A bad dream.

She was awoken by a nightmare so real that she immediately threw off the covers and shivered.  A sigh escaped her lips when she realized it wasn't real.

Hallelujah!

Rubbing the tiredness from her eyes while also removing the gunk of last night's sleep, she looked around.

Her body was still tired and her mind was still booting to start when she took in the familiar but unfamiliar room she was in. 

Wait.

She squinted her eyes at the baby blue painted walls and the wooden dresser infront of her to the small table on the side of her bed. She squinted some more when she couldn't see her paintings nailed on the wall or her vintage phonograph with her vinyl record collection.

A small yet audible strangled scream escaped her when she realized she wasn't in her room.

So last night wasn't a dream.

The nightmare wasn't conjured by her tired mind and the two glasses of drink she had.

It... it was real?

Her eyes started to widen upon the flashbacks of last night's incident. It recurred vividly in her mind like a movie playing infront of her eyes and she could only stare at nothing in particular while hang agape. 

Seulgi blinked and she blinked again, not really believing if it really happened because it just hasn't sunk in yet.

Mindlessly, her fingers touched her bottom lip. She remembered how Irene's lips tasted like. The bitter flavor of the brewed beer along with her salty tears and vanilla scent washed Seulgi's senses, enough to make her breathing catch on .

She shivered lightly when she could still feel the ghost of her lithe fingers on her face, tracing her jaw with her thumb and tucking some hair behind her ear.

The scalp of her head still pricked with all the pulling and tugging and-

Seulgi jumped off from the bed with a loud thud. She shook off her thoughts by jumping and shaking her head vigorously, as if the images of what happened and the imprints of Irene's taste and feel would be shed off from her mind.

If someone would see her, they might think she was dancing to some noise that isn't considered music or that she was exercising and that she look really really stupid while messing her already messy hair and shaking her head.

She was breathless and tired and sweaty after what she did but it didn't erase the fact that Irene Bae was there and she... she k-

Seulgi smacked her head with her hand. She hissed when it landed squarely on her forehead. The pain became a distraction from her thoughts and she was thankful for that.

She closed her eyes and breathed through her nose. When she was calm enough and no distracting thoughts were on her mind, she took in the room's appearance.

Last night's memories were a little blurry. She couldn't recall anything after she saw Irene crying and begging for her help. A groan of frustration escaped her lips as she sauntered towards the bed. She touched the other half of it, feeling it cold.

Irene has already left hours ago. She probably took her leave at dawn, scampering away when she saw Seulgi beside her and she wished, oh gods she wished that Irene couldn't remember anything from last night.

Or else, hell would break lose. Seulgi wasn't sure if she could handle another trip to hell or worse the sight of Irene Bae herself.

She prayed for her to be too hammered to remember anything so that it'll spare the both of them from the misery of memories and Seulgi from the devil's wrath.

She opened her eyes when she heard the pots and pans clacking downstairs. She quickly opened the door and carefully treaded downstairs where she was positive that her parents were finally home.

Her suspicion was confirmed when she heard her mom's voice along with her dad's throaty chuckle. She paused at the last steps for a bit, wishing and praying once again that her parents didn't see a raven girl emerging from their guest room and leaving the house's premises at an ungodly hour.

Wishing for the best, she fixed her posture, combed her hair in place, and wiped to remove any dried up saliva. When she was sure that she looked pretty normal, she breathed deep and pretended to be happy to finally see them again. Don't get her wrong. She was happy that her parents were back but if they saw who left their home, she wouldn't hear the end of it.

Turning to the corner, with her lips formed into a smile and her eyes into crescents, she hollered, "Welcome back and good morning to the both of you!"

"Three." Her dad quipped while sipping his dark and bitter coffee while reading the business column on the freshly printed newspaper.

Seulgi felt her smile drop and her heart hammered in her chest. She stopped dead in her tracks when she realized what her dad said.

Her mom was suddenly beside her and she was pushed to her usual seat with her hips. Unmoving and not breathing, her eyes scanned the dining and her brow twitched at the sight of the third person her dad was implying to.

She was sitting infront of Seulgi's chair, her hair was perfect and her shirt from last night, despite being crumpled was still decent to look at.

Remembering to breathe, she in a discreet one. The woman from last night was again gone. Because it was Irene Bae who was seated- rigid and cold. The was back.

Seulgi didn't remove her eyes on her when her mother tutted her and told her to sit. Even when she was settled, she was still looking.

Irene was sitting so stiffly, her posture was impeccable despite being in a friendly setting and there was a small smile on her face when she saw Seulgi's mom glance at her and she nodded when her dad peeked from reading his newspaper.

Despite the calm facade, Seulgi knew better. Her fingers were inconspicuously rapping the table and her eyes were unfocused. She was zoning out and fidgety. 

She was still looking even when Irene finally looked at her. Her eyes were unreadable early in the morning and there was a slight tug at the corner of her lips and her nose slightly crinkled in disdain when she took in Seulgi's disheveled state.

The eye contact was broken when her mother pressed a chaste kiss on her left cheek before putting the last part of their breakfast on the dish plate. She settled herself on her seat.

Her hands became clammy and her neck started to sweat at the impending doom called her parents curiousity especially when their eyes settled on her and her dad finally folded his newspaper.

She chuckled nervously, "Uhm... let's eat?"

Her mother tutted again. "Seulgi, manners. Introduce us to your friend."

She swallowed the gritty chuckle she would've released because of that word.

Friend...

Irene Bae wasn't her friend.

She was far from being that.

But Seulgi smiled, her lips were forced to spread further apart but she could feel her face twitching at the effort.

"Mom, dad, that's the daughter of the Bae's."

She didn't bother to elaborate because she knew she didn't need to. They both know who she was, or who her parents were that there didn't need an introduction.

Mayhaps they both knew too much for Seulgi's sake that it was unbearable.

Her parents didn't notice the coldness in her voice or the slight glint of mockery on Irene's eyes because when they turned to her, she stood up and gave an almost 90° degree bow.

"I'm sorry if I failed to introduce myself properly awhile ago. I am Irene Bae, Seulgi's friend from the university." T