Honey
HERSHEIt's Friday, 1:57 am, and Seulgi is still wide awake.
She's supposed to be asleep by now. But the idea of picking up Irene in the morning, like a real girlfriend, is keeping her excitement up to the highest level. Endorphins flooded her brain and it won't allow her to sleep.
She'd tried everything she can to doze off to dreamland. She's not sure how many times she's been rolling on her bed just to find the most comfortable position that could put her to slumber.
She fell asleep past three in the morning.
Groggy Seulgi woke up at 6:00 am and saw a message from Irene.
"Good morning! Let me know when you're on your way. I'll be waiting for you outside my gate :)"
Seulgi grinned in excitement.
---
After work, the pair quickly stopped by Wendy's place to get the flowers they'd reserved the other day. They drove straight to their destination, enjoying the view on the way, talking about random stuff, and occasionally teasing each other.
When they arrived, Seulgi saw Sungjae and Joy waiting in the parking lot outside their car. Sungjae signaled Seulgi to park beside them.
After parking the car in place, Seulgi didn't realize that she was staring at Joy from the inside of her car. Joy's presence still gives her uneasy feelings.
"Hey." Irene squeezed Seulgi's hand on the gearshift. "We will enjoy this trip, okay?"
Seulgi's heart melted at that. "We surely will. Come on."
"Hi, guys," greeted Irene when she stepped out of the car.
Sungjae welcomed her with a quick hug. "Hello, Irene! I'm glad you two got here safely."
Joy came close for a cheek kiss. "I so happy you could make it."
"Hey there." Seulgi closed the door on her side. She handed Joy the bouquet. "This is for the celebrant. Happy birthday, chick."
"Happy birthday, Joy." Irene linked arms with Seulgi.
Joy accepted the flowers happily. "These are beautiful! You shouldn't have bothered yourselves. Thank you."
"You're welcome," Irene and Seulgi said in unison.
"By the way, Seulgi, is it just me or you looked kind of tired?" asked Sungjae.
"Traffic was terrible." Seulgi sighed.
"But were you able to get some sleep last night? Your eyes are dark," said Joy.
"I slept early, but I woke up early too. I had to pick up this baby from her house this morning." Seulgi patted Irene's head.
Irene wrapped her arms around Seulgi's waist. "Awe. My honey is tired because of me."
It wasn't obvious but Seulgi was caught off-guard. "It's okay. As if I have a choice. You'd be mad if I didn't pick you up, right?"
"Of course! That's your responsibility to me."
Seulgi laughed, amazed at Irene's acting. "I know. I'm not complaining."
Irene hooked her chin on Seulgi's shoulder, tightening her hug. "I'll give you a massage later, what do you say?"
"Okay. Okay. You better get a room now, you two cupcakes." Sungjae handed them the keycards to their room. "We hope you'll like the rooms we picked for you."
"Thanks, Sungjae. And I think we will," said Seulgi.
"Our room is just across yours," said Joy.
"Joy's birthday celebration is tomorrow night," said Sungjae. "Let's meet later, maybe after an hour, for dinner. Just drop your things first and you take a short break, Seulgi."
"Okay. See you after an hour then," said Irene.
"Enjoy your room guys." Sungjae patted Seulgi on the shoulder as they walk past them, showing her a huge grin.
Seulgi swallowed a lump in . She knew Sungjae meant something with that.
---
"Woooooow! This is awesome!" there was extreme excitement in Irene's voice when they opened their room's door.
Joy had reserved them a deluxe ocean-facing-room which is defined by a wooden accent theme--green and brown. The interior is elegant and comfortable in the eyes. There is a king-size bed that opens to a furnished balcony overlooking the landscaped water park and the beach.
Irene went to open the balcony door and stepped outside to check the view. "I can't believe it! Joy has surely a good taste, huh?"
Seulgi is amazed at the interior of the room. It's cozy and the view outside is nice. But what got her attention is not the view, but the bed.
Her eyes wandered from the bed to the balcony where Irene is standing. She traced Irene's image from the head, down to her back, down to...
Seulgi looked away and prayed to all the gods she knows to not let her sanity snap out of her for even a second.
When Irene noticed the silence, she looked back to check on Seulgi. "Hey. Are you okay? Please close the door."
Seulgi turned to shut the door behind her. She put her mobile phone on the bedside table to pretend she's doing something.
Irene went back in and dropped her sling bag on the couch. "Are you sure you're okay? Is Joy bothering you still?"
"No. Headache is just attacking. Are you okay with... with this?"
Irene looked at where Seulgi was pointing and saw the king-size bed. "Okay with what?"
"The... the bed..."
"Honestly, I think it's too big for us."
"Yeah. But are you comfortable sleeping beside me?"
Irene raised an eyebrow. "Ahh, so you were thinking of that..."
Seulgi avoided Irene's eyes. "I'm just worried that you're not comfortable--"
"Pssh. Come one, Seulgi. Don't worry. I was expecting this would happen."
Seulgi felt at ease with what she heard. "Oh. You did?"
"Yeah. And I don't have problems with that. It's not like you're gonna force me into it," Irene snickered, walking around to observe the entire bed. She turned to Seulgi again when the latter was still silent. "You won't do that, right?"
Seulgi chuckled. "I won't. Truth is, I am more worried that you might do it to me."
"Excuse me!" Irene gave Seulgi a who-do-you-think-you-are look.
"I'm not sure of your intentions yet, honey. You're the one who insisted on going on this trip, right?"
"Ah, so you think you're a catch?" Irene glared to scrutinize Seulgi from head to foot. She went to the bed and arranged the pillows, putting some of them in the middle. She went back standing, folding her arms on her chest. "You sleep on the right side. I'll sleep on the left side. you okay with that?"
"Do we really need to put pillows in the middle?" asked Seulgi.
"Yes, we do. Because I'm afraid I might assault you, honey," Irene sarcastically said, putting emphasis on the last word.
Seulgi laughed.
Irene walked to sit on the bed. She looked up to observe the ceiling design. "Since we're talking about that, I wonder, is Joy gonna think we're doing woo-hoo here?"
Seulgi waved her hands in front of her as shyness caught her right away. "Oh come on, Bae. Not that again!"
It's easier for Seulgi to joke about that but every time the term woo-hoo comes out from Irene, she can't help but feel awkward. Sometimes she wonders how Irene can ask about that thing so innocently.
Irene laughed. "Why are you so shy about woo-hoo? It's not like we're gonna do it, right?"
"It's just too awkward to talk about it!"
Irene stretched out her right hand to Seulgi. "Come here."
Seulgi didn't react.
"Sit beside me, honey." Irene tapped the space beside her. "Let's do it."
Seulgi's jaw dropped. "Do... what...?"
"You know..." said Irene, having a y grin playing on her lips.
"Ugh. Stop kidding me..."
Irene laughed. "You ert! You're thinking of something else, weren't you?" She patted her hand again on the bed. "Come here. I'll give you a massage, remember?"
"It's okay. You don't have to do that."
"Tsk. Seulgi-yah!"
Seulgi followed and sat beside Irene.
"You said your head was aching, right?" Irene positioned Seulgi to face her, her hands began massaging the latter's scalp. "I will be a bad girlfriend if I won't take care of you."
"Awe. That's so sweet of you, honey."
"Does it help?"
"Yeah."
The feeling of Irene's caress on her scalp is just so soothing Seulgi wasn't aware she's already staring at Irene.
"Umm, Seulgi? Can I give you a back massage instead?"
Seulgi blinked. "If it isn't too much trouble for you, I think that's better."
"Yeah, just..." Irene signaled her hand for Seulgi to turn around. "I think it's better if you lie on the bed instead."
"Oh, okay." Seulgi was about to move when she realized something, "You wouldn't want me to take off my shirt, right?"
"Of course not." Irene rolled her eyes.
Seulgi rolled herself on the bed. "How should we do this?"
"Just lay prone here."
Seulgi positioned herself comfortably on the bed, stretching her arms up.
"Ahhhh, this bed is sooo soft..." She d a pillow to snuggle her face into it. "Honey, are you sure that you won't break any of my bones?"
"Crazy."
As Irene put pressure on the back of Seulgi's neck with her thumbs, gently moving them in tiny circles, Seulgi felt pleasure and relief right away.
"Ooh... that's good..." Seulgi mumbled into the pillow. "Where did you learn to do that?"
"I don't have formal training on this. I'm used to massaging my dad before and he loved it too." Irene's hands worked slowly down Seulgi's back.
"There... you're getting the right spot... there.... oh my, you're really good at this."
Irene smiled. "You got a lot of stress here, honey."
"Yeah... I know... You know what..."
"What?"
"Your... your future boyfriend... I think... is going to be... a one... lucky guy..."
Irene continued Seulgi's back. "Why?"
"Well... there are many reasons... but I... can't tell them... to you..."
"Why not?"
"I'd love to tell you... but... I can't remember... a thing now. Your hands... they are... distracting my thoughts..."
---
After a few more minutes, Seulgi isn't moving anymore. Irene tucked her hair behind her ear to listen closely. She smiled when she heard little snores.
She let Seulgi take a short nap while she arranged her things. She went to the bathroom to take a quick shower and found Seulgi in the same position when she got out. She walked towards the bed, bent down and leaned her body on the edge to stare at Seulgi closely.
This is one of those rare cases when she has the courage to look at Seulgi's face directly without worrying that those piercing eyes will stare back at her.
Irene moved her hand to brush Seulgi's silky bangs from her face. Then like a spell that always affects her, she cannot control her hand anymore. Her fingers wandered on Seulgi's eyebrows, down to her eyes, her nose, and her...
Wait, what is she doing?
Irene pulled her hand slowly. She turned around and sat on the floor, resting her back on the bed frame.
Mmmm-mmmm... mmmm-mmmm... mmmm-mmmm...
She was startled when she felt Seulgi's phone vibrate on the bedside table. She picked it to check the caller. Seulgi allowed her to answer the phone if it's Joy.
Her expectation was wrong. It wasn't Joy. The phone was flashing a picture of Seulgi and a woman standing closely, smiling, with Taipei 101 in their background. The contact name is W-E-N-D-Y.
She waited for the call to end before she placed it back on the table. There's no way she will disturb Seulgi's sleep just to answer an unimportant call.
Bzzzz...
Irene raised her head when she heard the door buzzer. She stood up to open the door. This time she's sure it's Joy.
"Hi." Joy smiled at her.
"Oh, hey."
"Just checking if you guys are okay with your room."
"Uh, yeah. Well, it's nice, Joy. We both love it. Thank you."
"That's good." Joy nodded. "So, are you guys ready for the dinner?"
"Umm..." Irene turned to check on the other person inside, giving Joy an ample space to get a glimpse of the sleepy head. "Seulgi passed out."
"Awe. She's exhausted, isn't she?"
"Yeah. I just gave her a massage to relieve her stress."
"Oh." Joy bit her lower lip and nodded again. "Could you wake her up for me later? Just give her a few more minutes for a power nap? I wouldn't want to wake her up but she hasn't gotten her dinner yet."
"Sure. I wouldn't let her sleep without having dinner either," said Irene.
"I guess we'll meet you in the lobby after thirty minutes?"
"Okay. Thirty minutes then."
"I'll see you in a while." Joy walked back to her room.
Irene gestured a nod and closed the door. She walked towards the bed and leaned over to stare at Seulgi's face again.
She is wondering now what Seulgi would do if Joy tells her she still loves her.
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