“I used to not but now...” Seulgi smirks and declares in the middle of the street, “I think I want you and I'll do anything to make sure you're mine.” 

Irene forces herself a few deep breaths to calm herself down before her right hand shoots out to slap the taller girl by mistake. She crosses her arms and asks with a scathing gaze, “Do you even like me?”

Without much thinking, Seulgi replies with a cute grin, “Of course!” 

“Why?”

“You’re really pretty! The first time I saw you walking into the cafeteria, I thought I was in heaven and you’re an angel.” Seulgi chuckles, knowing how cheesy she sounds from how the latter rolls her eyes, but it is the truth.  

“Looks aside, what personality traits do you like about me?” Irene suddenly asks so seriously that it takes Seulgi by surprise. The scenario feels as though a teacher has suddenly called Seulgi to answer his question in class when the latter is daydreaming as usual. 

So, she fails to answer immediately and trails off into an incoherent stutter, “Y-You are...nice?” 

“Really? I rejected you harshly twice in front of the whole school. How is that nice?” Irene’s glare makes Seulgi shuffle her feet uncomfortably and look elsewhere. 

“At least you didn’t hit me?” Seulgi suggests with a playful grin and Irene immediately gives her a hard slap on her arm. 

“OUCH!” The poor girl rubs her arm with a pitiful pout. Despite her small stature, the girl has a lot of unnecessary strength inside her. 

“So am I still nice? Tell me what else do you like about me and I can prove you wrong in an instant.” Irene interrogates the poor girl further, causing Seulgi to groan. “Stop quizzing me! Your questions are giving me an headache.”

“So in conclusion, you don’t actually like me. Admit it.” Irene asserts with a piercing gaze that seems to be able to look right into Seulgi’s current state of mind. 

Despite her strong sense of pride, the latter cannot help but nod her head like an obedient puppy. “N-Not yet.” Even though Irene is cute when she is angry, seeing an infuriated Irene right then is enough to send chills down Seulgi’s spine. She mentally notes to be careful not to make Irene next time when they date. 

“Then, why are you even chasing me!” Irene lashes out and Seulgi flinches from her volume. 

“Because....” Not wanting to expose the truth, Seulgi attempts to maintain her composure by acting nonchalant. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter because I have a great offer for you now!” 

“I reject your offer. Now go away.” Irene hisses. Feisty, just the way Seulgi likes it. 

“You wouldn’t want to miss it because I am... giving you a chance of freedom!” Seulgi casually reveals and Irene finally looks up at her, albeit skeptically.

Seulgi continues with a thoughtful gaze, “I thought about it and I realised you might have felt burdened by my extravagant gestures of love over the past few days. I felt sorry for dragging you into this mess without your permission.” 

“Really?” Irene knows there is certainly a catch in Seulgi’s new proposal but she cannot help but harbour a hope of being freed from this mess once and for all. 

“Only if you can answer my three questions, each within five seconds.” 

“What kind of bull-“ 

“First question! Tell me three reasons why you don’t like me.” 

Irene turns her head towards Seulgi sharply and the words rolls off her tongue without her even realising. “I hate you, you’re annoying and you’re not my style.” 

“Ouch...” Seulgi grabs onto her chest dramatically as if she just got stabbed by the other girl’s words. 

“Next question.” Irene hurries Seulgi, surprising the latter with her sudden interest in the game. 

“Three reasons why you can’t date me.”

“I hate you, you’re annoying and you’re not my style.”

“That’s exactly the same answer! You can’t do that!” Seulgi complains with a pout, while Irene smirks in delight, “You never said I couldn’t.” It is the first time Irene looks so genuinely happy while looking at Seulgi, from the way her big eyes sparkle with excitement up close. It increases her heartbeat just like how adrenaline does to her body and suddenly the latter wonders if she prefers seeing angry Irene or happy Irene. 

“Stop staring at me.” Irene snaps in front of Seulgi to gain her attention and says, “Give me the last question.” 

“O-Okay, final question. Three reasons why you think I’m cute.” Game over, Seulgi thought to herself with a smirk. 

“I hate you- wait what? You....you look like a bear! And....” 

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1.” Seulgi smirks after she finishes the countdown. She sighs dramatically and pouts, “Time’s up. I tried my best to give you a chance but you didn’t succeed.” 

“Whatever.” Irene rolls her eyes at Seulgi, wondering why did she even bother entertaining the other girl in the first place. 

“So you think I look like a cute bear? That’s new.” Seulgi teases Irene by poking her on the cheek and Irene swats her hand away aggressively with a grunt. “Go away.”  

“Okay, but you lost the game so I guess I need to continue to chase you. Anyway, why won’t you date me? If you date me, I can make you as popular as me! We’ll look so good together and everyone not only in this school but also other schools will look up to us! Also on insta-“

“I don’t want to be popular.” Irene states calmly while looking into Seulgi’s eyes. 

Seulgi frowns, wondering if Irene has said something wrongly. “You’re lying.” She waits for the latter to agree but when the latter just continues to look at her in the eyes firmly, the dance captain scratches her head. “I-I don’t get it. Everyone wants to be popular but you want to be...invisible?”