Irene was used to attention. As soon as she reached puberty, she found herself under the gaze of others whenever she walked into a room. It was a nuisance at first— so much that she’d taken to pretending to nap during lunch to stop those kids from other classes from peeking at her.

And now as an idol she was the object of stares constantly. She didn’t really mind anymore, she learned to tune it all out like white noise but there was always one person that she couldn’t ignore even if she wanted to.

(She would never want to.)

She caught Seulgi staring at her an average of ten times a day and it was to the point where she almost expected to look up and see those sharp eyes gazing at her fondly. Seulgi’s attention on her was own personal security blanket in an intangible form. No matter what she was doing, as long as Seulgi was watching, she’d be okay.

She knew her girlfriend was observant with all their members too because she was caring like that. Seulgi was always the first to catch the slightest reactions from her members, whether it was Seungwan’s small frown when she struggled with Korean slang or how Sooyoung’s nostrils flared when she was getting frustrated with choreography, Seulgi would always step in and save the day.

It was her superpower and it made Irene love her that much more.

But it did break her heart a little when she noticed her girlfriend being ignored. She knew it wasn’t on purpose but Irene was protective and Seulgi deserved the best.

So when she saw her girlfriend couched down at the shore talking to herself, Irene quickly crossed the distance and knelt beside the younger girl. Without turning to