Lunch
HERSHEIt was Friday noon. Irene, Krystal, and Taemin were going down for lunch.
"Ms. Irene." The male security guard approached as they were heading to the elevator area. "I was about to call you. A visitor of yours just came in."
Not expecting anyone to visit her, Irene whipped her head to the reception area only to see Bogum sitting there, smiling at her.
"What is he doing here?" Irene gritted her teeth.
"What's the matter?" asked Krystal, noticing her friend's turmoil. She followed Irene's line of sight and saw a slender guy already approaching them.
"Hey..." he said.
"Oh. M gosh, a hottie," Taemin whispered.
Irene elbowed Taemin subtly. "Bogum, it's a surprise to see you here."
"Sorry for coming here unannounced." He scratched his nape. "I had a meeting just around the corner and thought of inviting you out for lunch."
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Krystal." Krystal stretched her hand out for a shake. "And this is Taemin. We're Irene's most trusted friends."
"Bogum," said Bogum. "Nice to meet you."
Irene massaged her temples.
"Pleasure's all ours." Taemin shook Bogum's hand. "Didn't know Irene here is keeping a friend like you from us, huh?"
Bogum chuckled.
Irene had an eerie feeling she needed to flee the area soon. She turned to her colleagues.
"So, um, I can't join you guys for lunch. I'll see you later then."
"Why don't we all go together?" suggested Bogum. "It'll be unkind for me to steal you away from your friends when you guys had already planned something."
"Yeah. We should go altogether. The more the merrier, right?" said Krystal. "Don't worry. We won't disturb your little date."
Irene glared at Krystal before turning to Bogum. "Are you sure you're comfortable with that?"
"Yeah. Don't worry. It seems you have cool friends here."
Taemin playfully hit Bogum's arm. "I like him, Irene. I like him."
Irene massaged her head again, already regretting she told Bogum where she's working. She looked around the area to make sure that a certain individual isn't passing by at the moment.
"Okay. Let's go."
Irene pushed the elevator button and felt relieved when the lift opened. She hurried inside, making sure to close the doors right away.
"Hold it! Hold it!" Yeri was hurrying to catch the elevator, putting her hand out to stop the doors.
Irene felt cascades of ice-cold water being poured over her when Seulgi and Taeyong followed Yeri in.
Then the elevator door closed.
"Seulgi!" Taemin exclaimed. "I thought you guys are staying in the pantry?"
Seulgi turned around. "Yeri changed her mind for the fifth time and decided to go down instead." Then she noticed Irene. "Oh. Hey."
"Hey." Irene waved a little.
"Oh. have you met Irene's friend?" said Krystal. "He's joining us for lunch. You guys should join us too."
Irene felt like she wanted to disappear from where she's standing when Seulgi turned to look at Bogum.
"Hi, I'm Bogum." He offered his hand.
Seulgi shook his hand. "Seulgi."
Irene closed her eyes and slumped against the wall as Yeri and Taeyong introduced themselves and agreed to join in for lunch.
What could be worse?
Irene's got a bad feeling about this.
---
Seulgi's got a bad feeling about this.
She pulled out her phone and busied herself with it.
Of all the places she could dump her lazy , she ended up sitting in front of Irene and her friend. It's the only available chair she saw after everyone settled.
Although the two weren't sweet, like lovey-dovey sweet, Seulgi knew there is something going on. It bothers her big time. Irene is obviously bashful around the dude while he looks at her like she's a delicate flower.
Yup. Definitely an eyesore.
An unpleasant feeling is spreading through her chest and Seulgi doesn't have any idea how to handle it. She can't blame Irene for entertaining this dude because technically she's still single, right?
"This place is cozy, huh," said Bogum, looking around the area.
"Is this your first time here?" asked Irene.
"Yeah. If it weren't for today's meeting I wouldn't be able to explore this part of Seoul."
"You were never really the explorer, huh?"
"Told ya. I'm a house bum."
Seulgi scoffed, still pretending to be busy with her phone, silently thinking how boring Bogum is.
Irene needs to be with someone who can show her the world and not someone who's contented with the four walls of his house.
"I'm glad we brought you here," said Irene. "The food here tastes great. Right, Seulgi?"
Seulgi looked up, unprepared for the sudden inquiry. "Uh. Yeah." She went back to her phone, browsing the calendar this time.
"You seem silent. Something wrong?" Krystal leaned closer to look at what Seulgi is doing.
Seulgi pulled back. "I'm just busy."
"Busy looking at your calendar?"
"I-I'm reorganizing my schedule."
"I see. Managing your time for your girlfriends, huh?" Krystal nudged her. "Amber told me you're an expert playgirl."
Seulgi laughed. "Come on. You should know by now that Amber is just kidding you."
Krystal raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Amber told me you weren't really trapped in Indonesia. You met a hot girl in Bali that doesn't want to let go of you yet."
"What?" Seulgi put her phone down and pretends to laugh. "That Amber surely is good at playing pranks on me. Hah."
"Stop pretending! I did not believe her first until she showed me this." Krystal showed a picture on her phone.
Seulgi's jaw dropped when she saw a picture of herself with a girl whose arms were trailed around her waist. Irene borrowed Krystal's phone to look at it too.
Now, Seulgi's determined that she'll slaughter a friend later.
"The first time I saw you earlier I already knew that you were a chick magnet," said Bogum, trying to blend along.
"Nah. It's not like that. That girl's actually one of my friend's ex-girlfriend," explained Seulgi. She looked at Krystal. "I sent that photo to Amber to ."
"What! I'm going to talk to Amber about this," said Krystal, immediately typing on her phone.
Seulgi felt a kick under the table, making her look at Irene who's aiming death glares at her now.
Irene turned to Bogum. "Hey, Bogum, mom's asking if you'd like to have dinner at our place later."
Seulgi's eyes twitched at that.
"Sounds good. I missed your mom's cooking already." Bogum leaned his arms on Irene's chair. "My meeting ends at 5:30 pm. I'll pick you up after work?"
Irene smiled. "Sure. I'll wait for you then."
Seulgi closed her eyes, feeling her day is already ruined. She was rubbing her eyes in disappointment when her phone rang, making her jump in surprise.
A smile drew across Seulgi's face when she saw the caller's name. "I gotta take this. Excuse me."
---
Irene watched Seulgi stood up and walked outside. A pang of curiosity hit her when she saw that picture of Seulgi and Wendy again flashing on the phone screen.
Her eyebrows furrowed as she watched Seulgi outside laughing while talking on the phone.
---
"Tell me, do you have magic or something? You always call just in the nick of time," said Seulgi.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I just had a customer here who was in Indonesia last week. Then I remember that a certain someone had forgotten to call me," said Wendy.
Although she doesn't feel that cheery, Seulgi laughed. "Sorry. I've been busy. So, what's up?"
"Still drowned in flowers. You?"
Seulgi peeked inside and saw Irene laughing with her friend. "Doing fine, I guess."
"What's with the sigh? Are you not with Irene?"
"We're out for a lunch but something came up."
"Something like?"
"H-her friend joined us."
"A friend? I assume it's a 'he' based on the timber of your voice."
"Yeah."
"So, what's the matter, are they sweet or what?"
Seulgi turned to peek inside again and saw all of them laughing with him. "Not really sweet. But I can feel there is something going on."
"Ooh. Seulgi is jealous."
Seulgi shoved her free hand into her pocket. "Don't I have the right to?"
"Jealousy isn't something you can just dodge. It's normal to feel it once in a while."
"But what should I do?"
"Is there anything you still can do?"
"What do you mean?"
"You said something is going on between them. Do you think Irene likes him?"
Seulgi felt her heart being pulled down from her chest. "Honestly, I think she does."
"Oh, that's a blow."
Seulgi brought a hand over her heart. "Yeah. I know. Quite a hard blow actually."
"I always thought she has something for you. Really. But maybe I was wrong. At least the sooner this happens the sooner you can accept it, right?"
"But there's something bothering me, Wendy," said Seulgi. "Before this guy came into the picture, or before I even knew of his existence, Irene's actions towards me had changed. She's making me feel special, like--I don't know if it's just me--but she's making me feel she likes me too."
"When did this start to happen?"
A knock on the window interrupted Seulgi's thoughts. Taeyong signaled their food is served. Seulgi nodded.
"I have to go, Wendy. Food is ready. I'll drop by your shop later, okay?"
"Sure. I'd prepare dinner for us. Or would you prefer a drinking session instead?"
Seulgi laughed. "We'll see. Thanks for the call. I'll see you later."
---
Seulgi didn't enjoy her lunch at all.
Aside from Yeri and Krystal teasing her about her recent call with Wendy, she can't stand the sight in front of her. She feels irritated seeing those two talking low, whispering things to each other like they were having their own little world.
And what's bringing Seulgi to misery is the idea that Irene obviously likes him. It'll just be a matter of time before Irene announces she finally had chosen a boyfriend. Seulgi even admits the two look good together.
But what was Irene's motive in showing her all that sweetness before?
What happened?
Why is this guy here now?
Was it just a momentary fling where Irene woke up one day and realized that she wants to be with a guy instead?
Seulgi tried to stay away from Irene after that. That lunch alone ruined her day. Hearing more stories about him isn't something she needed now.
By the end of the day, as Seulgi was passing by their office, she saw a black car picking up Irene in front of the building.
Seulgi's knuckles were white as she clenched the steering wheel with both hands.
In a fair competition, she knows she has a chance, but if gender is the real issue, then it will be a mismatch.
---
"I think I know what's happening here," said Wendy after hearing the story. "I don't want to give you false hopes but I still stand by my statement that Irene likes you."
"I wanted to believe that too, Wendy. I mean, I once believed that. But look at what's happening now." Seulgi ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. "Is she just playing on me?"
"I don't think that's her intention, Seulgi. Maybe she's just... confused."
"Confused about her feelings for me?"
"Could be." Wendy shrugged. "She could also be confused about her feelings for the guy, or confused about telling her mom about you, or maybe confused about your feelings for her?"
"Confused about my feelings for her? I'm sure she knows how special she is to me," said Seulgi.
"Maybe. But I'm sure that's what you're thinking with Joy too before, right? That she knows what exactly she meant to you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Based on the stories you told me, all the time that you thought everything was cool, that you and Joy were okay, she was already thinking you weren't serious about her, remember?" asked Wendy.
Seulgi nodded, getting the point.
"I don't know if this is the right time to confront Irene about this, but I've heard this story before, Seulgi; you and Joy, now it's you and Irene. Don't you think what's happening is just a cliché?"
Seulgi slumped back against the couch, realizing how their situation right now is similar to what she had with Joy before; a blurred relationship that led to an unclear ending.
"You may need to act on this one," said Wendy. "I'm not saying that this is the best solution to your problem. But do it for yourself. If Irene will choose him, then so be it. At least you guys made it clear."
Seulgi bit her lower lip, thinking.
"You wouldn't want to commit the same mistakes as before, would you?" asked Wendy.
Seulgi took in a deep breath and huffed. "You're right. It's about time I take a different approach to this."
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