Seulgi stared at the silent girl whose eyes are red from all the crying. She had been crying during the trip back to Seulgi’s place. Seulgi’s parents said nothing about the crying girl but did mention about calling said girl’s parents to not worry them.

Seulgi handed Irene a mug of hot chocolate. She remembers the girl mentioning how she likes chocolate way more than coffee. Irene thanked her quietly and drank slowly, savouring the taste. Seulgi thought she looked cute then, Irene looked somewhat like a bunny, with her big eyes and small figure.

Shaking the thought away, she waited patiently for Irene to finish her drink and start talking. Staring at her was probably not a wise option. Now she can’t stop staring. Irene was just too pretty. The fact that she tried to-

Seulgi shakes her head again. Don’t think about it. She will help Irene. She remembered the first time they talked. Irene had nervously approached her after their shared class ended and it was so adorable.

She had been staring at the floor the whole time talking to Seulgi. Just saying how cute her outfit was. Seulgi had thanked her and proceeded to tell her where she got it from and they both walked out of class together. Irene decided to walk with her to her car just to keep talking to her and Seulgi couldn’t help but chuckle at the memory.

“What’re you thinking about?” Irene asked. Her voice was still raspy from the crying before so she cleared .

Seulgi smiled at her, “I was just remembering about the first time we talked.”

Irene stared at her blankly, “W-why, I was so weird and creepy and awkward and-”

“And it was cute. Oh, and when you offered chocolate shyly the next day while hiding your face because you were so nervous! It was so adorable!” Seulgi laughed, remembering when Irene had choked on her sentence and just hid her face with the chocolate because she was so shy.

“Stop it! It’s embarrassing to hear how awkward I was!” Irene hid her face with one of Seulgi’s pillows as Seulgi continued to laugh at the memory.

“Why are you thinking about those times anyway?” Irene asked as she smacked Seulgi softly with the pillow due to still being embarrassed.

Seulgi’s smile widened. “It’s because I enjoyed those times with you. Whatever you’re feeling right now, I want you to know that you impacted me back then and now you’re apart of my life now. So,” Seulgi trailed off at the end, swallowing a lump in .

“So if you’re not there, I would miss you.” Seulgi continued softly, looking at Irene gently whilst reaching for her hands to hold.

Irene, feeling her tears returning, tried to blink it away. She grasped hold of Seulgi’s hand. Looking down, hiding her face with her hair. She thought of the time back on the roof.

“How did you know I was there?”

“Your mom called my mom asking if you were at my place and said that you haven’t gone home.”

“How did you know I was at the school roof?”

“You told me how you sometimes sneak up on the roof when you don’t wanna be found so I thought if you were anywhere in a country you’re new in, you would be there.”

“....I told you too much.”

“I’m glad you told me, if not….”

“....I’m sorry.”

Seulgi wrapped her arms around Irene, placing her in between her legs so she would be back hugging her.

“Please talk to me Irene. Don’t keep it to yourself, don’t push yourself away. I know we aren’t that close and that we basically only talk after class when you accompany me to my car-”

Irene leaned closer to Seulgi, just wanting more contact, silently listening to Seulgi’s voice. “But I genuinely wanna know more about you and hang with you more. I mean my mom is already friends with yours since they think we’re best friends.”

Irene giggled at that. That was a funny moment, her mom had surprised her by picking her up from the college and saw her walking with Seulgi, she immediately thought they were very close.

“My mom was so weird haha….” Irene chuckled softly with little enthusiasm. Thinking of her mom made her feel so down. Seulgi noticed this and leaned her head so that her chin was resting on Irene’s shoulder.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” she asked softly, not wanting to push Irene if she wasn’t ready. Irene took a deep breathe.

“I-” she stopped.

Irene hesitated, unsure if she should say what has been on her mind this whole time. Seulgi doesn’t say anything, she gently held onto Irene again to reassure her that she’s here and that Irene wasn’t alone. Irene nearly teared up at the feeling of Seulgi hugging her again. She somehow relaxed into the embrace, not realizing how tense she became.

“I’ve been feeling l-lonely.” Irene managed to spill out. Relief escaped from her heart and she felt more at ease. “I just moved here, to a place I’ve never been, to a different culture and a different lifestyle. I kept telling people that it was fine, that I am fine because I didn’t want to make them worry…” Irene trailed off as tears spilled out again. She wiped it off and continued,

“But I feel like running away, back home. Home where there was people I knew there, people I care about. I texted some of my friends back at home sometimes, but I realized how busy they are and how….they moved on from me. I mean they’re still there, they would talk to me sometimes but it feels as if they aren’t really there. I tried talking to my family but they’re busy too. My brother being busy with his studies and my parents with their work and everything. They would ask how I am but when I want to tell them how I feel, they don’t try to listen. They cut me off and tell me to do better. I just feel like there’s no one there who- there’s no one Seulgi. No one is listening.”

Seulgi listened quietly, trying to understand what Irene has been feeling. She hummed and nodded as Irene talked. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?” she asked her.

Irene looked down, “I couldn’t bring myself to, we barely know each other. We always have random talks about things we liked. I didn’t know if you would even care. There are other people out there who is having it worse. I just sound like a whining child complaining about something trivial.”

“It isn’t trivial for you. You’re clearly suffering from this.” Seulgi retorted.

Irene sniffed and wiped her nose with the end of her sleeve.

“And if I didn’t care I wouldn’t have liked having you around. You really wanted to be friends, you made effort to even try to make up a conversation. I knew from that moment you were different from other people. You can tell me anything and I will always be there.”

Irene cried again, trying hard to wipe away her tears.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry for trying to-”

“It’s okay, everything will be okay. You’re in a new territory and you’re afraid. You’re not alone, you have me and soon you’ll meet other people who will cherish you too. I promised you I would introduce you to my friends right?”

Irene chuckled through her crying, “Y-yeah, your friend that people say you two look alike but you guys don’t at all.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying!” Seulgi exclaimed, raising her arms in exasperation.

Irene laughed heartily.