Seulgi never thought about it. She never imagined. Falling in love with her best friend was the most unexpected thing that could have happened to her. They had known each other since they were both ten. They used to play with each other. Only the two of them. No other person could enter the protective shield of 'Irene and Seulgi only' that they had created.

 

Sure they made new friends as they grew up but what they shared was different from anyone else. They had known each other for the longest time. They had always been stuck together as if someone had super glued them. And they have always been very happy with this strong bond of friendship. The love they had for each other was special.

 

The day Seulgi realized that this 'love' wasn't just something you shared between friends was when Irene told her about a cute girl named Wendy as their high school days rolled out. She was a foreigner and 'cute' as Irene put it. It wasn't the first time that Irene had called someone cute. It was the first time when she had said it with such bright eyes. The two of them shared classes and Irene grew closer to her. Days later, Seulgi finally met Wendy.

 

"Seulgi," Irene smiled widely, her white teeth showing. She came with a girl with sandy blonde hair. She had a tight smile on her face and her eyes were wide. "She is Wendy."

 

"Oh," Seulgi nodded and smiled. It was a fake smile. She didn't feel like smiling after hearing that name. More than that name, she hated the way Irene said it with such excitement and happiness. The bitterness in her heart grew as she looked at the beautiful girl who hesitantly nodded at her.

 

"H-Hi," she mumbled. "It's nice to meet you."

 

"Yeah, it's nice to meet the girl Irene won't stop talking about. She totally likes you." Seulgi said without thinking. Or maybe she did think. Maybe she knew the consequences of her words. Maybe she knew Irene was going to get angry. That's why she smiled so sickly, knowing Irene was taken completely by surprise. So was Wendy.

 

There was an odd silence in the air. It was chilling and even scary. But Seulgi thought that it was worth it. If it meant making things between Irene and Wendy awkward, she was willing to give it a try. If it meant Irene getting flustered every time she remembered these words spoken by Seulgi, it would be alright. If it meant Irene was going to get over her obsession with Wendy because of her words, she was happy to do it.

 

"Oh! Anyways, I need to go home now. Irene," she looked at the older, "are you coming?"

 

"Y-Yes," she hesitantly nodded and then looked at Wendy. "I'll see you tomorrow." She said in a small voice, losing all the excitement she had when she had introduced her.

 

Seulgi felt an odd satisfaction at that.

 

They two made their way home.

 

Seulgi and Irene first became friends because Seulgi's family had just started living in Irene's neighborhood. They were inseparable everywhere. After living together for all those years, Seulgi was not willing to give up her Irene for a new girl.

 

"What the hell was that?" Irene punched Seulgi on her arm. "You said it in such a misleading way."

 

"What? I only said that you liked her." Seulgi tried to defend herself. She knew Irene would be angry but she was never the one to shout or give silent treatment. She never gave Seulgi a cold shoulder which she was always glad about.

 

"She might have misunderstood. She had already told me that she was not a lesbian. Don't make things awkward between us."

 

"Why? Does she have anything against lesbians?" Seulgi frowned. If that was the case, it was even better. Irene was surely a lesbian and Seulgi… well, she didn't know what her uality was. She never gave it a thought. But she was starting to think that she was lesbian. Yeah, totally.

 

"No," Irene replied. "But I told her that I found her cute and that she had a nice ."

 

"What?!" Seulgi stopped, watching her friend with eyes as big as saucers.

 

"That was a slip of tongue, okay." Irene took a defense stance. She bit her lower lip. She wasn't planning on telling that to Seulgi. It just came out. Knowing Seulgi, she would go all defensive and even threaten Wendy in case she ever hurt Irene.

 

"You are so reckless." Seulgi was not impressed. She glared at Irene.

 

"I know. I'm sorry. I won't do that ever again. But we agreed on becoming friends."

 

"I won't allow you." Seulgi straight out denied and Irene gaped at her.

 

"Why the hell not?!"

 

"Y-you will get hurt." I will get hurt.

 

"I won't. I don't like her that much. I just found her a little attractive. That's all." Irene said.

 

"I don't care, Irene. You are not going to be friends Wendy anymore, got it?" She asked sternly, acting if she was the older one. She always did that whenever she grew protective of her.

 

The older rolled her eyes. "It's not like that's gonna happen. Your 'she totally likes you' must have already scared her away."

 

Seulgi stared at her.

 

"Okay, fine. I won't. Happy?"

 

"Very," Seulgi went and put an arm around Irene's shoulder. They walked home, talking about other stuff. The topic of Wendy was closed after that. Irene didn't talk about her anymore. Seulgi was happy by that. But inside her heart, turmoil was going on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seulgi knew she was in love with Irene. Whenever Irene smiled, her voice, her scent, everything brightened her day. It seemed like Irene was her sunshine. When Irene looked at her, it was day. When she looked away, it was a gloomy night. There were times when she would stop and look at her friend when she was talking about school. The way her eyes gleamed and volume of her voice rose up whenever she was talking about something she liked.

 

They still acted like normal friends. They made each other's hair. They cooked together. They went out on walks together. They went to shopping together. It was all normal.

 

Even after that, it was different somehow.

 

Now, Seulgi wanted to touch Irene so bad. She wanted to drown in her scent. She wanted to hold her face close and kiss her rosy lips. She wanted to bury her face in her bosom. She wanted to listen to her heartbeat.

 

If Irene ever knew what Seulgi exactly thought about her, it would be the end of their friendship. She knew that much. That's why, she stayed quiet. She always tried to hide her feelings. If they ever spilled out, it would be a disaster.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seulgi knew that Irene couldn't be hers. But she was not willing to give her up to anyone else. This time, Irene didn't tell her that she said something considered inappropriate to a girl who had come from another country. This time, Irene told her that she was going on a date with a girl from another country.

 

"What the hell, Irene?" Seulgi was shocked when Irene told her about a new girl.

 

"Why are you angry?" Irene pouted. "You should be happy for me since I'm your best friend."

 

"Do you have a for girls who come from other countries?" Seulgi asked instead.

 

Irene gasped at that. "It's not like that. It's just a coincidence, okay?"

 

"I don't think so." Seulgi crossed her arms. "First, it was Jessica unnie. You had a crush on her when we were in middle school. Then Wendy and now Jennie. All of them came from different parts of the world. It's a matter of preference. Now I see yours."

 

"Don't talk about that. Just tell me what to wear." Irene pulled a pillow on her lap and looked at her with expectant eyes.

 

Seulgi pursed her lips together and breathed through her nose as she tried to take deep breaths. She was angry, alright.

 

"The date is this Saturday. I don't know what to wear. So please, my dear friend, assist me." She put her hands together.

 

"Fine," Seulgi complied with reluctance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Don't you think it's a bit too much for a normal date?" Irene asked as she looked down at the hanbok she was wearing.

 

"My friend told me that women who come from other countries like Korean women who are dressed in traditional Korean clothes." Seulgi said, watching her friend. She looked so beautiful, ethereal. If only Irene was her date.

 

"But," Irene had doubts. Seulgi didn't let her finish and ushered her to Jennie who was waiting for her.

 

Jennie was a short and cute girl. Irene and Jennie made a nice pair. It made Seulgi jealous. She watched the girl dressed in all jeans stare at Irene with wide eyes.

 

"A-are we r-ready to go?" Jennie asked.

 

"I-I t-think so." Irene replied.

 

And off they went.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Seulgi!" Irene came to her room. She was no longer wearing a hanbok but her casual clothes. "Why did you do that?!"

 

Seulgi smirked internally even though her expressions showed confusion.

 

"What is it?"

 

"It was so embarrassing!" She whined as she jumped on the bed. "Everyone was looking at us. I wanted to die."

 

"It doesn’t matter how other people look at you." She tried to reassure her friend. "The way your partner looks at you is more important. Now tell me, what did Jennie say? I didn't hear her calling you beautiful back at your home." She had been watched the two secretly when Jennie had come.

 

Irene's face reddened on that and she stared at the sheets. "S-she said that I was beautiful."

 

"Really?" Seulgi tried to smile. Of course Irene would was beautiful. If you don't see that, you are blind.

 

"Yeah,"

 

"How did your date go?"

 

"It went fine. The best thing was that we went to this place where each booth was private. It saved me a whole lot of embarrassment. I told her that I was shy and wanted to change my clothes." She looked at Seulgi. "I should thank you for this. Your friend was right about foreigners liking Korean women in hanbok. She said that she liked it very much. But I insisted and we went to shopping. I bought clothes that matched hers." She giggled in happiness.

 

Seulgi gritted her teeth.

 

This Jennie seemed like a tough one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Irene!" Seulgi widened her eyes and her smile when she saw her best friend coming out of her class with Jennie. She quickly hugged her as if they hadn't met in years. "I missed you so much."

 

Confused, Irene stood like a pillar. She only woke up from her trance when she felt Seulgi kiss her right cheek and grimaced, narrowing her eyes at her friend when she pulled away.

 

Seulgi smiled. "Are you going to your next class now?"

 

"Yes. Where else would I go?" Irene shot, wiping at her cheek with her hand.

 

"So this is Jennie?" Seulgi looked at the girl, ignoring her friend. "It's nice to meet you." She held out her hand.

 

"Likewise," Jennie replied, shaking hands with her. She frowned when Seulgi squeezed it harder than intended.

 

"How was your date?" She inquired.

 

"It was great. The best experience of my life." Jennie smiled and glanced at Irene.

 

Seulgi almost blanched at the cheesiness of the words.

 

"We need to go to our next class now,