There's a certain electrifying feeling that comes with baring your soul for the world to see. The feeling surges through the tips of your fingers and sets your hair on end. You lay yourself out, and your hopes and dreams are there for the world to crush between unrelenting fingers and sprinkle on that day's broken society salad. When you let yourself be so vulnerable, you hold a certain power. It's ironic, really. You're supposed to be at the mercy of those around you when at the same time, they're at your mercy. Why? Well, what do you have to lose? Everything, in a sense, but you're the one coming clean. You're the one in control. You put the information out there because you wanted to, so they can't hold that against you. Anything they do to take you down is guaranteed to fail because you have nothing else left to lose. All you are is all they know. There's nothing left to find.

Seulgi Kang had gone into this whole thing with a similar mindset. However, reality was far from the book-worthy story she crafted in her mind, a description of emotion empowering her to just come out and say it.

"I'm gay."

The second the words left , she knew the ball was in their court. Her friends, her best friends... How would they react?

Seulgi wasn't insecure, exactly, about being gay, but isn't everyone a little scared of what people will say? The rumors? The whispers? Seulgi knew that there were girls with crushes, and boys, too. She knew that her uality didn't define her. She wouldn't let it define her. But in a way, didn't it define her? Kang Seulgi, a lesbian. Seulgi didn't like that.

When her friends didn't speak, Seulgi felt her hands grow clammy. This was it. This was the moment where Seulgi's life would fall apart.

Luckily, Seulgi didn't need to worry. Her friends were fine with it. All of them except for Irene, anyway.

Irene.

Seulgi couldn't tell what was on Irene's mind. What was the raven-haired girl keeping from her? 

Irene had seemed so... hesitant. When Seulgi came out, Irene didn't really react. Seulgi thought she would feel worse if her friends reacted badly, but the lack of reaction felt just as bad. It was just so uncertain. Seulgi couldn't tell whether everything was okay. She wanted it to all be okay. She didn't want to lose Irene.

Irene awoke to her alarm roaring in her ears. She yawned and stretched her arms up above her head, reaching for the stars that she thought impossible to reach. Dreamers were a kind she could never understand. She needed some stability in her life. The unknown was just too... unknown. She stuffed a bun in , yelling goodbye to her mom as she darted out the door towards the bus. While sitting in her seat, headphones securely tucked into her ears, she chewed her lip.

Seulgi was gay.

Gay.

Irene could not stop thinking about it. She wasn't sure why. It was just so weird. Seulgi was gay. A lesbian! Who would have thought?

The bus arrived at the school's front, and Irene made her way through the countless number of kids gradually entering the school premises. She found her locker and turned the dial slowly.

Seulgi was gay.

"Seulgi-ssi!" Irene took a step back in surprise and dropped her textbook. "...Hi?"

Clearly, those articles she'd read last night had not helped.

"Hey," Seulgi said, looking amused. "You good?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Irene shoved some papers deep into the dark crevices of her backpack.

"Anyway," said Seulgi, picking up the previously dropped textbook that Irene had neglected to pick up, "did you finish that paper for Kim? Mine took forever."

"Paper?" . Irene had totally forgotten about that paper. Instead of writing, she'd been reading articles. Gay articles.

"Don't tell me you forgot? Oh, my god, you totally forgot." Seulgi watched Irene's face contort into a state of panic. "Hey, don't freak, okay? You'll be fine."

"Who are you kidding, Seul? Because it's not me. Teacher Kim is going to flay my on her desk for the whole class to see."

"Does that mean I get front row seats?"

"Yah!"

"I kid, I kid." A shrill ring echoed through the halls. Seulgi glanced up at the clock on the wall. "We better head to class."

Irene groaned. "Head to my death, more like it."

"Oh, cheer up," Seulgi said, patting Irene on the back. "You don't know that Kim will be mad."

Boy, was Teacher Kim mad. She was definitely having an off day. Irene swore she saw steam shoot out from either side of Kim Taeyeon's head. 

"What do you mean, you don't have your paper?" Taeyeon loomed ominously above Irene, who felt incredibly short, probably also due to that fact that she was seated while Taeyeon s