Baechu: So I'm supposed to be mad at you

Baechu: But people are stupid and I need to talk to someone about it :(

A whole two days, three hours, and forty-five minutes had gone by before Baechu finally replied to her message explaining 'why she couldn't make their date'. Yes, Seulgi had been counting down to the very last second.

She'd made up some profuse lie that in the two hours before their designated meeting time, she managed to lose her room key, so she had to go to the Student Center to buy a new one, and on the way there she bumped into her professor who started a lengthy conversation about the lecture that day. Which made her realize that oh yeah! She totally forgot she had an assignment due for that class, conveniently at 6:00 PM.

Honestly, she wouldn't have blamed Baechu had she decided to ignore her for the rest of forever. Who in their right mind suggests a meetup on a whim (a highly anticipated one, too) and then straight up ditches it?!

So she felt incredibly guilty. And she felt that the only way to clear her conscience was to tell Baechu that well, there was someone else. She'd unexpectedly fallen in love with someone in her life and until those feelings died away for sure, she couldn't commit to anything romantic with her online friend.

Sujebi: I'm so soooo sorry, I can't believe you're still talking to me and I don't deserve you :(

Baechu: Yeah, you don't

Baechu: Haha, I'm kidding :) I mean, 2+ years of being mutuals trumps one failed meetup, right?? Did you end up submitting your homework on time?

Sujebi: So funny story, I didn't actually have homework due

Sujebi: But I do have something to tell you

Baechu: ?

Seulgi in a breath, her clammy fingers hovering above her phone screen.

It was now or never.

Sujebi: So there's this girl. I've liked her, maybe since the start of this school year?

Sujebi: I know you and I have never clarified exactly what our relationship is, but I think we were both expecting something more to happen down the road…

Sujebi: So that's why I purposely ditched our meeting, because of this conflict I've been having. I feel bad for liking this other person, because I might be letting you down in some way

Sujebi: I tried not to like her, I really did! But I see her literally 24/7 and it was unavoidable

Sujebi: I've never felt anything like this before. To be completely honest I've had feelings for you too, but this girl…in real life, it's just so intense what I'm feeling and I can't explain it

Sujebi: I'm so sorry, and I hope you can understand :(

Seen by Baechu

Minutes of silence later, Seulgi let out a loud groan. Great, now she was likely at odds with two of the most important people in her life. Baechu probably thought she was fickle, or even worse, a cheating hoe.

She wasn't at all prepared for what Baechu had to say next:

Baechu: You know, that's kind of a relief because I've also been crushing on someone

Baechu: She's actually the one I was going to rant to you about lol

Baechu: It's so weird to confess when it's too late, but I've liked you too :)

Baechu: I guess…we should take this opportunity to sort out our real life crushes, because that's just more realistic?

Seulgi couldn't help but crack a small smile, releasing her bated breath in relief. It was bittersweet finding out that the online crush had been mutual, but that Baechu had also found someone else. And at the same time, it was comforting knowing that she was going through the same thing.

Sujebi: Yeah, sounds good :) So…we're still friends, right?

Baechu: Of course :)

Baechu: Actually…what if we were each other's backups? Like if real life doesn't work out?

Sujebi: Haha, omg yes. If there's anyone I'd want to fall back to, it's you :D

Baechu: That was cute, I almost forgot about my crush ^^ And same :)

Sujebi: Oh yeah, how is she like? Why did you need to rant about her?

Baechu: She's sweet and nice and unbelievably dorky, like you don't even know. She always seems like she's in her own little world, but when we're together it

Baechu: It's like…we're in our own world. Like she breaks down her walls for me

Baechu: But she said she doesn't like girls. I'm hoping so bad it's a lie. I don't know for sure, so I don't want to make her uncomfortable, you know? It , I feel like my gayness already weirded her out 'cause we haven't been talking for a while now…

Baechu: All my friends ship it though, lol. They say I shouldn't give up. I'm not sure what to do

Baechu: What about you? How's yours?

Sujebi: My crush? She's…amazing

Sujebi: I know I've said this before, but I don't know if you believed me. I'm a lot shyer in real life than I am on AFF

Sujebi: She makes me feel at ease, like I can open up and just be myself. And at the same time she motivates me to get out there and be more confident in my abilities…she's helped me become a better person

Sujebi: But… she has a boyfriend. So I've been trying to give her that space. There's moments when I seriously question her actions, but she really might just be that typical flirty straight girl idk lol

Baechu: Wowww we really are tragic aren't we?

Sujebi: Omg our situations are literally JoyRi in that 120k slow burn of yours

Baechu: Right?? Except JoyRi didn't have AWESOME backups :)

Sujebi: You're right… or online wingwomen :D

Baechu: You know what? Who knows love better than legendary AFF authors for a shipping fandom? We deserve to live out our own fanfictions :)

Baechu: It's scary… but it looks like we're both at the critical point, where things could either go wrong or incredibly right

Baechu: I think we should take a chance and go for our crushes. At least get confirmation of what they think about us. And if it doesn't work, we've got each other.

Baechu: Are you in?

Sujebi: Ummm…

Sujebi: UGH your way with words

Sujebi: Fine, I'm in…I'm pretty sure I'm gonna regret this

Baechu: Yayyyyy, cheer up you grumpy soup :)

Baechu: Sooo….Step 1. TALK TO HER.

TALK TO HER.

Easier said than done when she was still trying to recover from the yelling spree at the university café with Joohyun, who had also been super awkward around her since that day.

"You know me so well; I totally wouldn't have approved of your plan to meet Baechu. But it's fortunate how nicely things turned out," Seungwan had said. "Baechu's got some serious guts. You should be more like her, and actually go for your girl."

"Joohyun's not my girl."

"Yet. I really don't believe that Joohyun and Minho are dating. I don't know why they kissed, but my gut instinct tells me there's nothing romantic between them. And not to flex my flawless GPA, but I'm never wrong."

Despite holding her online friend to a promise, Seulgi chickened out the next day at school. She couldn't bring herself to even glance at the president. After Enviro, she thought she saw Joohyun walking towards her, but hightailed it to the restroom to hide in peace.

Damn, what was she going to tell Baechu? They had agreed on nightly updates to check in on each other's progress, and to give support and advice.

And today, I ran away like a little . That didn't sound great at all.

She emerged from the restroom, where Seungwan was waiting.

"Aaaaand you ran away like a little ," her friend deadpanned.

Seulgi grimaced, "I know."

"Well," Seungwan's poker face morphed into a Cheshire-cat grin, "You won't be able to run away at the KSCE officer meeting tonight. Don't forget - after, we also have the one-on-one meeting with Minho and the board to discuss Eco Concrete's finances."

Seulgi turned white as a sheet. She knew about the officer meeting, but the financial one had completely slipped her mind. Minho and the board? That meant Minho, Yongsun, Jisoo, and Joohyun…

Not to mention that Minho, Yongsun, and Jisoo were Joohyun's closest friends, and most likely knew of the rift between her and the president. She could already imagine how awkward that meeting was going to be.

At least she'd have something to talk about with Baechu tonight.

At the ungodly hour of 8:00 PM on a Friday night, the various officers of KSCE filed into the robust conference room that always served as the spot for KSCE-sanctioned leadership meetings. All officers were expected to give updates on their positions, especially the project management side, since competition season was rapidly approaching.

The air filled with muted chatter and sleepy yawns as officers took their seats around the circular setup, dismaying the fact that they could be spending their Friday night elsewhere.

"If you don't sit near her, I'm going to shave your head while you're sleeping and use your hair in our concrete," Seungwan threatened as they circled the table, which made Seulgi shudder. Knowing her friend, the threat wasn't as absurd as it sounded.

She obeyed and nervously scanned the room for Joohyun, spotting the president about to walk right past her, eyes trained on the ground.

In her panic, Seulgi abruptly halted her stride and dropped her backpack in front of the nearest seat, causing Seungwan to bump into her right side. Joohyun looked up in surprise, then stopped in front of her, pointing to the unoccupied seat on her left.

"Is anyone sitting there?" she asked, a bit aggressively.

"No. Go ahead," Seulgi blurted out, actually meaning it this time.

She gingerly took her seat, mentally willing Seungwan to stop winking and sniggering at her. Joohyun gracefully slipped into the seat beside her, shrugging off her large overcoat to reveal a stunning, sleeveless professional blouse.

She tried to avert her eyes as Joohyun shook out her ponytail, allowing her tresses to fall past her milky white shoulders and sending wafts of her heavenly lavender essence to everyone in the vicinity. Some of the guy officers pointed and smirked at the president, making suggestive remarks about her magnificent visuals.

Gross, she thought, and then remembered her deal with Baechu.

She abruptly turned towards the president,

"So-"

"I-" Joohyun turned towards her at the same exact time.

"Sorry. You go first."

"No, it's okay, I interrupted."

Ok, here goes.

"I'm sorry, for not being there these past few weeks. I had some personal issues," that had to do with you, "That didn't have anything to do with you. It's not you - it's me, and I apologize for making you think otherwise," she said in a rush, not really expecting forgiveness in any shape or form.

But Joohyun cracked a small smile, the adorably subtle one that she'd missed seeing.

And what a relief it was, to finally see an expression on that pretty face that wasn't tinged with cautious apprehension.

"Well, I'm sorry for not bothering you about it more. Because I could've helped you."

Seulgi grinned.

"How about we start over? Hi, my name is Kang Seulgi," she said dorkily, eliciting a giggle from the president.

"And I'm Bae Joohyun-"

"Joohyun, it's time to start the meeting," Yongsun whisper-yelled from a few seats away. "Sorry, Seulgi!" she added with a wink, to Seulgi's confusion.

The president flushed, sticking her tongue out at her friend. Then with an apologetic glance at Seulgi, she hastily turned away and loudly cleared , rendering the room silent. She proceeded to give her opening address, and once she was finished she gave the authoritative order for administrative officers and project managers to make their announcements.

Unable to deny the tension she was feeling between them, Seulgi managed to sneak a couple of glances at the president, whose gaze also seemed to flicker towards her from time to time. This made paying attention to the meeting at hand slightly difficult, but she made do anyhow.

She was happy to hear that Minho and the board were finally wrapping up the financial issue with SNU's civil engineering department, and that Byulyi's and Jennie's projects were successfully sailing through the final stages.

She was less than happy hearing Bogum drone on and on about his many members and the internships he had scored them with his popularity, failing to give any substantial news about the technical direction Construction was headed in.

When it came to her and Seungwan's turn, she excitedly recapped their experience with using human hairs as a synthetic fiber replacement.

"We've experimented with different combinations of hair lengths and have found an optimal ratio that produces an increase in concrete tensile strength of around 150 psi. This is comparable to strength gains induced by synthetic fibers and is more than sufficient for our needs," she proudly stated, earning nods of awe around the room.

Seungwan continued, "As you've probably heard, we promised the inclusion of a second alternative material in our mix. And we've found one- thanks to Joohyun." She grinned and gestured to the president to tell everyone about her idea, "Take it away!"

"Me?" Joohyun seemed a bit flustered. A lot of the officers seemed surprised as well, breaking out into whispers and giving her furtive glances. While the president was famed for her abilities as a leader, many people - especially the misogynistic male civil engineers that made up the majority of the officers - still only saw her as a pretty face with minimal scientific intellect.

Seungwan gave her a thumbs up and flashed a grin. Joohyun still looked slightly unsure, her eyes flickering to Seulgi's.

And despite all the things that had happened, Seulgi couldn't believe how natural it felt for the president to look to her for support, and how much she wanted to give that support to her.

Feeling her heart well up with pride, she gave a slight grin, and with an encouraging nod she silently mouthed,

You can do this.

The corner of Joohyun's mouth twitched upwards into a smile, one that only Seulgi could see.

Then the president looked out at her audience, informing everyone about her idea and its perfect fulfillment of the three pillars of sustainability, fully displaying her technical expertise in concrete chemistry and mix design.

"We're actually going to be in downtown Seoul all day tomorrow, to collect shell material from food waste. Seulgi and Seungwan have already planned and contacted a specific restaurant; it'll be a nice community-service kind of event," Joohyun finished, smiling proudly.

Looks of approval and excitement went around the room, except for Bogum and his hoard of cronies, who were still snickering at the president.

"Good thing you're not my girlfriend anymore," Bogum called out in his brash tone, "You've really reduced yourself to a piece of trash, scavenging trash with a trash project."

"W-what?" Joohyun was clearly taken aback.

"There's no way you came up with an idea like that. I bet you paid some guy from another university to spill their secrets…and I don't mean paying with money," Bogum smirked, suggestively raking his eyes along her figure.

Next to her, Seulgi could see Joohyun's eyes beginning to water. She felt anger boiling up inside of her, a need to defend the president. She knew all too well the feeling of being scoffed at and looked down upon, and no one, no one should ever have to feel that way.

Especially Joohyun.

She decisively stood up and pushed her chair away from her to face Bogum, drawing gasps from all around the room.

"Joohyun's been working so hard," she started in a dangerously low tone, "She comes to every single workday, in addition to handling a financial nightmare and the four intro classes. Not only that, but she did her own research and came up with that brilliant idea. How dare you discredit her!"

Her voice was escalating, nearly to the point of shouting. She was honestly shocked at the decibels she was producing, and in public, too. But alas, there was always going to be something about Bogum that triggered these reactions from her.

"What do you even do? All you do is brag about how many members you have. But are you even doing anything? I've heard nothing about your preparation for competition, and that's worrying," she glared at Bogum with all her might. "Not that it's any of my concern. But it's safe to say that our project is looking more on track than yours."

"Yeah, actually…" Jisoo held up a hand, "It's convenient that Seulgi brought this up just as I was about to give my treasurer update. I've been monitoring Construction's funds and there are withdrawals that haven't been accounted for. We'll need to speak with you privately on the topic of…embezzlement."

Gasps of shock resounded across the room. Bogum looked absolutely furious, clenching his jaw in anger. He slammed his fist down on the table, making everyone jump in their seats.

"Go to hell, Seulgi," he bellowed, and then turned to Joohyun, snarling with menace,

"You trashy . You deserve to have Minho as your trashy boyfriend."

"Wait, what?" Minho spoke up. "We're not dating."

"WAIT, WHAT?!" the entire KSCE officer board echoed, leaning in closer.

Minho held up his hands, "Why, does everyone think so?" Joohyun, Yongsun, and Jisoo had their hands clasped over their mouths, evidently shocked by the accusations as well.

"UH, YES," practically everyone yelled at once, in a tone that demanded explanation from the rumored couple.

"You guys are together like, 24/7!"

"You guys eat meals together sometimes!"

"I saw Minho walking Joohyun to class, and it looked straight out of a K-drama!"

I saw Minho kiss you, Seulgi thought silently at Joohyun, her heart b with hope nonetheless.

Joohyun shook her head quickly, looking scandalized and apparently having recovered from Bogum's incredibly rude tirade.

"Those weren't dates or anything, we were just working on the department problems together… I have to exclusively work with Minho a lot because he's the department liaison," she explained, as a bunch of "Ohhhhh's" filled the room.

"It's a professional friendship, that's all. Right, Hyun-ah?" Minho reached over to give Joohyun a fist bump, which the president returned with a grateful smile.

"Yeah."

Seulgi felt urgent jabs to her right side and turned to Seungwan, whose eyes currently resembled the eyeball emoji. Her phone lit up:

Son Seungwan: OMG I TOLD YOU SO!! AHHH THERE'S HOPE FOR YOU

Kang Seulgi: THAT DOESN'T EXPLAIN THE KISS THOUGH? WHY'D THEY KISS?!!

Son Seungwan: I DON'T KNOW, ASK DURING FINANCIAL MEETING

Son Seungwan: POINT IS, THEY'RE NOT A THING. I REPEAT, THEY'RE NOT A THING!!!

Joohyun gave her final remarks, and the KSCE secretary concluded the meeting log with the statement, "Most Dramatic Meeting in the History of KSCE". With that, the officers quickly vacated the room, buzzing with talk about Seulgi's heroism, Bogum's embezzlement scandal, and Minho's and Joohyun's only-a-professional-friendship.

That left Seulgi and Seungwan with Minho and the core officer board, pulling out their laptops to review the detailed Excel spreadsheets with which they recorded the ins and outs of Eco Concrete's budget.

As Seulgi was opening up said spreadsheets, she felt a soft hand closing around her wrist.

"Thank you, for earlier," Joohyun said softly with a grateful smile.

"It's no problem. You didn't deserve to be talked to like that."

"You're naturally shy. It must've taken a lot to speak up in front of everyone, and to Bogum, too," Joohyun looked at her with concern.

Normally, Seulgi would have shrugged or merely laughed it off in gay panic, as a way to negate her feelings for the president. But she remembered Baechu's advice.

TALK TO HER.

"Well," she cleared nervously, turning away slightly to avoid seeing Joohyun's reaction, "When it comes to you, I'm willing to do that."

"Ahem," Yongsun cleared cheekily, "Sorry to interrupt, but we gotta get this meeting started; it's getting really late."

The leaders were impressed with how Seulgi and Seungwan were handling Eco Concrete's money, spending substantially below the budget they'd originally set thanks to the lean practices they'd implemented and the low costs associated with their alternative materials.

"And that's a wrap," Joohyun beamed at the two project managers, "Thank you for meeting up with us at this late hour."

"Yup," Seungwan chimed. She discreetly st