If Seulgi knew that she’d run into her ex-girlfriend, she never would’ve relented to her friends’ begging to go out to the opening of the new night club downtown.

It had been exactly six days (three hours and roughly forty two minutes, but not that she was counting) since their break up and it still felt as raw as if just happened moments ago.

Seulgi sighed irritably, running her fingers through her newly dyed blonde tresses. She went to the salon the day before in a spur of the moment kinda thing and while most people usually got bangs in times of crisis, Kang Seulgi lived life to the absolutely fullest.

So she decided to go full blonde instead.

It was strange– at first. Strikingly different than the brunette and black hair she grew up with but it only took one small grateful comment from Seungwan saying “you finally embody your own sunshine” to make her lose all insecurities.

“You good, Seul?” She felt a shoulder nudge against hers and she glanced at said friend with a small smile.

“As good as I can be. I’m not sure if she noticed me, seems to caught up with her new friends.” Seulgi pouted behind her drink. She looked down at the glass and frowned as the pungent sweet aroma hit her nose. She didn’t even like amaretto sours that much, it was just Joohyun’s favorite drink and in the very back of her mind, drinking it almost felt like kissing her.

Yeri threw an arm over Seulgi’s shoulders and pulled her in a playful headlock. “Don’t worry about it, unnie! Just drink and have fun!”

Seulgi looked at her friends hovering around her with hands full of drinks and smiles full of encouragement and patience and love. She knew if she asked to go home this very second, they’d agree easily and Uber back to her now half empty apartment and spend the rest of the night drinking leftover soju and watching YouTube videos until succumbing to sleep.

But her friends were trying their best to cheer her up and Seulgi was grateful. The least she could do is mirror the effort, no matter how much her heart was ripping itself into shreds. Brown eyes flitted back at her ex-girlfriend (the “ex” tasting bitter on her tongue) and how she was jumping happily to the music with her own group of friends, some of which Seulgi didn’t even recognize!

She groaned loudly and downed the remainder of her drink in a single go, grimacing as the alcohol lit her inside from the top down before warming into pools in her stomach.

“Softie Time.” She announced, making her friends snap into attention.

Softie Time was the unofficial name of the inside joke they all shared. Each girl is allowed five minutes a day to be soft and immature and as whiny as their heart pleased, before resuming their “original bad ness” as Soojung liked to called it.

“Alright, you’ve got five minutes bear.”

Seulgi’s hands flew into the air. “Was it real, was any of it real? How could Joohyun stand over there looking beautiful and radiant and happy when my heart feels so heavy it’s pulling me into the ground? And who were these new friends of hers?!”

All four pairs of eyes flew to the 22 year old on the other side of the club in the middle of a group of friends that they only recognized half of. One girl, the purple pastel haired one, must’ve said something particularly funny because Joohyun burst into to laughter, clapping her hands together. Seulgi knew she only did that when something was genuinely funny and the realization stirred darker feelings in her chest.

“Where’d she get such pretty friends all of the sudden?” She asked, voice growing soft. “Did she... did she know them while we were still together? She wouldn’t–”

“Stop it right there, Kang Seulgi.” Soojung cut off abruptly. “Joohyun would not cheat on you, you know she isn’t that kind of person.”

Seulgi bit back a whimper, shoulders slumping. “I mean, that’s what I thought too. I also thought we’d be together forever. I feel like I don’t even know her with how she acted when we broke up. Like, I look at her and I see my Hyun but it doesn’t feel like her at all anymore. It’s like some new person stole the body of the girl I love and everything just feels so wrong.”

Wendy checked her phone. “You’ve got one more minute, Seul.”

“It’s fine,” Seulgi waved off. “We can stop, I don’t want to cry and ruin my makeup. Thanks for listening guys.”

She felt arms wrap around her in a warm group hug and took a deep breath before slapping her cheeks with her hands. “Alright, let’s get ing wasted.”

The only reason why Joohyun mustered up the strength to drag herself to the new club with her friends was just the chance to see Seulgi. She remembered their friends (were they just Seulgi’s friends now? She wasn’t sure) talking about the opening nonstop days before their break up and she prayed to whatever God up There that she’d see her tonight.

Her eyes scanned the busy crowd as soon as she entered, trying to find that familiar slim silhouette she knew so very well but imagine her surprise that the body of Kang Seulgi that was carved from God herself was attached to a blonde head.

It took all her willpower not to stare and she was certain she was failing miserably. Seulgi was always beautiful, so much that she felt insecure for the longest time but it usually only took a soft kiss and a “you’re the most beautiful girl in the world, Hyun” to set her at ease.

But blonde Seulgi. Blonde Seulgi was a variable she never factored into her equation when she decided to break up with her girlfriend of three years. It was already hard enough not to gravitate to the arms she sorely missed but now Joohyun’s fingers were twitching with the desire to twirl Seulgi’s hair between them.

She heaved a small sigh, fighting the urge to openly pout but her friends, ever observant, caught it quickly.

“You good, Joo?” Tiffany asked, eyebrows scrunched in concern.

She tried her best to give a reassuring smile. “Yeah I’m fine, unnie.”

“We really don’t have to be here, especially with Seulgi and them here too.” Jessica reminded her, gesturing to the others across the club. “You don’t have to torture yourself like this.”

Joohyun rubbed her left shoulder with her right hand, feeling sheepish. “I know but I already told you guys–“

“One last time. Yeah, we know, you ing sap.”

The curse and the playful eye roll made her laugh and she was thankful she had friends as understanding as hers. She turned back to Seulgi, somewhere between happy and heartbroken to see the blonde smiling so dazzlingly with her friends.

She was happy to see Seulgi happy, her happiness was the most important. But it did hurt to see her smile so brightly, almost as if she wasn’t even bothered by the break up but Joohyun knew better. She could tell by the slight puffiness in her cheeks even all the way from where she was standing that Seulgi wasn’t keeping up with her meticulous nighttime skin routine since the break up.

It was a bit sadistic but comforting to know that her ex was as much of a mess as she was, though she was really in no position to say it out loud since she was the one to drop the ball out of nowhere.

But the night was still young and she knew she wouldn’t have to execute her plan for at least a few hours so she took one last look at the girl she was so certain she was going to marry before turning back and focusing on her friends.

A few hours ended up being no more than 45 minutes.

Somehow in that record time, Seulgi managed to drink her entire body weight in alcohol and now was barely standing on her own two foot even with Soojung and Wendy’s help.

Like instinct, Joohyun’s feet moved and she pushed her way through the crowded dance floor to reach Seulgi.

“J-Joohyun!” Wendy stuttered, surprised to see her standing before them with such a look of determination in her eyes.

“Let me take her home.”

Wendy and Soojung shared a concerned glance and looked to Yeri who only frowned.

“I’m not sure if–“

“Let me take her home, Seungwan. One last time.” Joohyun hesitated before continuing softly. “Please.”

There was a brief pause while the three friends silently debated before ultimately giving in. “Alright, fine. You still have the key right?”

She shook her head. “No, I left it when I moved out. Is the code still the same?”

“Yeah, it’s still your anniversary. Er,” Yeri stumbled. “Your old anniversary.”

Joohyun tried not to let the comment sting too much, she knew it wasn’t intentional. Thin fingers brushed Seulgi’s bangs out her eyes and she leaned down, worried with how intoxicated her ex girlfriend was.

“You really do think you’re a tank when it comes to alcohol, huh baby?” She mumbled to herself with a small frown.