By the time she got to the entrance of her apartment, Seulgi's emotionally drained and her body felt sticky and sweaty. She tiredly opened her door and dropped her bag as soon as she entered the apartment. Seungwan immediately greeted her with a snort. 

"I thought your day's gonna be sunshine and rainbows?"

"Not in the mood, Son Seungwan. Please don't", Seulgi grumbled as she removed her T-shirt and threw away off-handedly before jumping on the sofa, face down.

"Ugh..." , she sighed heavily in relief and exhaustion as she's felt grateful to have this miserable day behind her. 

"What happened?" Wendy asked as she took a seat on the armchair near the sofa.

"Please don't ask."Seulgi responded flatly, stilling not looking up at her nosy cousin. 

"Oh, c'on!"Wendy nudged her with her right foot, "My day was dull. I need a little entertainment."

"Yah!"Seulgi yelled in annoyance as she grabbed a pillow to throw at the latter who just cackled loudly and avoided it easily.

"What is it?"

"You remember I had to leave urgently when you called in the morning on the day where I met with Irene-unnie again? For the Expo event?"

"When you spent your night outside without telling me?"

Seulgi winced and nodded. She sighed before continuing, "The girl I slept with that night's turned out to be Unnie's classmate and partner for the project."

"Oh, no..."Wendy whispered in horror.

"Oh yes, I met her with Irene-unnie."

"Please tell me you remembered her name."

"..."

"Kang Seulgi...", the disappointment in Wendy's tone was evident, "I told you that habit of yours will bite back at you one of these days."

"i know"Seulgi responded, "Save your lectures. I'm not in a mood for this. Unnie's so mad at me."

"Something's wrong if she's not."

"Son Seungwan" Seulgi growled, "Stop rubbing salt on my wound."

"I mean it! At least she knows you are not an angel anymore."

"One of the worst ways of finding out"Seulgi groaned, her face in her hands, "She didn't even look at me throughout the dinner or even talked!And she got on the bus without even saying goodbye."

"This should be the lesson learnt, Kang Seulgi. To keep it in your pants."

"I haven't slept with anyone recently, okay?!"Seulgi didn't want to add that she tried and failed but decided it's best kept hidden with this blabbermouth. 

"It will be fine. She will cool off in a few days."

"She was so mad, Wendy-ah.I haven't seen her like that before, not even in high-school."

Wendy snorted as she took out her phone which vibrated in he pocket. She smiled. 

"I don't think you will have to worry a lot over this."

"Huh?"

Wendy showed her phone. Irene texted. 

Has Seulgi arrived?

Her T-shirt's stained with coke, btw. Can you help her with that in case she forgot?

"Do you hate her?"

Seulgi looked up at her cousin wearily. She's not emotionally available for in-depth conversation. But Wendly looked serious about the question. Seulgi had prided herself for her control of emotions for the past couple of years, even with Sunmi. Sunmi could never approach her the way she wanted to.

She didn't allow it.

Now with Irene, everything went unplanned and unexpected and she was also out of her wits. Can her heart take it? 

"You never hate the person you loved with every part of your being."

She might not be able to ready for anything Irene related in her lifetime. Everything's out of Kang Seulgi's rulebook with Irene Bae Jooyun.

"Even they break you to pieces, you just never hate them for the world."



____



When Seulgi decided to wait for Irene after the class, she had to make sure she won't cross paths with the past women of her life. She waited for her senior a bit far from the lecture theater as she looked at the reflection through the glass window.The familiar Korean beauty who appeared tiny among her classmates went out of the lecture room after a few minutes.

Seulgi breathed in heavily. The person she had her eyes on still hadn't looked up from her phone. It was all or nothing. All for a lady who broke her heart to pieces yet made her the happiest till this day.

Does Irene-unnie feel it?

Did Bae Joohyun know about it?

Seulgi took a step forward.

"Hi, Unnie."






Seulgi wondered as she sat across from Irene, waiting for their drinks at the cafe they met again on that particular morning. She knew she didn't make any mistake. This bad feeling she had in her stomach was that she knew her image had completely been shred to pieces. She didn't want her senior to find out like this. 

At least not like this. 

It's better to know from afar than to see it unfold in person. 

"I'm sorry."Seulgi said. It felt numb, saying that. Irene's eyes didn't give away anything. Seulgi decided to just look at the coffee and continued her apology.

"I'm sorry that I made it awkward between you and your friend." 

Seulgi waited patiently as Irene looked at her wearily. She was getting anxious as her self-control that she had worked on for years seemed to be slipping away as seconds go on.

"I'm sorry, too." Seulgi looked up and saw Irene biting her lips. 

"I overreacted that day. I shouldn't." Irene continued,"I'm not allowed to."

"Huh?" Seulgi didn't hear the last part as the latter mumbled.

"Sorry."

Seulgi sighed for what felt like a hundredth time in the cafe. "I normally don't treat people like that. I woke up super late for the event so I just had to get up and left."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I don't know..."Seulgi mumbled, "Should I stop? "

"No"Irene whispered as she reached for her mug and sipped the hot cocoa that Seulgi ordered according to her preference. Seulgi smiled at the gesture.

Was it because the weather was sunny outside?

Was it becasue there were a lot of couples in the cafe?

Was it because of that cheesy background music that's making Seulgi lightheaded?

"I want to make up somehow.", she blurted out even before she could stop herself.

Irene just looked at her, eyebrows raised. She took it as a sign to continue, "I have this wedding invitation out of town in New Jersey."

"When?"

"A week from now. And I have a plus-one invitation. Will you join me?"

There was no way to retract this.

"Oh?"

"I know you are also busy with K-Con. That's also ok-"

"I'd love to."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." 

Game Over.

"Great, umm, the wedding's still a week from now. Do you have any formal dress in hand? It doesn't need to be flashy."

"Yes, I have. How will you go there?"

"I will rent a car. We can visit around the city also, a day-trip sorts of."

"I can't wait." Somehow, it seemed like everything was gonna be okay when she saw that smile on Irene's face even though she walked herself on the land-mine.


____




"What the hell am I doing?"

She checked herself again, making sure there's no crease on her sleeveless corset jumpsuit that she had to wear for the wedding. Courtesy to her dear friend/groom, she had to wear this to make up for the promised dinners she missed. It was him who moved away, not her. She wouldn't be this jittery if she was going with Wendy. But she was attending the wedding with Irene and she couldn't help but feel self-conscious.

The door opened and as fitting of her acclaimed nickname,Solar the Neighborhood Yeba just had to announce her arrival with that super loud voice of hers.  

"OHH MYYY GAAWWDDD, KANG SEULG!!!!!LOOK AT YOU!!!!!"

Seulgi winced as she smiled as a greeting. She was immediately ushered to the front of Irene's room.

"She's dressing up prettily for you as your date." Seulgi tried not to blush as Solar whispered in her hear. The door was opened for her by smirking Moonbyul while her girlfriend pushed her inside.

Those nosy lesbians.

"Yongsun-ah, can you help me out?" Seulgi whipped her head and saw the scene that immediately rushed her blood to her head.

THIS IS ING TOO MUCH.

Irene was already dressed up, nearly. Her dark hair was styled beautifully in subtle waves, and she could see pat of the hoop earrings she was wearing. She wasn't wearing a necklace and that smooth porcelian skin from the shoulder to that beautiful back she could tr-

"U-unnie, it's me." She needed to stop venturing further than that for her own sanity.

"S-seulgi?!" Irene tensed up immediately and turned around as Seulgi immediately looked up at the ceiling.

"Hi, unnie."

"I-i-"

Seulgi just closed her eyes and tried not to let out a groan.That shoulder-less black dress that Irene chose to wear with flaring white sleeves and white flare at the bottom were doing somersaults in her heart.Her entire body throbbed just looking at it. And she had seen countless beautiful women.

"Youngsun!!"

"Busy, Hyunnie!!"

Yup, those lesbians were still at the door. 

She's just a friend, Kang Seulgi.

Seulgi opened her eyes and looked back down at her senior, who now had her eyes wide open with a subtle blush on her cheeks. Her eyes were trained on that see-through waist of hers and Seulgi wasn't going to find out her own feelings about that.She fixed her black suit blazer she was wearing and offered ehr help with that sinfully ped black dress."Should I help...?"

"Y-yes, please."Irene turned around and Seulgi swallowed a lump in . She slowly stepped foward to reach for that zip on the lower back, a trace of sheer wasitline black teasing her eyes.

Seulgi didn't even realize she was holding her breath as she slowly zipped up the dress. But she definitely felt that tug in her low abdomen as her fingertips brushed over the warn flesh. Was it her gasp? She wasn't sure. All she could hear was her heartbeats and all she could see was that porcelain skin.

She tried her best to ignore the sensation as she quickly finished zipping the dress.

"There, all done." she cleared as she patted Joohyun by the shoulder.

Joohyun turned to smile at her in gratitude.

It was obvious. The tension between them, the silence that could be cut with a knife.

"Shall we go?" Seulgi smiled as she felt herself shaking from trying to control her urges.

"Yeah."

 

Joohyun unconsciously held Seulgi's arm tighter as they arrived the destination. The wedding was happening at a church and many people were already gathering at the place. 

"Hey, it's okay. This is just a wedding."

"A wedding of your close friend, whom I have never met."

"Hey, he's friendly and nice."

"I know. Just my nerves talking, sorry." Joohyun conceded. She wanted to attend the wedding. This is a beautiful wedding celebrating the beautiful love between two handsome man.

And she wanted to witness it, experience it.

"Don't worry. I will be with you today.I will also introduce him to you later."

Joohyun turned to look at Seulgi and smiled widely in response.
 

"Now, shall we enter?"

 

___

The wedding was informal and everyone wasn't too focused on the proper wedding etiquette. Her friend still wanted to have a wedding at the church even without his father. Kwanghee oppa, the man who inspired her enough to dare to chase her freedom.The guy also came from an uber-wealthy family in Korea and yet, just because of his ual orientation, he was shunned in his family circle despite his skills and intellect.

A few of his cousins were there, including his mother who was surprisingly okay with it. His father wasn't. She was sure his father didn't give him his blessing.

But this was a beautiful day for a beautiful man and she wasn't going to let the negativity affect it. She looked around and saw Taeyong from a far giving her and her date the once over and raised an eyebrow. She returned a snide look and turned to other direction.

 

"....By the power vested in me by the state of New Jersey, I hereby pronounce you husband and husband."

Seulgi's spine tingled from top to bottom as her eyes became blurry with tears. It was so obvious on her friend's face as he