They say life has its own way of ing things up. Whenever you thought everything will be smooth sailing, a tragedy is almost always bound to happen.  Irene Kang is a living testament to that. Poor CEO never knew that her life could undergo such drastic changes in a snap.

The female bunny woke up feeling renewed and invigorated that day. Well, who wouldn’t be, when she is finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. The tunnel being her present situation with Seulgi and their relationship status being threatened by Krystal and the light being her wife’s words to her.

 “I’m sorry for being slow to make a decision. Please bear with me for a little bit.  I swear that it won’t be that long anymore.” But Irene shook her head softly.

“Thank you for understanding. I swore that this will be the last. After this. I won’t let you get hurt anymore.”

Although there is still some visible distance between her and her wife, it grew considerably shorter in the sense that whenever those two are in the same space, the air is not that suffocating anymore. A light greeting, genuine smiles, and casual skinship are now present. Something that Irene is thankful for because no matter how much she tried to hide and pretend to be okay with their current setup her heart always yearns to be close to her wife. It’s very tough to be away from the love of her life. To create that invisible barrier between them when all she wanted was to be encased in the bear’s sturdy and bask in her innate warmth.  

“Good Morning Hyun.”  And there it is, the butterflies started dancing all over her stomach making her feel giddy with just simple words from her wife. The same wife who gets up from her seat at the dining table and almost bounced towards where she was standing. A hand s on her waist as a soft kiss found its way on her cheeks.

And for Irene, such actions speak a thousand more than the words that Seulgi hasn’t uttered to her yet.

That at the end of this all, Seulgi would pick Irene and they will put everything that happened to them behind. That Krystal would just be a thing of the past and would never be a hindrance to their story anymore.

“Breakfast? I know I’m not the greatest cook but I did try. I hope you like it.” And just like that, her heart started doing summersaults in her chest once again. And at this rate, Irene might really develop heart disease or diabetes with how her heartbeats became unsteady and her whole body is filled with sweetness, all of it courtesy of one Kang Seulgi.

Nothing much happened that day. Seulgi told her that she would just be in the gallery the whole day to try and finish something, a piece of painting that she has been working on before the accident. Seulgi was all smiles when she bid her goodbye, promising to be home early so they could have dinner together.

While Irene, she spent most of her time working. Trying to figure who among the director and shareholders of the company is backstabbing her. This issue kept her busy for most of the day. That is until around 4 pm when she felt a strange feeling creeping inside of her. Nervousness, uneasiness, dread, and all other mixed anxiety-inducing feelings. She did not know what caused such emotions. Like something bad is bound to happen. At first, she tried to shake it off. Thinking about what possibly might happen to her inside her well-secured office building. She checked the official government websites to check if there are any earthquakes or natural phenomena expected to happen near her building’s location. Once she is a little bit sure that nothing is bound to happen scientifically based that is, she decided to contact her wife. She tried calling Seulgi. One ring, two rings… until about a minute but the call never got picked up. This caused panic to rise in her chest. She tried calling the younger a few more times yet it all becomes futile. Feeling desperate and restless, she contacted Wendy and ask her to check on the younger which she immediately agreed to. Every minute since that call felt like years to her. Each second that passed by, anxiousness and dread started filling her whole body. She remembered feeling this that unfaithful day she flew to the US. Back when Seulgi met the accident that changed their lives. The day when she shoves those nasty feelings aside and focused her attention on work. That one moment she still regrets the most up until this day.  

She would’ve let herself drown in those nasty memories, if not for the timely ringing of her phone. She was so quick to get the device that it would’ve sent Flash a run for his money.

“Hello. Wendy? Please tell me that my wife is okay. Please tell me that nothing bad happened to Seulgi.” She fired all in a breath.

Yes. Miss. Seulgi is okay and is unharmed. She is just making some phone calls; after that, we are set to come back home.

And that call made Irene expel the breath she has been unconsciously holding. Although Wendy’s words should’ve cleared all of her doubts, there is still some kind of nasty feeling building inside of her, bothering enough for her to abandon her work and her plan to stay a little late to settle some things to go straight home to see her wife’s state for herself.

It did not take long for her to arrive home only to see her bear staring blankly at the tv. The way her beloved is sporting a crestfallen expression caused that unpleasant emotions inside of her to build up even more.

As if on instinct, she throws her bag to God knows where and crouched at the foot of the couch, her hand automatically cups her wife’s face. But as soon as fingertips touch the smooth skin, Seulgi flinched. The act caused Irene to feel a little hurt yet she tried to shove these emotions aside.

“Hey, Seul. It’s just me.” She muttered in the softest and most caring tone that she could muster. She expected the younger to somehow lean into her touch, or even engulf her in a hug while reassuring her that everything is fine. Instead, she saw how Seulgi shies away from her touch.

“Oh, you’re here. I’m sorry I didn’t notice you come in. I was a little tired and preoccupied with the painting I am planning to make. You know what, why don’t you go freshen up and let’s have dinner.” She then said before showing a half-assed smile, one that doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

Despite the urge to ask, Irene decided to just let it pass for now. The moment her eyes landed on Seulgi’s brown orbs, she saw how exhausted they are. Like she has been drained, physically and emotionally. This made her heart clenched at her wife’s state.

Okay. I’ll just go freshen up a bit. Then we can have our dinner.” A monotonous “yeah” answered her.

Nothing much happened during dinner yet the atmosphere remained quite heavy and suffocating. She tried initiating a conversation yet she is met with single-worded answers. Although it deeply hurt her because it seems like Seulgi is building a wall up for her. Especially for her. By the end of the meal, the younger excused herself to retire to her room for the night.

It hurts Irene to witness Seulgi’s indifference yet her heart breaks more at the fact that the younger just kissed her on the cheeks before retreating to her room. The younger’s lips barely even touching her skin.

***

The next day

Irene thought that her situation with Seulgi would improve the next day. That her wife was just a little tired from her work. Something that a good night's sleep would fix, only to be disappointed first thing in the morning. She woke up expecting to find the younger still passed out in bed, snoring and peacefully sleeping. So she hatched a perfect morning plan, together with breakfast and a lot of kisses to wake up her wife, yet the moment she is standing in front of the younger’s door, she found out that it is locked. The scenario transported her back to her life before.

The last time Seulgi locked her door was way back before the accident. When we are still not on good terms.

Irene shakes her head at such a thought. It gave her a sense of déjà vu making her heart hurt. It’s part of the past that she wants so hard to forget. It’s been forever since it has been like that and it’s something she does not want to remember at all. So she tried to think positively, reasoning out that Seulgi might be a little more tired than she expected.

“Maybe she got so tired and she just wants to rest” She whispered to herself. Trying to deny that something is amiss with the way is Seulgi is behaving. She then retreated towards the kitchen to have her breakfast instead.

Irene hoped that her wife would wake up and come greet her by the time she is bound to leave for work. But she is met with disappointment. Seulgi’s door remained locked. Not much trace of even the bear’s silhouette greeted her. So with a heavy heart, the CEO left her home for work.

Throughout the whole day, Irene has been restless. She barely even pays attention to the huge stack of paper piling onto her desk or the reports given to her during meetings. Or even just the gossip that Solar is telling her.

Her mind has been with Seulgi. Wondering how her wife is doing at that very