“Do I have to go?” Seulgi whined.

“Seulgi, this party’s for you!” Joy leaned closer to the brunette. “Plus, Wendy convinced Irene, IRENE BAE, to tag along.” She pulled back and waved her hands incredulously. “She’s infamous for shooting down every single invitation to a party ever since she matriculated!”

“Yeah, Seul, pretty please? Only a handful of rising upperclassmen get that scholarship each year, so we definitely need to celebrate.”

Seulgi looked at Wendy’s hopeful face and sighed, knowing she couldn’t refuse Mother Wenresa. She had applied to a university grant for rising juniors and seniors that would cover a year’s worth of tuition, given that the applicant had the minimum GPA requirement and strong extracurriculars. Seeing that she’d been picked for the student council board, Seulgi had applied, thinking that it wouldn’t hurt to do so, and she had made it to the final round.

“I had the interview two days ago. It’s not even guaranteed.”

Joy scoffed. “They give it to five people, and I know the sixth person is considering transferring next year, anyway. You’ll definitely get it.”

“But…”

“Hey, none of that.” Joy slung an arm around Seulgi and pulled her towards the mirror. “We’ll have you primped up, and you’re getting laid tonight.”

“What?!”

Joy shrugged nonchalantly at the two girls who had just screamed at her. “What better way to celebrate, right?”

“But, I don’t even like guys…” Seulgi ended up coming out reluctantly.

“Well, neither do a lot of our friends, and I’m biual, so pick and choose, baby.”

Seulgi made a disgusted face, while Wendy slapped Joy’s arm.

“Joy!”

“Ooooh,” Joy exclaimed suddenly. “You can even quit your job at that cafe! Although, I’ll miss bothering you there…”

“Don’t change the topic!”

“Please change the topic!” Seulgi pleaded.

“Oh, you guys are such prudes. I’ll go see if I have any small dresses Seulgi can wear. Wannie, can you do her hair and makeup?”

Wendy gave a thumbs up.

“Alright, then I’ll see you in…” Joy checked the time. “Forty minutes. Irene’s a stickler for time, so she’ll leave if we arrive fashionably late,” Joy said, emphasizing “fashionably late” with air quotes.

After Joy left, Seulgi noticed Wendy smiling creepily at her, wiggling her eyebrows.

“What?”

Wendy feigned innocence. “What do you mean, what? I’m just excited to decorate something other than cookies for once.”

Seulgi kicked her out of the house, not wanting to look like a living version of the gingerbread man for the night.

---

“WenJoy! Over here!”

Seulgi squinted at the blurry figure waving at them, wondering why she allowed Joy to convince her to wear coloured contacts instead of her vision correcting ones. Under the dim lights, she could barely make out a girl at the bar.

“Kim Yerim! Long time no see, you squirtle!”

She couldn’t be sure, but there was no way that was the girl’s index finger she was pointing up.

“Shut up, you giant oaf. I told you that it’s Yeri, not Yerim!”

Wendy rubbed her temples and gently pulled the blind monolid girl with her to follow Joy as the tallest of the three easily navigated the crowd to the bar.

Seulgi saw that the girl who called them over, Yeri, had bright red hair and facial features as big as Joy’s. Her eyes and smile screamed yandere energy, making Seulgi unintentionally shift behind Wendy.

Joy slapped Yeri’s back before plopping down on the stool next to her. She peered at the amber-coloured contents of the smaller girl’s glass, sniffing it curiously.

“How the hell did you convince them to serve you whiskey?”

Yeri responded by pulling out a small plastic card. “Naeun knows a guy who makes fakes at a good price, so I got one.”

“Huh,” Joy said, crossing her arms and making an impressed face. “At least you won’t have to bother all those seniors anymore.”

Yeri shrugged. She turned to Seulgi, motioning for her to take a seat.

“You must be Seulgi, right? I’m Yeri. Freshman.”

Seulgi waved. “Nice to meet you. Heard lots from Wendy and Joy.”

Yeri laughed boisterously. “That scares me, because you probably think I’m a devil by now i