Kang Seulgi is lost.

Or at least, she’s starting to think that she is. But in a place as massive as the one she’s standing at right now, it isn’t so far off. Not with her tendency to wander in the worst possible moments.

Seulgi looks up at the ceiling, searching for any sign to tell her which hall she has just walked into. But there’s nothing but countless banners of the same sign hanging from thin nylon ropes, and absolutely nothing to tell her where she is exactly.

She brings her gaze back down, feeling her phone vibrate in her hand. And when she reads it, she can’t stop the grin that spreads on her lips.

My Kate Kane ❤️ [1:03 PM]

Where are you? I miss you so much. :(

That’s unfortunately the problem, because Kang Seulgi absolutely has no idea.

She fires a reply. I think I’m lost. :/ And I miss you too!!!!!!!!! Three weeks, babe. THREE. -_-

And chuckles at the bunch of messages she next gets.

My Kate Kane ❤️ [1:03 PM]

Omg YOU WOULD

And, I know! Our schedules keep on overlapping. :’(

Baby, it’s starting. :( See you in an hour or two? I hope.

She sends a YOU BETTER!!!!!!!!!!! Love you! Knock ‘em dead! But, you know, not literally. before locking her phone and tucking it back into her pocket.

Seulgi scans the expanse filled with throngs of people milling around. Some of them wizards, some storm troopers. She swears she even saw Hermione Granger walk by, animatedly talking to Rey who was gesturing at her lightsaber.

But most of them are superheroes.

Not far from her left, she sees Doctor Strange flick her cape back, pretending to be Dracula to make a little Super Girl laugh. Seulgi can’t help but laugh, too, at the face Doctor Strange makes—cross-eyed and her tongue lolling out.

Passing by on her right is a gaggle of teenage heroes, flashing their multitude of colored clothes ever so proudly. Seulgi sees two Wonder Womans giggling at each other, as one points at a skewed wing on the tall, lanky Thor’s helmet.

“That’s like, the fifth time, Jamal.” Seulgi overhears the same Wonder Woman say.

(And he is tall. He’s almost twice as Wendy’s size, and then some. And if Wendy was here, Seulgi’s sure she’d marvel.)

The other girl grins at him before saying, “It’s coz he’s so tall. He bumps into everything.”

Jamal can only scratch at his cheek shyly.

They stop a good five steps away from where Seulgi has been watching them—she’s in a yellow hoodie with the hood up and primped to hide her face, so no one has really noticed her yet—with the same grinning girl asking Jamal to bend down a little so that she can fix it.

Seulgi finds herself grinning too as he murmured his flustered thanks, and Wonder Woman simply just grabs his hand to lead the way.

Her eyes trail the group until they disappear into the crowd. Though, her heart swells when her gaze lands into a family of Captain Americas. The two kids seem to be twins, with their eyes almost similar to Seulgi’s. They didn’t inherit their mothers’ pale skins. Nor their long blonde and mid-length ash blonde hair, as the two young girls’ hair are both black. But their moms look at them like they’re the best thing to walk into their world, and that’s what gets Seulgi most.

It’s not even their costumes, or everyone else’s who are wearing the same; nor the fact that Seulgi wears it too on occasion. Seulgi just genuinely loves the overall good feeling this particular season brings.

She’s almost tempted to approach the family, but then there’s a hiss, and she hears a voice whisper, “Yah, Kang Seulgi! Where have you been?!”

Seulgi turns around, finding a harried Wendy behind her. Her hair is lightly tousled, though Seulgi isn’t really sure if it’s been windswept or, well, something else.

Something else being the woman Wendy has in tow, who Seulgi waves hi to before shrugging at Wendy. “I was… walking around.”

“I have no idea how you got past Steve and his guys,” Wendy tells her. “But they’ve been looking for you everywhere. We’re on in like, ten minutes.”

Seulgi can only smirk at her, all smug and teasing, and her jaw sets in that way superheroes’ do. (And Wendy has to roll her eyes, because, God, she really is perfect for it.)

“Listen, you don’t play a super soldier without picking up a trick or two.”

.

It’s really in their luck that someone’s bound to find out, recognize them, and scream at the top of their lungs, thus giving away their spot. (And there goes Seulgi’s half-assed attempt of going incognito.)

Seulgi expects the worst to happen—it’s not the first time she’s been swarmed by excited fans; being the first Asian to fill in Captain America’s shoes has its price after all—but the bustle around them doesn’t really stop like she thought it will. It simply lessens, as people start approaching them in couples and in groups, but they respectfully maintain a certain distance, enough to give her and Wendy room to move freely.

Seulgi beams upon finding the twins she has been watching earlier. She kneels down and stretches her arms wide, beckoning them to step closer for a quick hug. They come running, squealing and giggling right on Seulgi’s face, but she doesn’t mind that it hurt her ears or that their sloppy kisses slobbers her cheeks. These kinds of moments are Seulgi’s favorite.

Wendy’s faring the same, currently being squished into a tight hug by an eight year old girl who’s starting to cry. She pouts and awwws as she wipes the little girl’s tears away, grinning at the gushing that pours out of the little girl’s heart.

“You’re—you’re my idol!” The little girl says in between her sniffling. Wendy smiles at her fondly, and reaches down to fix her plastic Thor helmet back into place. “I’m going to be just like you when I grow up.”

“Thank you,” the older woman replies. “That really means a lot to me. And no.” She taps the tip of her nose. “You’ll be ten times better.”

Wendy hugs her one more time before sending her back to her mom. A little boy approaches her next, asking for her autograph, and she feels the enthusiasm on her spine; the same kind that has been coursing through Seulgi’s veins since she first set foot inside the San Diego Convention Center.

Seulgi, for her part, has struck a conversation with a couple of teenagers. They’re not wearing any costumes since they’re aspiring comic artists and their main purpose is to showcase their works, and that piques Seulgi’s interest right away, being into art too.

It’s all good, and happy, and fun, being surrounded by such dedicated fans, that both Seulgi and Wendy almost feel bad when Steve and his guys finally find them, swooping in to politely disperse the crowd and them to Hall H.

Wendy insists on taking a picture to preserve such a precious moment, and tells everyone to gather around as Eunji, the woman she’s come with earlier—her rumored (but a hundred percent true) singer-slash-actress girlfriend—holds her phone out and immortalizes their first fan encounter on their first comic con experience.

…

It goes up on Eunji’s official instagram account, creating more buzz in the paparazzi that have long been chasing the truth between her and Wendy, and endearing both fans and non-fans’ hearts as they stare at the grins on everyone’s faces.

...

(On their way to Hall H, Seulgi comes across with Jamal’s group again. And she was right.

Wendy marvels and gapes at his tall form, while he’s adorably reduced to a blubbering mess when Wendy says, “Are you sure you shouldn’t be playing my role, because… really.”)

…

To say that Ballroom 20 is packed is quite an understatement. Irene doesn’t really have a word for it, an exact term to describe the sea of adoring people watching them that extends far back, past where her eyes can see.

(She’s quite sure that if one more body is squeezed in, the walls will crumble and the ceiling will cave in on them.)

But her heart is even fuller, bursting to the seams, because she never really dreamed of being at the receiving end of such profound support, and yet, here she is.

Here, sitting in a row full of women; from the cast, down to the screenwriter, the producer and the director present, and Irene is just really, really proud of that.

Their new Justice League movie has just premiered a week ago, but it already has garnered a lot of praises and tons of good feedback just for the casting decisions alone. They boast an all female Justice League lineup, and majority of their staff, crew and stunt people are all women.

Add that to the well-thought out storyline and impressive character development that their writers have managed to fit into the movie—one running for about two hours and a half—no one really wonders why it hit Box Office status in record time.

Irene remembers picking up a call from the love of her life after the news broke out, remembers sobbing happy tears on her phone and wishing that she was on the other side of the world because she really, really needed a hug. It felt like a dream; it still does, if she’s being honest.

They’re well into the panel with the discussions rolling since almost an hour ago. The questions come steadily, and Irene finds herself having the best time in answering ones that are addressed to her.

(No one asks her about her diet regimen, or how she maintains such a clear skin, or anything superficial that just focuses on her appearance.

And this is why Irene loves comic con season.)

She keenly listens to Joy as the taller woman gives her answer about what her favorite part is in playing Wonder Woman.

“The inspiration my character gives, definitely,” Joy says. She gestures with her free hand, fingers going up one by one as she starts listing down. “I’ve got all sorts of people coming up to me and telling me that they’re glad that I’m a woman, that I’m Asian, that my character here is canonically biual. Honestly, it’s an honor.”

Irene nods in agreement with Joy’s words, clapping too, and laughing at the hoots and whistles the audience showers Joy with.

Another fan walks up to the mic, addressing Irene who grins and waves at her in greeting. The fan’s knees feel weak, evident in the way her voice shakes when she asks, “What was the first thing you thought when you got the script and saw that they’re putting Batwoman in the movie instead of Batman?”

“Honestly?” Irene starts to say, “I thought it was about time. I know that she’s not a part of it in the comics, and that she has her own thing. But DC’s cinematic world is way different from the comics, and including Batwoman in the movie gives her a chance to inspire a lot of girls and a lot of women out there, much like how Wonder Woman did. So, really, it’s about damn time, and I can’t be more thankful that I’m part of it.”

The audience bursts into a loud applause, the effect doubled because Irene has never been known as one to swear. It’s so loud that the emcee has to ask them to settle down, before thanking her for giving such an eloquent answer.

It takes a short while for them to quiet down and allow another question to be aired. It’s for her co-star, Jessie, who plays the female version of Superman.

Irene is just turning off her mic to give way for Jessie’s answer when she feels a soft nudge on her side. She startles a little, and then glares at a giggling Joy. “What?”

Joy’s nostrils flare as she stifles a laugh. “Have you seen Eunji’s IG post?”

“No,” Irene replies, shaking her head. She hasn’t had the chance to check her phone again once she has taken her seat behind the panel’s long table. “What about it?”

The other woman leans close, extending a hand to show Irene her phone. There, pulled up on her Instagram app, is the photo Eunji took earlier. And Irene has to press her lips together to stop a huge grin (that almost automatically takes over her face whenever her girlfriend of two years is involved) from breaking out.

But Irene practically melts on the spot as she stares at the genuine delight written all over her girlfriend’s face, and the sparkle in her eyes that shines through the still picture. “Oh God, Seulgi-yah looks so adorable.”

Joy looks at her with nothing but pure amusement. “Should I go grab a pot before you turn into a puddle or…”

Irene playfully shoves the other woman away in retaliation. It doesn’t really catch the emcee’s attention, but Joy’s ensuing cackle reverberates inside the entire hall, making everyone curious.

Lindsey, their Aquawoman, leans towards her mic, and then turns to both Irene and Joy with a teasing grin. “Do we want to know?”

Irene shakes her hands no animatedly, mouthing it’s nothing. But Joy isn’t Joy if she doesn’t take this chance to fluster her co-star a little bit.

So she bends towards the mic in front of her before Irene can even switch it off, speaking on it gleefully, “Oh you’d want to. I think everyone would want to.”

The audience laughs at the teasing, while Irene continues to protest. She even pulls Joy’s hands back by her elbows, as the taller woman gestures at one of the tech guys to plug her phone in on the projector.

“Oh my God,” Irene groans in embarrassment, unable to watch the tech guy take Joy’s phone away.

Nothing has really happened yet, but the flush already grows on her cheeks, spreading all over her face and down to her neck. She helplessly buries her face in her hands, trying to hide the redness that has climbed up to the tips of her ears. And it only gets worse when the room erupts into loud cheers that almost blows the concrete roof away.

Despite her own warning, Irene twists around and peeks through the spaces she makes in between her fingers. Right there, on the huge screen (that was earlier playing their official trailer), is Eunji’s Instagram post, blown up and out for everyone to see.

The cheers morph into good-natured jeering when the tech guy zooms in on the photo to bring Seulgi and Wendy’ faces up and make them clearer. Irene laughs into the hand now cupping over , and then starts hitting Joy repeatedly as she’s facing her.

(And just because she can. Besides, she’s the culprit.)

“No wonder she’s wriggling on her seat like someone set it on fire,” Lindsey quips. She waggles her eyebrows at the crowd before tilting her head to point at the photo. “I mean, who wouldn’t.”

“For the record,” Candice, their lady Flash joins in. “I’m completely straight, but I still would.”

The crowd grows loud again, agreeing and cheering at Candice’s statement. Irene gives in into the feeling of embarrassment that she has long lost against, and ultimately decides to just play along. “That happens all the time, trust me.”

“Which one? The seat wriggling, or straight girls going spaghetti?” Lindsey asks with a cheeky smirk.

Everyone knows about Irene’s tendency to be rendered speechless when the conversation goes beyond PG-13, and it’s something her co-stars like to test the limits of whenever they get the chance.

“Both,” Irene boldly answers, matches it with a sly smile that has Lindsey and Candice gaping at her in complete surprise. She makes a show of flicking her hair so it tumbles off of her shoulders, and then lightly dabs a few folds of tissue on her face to wipe the sweat away.

Everyone inside the hall hums a long ooh, including Irene’s co-stars. She simply laughs it off, brings herself closer to the mic again, and says, “We should really go back to the questions, though. That poor guy has been waiting a while.”

The emcee agrees, but it seems like Lindsey is still not done. She politely cuts him off from asking the fan next in line to come forward, winks at their audience, and then turns to Irene again. “I’m gonna go take one for the team here, Irene. But you’ve seen The Avengers movie, right?”

“I have, yes.” Irene confirms with a nod. She was Seulgi’s plus one during the movie’s special screening, though, she’s sure Lindsey knew that. She had to skip the scheduled promotion weekend in Japan after all.

“So, I gotta ask,” Lindsey drawls for effect. “One, was there a shirtless scene? And more importantly, were there abs?”

Roars of cheers fill Irene’s ears once more. Joy even rounds the table just to give Lindsey a high five, while Candice shouts into the mic. “Girl knows her priorities!”

Irene chuckles as she shakes her head. She presses a palm against her forehead, waiting for the noise to die down.

And when it does, she looks Lindsey dead in the eye, smirking. “I’m afraid you’ll just have to watch.”

...

Seulgi is in the middle of answering a fan question when she feels her phone vibrate inside her pocket. She ignores it for the meantime, but does wrap up her answer on what it feels like to be the first female Captain America.

“So, yeah, it’s surreal,” she explains. “They could’ve gone with another Steve, but they chose to go with Alex instead, which I’m incredibly grateful for. And you know, I grew up with so few female superheroes to look up to, so I’m just really, really glad that we now have Alex Cho to add to the growing list.”

The fan thanks her for her answer, which she returns generously. She pulls away from her mic to give way to Wendy, who gets asked about the funniest moment during filming.

“Seulgi—well, Alex,” Wendy starts to answer, while Seulgi fishes her phone out of her pocket, eyes still locked on the crowd in front of them. “She has this line that’s supposed to confuse Thor. But, I couldn’t pull the right face in time because of the one Seulgi makes when she says it. It took us like, ten?” Wendy chances a glance at their director for confirmation, who nods in reply. “Ten takes. And I laughed every single time.”

Xavier, the lean, muscled black guy who plays Tony Stark’s protege, and their Ironman, chimes in to ask. “Wait, what was that scene?”

Wendy opens to speak, but closes it again, suddenly unsure if she’s allowed to say it or not. She covers the mic with a hand, and then leans back to ask the man sitting four seats away from her. “Is it a spoiler?”

“Nah, it’s in the trailer,” their director replies. “The law spiel, right?”

She nods, growing excited at the unspoken permission she has just been granted with. She returns her attention to the expectant crowd, and then removes her hand, talking once more. “You guys have seen the trailer, right?”

She continues at the collective yes she gets. “So, there was this line where Alex tells Thor, you may be wielding the hammer, but I am the law. And I tell her, What?!”

The crowd laughs at the expression that shows on Wendy’s face—another gif-able moment that she’s sure her mentions will be flooded with mere hours from now—cracking up some more when they remember the exact scene Wendy is talking about.

Seulgi, who’s busy going through the notifications that has piled up on her phone (in case her girlfriend has sent another message) and swiping right at the ones she plans to get to after the event, looks up too upon hearing her character’s name.

“And then Alex goes, because I’m the Captain!” Wendy goes on. “Get it? And I just—”

She really finds it hard to go through that scene. It shows even now that she’s just recalling it, snorting out a laugh when Seulgi’s face comes back to her memory at the same time the trailer rewinds to specifically show the scene. Wendy twists around, and then cracks up again, speaking in between laughs. “I die, everytime, I swear.”

“That was the best face I could make, okay.” Seulgi comes to her own defense.

The questions continue, with Mark—their Doctor Banner—talking about his experience while filming Hulk’s scenes. Seulgi half-listens, curiosity suddenly filling her as she taps her way to Twitter, following the notification she got from being tagged by Yeri, her girlfriend’s younger sister.

@THEkimyerim @imksg This is really what happens in unnie’s panels, Seulgi-unnie. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Seulgi plays the video attached. It looks taken from the platform’s right side, though, Seulgi can see Irene clearly. Joy is in her right, saying something on her mic. She can’t hear it, what with her phone’s volume set to the lowest, but a few seconds into the video and Seulgi figures she doesn’t really have to hear what was said after all. The blush on Irene’s face, matched with the mischievous look that Joy shot at her girlfriend are enough to give her an idea about what was going on.

She chuckles at the sight of Irene hitting Joy repeatedly, for once glad that she’s not on the receiving end of that because her girlfriend does work out—even more so now that she’s Batwoman. And contrary to what most people assume, she’s not (and never have been) a weakling.

Seulgi locks her phone and gives her full attention to Xavier, who got asked next after Mark and has just finished thanking his fan. But an idea quickly pops in her head, and she forgets about the panel momentarily, leaning towards her mic with an impish grin.

“Uhm, guys, I need a favor.”

...

Joy heads towards the backstage exit of Ballroom 20 once the panel officially closes. They have a good twenty minutes to spare before their Women of DC panel, a break she’s planning to spend entirely on food and Yeri’s company.

(Yeri flew straight to San Diego after all, once she finished taping her variety show episode back in Seoul.)

Never mind that they’ve been explicitly told to stay within the area and not wander far, much less go to a different hall or to another floor (and their schedule manager is throwing Irene a knowing look while he’s saying this, while Irene stares right back at him like she has no idea what he’s talking about); the downsides of being on a tight schedule.

The younger girl meets Joy outside, barely catching up to the flash of light brown hair that Yeri has waved at—one that looks exactly like Irene’s shade, but she swears Irene stayed in the waiting room for a power nap—and when Joy steps near, it’s already gone.

She’s greeted with a kiss on her cheek, and Yeri’s hand sliding against hers as she gets dragged to the row of booths that Yeri has been wanting to visit since this morning.

They’re on their sixth booth when Joy hears her phone ding. She taps on the notification and sees Seulgi’s twitter handle. And she can't help but wonder what Seulgi has tagged her to now, her curiousity growing at the captionless tweet with a video thumbnail displayed underneath @iamtherealJoy.

Joy tugs at Yeri’s hand to get her attention. “Myemi, look at this.”

Yeri simply shrugs, though, she has an inkling.

It’s proven right when Seulgi pops up on the screen. Only her face is visible, and a small part of her yellow hoodie—but Joy has known her long enough to figure out it’s Seulgi’s favorite Pikachu hoodie—and Seulgi’s mouth opens to say, “Yah, Park Sooyoung! I heard you’ve been bullying my girlfriend, and I’ve got something to tell you.”

Seulgi turns the camera around, revealing the entire crowd of Hall H on their feet, huddled together. Lining the front are Seulgi’s castmates, and they all shout in perfect synch at Xavier’s one,two, three. “Cap’s gonna come get ya!”

Wendy quickly follows it with, “And Thor too! Demigod to demigod, yeah?”

It looks like it wasn't part of the skit, judging by the amused looks on her castmates’ faces, but it definitely adds to the hilarity of the whole thing.

The camera pans back to Seulgi who shrugs. “Don’t say we didn't warn you. And oh, thanks for promoting our movie, baby!”

The footage cuts off at that. Joy turns to look at Yeri, her face pinched with bewilderment. “I’m seriously starting to question our friendship.”

Yeri can only gaze back at her, her shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

...

Irene sneakily slips inside Hall H, standing at the furthest back of the room. She can barely recognize Seulgi’s form sitting by the raised platform given the huge distance, but they’re finally in the same room after three long weeks and right now, that’s the only thing she cares about.

Her timing is perfect as it seems, because the next question is addressed to Seulgi. Irene makes quick work of fishing her phone out and pulling her own Instagram app, hitting record just as her girlfriend starts to speak.

“My advice to aspiring artists out there is to learn your craft. Know what you’re good at and never stop improving it. Work harder on the things that you’re not. Also, patience will go a long way, so will humility.”

Irene would very much like to march to the front and kiss her, but she’s never been one to make a scene. So she just posts the clip on her Instagram page, a small gesture of support for the girl that owns her whole heart.

thebaejoohyun Wise words from a very wise girl.

...

Seulgi slowly wanders down the third floor’s hallway, her eyes fleeting between her phone screen and the carpeted floor. She’s due for her next panel in ten minutes, which because it doesn’t really give her enough time to sneak in into whichever room her girlfriend currently is. Not even the luxury to scroll through her twitter feed.

It’s only enough for a bathroom break, a quick snack from the nearby vendo machine, and skimming through her recent mentions.

The newest is from Joy, a reply on the clip she tweeted a while ago. It’s a picture of her with a huge group of Wonder Woman cosplayers—a size that only one Park Sooyoung can gather—all of them mirroring the superhero’s famed pose.

Joy is standing in the forefront, feet apart and both hands propped on her hips. She's in her white button up, tight black jeans and white Louboutins, her chin jutting out and looking like every bit of the Wonder Woman that she is.

Seulgi chuckles, and then laughs at the caption and the first few replies listed beneath it.

@iamtherealJoy This. Is. War.

@happy2xjwoy2x omg oMG OMG

@datwanstan lmao squad goals af

@seulgislipbite props to the guy at the back rockin ww’s costume

Seulgi goes back to her mentions, resolving to reply later when she gets the time. She taps on the next, a tweet from Wendy that she quoted from Irene herself (and Seulgi’s back to cursing at the limited time, because how could she miss that).

@wendywan @imksg Tmw you’ve been searching for so long and someone else finds her

There's a thumbnail of the picture Irene has tweeted, and as small as it is, Seulgi still spots her girlfriend’s face pressed against Eunji’s. They both have their hands cupping their exposed cheeks, Eunji mimicking Irene’s trademark pose.

Seulgi feels the longing she’s managed to tamp down reel back, even stronger than the time she broke a few bones after an arduous stunt and Irene couldn’t fly to Ohio to see her.

She taps on Reply, sending a slew of crying emojis and broken hearts that she’s sure one of her friends—and all her fans, really—is bound to screen capture and immortalize. But it’s been three weeks, Seulgi has long stopped bothering to hide how much she misses Irene at this point.

Their schedules have been continuously overlapping ever since promotions for both of their movies have started, and Seulgi’s about to go stir crazy. She’s in the same state with Irene for the first time in three weeks, in the exact same building, and yet, she still hasn’t seen one strand of Irene’s hair.

The new message she got from her is a consolation, though. An I love you and three kisses, but Seulgi very much prefers the real ones.

She fires a quick It’s almost 5 and I haven’t seen you yet. This isn’t funny anymore. T_T, sighing as she puts her phone away when she reaches the designated room’s panel entrance.

Seulgi makes a quick touch up on her appearance, coiffing her bangs and her hair by running her fingers through it. Even though there’s not much to freshen up since she has prioritized comfort over style, she still wants to look her best.

She pushes the sleeves of her hoodie up to her elbows, tugs at the hem; and then she takes a deep breath before twisting the door handle down and pushing the door open to step inside.

Seulgi is met with a silent crowd, and confused faces that are far too many to count. She then glances at the line of tables by the platform, expecting to see Wendy filling her in with her animated gestures, but her own face drains all of its color when she sees the occupants sitting behind.

“This… doesn’t look like The Avengers panel…”

She grimaces in chagrin, her whole face crumpling. Then, she scratches at her temple as she says, “I think I’m in the wrong hall.”

Laughter rolls all around the room, though, it isn’t unkind. It’s just that, Seulgi genuinely looks like a stunned and confused kid who got caught touching something she isn’t supposed to, and everyone can’t help but find it endearing.

“I’m afraid it’s not,” the emcee croons into his mic, the attendees piping down so he can be heard. “Unless there’s some crossover we don’t know about, which we’re totally down, by the way.”

The crowd’s excitement shoots up again, amplified by the emcee’s shout of am I right, am I right, left and right.

Seulgi lets out an embarrassed laugh, her eyes disappearing into crescents. Then, she yells above the noise. “Not really up to me!”

It soon morphs into giddy cheers when she raises her hand and adorably shyly waves at one of the panelists sitting at the right side. “Hi babe!”

Irene closes her eyes, her tongue poking out of the corner of as her shoulders shake in a helpless chuckle—her usual reaction when Seulgi does something stupid yet adorable, and she’s completely powerless against it.

A cackling Joy picks up Irene’s limp hand, waving it back at Seulgi. In turn, Irene jokingly hits the taller woman’s stomach. She pulls her hand back, and then leans in towards her mic, her gaze never leaving Seulgi’s form (that she terribly misses). “Babe—”

She’s cut off by a series of shouts and hoots—most from the audience but Irene swears Joy’s is the loudest—which she waits to trickle down a little before speaking again. “Your room’s in the floor below.”

“It is?” Seulgi tilts her head, causing a fan from the audience to scream Kang Seulgi, you’re so cute!

“I know, right?” Irene cheekily agrees. “I gotta say, I’m a lucky girl.”

Seulgi cups a hand over the back of her neck, scuffs on the carpeted floor with the tip of her Converse shoes. She mumbles a shy thank you, both to the fan and to her girlfriend whose open gestures of affection is probably something she’d never get used to. Then, she fixes her gaze at Irene once more, the other woman’s eyes staring back at her with such earnest adoration that Seulgi feels warm all over.

She winks at her—and yes, she knows how to do that now, having forced to perfect it as part of Alex’s personality—and then tells everyone in the room. “I’m sorry for interrupting your panel! I’m late to mine so I need to get going. Bye baby!”

She blows a kiss towards Irene’s direction. And as the door closes, the teasing rises. But Irene thinks it’s all worth it.

...

The participants are just as alive as they have been since the convention kicked off in the morning, a fact that greatly amazes Seulgi. Because here she is, completely exhausted after just two panels and a fansign, in her yellow Pikachu hoodie and the pair of the most comfortable jeans and shoes she owns. And yet, she’s weak compared to the attendees milling around in their full costumes, and the various artists who have been trying to showcase their work and get them to sell in any way possible.

She takes in more of the view, her eyes settling on the form of the one person she’s been dying to come close to the past three weeks. She’s currently hunched on the table, writing a quick note to a teenage boy sitting on a small wheelchair.

Seulgi’s eyes grow tender as she watches Irene push off of her chair to stand, going around the table and sinking to her knees to give him a tight hug. Her girlfriend has always had a big heart, this she has always known, but it’s never going to stop being a sight to behold.

Irene waves him goodbye before walking back to her previous seat. Her fansign should be over anytime soon, so Seulgi is spending the remaining minutes watching her girlfriend have one of the best times of her life, and give her fans the same.

And then, it’s done. Irene’s given some last minute instructions by her handler, perhaps telling her what time she needs to get back to the hotel, and is let go once the woman in glasses receives Irene’s word.

Seulgi’s grin is big when Irene begins trudging towards her direction, half-skipping and half-running that the hems of her black and white plaid are swishing and swaying along with her movements. It’s so cute that Seulgi’s sure her smile is going to stick to her face.

In the last few steps, Irene barrels into her full speed, with Irene’s arms wrapping around her neck as she envelops Seulgi into a hug, squeezing her tight. Seulgi squeezes right back, the arms encircled around Irene’s waist securing her as she picks her up off the ground for a few seconds.

Irene squeals in surprise, though she ends up laughing. She knows that this is just Seulgi’s way of proving a point, showcasing her strength after Irene has teasingly told her once that she’s bulking up more than Seulgi currently is.

(And Seulgi just really, really missed her, too, that even with the proximity, it still doesn’t feel enough.)

“I missed you so much,” Irene says, refusing to let go even after the taller woman has carefully set her back down.

Seulgi pulls her impossibly closer, determined to erase every scant distance between them after three weeks of waiting. She plants a soft yet lingering kiss on Irene’s forehead, fully aware of where they currently are. Though, if it was up to her, she’d like to kiss the living daylights out of her girlfriend. But there are kids everywhere and they both have images to maintain, and so she has to settle for the most innocent ones to stave her off until they’re alone.

“I missed you too,” Seulgi mumbles against the warm skin. “In case you couldn’t tell from the hundred messages and maybe fifty-eight voicemails.”

“I was starting to doubt if you meant it at ninety-nine.”

“I fell asleep in my trailer, okay?” Seulgi reasons. It was a grueling day, what with filming one of the film’s biggest fight scenes. “I think Wendy has a pic of me drooling saved somewhere in her phone.”

Irene snorts out a giggle, and then buries her face on Seulgi’s neck, feeling embarrassed by the sound. Seulgi, in turn, just rubs her back, pressing a kiss on every inch of Irene’s hair that her lips can reach.

Then, “Want to go get dinner downtown? I found this really good place that serves—”

Irene lifts her head and looks up, squinting her eyes at Seulgi. “If you say shawarma, I swear to God, Kang Seulgi.”

“Tacos,” Seulgi continues with a chuckle.

The smaller woman hums, weighing the offer, though she agrees anyway. “Okay.”

“Shawarma can be for tomorrow night.”

Irene rolls her eyes, disentangles herself from her girlfriend and starts walking away, throwing words over her shoulder. “Get it with your Marvel friends.”

...

It’s almost midnight by the time Irene gets the chance to fiddle with her phone. Seulgi is snoring right beside her, but she doesn’t mind. Not when Seulgi’s weight is pressed against her side, and Seulgi’s chin is resting on her shoulder.

There’s a chunk of messages from her co-stars that Irene giggles at, a couple or three from Yeri, and one from Joy who tells her that she promises to take Yeri back to her room and go back to her own.

A couple of her celebrity friends have tagged her on their tweets, mainly talking about the video that she earlier found out was posted by her very own sister—the betrayal, unbelievable—and a bunch of replies on her lone Instagram post for the day, with their friends gushing about how adorable she and Seulgi are.

“Hyun-ah, go to sleep,” she hears Seulgi mumble, and smiles at the lips she feels brushing on the bare part of her shoulder.

Irene heels and sets her phone down, but not before retweeting the picture Seulgi had tweeted earlier. It was the both of them, with her arms loosely wound around Seulgi’s waist, and one of Seulgi’s arms thrown over her shoulders. Her eyes are closed as Seulgi’s lips pressed on the corner of her forehead.

It’s simple, yet, it’s probably one of Irene’s favorite photos. Though, maybe, she loves the caption even more.

@imksg Reunited at last with @thebaejoohyun. And it’s like waking up after 70 years of cryogenic sleep.