Seulgi has never been so angry before in her life, but Seungwan was really pushing it today. 

“Why did she have to leave me?!” Seungwan wails as she pounds her chest dramatically. “Doesn’t she know how much I love her?!” Her tear stricken face and wails draw attention from those passing by. 

“Yah, Wannie, stop!” Seulgi chides as she tugs around her best friend’s waist to keep her walking. 

“How can I?” Seungwan exclaims as the other arm wrapped around Seulgi’s shoulder practically turns into a chokehold. “How could she cheat on me? I know I’m not the prettiest or the kindest or the smartest, but I thought I was good enough!” 

Seulgi feels for her best friend. Seungwan is all of those things, pretty, kind, and smart, but in a way she gets taken advantage of because of how good she is. “You’re more than enough. You’re too good for her and that’s the problem. Stop crying, my friend. Don’t waste your tears on her because she cheated on you. She’s at fault, not you.” 

Seungwan chokes up her sobs. She looks at Seulgi with misty eyes and red cheeks from all the alcohol. “You mean it, friend? Am I really pretty? Kind? Smart?”

“You’re the best, Seungwannie,” Seulgi reassures as she readjusts her weight on her shoulder. 

Seungwan sniffles and wipes away her ugly snot. She pulls herself off of Seulgi and stands on her own after a small stumble. “Yeah,” she suddenly yells with confidence. “Yeah! I’m smart, pretty, and kind! I’m more than enough!” She exclaims, startling more people. She stands tall with her arms akimbo in the middle of the sidewalk. 

Seulgi can only think in swears because she knows what happens to confident Seungwan. 

“Jennie, I’ll get you back!”

And then Seungwan takes off running. 

Seulgi chases after her in a huff, feeling queasy because of all the alcohol. One thing leads to the next. Seungwan ends up running into someone’s car? Joohyun sunbae’s car? But why was Sooyoung there? God her stomach feels warm. 

-----------------------

It’s ridiculously bright and Seulgi hates it because she doesn’t want to be awake so early after a night of drinking. Her eyes have a difficult time opening because of her contacts and it takes a few rubs before Sooyoung comes into view, sitting in a recliner across the living room staring at her with her permanent scowl. 

“You have something I want back,” Sooyoung says with severity. 

To be fair, they barely interact even though they’re in the same department. Sooyoung majors in music theory and Seulgi majors in dance. They only have a few shared electives together and the lecture is so big that they don’t necessarily have to interact. Besides, Sooyoung seems to like working alone. 

“If you’re talking about the car don’t worry!” Seulgi rolls off the couch and hits the ground with a thud. “I’ll make sure Seungwan pays Joohyun sunbae back!” 

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” Sooyoung rises from her seat with grace. Seulgi feels threatened by her presence and crawls backwards. “You have my bead.” 

“Bead?” Seulgi parrots in confusion as Sooyoung advances on her. “I don’t have it!” She waves her hands in surrender. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

Sooyoung sighs. “You swallowed it last night.” Seulgi’s eyes go wide. Then the taller woman descends on her, crouching down like a predator. Her eyes dark with what feels like desire and suddenly her hand cups Seulgi’s chin. Seulgi swallows at the proximity, too frozen with fear to move. “I want it back.” Each syllable is punctuated by the pounding in her chest.

Seulgi wracks her brain in confusion. “I mean unless you’re a gumiho, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

“I am a gumiho.” 

Sooyoung’s eyes turn red and a thick cloud rolls between them. The soft hand holding her cheek grows firm and thick with a layer of fur as it draws back. Sooyoung’s image starts to dissipate with the clouds and reveal her true elegant gumiho form with eight tails that could shroud Seulgi’s body. 

Seulgi’s eyes roll back and she faints. 

-----------------------

1. No eating chicken

2. No drinking alcohol

3. No contact with anyone born in the year of the Tiger

4. Abide by curfew

Seulgi looks at Sooyoung with wide eyes and incredulity. “You can’t police what I eat…” she tries to say firmly, despite her non confrontational personality. 

“I have to,” Sooyoung sighs with a bit of boredom. “The bead of a gumiho is susceptible to certain dangers. As the current host, you have to abide by these rules to ensure its safety until I can extract it.” 

Seulgi frowns. “But I love chimaek…” 

Sooyoung tilts her head. “Chimaek?” 

“Chicken and beer,” Seulgi explains with furrowed brows. 

“Why don’t you just say that?” 

Seulgi looks at her in confusion. “Everyone says chimaek.” 

“Not me,” Sooyoung argues flatly. And that’s only the beginning of Seulgi’s realization that Sooyoung is much much older than her. 

“What about those who are born in the year of the Tiger? How will I even know?” Seulgi asks for clarification. “We go to university, there are constantly people around me.” 

Sooyoung thinks carefully before she rolls her eyes. “There’s only one way then.” 

-----------------------

There are literal whispers as Seulgi walks the halls. She’s had attention on her before but not like this. Sooyoung is like a looming shadow as she walks beside Seulgi, looking completely out of place with her expensive refined clothes like she’s a business major. Seulgi knows they must be talking about her and Sooyoung. 

Sooyoung doesn’t seem to notice or maybe she just ignores it. She feels Seulgi’s eyes on her and returns the gaze. She raises her eyebrows in question and Seulgi feels warm at the regard and shyly averts her eyes. 

“Do you have to follow me like this?” Seulgi mutters as she opens her locker. 

“As a means to protect what’s precious to me, yes,” Sooyoung says in all seriousness. 

A girl walking by hears what she says and gasps. “Simkung!” She immediately giggles and rushes to her friends. 

Seulgi can’t stop her blush and chides the gumiho. “Y-yah...Don’t say it like that. People are going to get the wrong idea.” 

Sooyoung smirks. “So what? We know why I’m here.”

Seulgi rolls her eyes, easily feeling her cheeks stop blushing. Right, Sooyoung is 899 years old and is steadfastly serious. 

“Ah, Seulgi-yah!” An excited Sunmi appears on the opposite side. 

Seulgi waves happily to see her sunbae. “Unnie!” She greets before she feels a strong arm around her waist pulling her back. “Oof!” She slams against the firm body of Sooyoung. “Eh?” She looks back and sees Sooyoung’s serious face near hers. 

“Oh?” Sunmi stops in her tracks at the sight of the two. “Sooyoung-ssi, what’re you doing here?” 

Sooyoung’s arm tightens around Seulgi’s waist, pulling her in closely. “I’m walking Seulgi to class.”  

Sunmi tilts her head with interest. “I didn’t know you were close,” she looks to Seulgi for confirmation. 

“We--” 

Seulgi is interrupted when she suddenly feels Sooyoung’s cheek against hers. “Our circumstances brought us together,” Sooyoung coolly responds. There's a bit of possession laced in her voice that makes Seulgi shiver.

There’s a vague crestfallen look on Sunmi’s face. “Oh.” She continues to look at Seulgi with an earnest look on her face. “You said you were too busy to date.” 

Seulgi’s eyes widen and she grabs Sooyoung’s strong arm to pull it off of her. “I mean, it’s not like that,” she quickly denies. “I am still busy to date. I just--Sooyoung and I have a...a...a project together! That’s right! We are working on something together. I needed her musical expertise for a piece I’m working on.” 

“Oh is that so?” Sunmi brightens considerably. Sooyoung scoffs in response and crosses her arms. “I’m glad.” She says softly.

“Hmm?” Seulgi barely catches what her sunbae says. “Did you say something?”

Sunmi waves her hands quickly. “No, no! I just wanted to check on you because I haven’t seen you in awhile.” 

Seulgi smiles at the sweet gesture. “I saw you a few days ago, sunbae. We have dance practice together.” 

Sunmi shyly rubs the back of her neck. “That’s right. Are you coming to practice tonight?” 

“Of course! I’ll see you there!” Seulgi can’t wait for practice. It’ll give her peace of mind to not think about how she now has a gumiho following her. 

“Seulgi,” Sooyoung cuts their conversation. Her hand slips around Seulgi’s wrist. “It’s time for class.” 

-----------------------

Sooyoung doesn’t leave her side. And while Seulgi isn’t a big fan of losing some independence, there’s something about the gumiho’s presence that makes her feel protected at all times. 

-----------------------

Seulgi is distracted by the latest choreography that her instructor wants them to analyze. So she has it playing on her phone with her headphones as she’s leaving class. As she walks downstairs to go to her next class, she gets wrapped up in her own little world, not realizing how busy it was around her. 

The next thing she feels is weightlessness as she misses a step. And as her phone goes flying in the air and she practically dives for it, she feels a tight grip around her waist pulling her back. 

“Uhmf!” She grunts into the strong body of the gumiho. She’s completely wrapped up in Sooyoung’s presence and feels the fabric of her expensive peacoat around her. 

Sooyoung sighs in clear agitation that has Seulgi pulling back. “Can you be careful?” she scolds quietly with a frown on her face. “I can’t let you get hurt.” 

A boy walks by slack jawed and mutters, “So cool…” before he trips up the stairs. 

Seulgi feels her cheeks warm. “I was watching---oh no my handphone!” She cries out as she pulls away from Sooyoung and rushes down the staircase to where her phone has fallen. Her screen is shattered and it won’t seem to turn on. It’s highly unlikely considering it flew a whole flight down. 

Seulgi is about to have a mental breakdown when Sooyoung appears beside her. 

“I’ll take care of it,” she says, inspecting the broken phone in Seulgi's hands.

Seulgi looks at Sooyoung with wide eyes. She glances around them. Her voice hushed, she asks, “Are you going to use magic?” 

Sooyoung suppresses a laugh, which surprises Seulgi. She smiles though as she returns with a hushed voice. “I have money.” 

Seulgi doesn’t know if she blushes at her little mistake or because of how close Sooyoung is. 

-----------------------

It turns out being 899 years old means that a gumiho can’t cook. 

“How come you never learned?” 

Sooyoung watches the way Seulgi chops her vegetable, occasionally wincing when she cuts a huge chunk without finesse. “I don’t particularly get hungry for mortal foods. Other than tobacco and alcohol, there’s nothing about mortal food that passes the time.” 

Seulgi wrinkles her nose at the reminder. “You should stop smoking. It’s bad for you.” 

“I can stop it whenever I want,” Sooyoung says confidently.

Seulgi laughs. “When did you start smoking exactly?”

“When tobacco was first imported into Korea, so in 1592?” 

Seulgi hums. “Then I want you to stop smoking.”

“Eh?” 

“Yeah, stop smoking because it’s bad for me because of secondhand smoke, just so you know.” Seulgi shoots the gumiho a cheeky smile. “You said you can do it whenever you want right? And you have to think of the bead.” 

There’s a fiery look on the gumiho’s face. Something about it that makes Seulgi shake inside because she likes it when Sooyoung emotes. There is so much more to the legendary fox than she realizes of herself. 

The knife comes down on Seulgi’s hand and she feels a sharp pain. She hisses as she drops the knife with a clatter and feels a sting growing. 

She pulls her hand away to see the blood pouring from the gash she’s just made into her hand. 

Sooyoung is at her side immediately and takes Seulgi’s hand in hers carefully. “You--seriously...need to pay attention to important things.” She guides Seulgi with a hand at her back towards the sink. Sooyoung doesn’t let go of Seulgi’s hand as she runs her bloody finger underneath the water.

Seulgi barely pays attention because she’s too busy staring at the gumiho. For a creature of utmost disinterest in the world over the years, the look on Sooyoung’s face obviously says differently. The way her eyes stare with focus and she bites her lip with worry and her tender touch around Seulgi. 

Her heart melts. The sensation is so startling inside of Seulgi. 

When the blood is gone, Sooyoung looks at the cut carefully before she covers Seulgi’s hand with hers. A warmth spreads from the gash and tingles all over her body, sending the melting sensation that she feels inside of her heart into overdrive. 

There’s a satisfied smile on Sooyoung’s face that Seulgi hasn’t seen before.

“There you go,” Sooyoung says with an unexpected sweetness, “all better now.” 

Seulgi blushes and feels her heart thump harder in her chest.

-----------------------

They’re walking home together. Sooyoung listens as Seulgi rants about one of her papers and tries to offer some solution when they stop a light. Beside them a grandma with a food cart rolls by, distracting Seulgi. 

She realizes while Sooyoung is going in depth about some dance theory that it’s the smell of chicken. Ugh, how she misses chicken. 

Seulgi has a feeling she’s going to buy a stick just because she’s already so hungry. 

Instead of making a fuss, Seulgi decides to step around Sooyoung. Without thinking, Seulgi steps in front of Sooyoung off the sidewalk and jumps at the sudden honk. In a blur, Seulgi is yanked up and her face gets buried in Sooyoung’s peacoat once again. 

She feels the way Sooyoung holds her tightly in a hug, hand behind her head and hand pressed against her lower back. Seulgi feels her heart racing inside of her. 

“I’m sorry,” Seulgi mumbles against Sooyoung as she remains still. “I wanted to get away from the chicken.” 

There’s an audible and physical sigh from Sooyoung. “I know,” she simply responds. “You didn’t need to do that though. The smell doesn’t bother me at all, it’ll only bother me if you eat it.” 

“I’m really hungry,” Seulgi adds as an explanation. 

Sooyoung shakes her head with a small chuckle. “Okay, let’s stop and get you some food.”

“Really?!” Seulgi looks up at Sooyoung with wide hopeful eyes. 

The smile at the corner of Sooyoung’s lips seems to grow and Seulgi thinks it’s beautiful. The gumiho nods. “We are still a ways from home and if you’re that hungry by smell alone, we can stop. I’m in no rush today.” 

Seulgi doesn’t think as she hugs Sooyoung back tightly. “Thank you!” 

“Oh--” Sooyoung lets out a surprised sound because she doesn’t seem to realize she’s been holding onto Seulgi like that. 

Seulgi realizes it really quickly as well before she pulls back awkwardly to give them some space. She shyly mumbles an apology, to which Sooyoung stiffly nods. And they go about their way to get dinner before going home. 

-----------------------

It’s not often that she goes to bars but while Seungwan has been strangely MIA, the dance team has been inviting her out more as practices become more frequent. Seulgi has often declined going in lieu of practicing on her own or going to her part time job or studying hard. However, she has no work tonight and she’s already ahead of her school work, plus Sunmi has asked her personally to go. 

She hasn’t been able to hang out with her favorite sunbae in a long time. 

Seulgi feels like she hasn’t drank in awhile and so she sneaks a couple of drinks. She thinks one or two can be her limit just to let loose after such long weeks recently. She deserves it. And she’s been extra careful with Sunmi sunbae giving them a pleasant friendly distance between them to chat and drink. 

However, Seulgi doesn’t know if it’s the onslaught of other sunbae handing her drinks or when Sunmi gets close, but she doesn’t feel well. The alcohol hits her harder than it usually does and she feels intensely weak. 

Seulgi thinks it doesn’t make sense because she’s only had four drinks---she thinks---and she can usually drink way more. Her head feels hazy and her body really feels weak. She slumps back in the seat as the party continues to go on. She can hear Sunmi talking to her. Something about how the sunbae misses her because she’s been so busy and how much she likes Seulgi. 

Seulgi tries to smile and forge through the weakness towards a second wind. She tells Sunmi that she likes her sunbae too and that it’s nice to be around her. 

Then she isn’t sure, but she knows Sunmi’s side is against hers and she feels a warm hand at her neck. Seulgi weakly tries to pull away from Sunmi, but it’s like she can’t hold anything as her entire body slackens. Sunmi leans in and Seulgi can feel softness against her lips and maybe her cheeks or neck or lower? 

Seulgi sinks further into the couch as a means to get away from the weird haze that being around Sunmi has on her, but she can’t fight it. And it starts to terrify her because Sunmi doesn’t stop. Seulgi doesn’t want it, but she doesn’t know why she can’t fight it. She doesn’t know why Sunmi doesn’t stop either because she’s sure she’s telling her to stop.

Help. 

Is the last thought she has before she hears Sooyoung’s angry voice yelling at Sunmi.

-----------------------

Seulgi thinks she’s dreaming when she hears her name being called. In nothing but darkness, Seulgi opens her eyes to the sound of her name being called. 

“Seulgi-ssi...Seulgi-ssi…” 

Seulgi slowly opens her eyes to a soft natural light. She looks around in alarm because she can’t move her body. “Where--” Her eyes fall on Sooyoung. 

Sooyoung looks at her with such tender eyes and Seulgi feels her heart thump inside of her chest. “Good, you’re awake,” she expresses with such relief. Her entire body echoes the sentiment, breathing out the tension she must’ve been holding. 

Seulgi looks at her in confusion. “How did I get here?” she asks, feeling the weakness spread across her body as she becomes fully conscious. She tries to move her hand when she feels a weight that’s not her own, looking at it, she sees Sooyoung holding her hand tightly. 

Sooyoung’s scowl is back instantly. “I told you to stay away from people born in the year of the Tiger,” she scolds. “Why didn’t you listen to me?” 

“I didn’t think--”

“That’s right, you didn’t think,” Sooyoung interrupts. “You’re lucky I can tell when the bead is threatened because otherwise it could’ve been a lot worse.” 

“I was with Sunmi sunbae and she’s safe, she--” 

Sooyoung lets go of Seulgi’s hand. Seulgi is surprised she even notices but it’s in the way the warmth immediately disappears. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.” She scoffs. Her eyes are furious as she looks at Seulgi. “You think she’s safe after that? If I didn’t hear you calling for help, do you think she would’ve stopped? How could you defend her when she put you in this position?” 

Seulgi screws up her eyes in confusion. “How could you say that? You’re the one that put me in this situation,” she retorts back without thinking. 

Sooyoung opens but immediately shuts it. Her eyes grow dark and her jaw clenches. She stands up from the side of the bed and stares angrily at Seulgi. Without another word, she leaves the room, shutting it with a loud slam. 

Seulgi thinks it’s the end of that when she gets a phone call from Seungwan. 

“Seungwannie,” she greets, still exhausted from what transpired hours before. 

“Are you okay? Sooyoung called me and she was so worried.” 

Seulgi rolls her eyes. She must be more worried about the bead. “She found me. I’m home now.” 

Seungwan makes a strange noise. “Eh? You don’t remember anything?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Sooyoung called me to help find you and I mentioned that you sent me a text when I was working that you’d be at the bar. She wasn’t happy but she told me to go with her. We found Sunmi sunbae all over you. Sooyoung slapped Sunmi so hard she passed out.” 

“You shouldn’t have let her do that." Seulgi frowns. She feels tired thinking about how she has to apologize for Sooyoung now. And she hasn’t gotten over how she made Sunmi sound like some kind of a villain.

Seungwan lets out a loud sigh that catches her attention. After a moment, she finally says, “Seul, you were drugged.” 

“What?!” Seulgi sits up in bed in alarm. 

“I thought it was sketchy that you were that wasted,” Seungwan says. “While Sooyoung took you home, I asked around and someone said they saw Sunmi slip something into your drink.” She sighs again in disappointment. “I’m really sorry, Seul. I didn’t think Sunmi sunbae would do that kind of thing. And I know Sooyoung has been on your case about the whole bead thing, but she was really worried about you. I don’t want you to think she’d hurt Sunmi just to be mean.” 

It doesn’t take long for Seulgi to drag herself out of bed, although it takes her some time because she’s still feeling pretty weak. Then again, Sooyoung must’ve worked some magic to take the edge off because she feels better with each second.

Sooyoung is in the conservatory staring outside as she holds her old fashioned tobacco pipe. It isn’t lit but her hand holds it out of reflex from centuries of smoking. 

Seulgi feels guilty as she stares at Sooyoung’s back. There must be a lot of thoughts going through her mind for her to pull out the pipe because Sooyoung has been really good about not smoking. Just for her. She’s been doing a lot of things for Seulgi lately and Seulgi knows she shouldn’t have snapped at her.

Especially after talking to Seungwan. Seulgi had just been protective over Sunmi, who she's known since she was a first year. It was unthinkable that Sunmi would ever take advantage of Seulgi after how long they've been close. It breaks her heart to think Sunmi would do something like that to her and she still has to have a conversation with her sunbae, but right now, she knows she should apologize to Sooyoung. 

“I know how to get the bead out,” Sooyoung says without turning around. 

Seulgi freezes and takes a second to let the words sink in. “What?” she utters. 

Sooyoung clasps the pipe behind her back as she continues to stare outside. “I know how to get the bead out,” she repeats. 

“How?” Seulgi doesn’t know what this means or what’s going on. “When did you find out?”

Sooyoung finally turns around. “I’ve always known,” she responds. “There’s only ever one way to extract a bead from a human.” 

Seulgi feels something in her heart twist. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” 

Sooyoung looks like she wants to say something but hesitates. She places the pipe down on the small table before walking towards Seulgi. “Does it matter now?” She stops before Seulgi, the impassive look on her face is back. “You want to be rid of it don’t you?” 

Seulgi looks at Sooyoung, trying to understand what’s going on in her head. “I do, but I mean--” 

“Then I’ll take it out.” Sooyoung interrupts. “It won’t hurt.” 

It’s unsettling how easy Sooyoung makes it seem. Seulgi feels everything in her body telling her to stop this because something is missing. She’s been around Sooyoung long enough to know when the gumiho is hiding something from her. It doesn’t feel right. Nothing about this feels right. 

“What’s the catch?” Seulgi asks in reaction. “There has to be a catch right?” 

Sooyoung stares at Seulgi for a moment. It’s obvious that she hesitates. But she lies, “There’s no catch.” 

Seulgi frowns and steps back from Sooyoung. “You’re lying to me.” Her instinct growing strong because Sooyoung has clearly been keeping this a secret for a reason. “Tell me what the catch is.” 

“There’s no catch,” Sooyoung averts her eyes and says it like she’s bored. “You want it out of you. So I’ll take it out.”

“If you knew this whole time, why would you wait until now? Why didn’t you do it when I first swallowed it?” 

Sooyoung stares blankly at Seulgi. “It doesn’t matter anymore. All of this, what happened between us, will be nothing but a dream you can wake up from. You’ll have your life back.”

Sooyoung steps close to Seulgi again and cups her cheek. The warmth that Seulgi’s gotten used to spreads through her body. 

Seulgi hates how this makes her feel. She wants her life back. That’s all she’s ever wanted in the last few months. But her instincts are telling her to stop this from happening. She wants to give Sooyoung the benefit of the doubt. 

Sooyoung leans in until their lips are close. “Goodbye, Seulgi.” 

She sounds so sad. Why is she so sad? 

Seulgi pushes Sooyoung back, surprising the gumiho. “Don’t. We can’t do this. I won’t let you do this until you tell me the truth. Why are you doing this now? What’s the catch?” 

Sooyoung sighs in resignation. “I was being selfish, Seulgi. I like having you around. There’s something about you that makes the time pass differently. You make me feel like I’m living life as opposed to letting time pass by. You make me think that maybe there is a lot more good in the world than I think there is. You give me hope that being human won’t be so bad.” There’s a wry smile on her face. “I can tell you this now because when I take the bead out, you won’t remember this. Any vestige of me in your memory and everyone around you won’t remember a thing. You’ll forget all about me.” 

Seulgi feels her heart wrench inside of her. “But...I don’t want to forget about you. Why would you think that it’s okay for me to forget about you?” 

“You’ll have your life back,” Sooyoung reminds with a small smile on her face. It looks bittersweet as if she’s really saying goodbye. “You can even eat all the chicken you want.” 

“I don’t---you can’t--” Seulgi feels her heart breaking and she doesn’t even know why. “I can’t do this.” She thinks about the fact that she won’t remember Sooyoung. Sure she can have her life back but without Sooyoung? She doesn’t know why it hurts so much. “I don’t want to forget you.” 

“It’s okay,” Sooyoung reassures as she steps towards Seulgi again. “It’ll be okay.” 

Seulgi throws herself into Sooyoung’s arms before the gumiho can grab her. “No!” she exclaims. She buries her face into Sooyoung’s sweater. “No! I don’t want to forget you. I don’t want to forget about us.” She wraps her arms around Sooyoung’s body to hold her close. “There has to be another way. Please, Sooyoung, I won’t do this if it means forgetting about you. You’re part of my life now. You matter so much to me, I can’t just forget about it.” 

“It’s okay,” Sooyoung continues to reassure as she rubs Seulgi’s back to comfort her. “There will be many others.” 

“No!” Seulgi insists as she holds onto Sooyoung. “They’re not you. Stop it. Being human isn’t about letting life pass you by. Being human isn’t about being forgotten. Being human isn’t about being replaceable.” She cries into Sooyoung’s shoulder. “Being human is being one of billions but still being important to someone. You’re important to me, Sooyoung. You’re too important to me that I can’t---I won’t forget you because it would hurt too much.” 

Sooyoung pulls her away and Seulgi fights against it for as long as she can. 

“Please, please don’t do this---” Seulgi begs as the tears flow freely. 

Sooyoung cups Seulgi’s cheek to guide their eyes to meet. “You’re special, Kang Seulgi.” She says sadly. She looks so sad. “There are a billion people in the universe but you are special to me.” 

“Don’t say goodbye, Sooyoung.” Seulgi cries softly. “There has to be another way.” 

Sooyoung sighs and hugs Seulgi. 

“Please find another way.” Seulgi begs, sinking against Sooyoung. Her arms find their way around the gumiho again. “Please. I don’t want to lose you.” 

Sooyoung stills for what feels like forever. Until she finally kisses the top of Seulgi’s head and nods. “Okay,” she whispers. “I’ll find another way.” 

Seulgi cries happily against Sooyoung and holds her tightly.