Irene fidgeted her fingers while waiting for Seulgi to come out from the building. As she had promised the blonde, cheerful, and talkative woman last week, she wanted it to be real and clean this time. No more hypnotizing and no more pretending. If she wanted Seulgi, then she had to do her best effort to get her. She had spent few days to think meticulously and processed ‘what if’ questions. People said that sometimes things didn’t go as what had been expected and yes, she had to be prepared should things don’t go well.

Usually, people came to consult with her and she would end up hypnotizing to cure or at least lessen the stress, but now that she was the one who felt stressed, who could help her? She ever thought to contact Yeri, the closest person of Seulgi currently but she aborted her plan. Yeri would tell Seulgi and it would only do her bad. Then her thought shifted to Sooyoung, but from what she looked last time she met her, Sooyoung wasn’t very intelligent when it wasn’t related with her work. She remembered clearly that Sooyoung was a bright person but only in educational subjects.

“Wannie!” Irene yelled out loud once her phone had been picked up.

“Whoa whoa~ You don’t need to scream right inside my ear! What again this time? Don’t tell me that Seulgi has fainted for being overdosed with your hypnosis method!” The latter talked back from the phone.

“No no.. I said I wanted to be clean last time, remember? And that’s exactly what I will do. I am already near the office building of Seulgi right now. What do I do, Wan??” Irene tapped her feet nervously.

“Wait for her until she shows up and greet her normally. What else?” Wendy casually replied.

“You don’t really understand the situation, do you??” Irene sighed.

“I totally understand. Just do like what you usually did, but without that hypnosis method that I hate so much this time.” Wendy sneered.

“I didn’t ask for your opinion about my occupation thank you.” Irene clicked her tongue.

“I am feeling so nervous now. What if she pretended not to see me and walked past me without saying anything? What if she ignored me? What if-“

“There is no what if, Joohyun! That’s what will deduct your confidence. You know what, I have a bright idea about that!” Irene could hear Wendy snapped her fingers from behind.

“And what is that?! Tell me!!” Irene impatiently demanded.

“Take out your mirror inside your bag and hypnotize yourself to be braver and more confident.” Wendy laughed.

“Ha ha ha.. you~” Irene growled.

“Oh I will but by my lover, not you~” Wendy continued laughing.

“Oh damn! She is walking out of the building!! What do I do??!!” Irene asked in panic.

“Hang up and good luck! Don’t forget to update me later okay!” Wendy immediately hung up afterward, didn’t even wait for Irene’s reply.

“Darn~” Irene murmured. She looked down, checking out herself and ensured she was proper and flawless. She tidied her hair and inhaled deeply. She enchanted some words of prayer while walking toward Seulgi who looked like waiting of something in front of the lobby.

“Hi!” Irene’s voice trembled while saying that short word.

“Oh can I help~ Joohyun???” Seulgi’s eyes went wide automatically.

“Are you busy?” Irene nervously asked.

“I am currently waiting for my car and will go have dinner with a friend. Do you have something to talk with me?” Seulgi pulled the sleeve of her left hand and took a glance on her wristwatch.

“Eh?? No no no.. I don’t want-“ Irene stopped talking when a car suddenly pulled away and stopped right in front both of them.

“That is my car. Let’s go.” Seulgi grabbed Irene’s hand and entered the car.

“But I will disrupt your dinner with your friend. Besides, it’s not something important. Really~” Irene cursed inside her mind. This was totally far from her expectation. She was right when she thought that sometimes things don’t go as what you expected.

“What are you saying?! You have come from afar. There must be something important that you want to discuss with me~ We can talk it out while having dinner.” Seulgi tapped Irene’s arm which made Irene screamed in delightful inside her heart.

Actually, Seulgi was as nervous but she tried hard to hide it all. She had to act perfectly, according to what Yeri told her. She needed to know whether Irene had feelings for her for real or not. She however still believed that Yeri was just being delusional and that there’s no way Irene loved her. It was just too impossible~ Seulgi even said yes when Sooyoung dared her to treat her in the most expensive restaurant in town should what Yeri’s hunch was proven to be true; that Irene was indeed in love with her.

“Who is the friend you are going to meet if I may know?” Irene braced herself and asked.

“Oh, it’s just a friend of Yeri. She said that she was beautiful and smart, totally compatible with my taste in a girl.” Seulgi smiled.

“I.. I see.” Irene looked away and fisted her palm, hiding the pain she just felt. It’s the first-time people paid no interest in her despite the fact that they sat so close with each other. Could it be possible Irene’s first unrequited love? Could it be that Karma existed and now it was Irene’s turn to swallow all the hurt all by herself? She didn’t know and didn’t want to know to be honest.

“Why? You suddenly are quiet. Is there something wrong?” Seulgi asked. She clasped Irene’s shoulder.

“Uhm? Nothing. My appearance will only ruin your date, Seulgi-ah. I can always come again to see you tomorrow or the day after. It’s okay, really~ you can just drop me after the red light ahead.” Irene tried to smile back but it couldn’t even reach her ear.

“Are you sure? I can always say to her that I bring a companion. I am sure she wouldn’t mind, Joohyun.” Seulgi persuaded

“It’s okay. I will just come again next time.” Irene lied. She felt hurt and she just knew that probably, it was too late already. Seulgi had made an effort to move on by asking help from Yeri to introduce her to a good girl.

“I understand.” Seulgi gave up. She pulled away the car and waited for Irene to unfasten her seatbelt.

“Thank you. I will see you again next time, Seulgi. Have a nice date~” Irene said.

“I am actually curious of what you wanted to say. Can’t you give me a hint? Please?” Seulgi made a face to make Irene blurt it out.

“Not telling~ Good luck next time, Seul.” Irene jutted out her tongue.

“Here is my card. Save it! I compel this time.” Irene placed the card on the dashboard before dashing out from Seulgi’s car.

“Bye bye~ I will contact you soon. Save my number!” Irene waved when Seulgi opened up the window. Seulgi could only nod and drove away.

“I am so sure I never gave her my number. How could she contact me then? Is it possible that what Yeri said is true? That she hypnotized me and all? And that’s the main cause why I fell sick at the first place?” Seulgi talked to herself.

“What happened to Irene I once knew? She looked nervous too earlier. Hmm.. Interesting.” Seulgi smiled before putting a Bluetooth earphone inside her ear and dialled Yeri’s number.

---

“What’s with the gloomy face, Rene?” Wendy asked once Irene opened the front door and lifelessly asked her to come in.

“Having you work half day is one thing but seeing you not working at all is just impossible. What happened? I assume, the meeting last time didn’t work. Right?” Wendy guessed. She took out her coat and hung it on the gallows near the front door.

“What do you think?” Irene coldly replied.

“Ouch~ It’s been sometime since the last time I see you being like this; being cold and distant, not to mention rude.” Wendy removed her boots and walked to the living room, followed by Irene.

“What do you want?” Irene stood up while Wendy had sat.

“Orange juice, please~” Wendy replied politely. She knew Irene had an awful mood and muddying it would make Irene enrage. Irene went to the kitchen, poured the juice and gave it one to Wendy and one to herself.

“What happened last time, Rene? Seriously.” Wendy asked after sipping her drink.

“Not good.” Irene scoffed.

“I can see that. Tell me in details please?” Wendy took the couch pillow and placed it on her lap. Irene with a sigh then told Wendy what occurred last time.

“I see. So that’s what made you feeling despair like now?” Wendy nodded while assessing the information inside her head.

“Yes.” Irene murmured.

“Only one time and it has succeeded in turning your mood upside down like this? Oh come on! Is this the best effort you told me you would give? Is this all? Tch~ disappointing.” Wendy shrugged.

“What the~” Irene grew angry.

“What?! It is true. Let’s do some flashback~ Let me refresh what Seulgi had done to get you. She followed you everywhere for years! Do I need to repeat? YEARS!! And when she confessed, she was being embarrassed by your ex who ended up cheating on you.” Wendy argued firmly.

“But it’s different now.” Irene defended.

“Of course, it is different because you are the one who is crazy after her. But, different from her situation back then, you have advantage here~ She still has the same feelings as you at the very least. What lack is only braveness, confidence, and faith that you can prevent her from seeking others. Because if you want to be official with her, you really need to stop being a cry baby, stop complaining, and get your back there!” Wendy halted to take a breath.

“Get her! Why is it so hard to penetrate it into your stupid brain?!” Wendy stated frustratingly.

“Yah! I am not stupid, okay?! Don’t you remember back then when I was-“

“I am not talking about educational matters here! Let me tell you this one last time because I promise I won’t suggest anything again after this! Stop being pessimistic and grab your chance to have Seulgi before it’s too late. Trust me, you will regret and think that you are the biggest dickhead in the world when you knew how stupid you were to miss the chance and let Seulgi fall for another.” Wendy said breathlessly.