Seungwan has no idea how it started. 

She can’t stomach being near such a spoiled, starchy, class-A rich walking over her life decisions like it’s hers to make. She can’t stand Bae Joohyun. 

I’d rather drown in the deepest seas than be here, Seungwan thinks. Who cares if she’s ing hot?

It’s the third time this month. It’s happened many times before, and she hadn’t an idea why it’s happening again. Nevermind that they were absolute strangers. It didn’t matter to Joohyun that they were nowhere near acquaintances. 

Because she is an arrogant little prick. 

“We can’t be pretending to hang out without actually hanging out, Son,” Joohyun squints, leveling Seungwan with strict assessment. 

Seungwan scoffs. She can’t believe her ears. Here she is, held captive against her will, yet this woman has the audacity to police her actions. 

“Maybe because we aren’t hanging out,” Seungwan indignantly spats. She mirrors Joohyun’s eyes, fierce in determination, ready to retaliate. 

“Son Seungwan,” Joohyun leans. “You will talk to me and pretend we’re hanging out. End of discussion.” 

“Is that right? Watch me sit still and not talk to you.” As she veers her back on her chair, air infiltrates her lungs. She’s forgotten to breathe so closely around Joohyun when her thoughts are haunted with the woman’s infuriatingly angelic face.

“Oh, stop being difficult. You can’t even walk away from me,” Joohyun smirks.

“How dare you—”

“Oh, you’re hilarious!”

Seungwan freezes. In a split second, Bae Joohyun laughs; her eyes crinkled in a way that’s distastefully appealing — with the right amount of sincereness to mask her act. Her raven hair waterfalls across her shoulders like nature’s flow. Just like icing on cake, it’s topped off with deft fingers trailing on her arm in a gentle caress. 

Seungwan can’t ing stand Bae Joohyun. Her guts are twisted in all the wrong ways, dry, and her tongue held back from voicing out her disgust.

“Come on, try smiling, Son. Why am I doing all the work here?” Joohyun hovers again. 

Something tells her she won’t survive Joohyun so close the second time today, so she backs down and resoundingly stands. She looks down on Joohyun; her eyes radiate the heat of frustration plastered on her face.

She walks away. 

—

“I bet you fifty bucks Bae’s into you.” 

Seungwan grumbles as if hearing a mortal affront halfway into the spoon of her chocolate chip ice cream. Seulgi and her antics never get old. 

Seungwan wipes with the back of her hand. “I’ll give you fifty bucks to shut up.” 

Seulgi whistles. “Ooh, you’re throwing away cash right now? Where are we getting that from? Perhaps from your new incredibly rich girlfriend?”

“You know what, I don’t even need you here now. Get out.”

This was supposed to be a night of reprieve from the obscenely unhealthy number of times her thoughts wander to the walking embodiment of Aphrodite and the devil wrapped in one. 

“I joke, my dear friend. I’m here to distract you,” Seulgi says, an effort to make peace. “Let’s pack our mouths with ice cream and watch some romcom. That always cheers you up.” 

They always did. But Seulgi’s all but thrown her mind to restricted territory right now. Just right where she can’t seem to escape. 

“Do you know she gave me roses the last time I went with her to the café?”

Seulgi’s neck cranes as fast as a whip. “S-she what?” Her friend says. “See?! I’m right! I knew it.” 

“Not quite.” 

Seungwan grimaces at the memory, but she’s let the cat out of the bag and she has to relive it once more. 

“She gave me flowers because she said Jennie didn’t accept it.”

It’s the impulse that irks her. The notion that beneath the deep pit of darkness, tall brick walls guarding the raven’s heart, is a tiny speck of light. The sudden hope that shot out her consciousness, that she could be kind enough to give Seungwan flowers. Flowers. She could laugh for thinking so. 

“That’s─ that can’t be right.”

“Oh, believe me. It happened.”

“She gave Jennie flowers?” Seulgi’s brows meet in confusion. “Is that all that happened?”

“Why are you defending Joohyun?” Seungwan’s eyes narrow. 

Her best friend scrambles to reason. “No! No, no, uhm, I’m not. Screw her, right? Hehe.” Seulgi’s nervous chuckle roused suspicion in Seungwan. She scanned her friend refusing to meet her eyes, and opened to signal a question.

But she’s immediately cut off first by Seulgi’s shot at distraction. “So! Did you accept the flowers? After she gave you the- the flowers?”

It works. Her irritation at the unpleasant memory comes crawling back. “Can you believe I almost did?” Seungwan exasperatedly remarks, arms thrown in abandon at the absurdity. “She was all like, ‘Gave this to Jennie but she didn’t want it, you can have it now’ with that annoying smirk. Like I’d ever want it after she said that!” 

Seulgi listens to her drone on and on. Seungwan misses a moment of relief splash on her friend’s expression.  

“Then she said it really was for me,” Seungwan supplies. She could still feel her heartbeat jump out of , the way Joohyun chuckled, “I was just kidding. It’s for you.”

Seungwan continued, “Of course, I’d be caught by surprise, I was about to throw the bouquet on her face. Then I paused. Because why in the hell would she give me flowers? Then ─ then, she had the gall to say, ‘Or is it?’ Argh!” 

Seulgi discreetly chuckled, then formed an expression of sympathy. "So did you accept it?" 

The question was met with a stare as if Seulgi had grown two heads. 

"Excuse me? I absolutely did no–" 

"Is that why I spotted  nearly wilted flowers, roses, inside the vase on your console table?"

Seungwan’s eyes momentarily widen, her face revealing nothing but resigned indignation as she succinctly mutters, "I need a drink." 

Movie night became more than just what it was supposed to be, and, suffice it to say, became more than what Seungwan could handle. 

The morning her can handle herself. 

—

She wakes up with no memories of the past night. Only Seulgi’s obnoxious laugh and much, much, later, she’d vaguely recall her best friend’s drunken woes as she repeatedly asks for forgiveness from her and someone else on the phone. Who the other one is, Seungwan doesn’t care to know. 

She’s seen Seulgi apologize to a chair once. Surely, this one couldn’t be important. 

—

“Hi, have you been waiting long?” 

An unfamiliar voice breaks through Seungwan's solitary bubble in her usual place at the campus café – in a corner near the window. With an arched brow, Seungwan opens , but not a word escapes as the woman continues. 

“I’m sorry I’m late. I got caught up with a project,” the woman appeased. 

Seungwan’s mouth tugged down into a visible frown. Her thoughts rapidly shoot in and out her consciousness, one of which was mainly wondering which reality she’d ever met this woman strutting on her sharply pointed heels in confidence, dress snuggled sinfully on her— raven-haired, alabaster skin, mixed with lips painted in light pink — and if she could recognize her. If she had known her, Seungwan wouldn’t dare forget. 

Soon, she felt her hands smoothly seized, sending tingles along Seungwan’s skin. She couldn’t assess if it was one of discomfort or curious anticipation. 

All her mind’s processes halted once the other’s head tilted closer. Wow. She was gorgeous — more likely a goddess — that much Seungwan was certain, even when she still had not a single clue where in the heavens the angel was from. 

“Play along, Son. Jennie’s not going on another date with me and I do not take well to being rejected so pretend we’re hanging out because I have a reputation to uphold.”

Well, that ruined her fantasy. This lady is ing rude.

Her eyebrows furrow. “Jennie? Who— who the hell are you?” She whisper-shouts. 

“How do you not know me?” the raven-haired counters. Intense eyes bore deep into Seungwan’s own, ones she couldn’t hold quite longer. Thankfully, the stranger shifts seats beside her, breaking their gaze. 

“I performed with Seulgi once. Seriously, how do I remember you but you forget me? This is a vile crime. Nobody forgets me.”

Seungwan is brought out of her trance by a quick snap of fingers. 

“Where have you gone?”  Joohyun says softly, wary of startling the younger woman.

“Nowhere you’ve been to.”

Since that drunken night with Seulgi, Seungwan couldn’t help but feel something was amiss. Something must have changed. It wasn’t anything grand – Joohyun was still a figure as pristine as one could be on the outside, displaying her stupidly perfect face, smug when the need arises (which is at all times) – but this minute change made all the difference; a grim foreboding crawling behind her back and entirely misses when she spins to check. 

First off, her days had been peaceful. That’s strange. Uneasily so, because she believes Bae Joohyun lives off wrecking her sanity, yanking what she pleases as she comes and goes. There’s been none of that. In fact, this day borders on being pleasant that it totally throws her to uncomfortable territories – like she’d much rather Joohyun go back to being plainly arrogant. 

Like that weekend with Seulgi at Bas Burger, a quaint diner serving the best cheeseburgers of their lives. 

Joohyun came out of nowhere and invited herself to their table. She wouldn’t budge, she couldn’t be bothered to disappear and find her space. Naturally, Seungwan’s mood dampens, and it was to be her hour of rest from brooding over course projects; Seulgi promised it was so she could relax.

Naturally, she spirals down a wild and impassioned rant about her spoiled appetite, and how Joohyun just has to be there and “Bam! My day? Ruined. You know what? I don’t even know how you do it, Bae Joohyun. You appear as casual as you look right now –” This is the first time Seungwan has witnessed Joohyun in a cap, a simple white shirt, and form-fitting jeans– her thoughts unheard screamed “hot” in big, glowing red neon letters. But nevermind that. 

“—and you act like we ever wanted you on our table to chat like we’re best friends. I should have you know that—” 

Of course Joohyun cuts her off like she’s some higher authority – one finger hovered over her face and the other waving for a menu. She ordered every burger available, 2 boxes of pizza, along a couple of drinks.

Seungwan’s jaw drops and her eyebrows crumple. She was seconds from asking for an explanation that Joohyun readily provides.

“I ordered everything. Maybe if you were stuffed with food you’d clam up for once.” 

She gasps, scandalized. How utterly arrogant. “You–”

“Share it with everyone, Seul. Maybe spend the night together so your grumpy friend could unclench. She looks like she needs to socialize as she’s entirely forgotten how to make decent conversation,” Joohyun orders.

“...Okay?” Seulgi responds.

“Kang Seulgi!” Seungwan yells. Her friend had the decency to wince, but it seemed a grin was creeping around the edges of at the heaps of food Joohyun bought. 

“She looks like she needs proper rest too. And, well… food,” Joohyun rationalizes, scanning Seungwan up and down. “Have you been holed up in your room this whole time? You look devastating. Not a compliment.”

“I know that, y-you bit– you witch! How dare you–” 

She’s cut off once again.

“Marvelous chat! I’ll make myself scarce. See you.” The raven-haired woman salutes then winks. 

Seungwan blinked then Joohyun was gone. Out of sight but definitely not out of mind.

It was only after that night, one that Seungwan most definitely enjoyed and after she was well-rested, that she admits, maybe, Joohyun’s words at the diner had rings of truths in them. But still, when Joohyun means well, she’d never make it sound like she does. 

So, to cut this story short: something was different. 

Her and Joohyun in this café had most of the time not been a peaceful affair. How is she supposed to stay put like everything’s as it should be? 

Joohyun’s kept to herself the whole time! She’s rewriting her notes, once in a while checking on Seungwan because she should, apparently, be studying as well. Joohyun suggested so – that they spend their time that way. But she’s spent half her time figuring Joohyun out. Because this must be a trap.

A hand waves in front of Seungwan. “Are you okay, though? I reckoned you’d been too entranced at my beauty for it to garner eons of your attention but that would seem too conceited, wouldn’t it? Not that it isn’t the truth,” Joohyun states, sounding smug. 

It elicited a surreptitious gasp out of Seungwan. Finally! That’s the Joohyun she knows. Maybe there isn’t anything wrong after all. 

“Now your mouth is open but you’re not saying anything. Are you positive you’re okay? Is there anything you need, Wan? You’re kind of getting me worried here.”

Worried? 

Wan? Wan? Wan?! 

Okay, this universe must be in a glitch.

She looked like a fish out of water, and Joohyun was reaching out, a look of concern painted on her face. 

Seungwan expertly maneuvers her hand out of reach, leaving Joohyun grasping thin air. The older woman squints momentarily. Replaced with stubborn resolve, she reaches out again. 

Seungwan still evades her efforts. 

“What is wrong with– hey! Jennie! Hi, could you please bring us some water?” Joohyun’s frown was evident, but right on time, Jennie pops up near their table.

Right. Jennie. 

It seemed an unconscious response, for her mood to darken upon hearing Jennie’s name fall smoothly from Joohyun’s lips. 

Right. 

They’re here for Jennie. And it doesn’t matter that she feels everything to be a bit out of place with Joohyun, because Seungwan doesn’t care. No.

“Water will be here shortly. What’s wrong with you?” Joohyun asks. 

“Nothing,” Seungwan clears . “I’m perfectly fine. And I’m leaving.” 

“Wait, what?”

She scrambles to clear the table of her belongings, a clutter of notes she’d forwent to read just to glance at Joohyun and observe. What a regretful distraction.

And a waste of time. 

If she raises from her seat in an undignified mann