Missed
HERSHE"Were you the one who just called Seulgi?"
Seulgi shifted her eyes to Irene who's as speechless as her. She doesn't know if she's hallucinating or not, but Irene's eyes were on her and Yeri's linked arms.
"Yes," said Irene.
Yeri's grip on Seulgi's arm tightened. "So, you're the one Seulgi is going out with today?"
Seulgi swallowed. Admitting something like that might give the intern a wrong idea about them.
"Yes," came Irene's response.
Yeri looked back and forth to Seulgi and Irene, slowly disentangling their arms.
"We're supposed to talk about our new project," continued Irene in her authoritative tone. "It's not like what you're thinking, Yeri. It's a business meeting, not a date."
"I'm sorry." Yeri bowed.
Seulgi felt relieved knowing they could get rid of Yeri now.
"But if it's about a task can I still tag along so I could learn more, Ms. Irene?" Yeri, who seemed to have found another way to include herself in, asked them.
Seulgi takes in a deep breath.
"Sure. But on one condition..." Irene walked towards them. "We should bring along Taeyong too."
"Me?" Taeyong pointed at himself.
"Yes. You're an intern too, right?" asked Irene. "You'll get something out of this so you should tag along."
"Oh. Okay."
Seulgi puffed her cheeks.
Great. Her date has just been ruined.
---
Seulgi is utterly disappointed.
She's been missing Irene so much that she mustered all the courage to finally ask the girl out. It is her way of gauging if something is wrong with the two of them, or if something has really changed.
Although she has no plans of confessing, Seulgi hoped that the night would end like how their nights ended in Haeundae: full of laughter, teasing, and just pure sweetness. However, all of those expectations are far from what's happening.
Instead of waiting alone in her car for Irene, they are now walking together in the parking area along with two chaperones.
To make it worse, Yeri is walking ahead of them aiming for the front seat.
Seulgi smacked her own thigh due to frustration. What could be worse? Having two chaperones with them while her supposed-to-be-date will sit at the back?
Just as she thought, when she unlocked the car with her remote, Yeri grabbed the door to the front seat.
"Back seat," said Irene, approaching the car. "You better sit beside Taeyong."
Seulgi tried to repress a smile while. Yeri didn't object and went to the back seat immediately.
Sometimes Irene's bossy aura has its perks.
"So, where to?" asked Irene after she shut the door on her side.
"Craving for anything at the moment?" asked Seulgi.
"Not really. Can we just eat somewhere near so we could go home right after?" said Irene, busy buckling her seatbelt.
"Oh. Yeah. Sure." Seulgi pushed down the handbrake after starting the engine.
Great. This is just great.
---
They had their meal in a Japanese restaurant.
Like what Irene said, the meal was full of discussion and brainstorming about the next campaign they will work on. Seulgi didn't enjoy much of it because she felt like they are still working instead of enjoying the Friday night. She was not in the best mood towards the end of their meal. She knew that they are all going home after dinner. All her efforts ended in futile.
"Seulgi, are you all right?" asked Yeri.
Seulgi looked up. "Huh?"
"Are you okay? You seem to be quiet," asked Irene, placing a hand on Seulgi's leg.
Seulgi's attention shifted to what Irene did. She looked at Taeyong and Yeri across to check if there is a way they could see what's happening under the table.
"I was just thinking of what to do after we go home," said Seulgi, secretly hoping Irene won't move her hand away soon.
"Why? You don't want to go home yet?" Irene rubbed her thumb against Seulgi's thigh this time.
Seulgi's heart fluttered. "I guess I just want more out of tonight. I'm gonna be all alone in my apartment if we go home now."
Irene turned to the two interns, her hand stayed still. "I think we could go somewhere else after we drive home these two first."
Seulgi saw a gleam of hope with that. Could they be thinking of the same thing?
"We could still give you company. The more the merrier, right?" said Yeri, draining all Seulgi's excitement. "It's Friday. Let's go hang out somewhere else."
"Nah. You kids should go home now," said Seulgi.
"Kids?" Yeri cocked her head aside. "For your information, I'm already in my twenties. And you're like what, a year or two older than I am? Taeyong and I are graduating from college after this internship. I don't see any reason you two should consider us as minors."
Seulgi and Irene looked at each other and sighed. Irene rubbed her palm on Seulgi's leg, signaling she'll handle it.
"Where do you guys want to go then?" said Irene.
"Karaoke!" Yeri enthusiastically answered, raising her clenched fists in the air.
"She's a frustrated singer, guys. You'd have to bear with her," warned Taeyong, earning himself a playful punch from Yeri.
"What do you think?" Irene asked Seulgi.
Seulgi let out another loud sigh and stared at the two interns. Taeyong had a whatever-you-want-to-decide look while Yeri had those pleading eyes.
Seulgi gave up and raised her hand to assent. "Fine. I guess it's better than going home early."
---
They got a private room in a KTV restaurant and had a few shots.
To their surprise, the interns were hard drinkers. Taeyong was cautious though with his intake because he wants to look after Yeri. The latter doesn't care how much she had already, ending up standing in front of the TV singing the entire period.
Seulgi feels relaxed because of Irene's mood change. From the bossy aura she had when they were in the restaurant, she's now turned into a sweet Irene.
Seulgi felt how Irene is sort of warding her from Yeri. She immediately sat beside Seulgi when they got into the room, even before Yeri had done her move. Irene also shared food with her just like how they did in Haeundae. Although they were less sweet this time, it just gives her the feeling of going back to that memorable trip.
After a few shots they had, which Irene had forbidden Seulgi to have anyway, Yeri and Taeyong started singing nonstop.
"Don't you want to sing?" Seulgi asked Irene while they slouch lazily on the couch, watching the interns singing a duet in front of the TV.
Irene reached for the crackers and shook her head. "Not in the mood to. You?"
"Nah. Let them have the stage for themselves."
Yeri and Taeyong were like kids playing in front, pinching each other while singing. Yeri turned and signaled them to join. They both declined by shaking their heads.
"That girl is totally into you," said Irene, munching the crackers on her hand.
Seulgi sighed. "Not something I'm proud of."
Irene chuckled. "Not your type?"
"Hell no. Especially after what happened yesterday."
"Why? What happened yesterday?"
"Oh, well, umm... let's just say that she..." Seulgi let out another sigh. "She tried to kiss me in my car..."
"What? Seriously?" Irene glanced at Yeri, then back to Seulgi. "What did you do?"
"I politely pushed her away." Seulgi gestured with her hands. "Good thing Wendy called. I was able to make a good excuse to drive her home early. Wendy kind of saved my day."
"I was planning to call you too, you know."
"You knew I was with Yeri yesterday?"
"Mmm-mmm. It was weird to see Taeyong going home alone, so I asked him. Then I drag--I mean... we went to a coffee shop to talk. That's when he told me about his real feelings for Yeri," said Irene.
Seulgi knew all about Taeyong's unrequited love for Yeri since the first day the intern started. "Must have been hard for him yesterday."
"Yeah. He was in a bad mood."
Seulgi cleared and adjusted her position on the couch. "You were planning to call me yesterday because you found out I was with Yeri?"
Irene nodded. "I wanted to make sure you won't take advantage of Yeri."
"Huh? Take advantage of her? Oh, c'mon, Bae, you know me better than that."
"Oh, do I? If I remember it right, you were flirting with the tattooed girl in Haeundae even though you're pretending to be with me, right?"
"Hey, princess, if I recall it correctly, the girl was flirting with me but I did NOT flirt back. It was one-sided. You were just overreacting because you're jealous." Seulgi smirked.
"Jealous your face! That was just part of the acting, remember? I had to play the role. I had to be in character," said Irene.
"Whoo... whatever... ow!" Seulgi was about to tease further when Irene pinched her arm. "Still feisty, aren't we? Ouch!"
"Yah. Stop that already..."
"Hey, what's with the smug face, princess?" Seulgi poked Irene's cheek. "You know, credits to the creator above, I have to admit that a pout face suit you really well."
Irene glared at Seulgi but the latter knew it was meant just to scare her. Eventually, Irene gave in and smiled.
"Seriously tho, why do you want to call me yesterday?" asked Seulgi, turning to Irene, her head against her hand propped against the backrest.
Irene scrunched up her face. "You'll just laugh at me."
"I won't. I promise."
Irene turned to Seulgi and raised an eyebrow.
"I promise I won't laugh." Seulgi put a finger on her chest and made an 'X' sign.
Irene looked back at the interns and exhaled. "I'm not sure how to say this but... maybe I just don't like the idea of you hanging out with her." She shakes her head, looking embarrassed. "I mean... shouldn't you be hanging out with your boss instead of her?"
"Ahhh." Seulgi tried her best to repress a smile. Just as when she thought tonight isn't getting any better, she felt like screaming already because she's overjoyed with this confession.
"Hey, don't laugh at me. It's not like what you're thinking, okay?"
"I'm not laughing." Seulgi couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
"Yah! You just did!" Irene covered her face with her palms.
"I'm sorry, you're just too cute when you're jealous." Seulgi chuckled. "Why are you covering your face? Come on. Look at me."
"Don't touch me." Irene yanked Seulgi's hand. "And I'm not jealous!"
"Oh really? The boss ain't jealous, eh?" Seulgi leaned closer to Irene's ear. "Hey. I missed you."
Irene's covered her face again.
"Hey. Come on. Say something." Seulgi's poking Irene's arm.
Irene revealed her face again, shyly looking at Seulgi. "You missed me?"
"Yeah. It just feels like we haven't talked in ages." Seulgi slouched beside Irene, their arms touching. "I missed talking to you like this. How about you?"
Irene's eyes were staring blankly at the two people in front of them, still singing like there's no tomorrow.
Then she leaned her head against Seulgi's arm. "I missed you too."
Seulgi pressed her lips together to hold off that smile. "Umm. What did you miss about me?"
Irene tucked her arm under Seulgi's. "This. I missed being close to you like this."
The woman's hand was held out beside Seulgi's, their fingertips touching. After the obvious contact, Seulgi thought Irene would move her hand away, but she didn't. Her hand just remained still like it's just waiting for Seulgi to grab it.
Seulgi let her feelings took over her actions. She lightly brushed her thumb on Irene's thumb. To her surprise, Irene returned the favor by rubbing her fingers against Seulgi's.
Both of them are now busy looking down at their hands playing with each other. Eventually, Seulgi plunged her fingers into the gaps between Irene's hand, the latter holding her hand back tightly.
"Why are you smiling?" Irene looked up a bit, still leaning on Seulgi's arm.
"It's just that all this time I thought you were avoiding me."
"And all this time I thought you don't miss me."
"Where did you get that? I even asked you out tonight, right?"
"I know. It's just that sometimes I'm afraid of the thought you don't want me around you anymore," confessed Irene.
"Hey, that's never gonna happen. You've helped me a lot, remember?" said Seulgi. "We've been through something. A bond like that won't be easy to break." She looked up at the two interns in front. "I wanted to be alone with you tonight, just to catch things up. But I guess we're stuck with these chaperones."
Irene smiled at that. "You don't want them around?"
"It's not like that. It's just that I don't get the chance to go out with you like this every day. The only chance I got was today, but it just flew away like that." Seulgi sighed.
"You can just ask me out anytime."
"I'm afraid you'd say no."
"Why would I say no?"
"I don't know. I guess I still can't read what's in that mind of yours, princess." Seulgi lightly poked Irene's forehead.
"Well, you handled me pretty well in Haeundae, right? I don't see any reason for the hesitation," said Irene.
"Does that mean that you'd like to go out with me alone on some other day?"
"Tomorrow would be great."
Seulgi smiled. "No chaperones?"
"Definitely no chaperones, just the two of us, like in Haeundae."
Seulgi brought Irene's hand between her two hands. "That sounds great."
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