Chapter 11 | Pride and Heartache

The setting is gloomier than Seulgi thought it would be. The mansion used to to be the life of a party as she remembers it to be. It was really not as different as the bartering circle, but seeing it right now, she resolves it became a little boring. She looks at the bar where she first met her sister-in-law, Suji. And reminiscing back to that day, buying the Bae sisters drinks was her first move that made her marry Joohyun.

“There you are, Seulgi!” Seungwan greets her best friend in a near-cracking voice. She might have been panicking too long, pacing back and forth waiting for reinforcement. “This is a really big problem.” She says for more emphasis.

On the other hand, Seulgi doesn’t really have a clue on what happened. She tried asking Seungwan from the phone call, but Seungwan kept telling her it’s an emergency. She sensed that Seungwan wouldn’t go more into detail even when she pushed too hard. “What happened exactly?”

“Sooyoung and Yerim have broken up.” Seungwan lets out a sigh. The gesture is bigger than she imagined it to be and she becomes more upset about it.

“I thought they were doing great.” Seulgi says in shock. And she comes to think of it, the couple looked like they were on a break from posting on social media these days. “Why did they break up?” She asked swiftly only realizing she’s feeling down about the breakup.

“Sooyoung is being arranged with that Yook punk.” Seungwan says as she is walking with Seulgi towards the courtyard where they used to hang out with both of the girls.

“You mean Seungjae?” Seulgi asks to confirm. She remembers the kid. The Yooks were one of the longtime partners of Kang Industries. She spots Yerim seated in her old spot, holding a bottle of strong Russian liquor.

“Yerim, let’s get you home.” Seungwan tries to get their peer-maknae to straighten up.

“She said, she didn’t even love me. Not even once.” Yerim says quietly, more like talking to herself rather than directing it to anyone else.

Seulgi thinks intently. Something must have been wrong. She knew Sooyoung was reckless, but wasn’t expecting this kind of reckless. She takes away the bottle from Yerim and takes a big swig. She needs the alcohol too. “We should get you home.”

“Didn’t you hear what I said?” Yerim shouts and all eyes are on them.

“I heard you all right,” Seulgi says calmly. “But shouldn’t you be better than this?” She takes another swig from the bottle. She feels like it’s a new type of alcohol she likes.

She hugs Yerim and whispered, “you’ve got a sea of fish in front of you. If Sooyoung doesn’t see your worth then you’ll just have to find someone who’s going to treat you better.”

Yerim cries on Seulgi’s chest quietly. And after a quick while, Yerim straightened herself up and went with her unnies.

On the ride home, Seulgi thought of something: This is what parenting looks like.

“Seulgi, I really don’t know how you did it. I’ve been there for hours trying to talk some sense to her but she wouldn’t budge. What did you tell her exactly?” Seungwan asks sincerely. This wasn’t how her best friend was like before. She remembers a Seulgi who wouldn’t take chances in meddling with others’ problems. She realized that marriage would have that effect. And Joohyun had made Seulgi a better person.

“What? That? I just told her to find someone new.” Seulgi chuckles at the thought. “Yerim’s still a kid. She has plenty of time in before she’s kicked out of the proving grounds. Won’t be the last heartbreak she