Noticing her distress, Jennie snuck her arms around Joohyun and gave her a hug.  “It’s okay.. Just because I slipped up doesn’t mean you have to say anything.. But I am your friend.. I could tell something was bothering you when you called.  Now that we cleared up the confusion I am here for you. ” Jennie said comfortingly, resting her head on Joohyun’s shoulder.  

Joohyun hesitated, but Jennie was right. It was bugging her, and she needed to talk, just to get the thoughts out of her head.  Taking a deep breath, she began:“So the other day, Seulgi came home after all of us were asleep, and when I talked to her the next morning she was being really evasive about where she had been and who she had been with. She implied it was a friend that had to keep a low profile, but something made it seem like more than that.  But then later when she came to talk to me I found out that.. Hmm .. “ Joohyun hesitated, not sure how much to say. Jennie looked at her with a questioning expression. “Let’s just say the situation is similar to yours.” Joohyun finished, skipping the part about it being a girl. “No need to complicate things” Joohyun thought to herself, but felt a bit guilty she had omitted a pretty major part of the story.   

“Oh, I see.. “ Jennie said, but still looking a bit confused. “So, just like mine? I had thought.. Nevermind..“  

Joohyun realized that Jennie probably knew, but she didn’t want to be the one who confirmed it.  “Well, not exactly.. I don’t actually know who it is.. I just know it’s pretty serious.” Joohyun continued.  

Jennie nodded, and Joohyun felt a sense of relief that she had been able to summarize without giving too much away.  “So, I assume this bothers you because you have a crush on Seulgi, right?” Jennie suddenly said, with a smirk and a wink. 

Joohyun blushed instantly, and realized this was far from over.  “Oh, it’s not like that! I mean, Seulgi is special but.. “ Joohyun started, fumbling her words a bit.   

Jennie squeezed her side and laughed gently.  “I was kidding, Baechu, I didn’t really think that.. “ she continued. Joohyun breathed a small sigh of relief.. “But NOW I am suddenly not so sure anymore.. Why did you blush like that?”  she asked, furrowing her brow and squinting her eyes a bit. 

Joohyun swallowed hard, and tried to find the right words. “I don’t know, Jennie.. “ she said in a slightly whiny tone. “I don’t know what I am feeling..   I guess I just didn’t think I had to know because she would always be there until I did.. And now.. Now it’s too late.. “ Joohyun felt tears in the corners of her eyes and instantly got annoyed with herself.  She quickly hugged Jennie close and hid her face on her shoulder.   

Jennie patted her comfortingly on the back.  “It’s okay, Baechu.. These things are confusing.   I honestly didn’t think I would fall for a guy but then Kai just swept me off my feet.   I guess I am bi after all!” she said with a laugh, and Joohyun realized she had been wrong about that too.   “I really need to stop making assumptions!” she thought to herself frustratedly.   

“Well you never know.. This could just be a fling of sorts” Jennie said in a reassuring tone of voice. But I guess it would help to know who sh.. he is” she continued.  

Joohyun nodded into Jennie’s shoulder.  “I mean, as long as she is happy it doesn’t really matter who it is.. “ she said, trying to convince herself.   

Jennie laughed, and Joohyun was mildly annoyed that she knew her so well. “Baechu, whatever! If this is some guy who seduced Seulgi I wouldn’t want to be them, knowing you,” she said with a grin.  “Or girl, for that matter, I mean, let’s be honest here,” she continued.  

Joohyun leaned back and nodded. “You’re right, Jendeukie.. It really bothers me knowing someone might have seduced her and is playing with her heart. I swear, if that’s the case I’ll..” She stopped herself, clenching her teeth to repress her overwhelming defensive feeling. 

“Watch out for mama bear, someone is threatening her cub!” Jennie said dramatically, before patting Joohyun on the shoulder.. “You have to trust that Seulgi will make good choices..”  

Joohyun nodded.  She knew Seulgi was never careless, but it still worried her that someone might have gotten through her defenses somehow. 

After a light meal and some more casual conversation about Red Velvet’s upcoming Really Bad Boy promotion and Blackpink’s extended hiatus, Jennie and Joohyun parted ways while agreeing to do a better job of keeping in touch.  Joohyun headed back to the dorm with her thoughts a bit less jumbled, but with a few unanswered questions, the biggest being who this mystery person in Seulgi’s life was. However, she knew she had to let Seulgi share this on her own terms.  All she could do was be as supportive and as helpful as possible, and hope that this would convince her to open up. 

Making her way quietly back down the hallway to her room, Joohyun noticed Seungwan on her phone in a lounge chair. “Joohyun!” she whispered sharply, waving to her to come closer.  Joohyun did and tilted her head a bit as she approached. “What’s the deal with Seulgi lately?” Seungwan asked quietly. “Ever since that evening she came home late she’s been acting weird.. I can’t tell if she’s happy or sad though.. I saw her join you in the practice room the other day, did she say anything?”  

Realizing she couldn’t betray Seulgi’s trust, but also hating to lie to anyone in her group, Joohyun’s mind raced about how to answer. “Oh, she was just out with a friend and wanted some advice on how to do that without drawing attention and having people jump to conclusions.” she finally answered, hoping that was good enough. 

“Oh, a new friend eh? “ Seungwan said. “That’s cool, I hope we get to meet her...” she finished, turning her attention back to her phone, seemingly satisfied with the answer.  

“So do I, So do I..” Joohyun thought to herself, before making her way back to her room and closing the door. Leaning her back against it, she realized she was feeling a bit more jealous than she felt comfortable admitting to herself, and shook her head to try to make it go away, but to no avail.

The next day was quite busy with practices for the RBB comeback, so it wasn’t until late in the afternoon that Joohyun and Seulgi found themselves alone in the practice room together.   As Yeri left the room for a drink of water, Joohyun looked over at Seulgi sitting down on the floor, holding her hand on her shoulder with a mild grimace on her face. A feeling of empathy washed over her, so she quickly walked over and sat down on her knees next to her. “What’s wrong?” she said with a concerned tone of voice, running her hand along the side of Seulgi’s hair. 

“Oh, it nothing.. I think I just overstretched a bit during that last move..” Seulgi said with a smile through clenched teeth.  

Joohyun could tell Seulgi was trying to be brave but was actually in pain, so she knew she had to do something.. Scooting up behind Seulgi, she put one hand on each of her shoulders and kneaded her fingers into them, feeling the tenseness instantly. Not letting herself get distracted by the warm sensation of Seulgi’s skin against her fingers and the small noise Seulgi made as she seemingly hit the spot bothering her the most, Joohyun focused all her energy on getting all the trapped tension out.  After a few minutes she could almost feel the pain dissipate and felt a sense of pride that she had this ability. “This is one of the reasons they need me,” she thought to herself. As Seulgi leaned back against her, now clearly more comfortable, Joohyun repressed the surprising urge to hug her closely. “Get it together!” she thought to herself, and then fortunately remembered she had some advice to share. “Be careful not to call this person we talked about the other day from your phone, you never know what sort of software the company might put on them to monitor our usage. They probably wouldn’t interfere, but if things go public, you never know what they might do.  Hopefully your friend realizes this too.” 

Seulgi sighed and nodded.  “Yeah.. she knows enough about online things to be careful, so don’t worry.”    

Joohyun was somewhat relieved, but now couldn’t help wonder if she might know this person either through the music industry or their online presence.  She would have to see if someone was showing an extra interest in Seulgi’s posts lately. “Just to make sure it’s someone good for her, of course” she thought to herself, trying to convince herself that was all it was.