***

Winter came faster than they remembered, strong chilly wind blowing mercilessly, spearing straight into their bones beneath the thin performance outfit. 

Being the leader meant that Irene had to be on stage prior to rehearsal to confirm the details with respective staffs, to aid the stage setups while enduring the low degree. 

Seulgi could see the petite body refraining itself from shaking but to no avail upon each breeze that came their way. 

With each breath that Irene exhaled, the air thickened into steam of coldness that soon dispersed and the cycle repeated. Irene folded her arms together before her stomach, trying to ignore the chilling pain burning on her skin.

As Seulgi watched her leader who was still on stage, waiting for the setups to be completed, she knew she had to do something. 

The next moment, she found herself heading towards her Joohyun Unnie, arm snaking around the waist immediately when the older girl was within reach. 

Irene instinctively brought herself closer to her member, teeth chattering against her freezing lips. Seulgi took Irene's skinny frame into both her arms and felt a head nuzzled into the crook of her neck. 

Seulgi frowned upon feeling the involuntary trembles coming from Irene, encircling her holds stronger to envelop the figure’s entireness into her own embrace.  

When the breeze came again, Seulgi twisted Irene away, her own back against the wind. 

Irene’s heart warmed up at the action, hands clinched tighter onto Seulgi’s name tag when another wave of chill blew across.

“Go back in there, it’s too cold out here.” 

“I feel better when you are closer to me like this, Unnie.” 

Even without having to look, Irene knew that Seulgi was smiling. She could hear a heart beating faster after the declaration and she too, smiled. 

Irene didn’t press on further, just letting herself bask not in the warmth, but the presence of Seulgi. 

“Seulgi..?”

The twosome reluctantly let go of each other when they were asked to standby for rehearsal, Irene feeling even colder after being comforted by Seulgi’s gapless proximity. 

“Yes?”

“Let’s stay close.”

“Of course, Unnie.” Seulgi mirrored the sweet smile on Irene’s face. “Always.”

***