"Jjin ah! Are you free? I'm going to eat some hotpot. Wanna join?"

Soojin read the message one more time before she replied that she wasn't available. A small pout was on her lips before she placed her phone back into her pocket and went out of the car. She wondered how Shuhua could miss her schedule. But to be fair, she tried recalling if she ever mentioned it to the younger girl either. Still, she would admit that she's slightly upset about it.

Just a little.

Really. 

Well, maybe a tiny bit more upset. 

She shook her head lightly as she grabbed onto the glass door and pushed it. The nation's girl crush instantly looked up and greeted her with a charming smile. 

"Ah, Soojin ah! Right on time!" Moonbyul stood up and pulled the chair for Soojin, as the gentlewoman she is. 

Soojin bowed her head slightly and whispered 'gomawo' before she made herself comfortable, wearing the headphones and checking if the sound was loud enough for her. Moonbyul, on the other hand, went back to her chair and settled herself. She faked a cough to lightly push aside the awkward situation while she read the script for today's radio show. 

The flow went well with Soojin promoting (G)I-DLE and their recent comeback. A few questions and jokes here and there to create a vibrant and comfortable mood.

Soojin was honestly enjoying the show despite her reserved nature. It also helped that this was a radio show, and she does not have to move a lot unlike in any TV shootings. Nonetheless, the camera for the radio show still made her shy and a little cautious. 

Everything was going smooth until Soojin noticed the smirk on Byul's face. She restrained herself from raising one of her questioning brows, curious what made the latter smirk from reading the script. Just then, Byul looked at Soojin knowingly and casually read what's written on the paper. 

"It was asked here, Soojin ah, if Shuhua was jealous that you are here with me?"

Soojin thought for a moment, "Actually just now.." She trailed off, a shy and faded sad smile ghosting around her lips. Moonbyul seemed to notice that but encouraged her to continue. "I had a short break in the car, and Shuhua texted me if I would like to join her for a hotpot."

"Oh! It says here that Shuhua is Soojin's fan."

"Yeah. And well, Shuhua doesn't know that I have a radio--"

"Ah, you mean audio?"

"Dae, dae, audio! Shuhua doesn't know about my audio schedule today." A soft, sad smile hinted Soojin's lips again as the thought occurred once more. 

Moonbyul chuckled, "Oh, she doesn't know? Why? Don't you guys have a shared calendar?" She teased.

Soojin immediately replied, without thinking, "I think she has lost interest in me."

Moonbyul pretended to be shocked and laughed. "Really? Are you upset?"

Soojin was taken aback. For a moment there she did not know what to reply, but might have been faster than how her brain processed the question that she instantly said, with an upset tone, 'Yes!!"

Moonbyul was surprised at the sudden confession. Realizing what just happened, both of them laughed out loud, with Soojin looking slightly embarrassed with her sudden admittance. 

"Well, let's be honest (lezzbianest) " Moonbyul continued, "At first everything seemed annoying, right? It's something like an obsession. Shuhua was obsessed with you, like she is your fan. At first, it was annoying or tiring."

"Yes..." Soojin replied softly with a nod. "Because she's too.. you know..." She shook Moonyul's hand to say 'you know what I mean.'

Getting the cue, Byul added, "Too clingy?"

"Yes!"

"But you're upset now."

Soojin's eyes looked down and her sad smile went back. "Yeah, well now, I was a little upset." She looked back at Moonbyul and despite trying to hide the sadness in her expression with a smile, it was visible especially in her eyes. 

"Because she did not know what you were doing?" Moonbyul reiterated.

"Yeah..." Soojin sighed. "But then she asked me earlier if I wanted to eat with her so—"

"—So she is still thinking about you." 

A soft blush crossed Soojin's cheeks. "Yeah."

"Aaahh...." Moonbyul then pointed at the camera and asked Soojin to make a message for Shuhua. 

Soojin laughed nervously and shyly before she fixed herself, eyes focused on the lens. "Well, Shuhua ah...uhm...how was your hotpot?" A soft, embarrassed laugh escaped her lips before she continued, "Sorry I was not able to join you, I'm currently in a radio show. Next time, we'll eat together!"

The show continued afterward with more promotions and casual conversations. They wrapped it up with Soojin introducing (G)I-DLE once again to the audience before finally going off-air. Moonbyul was grateful for her guest and together with the staff, they all went out to eat dinner, with Soojin slightly hesitant about it since she thought of going home early to rest, and of course, to see Shuhua. But then again, who could escape the nation's girl crush's charms? They all worked hard and the staffs were nice to ha