Seulgi collapsed on a lounge chair and closed her eyes, soaked from head to toe but in a very good mood. The water fight had gone on until the sun started going down with Yeri and Joy declared the winners. There was simply no Pokémon that could match the speed Yeri’s Arcanine had, and any who came up against the unstoppable duo fell to a barrage of water balloons.

Of course Seulgi felt like she had come out on top anyway. Having Irene pressed up against her back as they rode Mr. Fuzzles into battle was a victory in its own. What girl wouldn’t like her crush to hold onto her?

Speaking of Irene, her roommate was a few feet away, chatting idly with Wendy and Joy. It made Seulgi happy to see the raven-haired Trainer interacting with other people. Irene was slowly letting her walls down around their friends and it was a beautiful sight to see.

“I see everyone had fun,” Moonbyul’s mother approached the group. Her Loudred held a stack of towels in its hands as they went around offering towels to everyone. Seulgi wrapped an orange towel around her waist, thanking the older woman for her kindness.

“Next time we’re banning Yeri from using Arcanine, that’s basically cheating,” Moonbyul complained cheekily, toweling off her wet hair.

“You started it,” Solar pointed out, shivering. Moonbyul grabbed another towel and draped it over her girlfriend’s shoulders.

“Oh!” Everyone turned to look at Mrs. Moon. “While I have everyone here, let’s all gather around for a group picture. I want everyone to remember this.”

The nine young Trainers huddled together as the Moon matriarch brought out a camera. Seulgi ended up wedged between Joy and Jihyo with Irene in front of her. Joy gave Seulgi a knowing wink as they all posed for the camera. “Everybody say Pikachu!”

“PIKACHU!” The camera flashed.

“Perfect,” Mrs. Moon said. “I’ll send the pictures to Byul so all of you can have a copy. Now dry yourselves off quickly, dinner’s in an hour.”

“Yes Mrs. Moon!” Came the chorus of replies.

“Such polite young Trainers,” she smiled. “Oh, that reminds me.” She pulled out a list from her apron. “I need someone to grab a few things from the market down the road for me. We’re out of soda and chips.”

“I’d be happy to go,” Irene piped up. “I could use a nice walk anyway.”

“Thank you dearie.” Joy casually cleared and pushed Seulgi towards Mrs. Moon.

“I’ll go too,” Seulgi volunteered, shooting daggers at Joy, who pretended like she didn’t know anything. Irene looked surprised but she didn’t complain.

“How sweet. Well then the two of you better be off. Joohyun you remember where the market is right?”

The Champion nodded, going over the list and mentally figuring out how much to get so everyone was happy. “We’ll be back soon, Mrs. Moon.”

As Seulgi left she mouthed I’m going to kill you in Joy’s direction. Of course since Joy knew about her crush on Irene she’d make things difficult. The other girl yawned, pausing to see if Mrs. Moon had left before casually flipping Seulgi off and mouthing back You’ll thank me later.

Seulgi was about to give the younger girl a piece of her mind when a small hand rested on her arm. Irene asked, “You ready?”  

“Yeah. Lead the way.”

XXX

The market was about a fifteen-minute walk from the mansion, down at the bottom of the cliff by the road that led back into town. It didn’t stock a huge variety of things but Irene and Seulgi found what they needed without too much trouble. Everything was loaded into three large paper bags and the girls made their way back home.

Irene suggested they take the scenic route back to the mansion, which would take them off the main road and into the woods. “I’m not trying to be creepy, but it really is a beautiful area. I used to come this way with Dante whenever we’d stay with Moonbyul.”

Seulgi was surprised that Irene could casually bring up her deceased partner’s name up like that. She didn’t press the other girl though and swallowed the questions that were on the tip of her tongue. So she changed the subject. “How long have you and Moonbyul known each other?”

“Since I was ten. She was a year younger than me, and our parents would frequently meet together for work matters. She won her region’s Championship two years before me, when she was only fourteen. The whole world went wild, she’s only the second person under sixteen to win a Championship battle.” They broke off from the main road and took a left down a path that led into the woods surrounding the neighborhood.  

“Wow, that’s impressive.”

“Mhm. I admit, recently her and I have drifted apart a little bit. What with…recent events and everything. I’m glad Leeteuk brought me over here though, I didn’t know how much I needed a break.”

“I’m glad you came, this week has really helped me to make new friends. I’m glad Jackson blew up Dorm Three.”

Irene chuckled. “Me too. That boy is many things, but smart isn’t one of them, at least when it comes to making rash decisions.”

Seulgi stopped. “Irene, we never got to really talk about…you know. What happened during the party.”

“You mean the kiss?” Irene sounded so nonchalant about the whole thing.

Seulgi blushed. “I…yeah. Have I mentioned how sorry I am about that?”

“And I owned up to it, it was my fault for kissing you without asking first.”

Seulgi swallowed. Well, this seems like the best time to mention…”I liked it.”

Irene stopped in her tracks, before turning to face Seulgi. “You did?”

Seulgi could feel the tips of her ears getting hot with embarrassment but she’d already gotten this far, she might as well continue. “I like you, Irene.”

Irene for her part seemed a little surprised but she couldn’t hide the pleased grin on her face. “I like you too, Seulgi. Although I certainly haven’t acted that way. I—”

“No, Irene. I like you.”

The forest was dead silent. All Irene could say was, “Oh.”

“Please say something,” Seulgi begged. “It’s okay if you don’t return my feelings, I just thought—”

Irene stopped her. “No, it’s not that. It’s…I think I like you too, Seulgi. Like that. I’m just…not that good at feelings like that.”

Seulgi tilted her head, “Oh. Well good, neither am I.”

Irene looked at her like she was crazy. “I’m a Champion with less-than average social skills and most of the media calls me an Ice Queen because I always look like I’m about to hit someone. I find it hard to believe a girl like you is bad with feelings.”  

“I’m a girl from Alola who named her Stufful Mr. Fuzzles. The only reason I got into the Kalos Academy was because I have a perfect 4.0 GPA which came as a result of not having any actual friends.”

“So we’re both ed in that department then,” Irene said blithely.

Seulgi laughed sardonically. “We’re a mess, aren’t we?”

“I don’t know, I’ve seen worse. You’re a very pretty mess.”

“Irene!”

The older girl walked closer to Seulgi, stepping in her personal space. “I don’t know how things will go from here on out. We’ve both confessed to each other. What’s the next step?”

“I wouldn’t say no to another kiss.” Seulgi knew she was being bold and she expected Irene to balk and retreat.

But she didn’t.

Irene leaned in and placed a hesitant kiss on Seulgi’s lips. “Is this okay?”

Seulgi looked dazed and all she could mutter was, “Oh yeah. This is definitely okay.”

“Well then…” Irene pulled the taller girl in closer and kissed her again, feeling her lips against Seulgi’s and enjoying the surprised whine that escaped the other girl’s lips.

They broke apart only when they needed air. Seulgi was staring at Irene and debating what to say next when she heard the distinct sound of a camera shutter.

She whirled around, hand instinctively going to her belt in case she needed to call on her Pokémon. Irene placed a hand on her cheek, “What?”

“I thought I heard a camera.”

Irene was shocked, and she turned away from Seulgi to look around her. She couldn’t see anything but the forest. “I don’t see anything.”

“Maybe it was just me being paranoid,” Seulgi tucked a lock of Irene’s hair behind her ear and the Champion almost melted at the sweet gesture. Seulgi heard the sound again, and this time Irene heard it too. “Tell me you heard it this time.”

Irene simply nodded and slowly reached for her belt, calling out her Ninetales. “Yeah.” Her faithful partner looked up at her, tilting her head quizzically. “Aeolus, I think someone’s watching us. Find them.”

Her partner barked once and dashed off into the trees.

“This should be impossible, I thought Leeteuk was the only other person who knew where you were going this week?” Seulgi asked.

“He was.” Irene strained her ears, waiting to hear a signal from her partner. “I don’t know how anyone managed to find me.”

Her partner was quick, and within a minute they heard her Ninetales’ telltale howl. Irene took off towards the sound, Seulgi right behind her.

Her partner had cornered someone against a tree and was snarling at them. A man wearing casual clothes had been pinned against the tree, cradling a large camera in his arms. Irene was furious. Couldn’t these people leave her alone for one second?

“Who are you?” she yelled.

“I-I’m from the Kalos News Network. Please, can you call your Pokémon off?” He side-eyed the powerful fox Pokémon.

Irene huffed, calling Aeolus to her side. “What are you doing here, this is a private neighborhood!”

She didn’t have to guess though, judging by the camera hanging around his neck. Normally she tolerated the press, it was a part of the job description of Champion. But to have these vultures taking pictures of her while she was on vacation? Utterly despicable.

Seulgi nudged her and gestured to the camera. “Irene, he has pictures of us kissing.”

The Champion’s face paled. No. The world can’t find out like this. “Give me that camera.”

“No!” The reporter finally seemed to gain some confidence now that he wasn’t being openly threatened anymore. “These pictures will circulate the entire region and I’ll be famous.”

“Those are illegally taken,” Seulgi crossed her arms. “No publication worth their salt will accept them.”

He scoffed, clutching his camera as though it was a child. “You’re outside the Academy now, these pictures are completely legal.”

Outside the Academy now…wait. That didn’t make sense. Unless…

“You’ve seen the other pictures,”