There was complete silence in the club as everyone stared at the screen in anticipation. Irene held her breath; she was nervous now about what was going to appear. Perhaps the girls would be reminded of what exactly they had all conveniently succeeded in forgetting about that night. The truth terrified her. After all, how drunk must they all have been to completely forget the events of that night? Unless somebody was lying, in which case they should be even more nervous right now. Irene looked around at the girls. They were all chewing on their fingernails. Irene crossed her fingers.

A new title appeared on the screen, “The Gifts.” “Open mine first,” shrieked Seohyun from the television, ing her present toward Irene and shoving Joy off the couch and onto the ground. Everyone in the club laughed while they watched Yuju dragging a horrified Joy to her feet. Seohyun left Wendy's side and tiptoed over to the rest of the girls for security. Everyone oohed and aahed, as one by one Irene's birthday presents were unveiled. A lump formed in Irene's throat as Baekhyun zoomed in on the two photographs on the mantelpiece while Joy's toast was made.

Once again a new title took over the screen, “Journey to the City,” and showed the girls scrambling over one another to get into the seven-seater taxi. It was obvious they were pretty pissed by now. Irene was shocked; she had actually thought she was quite sober at that stage. “Oh, Kai,” Irene moaned drunkenly to the taxi driver from the passenger seat, “I'm thirty today, can you believe it?”

Kai the taxi driver, who couldn't give a flying flute what age she was, glanced over at her and laughed, “Sure you're only a young one still, Irene.” His voice was low and gravelly. The camera zoomed in on Irene's face and she cringed at the sight of herself. She looked so drunk, so sad.

“But what am I gonna do, Kai?” she whinged. “I'm thirty! I have no job, no wife, no children and I'm thirty! Did I tell you that?” she asked, leaning toward him. Behind her Joy giggled. Irene thumped her.

In the background you could hear the girls all chattering excitedly to one another. Actually it sounded like they were talking over one another; it was hard to see how any type of conversation was going on.

“Ah, enjoy yourself tonight, Irene, don't get caught up in silly emotions on your birthday. Worry about all that e tomorrow, honey.” Kai sounded so caring, Irene made a note to call him and thank him.

The camera stayed with Irene as she leaned her head against the window and remained silent, lost in thought for the rest of the journey. Irene couldn't get over how lonely she looked. She didn't like it. She looked around the room in embarrassment and caught Wendy's eye. She winked at her in encouragement. Well, if she needed winks for encouragement, she thought, then everybody must have been thinking the same thing. She smiled weakly and turned back around to face the screen in time to see herself screaming to the girls on O'Connell Street.

“OK, girls. We are going to Boudoir tonight and no one is going to stop us from getting in, especially not any silly bouncers who think they own the place,” and she marched off in what she thought at the time was a straight line. All the girls cheered and followed after her.

The scene immediately jumped to the two bouncers outside Boudoir shaking their heads. “Not tonight, girls, sorry.”

Irene's family howled with laughter.

“But you don't understand,” Yeri said calmly to the bouncers. “Do you not know who we are?”

“No,” they both said and stared over their heads, ignoring them.

“Huh!” Yeri put her hands on her hips and pointed to Irene. “But this is the very, very extremely famous . . . em . . . Princess Irene from the royal family of . . . Finland.” On camera

Irene frowned at Yeri.

Her family once again howled with laughter. “You couldn't write a script better than this,” Baekhyun laughed.

“Oh, she's royalty, is she?” the bouncer with a mustache smirked.

“Indeed she is,” Yeri said seriously.

“Finland got a royal family, Paul?” Mustache Man turned to Paul. “Don't think so, boss,” was the reply.

Irene fixed the crooked tiara on her head and gave them both a royal wave. “You see?” Yeri said, satisfied. “You men will be very embarrassed if you don't let her in.”

“Supposing we let her in then, you'll have to stay outside,” Mustache Man said and motioned for the people behind them in the queue to pass by and enter the club. Irene gave them a royal wave as they passed.

“Oh, no no no no,” Yeri laughed. “You don't understand. I am her . . . lady-in-waiting, so I need to be with her at all times.”

“Well then, you won't mind waiting till she comes out at closing time then,” Paul smirked. Saeron, Suho and Moonbyul all started laughing and Yeri slithered down even further in her seat. Finally Irene spoke. “Oh, one must have a drink. One is dreadfully thirsty.”

Paul and Mustache Man snorted and tried to keep a straight face while still staring over their heads.

“No, honestly, girls, not tonight, you need to be a member.”

“But I am a member of the royal family!” Irene said sternly. “Off with your heads!” she commanded, pointing at the both of them.

Yeri quickly forced Irene's arm down. “Honestly, the princess and I will be no trouble at all, just let us in for a few drinks,” she pleaded.

Mustache Man stared down at the two of them then raised his eyes to the sky. “All right then, go on in,” he said, stepping aside.

“God bless you,” Irene said, making the sign of the cross at them as she passed.

“What is she, a princess or a priest?” laughed Paul as she entered the club.

“She's out of her mind,” laughed Mustache Man, “but it's the best excuse I've heard while I've been on the job,” and the two of them sniggered. They regained their composure as Seohyun and her entourage approached the door.

“Is it OK if my film crew follow me in?” Seohyun said confidently in a brilliant Australian accent.

“Hold on while I check with the manager.” Paul turned his back and spoke into the walkie-talkie. “Yeah, that's no problem, go ahead,” he said, holding the door open for her. “That's that Australian singer, isn't it?” Mustache Man said to Paul.

“Yeah, good song that.”

“Tell the boys inside to keep an eye on the princess and her lady,” said Mustache Man. “We don't want them bothering that singer with the pink hair.”

Irene's father choked on his drink from laughing, and Elizabeth rubbed his back for him while giggling herself.

As Irene watched the image of the inside of Boudoir on the screen she remembered being disappointed by the club. There had always been a mystery as to what “Boudoir” looked like. The girls had read in a magazine that there was a water feature inside that Madonna had apparently jumped into one night. Irene had imagined a huge waterfall cascading down the wall of the club that continued to flow in little bubbling streams all around the club while all the glamorous people sat around it and occasionally dipped their glasses into it to fill them with more champagne. But instead of her champagne waterfall, what Irene got was an oversized fish bowl in the center of the circular bar. What that had to do with anything she didn't know. Her dreams were shattered. The room wasn't as big as Irene thought it would be, and it was decorated in rich reds and gold. On the far side of the room was a huge gold curtain acting as a partition, which was blocked by another menacing-looking bouncer.

At the top of the room the main attraction was a massive king-size bed, which was tilted on a platform toward the rest of the club. On top of the gold silk sheets were two skinny models dressed in no more than gold body paint and tiny gold thongs. It was all a bit too tacky.

“Look at the size of those thongs!” gasped Yeri in disgust. “I have a plaster on my baby finger bigger than those.”

Beside her in Club Diva, Saeron chuckled and began to nibble on Yeri's baby finger. Irene looked away and returned her gaze to the screen.

“Good evening and welcome to the twelve o'clock news, I'm Joy Park.” Joy stood in front of the camera with a bottle in her hand serving as a microphone, and Baekhyun had angled the camera so that she could some famous newsreaders that were in the club  in the shot.

“Today on the thirtieth birthday of Princess Irene of Finland, her royal self and her lady-in-waiting finally succeeded in being granted access to the famous celebrity hangout Boudoir. Also present is Australian rock chick Seohyun and her film crew and . . .” She held her finger to her ear as though she were receiving more information. “News just in, it appears that our favorite newsreader Park Jinyoung was seen smiling just moments ago. Here beside me I have a witness to the fact. Welcome, Yeri.” Yeri posed seductively at the camera. “Yeri, tell me, where were you when this event was taking place?”

“Well, I was just over there beside his table when I saw it happening.” Yeri in her cheekbones and smiled at the camera.

“Can you explain to us what happened?”

“Well, I was just standing there minding my own business when Mr. Park took a sip of his drink and then shortly afterward he smiled.”

“Gosh, Yeri, this is fascinating news. Are you sure it was a smile?”

“Well, it could have been trapped wind causing him to make a face, but others around me also thought it was a smile.”

“So there were others who witnessed this?”

“Yes, Princess Irene beside me here saw the whole thing.”

The camera panned across to Irene where she stood drinking from a champagne bottle with a straw. “So Irene, can you tell us, was it wind or a smile?”

Irene looked confused then rolled her eyes. “Oh wind, sorry, I think it's this champagne that's doing it to me.”

Club Diva erupted in laughter. Suho as usual laughed the loudest. Irene hid her face in shame. “OK then. . . ,” Joy said, trying not to laugh. “So you heard it here first. The night when the grimmest presenter was seen smiling. Back to you at the studio.” Joy's smile faded as she looked up and saw Park Jiyoung standing beside her, not surprisingly without a smile on his face.

Joy gulped and said, “Good evening,” and the camera was switched off. Everyone in the club was laughing at this stage, including the girls. Irene was finding the whole thing just so ridiculous that she had to laugh.

The camera was switched back on and this time it was focused on the mirror in the ladies' toilet.

Baekhyun was filming from outside through a slit in the doorway and Yeri and Joy's reflections were clearly visible.

“I was only having a laugh,” Joy huffed, fixing her lipstick.

“Don't mind the miserable sod, Joy, he just doesn't want the camera in his face all night, especially on his night off. I can understand that.”

“Oh, you're on his side, I suppose,” Joy said grumpily.

“Ah shut up, you moany old ,” Yeri snapped. “Where's Irene?” Joy asked, changing the subject.

“Don't know, last time I saw her she was doing a few funky moves on the dance floor,” said Yeri. The two of them looked at each other and laughed.

“Ah . . . our poor little Disco Diva,” said Joy sadly. “I hope she finds someone gorgeous out there tonight and snogs the face off her.”

“Yeah,” agreed Yeri. “Come on then, let's go find her a woman,” she said, putting her makeup back in her bag.

Just after the girls left the toilet another toilet flushed from the cubicle. The door opened and out stepped Irene. Irene's big smile faded quickly when she saw her face on the screen. Through the crack in the door you could see Irene's reflection in the mirror; her eyes were red from crying. She blew her nose and stared miserably at herself in the mirror for a while. She took a deep breath and opened the door and carried on downstairs to her friends. Irene hadn't remembered crying that night; in fact, she thought she had gotten through it very well. She rubbed her face while she worried about what else was coming up next that she couldn't remember.

Finally the scene changed and the words “Operation Gold Curtain” came up. Yeri screamed, “Oh my God, Baekhyun, you bastard!” very loudly and rushed off to the toilet to hide.

She had obviously remembered something.

Baekhyun chuckled and lit himself another cigarette.

“OK, girls,” Yeri was announcing. “It is now time for Operation Gold Curtain.”

“Huh?” Joy and Irene announced groggily from the couch where they had collapsed in a drunken stupor.

“Operation Gold Curtain,” Yeri exclaimed excitedly, trying to drag them to their feet. “It's time to infiltrate the VIP bar!”

“You mean this isn't it?” Joy said sarcastically, looking around the club.

“No! That's where the real celebs go!” Yeri said excitedly, pointing at the gold curtain, which was blocked by possibly the biggest and tallest man on the planet.

“I don't really care where the celebs are, to be honest, Yeri,” piped up Irene. “I'm fine here where I am,” and she snuggled into the cozy couch.

Yeri groaned and rolled her eyes. “Girls! Yuju and Seohyun are in there, why aren't we?”

Suho looked curiously across at his girlfriend. Yuju shrugged her shoulders weakly and held her face in her hand. None of this was jogging anybody's memory except of course Yeri's, and she had fled the room. Suho's smile suddenly faded and he slid down in his chair and crossed his arms. It was obviously all right for his sister to act the fool but his girlfriend was a different matter. Suho placed his feet up on the chair in front of him and quieted down for the rest of the documentary.

Once Joy and Irene had heard that Yuju and Seohyun were in the room, they sat up attentively and listened to Yeri's plan. “OK, girlies, here's what we're gonna do!”

Irene turned away from the screen and nudged Joy. Irene couldn't remember doing or saying any of these things at all; she was beginning to think Baekhyun had hired look-alike actors as a horrible practical joke. Joy turned to face her with wide worried eyes and shrugged. Nope, she wasn't there that night either. The camera followed the three girls as they very suspiciously approached the gold curtain and loitered around like idiots. Joy finally built up the courage to tap the giant on the shoulder, causing him to turn around and provide Yeri with enough time to escape under the curtain. She got down on her hands and knees and stuck her head through to the VIP bar while her bum and legs stuck out from the other side of the curtain.

Irene kicked her in the bum to hurry her along.

“I can see them!” Yeri hissed loudly. “Oh my God! They're speaking to that Hollywood actor guy!” She took her head back out from under the curtain and looked at Irene with excitement. Unfortunately, Joy was running out of things to say to the giant bouncer and he turned his head just in time to catch Yeri.

“No no no no no!” Yeri said calmly again. “You don't understand! This is Princess Irene of Sweden!”

“Finland,” Joy corrected her.

“Sorry, Finland,” Yeri said, remaining on her knees. “I am bowing to her. Join me!”

Joy quickly got on her knees and the two of them began to worship Irene's feet. Irene looked around awkwardly as everyone in the club began to stare, and she once again gave them the royal wave. Nobody seemed very impressed.

“Oh Irene!” her mother said, trying to catch her breath after laughing so hard.

The big burly bouncer turned his back and spoke into his walkie-talkie. “Boys, got a situation with the princess and the lady.”

Yeri looked at both the girls in panic and mouthed, “Hide!” The girls jumped to their feet and fled. The camera searched through the crowds for the girls but couldn't find them.

From her seat in Club Diva, Irene groaned loudly and held her head in her hands as it finally clicked with her what was about to happen.

Paul and Mustache Man rushed upstairs to the club and met up at the gold curtain with the very big man. “What's going on?” Mustache Man asked him.

“Those girls you told me to keep my eye on tried to crawl through to the other side,” the big man said seriously. You could tell by looking at him that his previous job involved killing people if they tried to crawl over to the other side. He was taking this breach of security very seriously. “Where are they?” Mustache Man asked.

The big man cleared his throat and looked away. “They're hiding, boss.” Mustache Man rolled his eyes. “They're hiding?”

“Yes, boss.”

“Where? In the club?” “I think so, boss.” “You think so?”

“Well, they didn't pass us on our way in, so they must still be here,” Paul piped up.

“OK,” Mustache Man sighed. “Well, let's start looking then, get someone to keep an eye on the curtain.”

The camera secretly followed the three bouncers as they patrolled the club looking behind couches, under tables, behind curtains; they even got someone to check the toilets. Irene's family laughed hysterically at the scene unfolding before their eyes.

There was a bit of commotion at the top of the club and the bouncers headed toward the noise to sort it out. A crowd was beginning to gather around and the two skinny dancers dressed in gold body paint had stopped dancing and were staring with horrified expressions at the bed. The camera panned across to the king-size bed that was tilted for display. Underneath the gold silk sheets there appeared to be three pigs fighting under a blanket. Joy, Yeri and Irene rolled around screaming at one another, trying to make themselves as flat as possible so they wouldn't be noticed. The crowd thickened, and soon enough the music was shut down. The three big lumps under the bed stopped squirming and suddenly froze, not knowing what was going on outside.

The bouncers counted to three and pulled the covers off the bed. Three very startled-looking girls appearing like deer caught in headlights stared back at them and lay there as flat as they could on their backs with their arms stiffly by their sides.

“One just had to get forty winks before one left,” Irene said with her royal accent and the other girls burst out laughing.

“Come on, Princess, the fun's over,” said Paul. The three men accompanied the girls outside, assuring them that they would never again be allowed back into the club.

“Can I just tell my friends that we're gone?” Joy asked.

The men tutted and looked away.

“Excuse me? Am I talking to myself? I asked you if it was OK if I go in and tell my friends that we had to leave?”

“Look, stop playing around, girls,” Mustache Man said angrily. “Your friends aren't in there. Now off you go, back to your beds.”

“Excuse me,” Joy said angrily, “I have two friends in the VIP bar; one of them has pink hair and the other one . . .”

“Girls!” he raised his voice. “She does not want anyone bothering her. She is no more your friend than the man on the moon. Now clear off before you get yourselves into more trouble.” Everyone in the club howled with laughter.

The scene changed to “The Long Journey Home,” and all the girls were in the taxi. Yuju sat like a dog with her head hanging out of the open window by order of the taxi driver. “You're not throwing up in my cab. You either stick your head out the window or you walk home.” Yuju's face was almost purple and her teeth were chattering, but she wasn't going to walk all the way home. Seohyun sat with her arms crossed and with a huff on her face, angry with the girls for forcing her to leave the club so early but more embarrassingly for blowing her cover as a famous rock singer. Joy and Yeri had fallen asleep with their heads resting on each other. The camera turned around to focus on Irene, who was sitting in the passenger seat once again. But this time she wasn't talking the ear off the taxi driver; she rested her head on the back of the seat and stared straight ahead out into the dark night. Irene knew what she was thinking as she watched herself. Time to go home to that big empty house alone again.

“Happy Birthday, Irene,” Yuju's tiny little voice trembled.

Irene turned around to smile at her and came face-to-face with the camera. “Are you still filming with that thing? Turn it off!” and she knocked the camera out of Baekhyun's hand. The end.

As Wendy went to turn the lights up in the club, Irene slipped quickly away from the gang and escaped through the nearest door. She needed to collect her thoughts before everyone started talking about it. She found herself in a tiny storeroom surrounded by mops and buckets and empty kegs. What a stupid place to hide, she thought. She sat down on a keg and thought about what she had just seen. She was in shock. She felt confused and angry at Baekhyun; he had told her that he was making a documentary about club life. She distinctly remembered him not mentioning anything about making a show of her and her friends. And he had literally made a show of them. If he had asked her politely if he could do it, that would be a different matter. Although she still wouldn't have agreed to do it.

But the last thing she wanted to do right now was to scream at Baekhyun in front of everyone. Apart from the fact that the documentary had completely humiliated her, Baekhyun had actually filmed it and edited it very well. If it had been anyone else but her on the TV, Irene would have thought it very deserving of the award. But it was her, so therefore it didn't deserve to win . . . Parts of it had been funny, she agreed, and she didn't mind so much the bits of her and her friends being so silly, it was more the sneaky shots of her unhappiness that bothered her.

Thick salty tears trickled down her face and she wrapped her arms around her body to comfort herself. She had seen on television how she truly felt. Lost and alone. She cried for Seulgi, she cried for herself with big, thick, heaving sobs that hurt her ribs whenever she tried to catch her breath. She didn't want to be alone anymore, and she didn't want her family seeing the loneliness she tried so hard to hide from them. She just wanted Seulgi back and didn't care about anything else. She didn't care if she came back and they fought every day, she didn't care if they were broke and had no house and no money. She just wanted her. She heard the door open behind her and felt strong arms wrapping themselves around her frail body. She cried as though months of built-up anguish were all tumbling out at once.

“What's wrong with her? Didn't she like it?” she heard Baekhyun ask worriedly.

“Just leave her be, son,” her mum said softly, and the door was closed behind them again as Wendy her hair and rocked her softly.

Finally after crying what felt like all the tears in the world, Irene stopped and let go of Wendy. “Sorry,” she sniffed, drying her face with the sleeves of her top.

“There's no need to be sorry,” she said, gently removing her hand from her face and handing her a tissue.

She sat in silence while trying to compose herself.

“If you're upset about the documentary, then there's no need,” she said, sitting down on a crate of glasses opposite her.

“Yeah right,” she said sarcastically, wiping her tears again.

“No really,” she said honestly, “I thought it was really funny. You all looked like you were having a great time.” sHe smiled at her.

“Pity that's not how I felt,” she said sadly.

“Maybe that's not how you felt, but the camera doesn't pick up on feelings, Irene.”

“You don't have to try to make me feel better.” Irene was embarrassed at being consoled by a stranger.

“I'm not trying to make you feel better, I'm just saying it like it is. Nobody but you noticed whatever it is that's upsetting you. I didn't see anything, so why should anyone else?”

Irene felt mildly better. “Are you sure?”

“I'm sure I'm sure,” she said, smiling. “Now you really have to stop hiding in all the rooms in my club, I might take it personally,” she laughed.

“Are the girls OK?” Irene asked, hoping it was just her being stupid after all. There was loud laughter from outside.

“They're fine, as you can hear,” she said, nodding toward the door. “Seohyun's delighted everyone will think she's a star, Yeri has finally come out of the toilet and Joy just can't stop laughing. Although Suho's giving Yuju a hard time about throwing up on the way home.” Irene giggled.

“So you see, nobody even noticed what you saw.”

“Thanks, Wendy.” She took a deep breath and smiled at her. “You ready to go face your public?” she asked.

“Think so.” Irene stepped outside to the sounds of laughter. The lights were up and everyone was sitting around the table and happily sharing jokes and stories. Irene joined the table and sat beside her mum. Elizabeth wrapped her arm around her daughter and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Well, I can assure you,” Yuju spoke up, “that what you saw is not a regular girls' night out.” .

“So is it OK?” Baekhyun asked Irene, afraid he had upset his sister. Irene threw him a look.

“I thought you would like it, Rene,” he said worriedly.

“I might have liked it if I had known what you were doing,” she snapped back. “But I wanted it to be a surprise,” he said genuinely.

“I hate surprises,” she said, rubbing her stinging eyes.

“Let that be a lesson to you, son,” Frank warned his son. “You shouldn't go around filming people without them knowing what you're doing. It's illegal.”

“I bet they didn't know that when they chose him for the award,” Elizabeth agreed.

“You're not gonna tell them, are you, Irene?” Baekhyun asked worriedly.

“Not if you're nice to me for the next few months,” Irene said, slyly twisting her hair around her finger. Baekhyun made a face; he was stuck and he knew it. “Yeah whatever,” he said, waving her away.

“To tell you the truth, Irene, I have to admit I thought it was quite funny,” giggled Joy. “You and your Operation Gold Curtain,” she thumped Yeri playfully on the leg.

Yeri rolled her eyes. “Oh, I can tell you all something–I am never drinking again.”

Everyone laughed and Saeron wrapped her arm around her shoulders. “What?” she said innocently. “I really mean it.”

“Speaking of drink, would anyone like one?” Wendy stood up from her chair. “Suho?” “Yeah, a Budweiser, thanks.”

“Yuju?”

“Em . . . a white wine, please,” she said politely. “Frank?”

“A Guinness, thanks, Wendy.” “I'll have the same,” said Moonbyul. “Joy?”

“Just a Coke, please. Irene, you want the same?” she said, looking at her friend. Irene nodded. “Saeron?”

“JD and Coke, please, Wan.” “Me too,” said Baekhyun.

“Yeri?” Wendy tried to hide her smile. “Em . . . I'll have a . . . gin and tonic, please.” “Ha!” everyone jeered her.

“What?” She shrugged her shoulders as though she didn't care. “One drink is hardly going to kill me . . .”

Irene was standing over the sink with her sleeves rolled up to her elbows scrubbing the pots when she heard the familiar voice.

“Hi, honey.”

She looked up and saw Seulgi standing at the open patio doors. “Hello, you,” she smiled. “Miss me?”

“Of course.”

“Have you found that new wife yet?”

“Of course I have, she's upstairs in bed asleep,” she laughed, drying her hands.

Seulgi shook her head and tutted, “Shall I go up and suffocate her for sleeping in our bed?” “Ah, give her another hour or so,” she joked, looking at her watch, “she needs her rest.”

Seulgi looked happy, she thought, fresh-faced and still as beautiful as she remembered. Seulgi was wearing her favorite blue top, which Irene had bought her one Christmas. She stared at Irene from under her long eyelashes with her big brown puppy eyes.

“Are you coming in?” she asked, smiling.

“No, I just popped by to see how you are. Everything going OK?” Seulgi leaned against the door ledge with her hands in her pockets.

“So, so,” Irene said, weighing her hands in the air. “Could be better.”

“I hear you're a TV star now,” Seulgi grinned. “A very reluctant one,” Irene laughed.

“You'll have women falling all around you,” Seulgi assured her.

“Falling all around me is right,” Irene agreed. “The problem is they keep missing the target,” she said, pointing to herself. Seulgi laughed. “I miss you, Seulgi.”

“I haven't gone far,” Seulgi said softly.

“You leaving me again?” “For the time being.”

“See you soon,” Seulgi smiled.

She winked at her and disappeared.

Irene woke up with a smile on her face and felt like she had slept for days. “Good morning, Seulgi,” she said, happily staring up at the ceiling.

The phone rang beside her. “Hello?”

“Oh my God, Irene, just take a look at the weekend papers,” Joy said in a panic.

hey i'm back :P