The red velvet ring box fit snugly in the palm of Seulgi’s hand.

        The fabric had a rich, dark texture and was about as light as a feather. Seulgi had picked the ring out two years ago during one of their rare breaks. She’d been waiting for the perfect moment to whip it out and surprise Irene.

        But with the relentless onslaught of their frequent comebacks ever since then, the timing never seemed quite right. Back when they were together, learning new choreography, recording new songs, working around both her and Irene’s increasingly busy schedules proved too much work for Seulgi to plan a proper proposal out.

        Eventually, the ring box was pushed one of the far corners of her mind and had remained there until just a few months before she and Irene had broken up. Now, the timing would never be right for either of them. Seulgi snickered bitterly to herself as she turned it over in her hands over and over again. Suddenly, the box began to sear at her skin.

        Seulgi only had an hour and a half left before the moving vans showed up outside of Red Velvet’s dorm. When it did, she would help the workers pack away the boxes filled with all of her possessions into the back of their vehicle. Then she’d speed off to where her new apartment complex was, waiting for everything to arrive.

Seulgi was really doing it - moving towards a future without having to live with the memory of her and Irene around every corner.

        In spite of how happy she was to be moving out, she knew she’d miss the two younger girls in the group. She made a mental note to make sure and hug Yeri and Sooyoung goodbye before she clambered into her own car and made her way to her new home. Living by herself had been one of the things Seulgi had fought tooth and nail for when she had negotiated the terms of her soloist career with the higher ups of the company.

        Though her manager told her not to expect much of a choice in the matter, her hard work had paid off - she was granted her own flat. She stared at the rows of boxes lined up against the far bedroom wall, waiting to be picked up. And now, this was it. The time had finally come. Seulgi was leaving, moving on with her life, and though there was the telltale twinge of bitter sweetness on her tongue, ultimately Seulgi knew that Sooyoung and Yeri supported her decision to leave Red Velvet.

        A month or so ago, Seulgi took the two out for dinner so the three of them could discuss her leaving without Seungwan or Irene present. She hadn’t thought to ask Seungwan or Irene what they’d thought on the matter. In fact, Seulgi isn’t particularly think they had a say in her life after what went down between them.

Besides that, rumors began starting up about her departure from Red Velvet just after everything had been finalized between her and the company.

        Seulgi guesses that one particularly bright fan must’ve realized why Seulgi was frequently visiting SM’s Headquarters with her manager by her side and spread the news. The press had been in a frenzy the past couple weeks trying to get the latest scoop, surrounding her car any time she went out. Everyone seemed knew about her departure from Red Velvet. SM released an official statement a day or two after word got out in order to clarify everything to the public. After that, Seulgi was free of the pain of Red Velvet.

        Neither Seungwan or Irene gave any sign of knowing she was leaving. They didn’t particularly talk anymore, or see each other in the dorm for that matter. Seulgi made sure to avoid them at all costs, taking precautions through studying their schedules for any conflicting times. Luckily, the five of them were all doing individual promotions since they’d wrapped up their last comeback.

         Once the announcement was all said and done, it left Seulgi feeling more than ready to move out and begin preparing for her solo career. The majority of the articles she glanced at garnered positive comments from fans, an indication that her new career path would be successful and welcomed by the public.

        There were some fans who were a little devastated at the idea of her leaving Red Velvet altogether. They asked why Seulgi had to leave the group to go solo, what would happen to Red Velvet’s friendships, questioned the success of the girl group in the future without Seulgi. Seulgi figured it would take time for everyone to settle down from the news, and so she didn’t pay too much attention to those comments.

        She’d already decided to make a point of visiting and meeting with Sooyoung and Yeri as frequently as she could after leaving. After over four years of being together, she could never abandon the two younger women completely. Her new manager had already texted both Yeri and Sooyoung’s itineraries off for the next month to her, filled with Sooyoung’s latest K-Drama and Yeri’s filming dates for her reality show.

        Seulgi tossed the ring box onto her bed, its deep, rich color striking against the bare bones of the sheetless mattress, then turned around and stretched her arms out. The young idol took one last, long look around what used to be her bedroom - four walls the shade of pale sunshine pockmarked from the photos and posters she’d hung up and taken down, the queen-sized mattress, the lush white carpeting, the empty closet.

        The other girls would no doubt repurpose her room into a spare bedroom, a place where a guest would sleep. It wasn’t hers anymore. How hollow of a feeling it was to know this, yet at the same time Seulgi felt so free. She snatches the ringbox back up and ambled her way throughout the rest of the dorm, stopping in front of Irene’s bedroom door.

        The older woman went out with Seungwan earlier that morning on some sort of secret date, and Seulgi knew the moving trucks would be long gone by the time the pair got back to the dorm. Perfect timing. Seulgi pressed a gentle hand to the door, then stepped inside of the leader’s bedroom.

        Immaculately kept, Irene’s room put everyone else’s to shame within the dorm. As the oldest, Irene typically liked to lead by example. She did this by keeping her carpets freshly vacuumed, her closet tidied up, her bed crisply made, and her display of photographs and plushies well organized.

        It had been a while since Seulgi dared step foot within the leader’s domain, it almost felt as though she were trespassing somehow. Hastily, the soon-to-be soloist made her way to Irene’s bed. Lifting one of the lavender pillows decorating the soft mattress, Seulgi carefully stowed the velvet ring box beneath it began arranging it back in place.

        “Unnie?” Yeri’s voice rang out, accompanied by the soft of shuffling house slippers. The maknae poked her head through the crack of Irene’s door. She took in the sight of Seulgi, frozen by Irene’s bed with one hand still hovering over the ring box.

        Yeri’s facial features softened. Her eyes flicked back and forth between Seulgi and the ring box. “The moving van is outside,” Yeri’s voice wavered.

        **

        “You didn’t even tell Seungwan or I you were moving out, Seul! We were wondering where you’d gone when Sooyoung came up and told us you’d left around eleven this morning. We brought you a slice of cake from that bakery you like so much!”

        Seulgi sinks into her new leather couch, thinking to herself that Irene’s voice sounds weird over the phone, like the receiver of her cell couldn’t quite catch the older woman’s soft, mellow tone the same way it sounded in person. This is the first time in a long time Irene actually sounds angry, upset that Seulgi hadn’t notified her and Seungwan of her plans.

        “Well, you seemed a little preoccupied,” Seulgi replied carefully, glancing at the large analog clock hanging on her living room wall. It was nearly one in the morning, and Seulgi was exhausted from spending the rest of the day renovating her new living space. She didn’t even know why Irene was calling her, or why she’d picked up for that matter.

        The moving company assisted with most of the heavy lifting, but that hadn’t spared her from the hard labor of decorating and setting up her new home. She had spent hours filling the empty living space with hints of her own personal style. She added touches of color to each room, stacks of books in her bedroom, a fern plant on the coffee table, the list went on and on.

        Already, she had unboxed most of everything she had brought along with her, and had already made a list of what to purchase the next day to complete her furnishings. She’d surpassed her goal of getting half unpacked by the day’s end. She still had to make her bed, fresh with brand new sheets and covers that were currently on their last cycle in the dryer.

        “What’s that supposed to mean?” Irene asked, her voice laced with sharp annoyance. “Just because Seungwan and I were out of the dorm didn’t mean that I-I mean we didn’t want to say goodbye.” Seulgi found herself sighing quietly to herself, rubbing at her temple. Even the meager task of holding her cellphone to her cheek felt draining.

“Life’s just full of surprises, isn’t it?” Seulgi retorted, staring up at the tall, high ceiling. She stretched her sore limbs out across the black leather of the sofa, and yawned into the receiver. Silence buzzed through the speaker of her phone, and for a moment, Seulgi almost believed Irene had hung up on her.

        Only the sound of the older woman’s sighing let her know Irene was still on the line. “Speaking of surprises…,” Irene murmured, and Seulgi found herself closing her eyes, almost imagining the older woman was there, mumbling into her ear. “I found something rather interesting underneath my pillow just a few minutes ago.”

Seulgi bit the inside of her cheek, trying to gauge the older woman’s feelings. “It’s yours to keep,” she replied, her voice hollowed from the inside out. “I had always meant it for you, anyway. No sense in keeping something that would only remind me of you, right?” Her eyes widen at the sound of faint sniffling from the other end of the line.

        “Seulgi-ah,” Irene whimpered, causing the younger woman’s chest to tighten. It sounded like Irene was crying.

        “How long?”

        “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, unnie.”

        “How long, Seul.”

        The older woman’s