When Irene set foot in school, the first person she wanted to look for was Seulgi. She needed to talk to her as Bae Joohyun. Irene headed to the canteen where she knew she’d find Seulgi and pushed past her friends to get to her.

“Hey.” Irene greeted while pushing her glasses up.

“H-Hey…” Seulgi replied reluctantly.

“Can I speak to you for a moment?” Irene asked. Seulgi knew what she meant.

“We have nothing to talk about.” Seulgi answers and looked away.

“We do.” Irene insisted.

“Hey. Seulgi said she has nothing to say to you. Don’t ruin our morning yea?” Sunmi warned.

Irene shot her a glare. It caught Sumni off guard and the latter backed away. Irene looked back at Seulgi, who still had her back turned to her.

“After school. You’ll know where to find me.” Irene said.

Seulgi didn’t turn up that day. Irene found out from Instagram where Taeyong and Seulgi were posting about their date, them having a meal, ice cream, a kiss – you get it. Maybe it was time to pay them a visit. Irene thought.

.

Joy, who rarely got her days off, was forced to meet Irene at Hongdae station. When Joy groggily rejected her, the older girl gave her another 20 calls and text spams. Joy had no choice but to pull herself out of bed and drag her body to Hongdae.

Joy, underaged with no license, was trying her best to grab a cab while Irene was impatiently hounding at her for her ETA. She had to put that woman in her place by sending her a passive aggressive voice message to remind her that her 60-year-old chauffer was also having his rest day whenever Joy did. She knew that Irene had a soft spot for the elderly. When she finally arrived, she saw the petite woman, in black jeans and a blue top, fiddling with her glasses while looking up and down to her phone.

“Irene doesn’t do glasses.” Joy said.

“Shush. I came here as Joohyun!” Irene said in a hushed tone. Joy was still confused about her motives.

Act like we are on a date. If Irene had told Joy that she wanted to make Seulgi a tad bit jealous and ‘see-what-she-is-missing’ Joy would honestly put more effort into dressing up to match what the latter was wearing. While Irene was in causal, Joy was more of a nightclub because she was under the impression that she was meeting Irene Bae aand not Bae Joohyun.

“You've got to give more information next time.” Joy nagged. Irene doesn’t seem to be listening because she was dragging Joy towards a specific place.

"God, you're so pushy. To think that an 18-year-old who had been cooped up in her office and a 21-year-old busy celeb could, for once, experience what normal teenagers do in this place..."

"We are!~" Irene said in singsong.

"Let's take a picture." Irene insisted. Joy refused. She did not feel like a level 100 beauty with their mismatched outfits and would not settle for anything less. 

"I just need it for instagram." Irene tugged at her sleeve. 

Joy looked at her offended. "That's a bigger no-no you doofus! Even if you just have 5 followers." 

"Park Sooyoung." Irene scowled. 

And that was how the picture was born.

Joohyun_bae: Where will my date and I be headed?~

.

Seulgi saw the post. Joohyun looked adorable but she didn't like it - physically and emotionally. 'I guessed she also had other plans after school.' Seulgi thought to herself when she remembered that she ditched Joohyun to go out with Taeyong. She put her phone away and paid a little extra attention to her current boyfriend and their date.

.

[Hong Dae]

Joy learnt that Joohyun – which was what the older girl made her call her that day – somehow found out where Seulgi and Taeyong were going to go. She never thought Korea's top actress could obtain this information that easily and she wondered who. Meanwhile, Krystal who was cooking for herself at home, sneezed. 

Taeyong had booked him and Seulgi a reservation at ‘Perception’ café, knowing that Seulgi had an eye for art and design. She enjoyed it, not only the aesthetic but also the food. Seeing Seulgi hum in excitement with every bite was heart-warming for Taeyong. He smirked knowing that he won over his girlfriend's trust after pursuing her for so long.

“Silly you~” He hummed and reached out to remove a crumb with is thumb. He then it off with his tongue, making Seulgi blush madly.

Joy knew it was a right decision to give Irene that stress ball, which she was now clenching till her knuckles went white. Irene was torturing herself and Joy knew that. Though Irene thinks she is keeping a straight face, sometimes that façade breaks and what Joy saw was sadness and anger.

Joy decided that she’d put more effort into helping Irene than just following the initial plan to just 'accompanying' her.

“Joohyun-ah~ You look amazing today.” She hummed and caressed the latter’s face. Irene looked at her shocked and a little grossed out but remembered that she was supposed to be on an enjoyable date.

"T-Thank you, Joy." Bae Joohyun stammered. Joy wanted to burst out laughing there an then after seeing Irene take hold of Bae Joohyun's persona.

Joy cleared and regained composure. "Are you enjoying the date today?"

Irene nodded with a shy smile.

“So Joohyun, how have school been? Unjoyful?” The younger girl teased with her lame jokes, causing Joohyun to crack up. Joy smirked, not because Joohyun was laughing but because she had caught the attention of Kang Seulgi.

Joy was a sly woman herself. While she knew Seulgi’s attention where on them, Joy took Joohyun’s bandaged hand and kissed it gently. Joy saw Seulgi’s brow twitch and turning away, trying her best to focus on her boyfriend.

Seulgi noticed Joohyun the minute her date said her name. The café didn’t have that many people so sound travelled. What struck Seulgi first was that Joohyun looked stunning in her second set of outing clothes that Seulgi had seen in real life. Seulgi didn’t even know that Joohyun could look this gorgeous. Seulgi also noted that Joohyun didn’t seem to notice her and Taeyong.

“Does it still hurt?” Joy asked; her gaze communicated with Joohyun that Seulgi was looking.

“A little… Maybe it could feel better with another kiss? Mama always does that.” Joohyun said shyly.

“Oh you are so adorable~” Joy cooed and planted another kiss on her palm.

Meanwhile, Taeyong was confused as to why Seulgi was stabbing at her food when she was taking mouthfuls awhile ago.

“Just feeling a bit guilty… weigh-ins are next week after all.” Seulgi pouted.

“Man… being a trainee huh? You look so perfect. Why’d they still need to weigh?” Taeyong complained, earning a small smile from Seulgi.

.

Seulgi noticed Joy coming to pick Joohyun up from school at a frequency of almost every day now. Seeing this somehow left a bad taste in . She knew she shouldn’t be feeling like that but she didn’t know why she was as well. She also found out that Joy was wealthy by how she’d be chauffeured around in a Rolls-Royce sweptail; one of the most expensive cars in the world.

Joy’s actions didn’t go unnoticed by the other students either. Only some were talking about Irene when the Porsche rolled up but now with the double-Rs, many were gossiping.

“I told you to stop coming in this one!” Irene nagged when she felt the students staring at her in awe. She wasn’t used to this much attention in school.

“You’re Irene bae for god’s sake and here you are fearing public attention?”

“Well, not in school when I am Bae Joohyun!”

School and Bae Joohyun. Joy was reminded of the first time Irene told her that she was actually still schooling. Irene just turned 20 and was in her second year. Depressed; friendless; misunderstood; Joy, apart from Moonbyul and Krystal, was Irene's only other friend whom she confided in regarding her secrecy of being Irene Bae in school. Joy too knew that Bae Joohyun, the outcast, was a temporary existance, meant to be in the memories of others. Unlike her older alumnus who had glorious school experiences that the company was willing to reveal. 

This sworn secrecy between Irene and her CEO, only Irene herself knew the reason to why this was being done. 

“You know Irene… Maybe you should give Seulgi up,” Joy suddenly said. “In a few months, you and her are going to graduate. Well, you’d still be Bae joohyun to me and your friends but… there will not be a time in future where you are Seulgi’s Bae Joohyun anymore. And Seulgi? Seulgi is probably going to go to University and meet more people.”

“But we still see each other at the company.”

“Yes, as Irene bae. The Irene bae she happened to be very distant with.” Joy reminded.

Hurt was written all over Irene’s face. For someone who could get anything she wanted, Joohyun felt so powerless over her unrequited love.

“I know it is hard to take it in, Joohyun but I hope you know where I’m coming from.”

And looking at Joy with a pair of eyes that were suddenly full of determination, Irene spoke with conviction. 

"Park Sooyoung. When Irene Bae Joohyun wants something, she'll make sure she gets that something."

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a/n: Hi guys, welcome to this little section where I can communicate with all of you :D Thanks for staying on for like the longest time! To prep your mentals, we have reached about 2/3 of the story. :) Also, for those of you who think the drama is too much, I apologise if this is not your tatse :( I haven't been writing ever since my 2-year hiatus on AFF but this story somehow got me furiously typing again. 

Also, I felt that the reality of an idol (who has a rather troublesom history) dating a commoner was not as simple. My perception of it was that it would definately be drama fueled. and I didn't want something that was too easy to curb. Afterall, the aim of the story was to follow their ups and downs until they sort it out. 

Though the drama might have been too heavy for some of you, i still thank you for reading though! Just know that there is a silver lining after every ravaging storm. :)