dinner party

UNCHANGEABLE
"will you be all right?" seungwan asks.
 
seulgi glances at seungwan before closing the door to her car's back seat where sooyoung is lying comfortably.
 
"yeah. this isn't the first time i've done this." she walks over to the other side of the car. "sooyoung loves getting wasted from time to time. sometimes sungjae will call me to pick her up if he's not available, and i will let her crash into my place for the night."
 
"you called him up already?"
 
"i did. he's also having party with his mates. i think he plans on getting wasted too."
 
"i hope not in bed with a stranger." seungwan folds her arms. "anyway, joohyun and i will be going."
 
seulgi looks at joohyun, who is sleeping on the shotgun seat of seungwan's car.
 
"is she okay? i've never seen her touch a wine bottle before. but tonight she was like thirsty for it."
 
seungwan sighs. "i don't know. she's... she's going through something..."
 
"are they having problems?"
 
"a bit. but i'm not in the position to tell you about it. and i'm sure it's something they can still fix since this isn't the first time it happened."
 
"i hope he's not cheating on her or abusing her or yerim. because if he does, i'll kill him," she says.
 
seungwan chuckles and turns away. "junmyeon's a kind person. but i'll be the first one to kill him if he does anything to hurt joohyun or my goddaughter."
 
seulgi watches as the doctor walks back to her car. "i hope it's not about me."
 
seungwan stops and opens the door to the driver's seat. "do you really hope it's not about you? because it's always about you, seulgi. since day one, it's always been about you."
 
seulgi opens and closes , not sure how to respond.
 
seungwan leans an elbow on the roof of her car and smiles. "don't think about it too much. you take care, seulgi. we'll see you at the wedding next week."
 
seungwan goes inside the car and drives away from there, living seulgi still rooted to the ground.
 
---
 
"jeez. i'm sorry. i have no control over my mouth when i'm drunk." sooyoung shakes her head, embarrassed. "guess i messed up last night, huh?"
 
seulgi leans on her kitchen counter, smelling the aroma of the coffee in front of her.
 
"well, you made it a little awkward for me and joohyun, but it's your party and you had a blast. that's the important part," she says.
 
"i invited her and seungwan because you said you weren't coming. i don't want to stir some tension between the two of you."
 
seulgi looks down at her coffee and stares at her reflection while she drums her fingers on the rim of the cup.
 
"did something happen after my blowup last night, seulgi?"
 
seulgi looks back up. "well, she tasted the wines... then drank more after that. then she danced along with the others. then she came back to me..."
 
---
 
"can we talk?" asks joohyun, pulling seulgi along by her necktie.
 
seulgi hesitates.
 
"c'mon. don't be awkward. they already know about us, anyway," says joohyun.
 
"are you drunk?"
 
"yes, i am drunk. but this is a party, and i'm allowed to get drunk. besides, seungwan's driving me home."
 
seulgi finally stands up. she reaches out for her coat first before following joohyun who's tugging her tie harder.
 
"are you all right?" she asks as the smaller woman leads them to the balcony.
 
joohyun finally lets go of seulgi's tie to close the sliding door behind them, diminishing the party noise. "i am perfectly fine."
 
seulgi takes a deep breathe the moment she realises they are now alone. she stares into the building lights ahead of them.
 
"i'm sorry. i won't be able to do this without the alcohol." joohyun leans over the verandah. "and knowing you, i know you're not the type who will make the first move. so..." she trails off, shivering when the chilly wind blows.
 
seulgi places her coat over joohyun's shoulders.
 
"thanks."
 
"what's wrong?" asks seulgi.
 
joohyun shakes her head. "i don't know... i'm not supposed to see you tonight, you know? we're not supposed to be talking like this."
 
seulgi bites her lower lip. "i can leave now if--"
 
"that's the thing because i don't want you to leave." joohyun turns to her, looking helpless and confused. "i don't want the night to end. i want you to be here. i'm glad you are here. i'm so pathetic. i don't even know if you feel the same thing."
 
"i... i feel the same thing," she admits. "i..."
 
joohyun straightens herself. "i'm sorry. i shouldn't have said those things." she was aiming for the door, but seulgi stops her.
 
"honey..." said seulgi absentmindedly.
 
joohyun's face softens. she sighs. "please don't call me that. please..."
 
"i-i'm sorry. i didn't mean to..."
 
"i know..." joohyun is now looking down, fiddling with her fingers. "but i'm glad to see you tonight." she returns inside after that.
 
---
 
"she never talked to me for the rest of the night. she kept on drinking until she passed out."
 
"and you said she and junghyeon are having problems?" sooyoung asks.
 
"it's junmyeon, not junghyeon."
 
sooyoung rolls her eyes. "fine. but yeah, seungwan did say they are having problems?"
 
"that's according to seungwan. but she said it's something they can still fix as it isn't the first time it happened."
 
sooyoung stands from the couch and walks to seulgi, grabbing the coffee cup and drinking from it.
 
"hey. that's my--"
 
"c'mon. we've done worse during sau days, seulgi. we even shared a spoon, a drinking bottle, and even a toothbrush."
 
"the toothbrush was a one-time thing! and it's--"
 
"i think you should stay away from joohyun for now."
 
"ah?"
 
"if seungwan says the problem relates to you, then it's best that you stay out of her path for now."
 
seulgi raises an eyebrow. "but you said last night that we should not give up on each other."
 
"i was drunk." sooyoung puts the cup down. "although i meant it, your situation isn't as simple as it sounds. she's got a husband."
 
"does that mean you don't want me attending your wedding next week?"
 
sooyoung rolls her eyes. "that's not what i meant. just... just try to stay away from them as much as you can. let them fix whatever issues they are having on their own. remember, they have a kid together. you wouldn't want to be the reason for the separation of that kid's parents, right?"
 
seulgi sighs. as painful as it is, and as much as she wants joohyun back, she is more concerned about yerim. she doesn't have the heart to take away a family from a kid just for her selfish desires.
 
it's just funny how she felt joohyun closer last night, and now she's far, far away again.
 
---
 
seulgi arrives at five in the afternoon on the private island (yes, because sooyoung says they can afford it) where the wedding will take place tomorrow morning. because of the two-hour commute from the port to the island, they advised the guests to come friday night to join the lovers in an informal dinner party before the big day the following morning.
 
seulgi came in early because she wants to appreciate the beauty of the island first on her own. after her dismissal from sau, she found a new hobby in the form of photography and thought it's the perfect place to practise shots while waiting for dinner party to start.
 
the island spans about seven square kilometres and holds up several two-storey luxury residences that can accommodate up to a hundred guests. there were restaurants and bars, a chapel, a yacht club, a spa, and a dive centre facility.
 
they also offer morning activities like shark watching, skiing, jungle villa exploration; and night activities such as evening bonfires and rave parties.
 
seulgi walked around and around, taking shots here and there. the sound of an incoming speedboat always signals new guests arriving. seulgi feels nervous each time, thinking one of those might have joohyun and her family on it.
 
her excitement builds up at the very thought of seeing joohyun, but it fades as soon as she remembers the talk she had with sooyoung last week.
 
so she keeps roaming around until she felt tired and went back to her room to rest.
 
---
 
"seulgi!" sooyoung approaches her. "i was right. you fell asleep!"
 
"i'm sorry." seulgi scratches the back of her neck.
 
"i'm sure you're hungry now. go help yourself." sooyoung gestures to the buffet.
 
seulgi looks around to see how people gathered into separate tables. "where should i sit?"
 
"you can join krystal, amber, byulyi over there." sooyoung points in the direction. "go get something to eat now. i need to entertain the other guests."
 
as seulgi is making her way to her designated table, there is an eery prickly feeling that someone is staring at her. she looks over her shoulder only to meet eyes with a very familiar kid. the said kid looks away. this prompts seulgi to glance at the other people sharing the table.
 
which she regrets because all the adults are looking at her now.
 
"oh. hey, seulgi." it was seungwan with her cute cheeky smile. "you're not lost, are you?"
 
"no..." seulgi shakes her head. "i just... oh. hello..." she bows when she meets eyes with joohyun's mom, bows at the man next to her, whom seulgi knows is joohyun's husband, and bows at joohyun too.
 
"yerim, look who's here..." joohyun taps her daughter who's sitting in between her parents.
 
seulgi smiles at the kid who's shyly looking at her. "hello, yerim."
 
"hello..." says yerim, bowing a little.
 
"you still remember me, don't you?"
 
the seven-year-old nods.
 
"why do you look so shy now, baby?" says her dad.
 
"daddy!" the kid slaps her dad's leg.
 
"let's have seulgi get her dinner first. we'll catch up with her later, okay?" says joohyun's mom. the kid nods again. the older woman turns to seulgi. "don't let us hold you up."
 
"i hope you enjoy your dinner." seulgi bows one last time before walking away from the table.
 
---
 
"why does she have to be so beautiful? why does she have to be so beautiful?"
 
seulgi keeps whispering to herself while she walks. joohyun still looked pretty in that simple dress shirt she's wearing. but each time she sees the husband (she refuses to mention his name even in her mind), she feels this pain in her chest. she doesn't know if it's something she will learn to accept in her lifetime.
 
too engrossed in her thoughts, she didn't notice how people turned their heads towards the restaurant entrance.
 
seulgi's phone rings. she answers it.
 
"seulgi, where are you?" it was jisoo.
 
"uh. i'm at sooyoung's dinner party."
 
"i meant, where are you right now? i just arrived here in the restaurant."
 
"what!" seulgi whips her and catches jisoo's image standing at the restaurant entrance.
 
the actress is wearing a black and white beach dress. guests are already ogling at the presence of a celebrity in that restaurant.
 
"i thought you'd come tomorrow instead?" asks seulgi.
 
"i changed my mind. and i've got the right to be here. i'm your plus one, remember?"
 
seulgi's eye catches a specific head who turns to look at her. it was joohyun.
 
"seulgi, where are you? people are looking at me..." says jisoo.
 
"right. stay where you are. i'll pick you up."
 
seulgi feels like everything is in slow motion when she walks towards jisoo. it was like a scene in the movies where the main protagonist is approaching to get their love interest. and she can't deny how the stares from the other guests are making her feel shy.
 
sure, they know about the rumours spreading about her and jisoo. but seeing jisoo attending the party tonight and seulgi picking her up at the front may stir more speculations.
 
and she can't erase the thought that joohyun is seeing all of this happening now. what would she think?
 
that worry vanishes when she lay eyes again upon jisoo, who looks stunning tonight. the woman seems lost, like a damsel in distress, eyes darting around the room.
 
a smile finally breaks from the celebrity's face when their eyes meet. for a moment there, seulgi feels like she's the luckiest person in that room tonight.
 
but jisoo had to put on a show by pulling seulgi in for a hug the moment she closes in.
 
"people are looking," seulgi whispers in jisoo's ear.
 
"i know. but you know how much i want to play with them."
 
seulgi pulls away, smirking. "you're such a devil."
 
"oh. and you love playing with the devil, don't you?" jisoo runs a finger along seulgi's jawline down her neck.
 
seulgi holds the other woman's hand to stop her from teasing the spectators around. "let's go. i'm hungry."
 
"oh, you can eat me, baby."
 
seulgi rolls her eyes and drags jisoo inside.
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schindlee
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!

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_m3owrene
1023 streak #1
Chapter 1: Decided to reread this beautiful story again for the nth timeeee
Oct_13_wen_03 36 streak #2
Chapter 24: The best in the world 🤍
Camren11
#3
Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Rereading this story for like the 10th time cause not only is it so well written but also sorry for the rant but Seulrene's love story is pretty similar to my step dad and my mom's story they were each other's first love since childhood and they both were in a relationship for more than 5 years but my mom broke my step dad's heart cause of my grandpa who hated my step dad all because he was not rich like them literally after a few months of their break up my grandpa forced my mom into a loveless marriage with my dad who apparently was into my mom even when she was in a relationship with my step dad and he took the golden opportunity when the marriage proposal came..

My mom was a dutiful wife for over 17 + years but my step dad never moved on instead he became a pretty successful person career wise as if to mock my grandpa. and they met each other again when I was 11 years old during a mutual school friend's wedding and since the friend was very close to both of them meet ups became a regular thing after that my dad got super insecure and started neglecting and fighting with my mom every chance he got and I guess my step dad became her support system during those times.. when the the news of their divorce came out I reacted the same way as Yerim did it was way worse when i knew the reason behind it my mom loved someone else and never loved my dad💀💀..

When my step dad first came to me and my sister take our permission to marry our mom I remember hating him and being resentful towards him but living with them and seeing how he treats my mother compared to how my father treated her and how hard he tries to bond with me and my sister and most importantly how my mom looks truly happy for the first time in her life makes their divorce seems like the best decision ever..my dad's also a much better person after the divorce I guess dude was just bitter because he genuinely thought that my mom will learn to love him at one point..
Luvylynn #4
Chapter 23: Why I just found this beautifully written story of yours now, authornim. Really love your work here authornim!
dancingseulo
#5
I’m here again 😁
Zerozeroya
#6
Chapter 23: You're untouchable author nim🧎‍♀️
Purple1313 #7
Chapter 23: Your stories are too good. I just finished this in one sitting. I'm glad their back together, and everything worked out fine in the end.
Oct_13_wen_03 36 streak #8
Chapter 25: I'm back again but just want to appreciate your beautiful work, I hope u doing good, take care and I hope u stay healthy author nim 🤍🤍🤍
RVSone0105
851 streak #9
Chapter 23: Coming back here because I missed reading this au!!
This was my favorite SR au and I always end up crying reading this au!! I was just a silent reader that time!! Thank you authornim for writing this heart-wrenching story (in a good way) and for giving SR a happy ending!!
I'm forever grateful to you schindlee-nim
Kangseul98 #10
Chapter 12: Back again here and still crying reading this story
Never bored. The story is beautifully crafted, it's riveting and feels like it's being drawn into the story itself