Both Sooyoung’s head and heart were beginning to ache with all of the truths Seulgi had spilled. How could she not have seen it? The way Seulgi would longingly look after Joohyun?

        How could she have missed how each new boy Joohyun went out with almost seemed to upset Seulgi when they walked around with the older girl during high school? How she hadn’t ever wondered why Seulgi had acted as though she were practically forced to be a guest at the wedding and take a break from work?

        In her mind, she’d always equated Seulgi’s absence at their friend group outings as a testimony to the older woman’s work ethic. Seulgi had become a rather renowned author after she graduated from college. She primarily focused in the horror-thriller genre, and was constantly going back and forth from her editor’s office and the various vacation homes she owned.

        The aspiring author had built up and executed a friendly, almost unnoticeable distance between the four of them perfectly. Whenever Seulgi had a new novel coming out, she made sure to send each Sooyoung, Yeri, Seungwan, and Joohyun a copy. Unbeknownst to them at first, each copy had a personalized twist to it - unlike anything that could be found within the shelves of bookstores.

        Seulgi liked to call these copies the “outtakes”, but Sooyoung had gotten the inkling long ago that the author simply enjoyed gifting something so unique to each of them, showcasing her thoughtfulness and her love for each of them in a special way. Seulgi had sworn them each to secrecy, making each of them promise not to tell each other what kind of changes their copy had.

        Looking back now, Sooyoung wondered just what Seulgi had written for Joohyun’s eyes only.

        With the amount of stories Seulgi churned out, none of them were surprised when the author continued to politely decline a good chunk of their night outs together. They understood Seulgi needed a lot of alone time, filled with peace and quiet in order to brood over her life’s work. Joohyun, of course, was the one who complained the most about Seulgi’s absence.

        On the rare occasions Seulgi did happen to join them, the plans were almost always set at a fancy restaurant, and the famous author never failed to be the one to foot the bill as an apology for not being in touch with them as much as she should be.

        Sooyoung remembers the somewhat heated argument Seulgi and Joohyun had gotten into during their last outing together. Seungwan was unable to join them, the music company she worked for needed her to fix a few demos for an upcoming girl group and their debut date had been pushed forward faster than they’d anticipated.

         Never before had the taller woman seen Joohyun and Seulgi fight before, and to say the least, both she and Yeri were shocked when it happened.

        **

        “You’re coming, right, Seul?” Joohyun asked, swirling the long noodles of her Carbonara dish around her silver fork. The four of them are seated in one of the most well renowned Italian restaurants in Seoul, dressed to the nines in the latest fashions. By then, each of them had grown to become successful young women proud of each other’s successes.

        They’d celebrated Joohyun landing her civil engineering position the summer after the eldest woman’s twenty-fifth birthday, two years ago. It had been a private party, housed within a well known club in downtown Seoul. Seungwan and Seulgi were fresh out of college by then, twenty-two year old graduates scrounging up whatever they could find in the job market.

        Sooyoung had been in the throes of attempting to graduate a year or two early with her BA in nursing. The twenty year old woman astonished everyone by being able to make it to the occasion despite attending a number of tedious summer lectures.

        Yeri, the nineteen year old double major in business and music, also managed to squeeze in enough time in her summer schedule to attend as well. It had been a wonderful night, planned just before the start of Joohyun’s hectic life working as a full time adult.

        A year later, the four had gone out for drinks in celebration of Seungwan making the decision to teach private music lessons. They met up at Joohyun and Seungwan’s house, where the excited Canadian woman gave them a tour of her new practice room, where she’d be giving her lessons - a range of piano to vocal and even to guitar exercises.

        Their house was a lovely two story with a picket fence and a large yard, sustained by Joohyun’s hefty paycheck and what would soon be Seungwan’s booming local business. Sooyoung had noticed Seulgi briefly look about the immaculately decorated room, her eyes glazing over the replica of Van Gogh’s Starry Night adorning the ceiling that Joohyun and Seungwan spent many sleepless nights completing.

        Not long after that, Seulgi quietly launched her career as a novelist, maintaining her secret for all of three months before the public began raving about the twenty-three year old’s work. Joohyun was the first to find out, naturally.

        The eldest had called an “emergency meeting” at one of their usual coffee shop dwellings, and waited patiently with Sooyoung, Yeri, and Seungwan for Seulgi (who had started the bad habit of arriving five minutes late) to seat herself.

        Sooyoung remembers how Seulgi’s place across from Joohyun remained intact, after all these years. She briefly recalls thinking about how interesting it was that Seungwan never once interfered with the two best friends’ ritual, and happily maintained her seat beside the older woman without complaint.

        Breathless and clearly winded, Seulgi finally slipped into the empty chair across from Joohyun and slung her stylish shoulder bag over her head with apologies bubbling from her lips.

        But Joohyun didn’t say a single word, merely staring hard into her best friend’s eyes before producing from the depths of her own purse a book about the size of a hand-held tablet. The civil engineer drops the hardbound novel onto the table in front of Seulgi, with one eyebrow raised.

        The action caused the four other women to jump slightly, none of them knowing the true reason why Joohyun had arranged their meeting. “Care to explain, Seulgi-ah?” Joohyun asked, gesturing at the book with one hand before placing both elbows on the wooden table, propping her chin up on her hands.

        Sooyoung couldn’t stop staring at the cover, at the name printed in large lettering at the bottom of the colorful sleeve. Kang Seulgi was stamped across the book like an official seal, earning gasps to arise from those seated around the table. “All Are Welcome?” Yeri muttered underneath her breath from beside Seulgi, reaching out to flip the novel over to read the back’s inscription.

        Four pairs of eyes were all trained on Seulgi, who had gone rigid at the sight of the book when it appeared in Joohyun’s hands. “‘Twenty-one year old Astra Onora believes she’s successfully escaped from her cult upbringing, only to discover that perhaps the coast isn’t as clear as it seems’,” Yeri reads aloud from the inside flap of the cover.

        Yeri captured everyone’s attentions except for Joohyun and Seulgi’s. The two women continue to stare at each other with blank expressions, both gauging what the other was thinking. Sooyoung reached for the book, and took it from Yeri’s hands. “‘Kang Seulgi’s debut novel, All Are Welcome, spins a wickedly enthralling tale you won’t be able to put down,’” the nurse quotes from the back cover reviews.

        Her eyes widen in disbelief as she scans over the rest of the words, “Number one best selling author, number one international bestseller…., holy , Seulgi!” It’s was Seungwan’s turn to snatch up the hardcover, fingers scrabbling to see for herself proof Seulgi was now a best selling author.

         “Oh my god,” the Canadian exclaimed, “That’s you!” She was holding the book open to the back flap, jabbing her index finger at the small square photograph printed on the sleeve.

        Seulgi took a deep breath, eyes shifting to each of her friends shocked faces, then lets it out slowly, her voice trembling with a mixture of excitement and fear. “I-I was too caught up with everything that was going on during the publishing process that I might’ve, kind of, possibly forgotten to tell you guys about it,” the author murmured sheepishly.

        Immediately, Yeri and Sooyoung and Seungwan clapped and whooped their congratulations, slapping Seulgi on the back and ruffling the author’s bangs affectionately, causing Seulgi to break out into an easygoing grin. Joohyun held up her hand, and the motion instantly silenced the table. When she was certain she had everyone’s attention, Joohyun cleared and motioned for Seulgi to take her outstretched hand.

        “Seulgi-ah…,” Joohyun trailed off in a tender voice, as if she were suddenly at a loss for words. Sooyoung remembers leaning forward ever so slightly, witnessing the flurry of fingers intertwining, the glittering at the corner of Joohyun’s eyes, with childlike curiosity. “I’m so, so, so ing proud of you,” the civil engineer breathed out shakily before bursting out into a chime of laughter, pressing a chaste kiss to Seulgi’s knuckles and releasing the author from her grasp.

        If it had been anyone else’s hand Joohyun had kissed, Sooyoung knew Seungwan would’ve shifted uncomfortably - but the Canadian merely looked on with her own joyful smile. It takes Seulgi more than a few seconds to register she needs to say something in reply, and nearly jolts back to life.

        “Oh! I almost forgot!” The author rummages around in her bag, her eyes dancing with delight. “This is the reason why I was late.” Four pairs of eyes watch as Seulgi placed a stack of four copies of All Are Welcome on the table in front of her. The sleeve colors were white, different from the black bound book held within Seungwan’s grip.

        A look of confusion passed over Joohyun’s face at the sight. “I already have a copy though, Seul,” the civil engineer said, reaching for the copy nestled within Seungwan’s hands and waving it at the younger woman to emphasize her words.

        Excitedly, Seulgi shook her head left to right, “These are special editions, Joohyun-ah, and there’s one for each of you.” She passes them out one by one, checking the front page of each to ensure each novel was received by its specified owner.

        “They’re unique to the ones I’m selling commercially and have various outcomes,” the author elaborated with a chuckle when she finished passing the books out, “So don’t spread the word around too much.” Without another word, the entire table became fixated on Seulgi’s novel, hungry for the knowledge of what their friend was capable of.

        The four young women were so preoccupied with reading Seulgi’s novel, they practically forgot where they were, or that the author herself was seated amongst them. In fact, Seulgi stood up, waited in line to order herself coffee, and returned to find her best friends still immersed in her book.

        “Guys?” She called out tentatively, looking around the table to see if any of the other women had acknowledged her. No one paid her any mind, each of the four women merely flipping the freshly printed pages in response.

        Laughing quietly to herself at how their coffee date had turned into a makeshift book club meeting, Seulgi to hold of the copy Joohyun had originally brought and tucked herself into her own book, following suit.

        Ten minutes later, Sooyoung glanced up from her book to witness Seulgi, who seemed content with pretending to read while actually studying Joohyun’s facial expressions. When she realized she’d been caught, Seulgi blushed, her cheeks dusting with pink before the author shot her a wink and turned the page of her book, seeming to actually be reading this time.

        Sooyoung’s successful application for the nurse practitioner position at her hospital proved another reason for all of them to meet up. Seulgi had published her second book by then and was working on her third. The ideas hadn’t stopped flowing from the author’s fingertips, it seemed. She came round her and Yeri’s tiny apartment, uncharacteristically one of the first guests to arrive, with another slew of books, freshly printed, on her arm.

        Champagne was poured, and glasses clinked together easily. Despite the dark rings hanging underneath the three women’s eyes, they managed to remain cheerful enough for the occasion. The doorbell kept ringing and ringing, and soon the cozy home was nearly filled to the brim with Yeri and Sooyoung’s friends from work and school and family.

        Sooyoung remembers how proud she was of her girlfriend for pulling off such an elaborate party without her knowledge, remembers pressing a kiss to the younger woman’s temple. The two younger women were still more than busy, Yeri was still a full time student and Sooyoung was back and forth from the hospital and had been studying endlessly for the placement exam for the nurse practitioner position.

        Everything seemed fine until Seungwan and Joohyun walked in some ten minutes later, cuing Seulgi to pour herself one too many glasses of the bubbling golden liquid. Nearly half way through the party, Joohyun rose and stood in front of a very drunk Seulgi, arms crossed over her chest and frowning at the twenty-three year old.

        “I’m taking you home,” Joohyun said in a disapproving tone, reaching out to take Seulgi’s hand. The author was swaying in her cushioned seat, draining what must have been her fifth glass of champagne. Without putting up a fight, Seulgi took the engineer’s hand and allowed herself to be led towards the front door of Sooyoung and Yeri’s apartment.

        Before they reached the door, Joohyun stopped by Seungwan and pressed a hasty kiss on the Canadian’s waiting lips. “I’ll see you at home, okay?” Joohyun murmured, flashing a grin at her girlfriend before turning back to the task of leading a very drunk Seulgi out of the apartment. Sooyoung didn’t know what happened after that, but she knew it most likely consisted of Seulgi getting lectured about holding her liquor.

        The next time the five of them were able to meet up again, Yeri was going through the process of developing her own record label company. That was just a few months before the wedding invitations were sent out. Before everything had taken a turn for the worse. “Everything’s still in the works, but it’s progress,” is what Yeri kept saying to everyone, but the nervousness in the younger woman’s voice didn’t keep Sooyoung’s heart swelling with pride at her girlfriend’s toast.

        That night, Yeri seemed more jittery than usual. Sooyoung had never really seen her girlfriend in such a state before, and was feeling a bit nervous. Perhaps it was because of how fast everything was moving with the new company, she’d overheard that Yeri and her team were planning to launch everything in the following weeks.

        “Are you okay, honey?” She murmured into the shorter woman’s ear near the end of the party, still concerned at how tense her girlfriend seemed. At this, Yeri let out a deep breath. Seulgi and Seungwan were busy mixing drinks for themselves in the kitchen, Joohyun was outside taking a business call, and she and Yeri were lounging in the living room. It was clear that the night was coming to an end after a joyous amount of celebration.

        “Sooyoung-ah...I want to give you everything I possibly can in this lifetime,” Yeri said at last, her deep voice overflowing with love. The business woman was slowly lowering herself on one knee to the plush carpeting of the apartment. At her girlfriend’s actions, Sooyoung felt her heart creep up inside .

        The taller woman discovered it was hard for her to swallow, to even comprehend what was happening. “I want to give you a house, a new car, that red dress you wouldn’t shut up about for weeks…,” Yeri trails off as they share a bout of laughter, her knee resting gently on the floor.

        She peers up at Sooyoung with a smile, “Because of my company, I’ve been thinking a lot about what the future holds. Our future, Sooyoung-ah. It made me realize that I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side...only if you want to, though!”