The briefing was clearly aimed at the younger, newer students in the dance team.

As part of the graduating batch, Irene sat at the edge of the group, barely listening in. She had performed at the same venue far too many times to not know all the rules. Most of the seniors skipped the venue briefing and turned up for the rehearsal and dry run without batting an eye.

Irene, unfortunately, had a free period and nothing better to do. Her assignments were all submitted. She could basically disappear until graduation and no one would say anything. Yet, dance was one of the few things she would miss about this school. Her sentimentality motivated her to sit through the last briefing she would entertain in high school. However, after listening to the first five minutes, she deeply regretted not taking a nap somewhere in one of the music rooms that she had access to. Sentimentality was overrated.

Irene was staring blankly at the empty space in front of her when she felt a series of light slaps against her arm.

She turned at the unspoken attempt to grab her attention. The lanky brunette was still showing no signs of remorse when Irene gave her a questioning look.

Instead, Seulgi continued swatting her arm with extended sleeves hanging from her sweater. The corners of her lips rose.

“What?”

“Nothing.” The younger dancer straightened abruptly, her attention stolen by something else. Irene nodded, too sleepy to think more of it, and turned back to the spot she had been watching earlier.

The whispers about their confrontation had not completely died down, but it was kept to a minimum, considering both of them were always seen actively working together. Their friendship was far from repaired, but not long after her talk with Seungwan, the dance president had showed up at her doorstep, a sincere apology on her lips and a desire to make amends. For the sake of the upcoming recital, they had resolved to put aside their differences and work together.

Hence, over the next few weeks, she devoted whatever time she had into preparing for the recital. At first, considering how Seulgi had acted during their relationship, she had residual concerns about how well they would work as a team.

However, she hadn’t expected for Kang Seulgi to lose whatever shyness and awkwardness she used to have.

Suddenly, the younger girl was fearless, annoying her without remorse and pestering her about dance and non-dance related topics whenever she had the chance to.

It was like meeting the real Seulgi for the first time. Not Kang Seulgi the talented dance president, nor was it the Seulgi whose feelings stuttered out of her before she knew how to word them. This Seulgi was bright, funny and childish. She no longer hesitated before she made comments in her direction or .  It was different but Irene found that this Seulgi was intriguing in her own way.

They might have missed their chance romance wise, but she had a feeling that their friendship was just beginning.

She hadn’t counted to ten in her head when she felt the series of slaps start again. She held in an eye roll.

“Seulgi-ya.”

“Hmm?” The other girl feigned innocence.

“Do you need something?” She asked semi-patiently.

“I’m bored.” Seulgi answered, shifting closer to her to whisper. “We’re the only seniors here.”

Irene glanced around the room. Seulgi was right. The oldest dancer in the group apart from them was a sophomore called Seo Soojin.

“Where are the others?” Irene asked. They couldn’t have just left Seulgi to represent the dance committee. “Your vice-president?”

Seulgi shook her head. “Momo texted to say she and the other committee members just had lunch, which is code for saying they have food comas and won’t be here until warm-ups.”

“So it’s just us again.”

“Yep.” Seulgi dragged out ending of the word playfully. The way her gaze focused on random shadows in the background and she lightly swayed her body to an imaginary beat, Seulgi reminded Irene of Yeri. It made her more willing to entertain the younger girl’s antics and she promptly flicked her sleeve. 

There was an eagerness in the way Seulgi gleamed with excitement, when she realised she had gotten the older girl’s attention.

They continued playing mini games of tug of war and Rock Paper Scissors, all of which Irene won, and counted the number of students who had fallen asleep until the teacher in charge left the room.

It had taken a while, but something had changed by the time of the recital. Seulgi’s persistent presence had somehow won her over, or rather, Irene no longer felt the overwhelming need to push her away whenever the tall brunette showed up. Although, it wasn’t like her initial resistance fazed the younger girl to begin with. Hence, she simply stopped resisting.

She couldn’t hide the slight anticipation whenever she saw her waiting outside the classroom, only to be disappointed when she found the younger girl alone.

Irene had made the mistake of pointing out her lack of company once.

“Who else were you expecting, unnie?” Seulgi had asked, her grin suspiciously reminding her of Sooyoung for a second. “It couldn’t be a certain Seung-“

“No one.” She cut her off too quickly for it to be completely innocent. “Let’s go for practice.”

Irene had tugged her in the other direction before the other girl could reply with another teasing remark.

After that ordeal, she supposed what happened later that afternoon was not altogether surprising.

She had been organising her books in her locker in preparation for dance practice when Seulgi’s head popped up over the locker door with an “Unnie!”

She felt a tinge of guilt when she realised how loud her scream was. She had always been easily startled by sudden noises or jumpscares. It made watching horror movies, amongst other things unbearable.

Irene was about to apologise for the unwanted attention when she noticed the other girl’s reaction. Seulgi’s eyes went innocently wide for a second, before they curved into crescents and she covered before her laughter could erupt.

Whatever guilt she was feeling instantly disappeared into a cloud of dread. From the looks of it, now that Seulgi knew how easily startled she was, she was going to turn into a second Yeri.

“Kang Seulgi.” She shut the locker and approached the other girl sternly.

“Oops!” The lanky dancer darted out of her reach but Irene was faster. Her agility allowed her to reach the junior within a few seconds and dish out her punishment.

She couldn’t decide whether she should be hitting or tickling Seulgi, but a weird combination of both was what happened. The younger girl was still able to laugh through it all, which said a lot about her arm strength.

Irene accidentally looked up, which turned out to be her second mistake, because she was instantly met with the intense gaze of Son Seungwan. Her momentary pause gave Seulgi an opening and the younger girl twisted out of her grasp. Irene’s frown deepened; not at Seulgi’s escape, but because her view of Seungwan was abruptly blocked by Seulgi.

It was only for a fraction of a second, but when Seulgi had moved out of the way, Seungwan’s back was already facing her.

The image bothered her for the rest of the day.

~~

She spotted Seungwan before the opening number even began.

The brunette looked especially small in the crowd that seemed to swarm into the auditorium. She had arrived with her cousin and Sooyoung, predictably, her uncertain form trailing after the two veterans as they made their way towards the section reserved for friends and family. She had given her cousin and Sooyoung their usual tickets but hesitated on whether she should be inviting Seungwan. However, it seemed like her dilemma was pointless because the girl in question had already received hers, from Seulgi most likely.

While Yeri rushed towards the front of the hall, Sooyoung hung back to wait for Seungwan. Irene watched as the younger girl’s eyes light up as she leaned in to whisper hushed words to Seungwan.

She ignored the way her chest tightened when the short haired girl leaned towards Sooyoung imperceptibly, her closed lip smile turning into a laugh at whatever Sooyoung had just told her.

The flicker of irritation was unpleasantly familiar, the same feeling she felt when she saw them at the library together. Her cheek twitched in annoyance at the sight and she didn’t feel like watching anymore. A frown on her face and determination in her stride, she stalked back to the dressing room as though nothing had transpired.

Thankfully, everyone was too busy with their own makeup and preparations to notice her mood.

The recital went by without a hitch.

Every landing had been graceful; every pose had been perfectly crafted and poised. The dancers’ hard work over the last few months had paid off, much to her delight.

As a senior, Irene felt a distinct amount of relief as she watched her juniors take the stage with an equal amount of passion and determination.

After the thunderous applause and the dancers took their final bow, she waited in the shadows, peeking out at the audience who were waiting for the encore stage.

For years, dancing was all she could picture herself doing. Moving her body according to the flow and rhythm of the music, feeling and responding to the emotions in each melody. It was like becoming a different person, a conduit of sorts, whenever she stepped onto stage. It was strange to think that this would be her last official performance as a senior.

As a performer, she was taught to never focus on the stares of the audience. Some dancers had stage fright, and it only made things worse when they allowed the pressure of everyone’s expectant gazes to get to them. Hence, Irene had a spot along the lighting deck where she focused her concentration on. To the audience, she was giving sufficient eye contact; to Irene, she was able to breathe and exist, submerged in the emotions and music she was expressing. 

This time, however, she found it hard to look away from one particular member of the audience. Even on stage, Irene’s eyes kept finding hers. Somehow, seeing the younger girl had a gravitational pull that made her feel grounded and safe, such that she didn’t need to look anywhere else.

“So, Irene-unnie, normally I wouldn’t interfere with other people’s business,” Irene jerked slightly at Seulgi’s voice in her ear. The brunette was already changed into her encore stage costume. It was her moment to take the stage as the dance president. From the way the brunette was smirking, she knew that Seulgi knew exactly who she was scanning the audience for. “Especially when said business concerns my ex-girlfriend.”

Seulgi didn’t falter at the label, Irene noted. Her words were honest. That was what they were now, she supposed. There was no need to avoid the truth. Seulgi’s gaze flicked to where hers had been for a second, before her eyes softened.

“But, ever since said ex-girlfriend and I decided to be friends, I would say that this changes things.” Irene felt the edge of her lips quirk up.

“As you know, Seungwan means the world to me. I would do almost anything to protect her.

Thus, as Seungwan’s best friend, I need to ask, do you have feelings for her?” If it were anyone else, Irene would probably have slapped them for their gall. However, it was Seulgi; someone who knew her as a person.

Irene also knew exactly how important Seungwan and her were to one another. Despite everything that happened over the last few months, if there was anything that she was sure about, it was Seungwan and Seulgi’s friendship.

A shadow crossed over the senior’s face, something Seulgi didn’t know how to interpret. However, she waited patiently for Irene to reply.

“I don’t know yet.” She answered honestly.

“Okay.” Seulgi accepted that answer. “It probably means nothing coming from me, but I support you both.”

Irene looked away.

“Unnie, I know you’ve not really spoken to her since...” Seulgi trailed off. “Well, I thought you should know, Wannie might be leaving.”

The senior’s head snapped up as if Seulgi had cracked a whip.

“What?” She repeated. Seungwan wasn’t a senior yet. How could she be leaving?

“Is she graduating early?”

Seulgi winced at Irene’s slightly raised tone. The glitter on her skin shimmering at the movement. “Uh... right, so there’s this university... It’s in the city, and they’re offering Wannie early admission.”

“Early admission would still be for the next academic year.” Irene pointed out.

“Okay, I don’t know the details because Wannie hasn’t decided yet. I just thought you should know, in case... you know.”

“In case what?” She folded her arms.

“Ah, unnie, you’re making this difficult.” Seulgi complained with a whine. “I’m just telling you because you’re not talking to her.”

“And why would I need to know this?” She asked, feigning disinterest.

The other girl pouted. “I thought you would want to know.”

“Yah, Kang Seulgi, you brought this up, not me.”

She raised her arms in surrender. “Okay. Just think about it, alright? You’ve danced around one another long enough.”

Irene took a deep breath and nodded to the side where she saw a staff member gesturing towards them. “They’re calling you for the encore.” 

Seulgi looked like she was about to sigh until she caught the small smile on Irene’s face as she walked past her.

It made the younger girl pause long enough for Irene to whisper “good luck” to her as they passed one another.

“You too.” Seulgi winked cheekily. Irene felt the flush on her face grow at the knowing smirk on her friend’s face. She definitely regretted becoming Kang Seulgi’s friend.

Her grin lasted for a second longer.

Then, Irene watched as she straightened her shoulders and walked out into the spotlight, accepting the applause she had earned.

~~

Familiar faces were already waiting for her at the backstage entrance when she was finally finished with her debrief and celebratory photo-taking.

She normally felt like going home to sleep after the adrenaline left her system for the day, but seeing her friends always somehow gave her the energy to muster up a warm smile. As the two girls approached her, she noticed another brunette who was keeping her distance. She gave Seungwan as friendly a smile as she could manage, before Yeri and Sooyoung started speaking and her attention was lost.

She accepted the flowers from Sooyoung and a warm hug from Yeri gratefully. However, Yeri’s whispered comment about Irene’s real present being a certain short haired brunette earned her a light slap on the arm. She would blame her exhaustion from the day setting in because Irene found her eyes drifting to the side, latching on to the said brunette who was currently wrapped up in a hug with Seulgi.

She couldn’t hear the words exchanged between them but she could feel the warmth all the way from where she was standing. The taller girl’s smile never left her eyes and from her limited view of Seungwan, the other girl’s beam matched Seulgi’s. 

Irene found her mind wandering to an alternate universe where Seungwan’s smiles and hugs were reserved for her, but she was pulled rudely from her lapse in concentration by a bouquet of roses in her direction.

Yeri and Sooyoung were abruptly separated from her and replaced by an unfamiliar face.

Instantly, she felt her shutters close and her guard rise.

“Yes?” She asked coldly.

“Irene-ssi, I asked the florist for the most expensive bouquet, but they still pale in comparison to your beauty. These flowers represent but a fraction of my feelings for you. However, please accept them as a token of my affection.”

Irene wanted to roll her eyes. She almost did. Instead, she just crossed her arms, preventing the flowers from being pushed into her arms.

She should have expected something like this to happen sooner or later. Getting confessions had been the norm until people found out she was seeing someone. Now that the news had broken to the rest of the student body about her renewed single status, she shouldn’t be surpris