'So, I assume that Kang Seulgi is your girlfriend?'

'Yes, she is.'

'She's pretty. You have great taste.'

'Thanks. How about you? Have you found anyone interesting on this tiny island?'

'Jeju is a great place to live in, but to find romance? Not so good.'

'That . How so?'

'I don't know. It's hard to find the gays here.'

'I miss Paris so much. Like.. once you found the right circle, it feels like raining lesbians there.'

'LOL. Must be nice to have lesbians rain on you.'

'Wait, that doesn't sound right.'

'Well, that's the answer. You have to find the right circle.'

'Hahaha your mind.'

'I'm trying.'

'Haven't gotten laid in a while. Maybe I should try Tinder.'

'Or ask my mom.'

'Maybe she has someone to introduce to you.'

' "She graduated from Ecole de Cuisine Alain Ducasse", that was how she marketed you to me.'

'LOL. She said that to the customers all the time.'

'Nah, I'm not gonna ask her. That's embarrassing.'

'Anyway....'

'I'm sure she'd be very eager to help.'

'Yes?'

'You looked so different.'

'Visibly much happier than you were before.'

'I am much much happier.'

'I'm glad to know that.'

'Thanks. You're sweet.'

'Also, thanks for tolerating me when I was at my worst.'

'Come on, we're way past that.'

'Anyway, getting laid regularly really change people for the better, huh?'

'Haha'

'Nah, it's not about . It's just her. She makes me happy.'

'Oh.'

'The reason of my happiness is here and she won't be happy knowing I'm chatting in the middle of the night with someone I kissed once.'

'YOU TOLD HER?'

'Hahaha you're a menace.'

'Well, let's catch up some other time then.'

'Happy getting laid.'

'I'm NOT getting laid.'

' "Sure," said Tiffany sarcastically.'

'LOL'

'Good night, Tiffany.'

-

"Who are you smiling to in the middle of the night?" The reason of her happiness shuts her bedroom door and asks, suspicious.

"Hey, Seul. Your mom went to bed already?" She locks her phone and places it on the nightstand.

It's their third and last night in Jeju; they're going home tomorrow. Seulgi has been sleeping with her mother in the guest bedroom. Irene's mother doesn't have a rule forbidding the couple to sleep together, but Seulgi needs to be by Mrs. Kang's side because it's an unfamiliar place for her mother who is blind and needs help getting from here to there and knowing where this and that is.

The girl climbs up the bed and settles on top of her, pinning her down. "Don't change the subject. Who were you talking to?" She scowls ily.

'.' 

Seulgi can be so freaking hot sometimes at all the wrong times. Like now, when things are forbidden to go anywhere because she has to go back to the guest bedroom at some point.

"Don't , or else I won't let you leave this room, Kang Seulgi."

"I don't care. Won't it be more fun if I left you alone frustated?" She smirks.

She s her hips upward, bouncing the girl sitting on top of her. "Naughty," she scorns.

"So? Who?" Seulgi is persistent.

She stretches to grab her phone, unlocks it, goes to her messages with Tiffany and gives the phone to Seulgi.

"Woah." Seulgi sees the chat bubbles and immediately looks away. "Hey, I was just asking. I don't need to actually see the whole conversation." Her face turns serious, reassuring her, "I trust you."

That's the exact kind of trust and respect she needs from her partner and she can't love Seulgi more for that. She smiles and shoves her phone back right in front of her girlfriend's face. "I know, and I trust you too. I won't ever ask to see your private conversations, but there's something there that I want to show you. So, please read it."

"Okay.." The girl finally takes her phone and focuses on it. She lets out a scoff before a beautiful smile slowly spreads across her face; her eyes turn into two crescent moons. "I'm the reason of your happiness?" she asks; her voice soft, her face soft, everything about her is soft.

"Do you even have to ask? she asks back, just as softly. It's the night Jeju wind that makes them turn into two softies, she assumes. She sits up and captures those lips, putting her hands on her waist possessively. "Stay here with me tonight."

She knows it's selfish to ask, it could be dangerous if Mrs. Kang woke up and had to wander the house by herself, but she can't help herself.

"I can't. I'm sorry." Seulgi sighs before kissing her again, slipping her hands into her shirt to have a feel of her bare skin. "I can maybe stay for an hour if you set a timer on your phone in case we both fell asleep."

She sets it up immediately - an hour and ten minutes, she'll cheat her way to a few more minutes with her lover - and throws her phone to the edge of her king-sized bed.

Seulgi places kisses on the soft flesh of her neck, making her shiver.

She would love for them to go all the way, but she knows better. "Careful," she warns. "If you don't stop teasing me, I might not be able to stop myself. And you can't go back to your mom reeking of ."

The younger girl chuckles and fixes their positions, now lying down. "I found another Airbnb we can go try."

She cackles. "You and your I'm-so--I-need-to-find-another-Airbnb disease."

She rests her head on Seulgi's chest, purring when she feels her hair being played with.

"Can I tell you a story about my mom?" she suddenly asks. It's her usual line when she's about to reveal yet another tidbit from the past; her promise to Seulgi to share the things that her mother did right.

"Go on." The girl nudges her, always finding the question funny, as if she would say no.

"I just figured something out recently. I never made the connection until.. when was it.. last week?"

"Figured what out?"

"My mom once rejected a role from a famous director. It was when I started.. acting out," she says, doing the air quote with her fingers. She moves away from Seulgi's chest, settling on her side, using her arms to prop herself up. "It was first year of high school, I think. She would be required to travel for about a month and she didn't feel like it was the right time for her to be away from me. It was a big deal. I remember over-hearing my parents talking and even then my father was telling her to take the job and assuring her that he would be taking care of me."

Seulgi turns slightly to her side to be able to face Irene. "That's really sweet. Who was the director?" she asks, not able to mask her curiosity.

"I didn't give a damn back then, the name didn't mean anything to me. All that I remember until last week was that he wasn't a Korean director. He was a foreigner." She pauses. "And I remember she would have to go to Hong Kong for the filming."

Seulgi suddenly rises up, staring straight at her, eyes showed a feeling of slight betrayal. "What exactly did you figure out last week, Irene Bae?"

"Well.. guess who the director apparently was," Irene asks, looking a little guilty while at the same time finding the whole thing amusing.

Seulgi exhales dramatically. "Irene.. I swear to God.. if you were the reason I was robbed of the miracle of a film starring Oh Sunyoung and directed by the one and only Wong Kar-wai.." She leaves the sentence hanging as Irene her lips nervously.

Wong Kar-wai, one of her favourite directors of all time, also known as the director who made In the Mood for Love; the film that might or might not have brought the two of them together on that memorable day in Auditorium 2 at The Arthouse.

"This isn't about me. This is about my mother being a great mother," she squeaks out and rolling away to the edge of the bed to avoid Seulgi's wrath, knocking her phone off.

Seulgi follows suit and catches her by the waist, pulling her back. She feels a not so vicious bite on her exposed shoulder.

"Was it really Wong Kar-wai?" she confirms.

Irene nods.

"I've never despised you more, you little devil."

"Sorry," she says with a chuckle. Although deep down, she feels responsible for ruining the chance for her mother to work with such a famous director, especially after knowing how big of a deal the director is.

Seulgi hugs her tighter from behind, resting her chin on the same bitten shoulder, kissing it. "I'm just kidding. Your mom did the right thing. Her daughter is much more important than some film and some director."

She hums. "I told you she did a lot of things right."

Seulgi nods. "I know. I also told you that just by knowing you I could see she raised you right; despite this and that, of course." She kisses her face softly as it slowly turns into another kissing contest between the two of them.

It feels like only a few minutes have passed, but her phone is now ringing, marking the end of those peaceful 60, no, 70 minutes. The both of them groan, letting the sound rings for awhile before Seulgi moves to turn it off.

She sighs, feeling sad that Seulgi has to go.

But the girl is not moving. Instead, she goes back to her original position. "I'll stay until you fall asleep."

The offer and the loving kiss she feels on her temple make her heart melt.

"Really?"

"Yes, but you need to really try to sleep. I can't stay here forever."

She giggles. "Okay." That's more than enough. She snuggles up to Seulgi even more, resting one leg on top of hers, shuts her eyes and lets out a deep exhales, succumbing to sleepiness.

-

It's Seulgi's big day and Irene wants to be the most supporting girlfriend ever but she's dealing with her own anxiousness. Yes, it's a film Seulgi directed. Yes, it's Seulgi's master's degree at stake. However, it will be Irene's face on that big screen and she's almost hyperventilating just thinking about it.

Still, she tries her best. Waking up early to buy breakfast, going to Seulgi's place to eat it with the girl and her mother, driving her to campus, all the while showering her with words and words of encouragement.

Her girlfriend is visibly nervous as she gets off the car. It will be a long day for her; one last meeting with her group members, a meeting with the university tech department, a presentation and Q&As with the professors, a big lunch event with all her classmates at a restaurant near the campus, and finally the screenings of the short films.

Before Darkness, Seulgi's film, is scheduled to screen at the campus auditorium at exactly 6:45 in the evening. It will be the last film screened, which seems like a good sign that it's great because the professor is saving it for last.

She drives off to The Arthouse, her right foot shaking on the pedal for whatever reason. She has no idea why she's this nervous. It's just a university project, no one except for the students there are going to watch it. The thought of disappearing for the rest of the day crosses her mind, but she can't do that to Seulgi. She's also in charge of picking up Mrs. Kang and brings her to the campus for the screening later; friends and family are invited.

She stops by the side of the road to calm herself down. 'Today is not about you, Bae Joohyun. It's about Seulgi. She's all that matter. So you need to it up and be there for her.'

-

'Oh Sunyoung's daughter.'

It's 6:35, ten minutes to Seulgi's film. The auditorium is packed - has been since a few hours ago - and it makes her even more anxious. She has watched 3 shorts in total and can't remember a single thing about them because her mind is just not there. She tries her best to not show it. Instead, she focuses on Seulgi, who's shaking her legs in nervous anticipation to 6:45.

Mrs. Kang is sitting on Seulgi's other side. Even though she can't see, her mother instinct is clearly working as she puts her hand on her daughter's knee, giving it comforting taps. 

Five minutes left. The professor gives Seulgi and her group mates a signal before taking the stage to introduce them and the film.

"Fighting," she whispers to her girlfriend as she and the other girls stand up from their seats to go on stage; their team is the only one with all female students in it and there's an added pressure on them to be some sort of a token of women's empowerement. Seulgi gives her a gracious but nervous smile.

Moonbyul and Sakura take the lead to talk on behalf of the group before giving the microphone to Seulgi for a few last words. They receive polite claps as they all get down the stage and move back to their seats. The staff dims the lights before completely turning it off.

'Oh Sunyoung's daughter.'

She swallows. That has been ringing in her ears for days. She hasn't heard it so clearly in years; probably not since high school.

The film begins with a shot of arrow. It looks so visually pleasing; Jinhee did a great job.

Then comes her face. A freaking close up on her face. On that giant screen.

She feels like throwing up.