This one is for sheepsleeepy, who is the sole owner of this idea hehe.
Don't ask questions, it's short & not believable but hopefully entertaining enough.

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Seulgi hugged Moonbyul tightly, “hi! How are you?”

Moonbyul pulled back, her eye somewhere over Seulgi’s shoulder, as if she was looking for something. Someone. Seulgi knew for who, “don’t even ask. Irene opted out again.”

“You know, I am starting to think this Irene friend of yours, is imaginary,” Moonbyul grinned. She sat down and slid a pint of beer over the table towards Seulgi. “I’ve taken the liberty to order you some beer already. Also because the waiter seemed to be getting a bit pissed I wasn’t ordering and merely hogging a table at such a busy time…”

Seulgi chuckled, also taking a seat at the same table. The bar was indeed packed. Not surprising, on a Friday evening. “Thanks. And don’t even start. I think Irene hasn’t left her house in years now probably.“

“Sounds like she’s one of those ‘work first’ people. I have a similar friend. Although I usually don’t give her a choice in the matter, and just drop by her place unannounced.”

Seulgi pulled a face before finally taking a sip, “honestly, Irene would probably kill me. With a knife. Stabbing me at least ten times or something.”

“That sounds extreme.”

Seulgi shrugged, “not really. The last girlfriend she had? She saw her probably twice a month or something. Irene doesn’t care for any social interactions.”

“Oh, she’s gay?”

Seulgi held up her hands, “let me stop you there. You are too spontaneous and nonchalant for her. If she’d stab me ten times, you’d receive the full twenty.”

Moonbyul planted a hand over her heart, “I’ll try not to take that as an insult,” her face was appalled, but Seulgi knew her well enough to know she was playing her, “but I wasn’t talking about me. That friend of mine I mentioned? She’s also gay.”

Seulgi couldn’t help but chuckle, enjoying the cold of the glass against her palm. It was getting a bit too hot outside these days for her, “gosh. Imagine two of those together…”

“Hey, it might actually work. They’ll vent about their annoying friends and their busy work-life and that nobody understands them, blah, blah.” Moonbyul’s hands were acting out the scene vividly and Seulgi couldn’t help but chuckle, taking a big gulp of the beer that was less cool than she had hoped already.

“Or, they’ll both agree dating is a waste of time and leave after a single minute,” Seulgi scoffed. Her scenario was definitely more believable. Moonbyul didn’t know Irene. Honestly, Seulgi loved her friend, but sometimes Irene really drove her absolutely crazy. It was like she just didn’t know how to enjoy life. And when she’d berate Seulgi for doing exactly that? It drove her up the damn walls. She took another gulp of beer, enjoying herself even more now just to spite the Irene in her head.

“You wanna bet?”

Seulgi frowned, her smile turning incredulous, “are you actually serious? Please, tell me you aren’t.”

Moonbyul’s signature toothy grin appeared once more. One that showed she was definitely serious. “And why not? Worst case – it’s a good laugh for us. Best case, they find a kindred spirit in each other.”

Seulgi rose her eyebrows, “well, you sound so confident that I already know your friend is less bad than mine. There’s no way I will be able to convince Irene to go on a date. Ever.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“No.”

Seulgi knew it. She had known this would happen. How she had let Moonbyul talk her into this, she didn’t know. After one beer, on top of that.

“Come on. You’ve stood me up so many times by now, that you owe me this at least.”

Irene looked up from the desk on which she had been marking a piece of fabric for the past twenty minutes, “Owe you?” She scoffed, actually chuckling before looking back down at her work. “You know I don’t like going out. It’s not my fault you keep on inviting me.”

“You said you’d come.”

“I said maybe.”

Seulgi groaned, dropping down in Irene’s overpriced couch. Her apartment was fabulous. On the twelfth floor with an amazing view over the city. Irene was a CEO. For a small company. With only two other employees. Because Irene liked to do everything herself. Which left her no time for anything else. Anything fun.

“Look, how long has it been since you’ve been on a date?”

Irene didn’t respond. Not surprising. Seulgi knew she hated this topic. “Almost four years?” she prodded again.

Finally there was a sigh and Irene dropped her tools on the table altogether. “I’m just not made to be in a relationship.”

“OR, maybe you’ve dated the wrong people.”

Irene was clearly clenching her jaw. She ran a hand through her long, dark brown hair, making it fall even more beautifully over her shoulders. Her outfit was on point as always. Probably the norm for a fashion designer. Nonetheless, now that Seulgi thought about it, she had never seen the woman wear anything less fancy even in her home. Something comfortable, like normal people would do. Irene didn’t own a single pair of joggings. It was the stuff of nightmares to Seulgi.

“What makes you so convinced it will be different this time?”

Oh? That was unexpected? Seulgi immediately sat up straight, “she’s a friend of Moonbyul’s. Apparently she’s very similar to you. She’s a lawyer and caught up in her work, giving her very little time for a social life.”

Irene rolled her eyes, “oh, just because she’s a hermit you’re setting me up with her?”

Seulgi groaned, knowing fully well that anything she said would be interpreted in a wrong way, “come on. Don’t be like that. What do you have to lose?”

Irene crossed her arms, already looking uncomfortable at the mere prospect of having to go out on a date, “my precious time…”

“Well, what if I don’t try to convince you to go on a social outing with me for the next three months? That will save you some time in turn.”

Irene groaned, getting back to work with a heavy sigh. Seulgi was sure that was the last of it.

“Fine. When and where? An hour. That’s it.”

Seulgi felt her heart stop for a solid second. Did Irene just agree to go on a date?! “Oh my God! I mean, yes! Of course! Just be yourself, Irene. It will be fine.”

A grunt in response.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Oh my God, are you serious? It’s been so long since I’ve been on a date I don’t even know how to do that anymore. Who is she? What does she do? Do you have a picture?” Solar was like a squirrel on caffeine, the mere mention of a date apparently enough to have adrenaline rushing through her veins.

“Geez, calm down woman! Her name is Irene and she’s a CEO. I don’t have a picture, but my friend tells me she’s one of the most gorgeous women anybody has ever seen,” although Moonbyul was sure Seulgi was overselling here.

Nonetheless, it seemed to do the trick for Solar, whose hands came up to , “what should I wear? I need to make a good impression. Should I wear one of my usual work suits?”

Moonbyul frowned, “are you crazy? Wear something fresh and pretty. Just… make an extra effort. Don’t just be your usual self, okay? You have to sell yourself a bit on first dates.”

“Okay, okay… It’s pretty warm these days. I should wear a summer dress, right?”

She seemed to be talking mostly to herself. She was such a mess. Moonbyul moved over, planting her hands upon Solar’s upper arms. “Calm down, Solar. It’s just a date. Start by making some small talk. Ask questions. People always love it when you take an interest in them.”

“I at small talk.” Solar pouted.

“Just go in with a few topics in mind. Be enthusiastic about everything she says or does. It will be fine.” Moonbyul didn’t know whether it would be fine. But she knew it’d be good for Solar either way to be out again. Honestly, Moonbyul wished she could send along a camera or something. From what Seulgi had told her about Irene, this was going to be absolutely hi-la-rious.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Of course, Solar was nervous. It had been ages since she had been on a date. And honestly, she was such an awkward potato that the last ones she had had, had been an absolute nightmare! Probably the reason for her long break. Now, if Moonbyul had set her up with someone, how bad could it be, really? She trusted her friend. And honestly, sometimes she did feel quite lonely. It would be nice to have someone around. She secretly had been craving it.

That was the other issue, of course. She was always busy with her job. She didn’t have time to get to know someone. And even if she did, she had no time to meet up with them regularly. It was a hard no-go for pretty much everybody. But this woman, a CEO, might be able to understand, right?

A slight huff of wind passed by. It was good. The weather had been too hot for her lately. Solar placed a hand upon her straw hat, making sure it wouldn’t fly off. What a first impression would that be? Very typically her. But not today. Today she would be collected and she would show the best side of herself. Even if she had to damn well force it out!

She ran her hands over her white dress. It was of a light fabric and it tickled her legs slightly. Or maybe that was just because she couldn’t stop bouncing her right leg nervously as she waited. Their meeting spot was at a specific place next to the museum. Solar wasn’t that much of a fan of museums usually, often finding it a waste of time. But she assumed it must have been Irene’s idea? So she’d go with it. More than that, she’d pretend to adore it.

Her fingers kept on playing with the ends of her long, blonde hair, holding her breath with every woman she saw coming towards her… before walking past eventually. It was nerve-wrecking!

It didn’t help when the person walking towards her, not changing course eventually but actually making eye-contact, was probably the most gorgeous person Solar had seen in her whole life. She had taken Moonbyul’s words with a grain of salt but… she officially stood corrected. And just like that, her nerves were sky-rocketing.

The woman was wearing an outfit similar to what Solar would wear for her job on a daily basis, only a tad more sophisticated and classy. Her black dress-pants were up to her middle, finished off with an elegant belt. The buckle was quite big, but made out of thin and elegantly curving gold. Making it pop, but without being over the top. Her shirt was white, with two linens dangling down on either side of her neck. They swayed playfully in the wind, along with the woman’s long, dark hair.

Solar felt herself panic as the woman kept on moving closer. She felt as if her jaw didn’t want to move down to open anymore. So she waited. Until the woman was right in front of her. The tiniest bit smaller than she was. Barely noticeable. Her complexion was pretty pale and absolutely spotless. Solar was left in awe.

“Hi. I’m Irene. I’m presuming you are Solar?”

Right. Be enthusiastic. Solar took in a deep breath. “Hi! Yes, that’s me! So lovely to meet you. I have been looking forward to this. You look so beautiful. I love your outfit, wow!”

The woman seemed a little bit overwhelmed by the stream of words, eventually she smiled though. “Thank you.” It was all she said. . Had she come on too strong?

“Shall we go inside?” Solar eventually managed to spit out after an awkward silence followed. Irene nodded. So maybe that was a plus, at least. In a museum, they could at least walk and discuss art. It wasn’t like forcefully having to stare at each other over a drink.

“So, I hear you’re a CEO?” Solar attempted to start up a conversation as they walked towards the entrance.

“Yes,” for a moment Solar was afraid she’d leave it at that, “I have my own fashion brand.”

“Ooooh, that’s so amazing,” Solar let out enthusiastically. “I noticed your belt before. I love it. Did you design it?”

“Yes,” came the short response once more.

“Wow, you are so talented,” Solar meant it, of course. But she couldn’t help but feel self-conscious at the tension in the air. And not the good kind.

Silence pushed down heavily upon them again and Solar was glad she could at least push their tickets into the machine to get inside. To have at least something to do and use her hands for.

Eventually, the woman cleared , “what about you?”

“Oh, I am a lawyer.”

“Oh,” Irene’s only response followed. What the hell? Oh? What did that mean? This was the moment where one would either politely be enthusiastic or at least ask more questions to keep the conversation going. Solar gave Irene time, but nothing of the kind followed.

They followed the people in front of them in silence, until they entered the first showroom. Contemporary art. Just her luck. Solar was so not a fan of that. Most of it in any case. And that definitely included the paintings showcased here. They looked like somebody had just spilled buckets of paint on the canvas