deja vu
UNCHANGEABLEsix months later...
---
seulgi stares intently at the invitation card handed to her. there's a big "sungjae and sooyoung nuptial" in front of it. she smiles, eyeing the couple across the table.
"wow. you're finally tying the knot?"
"it's about time." sungjae turns aside to look at his fiancée. "i don't see any reason now why i shouldn't marry this beautiful person here."
"sweet-talker." sooyoung playfully nudge him. "i was close to thinking you don't have plans of proposing."
"oh, c'mon. you knew i always wanted to marry you. i couldn't get on with the plan because you're too busy with sau."
sooyoung rolls her eyes. "took you a long time to act on it. if you hadn't proposed anytime sooner, i'd break up with you."
seulgi smiles at the couple, somewhat envying them for making it through all the hardships. she witnessed how sooyoung was so eager to see her boyfriend every vacation, and she felt sungjae's patience waiting for his girlfriend to come home to him.
although there's a bit of jealousy inside her, she's happy these two are finally walking down the aisle.
"that's rude." sungjae puts a hand to his chest, feigning hurt. "it took me a bit of time because you and seulgi are busy. the endorsements you got after your dismissal from sau are just enormous. i had to wait to make sure you have fully adjusted to your new life before i pop the question. but i didn't want to wait long either as i know many people would want to steal my girl now that she's a celebrity."
"we're not on that level," says sooyoung. "the fees we're getting from those endorsements will help us get a living once fame dies out. we know this status isn't something permanent. we're taking the opportunities while they are here right in front of our faces. right, seulgi?"
seulgi nods. "that's why we've hired advisors to manage our finances and investments. wouldn't want to go broke once we're old. we want to take our mind off things and focus on more important matters, like your wedding."
sungjae looks at sooyoung. "you need to tell seulgi about that."
sooyoung clears and turns to seulgi. "umm. we, uh, we invited her too."
"her?" seulgi contemplates for a moment. "jisoo?"
"no. the other 'j' in your life."
"oh." seulgi reclines back on her chair when it finally clicks in her head. "with her family, i suppose?"
sooyoung nods. "along with her mom and seungwan. i hope you're fine with that."
the last words sooyoung said didn't register as seulgi's already trapped in the thought she will see 'her' again.
how long has it been, two years? their last talk broke them both. will it be the same this time, or has 'she' moved on now?
because, although trying, seulgi's sure she's stuck in the same place until now.
sooyoung's hand waves in front of her face. "seulgi?"
seulgi blinks. "ah. yeah. well, it's your wedding. you can invite anyone you like. they are your friends too."
"are you sure?" asks sungjae. "we're worried it may ruin your mood. we want you to enjoy the event too."
"don't worry about me. i'll be fine." seulgi flashes the sincerest smile she could. "it's your day. do whatever you like. i'll be there to support you both."
sooyoung reaches out for seulgi's hand on the table. "thank you. that means a lot to me, to us."
"well, since you mentioned jisoo, you can bring her as your plus one," says sungjae. "i believe it would thrill everyone to see you with a date."
seulgi laughs silently. "nah."
"i still feel upset you and chungha turned out to be more like best friends rather than lovers." sungjae sighs. "you two look good together. don't you two want to cross the line?"
"we're fine the way we are now. yes, i think we both liked each other for some time, but it never went past that. besides, she recently got a boyfriend. let's not ruin their relationship. maybe some things are just... just not meant to be..."
sooyoung and sungjae remain silent, looking at seulgi eagerly.
realising what she said, seulgi clears . she gestures to the menu. "shall we order food?"
"aren't we going to wait for jisoo first?" asks sooyoung.
seulgi checks her phone quickly. "she got held up at work a bit but will be here in a few minutes."
"you should have picked her up. sooyoung and i can wait here," says sungjae.
"i offered, but she doesn't want me to get involved much in the celebrity stuff."
"wow. protective. are you two like together now?" asks sooyoung.
"i dunno. we haven't talked about it yet. it's been just a couple of days and i'm curious to see where this goes."
"you don't like her that much?" asks sungjae.
"eh... can't say yet. i mean, she's pretty, but it's too early to take things seriously."
"you can take your time." sooyoung reaches out for seulgi's hand on the table. "we know this is the first time you've taken a chance in dating again after so many years. take it slow, please? i don't want you rushing into things and risk getting hurt again--especially with jisoo, who's got a reputation of being a playgirl."
seulgi smiles. "thank you for the concern. i promise i'll take it slow."
"speaking of, she's already here." sungjae eyes the entrance to the restaurant.
seulgi looks over her shoulders, catching sight of a goddess in a red sleeveless dress walking towards their table, her heeled shoes tapping on the marble floor.
tok... tok... tok... tok... tok...
seulgi flinches as a sudden uncanny feeling takes over. this scene is much more familiar than it should be--like a déjà vu.
tok... tok... tok... tok... tok...
while everyone ogles at the woman, seulgi's mind gets trapped in a scene from the past.
she found herself in the school auditorium again, sitting on the chair, waiting for the programme to start.
then voices appear out of nowhere, whispering in her ears, reminding her of the familiarity. but despite the noise from the kids who are attending the orientation, one voice stands out.
'i... i'm... joohyun...'
seulgi looks away, blinking.
'i... i'm... joohyun...'
"..." she brings a hand to massage her temples.
'i... i'm... joohyun...'
seulgi shakes her head, not wanting to drown in that memory again. she extends her arm, grasping for something, for anything that would bring her back to the present world.
then she feels a hand.
"hey. you all right? is your head aching again?" asks jisoo.
seulgi could finally breathe. she closes her eyes and composes herself.
"uh... yeah... i'm fine..." she stands up and holds jisoo around her waist. "guys, i know you already heard about each other. but since this is your first meeting, this is jisoo. jisoo, this is sooyoung and sungjae."
jisoo shakes their hands. "it's my pleasure to meet you two finally."
"pleasure's all ours!" says sooyoung.
"we're very much thrilled to meet you," says sungjae. "you and seulgi have been the trending talk of the showbiz news these past few days."
jisoo rolls her eyes. "can't do anything about paparazzi. we'll just let them think what they want."
seulgi smiles. "right."
"did i keep you waiting?" jisoo sits down. "i hope seulgi didn't bore you with her boringness."
sooyoung and sungjae shake their heads, both smiling.
"i'm not boring." seulgi pouts.
"oh. you surely aren't." jisoo cups seulgi's face and wiggles her head. she leaves a red mark on seulgi's cheek with a kiss.
satisfied, she turns to sooyoung and sungjae. "shall we order food?"
---
"the construction already started months ago," explains seulgi, waving her fork in the air. "we're expecting everything to end within a year."
"wow. i didn't know you were hardcore about this," says jisoo. "when you said you wanted to start a hotel, i thought it was just an idea."
"it's not just me." seulgi motions to her friends from across the table. "sooyoung and i have been thinking about this for years. there are lots of sceneries in yeosan people took for granted because of evens. people there are poor, and their town's progress is very slow because of lack of investments and establishments. sooyoung and i think building a hotel will attract travellers. this will result to new employment opportunities for the residents. hopefully, it'll ripple to seeing their livelihoods improve too."
jisoo nods. "so... where do i fit in this?"
"i'm glad you asked." seulgi smiles, a sly one. "so, we're hoping you could be the face of yeosan hotel..."
"ahh... endorsement..." a smile slips off jisoo's face. "i should have guessed it right away. but why not do it you both, seulgi and sooyoung? you two are popular as much as i am."
"well, the thing is, we're kind of tired seeing our faces on endorsements," explains sooyoung, making jisoo laugh. "kidding aside, we seriously think we need someone with a calibre like yours to handle this. and we all know how influential you are."
"also, we're trying to take this as low-key as much as we can," says seulgi. "we don't want politicians or the military getting involved with this investment of ours."
"that's why an actress like you, who's not involved in aef or sau before, nor linked to any politicians, is the best face for this business venture," explains sungjae. "only if you'll agree."
"i'd be glad to help," says jisoo. "however, your attempt to make it anonymous may end up futile because people know seulgi and i have been hanging out lately."
"we don't think we'll be able to hide our names completely," says sooyoung. "but we don't want to brag it to the world either."
"you've got this all well planned, huh?" jisoo asks seulgi.
"well, sooyoung and i were used in planning strategies before," says seulgi.
jisoo raise her palms. "okay. okay. i'm up for it."
sooyoung and sungjae almost jump in excitement.
"you don't know how much this means to us, to me." seulgi holds jisoo's hand.
"but it will not be free, baby." jisoo leans in. "you need to have a word with my manager first, and you will pay me a fortune for it."
seulgi downs the wine in her glass. "how do you want me to pay you?"
"i would have to think about the price yet." jisoo points on the kiss mark on seulgi's cheek and scoots closer into the latter's ear. "but i would want the down payment tonight."
---
the movement on the other side of the bed wakes seulgi up. too tired to mind, she closes her eyes again.
". i'm sore, seulgi." jisoo chuckles. "what did you do to me?"
seulgi rubs her eyes. "you asked for a down payment, right?"
"right. i just didn't expect you're gonna do me hard."
seulgi turns around and sees jisoo trying to wear a shirt in the dark. "where are you going?"
"water. thirsty."
"why wear my shirt if you're just going to the kitchen?"
"two things: it's cold, and i don't want to walk in your kitchen ."
seulgi props herself up on her elbow. "you look y ."
"oh, seulgi. would you like me to get you a glass?"
"mmm-mmm. please."
seulgi's eyes follow the figure as jisoo walks around the dark room with the moon from the window serving as the only light source.
however, seeing a silhouette of a woman with messy-bed hair triggers something inside her. for a moment, she thought the silhouette belongs to someone else.
someone from her past.
the silhouette finally reveals its face, reminding seulgi it's another person.
"be back right away." jisoo kisses seulgi's cheek.
seulgi holds the woman around the waist and pulls her down to lie on top of her.
jisoo yelps.
seulgi brushes their lips together like she's hungry for it. jisoo reciprocates.
as soon as the imaginary image of another woman vanishes from her mind, seulgi slowly pulls away.
"it seems you still have the energy for another round, huh?" says jisoo.
seulgi smirks, running her palms down the sensitive legs of her partner. "is it bad if can't seem to get enough of you?" she kisses the woman again, softer this time.
"mmm. but i'm afraid if i let you touch me again, i won't be able to walk properly tomorrow."
seulgi laughs. "you're exaggerating."
"i'm not." jisoo pulls away and pushes herself up. "and i'm seriously thirsty now. be back."
seulgi watches jisoo walk out of the room as yet another déjà vu strikes again. she remembers someone from years ago, a woman wearing nothing but seulgi's shirt, walking around the room after they made love.
she brushes her fingers through her hair and sighs.
". this isn't good."
in case you missed reading the foreword, this is a sequel story. if you haven't read untouchable yet, i suggest you go over that before proceeding with this.
enjoy!
enjoy!
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