When her manager says that there’s a possible part for her in a new drama that’s going to be aired this summer, Irene gets a little anxious. Her last big drama has been a huge success and she’s got multiple praises from critics and the public. She even got the “New Rising Actress” award at one of the award shows. So, she has to be up to the level set by herself, which is a huge responsibility.

        She asks when the audition for this drama is held, but her manager says that there’s really no need for her to pass it, since the producers stated that they “already know how good her acting is”. But Bae Irene isn’t that kind of person, so she says that going to an audition isn’t a problem. Besides, she has to see who her co-stars are going to be and what they’re like.

        So, imagine her surprise, when her manager unnie says that there will be not only one idol slash actor starring, but two.

        She doesn’t have anything against idols-turned-actors, really, but some of those, whom she met in her not-so-long career, weren’t exactly…amazing? She doesn’t want to call anyone out or anything like that, doesn’t want to say that they were talentless, but some of them were really conceited and full of themselves, and it was clear that their agencies worked really hard to get those roles for them.

        One of her co-stars is, apparently, Do Kyungsoo, who wouldn’t be in regular cast, but still would play an important role in the show, who already has starred in some really successful dramas. Irene had met him personally on time at some party her agency made her attend, and he had been nothing but polite and sweet. She also has seen the works he’s in and, boy, she was impressed. (If she were interested in men at all, she would have been swayed by his voice and acting skills, but alas.)

        The other one was, surprisingly from the same agency, Kang Seulgi, the leader of a trendy girl group, Red Velvet. (Not that she is really interested in girl groups, it’s just that she is a part of the entertaining industry, so she has to know some things.) She has seen a couple of episodes of woman’s web drama and she must say, that she sure has potential to become pretty good in this field.

        It’s just…she’s not sure, that this person can be as nice as the media has always described her: kind, talented, well-mannered, and overall amazing.

        There’s a little chance for someone to be this great.

        It’s not realistic.

        ***

        Okay.

        So maybe it is a bit realistic.

        Her ‘there’s no such thing as a perfect person’ belief is swayed a little, when she sees Seulgi for the first time they meet at the JTBC building for the audition.

        “Hello, sunbaenim, I am a huge fan of yours,” she says, bowing a full ninety degrees bow, her orange hair even brighter in this lighting.

        Irene looks at the way this girl is dressed: dark jeans and a white sweater, a little big for her. Seems like she is trying to appeal to the producers, Irene thinks that it’s a smart move. She also notices that the idol is a bit taller than her, when the latter straightens and looks at her.

        “Hello, Seulgi-ssi, it’s really nice to meet you. I really like your songs,” she quickly adds, noticing the girl’s smile widen. She has a really nice smile, Irene thinks.

        They say that this is a detective drama. The staff gives Irene and Seulgi their scripts and invites them to the audition room. Irene checks her script and sees that she is going to act out a scene with Seulgi to “see how well they go together”.

        After they finish, the producers are in awe for a couple of seconds. Then, they glance between themselves and say, “You can wait outside. We will announce after we decide.”

        She and Seulgi bow and leave the room. They go and sit down on a nearest bench, a huge amount of space between the two of them. Awkward silence fills the place. Irene sees younger woman’s hands twisting the hem of her sweater.

        Cute.

        “Don’t be nervous,” she tells her, softly. “You were really good.”

        Seulgi blushes, looks at her feet and nods, a quiet ‘thank you, sunbaenim’ coming from her lips.

        They sit in silence for a moment. Irene sits straight and proper as always, unlike the girl near her. She sees Seulgi throwing glances at her, clearly curious about something. When she finally opens to ask her, their managers’ voices call them to the room, where producers are located. The actress tries to suppress her chuckle as idol practically jumps from where she’s sitting. They quickly make their way to the door, and Irene is a bit surprised when Seulgi holds it for her, but she doesn’t show it.

        When they enter the office, producers are standing up. Irene hears the taller girl’s breath hitch and tries to contain her smile. She finds it cute, how the other girl is so nervous about getting the role. Though Irene is sure that she will get it, she can’t help but remember her anxious self when she was at her first audition.

        “We have discussed it and decided that the both of you passed the audition. Congratulations,” the woman says and smiles a bit.

        Before Irene can say something, girl near her bows to them and exclaims (re: yells) a thank you. The actress hears quiet chuckles, coming from the table where producers are standing, and looks down to cover her own. If the other girl hears them, she doesn’t seem to mind, as the bright grin on her face doesn’t fade. Irene bows too and thanks them, exhaling softly. She turns her head to Seulgi, who straightens up and bows a couple more times, before walking to the door.

        When they leave the room, their managers stop talking and look at them. Irene smiles at her unnie and nods. She looks at Seulgi and sees her practically running to her manager. She hugs her, chanting I got it, I got it, smiling brightly, happiness evident in her voice. The actress is more surprised at idol’s manager’s behavior than her own, because the woman hugs Seulgi back and jumps with her, equally happy.

        She and her manager exchange glances and smile to each other. She has seen some actors and idols who weren’t as close to their mangers as she was. More of colleagues than friends. But it seems that Seulgi is close to her manager unnie as well, and that fact makes her like the girl a little bit more.

        When she calms down, she turns to Irene and bows to her one more time, a happy smile on her face.

        “See?” She tells her, as their managers walk aside, probably to say goodbye, “There was no need to be nervous,” she smiles at the taller girl, softly. She sees as the other’s grin slowly falls before appearing again, even brighter. She also thinks she sees Seulgi’s cheeks turn red, but it’s probably just the light.

        “Thank you for your kind words, sunbaenim,” she says, bowing again.

        She sure has good manners.

        Seulgi’s manager walks towards her, stating that they need to hurry, and she nods. She bows one more time and they quickly leave the building, driving off.

        “That girl is sure something,” her manager says, when they’re already in the car, going home.

        Irene can’t agree more.

        ***

        It’s evening of the next day, that she spent at her apartment, doing laundry. She pours herself a cup of tea and goes to the couch. Her favorite duck blanket is already there and she covers herself with its softness. She really likes staying at home on quite days like this one. She turns on the TV and there’s some music show playing, she lowers the volume and takes her phone.

        She remembers the article about Do Kyungsoo, which was released yesterday, confirming his participation in the drama, that got a lot of positive reviews from fans. When she opens the news app and clicks on the article, with her and Seulgi’s faces, on the first page.

[ RISING ACTRESS, BAE IRENE, AND THE LEADER OF RED VELVET, KANG SEULGI, JOIN THE CAST OF NEW JTBC DRAMA]

[+976, -47] ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Seulgi-yah, let’s walk on the flower path ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[+576, -35] Bae Irene’s last drama was really good and Seulgi’s web-drama was good too. I can’t wait for this one. Fighting!

[+333, -25] Our Seulgi is really kind and talented, please take care of her, Irene-nim ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[+297, -23] Irene-unnie, I look forward to your new drama️❤❤❤️

[+246, -27] wah ㅠㅠㅠ so pretty ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[+162, -16] ㅠㅠㅠRed Velvet will probably have a comeback soon and Seulgi still will be acting in this dramaㅠㅠㅠㅠ Seulgi-jjang! ❤️❤️❤️

[+101, -9] wow… Seulgi-unnie… wow.. I love you ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[+68, -7] Irene and Seulgi in on drama?! Have I saved the planet in my previous life or what??????

[+33, -65] hah ㅋㅋㅋ kyungsoo-oppa is still better than both of themㅋㅋㅋ

                                         ↪ Please, don’t embarrass our fandom, they are good actresses, and all of them deserve those roles

[+9, -39] ㅋㅋㅋㅋSM really worked hardㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ two idols in one showㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

        Irene scrolls past the comments under the article. Some of them make her chuckle, some make her huff and some make smile. It seems like Seulgi’s fans really like her.

                                 ..even though you’re in front of me, I miss you..

                                 ..how to explain this feeling, I can’t figure it out..

        She looks at her TV and sees one of the groups performing. It must be hard, she thinks, being an idol. You have to train, perform and appeal to the public, at the same time. And also there are fans. Fans who look up to you, make you their role model. They love you and protect you.

        Seulgi’s fans seem to protect her, too. They say she’s such a sweetheart, and Irene agrees with this bit. But, still, she can’t be 100% sure. Maybe this girl with blinding smile and cat-like eyes kicks puppies in her free time. Who knows? It’s unlikely, but she can’t be sure.

        Right?

        ***

        Wrong.

        The girl doesn’t kick puppies. Nope.

        She finds this out, when they film the first episode of the drama.

        They’re outside on the streets behind some hipster coffee shop in Samcheong-dong, that Irene would never in million years visit by herself (she would rather go and buy softeners). Their characters are looking for clues and they came here to ask people around if they’ve seen anything. Producer gives them time to wander around as crew sets everything up.

        It’s a cold Thursday, and people get cranky when they’re cold and sleepy, and that’s exactly how Seulgi feels right now, Irene can tell. But she has to give it to her: the other girl’s eyes are constantly closing and she’s shivering already. Her group’s comeback teaser has been released yesterday, and Irene can’t imagine the pressure she’s experiencing right now.

        “Would you like to go in that café?” Irene asks her, not missing her red cheeks and nose.

        The idol is wearing a dark coat, that is extremely light, comparing to staff’s down jackets, which Irene doesn’t think looks totally amazing on her. Her hair is no longer bright orange, but warm brown, that really compliments her honey colored eyes.    

        Seulgi looks around, hesitant. “Would it be fair? I mean, if we go to that café, and the staffs are here, in the cold?” She mumbles, squinting at the sun.

        Cute.

        Irene has decided more that once now, that Seulgi is cute. That’s kind of bad.

        “Don’t be silly. You only have this coat and they are wearing warm clothes. Besides, we can treat them warm drinks and get them for ourselves. How ‘bout that, hm?” Seulgi nods, slowly, and Irene doesn’t want to stay in this cold anymore. She links her arm with taller girl’s and notices the way Seulgi tenses and quickly relaxes. She leads them to the café’s entrance and holds the door for the girl, who quickly goes in.

        They step in, and warmth starts filling up their senses. Irene breathes in the smell of coffee. She hates coffee but this is a hipster café, so they most likely sell hot chocolate. She hopes. Otherwise, she’s going to freeze to death, and weird articles will be written. “A rising actress froze to death because of chocolate”. And that’s probably just the bottom of it. God knows what a hellhole journalist world is.

        They approach the counter and see a bored young woman, wearing glasses and a shirt that says ‘No Nitsche, no life’. Irene thanks all of the things above for giving her chance to pursue what she loves doing, because she could’ve been at this girl’s place tight now.

        “Hello, do you have hot chocolate?” The actress asks and watches as the girl’s mouth falls a little. It’s always fun seeing people’s reaction. “Seulgi-ssi, what do you-“ She turns her head and her frowns, confused. She was just beside me.

        She looks around the café and sees a figure sitting near one of tables. Except that this figure was squatting on the floor.

        Great.

        She sees as some patrons take out their phones and aim it at the idol.

        “Seulgi-ssi,” she calls, after excusing herself from the girl waiting for their order. “What are you-“ She stops a couple steps from the other girl.

        But, at that moment, not only her legs stop, but also her breathing, because sitting there near Seulgi is giant monster, seeking for praise. Oh, goodness, what have I done to deserve this flies through her head and she’s ready to start praying to all the gods, but Seulgi turns her head towards her and Irene feels her heart skip a bit, because she’s sure that’s the most beautiful smile she’s ever send her way.

        “Sunbaenim, look, such a cute puppy,” Seulgi skips to her, her expression absolutely blinding and lacking any traces of exhaustion from before. She’s the one resembling a puppy right now.

        And maybe, just maybe, Irene would think that that monstrous creature near them is cute, if it didn’t let out a loud bark, scaring her. She covers her ears with gloved hands, shuts her eyes, squeaks, and hides behind Seulgi’s wider back. She hears quiet chuckles around them and sees idol’s own shoulders shaking in laughter.

        “Are you afraid of dogs, sunbaenim?” She jested, still laughing at the older woman. Irene doesn’t say anything, embarrassed, and looks at their feet, which are really close. She raises her head and feels her breath hitch at the sight before her.

        Seulgi’s face is really close to hers. Her eyes seemingly glowing in café’s bright lighting. Her bright and wide smile makes her eyes disappear do something to the actress’ heart. She looks ethereal that moment, and Irene can swear if she had a possibility to take a picture of this moment, she would, and she would show it to anyone just to make their day – no life – better, not minding how weird it would be.

        “Don’t worry,” Seulgi’s smile softens and she stretches her arms towards Irene and takes a hold of her hands, still covering her ears, although loosely now, therefore she can hear every word load and clear, “I’ll protect you.”

        Crap.

        ***

        Irene meets Seulgi’s members one by one while they’re filming the drama.

        The first, whom she meets, is Wendy. Wendy is probably the most precious ray of sunshine she has ever seen in this cruel, cruel world. Her bright eyes, happy smile and weird expressions lure her in and she doesn’t think she can get out. Irene also doesn’t miss the way that both members hug. Tight and almost suffocating, judging from Seulgi’s Wan-ah, can’t breathe.

        She can see that the Canadian cares not only for Seulgi but for everyone around her. When they introduce themselves to each other, she asks her if she’s not cold in that shirt and states that there’s a food truck with hot beverages for everyone on the crew to get.

        They exchange numbers and Irene doesn’t really know how that happened, they were talking about baking and then BAM, but she’s certainly not complaining, when the younger girl sends her some motivational messages throughout the day.

        Irene concludes that Wendy is an Angel with a capital a.

        She also thinks that the latter has a nice , but no one needs to know that.

        Yet.

        The next Red Velvet member that she meets is Sooyoung as introduced by Seulgi, unnie, it’s Joy! She decides to herself that she also likes her.

        Joy is 10% height, 40% self-confidence, and 50% sass. And she also has a really nice body, not that Irene’s checking her out (she totally does). Their first meeting is really… interesting(?), she guesses.

        "Hello, sunbaenim," she bows, "Seulgi-unnie, has talked about you. A lot" She states with a smirk, and Irene can see from the corner of her eye, that Seulgi is blushing. She tries to contain her smile.

        "Only good things, I hope?" She says, tilting her head to the side, and totally misses the way Seulgi is looking at her right now, but doesn't miss the way Joy quickly glances at Seulgi.

        "Oh, really good things, actually- " she's cut off by her blushing leader.

        "Yah, Park Sooyoung! That's enough," she rises her voice, which sounds a little breathless to her. 

        Joy stares at her for a couple of seconds and shrugs. She links arms with Irene and walks away from Seulgi, who's looking at their backs, nervous. They go to a couch that someone put at this studio (bless them, because that couch has been a huge help for Seulgi, who has been feeling really tired from promoting their album and napped there more than one time, with Irene by her side).

        "I wanted to talk to you without this clueless bear. I just wanted to say that I am your huge fan," Joy says, smiling brightly. Irene once again notices that all of the members of Red Velvet had nice smiles. What kind of sorcery of that?

        Joy is filming a drama too, and Irene thinks that it’s pretty good, being her first experience in acting. She tells her that and Sooyoung (she let her call her that, so she does feel a little special) blushes a bit, but immediately composes herself and flicks her in a bragging manner and then starts laughing good-naturedly, and Irene joins her with pleasure.

        The last, but absolutely not least, is Yeri. How should she describe Yeri? Let’s just say, that she wants to kidnap this young girl and hide her at her house, so nothing could ever hurt her. Even though Yeri is the youngest member of the group, she can tell that Seulgi is little scared of her, which amuses Irene to no end. But despite that, she can see that they both adore each other.

        When Yeri enters the filming site for the first time, Irene feels like the street became brighter, cleaner and all those things. Yeri’s loud, joyful voice calls Seulgi-unnie! and Irene is frightened a bit from the way the girl runs towards her leader and clings to her like a koala, squeezing her.

        Yeri is bright smiles and glowing eyes, and Irene officially declares to herself that she wants to keep Red Velvet, and maybe, she hopes, Red Velvet would want to keep her too.

        ***

        It’s finally April, and Seoul is becoming warmer every day, and Irene is really thankful for that because she doesn’t think she would be able to fight cold weather much longer. She has plans today, and they consist of going out of her warm house. So, she gets her spring jacket out of her closet and finds a pair of sneakers, a mask and just some casual clothes, not to attract attention. It’s really difficult, she thinks, that people, that are somewhat popular, have to hide while going out, not able to have the freedom like most of the people her age do.   

        She hears a knock on her door and goes to it. When she opens the door, Seulgi’s face greets her. Yep, she’s the one she has plans with. The younger woman texted her this morning, asking if she would like to see each other and walk around some quiet places. Of course, Irene agreed, how could she not?

        Seulgi is wearing a brown leather jacket, a cap, dark shirt underneath with scarf hanging around her neck, black skinny jeans, ripped at her knees, black combat boots, and a black facemask. Irene can’t help but think that the taller girl looks really attractive right now, she always looks attractive but that’s not the point right now.

        “Are you ready, unnie?” Seulgi asks, flashing her a wide grin.

        Irene feels her heart skip a beat. Seulgi seems to have this effect at her, she notices. Whether it’s an accidental brush of their hands, or the younger woman’s soft, low voice saying some things, that she misses, to her, or just a stare, a little long, but not unpleasant, here and there. All of these make her brain turn to mush and her heart speed up, but it’s not like she’s complaining.

        It’s late evening and they are walking around Han River in Jamwon. It’s not like they are on a date, Irene wishes, but it’s so quiet and the lights that fall on the taller girl’s face are so pretty, and Irene feels like she’s going to die. She clings to Seulgi, their arms linked, and buries her nose in her own jacket, because she didn’t see the possibility that they would walk near water, and didn’t bring her damn scarf. She shivers a little and gets closer to Seulgi, if it’s even possible.

        Seulgi suddenly stops and separates their arms, and Irene immediately misses her warmth. Seulgi turns to look at her and shakes her head, muttering something under her nose that suspiciously sounds like so pretty, yet so silly, while taking the scarf hanging around her neck off. She stretches her hands towards Irene, who feels her heartbeat stopping once again, because now she can feel taller girl’s lavender scent. Irene loves lavender. And maybe she loves Seulgi.

        They decide to watch some movie, and Irene lets Seulgi choose, and god she wishes she didn’t, because the other girl chooses a freaking horror movie. Doesn’t she know that she gets scared easily? They’ve been friends a decent amount of time now, and she still chose a goddamn horror movie. Or maybe… no, no way.

        There’s a really scary scene on the giant screen of the cinema, and Irene has to look away so she doesn’t scream and disturb other people who don’t seem to be as scared as she is, honestly, do these people not feel fear at all? So, she gets as close as possible to Seulgi’s warm body, closes her eyes, ears and lets out a helpless whimper, and tries to shrink in size as much as she can. She takes a deep breath and lavender’s scent fills in her senses. She can feel Seulgi’s chuckle causing her chest to vibrate, and gets ready to beat the out of her, but stops when she feels the other’s hands wrapping around her figure. She tenses a bit, but relaxes into Seulgi’s bigger frame, still hitting her stomach in the process. The other lets out an oof, and Irene smiles a bit, sliding her own arms around idol’s warm waist. Good, she should know better.

        ***

        They walk to her home in silence, just enjoying each other’s warmth and presence. Irene feels a little disappointed that they are going to separate ways now, but at least she will see her tomorrow at the filming. They are nearing the end of the drama, and anxiety starts creeping up on her, slowly. Will this, whatever this is, be over? Will they just go to where they were before this whole ordeal? Irene really hopes they would not. She’s found herself falling in love with this precious, amazing person more each and every day, and really thinks she won’t be able to forget the way two of the had fun. Even as friends, please, just so Seulgi doesn’t leave her.

        Irene thinks it’s really silly falling in love. Her whole life, she wanted her dream to become a successful actress to come true and it did. But was that the only thing important in life? She moved from her home to Seoul to try acting and she got extremely lucky, and she thanks heavens for every morning, when she wakes up in her nice bedroom, of her apartment in one of the most elite districts of Seoul. But the whole path of hers to the top has been very lonely, which she regrets. Since she moved from Daegu, she didn’t have any real friends. Acquaintances, sure. But friends? Nope. She didn’t even date anyone, because she wanted to focus on her career only. But now, that she’s in her late twenties it has become really hard.

        And now, she’s walking besides a gorgeous woman, her best friend, she would say. A woman so beautiful in and out, so kind to her, so caring and just a perfect human being, whom she fell in love with. The one, who makes her feel like she’s a sixteen-year-old girl with a crush on a senior student. The one, who makes her feel safe in her arms. The one, who makes her feel welcomed. She still remembers how Seulgi invited her to her birthday party, adorably shy, stuttering and red in the face. And she still remembers the way she was greeted by Red Velvet members. The image of their bright smiles aimed at her and the hugs that she got that night still make want to tear up sometimes.

        Her thoughts are broken by Seulgi’s soft voice saying we’re here, Irene-unnie. She doesn’t miss the way her face falls a bit and a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. Irene’s feeling really happy that she’s not the only one, not wanting to separate right now. She would invite her in, but it’s already late right now and she knows, if they will go together, they would spend a lot of time talking, maybe not only talking.  Irene blushes at the last thought and shakes her head to compose herself. She grins, softly, and walks closer to Seulgi. She puts her hand on latter’s shoulder and feels how the younger woman tenses. She rises on her toes, closer to Seulgi’s ear, and it seems like butterflies in her belly are shooting machine guns right now.

        “It’s Joohyun,” she whispers, hot breath hitting taller girl’s ear, and pecks blushing Seulgi’s cheek.

        She can feel her own face reddening and thanks everything, that it’s dark, and Seulgi can’t see her. She looks up from her feet and sees Seulgi looking at her, something she can’t seem to understand in her eyes. They stare at each other, not saying anything, for what seems like an eternity but in reality is just a minute or so. She smiles at Seulgi and the latter responds, another charming grin appearing on her beautiful face, and says bye, Joohyun, her voice so soft and comforting, that it makes Joohyun not want to leave, but they both have responsibilities, damn them. She whispers a bye herself before adding text me when you get home. Seulgi nods and starts walking away, only to turn around and wave at Irene, who’s hiding her giggles behind her hand.

        When she quickly shuts the door of her apartment, leaning on it, she can feel the fast pace of her beating heart and closes her eyes, squealing. She goes to her bedroom and changes into her sleep wear: a t-shirt, that is too big for her small form, and a pair of baggy pants. When she’s finally in her bed, she grabs her phone from a nightstand near her bed and goes to her gallery.

        She and Seulgi took a lot of pictures today together. Irene is really surprised, for she usually just takes pictures of the sky, but Seulgi’s whiny unnie! made her change her mind for today. She scrolls down and sees the one she really likes: they are standing really close to each other, Seulgi’s arm around her shoulders, their cheeks almost touching, both smiling happily. She’s wearing Seulgi’s cap, that she took from her. Everything around them is dark, but their glowing eyes show just how happy they both are. It wasn’t a date, she thinks, her cheeks reddening, but why do I feel like this then.

        There’s a muffled ding, coming from her phone, notifying her about the message. Her heart starts beating faster, when she sees who it’s from. She clicks on the notification and a bear emoji at the top of screen stares at her.

        we have her and will let her go only when you sent us your picture *angry emoji*

        Irene giggles loudly into the silence of her bedroom. Seulgi is too cute to be a fully functional adult, she thinks. Irene decides to play along.

How do I know, that it’s really her?

        Half a minute passes before a picture is sent, and this one makes Irene want to squeal, which she does, because, one, Seulgi is too cute for her own good, two, she’s living alone in her apartment and, three, her walls are soundproof, that she didn’t really understand but now she’s very thankful.

        Before her eyes is Seulgi. But not the hot and charismatic leader of Red Velvet, Kang Seulgi, but a pouting, bare-faced, pajamas clad, Kang Seulgi. She looks so adorable, Irene thinks she dies a little inside.

now, it’s your turn

        Irene bites her lower lip. She’s without make-up right now, but so is Seulgi, so she thinks it’s only fair. She smiles with one corner of and takes a picture.

Here I am, will you release her now?

        She gets nervous when she doesn’t get a response for a full minute, but when she does, she swears that her heart is about to jump straight out of her chest.

        you’re really beautiful

        She has heard those words a lot of times. People called her pretty, beautiful, some even called her a goddess. But do those faceless strangers’ messages matter? Of course, she’s flattered at the compliments, but it’s so different when the most beautiful girl in the world calls her that. She’s the one that really matters. The girl she’s so madly in love with. Because who are those people? No one and she doesn’t know them, and doesn’t want to. But Seulgi is not a random person now, and she knows her, she knows how kind, gorgeous, and amazing she is. And she hopes Seulgi thinks like that too.

 you’re really beautiful, too

        ***

        Things change after that not-date, and Irene would say they change for the better. Seulgi said they are getting ready for a summer comeback and, even though she’s busy with the new album   and filming the drama, which is really, really close to ending, she still finds time for Irene. They have lunches and dinners together, whenever a possibility pops up. They text regularly on days when they don’t get to see each other.

        Sometimes, when they aren’t able to meet, Seulgi invites her to her groups hang outs, and Irene’s really glad she does. She still can’t get over the fact that all of Red Velvet members take such liking to her. She really likes those meeting, because she gets to see Joy and Yeri’s savagery, Wendy’s caring and motherly side, and, of course, Seulgi’s interactions with her members. She can see that despite the fact that they don’t treat her like a leader most of the time, they still respect her to no end, and it just makes her like Seulgi a little bit more, if it’s even possible.

        And when do get to meet each other things get even more interesting. It sometimes feels like they’re talking to each other, without actually speaking out loud. Their eyes lock when they’re close and search one another when they aren’t side by side. There are also a lot more of flirty remarks from Seulgi’s side, but she thinks that the clueless bear doesn’t even notice, that with her words she makes Irene turn into a pile of mush.

         She thinks that something is wrong with Seulgi, because it feels like the latter is touching her a lot more nowadays. Like how she’s hovering about Irene when the latter shows her a cute picture of some animal to her, her chuckles and hot breath hitting her ears, or her hand that comes up to brush away her hair aside from her eyes, or how she unknowingly starts rubbing soothing circles on the skin of her palm with her thumb. All of these actions make Irene lose her breath time after time, but she doesn’t think that the taller girl fully understands what kind of effect she’s having on her.

        (also, her low voice whispering in her ear, while some members of the crew fight about how the angle is not right, leaves Irene a little breathless and frustrated, but no one needs to know about it)

        ***

        It’s finally the last day of filming the drama and they’re already on the last scene of it. It’s been a really nice journey, she’s met a lot of cool people, she’s met Seulgi, and is still thankful to producers for choosing her for this role.

        (she’s also very thankful that they chose Seulgi too)

        So, yeah, it’s late evening and they said that everyone on the filming crew is invited to a cafe after. Irene hopes Seulgi goes there too, because she doesn’t think she’s going to be fine there, alone. But that’s later and right now Irene finds herself in a kind of difficult situation. And the cause of it is one and only Kang Seulgi. Because the scene that they’re filming is a scene where Seulgi is in a gym.

        Shirtless.

        Of course, it’s not a surprise for Irene, that Seulgi has abs. She’s an idol and idols have some kind of a work out routine, and some of them have exercises to strengthen their abdominal muscles. And, yeah, she’s totally not surprised. But she still finds herself biting her lip, not being able to tear her gaze away from Seulgi’s toned stomach.

        practically waters at the sight of the defined lines, that run all over Seulgi’s body. She internally swears and her breathing quickens as she ogles the beads of sweat, that glisten in the lit lighting of the room, sliding down her lithe form. She unconsciously her lips as her gaze rises to look at Seulgi’s face. Her heartbeat either speeds up or stops suddenly, she doesn’t know and she thinks she doesn’t care a bit about it, because Seulgi looks really hot right now, her eyebrows furrowed, eyes burning. Her breathing quick and shallow as she beats the punching back with all her might.

        Irene sees as the muscles on the younger woman’s arms flex, they probably could hoist her up, she blushes at her own thought. Gosh, she’s sounding like a ert. She’s known for some time that Seulgi’s arms are quite strong. One time they decided to go to an ice rink and Irene, being as graceful as she is, almost fell downface, but the collision with ice never came, because she found herself in the idol’s iron-like grip, her quiet voice, whispering a worried are you okay? Her skin still burns from that touch, when she lies in her bed, thinking about Seulgi.

        By the way, it still baffles Irene how the other girl can be so bipolar at times. One second she is the most adorable person in the world, with the prettiest smile, that turns her eyes into crescents, and the other one she’s all smirks and burning stares, dropping words and phrases, that make Irene’s face turn the brightest shade of red. 

        So she’s still a bit shocked, when a loud voice screams cut! and hot Seulgi transforms into cute Seulgi, who starts clapping with everyone as the loud bell rings, informing everyone on set that the filming has ended successfully. Someone screams free food! And everyone starts laughing, including Irene. Still chuckling, she starts looking at the place where Seulgi has been standing a minute ago, frowning when she doesn’t see her.

        “Hey there, looking for me?” She nearly jumps out of her skin when she hears a playful voice whisper in her ear, warm air blowing. She turns around to glare at Seulgi only for a lump in to form, next second.

        The taller girl towers over her smaller figure, and she feels the heat radiating from her body. Irene’s breath hitches once again, because she can see the beads of sweat rolling down idol’s toned stomach up close, and she knows that she shouldn’t stare so openly, but she just can’t tear her gaze away and gosh you’re a ert, she’s right there. Seulgi notices her not-so-discreet staring at her body and chuckles, which makes her muscles even more prominent, the sight that makes Irene a little bit dizzy and think, why is it so hot here?

        “Enjoying the view?” Seulgi brags, showing her charming smile, that does things with Irene’s heart. Two can play this game. She looks up at the other girl, and stares at her, noticing the sweat on her forehead. She moves even closer to Seulgi, and now it seems like there isn’t any distance between them at all, and takes the white towel hanging around her neck. She moves her face closer and stretches her arms and wipes the sweat off, gently. She can hear that Seulgi’s stops breathing, but then opens a bit and she can feel warm air on her lips. She sees idol’s eyes darken and something unidentifiable appears in them. Irene bites her lower lip and gets closer to Seulgi’s ear and starts praying that her voice comes out steady and she doesn’t stutter.

        “You stink,” she says and starts laughing, because the look on Seulgi’s face is just priceless, and she wishes she had her phone with her, so she could take a picture and put it as her contact image. She laughs loudly, her whole body shaking, and throws the towel at the taller girl, who’s just standing there, opening and closing like a fish. And then runs away, leaving Seulgi behind, gaping at her retreating form. She hears a distinct hey! but pays no mind to it, totally distracted by the butterflies in her stomach.

        (Seulgi stands like that, baffled, and then covers her own red face with the towel, Irene threw her way. She smiles widely and prays that no one can tell, but she’s sure nobody’s even paying any attention to her, too ecstatic to go to a dinner. She turns around and goes to take a shower, practically running, spring in her steps. Both, her mind and heart, occupied by the beautiful brunette, who made her fall so deep.)

        ***

        Seulgi is driving Irene home now, after the dinner. It was really nice, she would say, a lot of nice things were said, tasty food and, despite the café being very loud, she still liked it very much, because Seulgi was by her side the whole evening, giving her things, she couldn’t reach, pouring her juice when she finished it, and just kept being her amazing self.

        They don’t speak and the only thing that can be heard in the car is quiet, soft music Seulgi put on earlier, but it isn’t awkward. It’s really comforting and comfortable. Irene looks at Seulgi. Her face is illuminated by the lights of bight city and cars, passing by. She looks really cool like that, Irene thinks, relaxed breathing, wind blowing in her face, hair a bit messy but nonetheless perfect. She can feel a faint smell of soap, that Seulgi used before, and the memory of the other girl, shirtless, makes her blush again, and she’s glad that the it’s dark inside the car and Seulgi can’t see her face.

        Irene remembers how the other girl walked her home, relatively long ago, and thinks about how much closer the two of them got. She’s really happy that she met the other girl and will cherish the moments they shared together. She’ll keep smiles, stares, warm touches and soft words spoken in her memory. With them she’ll keep the regret of not doing anything with that line they’ve been dancing around. The thought really upsets her and tries to push the tears away. Why is she thinking like that, anyway, it’s not they’re not going to see each other after that. Her thoughts are interrupted by Seulgi’s soft voice.

        “We’re here.”

        Dread fills Irene’s stomach. She should something and she should do it fast, while she still has a chance. She looks at Seulgi and sees her staring at her, clearly waiting for something.

        It’s now or never.

        “Would you like to come in?”

        ***

        They’re in her apartment now. Seulgi’s car is outside, and in normal situation she would pray that no one would see, but here she is with the younger woman, on her couch. She opened an expensive bottle of red wine, that she has been keeping up until now, for a special occasion, and she thinks that the situation she’s in right now is nothing but special.

        “I propose a toast,” Seulgi starts, raising her glass, “To the successful ending of filming! Cheers!”

        “Cheers,” they clink their glasses and start sipping, eyes locked. It’s their second glass and they both are starting to feel a bit lightheaded. Also, Irene thinks that Seulgi looks really hot when she her lips after finishing drinking, but that’s probably just alcohol talking.

        Seulgi pours them another glass of wine, although a little unsteadily. She passes the glass to Irene and feels a shiver running down her spine as their fingers touch. She likes Seulgi's hands, they are soft and warm, and it also feels very nice when they intertwine their hands, although that hasn't happened very often.

        "I suggest another toast," Irene grins brightly, a bit red in the face, "To us. To our fateful meeting on that audition. I want to say that I’m really glad I met you, and that we became such good friends.”

        Friends, yeah.

        “To us,” Seulgi reaches her own glass, a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes, on her flushed face. Okay, maybe they should stop right now, because Irene thinks that she’s going to do something stupid. Low tolerance for alcohol, be damned. She looks at idol’s lips and they seem even redder now. Her apartment suddenly feels much hotter than it was earlier, and she reaches her hand to her shirts’ top button and pops it open, missing the way Seulgi’s eyes move to her skin.    

        Irene takes in a unsteady breath and almost starts coughing when she feels Seulgi’s whisper, hot breath hitting her ear.

        “Careful there or I will think, that you’re trying to seduce me,” her low, husky voice makes Irene’s skin cover in goosebumps.

        “Seulgi,” she can smell a bitter scent of alcohol coming from idol and god they need to stop right now. Even though she wants nothing but to kiss the other woman, she has to be the logical one this moment, “Seulgi, stop, we can’t. We’re both drunk and we’re both public fig —“

        Seulgi cuts her speech off with a breathy shut up and grabs her head, smashing their lips together. Oh god, Irene doesn’t think she can think at all right now, and she honestly doesn’t care, now when Seulgi’s soft lips slide against her own. She lets out a moan when she feels Seulgi’s hands riding up her shirt and running up and down her skin. Her hands are cold but her lips are hot and needy, and Irene feels dizzy as heat starts pooling in her stomach.

        It’s all wrong and they shouldn’t do this while drunk, she tries to summon some common sense, but fails when Seulgi hoists her up by her hips and puts her down on her lap. She tries to push her away and succeeds when Seulgi stops kissing her on the lips, instead trailing open-mouthed kisses down the column of . She hears the younger woman letting out a growl as Irene’s hands move to her head, her fingers grasping brown locks, pulling her even closer. She whines when a painful bite lands on her collarbone and groans a second later, when Seulgi runs her tongue soothing the spot, muttering a ragged sorry, and good god why is her shirt open.

        Seulgi’s left hand moves down to grasp her thigh, while the other  is moving in circles on her , hitting the straps of her black bra. She gasps when she feels Seulgi’s mouth moving on from her right shoulder to her chest. She stops just above the edge of dark fabric and starts not kissing but dropping feather-like touches with her lips all around the sensitive skin. Irene completely hypnotized by other woman’s touches, moves her own hands and starts ing Seulgi’s brown shirt, practically tearing it apart. She proceeds to touch Seulgi’s stomach and feels delight, when she hears other woman , muscles tightening.

        The atmosphere, the wine, low light of the room — all those things lead here, where she’s making out with Seulgi, straddling her bigger form, both of them whimpering helplessly at the other’s burning touch. Their mouths rejoin, and Irene decides to tease the younger woman a bit. She bites Seulgi’s lower lip, which causes the latter to let out a heavy sigh, and rolls her hips, agonizingly slow. The idol breathes an uneven are you trying to kill me, woman, and Irene chuckles, hoarsely. Her consciousness starts appearing again when she feels Seulgi’s hand slide from it’ location on her hipbone to the button of her jeans. She grabs her hand hastily and breaks their kiss.

        “Let’s not do something we’ll both regret later,” she mumbles into Seulgi’s mouth, swiftly, nipping. Seulgi nods, lazily, and returns to on Irene’s upper lip. She suddenly stops and breaks away from her and leans their foreheads together, panting.

        “I wanted to do that for so long,” she grins, slowly, her eye-lids drooping, and Irene would be shocked that the girl who had her tongue in a minute ago, making her feel hot and bother, looks so sleepy and cute right now, if she wasn’t completely ecstatic at other’s revelation.

        “Me too,” she whispers, biting her swollen lip, and Seulgi’s eyes light up, and her breath speeds up for a millionth time this evening, but not because of other’s sensual touches.

        She’s really happy right now.

        “Stay over tonight,” she demands and brings their faces together once again.

        ***

        Rays of sunlight gently fall on the skin of her face and Irene smiles at the warmth. She feels heat rising, when she starts remembering last night. She and Seulgi kissed. A lot of times. She touches her collarbone and bites her lip, embarrassed, remembering the things they did on her couch. Nothing happened after that and they just went to sleep, but she still gets dizzy, recalling the way Seulgi’s arm wrapped around her, moving her closer to her warm body.

        She turns to the other side of bed, anticipating to see a sleeping Seulgi. She opens her eyes and her smile falls in unison with her heart, because the other side of bed is empty. Irene sits up and doubt starts filling her mind. Did she leave? How could she just leave? She didn’t even leave a note! Did she just use her and ran away? No, Seulgi would never. She frowns and gets up from bed, ready to investigate.

        She leaves the bedroom and blushes, seeing what a mess her living room is. Two empty glasses and a half-empty bottle of wine is on her coffee table. Seems like some cushions from the couch fell down on the carpet from her and Seulgi’s activities. She sees her shirt lying a bit aside from the TV, Seulgi’s shirt on the back of the couch, and as she looks closer she can see that some buttons are missing. She blushes; she really lost control last night’s evening– or today’s morning – but semantics.

        Wait.

        If her shirt’s still her, then where is she?

        Irene strains her ears and listens closely. She catches a sound of utensils from the kitchen and makes her way there, trying to be as silent as possible. As she gets closer, her heart melts at the sight before her: Seulgi is standing there with two mugs of something in front of her, swaying in place happily, humming some upbeat song, she thinks she catches word flavor? She looks at Seulgi: she’s wearing a pajama that she gave her, her hair in a bun, with some strand locks falling on her face. A slight grin on her lips, that look a bit swollen, and Irene blushes once again. Suddenly Seulgi stops and turns to look at her, her eyes wide, but a radiant grin on her face.

        “Hey there.”

        “Hey.”

        “I was about to wake you up, but you ruined my surprise,” she claims, making her way to Irene, a pout on her lips. Irene looks down, red in the face. “Hey, why are you being shy now?” She highlights the word now and Irene hugs her tightly, hiding her blush in taller girl’s neck, inhaling her scent. She mumbles something in Seulgi’s neck, as the other runs her fingers through her messy hair tenderly.

        “I’m just really happy right now,” she repeats, clearer this time, and smiles, toothy and dazzling, and Seulgi’s ready to move mountains for this woman, who makes her feel like she’s able to fly. But that’s after they eat their breakfast, so she settles for small kiss on her forehead.

        It’s warm when they drink their hot chocolate. But the warmth isn’t coming from a summer morning, no. It’s coming from their hearts and words, gazes and touches. Just two women, who love each other, eating waffles in the morning, wearing pajamas. Intertwined hands, locked eyes and an invisible string connecting them in this big, big world. The path they’ve chosen isn’t going to be an easy one, but as long as they have each other it’s going to be okay.

        Everything will be okay.