The very first thing on Seulgi’s schedule as a new makeup artist at SM entertainment is a one-on-one meeting with Bae Irene, a solo rapper to whom she’s assigned, so she can get to know her makeup preferences and current comeback aesthetic. She waits in one of SM’s many practice rooms, fidgeting and chewing on her lip nervously, because she’s never watched Irene in anything except her onstage performances when they’re broadcasted on whatever channel she’s currently watching, and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t at least a little intimidated by the idol’s cold onstage persona. She knows that it doesn’t necessarily translate to Irene being cold-hearted and haughty offstage, but she’s anxious anyway because she doesn’t know what to expect.

Not to mention, Irene’s known not only for her singing, dancing and rapping, but also for her reputation as one of the nation’s top visuals, and Seulgi has historically been terrible at interacting with attractive girls. She prays fervently she won’t stutter or do anything embarrassing in front of Irene that would make Irene dislike her, or worse, cost her her job as a makeup artist at one of South Korea’s most prominent entertainment companies.

The door opens, a welcome interruption to her anxiety-ridden thoughts, and Seulgi’s head whips up to see Irene entering with a polite smile and a soft “hello, sorry I’m late.”

Seulgi’s first thought is, oh. She’s shorter than I thought she’d be, even though Seulgi isn’t that much taller by comparison, and her second thought is, oh. She has a nice smile.

She flashes a bright grin back at her because her brain is now on autopilot given how nervous she is, and realises she’s supposed to say something when an awkward silence befalls the room.

“Oh! It’s okay! I know how busy your schedule is!”

After a split second, she realises she forgot to greet the idol in return, and nearly smacks herself on the head.

“Um, also, hello, Miss Bae!” she sinks in a swift ninety-degree bow, and her ponytail whips her in the face with her enthusiasm. “Ow.”

She squeezes her eyes shut, a little mortified; why did she have to say “ow” out loud? At Irene’s silence, she cracks open one eye, thinking, this is it. This is where I get fired.

But Irene’s watching her with pretty brown eyes that are warm, and her initial smile has widened into one that’s more genuine.

“Kang Seulgi, right? It’s nice to meet you. How old are you?”

The question is straightforward but not unexpected, and Seulgi answers quickly, “I was born early 1994.”

“You can just call me unnie, okay? We’ll be working pretty closely together from now on.”

“O-okay! Irene unnie,” says Seulgi hesitantly.

“Perfect. Let’s get to work.” Irene’s lips curl up in a smile that’s slightly lopsided, and Seulgi feels her breath catch in .

Oh. She has a really nice smile.

---

At first, Seulgi struggles to get used to touching someone so gorgeous so intimately. It doesn’t help that she and Irene have barely spoken apart from their initial meeting and obligatory greetings and farewells; Irene always seems fatigued, and Seulgi doesn’t want to add to her exhaustion by forcing her to engage in unnecessary human interaction. She does her job quietly and efficiently, smiles brightly when Irene thanks her, and the conversation usually ends there. She finds some comfort in the knowledge that Irene seems to be as awkward about the close contact as she is; whenever their eyes inadvertently meet in the mirror, Irene’s always dart away, usually dropping to the phone in her lap.

At any rate, she’s proud of herself because her mind has at least stopped becoming humiliatingly blank when she needs to apply Irene’s lipstick.

(She recalls with some embarrassment the first day she tried to do so; the minute she started tracing Irene’s lips with hues of dark red, she turned nearly as red as the lipstick itself, and excused herself with a hurried gottagotothebathroomrightnowSORRY, leaving Irene staring after her quizzically, her lips half-painted.)

Today, she takes some pride in the fact that she manages to finish putting on Irene’s lipstick without her face growing warm. One step closer to being a seasoned makeup artist that actually exhibits professional behaviour. She stares at Irene’s now-rosy lips in the mirror, gnawing on her bottom lip out of habit, wondering if she should have opted for a darker shade instead. After all, Irene’s company has decided on a more mature look for her for this comeback, and Seulgi is keenly aware that where styling idols is concerned, every minuscule detail is significant.

“Is something wrong?”

Irene’s dulcet voice jolts her out of her thoughts, and she glances around, before realising that Irene is talking to her.

“Um. No! Of course not,” Seulgi stammers. Given her rookie status, the last thing she wants is for Bae Irene to think she’s incompetent at her job.

“Are you sure? You looked a little worried there.”

Seulgi relaxes a little, because Irene’s tone is light, and the corners of have curled into a friendly smile. She relents - after all, she thinks it’s only fair that idols should get some say in how they present themselves to the public. “Would you prefer dark red lipstick for today, unnie? Or this shade?”

“Hmm.” Irene looks thoughtful. “What do you think?”

Seulgi frowns a little. That was no help at all. “Honestly? I’m leaning more towards the darker red, because this concept is more mature, and dark red makes you look y - wait, not that you need red lipstick to make you look y, I mean - wait, I didn’t mean to use the word y - not that you aren’t -“

She buries her face in her hands. Accidentally insulting one of the nation’s most beloved idols in the first month of her new job is decidedly not healthy for her career. She’s swears she’s about to quit her job, sprint out the door, change her name and probably her entire vocation, when she hears stifled laughter coming from the idol. Tentatively, she peeks over her hands.

Irene’s smirking at her, and she flushes crimson. “Seulgi, you’re a good makeup artist, and probably the best one I’ve had so far. If you’re leaning towards dark red, then go for it, okay? I trust you.”

Seulgi’s mind reels at the unexpected compliment, and she’s unable to stop the slow, shy smile that spreads across her face. She looks in the mirror to see Irene watching her, a smile playing on her lips.

“Okay,” she says, reaching for her makeup remover.

---

Seulgi has grown accustomed to Bae Irene’s hectic schedule, and knows that in between being shuttled back and forth between performances, fanmeets, and variety shows, sometimes she barely even has time to eat. So it comes as little surprise to her that when she walks into the idol’s dressing room, she’s greeted by the unmistakeable smell of ramyun. She says hello to everyone in the room briefly with a smile and a bow, before moving across the room to lay out the makeup she’ll need in a few minutes.

Except that she’s forgotten that as her makeup artist, she also follows Bae Irene’s hectic schedule, and it completely slipped her mind that she skipped lunch today. Seulgi finds her eyes wandering over to the ramyun sitting tantalisingly on the coffee table. It isn't her fault that ramyun smells so good. She notices that there’s even a bowl of kimchi that Irene’s chopsticks dip into occasionally, and she nearly groans.

“You want some?”

Seulgi’s sure her eyes are glazed over, but with some effort she tears her eyes from the ramyun and looks up to see Irene watching her, eyes amused.

“What? No, no, unnie,” she says hurriedly. Ramyun might be delicious and might be one of her favourite comfort foods, but she still has morals. She’s not about to take food from a busy, starving idol.

She casts another longing look at the innocuous cup of ramyun, and her stomach decides that it is the perfect moment to complain. Loudly.

Alarmed, Seulgi wraps both arms around her midriff as if it will help to stifle the noise, and looks at Irene with wide eyes, praying that it doesn’t reach her ears, but the corner of the idol’s lips are already lifting in a teasing grin.

Seulgi just pouts at her, because she’s too embarrassed to do anything else. Irene’s eyebrows lift in amusement, and she beckons her over with her free hand. Seulgi makes her way over, protesting weakly the whole way.

“The cup is so small, unnie, and you’re probably hungry...”

Irene ignores her. Her fingers close around Seulgi’s wrist and tug downward. Seulgi lets herself be pulled, falling on the small dressing room couch next to her. To her horror, her foot catches on one of the table legs, making her stumble, and she squeezes her eyes shut, hands flailing, fully preparing to land face-first on the couch, but her fall is broken by something that’s soft and warm and smells like lavender.

Tentatively, she opens her eyes, and then wishes she didn’t, because she’s tripped straight into Irene’s lap, face planted in the crook of her neck, hands fisted in her fancy performance blouse.

Heart pounding, Seulgi’s head jolts up, very narrowly missing banging into Irene’s jaw, and she finds herself practically nose-to-nose with the idol. For a heartbeat, Irene seems just as frozen as she is — Seulgi thinks she sees pink tinting her cheeks, but can’t be sure, because her stomach chooses that moment to interrupt with an insistent growl.

Irene bursts into laughter, her forehead dropping to rest against Seulgi’s shoulder. Seulgi can do little else but blush furiously. Irene reaches around her for the cup of ramyun, and Seulgi shakes her head emphatically, momentarily forgetting she’s still in Irene’s lap, guilt overwhelming her embarrassment.

“It’s your lunch and you need it more than I do,” she tries again, without much conviction (she can feel her stomach threatening to growl obnoxiously again).

“Your stomach says otherwise,” Irene teases, and Seulgi covers her face with her hands in mortification, certain even her ears are crimson. “You’re eating whether you like it or not. Would you prefer to stay on my lap while you do it?”

Seulgi scrambles backwards with a squeak at the realisation, arms pinwheeling. Irene looks like she’s barely managing to hold in her laughter.

“S-sorry! Sorry,” she stammers, feeling her face grow uncomfortably hot. Her eyes fall to the fresh creases in Irene’s blouse where her hands had been earlier, and guilt overwhelms her embarrassment. She‘s Irene’s makeup artist — she‘s supposed to make Irene look good, not ruin her appearance. This panicked thought prompts Seulgi to reach forward and attempt to smooth the wrinkles out, still apologising at rapid-fire speed.

She only halts in her movements when she feels cool hands encircle her wrists, and looks up from Irene’s blouse to meet her eyes.

“It’s okay,” Irene soothes, grinning at her. “You’re so cute. It’s okay.”

“Unnie, why are you laughing...this blouse is probably worth more than I am,” Seulgi protests, but it only makes Irene laugh harder. After a moment, she fully registers Irene’s words. Cute? Her face burns.

Irene doesn’t seem to notice, pushing the cup of ramyun into Seulgi’s hands, dipping her chopsticks in and emerging with glorious red-specked strands of spicy ramyun twined around them. She leans forward, right into Seulgi’s personal space.

Taken aback, Seulgi jerks back instinctively, and Irene puts a hand on her knee to steady her. “Eat,” she commands, and Seulgi realises with a start that she intends to feed her. Imagining this alone makes heat creep up her neck again, and she tries to take the chopsticks from Irene, but the latter’s grip is surprisingly vice-like.

“I’m trying to feed you, just eat,” Irene tells her, as if Seulgi isn’t already painfully aware. Irene’s hand on her knee feels like it’s burning through her skintight jeans. Swallowing dryly, she leans forward and takes the noodles into . She still feels guilty, but the ramyun tastes sinfully good. She forgets about Irene’s face in close proximity and slurps everything up happily, a smile of contentment on her face that only grows when Irene slots some kimchi into as well.

Suddenly, a smooth finger presses at the corner of her lips, and she promptly starts blushing again. “You had something,” Irene murmurs, and Seulgi’s heart pounds so wildly in her chest she’s surprised Irene doesn’t hear it.

“Thank you, unnie,” she mumbles, and looks up just in time to see Irene’s lips quirking up into a crooked smile that takes her breath away.

“Of course.”

---

Seulgi’s carefully removing Irene’s makeup after a fanmeet. Irene has to rush off to the airport after this to fly to Japan for a concert that’s being held the next day, and she’s so physically and mentally drained that she’s debating the pros and cons of just going completely bare-faced at the airport.

“I’m tired of wearing makeup,” Irene grouses, and Seulgi sympathises — if she were forced to plaster on a thick coat of makeup on her face nearly every day, she would be tired of it too. Normally, makeup artists aren’t the ones prettying up idols if they’re just headed to the airport, but...

“I could do it for you, if you’re too tired,” Seulgi offers. “But if you don’t want to, I wouldn’t worry about it too much, unnie.”

She gently peels off the false lashes she had stuck on only two hours before, and says absentmindedly, “You’re always pretty no matter what, anyway.”

Irene turns her head to look at her, and Seulgi whines, “Unnie, stay still!”

It’s only when she hears Irene’s muttered sorry that she fully registers what she said. A few months ago, she would be either be scrambling out the door with a hasty excuse involving the bathroom, or burying her face in her hands. But she’s closer to Irene now and can actually talk to her and compliment her like a functional human being without her mind becoming frustratingly blank.

A comfortable silence falls between them, until Irene breaks it. “Doesn’t your back hurt bending over to reach my face like that?”

Seulgi feels a hand sliding onto the small of her back, and she blinks owlishly at Irene, suddenly tongue-tied.

“Uhh,” she says eloquently. Irene’s hand moves, starting to rub her lower back.

“See, you have knots.” Irene looks at her, her eyebrows pushing together in worry. She glances around, frowning. “Is there an extra chair?”

“I’m used to it, it’s okay—” Seulgi starts to protest, but suddenly Irene’s hand is slipping from her back and she’s shifting in her chair, patting the empty space next to her, and Seulgi’s eyes widen, realising what Irene’s about to suggest.

“Sit. Please.”

Seulgi’s about to shake her head vigorously, but she takes one look at Irene’s concerned face and knows there’s no room for argument. Swallowing dryly, she sits facing Irene, her kneecap pushing uncomfortably against the firm backing of the chair, and tries to concentrate on wiping away the last vestiges of Irene’s makeup. It’s harder now because Irene’s frustratingly gorgeous face is centimetres away from hers, and their thighs are pressed together, and — wow, Seulgi’s finding it difficult to formulate coherent thought now.

“W-want me to do your airport makeup for you? I mean, your makeup airport? I mean — your makeup for the airport?” Seulgi stutters, trying her best not to spontaneously combust.

Irene appears to mull it over, before giving Seulgi a mischievous smile that nearly stops her heart. Their noses are almost touching. Seulgi feels a little lightheaded.

“You know what? Nah. I’m in the mood to see ten articles about my unprecedented bare face today.”

---

The articles do appear just as Irene predicts, as well as an Instagram post on Bae Irene’s official account. (Seulgi follows her on Instagram because she’s working with her, obviously.) Irene’s grinning in the picture, hand thrown over her head in a cheeky V-sign. Her face is devoid of makeup and she still looks unfairly pretty.

The caption reads: Decided to go bare-faced today because I have the best and the cutest makeup artist~, and Seulgi nearly falls off the chair she’s sitting on, rubbing her eyes to make sure she read correctly.

Mutely, she scrolls down, trying to see if Irene concluded the post with ha ha just kidding, obviously I didn’t mean cute or something, but the post unhelpfully ends there. Among the featured comments at the bottom of the post is one from Park Joy, Irene’s actress friend that she’s mentioned a few times. Seulgi nearly snorts as she reads it.

@joyparkSY what’s the correlation????
@officialbjh shut up park sooyoung

---

Seulgi’s headed back from the bathroom on a chilly Sunday afternoon, but she’s convinced she’s lost her way, because the SBS building has an annoyingly complex layout, and all the endless corridors look the same. She berates herself for leaving her phone back in Irene’s dressing room. Oh, well. Thankfully, she’s finished with Irene’s makeup. She might be trapped in the SBS building for all eternity, but at least she’s done her job right.

Frustrated, she opens a door at random in what she thinks is a familiar-looking corridor, blinks at who she belatedly recognises to be EXID’s leader, and hastily closes the door after apologising.

She continues walking, rounds a corner, and finds herself in an empty corridor, squinting at a dimly-lit staircase. She doesn’t remember that being anywhere near Irene’s dressing room, and is about to turn on her heel and head in the opposite direction, when she hears quiet sniffling.

Her first reaction is to back away, eyes widening. There’s a ghost. I’m gonna die.

Then she takes hesitant steps forward, craning her neck to see in the gloom. The SBS building can’t possibly be haunted...right?

The disembodied sniffling continues, before it stops, and Seulgi hears a long, drawn-out sigh. Ghosts don’t sigh, do they? Curiosity gets the better of her and she heads towards the stairwell, feeling almost relieved when she sees a very human figure curled up in one corner, back facing her. At the sound of Seulgi’s footsteps, the person glances up, and Seulgi freezes when she realises who it is.

“Seulgi,” says Irene, looking alarmed. Her eyes are red-rimmed and slightly puffy. Seulgi panics for a moment, and she almost wants to apologise for intruding on something so personal and then leave as fast as her feet can take her, but then it occurs to her that if someone’s crying alone, then they could probably use someone else to comfort them.

“Are you okay, unnie?” she asks tentatively. “I could leave if you want, but, um, I’ve been told I’m a good listener if you want to talk about it.”

It’s the first time Seulgi’s ever seen the normally composed idol look nervous and hesitant. Irene looks at her before nodding slowly, and it’s all the confirmation Seulgi needs. She makes her way over to Irene’s side and sits, pausing uncertainly for a brief moment before wrapping her arms around Irene’s small frame. She’s usually shy about touching other people, but Irene looks like she could really use a hug, and her instincts prove to be right because she doesn’t have to wait long before Irene’s returning the embrace. Seulgi can feel the idol’s body shuddering with her attempts to restrain her tears, so she rubs soothing circles on her back, softly telling Irene to let it out.

When Irene’s sniffling subsides, Seulgi takes the chance to ask, “What’s wrong, unnie? Maybe I can help.”

Irene sighs. “It’s really nothing...I got criticised yesterday for having a bad attitude on a show because I was quieter than usual and neglected to smile as often, and I made the mistake of reading the comments on some of the articles...” she trails off, shrugging, but she doesn’t need to continue; Seulgi knows how vicious and unjust some netizens can be.

“Unnie, that’s stupid,” she begins, and Irene nods, her face falling.

“I know, I’m sorry for pushing this onto you —“

Seulgi doesn’t let her finish, shaking her head adamantly. “No, I mean it’s stupid that they expect you to smile all the time like some robot! So what if you don’t smile often? You’re still one of the nicest and kindest people I know!”

Seulgi stops to take a breath. It’s obvious Irene isn’t convinced, so she continues in a softer voice, “I was so nervous at first when I started working at SM, but you were the one of the kindest people to me here, even though you didn’t have to be. You gave me your own food when I was hungry, you reassured me when I thought I was doing a bad job with your makeup, and no one’s ever worried about my back hurting when I do makeup for them before —“

She feels frustrated tears beginning to pool at the corner of her eyes, and she wants nothing more than to bury her face in her hands because she’s self-conscious about crying in front of people, but this is about Irene, not her, and so she ploughs on determinedly.

“One of the reasons I’m more confident at my job here is because of you, so it just makes me upset because they don’t even know you, and they have no right to say things like that,” she finishes. If anything, she‘s proud of herself for managing not to stumble over her words at such a crucial moment.

Irene’s looking at her wordlessly, her lips parted, and Seulgi fervently hopes she didn’t say anything that made her more upset, because she was being completely honest about everything she just said.

“Seulgi, I —“ Irene’s voice breaks, and then her eyes widen. “Why are you crying?”

“I don’t know, I cry easily and I’m upset they think of you that way!”

Unexpectedly, this earns her a watery laugh from Irene, and the arms around her squeeze tighter. Seulgi feels Irene’s nose press into her shoulder.

“Thank you, Seul,” Irene mumbles, her voice a little muffled by the oversized sweater Seulgi’s wearing. “I’m so glad I met you.”

Seulgi tries not to beam at the new nickname in the solemn moment, but ultimately fails. She feels warmth coursing steadily through her veins. “Me too, unnie.”

---

Irene doesn’t avert her eyes anymore when they accidentally meet Seulgi’s in the mirror. Instead, when it inevitably happens, she continues to meet Seulgi’s gaze steadily, and Seulgi’s always the first one to turn away, feeling the urge to tug at her collar. It’s hard enough focusing on her job, and she absolutely refuses to be deterred by Irene’s distracting brown eyes. Except sometimes those eyes seem to wander and land inexplicably on her lips, and Seulgi knows what that should mean, but can’t wrap her head around the fact that Bae Irene might be checking her out.

It’s a Friday when Seulgi is finishing up Irene’s makeup for Music Bank and talking animatedly about a cute dog she met just outside the KBS building, waving her hands around as she describes it.

“I swear, it was this big!” she spreads her hands as wide as they can go, and catches Irene shooting her a fond smile, shaking her head.

“I believe you.”

“Irene unnie,” she bemoans, “I’ll probably never get to see it again. Do you think I’ll get to see it again?”

“Plenty of other cute dogs in the sea. Joohyun.”

“My name is Seulgi,” she says, confused, and Irene laughs into her hand.

“Irene’s my stage name,” the idol clarifies, “but people I’m close to call me Joohyun.” She looks at Seulgi hopefully, and Seulgi fights hard to keep the blush from rising to her face. People I’m close to. I’m a people she’s close to.

“Joohyun unnie,” she tries after a beat, unable to stop her cheeks from pinking, and more or less resigned to it at this point. She thinks it’s worth it because Irene’s lips widen in what is fast starting to become Seulgi’s favourite lopsided smile, and she smiles back, her heart pounding.

But then Irene’s eyes drop down to Seulgi’s lips, flicking back up almost immediately, so quickly Seulgi nearly misses it. Self-consciously, she bites down on her lower lip, and Irene’s eyes darken almost imperceptibly. Seulgi’s face feels like it’s on fire.

She’s going to have to figure whatever this is out soon, because she might go crazy if she doesn’t.

---

When Seulgi sees the headlines proclaiming two of South Korea’s most popular idols are dating, her heart sinks. She thinks that it’s just like her to misread people and their actions, and that she was being unrealistic to think that Bae Irene of all people would be remotely interested in her.

But dating rumours are mostly fake, right? Seulgi clicks on the link, chewing on her lip. She’s never read one of these before, having always found the gossip-ridden side of the media ridiculous, so she’s not sure how to determine its validity. She scrolls past messy photo collages boasting couple rings, couple bags, and couple socks, of all things, and insists to herself that they must be coincidences. She’s only just managed to reassure herself when she scrolls down further and sees the photos where they’re actually in the same frame; she looks at the blinding smile Joohyun‘s giving the other idol and feels a pit of unease forming in her stomach. Said idol looks completely enamoured with her, and Seulgi can’t fault him for that.

Wouldn’t Joohyun at least have mentioned this person’s name to her if he was that important in her life? Seulgi ignores the small twinge in her chest that worries otherwise and tells herself that she’ll ask Joohyun the next day.

---

The next day, Joohyun’s mysteriously absent from the waiting room, and Seulgi’s hands twist anxiously in her lap before she catches word that the idol’s running late and stuck in a traffic jam. For lack of anything better to do, she starts organising her brushes and palettes by length, then by colour, trying to distract herself, but thoughts of Joohyun and her cursed lopsided smile keep resurfacing in her traitorous mind.

She almost drops the bottle of foundation in her hands when Joohyun hurries into the waiting room with a distinctly reddish mark on her otherwise pale neck, looking uncharacteristically harried.

Any hope Seulgi might have had is rudely extinguished and she tells Joohyun, her voice small, that she’s going to have to cover the mark up. She resolutely refuses to make eye contact with Joohyun the whole time she speaks, even though she can feel Joohyun’s gaze on her in the mirror. Her eyes are expressive, and the last thing she wants is for Joohyun to recognise disappointment in them and badger her with questions. Quietly, she grabs a tube of concealer and unscrews it.

“Seul, you seem a little off today, is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” she mumbles.

Joohyun purses her lips but says nothing, continuing to watch Seulgi in the mirror as she dabs at her neck. Abruptly, Joohyun’s phone buzzes violently on the desk, making both of them jump.

Sighing, Joohyun puts it to her ear. Seulgi hears the agitated voice of her manager even from where she’s positioned behind Joohyun, and she doesn’t mean to eavesdrop, but why is her manager’s voice so loud?

“Unnie, I swear, if I could stop the dating rumours, I would,” Joohyun grumbles.

Seulgi keeps her eyes down, wondering if she should step back and let Joohyun have her privacy, but Joohyun’s about to perform soon and they’re running out of time. Joohyun’s manager is now speaking in a distinctly accusatory tone, and Seulgi manages to catch the words “fansite pictures”, “neck” and “hickey”. Her ears turn pink. She prepares to step away and escape anywhere she won’t be able to hear the rest of this conversation, performance be damned, but then she hears Joohyun’s voice drop to a sheepish, lower register.

“Ah, unnie, about that...it wasn’t anything like that, I was straightening my hair last night and wasn’t being careful, so I ended up burning my neck a little...”

Seulgi blinks, her hands stilling on Joohyun’s neck, and finally meets Joohyun’s eyes in the mirror. What?

might have fallen open a little, because Joohyun’s now blushing and avoiding her eyes.

“Yeah, I know, I should have covered it up, but I was rushing off and I forgot. The photos are probably all over the internet by now, huh?” Joohyun says ruefully. “Yeah, okay. Bye, unnie.”

Seulgi pretends to focus on touching up the rest of Joohyun’s makeup, trying to process what she heard; she can feel the idol’s hesitant gaze on her, probably wondering if she’s still upset. It’s silent between them for a while, before Joohyun speaks up. “Thanks for helping me cover it up,” she says softly.

“No problem, unnie,” Seulgi responds shyly.

Sensing the change in her mood, Joohyun’s mouth quirks in a familiar lopsided smile. Seulgi’s face heats up in response, and she has to duck her head, for fear of Joohyun noticing.

“I almost wish you hadn’t heard that, it’s embarrassing,” Joohyun groans, and Seulgi’s unable to stop a smile from tugging at her lips.

“Almost?”

“It seemed to cheer you up, so,” Joohyun shrugs, “it was worth it. I don’t like seeing a sad Seulgi, okay?”

Seulgi’s heart thumps wildly in her chest, and she’s almost surprised Joohyun can’t hear it given her proximity.

“Okay,” she manages to say, and before she can stop herself, blurts, “So you’re not dating him, then?”

She wants to slap a hand over , but Joohyun smiles wryly and says, “God, no. We’re just friends. I don’t even swing that way. Gross.”

Seulgi tries to hide her smile of relief, but is pretty sure she’s failing horribly. She almost doesn’t dare to look up and meet Joohyun’s eyes, busying herself instead with putting her makeup brushes away, but she chances a quick glance anyway, and Joohyun’s eyebrow is raised, her smile knowing.

Seulgi’s face reddens for what seems like the thousandth time, and she drops her gaze immediately, muttering a hasty bye, unnie and speed-walking across the room to dump her kit back into her bag, determinedly ignoring the soft laughter coming from behind her.

---

As Seulgi packs up her things following the conclusion of Bae Irene’s first fanmeet in Shanghai, she senses someone approaching her, and glances up to see Joohyun smiling at her, cheeks flushed, skin slightly damp with sweat. She’s practically glowing, and Seulgi thinks that no one should have the right to look this gorgeous even after spending two hours talking and dancing.

“Hey, Seul.”

“Unnie!” she greets. “Congratulations, I could hear the screams from the dressing room, everyone loved you!”

Joohyun just pulls her into a giddy hug in response, and Seulgi smiles contentedly as she snuggles into her friend’s embrace. She feels Joohyun’s arms tighten around her in response. Joohyun is someone who revels in physical intimacy between people she’s close to, and though it made Seulgi shy initially, she thinks she’s slowly getting used to it.

(Her elevated heartbeat when Joohyun touches her is far from platonic, but no one needs to know that.)

“Are you done for the day?”

It’s nearly 11 at night, but Seulgi will hardly be surprised if Joohyun tells her she has something on after this. Her schedule is no less hectic than it had been a year ago.

“Yes! Well...not exactly. I kind of wanted to go somewhere while we’re still in Shanghai, and I was wondering...“ Joohyun draws back from the embrace, and Seulgi tries not to look disappointed at the loss of contact.

“Unnie?” Seulgi prompts when Joohyun doesn’t continue. The idol looks at her feet and clears , and Seulgi might be mistaken, but she thinks she sees Joohyun’s ears turn pink.

“Do you want to go with me?” Joohyun finally says. “I know it’s late, so it’s okay if you don’t want to —“

“Yes!” Seulgi interrupts immediately, without thinking. She remembers belatedly she’s free after this, but regardless, something tells her that she would choose Joohyun over anything else in her schedule. “Um, where are we going, exactly?”

Joohyun gives her a smile that’s nothing short of breathtaking, and her heartbeat quickens.

“You’ll see. I want it to be a surprise.”

---

They take one of the massive (well, massive to Seulgi, anyway) company cars to the place Joohyun has in mind, and the idol is adamant about covering her eyes the whole way because “it needs to be a surprise”. Seulgi feels like she’s in lavender-scented heaven with the older girl’s cool palm pressed to her face, but pretends to squirm playfully for the fun of it, and gets a reprimanding poke in the ribs as a result.

“Unnie, I’m ticklish!” she complains, shying away.

“Good,” Joohyun says firmly.

Seulgi pouts in her general direction and settles down after that, leaning closer to Joohyun. The vehicle has an expansive interior, but they’re huddled together in the backseat anyway, and Seulgi wouldn’t have it any other way. A bump in the road jolts them closer to each other, shoulders pressing together, and Seulgi still can’t see anything, but she can tell Joohyun’s turned towards her because warm breaths are fanning across her cheek.

Before she can say anything about it, however, the car slows to a halt, and Joohyun’s tugging her out of her seat, still keeping her hand pressed to her eyes.

“Wait, the step, watch out,” Joohyun speaks, low and urgent, into her ear, and Seulgi understands that she’s trying to warn her about the sizeable step down from the car.

“It’s okay, unnie, I’ll just jump. Am I at the edge?” Seulgi asks.

Joohyun hums in reply, and Seulgi hears the telltale click of her heels as she steps down first. A hand slips around her waist. “Okay, jump.”

Seulgi hops down blindly, trusting her, and she lands pressed flush against Joohyun, the hand at her waist steadying her. She thinks she really should be used to this by now, but her cheeks heat up anyway, and she hastily steps away from Joohyun, coughing lightly. She hears Joohyun thank the driver, and the hand at her waist gently nudges her forward, and she willingly obliges. She doesn’t have to wait long before Joohyun’s hand drops from her eyes, and she blinks into the sudden brightness.

They’re standing before a vast river, its dark surface smooth and calm as a mirror, moonlight glimmering on the occasional ripple. The effulgent neon lights adorning the buildings opposite play across the water, splashing vibrant colours along its length. Occasionally, a lone ferry boat tracks merrily across, leaving a myriad of hues dancing in its wake.

Seulgi closes her eyes and curls her hands around the railing, breathing in the crisp night air, and listening to the quiet lapping of the water against the stony wall. When she opens her eyes, Joohyun is leaning against the railing and watching her, something indecipherable in her eyes.

The older girl turns to gaze across the river. “Isn’t it beautiful? I wish we’d been here for the sunset. It would’ve been even better.”

She exhales in a wistful sigh, chin tilting upward, a serene smile lifting the corners of her lips, and Seulgi feels her stomach twist itself into knots, because she honestly doesn’t know how someone can be this beautiful. She feels the urge to tell Joohyun that if she wanted, she would be more than willing to stay in this very spot with her until sunrise the next day, but she doesn’t know if that’s too much to offer, and she also wants Joohyun to get ample rest after her fanmeet, so she stays quiet.

“It is beautiful,” Seulgi murmurs after a few moments, her eyes following one of the brightly painted boats. “Where are we?”

“Waitan,” Joohyun answers, “the Bund. I’ve wanted to come here ever since the company told me we were going to Shanghai.”

Shyly, Seulgi slides her hand to rest atop Joohyun’s on the railing.

“Thank you for bringing me here, unnie” she says softly. “I’m honoured.”

“I wouldn’t have wanted to bring anyone else.” Joohyun smiles crookedly at her. Casually, she flips her palm, intertwining their fingers, and Seulgi’s heart skips a beat.

“Unnie, when you say things like that...” she protests, and Joohyun’s smile only widens.

“Yes?” Joohyun takes a step forward. They’re centimetres apart. Seulgi gulps.

“It makes me think...you know...”

“Think what?” Joohyun presses, her tone playful. Her eyes are twinkling.

They’re still holding hands, and Joohyun’s so close Seulgi can feel her breath against her lips. Her tongue darts out to wet her lips. She sees Joohyun’s eyes flick down at the action, and slowly flick back up, and from the glint in her eyes, Joohyun knows she’s been caught.

Slowly, as if giving her time to pull away if she wants to, Joohyun kisses her. Seulgi’s heart pounds wildly in her chest as she moves her lips against Joohyun’s, the familiar scent of lavender making her heady. Joohyun’s lips are unbelievably soft, and she tastes faintly of vanilla and something sweet Seulgi can’t be bothered to identify. She presses closer to Joohyun, her hands grasping at the crook of her elbows, and she feels more than hears Joohyun’s breath hitch in .

They break apart, breathing heavily, foreheads touching. Joohyun looks as dazed as Seulgi feels.

“Does that make things clear enough for you?” Joohyun breathes, lips brushing against Seulgi’s with each syllable, hands slipping to the small of her back.

Heart swelling in her chest, Seulgi just kisses her again.

---

They walk alongside the river, Joohyun’s arm linked loosely through Seulgi’s, comfortably silent in the tranquillity of the night air and reluctant to head back to the hotel.

Seulgi remembers her earlier dilemma and offers, “Unnie, would you like to stay for the sunrise?"

(She’s exhausted because she’s been running back and forth since noon to help with fanmeet preparations, but she remembers Joohyun telling her that the colours in the sky when the sun rises and sets is one of her favourite things, and so she thinks it’s a fair trade-off.)

Joohyun looks at her, surprised. “That would mean staying for five more hours, Seul.”

Seulgi only shrugs in response. She thinks it would be worth it just to see the smile on Joohyun’s face.

For a moment, Joohyun looks tempted, but then she shakes her head firmly. “It’s okay. We’re both tired, especially you. I saw you stifling yawns while you were helping me with my makeup, and you deserve sleep.”

“You’re –“ Seulgi feels her cheeks heat up at what she’s about to say, and Joohyun looks at her curiously. “You’re worth staying for the sunset, unnie. I wouldn’t mind.”

She looks down, fidgeting, and feels a finger tilting her chin up. Joohyun is smiling at her, looking at her with eyes that are soft. “Well, you’re worth missing the sunset for.”

Joohyun leans forward to kiss her, long and slow, and it leaves her blushing and tingling all the way down to her fingertips. Then she draws back and actually winks, saying, “Plus, it just means we’ll have to see more sunrises and sunsets together in Seoul.”

It sounds like a promise.