“Good morning!” Seulgi greets as soon as she comes out of her room.

 

It's Sunday. Nobody works on a Sunday. Sunday is rest day. Sundays are for hanging out and doing nothing. Which does not include staying indoors and cooking your own food. In this case, food for eight other people.

 

“Good morning!” Jennie, Joy and Joohyun greet. They were sitting on the dining table.

“Morns!” Rosé and Wendy greet from the kitchen.

“You're out of milk. Again. Go buy some.” Yeri commands.

“Pick me up a toothbrush on your way.” Jisoo says.

“You're out of Pringles too. Get three just in case.” Lisa suggests.

“I'm not your servant.” Seulgi responds. She makes her way to the kitchen to grab some water and kiss Wendy on the cheek.

“What did you say?” Yeri asks.

“Non-dairy?” Seulgi asks on her way to grab her hoodie and wallet.

“Bring an umbrella. It's raining outside.”

“Because you suggested that, you're coming with me.”

 

Seulgi grabs Joohyun's wrist and pulls her towards the door. As soon as she opened it, a thunder erupted from outside their apartment. Joohyun quickly hides behind Seulgi. Just as everyone else was about to react to the sudden noise, the lights went out. The entire apartment was covered in darkness. Everyone in the kitchen and dining table ran towards the living room where everyone else were at. Seulgi and Joohyun hurriedly joined the others.

All nine of them reached for their phones, there was no signal. Wendy reaches for their telephone, there was no landline either. She scans the cabinet of their TV set for a flashlight and some candles. They needed all the light they could get. Lucky for them, Rosé and Wendy had already finished cooking by the time the blackout happened.

 

“Damn. Looks like we're stuck in here.” Joy comments.

 

Yeri flicks Seulgi's forehead.

 

“Why didn't you wake up sooner! There's no milk for the cereal.”

“I'm craving for some Pringles.”

“And I just threw out my toothbrush! What am I gonna use now?”

“Borrow Lisa's.” Seulgi suggests.

“Good id—”

“Disgusting.” Jennie comments, cutting Jisoo off.

“Yeah, what she said.” Lisa clears .

“Why? Wendy and I used to share a toothbrush.” Seulgi shrugs.

“What?”

“What?”

“What?”

 

Five heads stare at the two roommates in shock. Jisoo and Lisa look around the entire room, not wanting to get caught in the same situation.

 

“Did you just say—” Jennie starts.

“What? I didn't say anything.” Seulgi shakes her head.

“You just said you and Wendy used to share a toothbrush.” Joohyun recalls.

“When was that exactly?” Joy squints her eyes.

“Why am I not surprised?” Yeri comments.

“Oh my god, is that why you only have one toothbrush in the bathroom? You let me borrow it that one time! So does that mean the three of us..?” Rosé gags after the realization.

 

Everyone else, including Seulgi, looks at Wendy in anticipation. Wendy cleared  before speaking.

 

“I am not confirming nor denying anything.” Wendy answers after a minute of contemplation. She had to choose her words carefully.

“Welp! Let's start setting up the table then! My stomach's growling!” Lisa claps her hands to catch everyone else's attention.

“Right! I'm hungry! I'll just—”

“Jisoo, the kitchen's on the other side.”

“—use a mouthwash later. He he he he.”

 

Jisoo frantically diverts the subject and helps Lisa set half of the plates on the dining table and sets the other half on the living room coffee table. The dining table is too small to fit all nine of them.

 

“That was close!” Seulgi whispers as soon as the four of them sat on the floor of the living room.

“Thanks for helping us back there. We didn't want to have to drag you into the topic.” Wendy sighs.

 

Lisa flicks Seulgi's forehead, although she expected it from Jisoo.

 

“Idiot! You almost ratted the four of us out!”

“You almost unleashed Rubyjane on me! You know how she feels about my hygiene!” Jisoo whisper-screams at Seulgi.

“I'm sorry! I'm sorry!”

“Because you're such a tattletale, you're gonna wash the dishes!” Wendy reprimands Seulgi after soothing her forehead.

“Stop ruining my shot! Wendy's tip is useless as it is. I can't ruin my image.” Lisa groans.

“You mean, you can't keep ruining it. It's a lot more ruined than you think it is.” Seulgi corrects.

“Seriously, what am I gonna use to brush my teeth?”

“Lisa's!” Wendy and Seulgi said in unison.

 

Jisoo thinks about it for a moment before nodding in agreement.

 

“Lisa—”

“No! Jen's right. It's disgusting.”

“You two share the same bath towel and the same bowl and spoon when you eat your cereal and you still think that's disgusting?” Wendy raises her eyebrows.

 

Lisa looks at Jisoo and their shared bowl and spoon for a moment before sighing in defeat. Wendy and Seulgi couldn't even dare to look at the bowl. They were out of milk, of course the two had to improvise. They used orange juice instead of milk.

 

 

 

 

“Has Wendy and Seulgi always been this domestic?” Joohyun asks Yeri as soon as they start eating.

“They're like a married couple. I wouldn't be surprised if they decide to adopt a baby out of drunkenness. They share the same braincells.” Yeri shrugs.

 

Joohyun nods in understanding. Wendy and Seulgi have been together since High School. Although she's still trying to catch up on everyone's dynamic, she doesn't want to admit it, but she thinks it's cute.

 

“Jisoo and Lisa are the same. They're starting to become too domestic as well. But they're like a less cleaner version of the two. I can't even dare to set a single foot inside their apartment.” Jennie cringes at the thought.

“Right? How do you even manage to stay there every Sunday?” Yeri asks Rosé.

“I don't. I shower here. Don't tell WenSeul.”

“I wouldn't be surprised if they start dragging you along with their domesticity.” Joy points her fork at Rosé.

“I feel like they already have though.” Joohyun comments.

“Same. And Yeri's wrong. The four of them share one braincell. And that braincell is me.” Rosé responds.

“I think you mean me.” Yeri disagrees.

“I vote for Yeri.” Joy raises her fork.

“Jisoo, drink your orange juice.”

“I'm leaning more towards Chaeng.” Joohyun rubs her chin.

“You're fighting for custody over four idiots? That's interesting.” Jennie rolls her eyes.

“Wait.” Joy slams her fork on the table.

“Earlier, you said they let you borrow their toothbrush that one time. You—!”

“Everyone done eating? I'll clean up. I'm sure Wendy's gonna force Seulgi to wash the dishes. You guys can go ahead and do your own thing! It was so nice talking with yall!” Rosé stands up quickly and starts clearing up their table.

“But I—” Joohyun reaches for her plate.

“So nice.” Rosé says with finality.

 

 

 

 

“Found it!”

 

Seulgi and Wendy walk back towards their living room with a keg in tow.

 

“What the— did you steal that from my bar?” Jisoo asks the two.

“I am not confirming nor denying anything.” Seulgi states.

“But yes it is indeed from your bar.” Wendy says.

“You're gonna drink all of that?” Joohyun asks in concern.

“Correction: We're gonna drink all of that.” Seulgi waves her index finger at Joohyun.

“It's 10 o'clock in the morning!” Jennie exclaims.

“Exactly! It's already 10 o'clock in the morning! It'll just be a chill day.”

 

 

THUD

 

 

Another roar of lightning was heard from outside.

“We're not gonna drink to get wasted, tipsy perhaps, but no one's throwing up!” Yeri drags Seulgi and Lisa towards the kitchen to get each of them a glass and some snacks. It's gonna be a long blackout.

 

“I'm not drinking.” Joy crosses her arms.

“Pfft. Please. Saying you're a model would be more believable.” Rosé snorts.

“I AM A MODEL!”

“Being asked to wear and model clothes for an instagram based store doesn't make you a model. They didn't even include your face.” Yeri joins in as soon as they got back from preparing the essentials.

“It's a stepping stone!” Joy claims, reaching for a beer.

“Hah, nice try comforting yourself.” Seulgi laughs.

“I hate to disagree, but Yeri's right.” Joohyun comments, reaching for her own glass of beer. It wouldn't hurt to drink on a Sunday morning, right? That's one thing she's never experienced before.

“Jisoo, don't hold the glass like that.”

“If I pose in front of my bar's instagram photos, would that make me a model too?” Jisoo asks genuinely, tapping the glass on her bottom lip.

“Haha! You're a self-proclaimed model!” Lisa mocks.

“I'd call you a model for that, Joy.” Wendy smiles at Joy.

“Your sleeve is on fire.” Joy points her glass towards Wendy's shirt.

 

Wendy quickly rushed towards the bathroom. She was too busy trying to find a way to comfort Joy under all the teasing, she didn't notice the sleeve of her plaid button up shirt being too near the candle.

 

“I agree with Wendy on this. I'd call you a model for that too.” Jennie shrugs, taking a sip from her glass.

“Yeah, yeah. What Jennie said. I agree with Jen. You're a model Joy!” Lisa takes a sip from her glass too.

“Ahem, under.” Seulgi fake coughs, earning a glare from Lisa.

 

The nine of them drink the entire morning away. As the day progressed, the weather only worsened. It didn't help that the electricity was out. After lunch, eventually they got bored of teasing each other. They weren't drinking to get drunk after all, they don't expect anything crazy to happen.

 

 

 

 

Yeri glances over the two other women. Their eyes were focused on their own hand. Before Joohyun came into the picture, she used to be unbeatable, feared by many. She shifts her focus to her hand. She's out of aces but she has to push through.

Joohyun and Joy look at her in anticipation. It was her turn. Sweat starts dripping from her forehead, she wipes the sweat off with the back of her hand. She has two cards left. She will do her best to finally win this round, they've been playing for over an hour and Joohyun keeps winning, but not this time. No, she will not allow it.

She glances back and forth between the two cards at hand. Joohyun smirked, she's not gonna let the youngest of the three have her day. Not after she dared her to drink two glasses of beer in one breath when she picked truth! She still doesn't know how it happened, but it did and that scares her. Who knows what more they're capable of.

Yeri hovers her hand over the second card. She's made a decision. She picks it up and just as the card hit the center of the table, her faith was decided.

 

“UNO!”

 

Joy and Joohyun shout in unison. Yeri was too focused on picking between a reverse card and a wild color change that she forgot one of the most neglected but essential rule.

Yeri picked up two more cards on the deck. It's Joohyun's turn. She still has three cards and Joy has two. She knows how deep Joy and Yeri's relationship is when it comes to shenanigans. She can't let either of the two win, for her pride and her strong will not to pick between truth or dare, not that it mattered what she picked anyway. The two will always end up deciding for her.

She glances over her three cards. A +4, a wild color change and a red reverse. It's a pretty good hand. She has a huge chance of winning this round, a definite win if you ask her. She picks up the wild color change and chooses red. If she manages to get through the two without changing the color, she's sure to win.

Joy processes the situation and breaks down the possibilities: Joohyun has a red card with her and is just holding on to the chance of the color not changing until it's her turn again. Or Joohyun has two more wild cards so it doesn't matter what color she chooses, she's sure to win. The weight of the first possibility, for some reason, sits so well with her. She hovers her fingers over her two cards and glances over to Yeri. This is the perfect time to telecommunicate, as they like to call it.

 

“What cards do you have?” Joy asks.

“I got you. Whatever you're planning, I got you.” Yeri winks.

 

Joy takes a deep breath before choosing her card. She picks it up and tosses it on the table, not forgetting to shout Uno!

Red 3

 

Beat

 

She could hear her heart beating loudly. The three of them glanced at each other, although it was an individual game, Joohyun was sure the other two were in the same team.

Yeri looks at them before deciding her next move. Joy laid out the game plan even without a thorough communication. Joohyun's nervousness didn't waver.

After a few moments, Yeri finally picks a card. A wild color change.

 

“Yellow.” she announces.

 

Joohyun gulps. She has no other choice. The only way she could win this was if Joy didn't have an ace up her sleeve.

She throws in her last ace. A +4.

Joy smirks. She was right, it was a huge gamble for Joohyun to throw a wild card when she had two more cards. She takes a deep breath and throws her last card.

Another +4.

Joohyun takes another gulp. Whatever Yeri had behind those cards would be her doom she was sure of it.

Yeri puts down another card.

 

“UNO!”

 

Beat

 

 

A Yellow +2.

 

She sighs heavily. There's no escaping this now, she could only hope Yeri's last card isn't an ace. She can still win this. Ten cards could still beat one.

She stretches her neck. She's up for another round. She glances over her cards before deciding. She can't just end this round like this.

She slides the card.

Another +4.

Yeri looks over to Joy then to Joohyun. Her expression unreadable. She didn't expect Joohyun to place an ace this early. Well, in her defense, she was down to her last card.

She looks back to Joy, there's nothing more she can do. Everything's been decided. She chose this path the moment she let the other card go. She takes a deep breath and—

BANG

 

It was another +4.

 

Joohyun looks up from her cards with glossy eyes. She did everything she could. Sate Anne's disciples are unstoppable when they're together. She should've listened to everyone's advice.

The two troublemakers smirk at each other before looking at Joohyun with a sinister smile.

 

“Truth or dare?”

 

 

 

 

“Did you feel that?”

 

Jisoo asks after shuffling the cards on the coffee table. The atmosphere suddenly became cold. Jisoo and Rosé glance over to the kitchen table where Joohyun, Joy and Yeri were sitting at.

 

“I'm guessing the two won.”

“What?” They heard Joohyun shout from the dining table.

 

They shrug and went back to doing whatever it was that they were doing. They were too bored to do nothing and too scared to join the other three on the dining table. Whatever they were up to, they knew Joohyun wouldn't stand a chance. Not when she's playing against the two mischievous maknaes.

Jisoo takes the whole deck of playing cards and shuffles it again. They've been playing the same game for an hour now. After lunch, everyone else decided to do their own thing. They ended up hanging out in the living room with just the two of them. When there's no electricity and the weather's bad, what's there to do?

 

“Alright! Alright! Another round!”

 

She spreads the deck on her fingers signalling Rosé to pick one from the entire deck.

 

“Got it?” Jisoo asks.

“Yup!”

 

She hands the card to Jisoo. Before returning the card Rosé chose, she flipped the card and memorized it as fast as she could. She then placed the entire deck on the coffee table and proceeded to tell Rosé about her card.

 

“King of Hearts!”

“Omo! You guessed it again!” Rosé cheers.

“I'll try! I'll try!”

 

Rosé shuffles the entire deck and spreads it in front of Jisoo for her to pick a card. Jisoo chose a card in the middle of the deck, memorized it and gave it back to Rosé. Much like Jisoo did before, she quickly glanced at the card and positioned it on top of the deck to be placed on the coffee table. She scratched on her chin and pretended like she was guessing what Jisoo's card was. Jisoo looks at her in anticipation. Excited to know if Rosé would get it right.

 

“Four of Spades!” Rosé guesses.

“Correct!” Jisoo stands up from her seat to hug Rosé and they start jumping up and down in celebration. Dorks.

“We're really good at this.” Jisoo says.

“Right?” Rosé agrees and sips from her glass.

 

They sat on the couch, drinking the minutes away. The two of them stare at the ceiling not knowing what to do next. They were bored out of their minds.

 

“Hey Chaeng,”

“Hmm?”

 

Jisoo hesitates before asking. She's tipsy she was sure of that but she needs to know. She didn't want to think she was alone in this. It's been eating her up since this morning. The only assurance she needs now is that she isn't alone. Among the nine of them, she trusts Rosé would be on the same page as her. She wasn't alone in fact, she knows Jennie is on the same page too. But she's looking for someone with a much different mindset. It's no surprise Jennie would agree, she's on the same boat after all.

She inhales, reluctance still lingering but she asks anyway.

 

“Do you think Joy's a model?”

 

Rosé looks at her questioningly. She didn't expect this question at all. But she'd be lying if she says she didn't think about this at some point. Jisoo looks back at her, patiently waiting for her answer.

 

“I do.”

 

Jisoo sighs in relief. She was right in trusting Rosé with this. She's thought about it enough since this morning.

 

“Yeri's right though, they don't even include her face so why the hell would she be considered as one?” Rosé adds.

“But... but I do. I think she's a model regardless if they show her face or not. It's not easy posing for pictures.”

 

Jisoo nods at that. Both points made so much sense. At least now she doesn't feel guilty for feeling this way. She wanted to clear it up this morning but everyone else was so intent with their own opinions so she kept it to herself.

 

“Thanks, Chaeng. Now I know I'm not alone in this.” she kisses Rosé on the forehead.

“Now! New game!” she stands up from her seat and positions herself in front of the TV screen, faces Rosé and places both of her hands behind her back.

“You have to guess what I'm holding up!”

 

Rosé sits up straight. Excitement overflowing between the two. She squints her eyes at Jisoo before taking a guess.

 

“Scissors!”

 

Jisoo takes her hand out from her back and reveals the answer.

 

“Engk!”

 

 

 

 

Wendy gets out of the bathroom. Her stomach's been bothering her since this morning. Using orange juice as an alternative to milk is not suitable and should not be attempted ever again. She groans for the seventh time since she got inside and makes a mental note of banging Lisa and Jisoo's head together for convincing her and Seulgi it wouldn't make much of a difference. Because it did. God, it did.

 

“UNO!”

 

The loud scream from the kitchen catches her attention. She glances over to the three and shivers. Oh, Joohyun is in so much trouble, she thinks. She did not want to meddle with whatever the two disciples of Sate Ann are plotting.

She walks over towards where Jisoo and Rosé were at. They were playing some sort of card game, not her thing. She looks around and spots Jennie and Lisa out on the balcony, she didn't want to interupt Lisa's once in a lifetime bravery of striking up a conversation with Jennie without them around so she lets them be.

She looks around once more before realizing Seulgi wasn't with any of them. She figures she's in her room so that's where she decided to go.

As soon as she opened the door, a familiar sound greeted her.

It was the opening theme song for the latest season of Attack on Titan. Oh no.

Seulgi spotted her and quickly hid her phone. She got caught red handed.

 

“How could you?” Wendy asks, her lips were quivering. A strong feeling of betrayal taking over her entire senses.

“Wan, I can explain!” Seulgi quickly gets up from her bed, frantically walking towards where Wendy's standing.

“I can't believe you'd do this to me.” Wendy sniffs. Her chest feels heavy.

“I didn't have any other choice!” Seulgi defends.

“You did! You did have a choice! Yet you chose to betray me. How could you?”

 

Seulgi couldn't look at her in the eye. They had planned on watching it together after all of the episodes are released. They even avoided opening their social media accounts every time a new episode airs. They were that committed.

 

“Wan, this blackout is doing things to me. Things I don't normally do. I didn't want to tell you but I had the episodes downloaded beforehand. And I'm bored, Wan! I'm so bored!” Seulgi kneels down.

“But I promise you, I only watched one episode. Just one. You walked in on me before the second episode began. And you have no idea how thankful I am for that!”

 

Seulgi stands up from the floor and walks closer. Wendy didn't move. She couldn't.

 

“How would I know you won't do it again?” Wendy asks, her voice cracking.

 

She didn't have the energy to argue with Seulgi. Even she herself have had temptations before. The only difference is, she has more self control than Seulgi.

Seulgi takes out her phone and opens the Netflix app. She deletes all of the downloaded episodes and throws her phone on her bed.

 

“There. Never again. You can trust me on this.” she says and opens her arms out. Wendy stares at her, she could never resist Seulgi. Not when she's always honest about everything. She understands this was probably just a spur of the moment.

Wendy walks closer and closes the gap between them. She trusts Seulgi more than anyone in the world. Even if Seulgi outright confesses she's watched all of the episodes that had aired, she'd still forgive her.

It might take a few weeks but she will.

 

“I've been meaning to ask you.” Seulgi whispers.

“Hmm?”

 

Seulgi loosens her grip on Wendy. And looks straight into her eyes. She's nervous for some reason, Wendy couldn't figure out why.

 

“Do you want to adopt?”

 

Wendy's jaw dropped. She was not expecting that at all.

 

“Do you think we're ready for that? It's a huge responsibility, Seul.”

“I think we're ready.” Seulgi says confidently.

 

Wendy processes the information before finally giving in. She supposes it's about time they do. They've talked about it before, a lot of drunken late night conversations about adoption. Although both of them are tipsy right now, they're sober enough not to make a rash decision. And this is definitely not one.

 

“Okay.”

 

 

 

 

Lisa removes her jacket and places it on Jennie. The weather isn't just bad, it's terrible. All of the streetlights are out and the trees were swaying a little too hard for it to be called just a drizzle of rain. Although her entire body was shivering from the cold, Jennie comes first. It's how it's always been.

Jennie is looking straight, none of Rouge Street could be seen clearly. The weather is really bad, no one can stress that enough. And yet here they were, in the balcony, acting like it's the most beautiful time of the year.

 

“God, the weather's terrible.” Jennie says after minutes of silence.

“Not as terrible as my feelings—”

“Jisoo, that's not how you shuffle cards!”

 

Lisa clears , that was close. The alcohol's starting to get to her and Jennie's in such close proximity. It was not a wonderful combination.

 

“You were saying?”

“Oh, nothing. I just want to thank you for what you did with Niki.”

“Lisa, every time we're together you say that. It's been weeks.”

“Right!”

 

Lisa looks away. There's something about Jennie's eyes and her presence that makes her nervous. Maybe it's her feelings controlling her, or the overall effect Jennie has on her. But every time she's alone with Jennie, her whole world malfunctions.

Jennie chuckles. Lisa's kind of cute, she thinks. She didn't dwell on that for long though, because Lisa started talking again.

 

“What's wrong?”

 

Jennie was taken aback. She didn't expect Lisa of all people to ask her that. It would've made more sense if Jisoo or Seulgi or even Wendy asked her that, or even noticed that something was bothering her. The fact that it came from Lisa made her feel things. Things she was quick to deny.

 

“How'd you know something was wrong?”

 

Lisa smiles before answering.

 

“The entire morning up until now, you only scolded Jisoo thrice. So, what's the matter?”

 

Lisa may be a nervous, malfunctioning wreck when it comes to Jennie. But that’s the thing too, when it comes to Jennie, everything matters. She can be someone she can lean on just as much as everyone else.

 

“I saw my ex.”

“Hmm.”

 

And then silence. The only sound comprehensible was the sound of the leaves rustling and Jennie's heavy sighs.

 

“You're not gonna ask for details?”

“I know for a fact that you, Miss Jennie, don't need follow up questions. As long as you get to say what it is that's bothering you, it's all good.”

 

That's all she needed to hear, she wasn't up for a deep conversation about this. She doesn't even know why it's bothering her. She was able to say it out loud and that was enough.

 

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

 

Jennie looks at her and for the first time in a while, gave her the warmest smile she could muster.

 

“For being there when it matters.”

 

 

 

 

“It's time.”

 

Yeri and Joy look at Joohyun with sinister eyes. They've been waiting for this for God knows how long, even though it's only been five minutes.

 

“Hey, all.”

 

Seulgi passes by their table and walks towards their refrigerator. The three of them look at her; two pairs of mischievous eyes and one pair of slightly confused and nervous dark brown orbs.

Seulgi looks at the three in confusion. She just wanted to drink some water. She did not want to get dragged along to whatever the two disciples are planning. She can tell from their body language alone, she doesn't have a choice. She could only hope it doesn't involve murder of some sort.

Joohyun stands up from her seat and approaches Seulgi. Joy and Yeri could be heard snickering in the background.

 

“Let's go to the balcony.” Joohyun whispers.

 

Seulgi was about to protest when Joohyun grabs her wrist and pulls her towards the door to the balcony. They crossed paths with Lisa and Jennie who were on their way to the living room. It seems fair, they needed the privacy.

On their way outside, Yeri and Joy's voices kept echoing inside Joohyun's head. Their voices were starting to annoy her.

 

“We dare you to kiss the first person you see, aside from the two of us. Like we'd actually let you anywhere near us.”

 

Joohyun shuddered at the memory. Although, if she were to choose who to kiss, Seulgi would be the best option.

She lets go of Seulgi's wrist and turns to face her. The weather still hasn't let up, the cold was getting to her, she wants to make this quick.

 

“I'll make this—”

 

She was cut off by Seulgi, who was removing her jacket. She walks closer to Joohyun and wraps the jacket on Joohyun's shivering frame.

 

“You look like your hair is about to fall off! I imagined you going bald and I didn't like the look of it. Now, what were you saying?” Seulgi says.

 

Joohyun slaps the back of Seulgi's head. The gesture's grown on her too. It's adorable how Seulgi never reacts to it. She likes to think it's some sort of endearment between them. A very violent one at that.

 

“You may have noticed the two devils had something going on right?”

“Yeah. And?”

“Well, I lost at a game of Uno. And now, they dared me to... Uhm—”

 

Seulgi waits for her to finish. She couldn't say the words out loud, it still sounded absurd in her head. She instead walks closer to Seulgi, intent on finishing this dare once and for all. Seulgi, by reflex, took a step back. Joohyun was getting a little too close, she could smell her perfume.

She didn't want to waste any more time. She hated the cold and she hated the fact that the closer she got, the warmer she felt. She wouldn't admit this, but she only slightly hated the latter.

The distance was getting smaller. Seulgi still isn't certain as to what Joohyun's about to do but she did have a clue. She wanted to find out if she was right. She wanted to know if Joohyun is indeed trying to smell her perfume like she always does.

 

“Oh my god!”

 

Their faces were inches apart, a little push and their lips would've collided. But Joohyun stopped midway when she heard Seulgi's exclamation.

She didn't even notice she had closed her eyes. When she opened them, she saw Seulgi running towards the corner of the balcony.

 

“OH. MY. GOD.”

 

She couldn't see what was happening. She felt undone and it irritated her. It irritated her even more to know that she's irritated by the fact that she feels undone. And it's irritating her how irritated she feels about being irritated by the fact that she's irritated at how irritated she is about feeling undone. The feeling of being undone irritated her so much her—

She was so lost in her irritation that she didn't even notice Seulgi was already approaching her with a... chicken in hand?

 

“What the hell?”

“Look at the little chicken! She looked so lost in the corner! Oh, this poor chicken!” Seulgi coos at the chicken in her arms.

 

Joohyun is still irritated and her irritation is just growing by the minute. She hates being in the cold and she hates feeling undone. She especially hates it when Seulgi's attention is somewhere else when she has something important to do. Yeah, that's it. Only when she has something important to do.

She grabs Seulgi's collar and pulls her in for a kiss. There's no deed that's left unfinished by one Bae Joohyun. Even if it calls for desperate measures, at least the deed was done.

She releases Seulgi's collar. It was a brief kiss, enough to prove to the little devils that she will do whatever it takes to complete a challenge.

Seulgi's eyes widened after realizing what just happened, with the chicken still in hand. She opened to speak and react and ask Joohyun why the hell she would do that out of nowhere when Joohyun beat her to it.

 

“No. Questions. Asked.” Joohyun raises a finger at Seulgi.

 

And with that, the two of them went back inside. Seulgi's heart warming at the thought of finding love in their own balcony. Who would've thought she was closer to love than she'd imagined. She looks at her company, it was love at first sight indeed. She smiles and the chicken looks back at her. She couldn't wait to show this to Wendy. They had just agreed on adopting a pet, not even an hour had passed and now they have one!

 

 

 

 

“SCISSOR!”

 

Yeri flicks Lisa's forehead.

 

“She did scissors last time! She's not stupid enough to do it twice in a row. It's a rock!”

“No way! It's definitely paper. Look at her bicep! It's relaxed, she's not putting any effort onto her grip. Paper!” Joy declares.

“I agree with Joy! It's paper!” Wendy exclaims.

“You agree with everything Joy says. It's rock damn it!” Rosé says and high fives Yeri.

“Jisoo, stop slouching. And I agree with Lisa, it's scissor! Jisoo's definitely stupid enough to do it twice in a row.” Jennie claims.

 

Jisoo smirks and leans back and forth, enjoying the view of her friends arguing on her behalf.

 

“You!” Yeri points at Wendy.

“Stop living so cowardly! What's your actual answer?”

 

Wendy looks back and forth between Joy and the others. Yeri's right, she has to be independent at least just this once. She can't help it if she wants to impress Joy whenever possible.

 

“Rock.” she sighs and joins Yeri and Rosé on their side of the couch.

 

They made a drinking game out of Rosé and Jisoo's dull game. Whoever guesses it wrong, drinks. If the number of people who guessed it right overlaps the number of people who got it wrong, the game master (the one who picks which hand to bet on) drinks along with the losers.

Jisoo inhales sharply and looks around the room. Seems like everyone's set. She was about to reveal it when—

 

“LOOK WHAT WE FOUND!”

“You. You found that by yourself. I don't want to have to deal with custody over that.”

 

Everyone in the room shifts their attention to a bright smiled Seulgi and a shivering Joohyun.

 

“OH MY GOD! SEUL!” Wendy stands up from her seat and immediately ran towards the new baby in the house.

“Look at the little kitten!” Lisa exclaims.

“That's a chicken. And I'm happy for you both.” Yeri wipes the tears off Wendy's face.

“Congrats, fam. You finally got what you wanted after nights and nights and nights of drunken proclamations.” Rosé taps Seulgi and Wendy's shoulders.

“Oh my god! Lisa! I want one too!” Jisoo hurriedly took the chicken from Seulgi's arms into her own.

“You're seeing what I'm seeing too, right? It's not just me?” Joy whispers to Jennie.

“Yeah but whatever. When have they ever done something normal.” Jennie rolls her eyes.

“Hyun, what should we name it?” Seulgi turns towards Joohyun.

“Don't 'we' me. I'm not a part of that.” Joohyun walks towards where Joy and Jennie, the normal mortals she claims, were at.

 

The six of them started brainstorming for a name.

 

“Kai?” Jisoo suggests and Jennie throws the pillow she was holding at Jisoo.

“What about Chi?” Rosé suggests.

“Hmm, Ken?” Wendy suggests too.

“There are literally millions of names out there yet you guys chose a name out of its actual name.” Yeri deadpans.

“Levi?” Seulgi suggests earning a slap from Wendy.

“Don't even!”

“Alright alright! What then?”

“Julio!”

“Lulu.”

“Lala.”

“Leo!”

“Seulgi!”

“That's your name.”

 

The were too focused on thinking of a name. Some were unique, others were too human to even be a name for a chicken.

 

“Who's the current Queen of England again?” Joy asks the other two.

“Elizabeth.” Joohyun answers.

 

Right after Joohyun said the name, the entire apartment lit up, pronouncing the end of the blackout.

The six from the other side of the room erupted in a series of cheers and started celebrating the christening of WenSeul's new pet.

 

“ELIZABETH!” they chanted.

 

 

The official name of their pet chicken has been proclaimed.