Darkness greets Seungwan when she arrives at her empty apartment, huffing and puffing with the weight of the heavy bags she had to carry up two flights of stairs. She drops the bags by the door and trudges to the couch, plopping down on it unceremoniously.
 

Her heart rate’s barely gone back to normal when her phone connects to the apartment wifi and a cacophony of pinging begins to mix in with her heavy breathing.
 

Being an artist constantly watched by the public, the relentless notifications make her panic a little bit. She quickly scrambles for her phone in the back pocket of her jeans.
 

Sooyoungie: LOL.
 

Sooyoungie: Just take it as a compliment! XD
 

Momager Bae: [attached a link]
 

Momager Bae: Was that for your roommate?
 

Momager Bae: Call me once you see this.
 

Seungwan opens Joohyun’s message first, heart racing again as the article loads on her screen.

>> NEW HOBBY FOR OVERBOOKED SINGER?
 

Wendy, the night angel of Korea, was spotted earlier in one of the trendiest arts and crafts store in Garosugil. Clad in a fluffy white sweater, the singer bought a ton of art supplies almost as big as her! Could she be trying out a new hobby? Maybe a present for an artistic special someone?
 

Check out the pictures below for a glimpse of our blonde-haired cutie!

Seungwan’s plaintive sigh echoes across the empty room.
 

It’s okay.
 

It’s not even scandalous.
 

Still. Is it really that article-worthy of her to be buying some paintbrushes and acrylic?
 

Before she calls Joohyun, she types a quick emotionally-charged text to the reason for her escapade.
 

Seungwan: [forwarded Momager Bae’s link]
 

Seungwan: I’m never buying art supplies for you ever again. >:(
 

Seulgi: oooooooof
 

Seulgi: I’M SORRY!
 

Seulgi: [attached a picture of a quickly drawn sketch of a crying bear holding out a handful of hearts]

*x*

“Would you mind if I post a selfie of us?”
 

“Huh?” Seulgi lifts her head in confusion amidst the clutter of newly-purchased art supplies surrounding her. It’s been ten minutes since Seulgi arrived home from a gallery opening, and the girl had gone straight to the bags Seungwan had brought home after a warm hug hello.
 

“For the article. I mean because of the article. So they know I bought that stuff for a friend and I’m not as artistically inclined as the public seem to believe.”
 

Seulgi folds her eyebrows over. “But…why? Don’t you want them to think you’re artistic? Besides musically, I mean.”
 

“Not really. I don’t want them to ask me about it during interviews. Joohyun-unnie gave me the go-signal to post. I could even include some of your art pieces.”
 

“Ah… Sure. If that’s what you want to do. Sorry about that, by the way.” Seulgi smiles sheepishly. “I really would have gone myself if I could-”
 

Seungwan brushes off her apology with a flick of her hand as she makes her way to their kitchen. “It’s fine. What do you want for dinner? Chicken or pasta?”
 

“Why not both?” Seulgi’s smile turns cheeky.

xxx

Seulgi loves to draw. Has drawn ever since her fingers could smear lines across once-pristine yellow walls, those same fingers finally grasping pen and dashing against paper.
 

She gets known for the acrylic she paints, skies and moons brushed in rainbow. But it’s the simple sketches in her heaping collection of drawing pads that she cherishes the most. Simple, haphazardly-drawn bears taking form, most of the time with a trusty tiny hamster by its side.
 

She sends some of these sketches to Seungwan, hoping it can brighten her day amidst the intense schedule jampacked into one tiny woman that may hold more of Seulgi’s heart than she knows. Than she dares to let her know.
 

There’s a sense of safety when things are drawn rather than spoken out loud, like her feelings are in the dimension of flat paper and not branded on her skin, pressing against her chest.
 

So Seulgi draws. Draws and paints liquid fire blue like she’s not baring her heart in the span of a canvas, her ardor flowing out easily when keeping quiet has never been this hard.

***

Seungwan loves to sing. Has sung ever since she knew that she could, playing with her voice and experimenting with her technique until the wee hours of the morning, when her parents would rather succumb to the quietness of the night rather than hearing her muffled voice carrying through their house’s thin walls.
 

She’s glad for their endless support despite that, or else she wouldn’t have pushed herself towards her passion. Wouldn’t have the guts to audition for RV Entertainment and win the hearts—and ears—of its director and producers.
 

Singing is everything to Seungwan. It makes her just as much as it can break her.
 

It’s a lot easier than words unguarded, unprotected by the allure of melody. Songs and lyrics convey everything and yet confess nothing. Not when she’s singing to the entire nation—maybe even to the entire world—love songs laced with truth and the bone-shearing ache of longing. Not when everyone can say she’s singing to them, when every line that leaves her lips is only for her.

xxx

Seungwan’s post about Seulgi goes viral, if that’s the right word for it. Due to Seungwan tagging Seulgi’s professional email address, the latter receives a lot of mail ranging from magazine publishing companies to quaint restaurant owners showing interest in her work. Of course, there was occasional fan mail to sift through, written for Seungwan and only Seungwan. Seulgi makes sure they’re appropriate before she forwards it to her friend with a smile.
 

Seulgi has Seungwan to thank for a couple of paychecks she’s going to rack up in the succeeding months, and promises to stock their fridge with all the fruits Seungwan’s heart desires.
 

Seulgi: [attached a picture of a sketch of a bear smiling bright, holding wads of cash]
 

Seulgi: what fruits are you craving today?
 

Seungwan: MANDARINS
 

Seungwan: Wait no. Are you going to buy them for me? I have to practice so I won’t be home a lot again. Just to shower and sleep. :(
 

Seulgi: aww okay. i’ll buy them when you’re back chilling ^^ fighting, wannie!

***

Seungwan sinks to the floor in a pile of tired limbs and sweaty clothing, mind blanking out in sheer exhaustion.
 

Singing she can do, but dancing?
 

Dancing is a whole other form of evil. Or maybe it’s the memorizing of the steps that’s horrible. Either way, Seungwan and dancing are not a good mix. This is more up her best friend’s alley, that all-rounded .
 

…And Seungwan should not be putting ‘’ and ‘Seulgi’ in the same frame of thought.
 

Her phone buzzes with a new message, and she grapples for it far more dramatically than she needs to, her choreographer-unnie snorting out an amused laugh beside her. She picks it up to read her new message, and she has to press her lips together to stop an automatic smile from forming.
 

Seulgi: since i can’t give you fruits right now
 

Seulgi: [attached a picture of a bear pouring a basket of fruits over a hamster’s head]
 

Seungwan: You just drowned me in fruits >:(
 

Seungwan waits and waits for Seulgi’s reply, but it doesn’t come. She sighs when her unnie taps her on the shoulder, signaling for her to start the hellish process of getting six eight-counts of movements right.
 

It’s only later, after the choreographer finally calls it a night that she sees Seulgi’s response.
 

Seulgi: [attached a picture of a bear pouring a basket of hearts over a hamster’s head]
 

Seulgi: is this better?
 

Seungwan’s face lights up, and pressing her lips together can’t keep the smile off her face.
 

Seungwan: Nah. I prefer the fruits.

xxx

They don’t see each other regularly for a while, as Seungwan continues to prepare for her comeback, locked up in her company’s building till night bleeds into morning.
 

Seulgi flips through a dozen channels, settles for logging onto Netflix, then sifts through more shows and movies aimlessly.
 

Seulgi’s always kind of hated this, the emptiness in their apartment without Seungwan’s own personal brand of sunshine around.
 

Maybe they should get a pet. It’ll keep her company while Seungwan’s schedule keeps her busy, and it’ll keep Seungwan company if Seulgi is away for work or just emotionally distant while she’s stuck in her own world, drawing.
 

A dog or cat might brighten the place up a little, even though Seulgi knows it’ll never replace the warmth of Seungwan’s smile.

***

Seungwan’s comeback craze tapers off after two months, and she arrives home from one of her last few schedules to a bountiful feast of chicken wings and soju care of her best friend.
 

“I love you,” she proclaims softly, eyes tired yet warm as she picks up a sauced-up wing with her chopsticks. She means it a little more than Seulgi thinks—has meant it that way in a long time—but she shuts her eyes to try and hide it, pretends she’s closing it in bliss of the taste of fried meat rather than apprehension.
 

“I love you too,” Seulgi responds just as warmly, and for a split-second Seungwan inhales sharply and thinks— but the second ticks by, and Seungwan exhales the hope away. You’re just tired. Stop. “And I missed you,” Seulgi continues, oblivious to the growing cracks in Seungwan’s armor.
 

It’s not fair for Seulgi to be like this, her soulmate in every sense of the word.
 

It’s also not fair for Seungwan to drag Seulgi into the world she tries to build a wall between, to love her and push her into a spotlight that glares and blinds. Seungwan doesn’t want Seulgi to get hurt, doesn’t want Seulgi dragged across headlines and battered against pages.
 

So she whispers an “I miss you too,” instead of a kiss, and wonders how long she’ll last before she breaks.

xxx

Seungwan invites Seulgi to her last schedule for this comeback: a radio show with one of the nicest DJ’s in the industry in Seulgi’s opinion—because she overflows Seungwan with love and wholehearted compliments that she more than deserves.
 

“You’re really beautiful, Wendy,” the DJ acclaims, “inside and out.”
 

And Seulgi thinks that Seungwan doesn’t know how beautiful she is. Sure, she gets praised for it all the time, in almost every interview, in almost every article.
 

But Seulgi sees it.
 

The difference when the radio DJ waxes poetic about how cute Seungwan is, her immediate blush and shy smile, from when she says she’s beautiful, how her eyes dim a little—like she knows, deep in her heart, it’s empty words for a crowded room.
 

It makes Seulgi’s heart drop.
 

How she wants to shatter the soundproof glass in the radio station to get to Seungwan, to clutch her cheeks in her palms and tell her how it’s so terribly, terribly true how beautiful she is. If only she could see how Seulgi sees her every single day.
 

The way Seulgi can’t help but sketch her roommate and best friend in every little thing she does. How Seulgi struggles to get the strikingly sharp slope of her nose just right, how Seulgi’s hand shakes as she shades in her lips, almost feeling them caress her own with the force of her struggle to get them as perfect as they could be on paper. How Seulgi has accepted that she would never be able to paint the galaxies that are Seungwan’s eyes.
 

Seulgi has a sketchbook full of Seungwan: singing, cooking, smiling, laughing, sleeping. Her heart drives her hands to trace every line and curve of Seungwan. Because Seungwan is so, so beautiful, and Seulgi loves her in every possible way.

***

Seungwan hasn’t felt this relaxed in months since her comeback preparations. She’s just about ready to sink in and become one with the plush couch in their apartment, cuddling herself close to Seulgi as they watch one of the more recent horror films when her phone chimes with a slew of new messages, one after the other.
 

She grunts in annoyance, as if it were some sort of verbal shield against whoever is contacting her. She’s made her mind to ignore it in favor of remaining in zen mode, but Seulgi nudges her gently, bumping her shoulder against her cheek. “It might be important,” she coaxes, eyes never leaving the screen as one of the poor victims gets mauled in the face with an ax.
 

Seungwan lets herself whine a little, arms flailing in petulant childishness, drawing a smile from the girl beside her. But still Seulgi doesn’t turn her head, and Seungwan sighs as she finally stretches her left arm out to reach for her phone at the end of the couch.
 

Upon reading the barrage of messages, dread washes over her, completely obliterating the calm she’s had the luxury to feel for a short while.
 

Momager Bae: [attached a link]
 

Momager Bae: Call me when you see this.
 

Squirtle-rim: Sooyoung and I both said ‘we been knewwww’ the moment we saw lol
 

Squirtle-rim: Just own it, unnie! Now’s your chance!!!!!
 

Her hands clam up, fingers shaking as she clicks on the link Joohyun had sent her.

>> SS LOVE IN THE AIR IN GAROSUGIL!
 

Night Angel Wendy was spotted again in Garosugil, but this time she was not alone!
 

The solo singer was seen shopping and eating in one of the fanciest Italian restaurants in the district with none other than her artist best friend, Kang Seulgi. The talented artist had been the talk of the city for a few weeks after Wendy posted about her in her personal SNS. “My beautiful and talented best friend,” Wendy had captioned with a few heart emojis to punctuate.
 

If so, these best friends sure did get pretty cozy in their little date after Wendy’s recent comeback. Hand-holding, cheek-pinching, and some pretty blushing to go with it!
 

Are these heat-seeking behaviors just a way for them to escape the early spring chill, or is there something more?

The trembling of Seungwan’s fingers worsen after every succeeding statement she reads; by the time she’s reached the end of the page, she feels like she’s just finished riding one of those gigantic drop towers in the amusement park.
 

Her mind whirls with relentless thoughts, one after the other slipping past her like acid rain. They only stop when a gentle hand is placed on her shoulder, and she finally remembers where she is, whom she’s with.
 

Guilt pools at the pit of her stomach as she turns to Seulgi, whose concerned eyes only drive the knife in further.
 

“What’s wrong? What happened?”
 

She can’t seem to find the proper words to explain herself, to apologize. So she hands Seulgi her phone and lets her see for herself. She carefully watches Seulgi’s face for any signs of what she’s feeling, waiting for her lips to droop, for her eyes to brew like thunder upon reading the tabloid filled with outrageous assumptions.
 

(She dares not hope for anything better.)
 

But Seulgi’s eyes fold into crescents, cheeks turning pink—probably exactly how the article described. “Cute,” she says simply, affectionately, and Seungwan’s armor is slashed wide open.
 

“C-cute?” Seungwan whispers once she regains the ability to speak.
 

“I-I mean…” Seulgi stutters, wincing in embarrassment as she returns the phone, and Seungwan wants to wipe it all away, to bring back the Seulgi from seconds ago who almost looked happy about the article. “We look cute together, don’t you think?” Her voice lowers to a simmer, hesitant and nervous all at once.
 

Seungwan’s heart leaps, soars, glides. She tries to stomp it back down on the ground. “Y-yeah. Yeah, we do. I mean. Anyone would look good with you.”
 

“I don’t just want anyone, though.” Seulgi’s voice has gone from small to smaller to smallest. But Seungwan hears. Listens. How can she not?
 

“What?”
 

“…Nothing.”
 

She wants Seulgi to repeat the words, afraid she’s misheard them the first time. But her best friend’s plucking at the shared blanket on their laps and avoiding her eyes, her body language reminding Seungwan of a caged animal.
 

Seungwan bites her lip in thought, choosing her next words carefully; everything feels so fragile, like a daydream an inch from fading. She breathes in and lowers her eyes to stare at Seulgi’s slender fingers, knuckle-white against the blanket. Steadies herself before she speaks. “What should I tell Joohyun-unnie?”
 

“…Huh?”
 

“Should I deny the article? Tell her it’s not true?”
 

“…Doesn’t she already know it’s not true?”
 

Seungwan finally looks up to meet Seulgi’s eyes. And suddenly her next words come easy, like they were always meant to be. “I’ve never wanted for anything to be more true,” she replies. Seulgi releases a soft gasp at her admission, her eyes widening. “But I’ve never wanted to burden you with anything,” she admits, throat tightening, “especially not with something like this.”
 

Now it’s her turn to sink in silence, but Seulgi doesn’t let her. Holds her hand against hers and guides her back to shore. “I’ve always thought you would be worth it, Seungwan.”

~~~

The sound of a notification rings from her phone, and Joohyun jerks in surprise, the bowl of popcorn almost spilling all over her lap.
 

Picking up her phone beside her, Joohyun quickly reads the short but high-impact message Seungwan has sent her. Her eyes bug out, jaw dropping in shock. The bowl tumbles out of her grasp, popcorn raining all over the floor.
 

Seungwan: Don’t deny anything. I’ll call you later.

xxx

Seulgi comes home to a room scented floral, the strings of a worn-out guitar attuned to a luxurious voice she’ll always think herself blessed to hear.
 

Seungwan hums softly from her seat at their couch, a quirk of her lips the only sign that she knows Seulgi’s watching her. That Seulgi’s home.
 

Her fingers itch, not to strum on hard strings that create music out of thin air, but to draw the beauty before her laid bare.
 

She turns towards the shelves to find the book she’s looking for, plucking a pencil out of a metal case before she quietly makes her way to Seungwan. Sitting down beside her, neither too close nor distant, Seulgi opens the drawing pad and flips to the next empty page, bypassing others already marked with reverence to bring a graphite life to the person next to her. To the person she’ll love for the rest of her life.
 

Seulgi smiles, heart softening at the mirrored response, and begins to draw.

Your heart could rest in my embrace after a long day. —Happy Me by Huh Gak