Joohyun found herself in some sort of white room, and her vision was blurry for some reason.  Someone was sitting next to her, but she couldn’t recognize her face. She just knew it was someone she could trust, so she leaned her head against their shoulder.  As the person gently ran their fingers through her hair, a feeling of bliss and calm washed over her. Suddenly the room started fragmenting, and as she opened her eyes, she saw the sunlight streaming into her room. Looking to her side she saw Seulgi sitting on the edge of her bed, her hand moving away and behind her neck. 

“Baechu, sorry for waking you, but we need to get ready for our Inkigayo taping.  You must have forgotten to set your alarm or something.. “ Seulgi said shyly.   

Joohyun sat up quickly, realizing Seulgi was right.  “This is what happens when I get too focused on myself” she thought angrily. But when she noticed Seulgi had a worried look on her face she made an effort to smile. “Thank you, Seulgi, for letting me know and for looking out for me, you’re a good friend”.  Seulgi smiled, and then looked down awkwardly. “Thanks again for being so understanding of Sunmi and me. I was so humiliated when you saw us.. “ Seulgi trailed off, tears appearing in the corners of her eyes.   

Joohyun reached her arms out and put one hand on each side of Seulgi’s head.  “It’s okay.. Really it is.. “ she said in a comforting tone. “I just want you to be happy and safe”.  Seulgi nodded and Joohyun felt a wave of empathy that made her realize she was able to accept the new place Seulgi would have in her future; no longer a crush but rather her best friend, forever.  “Now let’s get ready and show them who’s the best right now. Am I right?” Seulgi nodded more vigorously this time, her eyes reflecting the smile that was back on her face. Joohyun ran her hands across Seulgi’s cheeks to dry off her tears and gave her a gentle nudge off the bed.  After Seulgi stood up and left the room, she breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently things weren’t as awkward as she thought they might be. “This will be fine, it’s all good..” she thought to herself reassuringly as she got up and hurried to get ready. 

“And the winner, with 8,432 points is… Really Bad Boy!” the announcer said cheerfully. Joohyun felt herself almost making a happy squeal before realizing she needed to remain pleased but stoic on the outside until she was safely home. But on the inside she was almost overwhelmed with happiness and pride. “Finally a Second win.. i had a sinking feeling we wouldn’t win again,” she thought to herself in disbelief.  As she heard the song starting to play she did her best to sing along, but the crowd was being so loud and cheerful she realized it didn’t really matter and had fun with it. Waving to the fans and get lost in their admiration, she was startled to notice the others had already left the stage and made a last few waves before rushing after them. 

Getting to the locker room last, Joohyun saw Seulgi holding her one hand on her forehead while holding something in the other hand.  Walking up to her, she calmly put her hand on Seulgi’s shoulder. “Wow, winning really must have gotten to you this time, Seulgi” she told her in a supportive tone of voice.  But as she got closer she got worried as she realized Seulgi wasn’t crying tears of happiness. looking both ways, she led Seulgi into a side room. “Seulgi, what’s wrong? I know you miss her, we will figure something out soon” she added after she closed the door behind them. But Seulgi just shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. 

Trying to figure out what could be upsetting Seulgi so badly, her eyes were drawn to the envelope Seulgi was holding. Seulgi, noticing, hesitatingly handed her the envelope, her teeth visibly clenching. Joohyun opened the envelope and and was overcome with an intense wave of anger as she realized someone was trying to blackmail Seulgi with pictures of the kiss she had witnessed a while ago. “Oh hell no! “ she sneered.  “This is unacceptable! Come with me!” she continued, struggling to control her fury. Joohyun grabbed Seulgi’s arm and pulled her with her out into the hallway. She realized she needed to find Sunmi right away so the three of them could figure out a way to counter this before it got out of hand. “Seulgi, go wait in that office!” she said firmly, and headed off down the hallway to find Sunmi. 

Joohyun found Sunmi in the other locker room, already changed back to her more casual tie dye shirt, black pants and boots look. She was intently scrolling through her twitter feed with a smile on her face.  “Sunmi-ssi.. something has happened!” Joohyun said seriously, looking around to make sure no one was listening. 

Sunmi startled a bit and looked up with a confused expression.  “Happened.. with Seulgi?” she asked nervously. 

Joohyun nodded. “It looks like there was security footage of when you two.. “ Joohyun blushed and trailed off. Sunmi waved her hand embarrassed back and forth in front of her face to keep Joohyun from retelling the details. 

“Anyways, someone took some screenshots from that footage and is now trying to blackmail her and by implication you. And that is unacceptable!” Joohyun said furiously.  

Sunmi was a bit taken aback by Joohyun’s anger and could only nod.  “What do you think we should do?” She asked with a concerned look on her face. 

“Well, before I even knew you two were dating I had already talked to a few other women in the industry about us making a public statement to finally break the stigma around being lesbian or bi in our industry.  It seems like you and Seulgi might have to join us. We weren’t planning on doing this for another few months, but it seems this unknown stranger has forced our hand. Are you in?” Joohyun concluded forcefully. 

“Yes of course.. I can’t let this hurt Seulgi and your group.. I never meant to complicate things for any of you..” Sunmi said with a sad tone of voice. “And I totally support this effort so I am all in.” she added with new resolve, making a fist and shaking it intently. 

“Okay, lets go tell Seulgi then.. “ Joohyun said urgently, pulling Sunmi up and nudging her forward. 

In front of the office door, Joohyun put her hand on Sunmi’s back. “Right now you’re the most important person in Seulgi’s life. I really think my plan will work, but It will only work if you are both sure you are ready. Are you sure?” Joohyun asked seriously, looking up into Sunmi’s eyes. 

Sunmi maintained eye contact and nodded seriously. “Okay, make sure she is too, then..” Joohyun concluded, opening the door and leading Sunmi into the room.   Seulgi looked up, her worried expression transforming into a smile as she noticed Sunmi. 

“Okay, you two need to talk, I’ll be back in 10 minutes or so,  but I’ll be outside the door pretending to be on my phone making sure no one enters. Just try to remain calm,” Joohyun told them somberly, before leaving the room and closing the door behind her. 

Leaning her back against the door, the seriousness of the situation finally hit Joohyun. She was realizing this really would change everything. Even though many of their fans would probably be supportive, it could still permanently damage Red Velvet’s status within SM or their reputation with the general Korean public.  But it was a risk Joohyun was willing to take if it would let Seulgi live the happy life she deserved.   

And she was ready to finally be open about herself too.  Sure, she didn’t have anyone yet, but she really didn’t want to let Seulgi be singled out among their group.  If Seulgi was going to have to deal with the fall out of this, she would too, proudly at her side. 

She also realized that she was okay with Seulgi being with Sunmi now. Sunmi was a wonderful person and perfect for Seulgi, and she finally could feel that any lingering jealousy had completely evaporated.