Author's Note: Buenas tardes, amigas! 

My Spanish lessons have definitely progressed after a year of chasing XP on Duolingo ;-) Thank you so much for all the comments and new subscribers and voters on last chapter! I am loving all of your theories about what's really happening to Seulgi in the story :-D 

And without further ado (before loadshedding kills the power on my wifi router, lol), onto the new chapter! 

When Seulgi woke up, she half expected to hear and see a strange but good-looking woman prowling around her apartment. But when she was assured that Juhyun wasn’t there and she was actually alone, she got out of bed and stretched her stiff tennis elbow.

The rest of her morning was spent pondering on the enigma that was Juhyun. If this wasn’t a dream like she initially thought, then that meant she and Juhyun had been dating for a while now. And if that was the case, why couldn’t she remember any of their time together?

After eating a meagre breakfast and showering with puzzling questions still plaguing her, Seulgi sat on the living room couch, scribbling furiously in her diary once more. She’d already filled ten pages of sheer rambling since last night, trying desperately to recall every piece of information (significant and random) that Juhyun had told her about herself and their dynamic in the space of 24 hours.

I always knew I had a ty memory, but this is just ridiculous. How could I seriously forget an entire relationship??? Is this a dream - or do I have amnesia?

When Seulgi couldn’t think of more words to write down about Juhyun, she settled for tracing a pair of dark brown eyes below her name. They were baffling and beautiful, much like the woman they belonged to.

The doorbell rang close to 1pm and Seulgi hastened to put her diary back on the bookshelf. She fussed unnecessarily with a strand of hair that had come out of her loose top bun.

Why am I so nervous? It’s just Juhyun - the woman I’m apparently dating, who I had dinner with and who kissed me on the mouth repeatedly last night.

Who’s insanely attractive and likes me because reasons…

Ssibal, now I’m more nervous!

Seulgi took a deep breath before opening her front door.

Sure enough, Juhyun stood on the other side, her thick, dark hair tied in a stylishly long ponytail. Her brown eyes lit up and she smiled, which made Seulgi a lot more nervous, but in a good way this time.

“Hi.”

Seulgi grinned awkwardly “Hey, you…”

Juhyun moved forward and claimed Seulgi in a tight hug.

Ok, she’s a hugger. That’s…new.

Still, Seulgi had to admit that hugging Juhyun was nice. Really nice. And she smelt good too - like roses and hot girl energy.

While still in Seulgi’s arms, Juhyun leant forward and claimed her lips in a sweet and unhurried kiss. By the end of it, Seulgi’s cheeks had a pinkish hue to them, and she was grinning like an idiot.

Juhyun has pillowy lips - and they have magic powers…

“Hi…”

Juhyun giggled before kissing Seulgi again. “Hey. Bogo sipeo.”

“But you saw me last night.”

“I know, but I always miss you.”

Seulgi didn’t know what to say to that, so she settled for kissing Juhyun on the cheek. “You ready to go?”

In cut off denim shorts, flip-flops, and an emerald, green halter-neck, Juhyun was the epitome of summer in Seoul.

Juhyun nodded cutely, which made Seulgi’s stomach do silent jumping jacks.

“Ok, gimme just one second. I just wanna make sure I turned off the stove.”

“Sure, but you know you didn’t even use it this morning. You had toast and yoghurt, just like always.” Juhyun sing-songed after Seulgi’s retreating figure.

She knows all of my weekend rituals - she is a witch!

Juhyun’s eyes had widened with anxiety when Seulgi said she wanted to drive them to Hangang Park. But she let it go when Seulgi drove most of the way with only one hand on the steering wheel, her tennis elbow positioned languidly on the arm rest beside her. =

Making it easy for Juhyun to reach over at regular intervals and hold her hand during the relaxing car ride.

Seulgi had never met anyone who actually liked holding hands while driving places. It was surreal and unnecessary, but sweet.

Really sweet.

It took every ounce of restraint for Seulgi not to suddenly pull over on the congested freeway and put her lips on Juhyun’s.

She opted for parking on the other side of the park where locals and tourists booked ferry rides across the river. The cool breeze was doing wonders for her energy levels, making her want to get in a nice long walk before lunch time.

It felt perfectly normal to open Juhyun’s car door for her and take her hand. And it felt perfectly natural when Juhyun squeezed her hand right back as they strolled through the serene neighbourhood.

Seulgi found it extremely vexing however when she passed several people she recognised, who didn’t seem to know her at all.

Juhyun smiled apologetically at the second man that her girlfriend accosted near a corn dog stand close to the boardwalk. “Yah, can we just walk quietly together, Seulgi-ah?”

“But I’m telling you - he knows me!” Seulgi insisted all the more.

“Sure he does, jagiyah.”

“Ok, you don’t believe me. Then how come that guy begged me to loan him money one time so he could buy his girlfriend apology pepero?”

Juhyun wrinkled her nose in confusion. “Who buys pepero for an apology??? It’s not elementary school.”

“Tell that to him!” Seulgi shouted over her shoulder. “I want my ₩2,000 back, Jackson!”

Despite Seulgi’s many misgivings, she and Juhyun spent a lovely afternoon together.

They took their time strolling through the quieter sections of Hangang Park. Seulgi couldn’t remember a time before this when she’d enjoyed a walk (or the company) this much.

She even became unusually chivalrous when a teenage boy (who looked liked like a BTS clone with his shiny hair and perfect skin) working at an ice cream shop near the waterfront, said that Juhyun was ‘hot enough to do ’.

“Yah, Baggins - the lady just wants her ice cream, please and thank you! ual harassment isn’t on the menu, so quit serving it!”

Juhyun grinned sheepishly at the onlookers and hastily scanned the shop’s QR code with her smartphone to pay for their desserts. “I’ll wait outside.” She gave Seulgi’s hand a gentle squeeze before exiting the shop a minute later.

“Sillyehamnida!” Seulgi apologised amiably. “I’m just really passionate about feminism!”

She glanced at several patrons, grabbing napkins while smiling widely at her BTS server.

“Say that again to my girlfriend or any other woman and I’ll come back here, rip out your eyeballs, then in the holes. Got it?”

Her smile didn’t waver once while uttering her threat in honeyed tones.

The BTS clone nodded rapidly after Seulgi grabbed the desserts. Then she loudly told the tween server to ‘have a great day’ before departing too.

That’ll teach that BTS nerd to usurp decades of the Suffragettes Movement…

“What was that all about?” Juhyun asked laughingly when Seulgi met her outside and they continued walking along the waterfront.

“He was being a byuntae,” Seulgi huffed.

“True, and I can handle it.”

“True, but I can't.”

Juhyun was puzzled to say the least, but equally pleased when Seulgi held her hand tightly and scowled at any lecherous males who looked her way.

When Seulgi thought back on the incident minutes later, she couldn’t believe she’d reacted that strongly towards an idiotic comment. While she definitely had a jealous streak when it came to her significant others, she’d never once acted on that crazy impulse - until now.

Juhyun had got to her in more ways than one and she didn’t quite know how to feel about it. Maybe spending more time together would finally clear things up.

Soon, they’d found a bench overlooking the water’s edge and ate their ice cream sandwiches. The air was refreshing, and the concrete pavilion was flooded with joggers, skateboarders and even a few cyclists while birds circled overhead.

Seulgi smiled briefly at the little children flying kites near them in the park. Moments like these often made her wonder if having a family was even still in the cards for her. She was 28 years old after all, and close to reaching her expiry date for that sort of thing.

She shook herself inwardly. Whatever existential meltdown she was clearly about to have could wait till later. She wanted to stay in this moment with Juhyun for as long as possible.

Seulgi glanced dubiously at the cooing pigeons circling uncomfortably close above her head. “I knew I should’ve worn a hat…”

Juhyun burst out laughing at her girlfriend. “Aigoo, you’re being paranoid. Just because pigeons crapped on your mom’s head once—”

Seulgi was torn between laughing and grimacing at the unpleasant memory.

“My dad told her it was good luck, but I think he was just joking.”

Seulgi caught sight of a tall man throwing bits of stale bread at scores of birds. He had the biggest smile on his face, laughing merrily at the birds fighting amongst themselves over the scraps.

He had dark eyes and round bear-like cheeks just like hers.

“Your mom probably had it coming,” Juhyun murmured, cutting into Seulgi’s thoughts.

“Oh, she definitely did. That woman is the devil in Crocs. And now - birds know it too…”

“Forget about your mom and the pigeons and eat your ice cream.”

Seulgi stopped staring at the smiling man feeding the birds and bit into her chewy cookie, savouring the sweet and bitter notes of vanilla and dark chocolate melding seamlessly on her tongue.

Juhyun laughed whenever Seulgi got distracted and let her ice cream drip onto her clothes. Still, it was oddly fun watching the way that Juhyun dabbed at the fabric and even her fingers when they got sticky with a clean serviette each time. It was also irresistibly cute whenever Juhyun would sneakily steal bites from her ice cream sandwich before offering bites from her own as penance.

When they were done, Juhyun moved to the metal railing and peered down at the river below. The water rushed against the artificial barrier before receding back to the tranquillity of the sapphire depths.

Seulgi stood behind her girlfriend, just watching her silently for a minute or two. Till now, she’d only seen Juhyun exude unhealthy amounts of confidence at every turn. She wondered what she was truly thinking and feeling in the moment. Did she ever have doubts about them or anything in general?

“I like it when things are simple,” Juhyun murmured unexpectedly.

Her words propelled Seulgi forward and she came to stand beside her, surveying the dark waters just as pensively.

“Nothing in life is ever simple.” Seulgi pointed out.

“But it should be,” Juhyun persisted. “Even dating is ridiculously complicated for no reason.”

Something pricked incessantly at the back of Seulgi’s mind, begging her to understand. But she couldn’t, no matter how hard she tried to grab hold of the elusive meaning behind her girlfriend’s words.

“No one ever just says outright: ‘Hey! I more than just tolerate you. I actually like you and want to be around you’. Even in a platonic sense. Why is it so hard to say?”

Seulgi sighed and studied the river beneath her feet. “Because people are morons. Scared morons who don’t want to say the right thing in case it’s the wrong moment.”

Her fingers inched closer to Juhyun’s resting on the metal railing. Their tiny digits seemed to gravitate naturally towards one another, resting peacefully in unison and touching chastely at regular intervals as they spoke.

“That is moronic.”

“Easy for you to say. You have supernatural confidence and practically no filter,” Seulgi joked, which made Juhyun smile, finally closing the distance and interlocking their pinkie fingers. “Us mere mortals, however, struggle to say what’s really in our hearts.”

“Let’s change that.” The wind picked up, tossing Juhyun’s long, black hair around her petite face. She ignored it and took Seulgi’s hands in her smaller ones. “Say one thing to me that’s true in this moment. Something you won’t take back later.”

Seulgi tried to read the earnest question in Juhyun’s brown eyes, uncertain she’d ever find a rational answer to her, to any of this.

“Alright. In this moment,” Seulgi ran delicate fingertips over Juhyun’s pale upper arm. “Bae Juhyun, you’re the bravest and most honest person I know - and I love that about you.”

Juhyun’s serious expression faded, and a careless warmth took its place. Seulgi frowned back at her for the briefest moment. Then she cast the feeling aside and felt with her body instead, pressing it closer to Juhyun as she kissed her.

In an instant, Juhyun melted perfectly into her and everything around Seulgi ceased to exist for several precious minutes. She could feel the subtle ways in which Juhyun’s mouth stretched into a slow smile beneath her own lips with appreciative murmurs in-between.

The sounds and sensations were hypnotic.

They finally disentangled their mouths. The bridge created by their parting breaths crumbled soon after. Seulgi couldn’t take her eyes off the way Juhyun’s pillowy lips were bruised around the edges after their kisses.

Juhyun is amazing, and she loves me. And just maybe, in this moment, I love her too. This may be the most and hardest I’ve ever loved anyone…period. it - even if this is a dream, I might as well ride it out till the last wave reaches the shore.

Juhyun’s mouth quirked into half of a mysterious Mona Lisa grin at the corners. Then she smiled fully and grabbed Seulgi’s hand. “Kaja.”

“Where are we going?”

“To Itaewon. I feel like dancing.”

Seulgi nodded amiably. “Let’s head back to my place first and freshen up.”

“Agesseo. But we’re taking a taxi. I plan on getting my drink on.”

Seulgi chortled. “Heol, you were so cool up till you said ‘getting my drink on’. You can’t pull that off.”

“Can too! I’m cooler than you’ll ever be in a million years!”

“No arguments there.”

Juhyun punched Seulgi’s arm affectionately and they walked back to the car, hand-in-hand.

Author's Note: Ok, so this chapter was off-the-charts sweet. I should check my sugar levels in case I gave myself diabetes from all this silly Seulrene fluff ;-) Seriously though, I hope you all enjoyed Seulgi and Juhyun gluing their lips (and hearts, hee hee) together for most of this chapter :-P

Now, for a quick Korean lesson: 

1) 'Bogo sipeo' is Korean for 'I miss you' or 'I missed you'. You hear this expression a lot in fluffy Korean pop songs. 

2) 'Jagiyah' is a common Korean pet name for lovers which translates to 'darling' in English. 

3) 'Pepero', as you already might know, is a popular Korean snack made of long bicuit sticks dipped in chocolate. There's even a special day called 'Pepero Day' on which friends and lovers give each other Pepero as gifts. 

4) 'Byuntae' is Korean for 'ert'. 

I'd better give my laptop battery a break now. We have this dumb thing in South Africa called loadshedding (scheduled blackouts) where Eskom (the national provider of electricity) shuts off the power in certain locations for hours at a time whenever too many households use too much power at the same time *long and drawn out eyeroll* It's a massive problem here, so I'll probably have to go completely off-grid soon and hide out in a log cabin in the mountains, far away from the government. 

Just kidding. I like my creature comforts and modern living waaaayyy to much to go off-grid :'-P 

Thank so much for reading! See you all again next week for another, stay safe <3