Plopping into an empty seat on the bus, Sooyoung lets out a soft, tired sigh as she melts into the uncomfortable upholstery, utterly exhausted.

She’s granted about five seconds of peace before her phone pings, and she fishes it out to find a message from Seungwan, coupled with a few other messages from her mother and friends throughout the day, all of which had been left unanswered in favour of work.

 

How was your first day of work?

 

Stifling a yawn, Sooyoung types back a response, hitting ‘send’ before she sets about to replying to her other messages.

 

tiring, but good! my feet hurt, I forgot how much I’d be standing at work

 

It takes Seungwan a few minutes to reply.

Heh. Welcome to my world. By the way, can I drop by yours later tonight or tomorrow after work? I have something to tell you.

 

At the mere thought of Seungwan stepping into her less-than-fashionable and barely functioning abode, Sooyoung blanches.

It’s a far cry from fanciful, and after having seen the quiet, regal dignity of both Seungwan’s childhood home and current apartment, there’s definitely no way that she’ll be able to invite Seungwan into her home in good conscience. Being unemployed and in desperate need of money had been a bad enough impression—even if Seungwan didn’t think so— and Sooyoung’s not about to tarnish her already admittedly shoddy image any further.

 

I’ll drop by your apartment in a bit instead!

 

Thankfully, Seungwan readily agrees with a simple, short acknowledgement, and Sooyoung breathes out a small sigh of relief.

Then, her stomach grumbles unhappily, and Sooyoung glances at her watch. It’s eight in the evening, and she hasn’t eaten since the morning, all on top of being sweaty and grimy.

Thankfully, there seems to still be enough time to grab a quick bite and a shower at home, and Sooyoung’s never been as glad for it, knowing that she doesn’t actually have to turn up to Seungwan’s smelling of sweat and on an empty stomach.

Letting out a tired sigh, she hauls herself out of her seat reluctantly, just as the bus screeches to a stop outside of her designated bus stop.

 

Arriving before Seungwan’s door, Sooyoung knocks quickly, wearing an old shirt and shorts, her hair still damp from her shower, complete with a roll of kimbap wrapped in aluminium foil, sitting in a plastic bag.

There’s rustling on the other end of the door before it opens a few seconds later to reveal Seungwan, dressed rather similarly, with Mittens by her feet.

Seungwan brightens almost immediately. “Hey, you’re—” Then, she cuts herself off abruptly as she eyes the plastic bag in Sooyoung’s hand, voice laced with concern. “Is that your dinner?” Sooyoung gives a small nod as Seungwan ushers her into the apartment.

“Are you sure that’s enough for you?”

“Probably not. I just got off work, so I didn’t have much time to get dinner.” Sooyoung shrugs, and Seungwan’s eyebrows furrow with worry.

“You should’ve told me! I thought you were done with work a few hours ago. There’s not much in my fridge, so I’m afraid I can only offer you instant noodles.”

“It’s fine, I’ll eat a little more at home afterwards!”

“No, no, I insist.” Seungwan steers her towards the couch, firmly sitting her down. “Now, eat your dinner and I’ll go cook. We can talk later.”

 

With that, Seungwan leaves to bustle about in the kitchen, leaving Sooyoung at the dining table with her dinner and Mittens lounging beside her, who occasionally attempts to steal bits of tuna from her.

It doesn’t take long for Seungwan to emerge from the kitchen, holding a pot of steaming pot of instant noodles that she sets down on the dining table.

“Thank you,” Sooyoung says, her words mumbled around her mouthful of food, and Seungwan gives a faint snort of amusement as she pulls out a chair opposite Sooyoung.

“You’re welcome.” She settles into the seat, watching the younger woman inhale the rest of her dinner.

“Did you eat lunch?” Seungwan raises an eyebrow, and Sooyoung shakes her head, prompting a soft sigh from the older woman.

“It was busy, and I didn’t feel like eating.” Sooyoung explains.

“That’s fair.” Seungwan hums. “Still, you should slow down, you’ll get indigestion.”

“Fine, fine.” Sooyoung pouts a little. “You said you had something to tell me?” She prompts as she brings the pot of noodles a little closer, dipping her chopsticks in.

“Yeah, about that.” Seungwan clears , glancing down on the table. “Well, it’s just… There’s this big event my parents are hosting, and…” The doctor gestures vaguely, lips thinned into a frown.

“I need you to go with me. As my plus-one, because I’ll have to be there, and my parents expect you to be there as well.”

Sooyoung hums in acknowledgement. “How big of an event are we talking?”

Seungwan looks a little nervous now, and she’s biting on her lip as she meets Sooyoung’s eyes, grimacing faintly. “The kind where its being held at a five-star hotel and my parents are sponsoring us money to go get a nice enough set of clothes for the occasion.”

Her words are met with stunned silence as Sooyoung freezes, staring at Seungwan with a mix of incredulity and shock.

“It’s with a whole bunch of other big companies in the industry, so… y’know. There’s a dress code and everything.”

“I don’t suppose I can say no?”

Seungwan gives her a sympathetic look. “I’m afraid not.”

She chews on her lip, and a brief silence envelopes the two women. “If you don’t want to, I completely understand. It’s not included in what I asked of you when we first agreed to this whole thing, and that’s not fair to you. I’ll let my parents know you’re busy, and I can come up with an excu—”

Sooyoung waves her concerns away with a hand. “I’ll do it.”

Seungwan blinks. “What?”

“I’ll do it. I agreed to help you, I might as well keep my promise.”

“Well, to be fair, the initial promise was just for that one night.”

“Two sides of the same coin.” Sooyoung shrugs as she chews her food, but Seungwan merely stares back at her in confusion. “Quick question—do I get to keep the dress?”

“Of course.”

“Okay, I’m in.” 

---

“I don’t think I’ve been to a place as fancy as this.” Sooyoung comments as she trails behind Seungwan in a high-end boutique store, idly eyeing the various dresses and clothing in all their variants of colour.

“Well, there’s always a first for everything.” Seungwan hums, sifting through a couple of suits. “Have you seen any that’s caught your eye?”

“Not for the occasion, no. Have you?”

“Nope.” Seungwan lets out a tired sigh, adjusting her shoulder bag. “I can’t believe I’m using my day off for this.”

“I take it that you’re not a fan of these events?” Sooyoung quickens her pace until they’re side by side, as Seungwan picks out a sleek black dress, briefly comparing it against Sooyoung before giving a small shake of her head and placing it back on its rack.

“They were okay until every other associate of my parents’ wanted to set me up on a blind date with their children.” Seungwan rolls her eyes. “It started when I was eighteen, and my parents had a tendency to arrange these events around the school terms when I was in university.”

“So… you had to attend them anyway because you were back in Korea for the holidays.” Sooyoung guesses, and Seungwan’s wry smile confirms her answer.

“I guess my job’s to ward off any unwanted suitors, then.” She grins.

“You’re there as my girlfriend, not my bodyguard.” Seungwan laughs.

Upon her unsuccessful search for their outfits, Seungwan leads them out of the store with a quiet ‘thank you’ to the staff, pushing open the glass door.

They make their way along the walkway of the shopping mall, which is oddly devoid of people.

“You’d think there would be more people in here.” Sooyoung remarks, somewhat offhandedly, and Seungwan hums in agreement.

“It’s a weekday afternoon, so I’m not too surprised. Besides, it’s not that crowded on weekends as well, since most of these stores are…”

She trails off uncertainly, nose scrunching as she searches for an apt term.

“Too expensive for the average human?” Sooyoung suggests, and there’s an embarrassed chuckle from the older woman.

“Well, I was trying to find a nicer way of phrasing it, but that’s one way to put it.”

“Sometimes bluntness is a useful tool.” Sooyoung winks.

“Quite right—Ooh!” There’s an excited squeal from Seungwan, and before Sooyoung can process it, she finds herself being abruptly tugged in the direction of one of the stores by Seungwan.

It seems that a certain off-the-shoulder jumpsuit has caught the doctor’s attention, who now stands in front of the store’s display window, eyeing the mannequin.

 

“Is this considered a formal outfit?” Sooyoung asks dubiously, turning to look at Seungwan, whose gaze hasn’t left the mannequin.

“Not really, but it’s formal enough.” She turns to give Sooyoung a conspiratorial grin. “Besides, bending the rules sometimes is a little fun.”

“Ooh, rebellious.” Sooyoung wiggles her eyebrows teasingly, and Seungwan huffs.

“Hey, I can be a little fun sometimes.”

Sooyoung merely responds by sticking her tongue out at the doctor, who returns the gesture with an unamused eyeroll.

With that, Seungwan heads into the store, with Sooyoung following close behind. Predictably, the doctor makes a beeline for the jumpsuit that’d initially caught her eye, and Sooyoung finds herself drifting away in search of her own outfit.

 

Nothing in particular catches her eye—most are either too garish, too dull, or just too expensive. She’s well aware that Seungwan’s parents are footing the bill, and the guilt that comes with this knowledge remains at the back of Sooyoung’s mind.

An insistent, probing voice to keep her spending to a minimum.

After all, they’re not really dating, and she’s already been granted more than her fair share of kindness and warmth from Seungwan’s parents.

Then, a pair of familiar footsteps announces Seungwan’s presence, and Sooyoung looks up in time to spot the older woman approaching her, with her chosen outfit in hand.

“Hey, I’m going to try this on. Can you look at it and tell me if it’s okay?”

“Sure!”

 

It takes a while for Seungwan to reappear from behind the fitting room doors.

There’s a soft click as the lock turns, and Sooyoung glances up from her phone.

 

The sight before her has Sooyoung frozen, eyes widened.

 

The realization hits her in full force then— Seungwan’s beautiful.

 

Of course, she’s always been rather attractive— but up till now, Sooyoung’s only ever seen her in her post-work appearance. Which, more often than not, consists of a dishevelled and bone-tired Seungwan, who looks just about ready to collapse into her bed at any given moment.

So, when she’s presented with Seungwan in a flashy, formal attire, void of the burdens of her work, it doesn’t take a genius to know that Seungwan’s definitely more than a little attractive.

Despite the striking blonde of her hair, the outfit suits her perfectly, with the off-the-shoulder design highlighting her collarbones and shoulders in the pale light, before dipping down in a steep v-line.

“I mean, it’s a little long, but I guess it’s nothing a pair of heels and some altering can’t do.” Seungwan smoothens out the legs of her outfit before looking up to meet Sooyoung’s gaze.

“So, what do you think? Is it okay?” She glances down at herself again. “I thought it was pretty good, but I don’t know, I always feel like my outfit choices for these events are a little dubious.”

 

There’s a brief moment of silence as Sooyoung continues to take Seungwan in.

 

Then, “Are you ing kidding me? You look amazing.”

“Well, that’s a tad aggressive, but thank you.” She chuckles nervously. “Are you sure it’s okay?”

“You’re too humble, Seungwan. Please, you look gorgeous.”

“Alright.” Seungwan finally relents with a smile. “Let me know if you find anything.”

 

They wind up leaving the store with both of their chosen outfits—Sooyoung manages to find a long, elegant black dress amongst the chaos of the others.

The brief trip to the fitting room earns her Seungwan’s fervent stamp of approval— it’s decidedly much simpler than what she usually has in her own wardrobe, but with events like these, it’s always wise to play it a little safer.

After all, any attention on her will inevitably turn to scrutinise Seungwan, and the least Sooyoung can do for the doctor is to leave a good and lasting impression.

 

---

 

Things are falling and clattering on her table as Sooyoung hurriedly touches up her makeup, swearing softly under her breath.

Then, her phone pings. She glances down at the screen, where a message from Seungwan awaits.

 

I’m picking you up in five!

 

Typing back an acknowledgement, Sooyoung takes another closer look at herself, squinting into the mirror for a good half a minute before she finally stands up, satisfied.

Admittedly, it’s been a long while since she’s had any reason to doll up, and so, despite her nerves, she’s a little excited. After all, it’s a nice change from her regular routine. Grabbing her purse from where it lies haphazardly on her bed, Sooyoung rushes out of her room.

 

However, upon opening the doors of her apartment building, the familiar shape of Seungwan’s car is absent, leaving Sooyoung confused as  she cranes her head, searching for her friend but to no avail.

Then, there’s a message from Seungwan.

 

I’m in the black car in front of you!

 

Glancing up, Sooyoung finally spots the aforementioned car, and immediately makes a beeline for it, heels clicking on the asphalt. Opening the door, she slides in easily before slamming the door shut behind her, a greeting on the tip of her tongue.

 

It’s then that Sooyoung realizes two things.

 

One, is that Seungwan’s hair is now raven-black, instead of her usual blonde.

Two, that Seungwan’s wearing makeup.

 

With this version Seungwan before her, the image of Seungwan at the fitting room pales in comparison; now, sporting her new black hair and light makeup, Seungwan is the very picture of elegance and propriety, with an unmistakable aura of easy confidence that Sooyoung hasn’t quite seen before.

All in all, Sooyoung thinks she might be a little ed for the evening.

“Holy .”

Seungwan blinks, confusion furrowing her brows.

Almost immediately, the aura seems to burst like a bubble, and Seungwan is back to her familiar nerdy and awkward self. “What?”

Sooyoung doesn’t answer immediately, and instead opts to buckle her seatbelt first.

She turns to meet Seungwan’s eyes.

“You look really good.” She says earnestly, and Seungwan lets out an embarrassed chuckle, waving away Sooyoung’s compliment.

“Oh please, all I did was dye my hair and put on some makeup.”

Before Sooyoung can reply, a gentle voice interrupts them. “Miss Son, should we make our way now?”

“Oh yes, please! Sorry.” Seungwan offers the driver an apologetic smile, and the car engine purrs to life, moving them out of the small alley and out onto the main road.

“You have a chauffeur?” Sooyoung hisses under her breath, incredulous, and Seungwan hushes her.

“No, I don’t! Not regularly, anyway. We just hire them for events.” She whispers back. “My dad likes to show off, that’s all.”

“I would too, if I had a daughter that beautiful.” Sooyoung winks playfully, and Seungwan fumbles for words for a good second, before eventually shaking her head.

“Keep it in your pants, Park Sooyoung. You’ll have plenty of time to gush about me later.”

 

The journey takes a good half an hour, during which Seungwan gives Sooyoung a run-down of to-dos and not to-dos for the nth time— “No wandering away, no getting drunk, and no inappropriate jokes. Please.” Seungwan gives her a stern look for good measure, and Sooyoung concedes with a pout.

“Fine.”

 All they have to do is to be polite and recount their supposed love story, which the both of them have already more or less ingrained in their memory.

“Being rich sounds like such a chore.” Sooyoung complains as they finally slow to a stop outside of the hotel.

“Sometimes.” Seungwan agrees, a faint, amused smile dancing on her lips. There’s rustling from the driver as he hurries to open the doors, and Seungwan steps out gracefully, followed closely behind by Sooyoung. The older woman thanks the driver with a smile before they’re making their way past the double doors.

“By the way, I think Seulgi might be here. Her dad’s a pretty important figure in the industry too.”

Sooyoung hums in acknowledgement. “It’s been a while since we’ve met up, it’ll be nice to talk for a bit.”

“If you can catch her. She might be a little busy fending off suitors.” Seungwan huffs in amusement as she navigates her way to the lifts. “C’mon, this way.”

 

They wind up taking the lift a couple of floors up, and when the doors slide open, Seungwan’s taking Sooyoung by the hand and leading them towards one of the numerous ballrooms, completely unaware of Sooyoung’s momentary fluster as the younger woman glances between their intertwined hands.

It’s far from the first time that they’ve held hands, and yet Sooyoung finds a lump stuck in anyway, and she swallows nervously.

 

“You ready?” Seungwan’s looking back at her now, and Sooyoung snaps her attention back to the older woman, who’s watching her with faint concern.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Sooyoung quirks a smile that she hopes is reassuring.

It must’ve looked rather convincing, because it prompts a similar smile from Seungwan, who leads them into the ballroom proper.

 

The first thing that hits Sooyoung is the sheer number of people in the room— it’s absolutely teeming with people dressed in various shades of dark blues, greys and black, mingling about and idling.

Granted, it’s a networking event of sorts, but Sooyoung didn’t think that it would consist of this many people.

“That’s a lot of wealthy people.” She comments, and Seungwan laughs.

“Cut that number by half—I’m fairly certain most people here brought their plus-ones.”

“Does that mean there’s lesser people for me to fend off today?”

“Hopefully. Now, let’s get a drink, shall we? I’d hate to stand here for the next few hours without at least a little alcohol in me.”

Upon Sooyoung’s enthusiastic response, they make their way to the bar, squeezing past the crowd, some of whom recognise Seungwan. The doctor bids them a gracious greeting, a polite smile plastered on her lips as she moves past the throngs of people fluidly with her hand still grasping Sooyoung’s.

As they approach the counter, Seungwan spots a familiar figure clad in a neat, long-sleeved white dress, complete with a white belt buckle around her waist.

 

In an instant, Seungwan’s demeanor changes, and her pace quickens.

“Joohyun!” Seungwan squeals, a little too excitedly, and Sooyoung winces as Seungwan tugs her along, closing the distance between Seungwan and her best friend.

The woman in white startles a little at the noise, before turning her attention to the pair, already having recognised Seungwan’s voice before she’d even seen her.

“Hey,” Joohyun smiles, and her gaze flickers to Sooyoung.

“I didn’t know you two were this official.”

“Well, my parents insisted that I attend, and by extension…” She trails off, gesturing to Sooyoung.

“You look nice, Sooyoung.” Joohyun nods, and Sooyoung snorts.

“Calm down, tiger. I’m off-limits tonight.” She holds Seungwan a little closer to her, and Joohyun gives her a mock-disgusted frown.

“Please, you and I both know we’re not each other’s types.” Joohyun snorts.

“Ouch.”

“If you’re here, that means Seulgi’s here, right?” Seungwan asks, already casting her gaze around the massive ballroom, looking around for her friend.

“Wait, you two are together?” Sooyoung interrupts, confusion colouring her voice.

“No, but her dad told her to bring someone.” Joohyun frowns. “Naturally, being her flatmate, I was the first victim. We’re supposed to stick together tonight, but apparently, she wants to meet someone. We agreed to meet back here, so she’ll be back in a bit.”

Seungwan’s raises her eyebrows. “Meet someone?”

“Not what you’re thinking.” Joohyun pauses, wrinkling her nose. “At least, I hope not— none of these people here are all that attractive, or pleasant to deal with. The last thing I need is for her to bring some subpar person back home.” Joohyun takes a small sip from her champagne flute. “Being her flatmate is hard enough; her canvases are taking up too much space in the living room and I barely have space to walk anymore.”

“You guys could move out of there and find a bigger place, or you could move out.” Sooyoung suggests, just as Seungwan places a champagne flute in front of her, and she takes a sip.

The fizzling liquid slides down easily enough, and Sooyoung lets herself savour it.

After all, she’s probably never going to get to experience an event like this any time soon—unless Seungwan’s parents had another one of these to attend and pulled Seungwan along with them.

Joohyun shakes her head. “We’re both still working on saving up enough money to get a bigger apartment. Besides, I kind of like the company.” She eyes her champagne flute idly, tapping absently on the glass. “Don’t tell Seulgi that.” She adds.

“Isn’t Seulgi loaded?” Sooyoung points out.

“Her parents are.” Joohyun corrects. “You know how she is, she doesn’t want to take any of their money. Claims that she feels bad for using it.” Joohyun’s gaze flickers to somewhere behind Sooyoung, and a small smile lights her features. “Speaking of the devil.”

Sooyoung turns around, and just as Joohyun had pointed out, she spots Seulgi making a beeline for the trio, already grinning excitedly upon spotting her friends.

“Sooyoung!” The moment Seulgi is within reach, she’s pulling Sooyoung into a hug, which the younger woman returns.

“Hello to you too, I guess.” Seungwan sniffs from beside Sooyoung, and Seulgi shushes her.

“I just met you last month, stop whining. I haven’t seen Sooyoung in years.” She pulls away, and Sooyoung belatedly realizes that Seulgi’s wearing a matching white suit jacket to Joohyun’s white dress, lined with black lapels and another black vest layered beneath, as well as a pair of neatly pressed black dress pants.

“Speaking of which—how and why are you here?”

There’s a beat of silence as Seungwan and Sooyoung’s eyes lock; with Seungwan looking decidedly quite lost and panicked at the question.

She opens , but nothing quite comes out.

 

It’s in the same moment that Seulgi puts the pieces together, her gaze darting between the two women before she widens her eyes.

“Oh, you’re—”

“No! Well, yes, but also not really.” Seungwan cuts her friend off hurriedly, cheeks steadily growing redder as she struggles to piece together a coherent sentence.

Seulgi’s eyebrows furrow in confusion.

“Sooyoung’s her pretend-girlfriend.” Joohyun supplies, and Seungwan nods, evidently relieved at having been spared the need for an otherwise confusing confession.

“Pretend-girlfriend? Why would you need a pretend-girlfriend?”

“Because her parents have been bugging her about getting a partner and they keep sending her on blind dates.” Joohyun snorts.

“I told them I got a girlfriend so I didn’t have to go to them anymore, and well, one thing led to another…” Seungwan trails off, grimacing.

Seulgi gestures between the two women with a hand. “So, is this going to be an indefinite thing, or…?”

“I haven’t thought that far into the future, honestly.” Seungwan admits.

“That’s unlike you.” Seulgi points out with a raised eyebrow, silently accepting a champagne flute from Joohyun.

“I was desperate, okay? The dates were really terrible. By the way, who were you talking to before this?” Seungwan nudges her friend, and Seulgi immediately breaks out into a bright smile.

“Someone who knows an art gallery owner. She said she’d put in a good word for me and put me in contact with them. I might get to have my first exhibition if it works out.” Seulgi grins, and Seungwan doesn’t miss the proud smile lingering on Joohyun’s lips despite the older woman’s previous complaints.

“It’s high time those canvases moved out of the living room, anyway.” Joohyun says, which earns herself a poke in the shoulder from Seulgi.

“You could just say that you’re proud of me, you know.”

“You already know that I am.” Joohyun mumbles, averting her gaze, and Seulgi’s smile widens.

“The verbal confirmation is always appreciated.” She says, just as she spots someone waving her over, and the artist taps Joohyun’s shoulder to get her attention. “Come on, my dad’s looking for us.” Seulgi shoots Seungwan and Sooyoung an apologetic glance as she tugs Joohyun away from the bar, with the duo eventually disappearing amongst the crowd.

“This doesn’t seem that bad so far.” Sooyoung comments.

Seungwan snorts. “Oh, this is as good as it gets. I’m pretty sure it can only go downhill from here.”