Author's Note: Thank you everyone for your overwhelming support of this story! I've been working on this story tirelessly for over a week now, and I have most of the story written already, so was excited to get it out there to see what the responses will be like. I'm very excited that you're all excited for this story! Thank you to all of my loyal readers. It just warms my heart to see your names pop up so consistently. And welcome to new readers who are giving me a chance for the first time! I hope you enjoy this journey. 

As usual, fan fiction is a true labour of love, so any love and support in the form of upvotes, subscriptions, and comments are truly appreciated. 

Act II

It wasn’t every day that Byulyi was tasked to meet her clients’ family members, but in the quiet din of the restaurant with Kim Yongsun on her arm, it was easy to forget it was a job in the first place. Her body certainly seemed to have forgotten as her hands clammed up and the uncomfortable chill of cold sweat stuck her meticulously arranged bangs in place.

Her legs moved mechanically behind the man leading them to a secluded table, where a beautiful, petite woman with an elegant chestnut bun and a clean-shaven man with broad shoulders beamed at their approach. The woman stood, squealing as Yongsun stepped forward to meet her halfway in an enthusiastic hug. Byulyi hung back, awkwardly exchanging understanding looks with the broad-shouldered man.

“Yonggi-ah, you’re looking so good. I love your dress!” The woman gushed. “I missed you so much! How have you been? Have you lost weight? Are you hungry? How’s the firm? You’re not overworking yourself are you? Oh! And who is this?”

“Unnie,” Yongsun laughed. “Let’s sit down first. We have all evening to catch up, don’t we?”

Habit kicked in just in time for Byulyi to pull out a chair for Yongsun. The other side of the table watched her in awed silence, and she smiled her signature smile, her confidence receiving a much needed boost when Yongsun’s sister blushed.

When she took her seat, Yongsun snuck a brief pat on her knee. “Good job,” she mouthed. Byulyi smiled nervously, trying her best not to completely melt under the woman’s touch. Over and over, she recited her advice to Seulgi: treat her like a queen, even if she is not your queen.

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” she suddenly heard Yongsun say.

The man smiled. “I can say the same. Yonghee has told me nothing but good things about you.” He reached over, and lovingly rubbed Yonghee’s back. “This one is very proud of you.”

“Everyone knows about our attorney and her star-studded career,” Yonghee said, waving a hand, “What I want to know more about is this friend of yours. I was under the impression that you were finally bringing your secret lover when you said you’d be bringing a friend. I must say that I’m surprised.” Yonghee paused. “But now that I think about it, this certainly explains why you keep refusing to meet appa’s endless supply of socialite boys. No offence, Daehyun. You are a stunning example,” she added, patting him on the arm.

He laughed. “As lucky as I am, I can definitely understand why Yongsun would not pick us.”

Just then, the two waiters, a man and a woman both neatly dressed in a vest and bowtie, arrived with porcelain plates of food and a bottle of wine. “I hope you don’t mind that we ordered for you,” Daehyun said, as one of the waiters poured him a glass of wine. Addressing Byulyi with a smile, he explained, “We just landed a few hours ago, and Yonghee gets grumpy when she hasn’t eaten. You’re free to order something else, if you like. Don’t be shy.”

Byulyi looked down at the salmon on her plate, lovingly arranged on top of a bed of roasted vegetables, then cast a quick glance at Yongsun, who was already smearing a stalk of asparagus in the creamy sauce on her matching plate. “This looks wonderful,” Byulyi said, “thank you.”

“So,” Yonghee said, “tell me about you two.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Yongsun said, calmly cutting into her salmon filet, “Byulie and I are friends.” Byulyi watched the chunk of fish hit the corner of her lip, and, without thinking, put down her knife and fork.

Yonghee sipped at her glass of wine. “Mm, I always bring my friends to meet my family on important occasions. Don’t worry, Yonggi.” She cast a long glance in Byulyi’s direction, just as she was in the midst of wiping the speck of sauce off Yongsun’s cheek with her cloth napkin. “I don’t mind it one bit. You’d be hard pressed to find a better gentleman than Miss Byulyi.”

Yongsun and Byulyi exchanged a small smile.

“So,” Yonghee continued, “what do you do, Byulyi?”

Byulyi’s blood froze. Her eyes darted to Yongsun with a plea for help. “I’m, uh…”

“She’s my assistant,” Yongsun said hurriedly.

“Oh?” Yonghee’s fork and knife hovered above her plate in surprise. “Doesn’t this...cross certain boundaries?”

If only you knew, Byulyi thought. Out loud, she said, “It’s a temporary contract. I will be starting elsewhere in a few days.”

“You’re a freelancer then?” Daehyun asked.

“Something like that. I’m a writer, but I have to take short-term work to support myself.” She spoke the partial lie with ease, though her heart beat rapidly in her ears. She hadn’t thought about being a writer since she was in university, but she recalled the effect that the struggling writer image seemed to have on women once in awhile. Beside her, Yongsun’s awed expression told her she had made the right choice.

“An artist?” Yonghee said.

“What a coincidence! I’m a musician myself, and I admire those who sacrifice everything to fill the world with beauty,” Daehyun said with a comforting smile. “And you certainly have my admiration, Miss Byulyi.”

“Attractive, intelligent, and sensitive,” Yonghee said, nodding appreciatively at Yongsun. “You’ve certainly outdone yourself, Yonggi.”

The rest of the dinner continued the same way. Even when the topic had veered off, Byulyi could feel three pairs of eyes appraising her every move. As agreed, she attended to Yongsun as best as she could despite the muddled fog in her head, and Yongsun seemed too oblivious to the power she had in her little touches to care. Daehyun and Yonghee were a charming couple, but as the partial truths and deflected lies piled up, Byulyi found herself missing Daebakkie more and more.

It seemed like years later when they finally paid their bill, courtesy of Daehyun, and put their coats on. As they stood in the lobby saying their goodbyes, Byulyi hung back behind Yongsun, relieved and exhausted inside her confident shell, as she watched the sisters exchange their goodbyes.

Just as the couple began to depart, Yonghee stopped and turned to Yongsun. “Oh, before I forget,” she said, “Umma and appa are flying in next week to go over some preliminary wedding plans. We should have dinner together as a family. It’s been a while.”

Yongsun threaded her arm around Byulyi’s. “Of course! Just let me know when and I’ll clear my evening. Can I bring a date?”

Yonghee’s brows shot up, but the moment of surprise on her expression quickly dissolved into one of fondness. “I couldn’t stop you, even if I wanted to,” she said.

“That is very true,” Yongsun chuckled.

“Just know that unnie will always be behind you a hundred percent,” Yonghee said, engulfing Yongsun into a big hug. “Your oppa too, or I will beat him up.”

As the happy family laughed, Byulyi’s knees nearly went weak at the thought of spending another evening with this woman under the pretense of such an intimate relationship. Worse, though she did not want to admit it, that a real date would be spending an evening with this woman in such an intimate relationship.

Either way, she wasn’t sure she would survive.

 — 

Byulyi stormed into work the next day with a letter in hand. “Oh, unnie! Why did Seulgi have the car this morn—” She slammed the letter down in front of Wheein, who yelped in surprise, nearly dropping her clipboard.

“I’m taking three weeks off,” she declared. “I don’t care if it’s paid or not.”

“What? No. Wait!” Wheein ran around the counter, and ran after Byulyi. She clapped a hand on her wrist, and tugged her to a stop. “Unnie! Stop! Jeez, why are you being so dramatic!” she cried.

“I don’t know what you two were pulling with Yongsun last night, but I’m not going back out there,” she said with finality.

“Okay, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you can’t take three weeks off.”

“Why? I’ve never asked for a day off. I think I deserve at least a couple of weeks to pull myself together, Wheein.” She knew she was louder than she intended from the way Wheein had flinched, and she knew the poor girl was just the messenger, but there was nowhere else to place all the suppressed emotions of last night.

“Because,” Wheein took a breath, “Seulgi suddenly resigned this morning, and until we can convince her to come back, or hire a replacement, we can’t afford to lose another Valet. All her clients have to be reassigned, and there just aren’t enough people with Yuju on sick leave and Joy traipsing around America for whatever reason.” She tugged at her sleeve once more, and flashed her saddest puppy eyes, “Please, unnie. Give us some time. You can take two weeks off if you want to after we sort all of this out.”

Byulyi heaved a sigh. “Fine. Stop looking at me like that.” Wheein cheered and wrapped her arms around her in a crushing hug. “But,” Byulyi croaked, “we have to talk about Yongsun.”

—

Hyejin looked up from her computer when her door slammed open. At the sight of Byulyi in her doorway, and Wheein peeking in from behind her, she flipped her glasses off her nose and threw them onto her desk. She rubbed her eyes with a thumb and forefinger. “Well, well,” she drawled, “if I wasn’t going to kick your for yelling at my baby in the lobby, I’m sure as hell going to kick your now for putting a hole in my wall.”

“Hyejin-ah,” Wheein said from beyond the door. Her hard tone and crossed arms immediately put her fiancée at attention. “I think you owe Byulie-unnie an explanation.”

Hyejin scoffed. “I don’t know what you  mean.”

Wheein’s eyes were sharp. “Ahn Hyejin.”

It took all of a single look for Hyejin to relent. She pushed out of her chair, rounded her desk, and threw up her hands. “Alright, alright,” she said. “At least sit down. Both of you.”

Wheein closed the door, and strode across the room to throw herself into Hyejin’s high-backed leather chair while Byulyi settled herself on the couch. Hyejin turned back to give Wheein a pout, but Wheein simply pointed at Byulyi in response.

“Ugh, okay, so I messed with your schedule,” Hyejin said finally.

“Without my knowledge,” Wheein added.

“She requested a man,” Byulyi said, furrowing her brows. “So why? Also she called you Hyejinie. What the hell?”

“She what?” Wheein cried, bolting forward in her chair.

“Okay, relax,” Hyejin said, casting a nervous glance at her glaring fiancée. “Everybody calm the   down and let me explain.”

“Yes, please explain why another woman is calling you Hyejinie behind my back,” Wheein said, gripping the armrest with white knuckles. “And it better be a good explanation, Ahn Hyejin. A very good explanation.”

“Okay, first of all, I love this jealous side of you. It’s so hot.” Byulyi rolled her eyes. Wheein’s glare was unwavering. “Second of all, Yongsun is like a sister to me. You know that. She heard you say it on the phone once, while we were at a business luncheon and she just picked it up to tease me. And last of all,” Hyejin paused to swing over her desk in spite of her short skirt, and kneeled down, almost entirely out of Byulyi’s view as she covered her hands over both of Wheein’s, “Most importantly of all...I love you, Jung Wheein, so please don’t kill me.”

Wheein sighed and cursed the way the powerful woman used her vulnerable side to tug at her heart. “Fine.”  Hyejin cheered and planted a kiss on her knee before standing up to wrap her arms around Wheein’s shoulders. “But I’m watching you,” Wheein warned.

“You can watch me whenever you want,” Hyejin growled into her ear. Wheein giggled, and playfully slapped her across her shoulder.

“Ugh, I’m still here, you know,” Byulyi said, running her hand down her face. “If you’re done with this cheesy drama, can someone please explain why Hyejin decided to set me up?”

“You don’t have to make it sound that bad,” Hyejin said. She draped her arm over the back of her chair, her free hand absentmindedly playing with Wheein’s hair. “Yongsun’s owns half of our partner resort, but the co-owner, her sister, isn’t really interested in it. We met while we were discussing the partnership, as you might imagine, and we remained friends. She’s kind of in the closet with her parents, but she’s not exactly low profile.”

Byulyi crossed her arms. “So I’ve noticed.”

Waving her off, Hyejin continued: “When she reached out to me a few weeks ago about her sister’s wedding, she requested a guy to help her with her charade.”

“Right.”

“Honestly, I thought you two were just going to meet, then you’d get sent back, and I’d send Chandong out or something.”

“Okay, but why do you want us to meet so badly?” Byulyi cried in exasperation.

Hyejin blinked. “Because I thought you’d look cute together.”

Silence.

“I’m serious, Hyejin.”

“Me too,” Hyejin replied, matching her blank stare. “There really isn’t anything else to it.”

“And you knew...you knew that she needed a date to meet her sister?”

“Well, yeah. I knew you’d go above and beyond, unnie,” Hyejin said with a grin. “I’m glad you didn’t disappoint. Yongsun texted me this morning to thank me. Seems like she had a really good time. Her sister liked you too. Isn’t that great? This is why you’re our star Valet.”

But Hyejin’s words washed right over Byulyi as the emotion began to build. The more she thought, the more ridiculous it all seemed, and the angrier she felt. “You..” she said slowly, “you...you breached our client’s trust and you threw me to the dogs because we look cute together?”

“That’s not a very nice way to put it,” Hyejin said, crossing her arms. “And I don’t understand why you’re so worked up over this. It went well, didn’t it?”

Hyejin went on until Wheein pulled on her arm and shook her head. Byulyi, glaring hard at the ground, had been silent for several minutes now.

“Unnie,” Wheein tried, “I think what Hyejin is trying to say is that we’ve just been worried about you. We know you haven’t been meeting anyone outside of work anymore, and it’s...getting a little tangled up. Your private and personal life. Don’t take this the wrong way, but sometimes...you look a little lonely.”

“Wheein’s right,” Hyejin relented with a sigh, “this job is hurting your personal life. I know we joked about you hiring a plus one for our wedding, but you really shouldn’t have to do that. You deserve someone who treats you like you treat your clients. For free. And, uh, I’m sorry about Yongsun. She’s a bit strange, but she’s really sweet once you get to know her.”

“I think…” Byulyi said, holding her forehead, “she wants me to meet her parents.”

Her best friends exchanged a look. “She did mention that she might need to reserve multiple sessions,” Hyejin said.

“I-I can’t. I don’t want to lie again. My job description is to cater to the emotional needs of women, not pretend I’m in a forbidden romantic relationship with them and meet their parents.”

“You’ve helped clients come out in the past,” Hyejin said matter-of-factly. “You’ll be fine.”

“Yes, but it was clear that I was there as emotional support. We’ve always, always steered clear of romance. You’re the one who said that we can’t let clients close, because breaking the illusion would be so devastating and now I don’t even know what the illusion is anymore. These feelings are getting so complicated, and I don’t want to go, but I don’t want anyone else to go either. This is so ed up, Hyejin, WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?”  Byulyi was standing by the end, her voice carrying loudly across the room as she waved her arms about. Her friends, unsure how to respond to the outburst, could only watch as she stomped out of the office.

“Wow,” Hyejin breathed, “she’s in deep.”

Wheein punched her lightly in the thigh. “You better fix this.”

—

Ever the professional, Byulyi still went to work. She had a single client on her schedule the next day, and was relieved that everything went smoothly. The girl, heartbroken when she showed up, lit up the room by the time she left. Byulyi had cooked dinner and danced with her in the living room, but even when the girl gazed up at her with admiring eyes, she felt only the clean-cut satisfaction in seeing her client smile. By the time she left, reality shifted neatly back into place, and she thought about her client no more.

So why was she, after an entire twenty-four hours, still thinking about Yongsun?

She went into work the next day, then the day after that. Every day, until the moment she held her schedule in her hands, she was pulled apart by the conflict between dread and anticipation as she waited for Yongsun’s name on the piece of paper to her heart out into the cold. She ran so many scenarios in her head that she didn’t know what to expect anymore, and, torn between the fear and desire to see her again, she decided it was best to try and forget her entirely.

When her schedule remained unchanged four days later, she was convinced that Yongsun had changed her mind too. This realization brought a whole new world of warring emotions. 

Six days after meeting Yongsun, she ran into Seulgi at a cafe. She hardly recognized the girl in her T-shirt and jeans, but there she was, lounging under a large umbrella on the patio looking like she had all the time in the world.

Byulyi stopped at her table before she could stop herself. “Seulgi?”

Seulgi shot up from her chair, knocking it over and scaring the patron behind her. She whipped around, bowing over and over with hurried apologies. Byulyi had to laugh at the familiar scene.

Once the dust settled, she invited herself to take the empty seat across from the quivering Seulgi. “How are you, Seul?” She asked.

Seulgi’s eyes darted to the line forming out of the cafe. “Um, good?”

“That’s good.” Byulyi nodded. She sipped at her iced coffee and allowed the silence to foster Seulgi’s discomfort.

“How...how are things...with you?”

“Not bad,” Byulyi replied. “We've been having a hard time since you left but, this is life isn't it?” Seulgi blushed and mumbled an apology. “It's fine,” Byulyi continued. “Honestly, I think I’m beginning to understand why you left.”

“Y-you do? You’re not here to convince me to go back?”

“Nope, but I want to hear it from you. It was so sudden and unexpected. And you've always loved your job, haven't you? You're a natural cheerleader for women everywhere. So why would you leave? Was it the money?”

Seulgi looked down at the empty space in front of her and shook her head. “I did love the job,” she confessed, “believe me, it was sudden for me too. You wake up every morning expecting the same things. You never wake up and expect life to twist it all up and mess with you. I don’t know...I wasn't sure I wanted to leave, but at the same time...I couldn't imagine doing it another day.”

“What do you mean?” Byulyi asked.

“I guess we have you to thank for that.”

Byulyi whipped her head up at the new voice from behind Seulgi. “Miss Bae,” she gasped.

Irene smiled. “Hello again, Byul.” She placed two drinks down on the table, then leaned over to give Seulgi’s bright red cheeks a quick kiss before pulling over a third chair to join them.

Seulgi’s eyes flicked up to meet Byulyi’s surprised expression, then ducked her head, her face glowing redder by the moment.

“So Irene was the reason you quit,” Byulyi breathed, leaning back in her chair with a whistle.

“I guess you can say that…” Seulgi said, biting her lip. Then she looked up and gave Irene a wide smile, “but Joohyun is really, really important to me, and I don’t regret it one bit!”

“That's a big move, Seulgi.” Byulyi shook her head. “How long have you known each other?”

Irene smiled at the pure affection radiating across Seulgi’s face as she poked her straw around her drink. Her answer came, calm and cool. “You introduced us, remember?”

“Right…” Byulyi mumbled. She sipped her drink as she glanced between Irene and Seulgi. While one was as inscrutable as ever, the other seemed ready to combust despite all the frozen coffee she was inhaling. Irene rubbed Seugi’s shoulder, and whispered for her to slow down.

Then it dawned on her. “Wait a minute, this can't be right,” Byulyi said, straightening forward. “That means you met…”

“Almost a week ago, yes,” Irene said. "Perhaps we should celebrate."

“But Seulgi…” The girl coughed fiercely at the sound of her name and the implication in Byulyi’s voice. Irene sighed, and soothed her back. “...quit the next day,” Byulyi finished.

“Yes,” Irene said. She lifted a napkin up to Seulgi’s lips. “I was actually against her decision, but Seulgi can be a bit of a dumb bear.” She paused her loving gesture to give Seulgi a sweet smile. “But she's earnest, if nothing else. And I would be lying if I said it didn't make me happy.”

“I guess you didn't return the Aston Martin right away, then?” Byulyi said with a half-hearted smirk.

“I…” Seulgi reached up and held Irene’s hand as she lowered it from her face. They were so lost in each other’s eyes that, once again, Byulyi found herself a million miles away, from the outside looking in on the lovers’ display. “No,” Seulgi replied in a small voice. “I didn't. I...didn't want to leave her.”

“To quit your job for a stranger you just met...that's just...incredible, Seul. How did you...how did you know?”

Seulgi cocked her head. “How do I know what?”

Byulyi waved her hand about vaguely. “How did you know that...I don't know, it'd work out?”

“Like…between us?” Seulgi asked, wagging a finger between herself and Irene.

“Everything.”

Seulgi shrugged. “You can't know these things. It sounds crazy, but when I saw her,” she paused to give Irene’s hand a squeeze and a shy smile to go with it, “everything else just felt right. Besides, now I have more time to focus on the stuff I really love! Other than Joohyun, of course. So I guess...it’s not so crazy, after all?”

—  

Byulyi shuffled into her apartment that night with Seulgi and Irene rolling around her head. Seulgi’s straightforward personality haunted her as she threw herself on the couch. Perhaps that was the secret to her fearlessness.

She heard the quick padding of Daebakkie’s feet as he crossed the room and leapt onto her lap. “Daebakkie,” she mumbled into his fur, “Would you still love me if I wasn't a Valet? I'd have no money to feed you, but we can go for walks all the time. But even you would get tired of me eventually, wouldn’t you?”

She wondered whether Seulgi had ever lied in her life, whether she ever had to wear a mask to be the perfect Valet her client wanted to see. And Irene. Would she have asked her to quit eventually? Could she be with her if Seulgi didn’t quit? What an odd pair, Byulyi thought with a sigh, but somehow perfect. If she were to be as genuine as Seulgi, would she be able to get the girl too? Yongsun’s face flashed behind her eyes for a moment, but she quickly shook her head. There was nothing beneath the uniform, her suit of armour, and nothing certainly wouldn't be enough for a woman like Yongsun.

Daebakkie wagged his tail and her face, oblivious to the woes of his master.