(slight trigger warning for mentions of abuse)

It’s a little hectic in Seulgi’s bedroom, on this one particular occasion where Seulgi herself isn’t there. 

Seungwan had asked, to which Mrs. Kang had graciously accepted, if Seulgi could be sent on a few meaningless errands before returning home that evening. 

“High— no, higher, Hyun,” Seungwan’s frazzled whisper makes it sound like Seulgi could barge in at any moment. Which, she could. “Alright, that looks good. Could you please tack these down while I go grab the cake.”

There’s a patter of fading footsteps down the stairs and Joohyun finds herself all alone, with the task of securing the ridiculously oversized, homemade banner she and Seungwan made after school yesterday.

“Dude, that looks awesome!” Even Joohyun has to admit, Seungwan’s idea of a congratulatory party exceeds her expectations. She’s looking at the big picture, but notices the other girl severely tunnel visioned and preoccupied. “Aye, stop worrying, for crying out loud. Seul’s gonna love the cake.”

Crowded on Seulgi’s oakwood Ikea study desk lies a festive spread of garlic and herb pizzas with cheese-stuffed crust, shrimp cocktail fondue, jjajangmyeon, corn chips, sodas and a slightly wonky cheesecake messily adorned with glazed strawberries.

Seungwan smiles her thanks as she makes sure nothing spills off the edges. “I hope so, I misread the instructions and accidentally made too little crumb base so I just used some fat strawberries to cover it up, see?” 

The pair giggle at the cracks in Seungwan’s baking fail for a second before she boulders it up with the fruit again. Then a soft thud sounds from the staircase, and they rush to hide; Joohyun slots herself under the bed and Seungwan squeezes into the gap between the desk and the bookshelf. Her heart races with childhood adrenaline, and it reminds her of the many times they pretended to be asleep during sleepovers.

“Eomma, I put it in the kitchen, I’m just gonna—” Seulgi thoughtlessly swings her bedroom door open and immediately freezes. 

Her eyes just blink at the celebratory scene in front of her. Pretty as a picture.

“Surprise!”

“What in the…” Somehow over her head yet slapping her in the face at the same time are huge, glittery bubble letters on a taped up yellow banner:
 

Congrats on making the volleyball team!
 

In an instant, Seulgi is donning a megawatt grin and bounding over to her idiot best friends to choke them in the biggest hugs she can manage. “All this for me? What am I gonna do with you guys!”

Joohyun jokingly shoves her in the shoulder. “Yah, not all for you, we’re freakin’ starving right now.”

The light-hearted atmosphere mellows a bit as Seulgi surveys all her f