'I'm home.'

'Great. Is your mom still there?'

'Haven't seen her. Maybe in her room.'

'Okay. I hope everything goes well.'

'Thanks.'

'I'm gonna go get ready for work.'

'Cool. I'll come visit you after work and maybe we can go get some tacos?'

'My treat.'

'That's nice. But it's Sunday. Why don't you spend today with your mom?'

'Are you sure? I feel like you might need the company.'

'I'm fine. I'll be at The Arthouse anyway. I'll work concession if I really need some companies.'

'LOL'

"In case you change your mind, I'm only one text away, okay?'

'Thank you, Kang Seulgi.'

"One American breakfast and one hot cappuccino."

Irene keeps her phone in her bag as she watches the waiter put down her order on the table. She lied to Seulgi. She went to a cafe instead of going home, hoping that by the time she reaches home, her mother would have been gone already. She isn't ready to face her just yet.

She sits there thinking of what had happened the day before, not really having the appetite to finish her meal. The guilt is eating her up alive, but the anger and the hatred is still there. She's grateful that Seulgi was with her last night.

She was physically and mentally exhausted the whole night. She couldn't sleep no matter how much her head and her eyes hurt. She was awake almost the entire night but somehow being there in Seulgi's bed, inhaling her scent, hearing the rhythm of her breathing, being wrapped protectively in her arms, it felt really good.

Seulgi.

Kang Seulgi.

'Every moment with you counts.'

Her heart melted at that. The sweet Kang Seulgi who stayed by her side with no judgment, who gave her warmth and comfort, who told her the sweetest things with those beautiful eyes. She feels herself falling for this girl and for the first time, instead of feeling burdened by the feeling, she feels optimistic. She recognizes the signs that Seulgi is good for her.

She leaves behind her unfinished food and goes home. Her mom has left to the airport, according to the maid. She sighs in relief.

-

Minhee catches them in a compromising situation. Irene hasn't been sleeping well lately and Seulgi has been staying up late to study for her upcoming exams. They were having a nap on the couch inside Irene's office at The Arthouse when the concession worker knocked and walked inside greeted by the sight of them spooning comfortably. Fortunately, they really were having a nap and that was it; no funny business.

"Oh , I'm so, so sorry." The girl bows her head profusely and walks back.

"Minhee." Irene calls, quickly sitting up and brushes her hair with her fingers.

"Y- yes, Ms. Irene?" Her head peeks in again, now avoiding eye contact.

"What do you need?" she asks. Seeing Minhee is still hesitant, she tells her, "Just come inside."

By then she's already walking toward her desk while Seulgi is sitting on the couch awkwardly.

"I.. I just wanted to ask for an off day this weekend. I need to bring my dog to the vet for vaccinations."

This is not her job, but Mr. Noh is taking a long leave and Irene has offered to help looking after the managerial side of the business. She pulls up the roster on the computer and sees that the girl is supposed to work on both Saturday and Sunday. After what just happened, she decides to play nice. "Okay, you can take a leave on Saturday, I'll cover for you."

"Oh, you don't have to. I've asked Jinki and he has agreed to cover for me." 

Jinki is a part time worker they hired to cover the concession whenever they're short-staffed.

Irene contemplates for a second before assuring her that it's fine. "It's okay, I like doing concession," she says, stealing a glance at Seulgi who looks at her with a knowing look.

"Uh.. okay. Thank you so much." Minhee gives her a little bow before turning to Seulgi to greet her. "Hi, Seulgi."

She's about to leave the room when Irene calls for her again and tells her, "Seulgi and I are.. uh.. seeing each other."

Minhee smiles awkwardly. "Uhm.. yeah, we kinda figured that out already."

"Okay, uh.." Irene chuckles timidly. "Would you guys mind keeping this from Mr. Noh? This feels a little bit inappropriate and he's just too old school to understand."

Minhee looks at her weirdly. "He's not homophobic, though."

"No.. I meant, the part where I'm dating a customer," she explains.

"Oh. Yeah, yeah, of course. Don't worry about it. We're on your side." The girl nods firmly, putting out her fist as if giving them an encouragement.

Irene sees Seulgi stiffling a laughter and massaging her temples in her peripheral vision. The film student must have felt embarrassed by all this.

"Okay, thank you." She says before adding, "We weren't doing anything, by the way. We were just taking a nap," she explains unnecessarily.

When Minhee is finally out of her office, Seulgi buries her face on the armrest of the couch and laughs her off.

"Enjoying yourself, Ms. Kang?" Irene asks sarcastically, resting her chin on her palm, watching the girl that would surely be the death of her.

Seulgi has to leave to bring her mother to the mall to get a haircut. Irene exits her office about half a minute after her to go check the ticketing counter. That's when she sees Seulgi being interrogated by both Minhee and Junsu. She hides herself behind the pillar to not make her presence known.

"Wow Kang Seulgi, who would have thought." Junsu whistles.

"How's the boss behind closed door?" Minhee probes.

"Stop it, you two." Seulgi shakes her head, blushing.

"Come on, tell us please. Is she funny? Is she secretly a dork?" 

Seulgi chuckles. "I'm not sure about a dork, but she is funny. She's really fun to talk to."

Junsu leans forward on the counter. "What's the deal between you two then? Is it serious?"

Seulgi lets the question hangs for a moment before answering, "I don't know. I want it to be." She gulps and shares shyly, "I'm crazy about her."

Irene smiles to herself hearing the confession.

"Yeah, we can see that." Minhee mocks. "Also, we put two and two together and concluded that she started volunteering at the concession because of you, so.. the feeling is mutual, I think."

"Seriously?" Seulgi raises her eyebrows, seemingly not quite convinced.

They both nod excitedly.

"Has there been.. uh.. was there anyone before me? Like, have you guys ever seen her with someone else?" She asks hesitantly.

Minhee shakes her head immediately, "No. She's always so private and a bit of a loner, I've always thought. She usually does lunches in her office alone. You're the only person I've ever seen her with."

They then both turn to Junsu when they realized he hasn't been saying anything. "What?" he asks.

"What's with your face?" Seulgi questions.

By then Minhee has gasped too as if she has just suddenly remembered something and the three of them look at each other awkwardly.

"What is it?" Seulgi presses.

Junsu scratches his neck nervously before deciding to just spill it, but Minhee elbows him to prevent him from talking.

"Seulgi is our friend," he reasons.

"Yeah, but she's our boss."

"But we've known Seulgi much longer."

Seulgi only watches them bickering without saying anything and waits, until Minhee gives Junsu the go sign.

"There was this lady that came here not too long ago. Just one time, but they seemed very comfortable with each other." Junsu reveals. "She pissed me off so much. She came here acting like she owned the place and just barged into her office before I could even tell Irene she had a guest." He starts mimicking the mystery lady, "Boy, trust me. I don't need an appointment."

Irene watches the scene unfolding in front of her with fascination. She knows exactly who Junsu is talking about and has to hold back from laughing. The look currently on Seulgi's face is too adorable for her to stand. She wants to quickly assure the girl that it was only Jennie - who Seulgi already knew is her best friend and business partner - but she doesn't want to get caught eavesdropping on them.

"When was this exactly?" Seulgi enquires.

Junsu taps his chin, thinking. "Not that recently, but it also wasn't that long ago. I don't know when you two started dating so I can't confirm if it was before or after." Seeing Seulgi a little bumped out by that piece of information, the boy tries to console her. "She could be just a friend, or her cousin or something."

The film student nods her head. "Yeah, we just got together recently anyway. Thanks Junsu, for telling me."

"No worries. You two looked great together, by the way," he says. "Also, I think you played a big part in her suddenly actively trying to change things around here. We were worried when she couldn't get along with our manager when she first came here."

"Maybe she just needed the time to observe and understand the situation." Seulgi defends.

"Or maybe you're the martyr