Irene came to rehearsal once a week for the next two weeks before the fashion show, and being the social butterfly that she is, she's now friends with both Seulgi and Sooyoung and they all have already exchanged numbers the second time they've met.

But aside from her usual "thank you for looking after me today" texts she sent to Seulgi every after rehearsal, she literally get no message from her outside that schedule- not that she has to since they just started being friends. But, Irene really wants to get closer to the said girl, she thinks they'll really get along. Also, she thinks Seulgi's having the same thought as her because she always sees the girl looking at her through her peripheral vision and when she looks back, Seulgi will suddenly smile widely and will be too enthusiastic as if she wasn't caught staring.

She just concluded that Seulgi must really be a happy-go-lucky type of girl, well, it actually shows how much she cracks jokes for everyone. The room will automatically light up whenever she's around.

But that's it, no "how are you" texts or hang out invitations on other days that made her think this friendship won't last after the show.

"Irene unnie, what's with the sullen face?" Sooyoung approached her when they took a short break for today's rehearsal.

The show would be the day after tomorrow so they're having a technical dress rehearsal right now.

"I'm just nervous. Two days left before the show."

"I told you, you don't have to be nervous." the taller girl said sitting beside her. "Plus, you have the final walk with Seulgi unnie. She'll be there to guide you."

If Sooyoung only knows that it was the main reason she's really nervous...

Since today is the technical dress rehearsal, the models and herself are wearing the outfits they'll wear on the day of the fashion show itself, so when she saw Seulgi coming out of the dressing room in her white lingerie, Irene thought she'll pass out right there and then.

The girl's look was so y she's not sure how she'll be able to walk alongside with her without looking like a trying to catch a glimpse of her every now and then.

"What are you guys talking about?" The girl from her thoughts appeared from her back sitting in front of her.

"Irene unnie is still nervous. But I told her you'll guide her on stage." Sooyoung filled in.

"You're still nervous? Don't you-like, live on stage or something? You're always on tour." the monolid tried joking.

Well, it's kind of true that she's always on stage but this is different, she'll be singing alongside pretty girls in underwears and most especially, she'll be walking along her crush!!! Who's also gonna be in her underwear!!

"Well, it's not like I always have a lot of gorgeous girls on stage everytime." She joked back.

"The only gorgeous one here is me so you there's nothing to worry, unnie." Sooyoung said whoch earned a scoff from Seulgi. "As if! You know who looks more gorgeous between the two of us, Sooyoung."

"Yes, and it's me."

"You wish. It's me." 

"Stop dreaming, Seulgi unnie." 

"Why don't we ask Irene unnie instead?" Seulgi said turning to Irene, trying to catch her eyes. "Tell us who looks better, unnie."

Said girl blinked fast as she doesn't know what she's supposed to say. If she'd be the one to judge, everyone has no match to Seulgi, she's easily the most gorgeous person who walked in our planet, but she can't say that, can she? But if she chooses Joy, then she can't bear to see the pouty look of Seulgi, it'll melt her right there and then. She has seen the other girl do that face towards Sooyoung the last time and she was so affected by it even as a mere bystander. 

Irene was pulled from her reverie when the girl suddenly laughed. "You don't have to think that hard, unnie!" Seulgi said. 

Sooyoung backed her up saying, "Are you judging us in your mind? Are you computing a criteria? Your face does look like it."

The girl's face reddened up before rolling her eyes on them and walking away as she can already see the stage director going to their direction. The practice will be resuming and the girls are being led to the backstage. 

"Are you still really nervous?" Seulgi suddenly ask as they wait for the stage director's cue backstage. 

"Yeah..." 

"Am I making you nervous, unnie? I feel like you always tense up when I'm around. I'm really sorry..." 

Irene was baffled with what Seulgi said. Is she really that obvious?! 

"Hey, no, it's not your fault, Seulgi!" She immediately said. "I mean, it is really nerve-wracking to share the runway with a very beautiful and amazing model but it's not all that. I'm just really nervous at the thought of walking down the runway, I'm sorry for making you think it's your fault."

"Are you sure?" 

She gave the younger girl a smile before telling her again not to worry. 

"Okay, then, just so you know, you look amazing in your outfit." Seulgi said with a wink. 

Joohyun would have passed out if not for the stafe director shouting their cue. 

"Irene and Seulgi in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!"

The fashion show ended and everyone is all backstage congratulating each other.

"You did amazing, girls!" Arianne said through her megaphone, popping a champagne. All the other girls cheered while Irene stood still at the corner watching them celebrate.

A few minutes later and reporters and journalists are coming in trying to interview everyone in there.

"Hey, Irene! You were amazing up there!" One journalist came up to her.

"Oh, thank you. It's my first time."

"We know, and you were already amazing. How was it?"

"I was really nervous ever since the first time I stepped in here but the girls helped me relax. I think I have found new friends." Irene said smiling.

"That's nice! Would you mind naming some of the girls you have grown close with?"

Irene let her eyes wander at that, catching monolid eyes side-glancing at her who immediately turned to the side after being caught which made the singer smile turning back to the journalist. "There are seriously a lot of them, these girls are all amazing. They're all nice and they all made me feel like I belong, which I am really thankful."

"I see! Then, I hope this isn't the last time we see you perform for Aria's Angel."

"I hope so, too."

The journalist thanked her and told her to enjoy Seoul before moving to another model giving Irene a chance to go back to her dressing room until someone called her. "Irene unnie!"

She looked back seeing Seulgi, still in her lingerie, walking after her. "Hey, Seul."

"Hi, unnie. You were great out there. Congratulations."

"All thanks to you and Sooyoung for helping me out." She said as she started walking again with Seulgi by her side.

"What do you mean? That's all you, unnie." Seulgi said. "Anyway, are you going to the afterparty?"

"Well, I have nothing else to do so why not?"

They were already in front of her dressing room when Seulgi held her shoulders to stop her, "What do you say if we do something else tonight instead of going to the afterparty?" She asked with a hopeful smile.

Is Seulgi really asking her to hang out? Irene wanted to let some tears out as she thought she wouldn't be able to talk to the girl after this show so Irene didn't give the other girl a chance to change her mind and answered back with an excited "Yes!".

"Are you telling me that this is your kind of afterparty?" Irene said in disbelief looking at all the greasy food at her hotel room's table. There were burgers, fries, pizza, and mac n cheese, a lot of them.

"Yes!" Seulgi said shoving a handful of fries into . "Preparing for the fashion show was the worst months of my life, i missed my cheeseburgers!"

When Seulgi asked her to hangout, she didn't expect it for them to go back to her hotel room with the younger girl going out for a while and coming back with all these carbs. She knew Seulgi loves to eat, she didn't think it's this much. 

"You should try the burgers, I swear they make the best burgers here in Seoul!"

Truth to be told, Irene wasn't really fond of burgers and fries and all those oily food but how can one say no when ut was Seulgi who was aking her cutely to eat all these???

"How is it? How do you like it?" The girl asked her expectantly as she took her first bite. She hummed and showed a thumbs up as was filled with the burger.

"You're actually right." Irene said drinking from her can of cola.

"I know right, I have been craving for this since last week, I am just so glad the show was over."

Irene reached out for a slice of pizza before sitting down the carpet beside Seulgi. "You talk as if you don't like what you're doing."

"Of course not. I mean, I love being a model. It has always been my dream."

"I can sense a 'but' there..."

She watched as the younger girl put fries on her slice telling her it tastes better before going back to the topic. (Fries on pizza was actually really good.) 

"I love being a model but I don't really like how the show portrays how women should look like. Everyone's different. Don't get me wrong, I love Arianne, and I am thankful for the opportunity and I know I sound so hypocrite since I just finished the show but... it's not like I have a choice here. I'm still building up my name and my status so I have no choice but to be on shows where people would see me." Seulgi said having bite of her own fries-layered pizza.

"Wow, I never thought you think like that. I thought..."

"You thought I was all beauty and body and no brains?" Seulgi asked making Irene flustered. "I... I didn-" 

The younger girl laughed hard seeing how conscious Irene suddenly become thinking she might have offended the other girl. "Ya! I wasn't going to say 'all beauty', you're so full of yourself!" 

"I was playing with you, unnie."

"Seriously though, you're right. You sometimes really have to put yourself in situations you don't really want to be at to be where you want to be in the future. It's part of reaching your dreams."

The girls fell back into a comfortable silence after that while munching all the food Seulgi has brought. They later on started talking about anything and everything, laughing at stories they shared for when Seulgi first started modelling and when Taylor first performed on a stage when she was 15.

Seulgi was also bold enough to ask if what she had read online about Irene's ex boyfriend was true. "Ya, I didn't expect you to be this nosy!" Irene said smiling with amusement. 

The younger girl chuckled at that, "It's not everyday you get to hang out with Bae Irene and ask here these questions so..."

"Whatever, I'll tell you some other day. I'm tired and I'm sleepy." She said lying down the carpet and stretching her body. They almost finished everything Seulgi bought and now she's so full that she feels so sleepy. 

"When are you going back home?" Seulgi asked looking down at Irene who was still sprawled on the floor with her eyes closed. 

"Tomorrow afternoon, around 1:30 PM after checking out." She answered still with her eyes closed. 

"Okay. I think I should go and let you rest. " Irene shot her eyes open and sitting back when she felt the girl standing up. "It was nice hanging out with you, Irene unnie. It was fun talking to you."

"Oh... uh... Thank you, Seulgi. I had a really nice night because of you. We should do this again."

"We should. Also, we deserve to have fun after the show!"

"Yep. I wish I could go on a vacation right now. I think I deserve it finishing my world tour and this fashion show."

"Oh, so you're in a break right now?" Seulgi asked curiously. 

"Yeah. I'll be spending my days at home boring my self out for months, uhuh, I have dreamed of that." Irene said laughing which made Seulgi smile before suddenly looking at Irene with wide eyes. 

"Unnie! What do you say we go for a ride to somewhere in Korea? Like in Daegu, or Busan, or wherever? I'm also actually in a break for two weeks starting tomorrow." Seulgi asked with excitement. 

"A drive?" Irene wasn't sure, she hasn't been driving for so long now having her bodyguards around her all the time. "I don't know, Seulgi." 

"Why? Come on, it will be fun!" 

"Well, I haven't gone to a road trip in a while, and I'm afraid people would recognize me. They'll flock around us and you'll regret asking me to come with you because you won't enjoy the trip and then you'll nevee gonna talk to me ever again." Irene said looking down. 

"Wow, unnie. You're such a big overthinker, aren't you?" The other girl said in amusement. "We're gonna be fine, we're gonna have fun and enjoy. We can plan the road trip and go for like 5 days, it would be nice! We'd be going somewhere far, no one would recognize you and if they did we'll just tell them nicely that you're on vacation. How's that?" Seulgi said still persuading her. 

"I really don't know, Seulgi. Would you be comfortable having my bodyguards following us all the time? You know I can't go anywhere without them."

"That's no problem, unnie. I can handle that. I mean, I'd feel better that I'm safe?" The younger girl said positively that Irene can only sigh.

"I'd have to ask my manager for permission first, then."

°°°

They are going on a road trip! I'm sorry this chapter took so long, there were just a lot of things suddenly happening in my life this past month. Anyway, I hope you like this update!