Irene tried her best to concentrate in class this time, only because she needed a distraction from the girl who sat right behind of her. The teacher’s even shocked by Seulgi’s level of respect today. It’s a rare sight, so the teacher is taking full advantage of the situation right now and trying to teach as much as possible. Even though Seulgi’s trying her best and succeeding overall, she still can’t help but steal a glance of Irene every now and then. It’s as if it’s an instinct for her now.

“Seulgi, can you answer this question please?”

Seulgi looked at the teacher then at the question he was pointing at. Lucky, she thought to herself. It’s something she understood. She nodded and walked up to the board. She took a piece of chalk and started to write down her working out for the equation. After she finished, she paused and scanned her answer to make sure everything made sense then placed the chalk down and looked at the teacher. The teacher was beaming with joy as a smile was given to Seulgi. “Correct, see you can do it if you put your mind to it”

“Thanks” Seulgi went back to her seat and on the way back she glanced at Irene. The girl wasn’t even looking up, it seemed as if Irene was just spacing out at her notebook. Seulgi gave a worried expression before seating down.

“Irene, answer this” the teacher picked on Joohyun this time.

Joohyun looked up and seemed confused for a second but recovered so fast, Seulgi doubted that many people noticed. “Sure” She said as she stood up and walked up to the front. She took the same chalk that Seulgi used and gave a quiet sigh before writing. Seulgi wasn’t sure if anyone else heard the sigh or not but it was very clear for her. Irene wrote her answer slower than usual but no one was bothered by it. She put the chalk down and stared at the blackboard. “I’m done,” she said softly.

The teacher took a look. “Good, take a seat”

Irene paced herself back as she maneuvered through the rows of tables and chairs, trying not to knock anyone’s bags. She looked at Seulgi quickly before sitting down. Seulgi caught that glance. It was different. Seulgi stared at the girl’s back and heaved a sigh. She wanted to tap the girl’s shoulders, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. She wanted to talk to the girl but stopped herself. Instead, she sat obediently and listened to class.

“So, we’ll move onto the next topic now” the teacher began.



 

~

“Let’s skip the rest of school,” Wendy said out of the blue.

“What?” Seulgi asked surprised. “Why?”

Wendy shrugged. “Joy’s away today and you seem bothered by something. So, why not skip and just play for a bit” she smiled. “It might cheer you up”

Seulgi just chuckled. “You’re always so caring aren’t you?” she said. “I guess we could” Seulgi agreed and just like that Wendy grabbed the girl’s wrist and dragged her away.

“Let’s go from the back,” Wendy suggested.

“Sure” Seulgi nodded. Now, that she thought about it, Wendy’s always being there for her since they were young. It was intimidating at first in elementary school though, because Wendy was the daughter of the founder of Empire Hotels. One of the leading hotel chains from Korea but then again, now Seulgi’s tied up with the eldest daughter of Lee Corporations. The biggest financial body of Korea and the place her father works for. Maybe it was her fate to be surrounded by such high-class people.

“Let’s go to the karaoke first” Wendy was all pumped up for the afternoon. “I haven’t gone for ages”

“Sure, just don’t go to the fancy ones,” Seulgi said with a faint smile.

“No worries, my treat” Wendy stated casually. “You just sit back and enjoy”

“That’s not—” she was cut off before she could finish.

“Don’t worry about it” Wendy said. She knew Seulgi was going to reject the offer of being treated but it really isn’t much. Wendy wanted to treat her today, after so long. “Just relax for today, okay?”

Wendy’s voice calmed Seulgi; it was the voice that cheered her up since childhood, the voice that encouraged her during hard times,