeting each other. “The media has been following you more since your latest design pre-release,” she says sweetly, as if exchanging pleasantries.

“I know, but you shouldn’t avoid me just because of that,” he answers smoothly, practiced smile in place.

“Move onto the Arts Minister before this looks like a proper conversation,” Seulgi says, smiling and taking a step back.

“I’ll call you later?” he asks. She nods with another smile, waggling her fingers as she leaves.

“Ms Kang is delightful, isn’t she?” the Arts Minister comments as he appears beside Sungjoo a moment later.

Sungjoo just smiles warmly as his eyes follow her swinging ponytail in the crowd. “She is,” he says. If only they knew.



“London is super pretty at night,” she says wistfully over the phone.

“We could go for a walk,” Sungjoo replies, “It’s even less likely we’ll be recognised than in Korea,”

“It’s too cold,” she whines and Sungjoo chuckles. She’s so cute.

“We’ll go into a cafe and have hot chocolate then,” he says. “Come on, Seul, we barely talked tonight,”

“We’re talking now,”

“Seul….”

“It has been a while,” Seulgi muses softly. It’s been nearly a month since they last saw each other outside of events, and even longer since their last ‘date’, if stealing kisses at a movie theatre playing some old rom-com counts.

“I’ll meet you in your hotel lobby in ten minutes,” Sungjoo says, already putting his coat on.

“There’s a cafe around the corner from the hotel. I’ll meet you outside of that,” Seulgi answers. There’s a chance that reporters will still be hanging around; a lot of the guests from the fashion summit are staying in that hotel. Sungjoo had some business to attend to earlier in London, so he arrived earlier and his company booked him into a separate hotel.

Sungjoo just grins and tries to calm his heart. “Okay. See you there,”



She’s wearing jeans and knee high boots. The rest of her clothes are covered by the long white coat, topped with a pastel orange scarf. She still looks cold though. Sungjoo smiles at the image before jogging over, leaning over and kissing her cheek.

Initially she flinches a little, eyes darting to the side to check the street and in the cafe, but then she tiptoes to peck his cold, chapped lips. He grins.

“Hey,” he says and her smile is half hidden in her scarf.

“Hey,” she says softly.

They walk through the streets, Seulgi’s hand on his arm. It’s been so long since they’ve been side by side, together like this, and Sungjoo feels his heart swell as he watches her, pointing out fascinating things along the way.

It’s one in the morning by the time they step into a 24 hour cafe. Sungjoo orders hot chocolate for them as Seulgi keeps her head down, pretending to be immersed in the menu.

When the waitress leaves with their order, Sungjoo reaches over to take her hand. They’re cold but familiar as he squeezes her fingers.

“Hey, relax. It’s okay here. People don’t know us,” he says, smiling softly.

Seulgi sighs and puts the menu down. “I know, I know, it’s just…” habit they both finish in their heads. She flashes him a grim smile. “Sorry,”

“Don’t apologize to me,” he says softly, thumb now the back of her hand gently. “I just want you to be able to relax and enjoy yourself,”

She opens to reply, but the waitress arrives with their hot chocolates and she flinches away, checking her phone in her pocket.

“It’s clear,” he says softly against the rim of his cup when the waitress has left.

They talk quietly in the cafe over their hot chocolate, and then some more, until the mugs are empty and cold, chocolate sticking to the edges like brown spider webs. Then Sungjoo takes her hand, stuffs it into his coat pocket and they walk through the rest of the street. Most things are closed, but there are lights in Leicester Square and on the bridges, people milling about on the streets.

The first time Seulgi yawns, at close to three in the morning, Sungjoo hails a taxi and they climb into the warmth of the backseat gratefully. She leans against him, their hands intertwined between them.

Sungjoo’s English is better and he talks to the taxi driver with his usual enthusiasm and smiles. Seulgi just leans against his shoulder and listens, understanding most of it anyway. She must have dozed off, because Sungjoo gently shakes her awake when they reach her hotel.

“We’re here,” he says softly as she rouses. “You’ll be okay getting back to your room?”

She nods, hesitates, glancing at their taxi driver who is looking straight ahead, and then leans over to kiss him quickly before getting out.

Sungjoo waves to her from the backseat, watching her small figure get even smaller before they turn a corner, back to his hotel.

The taxi driver makes some comment that he doesn’t quite hear, but he hears “girlfriend” and hopes he smiles enough to show how happy he is that she is his girlfriend.



Seulgi tries not to wring her hands together as the first model steps forward onto the catwalk, wearing Seulgi’s newest idea. She sees the tight-lipped grimace of one of her supervisors and already knows this new proposal isn’t going to be welcomed. Her last two were also given mediocre reviews by the board, pushing back the hopes of a new collection in the near future.

The second model and third model walk out to much the same reaction - blank faces, some grimaces, one sigh.
After they’ve disappeared back behind the curtains, Seulgi stands and waits. She’s worried they’ll see her fidgeting, but she’s too nervous to stop wringing her hands and shuffling her feet.

“Ms Kang,”

Last name. She’s in trouble.

Seulgi hesitantly stands in front of them, awaiting the review. It’s like her first review all over again, except that one had actually gone well. Seulgi knows this one isn’t going to go in the same direction.

“I was expecting a lot from you,” one of her supervisors says. Seulgi bites her lip, looks down for a moment before looking up again. “You’re known for your creativity and your original ideas, but I failed to see anything new.” A pause. “I’m sure you can already see where this is going,”

She can, and twenty minutes later, waits for the supervisors to leave as she bites back tears. It was the harshest review she’s gotten since she started with the company.

“Ms Kang…” her assistant is by her side but Seulgi can’t face her.

“Help pack up,” is all she says before she brushes past her assistant and walks out the door.



She’s been curled up on the couch for an hour when there’s a knock on her door. Shuffling in socks and slippers, she opens it sullenly.

Sungjoo gives her a wry smile. “I took the back entrance,” he says as he pulls his facemask down from his face and holds up a small plastic bag. In it are two different flavours of Pringles - her guilty pleasure. But even that can’t lift her mood. She doesn’t say anything, waiting another moment before he steps inside and envelopes her in a hug.

He smells faintly of his usual cologne and it’s familiar and comforting as she buries her face into his jacket collar, fingers clenching in the rough material.

Sungjoo quietly shuts the door behind him and toes off his shoes as he continues to hold her.

“Come on, let’s get out of the doorway,” he says softly and guides her to the couch. She sighs as they lie down and she snuggles closer. He wraps his arms around her easily.

“It’s okay, Seul,” he runs a hand through her hair, twisting the ends around a finger. “One bad review won’t cost you your job or anything,”

“But it affects their view of me, and if I keep stuffing up, then my whole reputation will be affected and - ”

“Shhh,” he hushes her and kisses the corner of . “You’re thinking too far ahead, and you’re assuming you’ll keep stuffing up enough to actually affect your reputation. That would take a good few years of no collections, and it’s only been six months since your summer collection. “

“But - ” she protests and he silences her by stuffing a Pringle in .

“No buts,” he smiles as she glares at him, chewing slowly.

“It was a bad review, yes, but it’s not your final one, or one that’s going to dictate how you’re going to do for the rest of your career,” he gives her the tube of Pringles and smoothes her hair back from her face. “Just use it as motivation to work harder and do better next time,”

Seulgi sighs and cuddles closer to him. “I’ll try,” she murmurs.

Sungjoo smiles. “Good,”

She looks up at him with a grateful smile, and he leans over to kiss her softly. She responds, pressing closer, hands twisting in his shirt, and he tries not to think about how long it’s been since they’ve kissed like this.

As they pull away, they hear the sound of something dropping to the floor, and Sungjoo looks up to see Irene standing there. Sungjoo only knows her as the model on the runway he’s sometimes seen, and from Seulgi, telling him stories of her best friend and workmate.

Seulgi shrieks and nearly falls off the couch when she sees Irene, only Sungjoo’s arms around her waist saving her.

“Unnie!” Seulgi manages once she clambers off the couch to her feet, eyes still wide, “What are you - Why are you here?”

“I - “ Irene is still staring at them with big eyes, and Sungjoo isn’t sure what to do. He just sits up on the couch as Seulgi hesitantly steps forward. “I brought you kimbap,” Irene bends over to pick up what she had dropped. “I heard about the review, and thought … ” her eyes flicker over to Sungjoo. Clearly she had thought Seulgi needed cheering up, but Sungjoo had beat her to it.

Silence spins out between them for an awkward minute.

“So,” Irene says softly, “am I misunderstanding or is there something going on here?”

Seulgi bites her lip, turning back to look at Sungjoo. She sighs, resigned. “You’re not misunderstanding, unnie,”

Irene takes her hand gently. “I’m not mad, if that’s what you’re thinking. You always have your reasons, I just want to hear them,” she smiles at Seulgi. The younger tries for a smile. “How long?”

Seulgi glances back at Sungjoo. “Uhm, about five months now,”

Irene looks a little bug-eyed when she hears. “Five months? You two have been able to keep it quiet for that long? How did even I not know for five months?!”

Seulgi’s smile is a little proud, a bit sad, but she just shrugs. Irene smooths some stray hairs from her face, smiling gently. “And you’re keeping it from the public?”

Seulgi nods vigorously. “I... “ she turns to Sungjoo, “I don’t want to be known for things like who I date.” She turns back to Irene, “I don’t… I don’t want to our hard work to be ignored just because we’re dating,”

“Oh Seul,” Irene says, “it wouldn’t be like that,”

Seulgi just shrugs, hanging her head a little. “You don’t know that, I don’t know that. I just… I don’t want to risk it,”

“Okay,” Irene says. She pauses for a moment before adding, “I won’t tell, don’t worry,”

Seulgi gives her a look. “You’d better not, otherwise I’ll tell everyone about you and Junmyeon-oppa, and you’ll be in even more trouble,”

It’s an empty threat, since they both know Irene wouldn’t tell, and Seulgi wouldn’t retaliate by blabbering either, but Irene still gapes at her.

“You wouldn’t dare!” she cries. Seulgi giggles, takes the kimbap from her hands and dances into the kitchen.

“I’ll make you tea,” she yells back, but the two left in the living room aren’t listening. Irene is watching him carefully, and Sungjoo is fidgeting, a little uncomfortable.

Sungjoo gets up, about to go help, but Irene speaks softly.

“She really cares, you know?”

Sungjoo stops in his place. Irene smiles at him.

“Even if she’s not telling the public, she’s still risking a lot to be with you, as you are with her,”

Sungjoo lowers his gaze. “I know,” he says.

“Just telling you,” Irene says, “Seul is my best friend and I know her well. Even if it’s hard and she seems cold, whatever you feel for her, it’s mutual, if not more,” she looks over in the kitchen where Seulgi is pouring tea into three cups. “She wouldn’t have started anything with you unless she was really serious,”

Sungjoo smiles. “Likewise,”

Irene seems satisfied with that answer, because she smiles and steps into the kitchen as Seulgi hands her a cup of tea, passing another cup to Sungjoo calmly. He smiles gently at her and kisses her forehead softly.

Seulgi blushes, Irene giggles and Sungjoo just smiles.



“I got a good review!” Seulgi gushes on the phone two weeks later. “I got this idea the other day and drew it up overnight and the next morning they made it and I just showed it to my supervisors and they loved it!”

Sungjoo can’t help the smile that spreads across his face. “That’s great,” he has to bite his tongue to make sure he doesn’t say her name. He can see his friend and fellow designer, Wenhan, watching him from across the room.

Sungjoo rarely answers the phone in the middle of a shoot, but he saw her number on the screen and immediately answered. He couldn’t have ignored it if he tried.

“I’ll have to call you back later, though,” he says when Wenhan beckons him because the director is calling him. “Thanks for your call,”

“I hid in a closet to tell you and you dismiss me,” Seulgi whines and he really has to supress the smile. “I’m guessing you’re in public though, so I’ll talk to you later. Bye!!”

He chews the inside of his cheek to stop from smiling so much and hangs up.

“Who was that?” Wenhan asks when Sungjoo finally makes his way across the room.

“A supplier, managed to get some material I was looking for,” Sungjoo says, tone dismissive as he attends to the director.

Wenhan watches him, a little suspicious, but doesn’t say anything.



Seulgi hopes the facemask and glasses can hide her identity enough as she looks at the rows of food in the convenience store. She’s just working out the difference between two different brands of chips when she sees the familiar sleek black car drive past the convenience store, pulling up a few shops down. She calmly picks a bottle of water and heads to the cashier, paying wordlessly before stepping into the cold.

She puts the bottle of water into her bag before setting off in the direction the car had gone, glancing behind her once before pulling open the door and climbing into the car quickly. Neither of them say anything as the car pulls away from the curb and onto the freeway. Seulgi pulls her facemask off, letting out a deep breath and Sungjoo smiles from the driver’s seat and reaches for her hand.

“The glasses look good,” he comments as they drive out of the city.

Seulgi grins cheekily. “Really? Maybe I’ll keep them on,” she says, winking at him p