There were many things Kang Seulgi was unsure about, especially when it came to Bae Joohyun.

But as she processed all the subtle hints the president had unconsciously been giving since the beginning of the school year, there was no doubt about it. Seulgi knew with the utmost certainty that yes, it was true…

Joohyun and Baechu were one and the same.

Never in a million years had she imagined that when she finally put a face to her online friend, her first love, it'd be a face she already knew - and one she had also fallen in love with, under totally different circumstances.

She stood transfixed, mere strides away from the beautiful girl in the long purple dress with the curled hair. Who all of a sudden seemed like a stranger, because up until this point Joohyun had always been Joohyun, and Baechu had always been Baechu.

Joohyun is Baechu… and Baechu is Joohyun.

Well now that she was certain of it, she didn't know how it hadn't registered sooner.

The signs that Joohyun was a 'reader' or 'writer' in some capacity, which she always tried to downplay whenever it was brought up. The way she'd deflect whenever she was questioned about her exact literary interests.

How she would always give vague excuses for 'days she was busy and didn't get the chance to do homework'. Days that weren't occupied by KSCE events, but always coincidentally lined up with whenever Seulgi had her marathon editing sprees and never-ending conversations with Baechu.

Her being an avid fan of Red Velvet and having pretty much the exact same tastes as her online friend.

And perhaps most tellingly, the dawning realization that Joohyun wasn't as straight as everyone painted her out to be. That much had become abundantly clear in the past week, totally coinciding with Baechu's mission to be a confident gay.

The only question now: Was she the one who Joohyun was crushing on?

A slow smile spread across her face, because she was almost one-hundred percent sure she knew what the answer to that was. But of course, being an engineer, she needed a factor of safety. She needed to make sure.

And she knew just how she could find out.

Sujebi: So… you're either going to be pissed or super happy for me

Baechu: What's up? Aw, don't tell me you can't make it :(

Sujebi: I just saw my crush, and I don't want to let go of the chance to hang out with her tonight

Sujebi: Would you be okay with that? I'm sorry :(

She looked up from her screen. The president was wearing a conflicted expression as she visibly struggled between being disappointed or celebrating this new development in Sujebi's apparent relationship.

She waited until she saw the three dots flickering, signifying Joohyun's imminent reply. And then, she made her move.

"Joohyun!"

The president whipped her head up, her eyes widening in surprise and then crinkling happily as she waved in recognition.

"Hey, Seulgi!"

Joohyun's fingers flew back to her phone, appearing to be typing something out very rapidly. Discreetly sneaking a glance at her own phone as she made her way over, Seulgi couldn't help but break into a huge smile at the latest messages:

Baechu: Guess what?! My crush is here too ^^

Baechu: OMG SHE'S LITERALLY WALKING TOWARDS ME

Baechu: I forgive you lol, good luck and enjoy your night :)

Bullseye. Seulgi could hardly contain herself, an indescribable mix of elation and adrenaline flooding her senses. She couldn't even say her dreams had come true, because she had never dared to dream that 1. Baechu was Joohyun and 2. Joohyun liked her back. At best, she would've thought those two circumstances would be mutually exclusive.

But somehow, the universe disagreed and decided that an impossibly impossible fanfiction twist was written in the stars for her love life. Not that she was complaining; no, she was eternally grateful.

Maybe it wasn't so farfetched to wish for fanfiction plots and fairy-tale endings. After all, #JoyRi had been a thing all along. And now, Seulgi was at the cusp of living out her own story.

She finally found herself at Joohyun's side, unsure of what to do with all this newfound information. The president, of course having no idea, greeted her cheerily as always with a (you know what, actually very flirty) smile and an (okay, clearly not platonic) hug.

"Wow, I never took you for the type to go to university dances."

"And everyone totally expects you to go to dances," Seulgi grinned, "But I know you better. Dances aren't your scene, 'cause you'd rather be holed up in your room."

Joohyun giggled.

"I'm flattered that you know me so well."

"So, why are you here then?" Seulgi asked as innocently as she could. "Who're you with?"

"I was initially going with a friend," Joohyun explained, smiling a bit wistfully. "A really close friend, for whom I would sacrifice my distaste for school dances."

Seulgi raised an eyebrow, feigning ignorance. "A really close friend? Yah, is there someone special I don't know about?"

Joohyun immediately blushed and shook her head frantically.

"No, no! It's nothing like that. I'm totally single and not dating. But it's not like I don't want to be in a relationship, because I would, if it was with the person I…you know, I should just stop talking. Have I mentioned that you look stunning tonight?" she rambled, looking visibly shaken and gay-panicked.

Seulgi smiled even wider.

"Thanks, Joohyun. But nah, I'm all right. You, on the other hand," she playfully nudged the shorter girl, "Are a perfect 10."

Joohyun ducked her head, suddenly preoccupied with her matching purple clutch and mumbling a shy "Thank you" while Seulgi grinned in satisfaction. She was really out here with her crush, being bold and rocking the world-

"Oh, right. I forgot to ask, who did you come here with?" Joohyun suddenly said. "I wouldn't want to keep you away from whoever your date is…" She peered up at her with a slightly pained expression, no doubt thinking that Seulgi was attending the dance with someone else.

All the confidence drained from her as she realized she hadn't prepared to answer that question. How exactly was she going to confess and reveal herself at the same time? Was she really going to just casually drop, "I'm actually your close online friend who just 'ditched' you, and guess what, I like you too!" at a rowdy university dance, right in front of the girl's restroom?

"I-I was originally going with Seungwan," she panicked, inwardly cursing herself for not having the guts to just go through with it. "Friendly date, that's all."

Joohyun looked confused. "Really? Seungwan was telling me the other day that she wasn't going to the dance because she wanted to go out with Chanyeol to Seoul instead."

Damn it. She'd completely forgot about that. Why hadn't Seungwan been clearer about her plans for tonight?!

"Er, that's correct. She cancelled the date with Chanyeol so we could have… BFF time."

"But I saw her upload on her Instagram story. They're together, right now…"

Joohyun whipped out her phone and opened said app, scrolling through the seen stories and tapping on Seungwan's. It was a cute selfie of the couple holding up a bottle of specialty dessert-flavored wine labelled "Love Shot", posted ten minutes ago at what looked like a candy shop named Reve Confectionary.

"You're telling me Seungwan cancelled her date with Chanyeol to go to the dance with you, then cancelled going to the dance with you to go back on that date with Chanyeol?"

Seulgi laughed weakly, sweat spontaneously breaking out across her forehead. Well, this was awkward.

"Yup. Gee, isn't that funny? I'm not mad, though. Don't they make such a cute couple?" she gushed, trying to divert attention from the fact that it was either very obvious she was lying, or she was making Seungwan look like the worst BFF ever.

Joohyun just stared at her, puzzled while Seulgi felt herself burning under the president's scrutiny. Thankfully, she eventually let up.

"Yeah, they do."

Seulgi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Anyway, that's why I'm alone now…Speaking of couples, would you like to be each other's dates? You know, since it looks like our friends couldn't make it…"

 A smile instantly lit up the president's elegant features.

"Sure, I'd love that."

"Okay. Awesome. Fantastic," Seulgi blabbered in nervous excitement, because this was the first time she'd ever kind-of-but-not-really asked Joohyun out. "But first I'm going to use the restroom, if you don't mind."

"Not at all! I'll be waiting here."

In reality, "using the restroom" meant updating Seungwan and devising a game plan for where to go with her relationship with Joohyun from here.

Kang Seulgi: GUESS WHAT

In true BFF fashion, Seungwan replied within mere seconds:

Son Seungwan: DID YOU MEET BAECHU? WHAT'S HER NAME? WHAT DOES SHE LOOK LIKE?!!

Kang Seulgi: www.facebook.com/baejoohyun

Son Seungwan: Um…that's a link to Joohyun's FB?

Kang Seulgi: THAT'S BECAUSE

Kang Seulgi: BAECHU IS JOOHYUN

Son Seungwan: WAIT WHAT?????? OH MY GOSH

Son Seungwan: HOLY

Son Seungwan: NO FREAKING WAYYYY

Son Seungwan: BUT YES FREAKING WAY OMG IT ALL MAKES SO MUCH SENSE NOW

Son Seungwan: I WHOLLY SCREAMED IN THIS CANDY SHOP AND EVERYONE IS LOOKING AT ME WEIRD AND CHANYEOL IS CONCERNED BUT I DON'T CARE I-

Son Seungwan: [Son Seungwan is video calling you.]

Kang Seulgi: [You just missed a video call with Son Seungwan.]

Son Seungwan: RUDE WHY AREN'T YOU ANSWERING

Kang Seulgi: I'M IN A RESTROOM STALL AND I DON'T THINK YOU NEED TO SEE THAT

Kang Seulgi: ANYWAY AREN'T YOU ON A DATE

Son Seungwan: YES AND I LOVE HIM BUT SISTERS BEFORE MISTERS ALL THE WAY

Son Seungwan: DOES SHE KNOW YOU'RE SUJEBI

Kang Seulgi: NO…LONG STORY SHORT, I LAST MINUTE CANCELLED ON THE DATE AS SUJEBI AND SHE THINKS YOU CANCELLED ON ME TO GO ON A DATE WITH CHANYEOL, SO NOW WE'RE EACH OTHER'S DATES

Son Seungwan: WTF YOU REALLY OUT THERE MAKING ME LOOK LIKE A

Kang Seulgi: I'M SO SORRY WANNIE I WASN'T THINKING

Son Seungwan: UGH IT'S FINE AS LONG AS YOU OBLIVIOUS LOVE BIRDS FINALLY GET TOGETHER, I'M WILLING TO HAVE MY NAME SLANDERED

Kang Seulgi: HAHA I'LL CLEAR YOUR NAME FIRST CHANCE I GET, PROMISE :D

Kang Seulgi: Ughhh I'm super nervous :( Should I confess or not

Son Seungwan: TBH I don't think it'd matter whether you confessed in an hour or in a month, I'm sure she'd wait for you all the same :)

Kang Seulgi: Thanks Wannie :) Love you <3

Kang Seulgi: I'm gonna go back out there, she's probably wondering why I'm taking so long. Enjoy the rest of your date :)

Son Seungwan: Haha ok, have fun and give me all the updates later <3

Son Seungwan: Love ya Seul, YOU CAN DO THIS!!

Just as she was about the exit the stall, a new message popped up in her notifications:

Baechu: Huge turn of events…my crush just asked me to be her date for the rest of the Ball!!

Baechu: How are things going for you??

Sujebi: Yayyyyy that's so exciting :) And I think it's going pretty well!

Baechu: I'm so happy for you :)

Baechu: But I'm really nervous…what if after a whole night with me, she decides that I'm weird and stops talking to me again?

Sujebi: I highly doubt it. If anything, she's a lucky girl to have you by her side. And I bet she thinks so too

Baechu: Really?

Sujebi: Yeah

Sujebi: I KNOW she thinks so too :)

"What took you so long?" Joohyun lightly elbowed her when she emerged from the stalls.

"If you must know, I ate a lot beforehand and well, what goes in must come out…" This admission caused the shorter girl to burst into a fit of giggles, moving to hide her face in her shoulder.

"What?" Seulgi gave a dopey grin, placing an arm around the president. "Everyone poops."

"I know, it's just…before, I always thought of you as serious and intimidating. Now I obviously know that you're just a massive dork."

"So what I'm hearing is, you've lost respect for me."

"If that's how you choose to see it, then sure, " Joohyun teased.

"Wow. Do you know who the president of KSCE is? We should impeach her."

"Yah!" Joohyun laughed, wrenching herself away from her grasp.

"…For being so beautiful," Seulgi finished, smoothly pulling the president close to her again.

Bewildered, Joohyun squeaked at the sudden movement as she crashed against her chest. Their eyes met, Joohyun's gaze penetrating her soul until she couldn't sustain holding such intense eye contact any longer.

She let go, suddenly aware of the masses of people around them, even if they weren't particularly paying attention. Even if she knew Joohyun liked her, that didn't mean the president was comfortable with being herself in public just yet.

"I'm sorry…people can see."

But to her surprise, Joohyun reached for her hand, intertwining it with her own.

"And what should I be so afraid of people seeing?" she breathed huskily, causing Seulgi to freeze in panic.

That we totally look like a couple right now. We've practically trampled on the notion of "gal pals" and thrown it out the window.

"Oh…sorry, like I said I can get a little touchy sometimes, if you were weirded out by that…" Joohyun released her grip, looking mildly disappointed.

Oh crap, did I say that out loud?! Damn it all, she could have said something along the lines of "Nothing, I don't care if people see anymore" like a brave badass. Great, now Joohyun was probably going revert to the mindset that she was actually a het and rant about it to Sujebi.

Before she could try and clarify, Joohyun pressed on, indicating that she didn't want to dwell on the matter any longer.

"So, what do you want to do for the rest of the night?"

"Uh…dance?" Seulgi suggested lamely, even though that was about the last thing she wanted to do.

Joohyun wrinkled her nose, "Nah…remember the last time we were on a dance floor? You didn't speak to me for weeks afterward."

"Good call. Well, what do you want to do?"

"I want to go somewhere where it's just the two of us," Joohyun said simply.

Seulgi thought for a minute, then grabbed her hand with resolution.

"Come on, I know just the place."

"Omo, the Structures Lab? Seriously, you're such a nerd!"

Joohyun wouldn't stop laughing as Seulgi the lights and offered to take her coat. It was in the middle of December, so they'd had to change into their boots to traverse the lightly snow-covered paths. The engineering part of campus wasn't too far away so the walk had only taken about ten minutes, and as a plus they got to experience the pristine winter scenery romantically lit by the methodically placed lamplights along the walkways.

Luckily, a couple of graduate students were still occupying the civil engineering building to do research late into the night, so the Lab was already heated to a comfortable room temperature. Seulgi slipped off her own coat and dropped hers and Joohyun's belongings on an empty table.

"Ah, but what better place is there? You can say, this is where we cemented our friendship."

"I have mixed emotions about that statement…"

"Hey! Don't lie, I have concrete evidence that you attended every single workday."

"Okay, fine! Of course I did; it's not my asphalt that the Eco-Concrete co-project manager is so good at her job."

"And exactly which co-project manager are you talking about?"

"Both of you. Though, to be honest with you," Joohyun smirked, "Seungwan's the cooler one."

"Yah!!!"

"But assuming heat transfer, energy must always be conserved, right? So that makes you the hotter one."

Seulgi's jaw dropped open a little. "I-"

"What?" Joohyun shrugged, trying to play it off even though Seulgi could tell she was low-key panicking. "Didn't I tell you that you look stunning tonight?"

"Asdfkjhasd," Seulgi mumbled, her ability to speak suddenly stomped to shreds.

"I can't wait until we test the concrete we made with the food waste from Gomdori," Joohyun squealed excitedly, thankfully changing the subject. She hopped over to the chamber where the concrete cylinders were kept at controlled temperature and humidity to simulate ideal curing conditions and stared at the specimens in awe as if they were fish in a fish tank.

"I bet they'll be strong," Seulgi mused. "And the concrete felt nice while casting, so that's a positive."

"That reminds me! Some of the graduate students in the carbon-uptake concrete project heard about what we were doing and offered me a research position," Joohyun turned back to her excitedly. "I told them about yours and Seungwan's leadership in Eco-Concrete, and they'd like to take you guys too."

"That's so awesome! Look who's the concrete expert now," Seulgi beamed proudly. "And Seungwan's already doing research with another group, but I'm definitely interested."

Joohyun grinned, then sighed in mock disdain. "Oh no, does that mean we'll have to see each other more than we already do?"

Seulgi made a face, sticking her tongue out playfully. "Unfortunately."

They settled into some spare chairs, surrounded by various state-of-the-art materials testing equipment, and pondered the space in silence while recalling all the memories they'd made together during Eco-Concrete workdays, having the shared goal of producing an improved material for the betterment of the Earth.

And for Seulgi, more flashbacks came to mind. Flash