--

“Since this will be a yearlong contract, I suggest you get to know the staff and crew. Your co-star won’t be able to attend the meeting today so I talked to Jingook this morning and-”

Seulgi zones out of whatever her manager is telling her as they make their way along the maze that is the KBS main building. She’s here for the first meeting of a recent CF deal she made, four ten minute videos with different stories that’ll be released all throughout the year. The benefits and the pay are way below her star status but she’s friends with the pd, one of the people who helped her when she was just some random face with no established name.

She doesn’t mind the workload, really. She’s actually more worried about the female idol that she has to work with. She holds no prejudice towards idols whatsoever but she really prefers a working environment without the crazy fans that seem to stalk them wherever they went.

--

Irene, they said her name was, from the girl group Red Velvet. She vaguely remembers her from that one eventful cameo shoot with Suzy when they were filming for a movie. Her memory's a bit fuzzy on the details mostly because Suzy made her drink a tall shot of vodka before the take where they got praised for acting drunk so skilfully.

Seulgi recalls thinking that the idols were pretty, but then again, this industry is littered with pretty faces that seeing one during filming is really no big deal. She just hopes that this Irene girl has a decent personality since they'll be working together for a year. Or not. There's no point stressing this out, she'll probably only see Irene a grand total of six times outside the scheduled press conferences anyway.

--

Irene might just be the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen.

“I really love your art, sunbaenim. I'm a huge fan,” Irene tells her with a polite smile and a soft voice as they are formally introduced to each other.

Seulgi thinks she's hypnotized.

Irene’s definitely more beautiful than what Seulgi remembers from her memories of the drunken filming incident. Or maybe that's just Suzy's dancing that corrupted her brain.

(She’s also taken aback because people mostly compliment her about her movies and acting projects and almost nobody mentions the sporadic drawings she randomly posts on her instagram account.)

"Thanks, I'm a fan too, I love your songs," Seulgi blurts back because it's the polite thing to do and prays that the older girl won't ask her if she has a favorite song or album or whatever. She inwardly kicks herself for not researching beforehand.

Irene squints at her and Seulgi likes to think that she looks more confident than guilty but Irene ends up chuckling at her anyway.

"It's okay, I think our title songs sound weird too," Irene laughs lightly.

Seulgi frankly has no idea what their title songs sound like but she does know that Irene’s laugh sounds like spring.

--

"Excuse me, sunbaenim, but do you happen to know the brand of the fabric softener used for your shirt?"

Seulgi blinks and wonders, for a beat, if this is how people flirt these days. Granted Irene did look incredibly thoughtful since they filmed the climactic hugging scene earlier before being dragged to the waiting room as the director and writer argue about the day's output. Shouldn't she know that their outfits were decided by the stylists? Maybe not, why would she even ask if she did, unless she really was trying to flirt.

She knows she’s been staring for too long when Irene starts to turn red in the face and Seulgi notices that she's probably been looking at her like she's grown another head for the past two minutes.

In the end, she doesn't get to respond to Irene's very weird question (Or was that flirting? Maybe? She wasn't really sure) because the assistant pd approaches them to say that they did well and that the shoot was officially done for the day. The girl bows to her and the pd, muttering a quick 'Thank you for your hard work' before disappearing behind the door faster than Seulgi would've imagined possible.

Well that was certainly interesting.

--

'Seulgi-ssi, how is your working rapport with Irene-ssi? Are you guys getting along?’

"I think we work really well together, we already talked about the types of fabric softeners that we use for our shirts," Seulgi grins at the reporters. She practically feels Irene’s embarrassment radiating from beside her and she grins even wider, “I like talking to her a lot, the conversations are never boring.”

--

“Do you want to eat out after this?” Seulgi asks as the filming crew packs up all around them after their second shoot.

Irene looks at her in surprise before giving a tentative smile, “I’m not sure if I can, I’ll ask my manager if I have anything scheduled after this.”

“That’s a yes, then? Just tell your manager that it’ll be my treat!”

When they do eat out, it’s with half the production team who tags along because, apparently, Irene thought she meant she was offering to treat the entire crew.

Irene looks so happy while interacting with everyone that Seulgi can’t even bring herself to pout.

--

Suzy laughs at her for three minutes straight when she mentions it during one of their random phone calls.

“I can't believe you actually treated everyone. And you didn't even get to sit with her! Come on, Seulgi, how pathetic is that? Whatever happened to the ultimate casanova?”

Seulgi scoffs at her, "Shut up. I’m not a casanova. Perhaps I didn’t make it clear enough that I wanted it to be just the two of us."

“I really need to meet this girl sometime. She sounds really interesting,” Suzy responds, “I really should have went and talked to her when they did their cameo. Maybe I should go and visit you during one of your shoots together?”

“Hell no. Your presence will just cause a ton of misunderstandings that I don't want to deal with. It’s hard enough to get her to talk to me after the fabric softener incident.”

“Aw, come on. Maybe she'll relax when there's another woman around.”

“Not when said woman was rumored to be my girlfriend before. I'll end up looking like some player when I really just want to get to know her.”

Suzy laughs again, “Fine, but promise to introduce her to me when you guys start dating.”

--

She’s not really planning to date Irene.

Not really.

(She heads out the same night to buy some fabric softeners.)

--

“I heard they used the purple Downy for the clothes.”

Irene looks up at her in surprise, “W-what?”

“You asked me what fabric softener was used for my shirt during our first shoot. I finally found the stylist who was in charge that day and she told me they used the purple Downy.”

“That-” Irene stutters, looking at Seulgi as if deciding if she's being made fun of again, before clearing ,“Thank you, I didn’t expect you to actually look for the stylist in charge.”

She’s starting to turn red again and Seulgi wishes she brought her phone to take a picture. Instead, she hands her a white paper bag and Irene gives her a confused look before checking the contents.

“I heard you liked fabric softeners so I bought them for you. I swear I wasn’t trying to make fun of you when I mentioned it during the press conference. I really do enjoy talking to you.”

“I never said-” Joohyun starts but Seulgi cuts her off.

“I know but I hope, with this, we can just forget that incident and start anew,” she says while extending her hand. Irene takes it with a shy smile.

“You really didn’t have to go and buy me some Downy though.”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure.”

--

And it really was. Her pleasure.

--

Seulgi-ssi, what would you like for your birthday?

Seulgi stares at her phone trying to decipher the message’s sender; she doesn’t remember giving her number to anyone recently. She contemplates not replying at all when her phone buzzes again

This is Irene, by the way. I mean, I’m not a crazy fan or anything! I got your number from my manager, who got it from your manager, who got it from you. You can ask them yourself, I’m not lying at all.

Seulgi chuckles to herself at the word vomit on her screen. Leave it to Irene to show so much personality in just one text.

Chill, Irene-ssi. I know you’re not a crazy fan. And you don’t have to give me anything for my birthday :)

Bae Joohyun, her reply reads.

Seulgi blinks at the name, Sorry?

That’s my name. Please call me Bae Joohyun.

--

“Joohyun unni.”

“Hm?”

“Nothing, I just really like the sound of your name.”

“...Idiot.”

--

“You owe me a dinner date, you know,” she tells Joohyun after a photoshoot. They’re both stiff and sore from all the weird positions they had to hold for hours and Seulgi just really wants to lie down and eat some ddeokbokki right now.

“What do you mean?” Joohyun asks beside her, leaning against her shoulders as they wait for the director and editor to stop arguing again.

“After our second shoot, I asked you to eat dinner with me. Then you went and invited the entire production crew,” she teases.

“What?” Joohyun exclaims looking adorably scandalized, “But I thought-”

“Well it doesn’t really matter now,” Seulgi interrupts, “Just have dinner with me tonight. I really want some ddeokbokki and cola.”

Joohyun’s expression shifts from scandalized to confused to embarrassed within seconds.

(They eat in a cheap restaurant right beside the filming site but Seulgi finds the food infinitely better tasting than last time. She thinks of Suzy insisting that food tastes different depending on the company you have. She glances beside her at said company currently stealing noodles from her plate and decides she loves it.

The food, she means. Not the company.)

--

Seulgi swears she's used to spending her birthdays alone.

Joohyun’s off to Japan for a concert and they haven’t been able to talk since her group’s flight out of Korea where Joohyun alternated between teasing her for being alone on her own birthday and apologizing for not being with her to celebrate.

She really doesn’t mind being alone on her birthday, she's long accepted it as a general negative effect of her profession, though it does feel a little bit more pathetic this year than the previous ones.

The doorbell rings while she’s in the middle of responding to a birthday text from Suzy, the traitor, who ditched her to go to Paris with her boyfriend.

She signs the papers and smiles at the deliveryman, who claims to be a fan, before tearing through the wrapped box to find a deluxe pencil set with a tiny note attached.

I wasn’t lying when I said I loved your art :)

-J

--

She spends the entire afternoon drawing.

--

“You know my members are starting to feel jealous of you,” Joohyun tells her during their third shoot, fiddling with the tickets of the movie they plan on watching after filming ends.

Seulgi doesn’t really hear what she’s saying at first because Joohyun’s dressed in a police uniform and she’s trying really hard not to stare too openly.

“Hey, are you even listening?” Joohyun pouts at her and nudges her with her shoulder.

“Sorry, wait, but why would they be jealous of me?”

“They say you’re stealing me from them. I used to watch all these movies with them before.”

She chuckles and pinches Joohyun’s nose.

“Tell them I’m not since if I actually do steal you, they’ll never see you again because I’ll lock you into my room where I get to spend every minute of the day with you.”

--

Seungwan wants you to come over, is the message she reads, two days later when she’s busy filming for a variety show. She feels a bit apologetic for not being able to talk with her as often so she risks getting labeled an irresponsible guest of the variety world and proceeds to text her back.

Seungwan as in one-of-the-jealous-members Seungwan? she replies while drying her hair. She just failed a task and ends up being dumped into the pool as punishment; she briefly replays the scene in her head and hopes her expressions came out fine and entertaining, this is a variety show after all.

Yup, says her reply, she’s also asking about your favourite type of cake.

She recalls Joohyun mentioning that one of her members loved to bake. She entertains the thought of saying some obscure type just to see if they’ll actually make one for her but decides against it.

How about some carrot cake? she types. Joohyun loves carrot cakes.

Seulgi, she can see Joohyun’s eye roll from miles away, she’s asking what YOUR favourite is.

What? she teases, Can’t we have the same taste in cakes?

We don’t and you know it, she imagines Joohyun tapping on her phone impatiently and grins to herself.

Anything with chocolate would do, she types , Though you guys really shouldn’t bother. I’m assuming Seungwan-ssi is making it for me?

Don’t get conceited, her reply reads and Seulgi laughs out loud, But yeah, she’ll make it for you. Does this Saturday sound good?

Sure, why does Seungwan want to meet me anyway? Should I bring anything? The youngest writer approaches her as soon as she presses send.

“Seulgi-ssi, you’re up next,” his voice shakes slightly, as if he’s afraid to offend her and Seulgi feels guilty because, technically, she's the one being  unprofessional here so she gives him an encouraging smile that he returns uneasily.

“Okay, I’ll be out in a second,” she tells him and he bows before leaving.

Filming’s starting again, I’ll talk to you later! she sends quickly before tossing her phone in her bag, she’ll just read her reply later. For now, she’ll focus on being a professional actress slash variety star.

--

Seungwan says she wants to meet my girlfriend. And you don’t need to bring anything, Seungwan’s making food for us, she reads, a day later when filming is finally done.

Did Joohyun just call her you-know-what?

She supposes that she is a girl, and she’s Joohyun’s friend so the term isn’t really too far off.

And she assumes Joohyun’s referring to her, because who else would she be referring to.

She wants to ask if the older girl just forgot to put a space between the two words but she realizes that she already had nearly twenty four hours to correct it or take it back had it been a typo.

(She really really wants to ask but she’s also kind of afraid of Joohyun’s answer.)

--

“That sounds like you’re meeting your girlfriend’s family,” Suzy tells her on the phone.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” she replies automatically because, really, she’s not; even if Joohyun’s text message says otherwise.

Suzy just hums absentmindedly from the other side of the line as if she thinks that Seulgi’s in denial.

But she’s not. In denial.

This is one of those innocent until proven guilty scenarios. She hasn’t really had a chance to ask Joohyun if that text was a typo and she’s not sure if she’ll ever get the courage to.

Maybe she’ll just stay innocent forever.

--

She meets Seungwan and Sooyoung and Yerim and they end up having way too much food because Seulgi ignored Joohyun’s warning and still brought two boxes of pizza and a bucket of chicken.

At least she won over the other members.

Joohyun entwines their fingers that night as she walks her to her car, lightly nudging her shoulder like she always does and Seulgi tries to ignore the fact that this really does feel like she’s visiting her girlfriend’s house.

“Really, you spoiled them too much by bringing pizza and chicken,” Joohyun tells her and Seulgi smiles.

“It’s better than not bringing anything. I wasn’t planning on buying both but I bought the chicken first then I remembered you can’t eat them. Besides, I think they liked it.”

“Exactly why I’m saying that you’re spoiling them.”

They finally reach her car and she reluctantly pulls her hand away, “So I’ll see you..” she trails off.

“Tomorrow actually, are you free? I want to watch this musical and I already bought the tickets,” Joohyun looks at her expectantly.

Truthfully, she already agreed to go to the movies with Suzy tomorrow but what the heck.

“Sure, I’ll pick you up tomorrow then?”

Joohyun gives her a winning smile, “It’s a date!”

--

Joohyun falls asleep on her shoulder during the musical and Seulgi tries her best not to move too much in fear of waking her. Joohyun mentioned before that the company’s revving up Red Velvet for their next comeback and she feels a bit guilty for hoarding Joohyun’s time when the girl’s already so busy.

Secretly, though, she feels happy that Joohyun’s still willing to spend time with her despite their hectic schedule.

(She feels even better when she remembers that Joohyun’s the one who asked to watch the musical together in the first place.)

--

When their first video was released to a roaring success, she ends up celebrating with Joohyun and Joohyun’s members in a noraebang. Seungwan bakes them another cake and Seulgi can’t help but notice the design of badly drawn stick figures of, what she assumes, are her and Joohyun holding hands.

Joohyun doesn’t mention it so she doesn’t either but she catches Seungwan’s eye while everyone else fools around with the microphone. Seungwan gives her a lopsided smirk and whispers quietly, “Take care of our unni, okay?”

Seulgi nods because, really, what else can you respond to that?

--

It’s during the pack up of their final shoot that she finally finally asks Joohyun.

“Was it a typo?”

“Was what a typo?” Joohyun asks back. They’re waiting for everyone to get ready for the dinner out as a celebration. The three videos released were a success and the fourth one should follow their footsteps and since this is the final time they’ll all be together, the pd offers to treat everyone for a job well done.

“The text you sent me before, when I was recording for that variety show,” she says and she’s kind of proud that her voice is stable when the pounding of her heart isn’t. She doesn’t feel the need to mention the specifics, if that text meant what she thinks it meant, Joohyun should know exactly which message she’s referring to.

Joohyun doesn’t respond for the longest time and Seulgi’s starting to regret ever bringing this up in the first place. She starts rummaging through her bag just to give her hands something to do while trying to ignore the gradual dread spreading in her stomach.

“It’s not,” She very nearly doesn’t hear Joohyun because the assistant writer’s suddenly yelling noisily across them, telling everyone to get ready to leave for the restaurant. Seulgi ignores him and just focuses on the blush that adorns Joohyun’s face.

It’s not.

Joohyun says it's not a typo.

They join everyone else at the restaurant and everyone congratulates Seulgi and Joohyun for acting so well together.

Seulgi pretends that the smile threatening to split her face in half is caused by the project’s success.

(They hold each other’s hand under the table throughout dinner.

Seulgi doesn’t even care if anyone notices.)

--

 “You do that a lot,” Joohyun tells her months later, when all of Seulgi’s fabric softeners' been replaced with purple Downy and Joohyun’s dorm is littered with Seulgi’s drawings. They’re lounging around Seulgi’s living room in a tangle of arms and legs and supposedly watching a movie though she’s mostly just watching Joohyun.

“Do what?” she asks.

“Stare at me,” Joohyun says.

Seulgi doesn’t reply for a long time and makes sure Joohyun’s focused on the movie again before responding.

“Can you blame me though? You’re literally the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

--

fin.

--

A/N: Hello world, ReVeLand here! I've been lurking around for ages, content with just reading, but then this plot bunny won't leave and I just had to post it. It's funny because the first draft of this story looks nothing like the finished product, only the first two scenes and Seulgi's phone call with Suzy survived lol. Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you guys enjoyed! I love Red Velvet!

--