SATURDAY. Usually Kang Seulgi would be up late after playing games all night. She’d wake up to get some brunch and then go back to her gaming station. She’d spend the day like that, busy with exploration and doing quests. But that special Saturday, Seulgi went out for a date. Yes, a date. Something that she never had in 28 years of her life (at least officially).

It was a date but Seulgi was wearing her usual casual clothes–a baggy shirt paired with cargo pants. Since Joohyun forbade her to tie her hair in a messy bun, she tried to tie her hair in a high ponytail with her fringe parted in the middle like a curtain. 

She was standing in front of Hongdae station, leaning on a random wall while on her phone. She even caught the attention of some passersby but Seulgi would never know about it. She won’t even believe it once you tell her that she made heads turn. 

A familiar car then stopped in front of her and a smile automatically curved up her lips. That same smile widened even more when her date got out of the car. 

“Seulgi-unnie!” Her date waved at her, the smile on her face was as bright as the sun. Seulgi thought that sunflowers would surely mistake her as the sun. 

“Sooyoung-ah!” Seulgi greeted the said girl who immediately latched at her arm. 

“Sorry, Unnie! Did you wait long?” Sooyoung asked. 

Seulgi answered with a cute shaking of her head. “No, I also just got here.”

The window of the car then rolled down and revealed the unamused face of Sooyoung’s driver—Seungwan. 

“Kang Seulgi.” Seungwan called in a deep voice. Seulgi turned to her and Sooyoung started to chuckle at the face of her wife. “You better take care of Sooyoungie. If she comes back home with any sort of injury then I am going to—”

“I know, I know.” Seulgi shooed her away. “Just go and enjoy your department’s workshop.”

Seungwan could only shake her head but a smile finally curved up her lips soon after. “Alright, see you tomorrow at the final rehearsal. 5PM sharp.”

“You know I won’t be late. I live right in the company building.” Seulgi answered. 

“Okay.” Seungwan then turned to her lovely wife. “See you later, jagiya~”

“Eung! See you later~”

Seungwan then dashed away as honking from the cars behind started. Seulgi and Sooyoung just looked at each other with smiles on their faces. This is the first time in a very long while that they are going out with just the two of them. 

Oh, right. Seulgi’s date was supposed to be someone else. It should’ve been Kim Yerim, the daughter of the chairman of the company where Seulgi works. But due to unexpected circumstances, Yerim had to cancel her date with Seulgi. 

Our bassist was already in Joohyun’s car at that time when Yerim called. The intern sounded really irritated while talking to Seulgi. She told her how she already booked everything and all but her mother had to take the best timing to call her to go shopping to Paris. Since Yerim and her mother don’t meet regularly due to their family’s circumstances, the young lady grabbed the chance to spend some time with her mother. Seulgi won’t be going anywhere anyway. (maybe)

Seulgi was actually relieved that the date was cancelled. She was definitely not prepared for it. Heck, she doubted she could even focus on that date after everything that’s happening in her life. The Chairman’s daughter asking her for a date, a top singer showing interest in her and also asking her out, and then her department manager saying that she needs her to be with her that night.

It was already late at night when Seulgi thought of Sooyoung. Joohyun was already sleeping beside her while holding her other hand. She is really confused about the things that are happening to her so she thought to go to the only person in the world who enlightened her into a lot of things. 

She was relieved when Sooyoung replied and agreed to go out with her even though it was a hastily scheduled date. She sent Sooyoung the details of the meeting place before turning off her screen. 

The two started to walk in the streets of Hongdae while catching up on little things. They went straight to the chicken ribs restaurant they used to dine at during their university days. 

“Finally! It’s about time!” 

Seulgi wasn’t surprised at Sooyoung’s reaction about the upcoming marriage of her brother. They were all waiting for him to get married for the longest time now. They knew so well how much the guy wanted to form a family of his own despite having a lot of problems with his own parents. A lot of people in his closed circle admire him for having that mindset. 

“He told me once that he has a girlfriend but he never showed her to us.” Seulgi added in between snickers. “Knowing him, I thought he would present the girl to our family right away but he actually chose to keep her from us and surprise us with the news that he’s already expecting a child. Silly brother.”

“I’m really happy for Byullie Oppa.” Sooyoung said with a sincere smile on her face. “I hope he gets the happiness he deserves. He already got a fair share in the industry, it’s really about time for him to settle.”

“Right.” Seulgi put some meat on Sooyoung’s plate to cool it off before being consumed. She then placed some on her own mouth and started to chew slowly. Sooyoung smiled happily at the sight of her Seulgi-unnie eating in front of her. 

“But Unnie…” Sooyoung called, which made Seulgi look back at her. “You didn’t call me just to tell me about this news, right?”

Sooyoung leaned a little forward, flashing Seulgi that comforting smile. “There’s something bothering you, am I right?”

Seulgi looked a bit surprised for a moment but a smile replaced it right away. “You really know your unnie well.”

“Of course!” The younger girl snickered. “So, what is it that’s concerning my Seulgi-unnie.”

“Hmm… You have to promise me first that you won’t tell Seungwan about this.” 

Sooyoung eyebrows shot up with that statement. “I guess Seungwan-unnie knows the people involved?”

“Well…” Seulgi sighed, she didn’t even know where to rest her eyes. “It’s… I… I just really want to ask you what… you liked about me back then.”

“Huh?” Sooyoung lost her grip to her chopstick as her face grew red. “U-Unnie, I’m already married—“

“It’s not like that, silly!” Seulgi looked away, her ears were so red. “I am just really, really curious. Recently, a lot of confusing things have been happening to me.”

“Go ahead.” Sooyoung ate some more meat. “I am listening, Unnie.”

“Hmm…” Seulgi slouched a bit as she started with her story. She was staring blankly at their table. “Recently, there are people who I think are showing interest in me.”

The younger girl’s eyes widened as she froze. “Isn’t that great?”

“I don’t know…” Seulgi looked a bit stressed. “I am confused if they are really interested in the way that I am thinking or just really bored or just pitying me. I mean… They are people whom I just met like once and then started showing interest in me soon after.”

“Woah…” Sooyoung also slouched a bit. “Your first encounter with them must be really unforgettable…”

Seulgi smiled at the absurdity. “No way. One of them called me ugly from head to toe while the other one I just met by a vending machine. There was really nothing special to those meetings. That’s why I don’t understand what they would like about me.”

Sooyoung pressed her lips together as she thought. “Just by listening to your story, I don’t really find anything remarkable about those meetings, especially the one who called you ugly. Who is this person? Let me teach them a lesson!”

“Nah…” Seulgi picked her chopsticks up. “You won’t like to be her enemy, Sooyoungie.”

“Who said I am going to be her enemy? I am just going to teach her a lesson! There are no ugly people in this world! There are just ugly mindsets!”

“Okay, okay…” Seulgi placed more meat on her plate. “Calm down and eat more. That person who called me ugly doesn’t seem so bad at all either. She’s actually caring in a sense. She asked me for a date today but she had to cancel it because her mother wanted to spend time with her. Her parents are divorced so she’s balancing her time for the both of them.”

“Ohh…” the younger girl was taken aback. “That must be the reason for her attitude. But hey, it’s no excuse to treat people meanly.” Sooyoung smiled at the thought of her Seulgi-unnie actually going on dates now. 

“You know? When she was telling me things about my appearance, I pretended that I was deaf and mute and did sign language to her.”

Sooyoung almost blew the food out of . “You what!?”

Seulgi chuckled while remembering it. “Yeah. It was really funny that I resolved to do that. The next time we met, she actually mastered sign language and even started to work which she really hated.”

“Ohh…” Sooyoung nodded at the new information. “I guess something happened after your first encounter that made her change her mind about you? She doesn’t seem like a bad person overall. How about the other person?”

“Ah… That one.”

Sooyoung noticed the ears of her unnie reddening. Her eyes narrowed.

“I thought I did something wrong when I first met her so I gave her my calling card to just call me and discuss the matter. I didn’t hear from her until this week. She… She gave me a call saying that she’s actually looking forward to meeting me again.”

“Uh-hm… So, did you guys meet again?”

Seulgi nodded. “Yes. We met again because of work but she was already asking me out that same night. I just thought that it was a bit dangerous to meet with her separately because of the nature of our work. I just don’t see the reason why she seems so interested in me.”

“I see…” Sooyoung’s eyes narrowed even more. “That’s really a bit confusing. I think for now, it is safe to say that they are attracted to you outwardly.”

The older girl’s eyebrows shot upwards. “You mean physically? Like my appearance?”

Sooyoung nodded slowly. “Yes. That’s—”

Seulgi suddenly burst out into laughter. “That’s probably the most absurd…” Her voice trailed off when she saw that Sooyoung was throwing daggers at her. “...reason… or not?”

“Unnie…” Sooyoung whined. “How many times should I tell you? You are really, really beautiful! I don’t care about what your family thinks about your appearance, you are one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever met. You have a very striking visual! Why can’t you believe me!?”

“S-Sooyoungie?” Seulgi was looking at the other tables because Sooyoung was whining rather loudly. “T-Tone it down…”

“Haa…” The younger girl sighed loudly. “Please always remember, you’re really wonderful. Not just by the physical appearance but also inside. You’re one of the gentlest and most caring people that I met in my entire life. Even if other people say they are not attracted to you outwardly, I know you would win them with that golden heart of yours…”

Seulgi scratched her cheek. “So… Is that what you liked about Unnie?”

Sooyoung puffed her cheeks as she looked back at Seulgi. “Unnie, I liked everything about you! I swooned with your looks and I melted with your kind heart. Even if you were some sort of a loner, I loved every flaw there was in you. I loved how you smile, I loved how you laugh. I also loved the look you have in your eyes whenever they are on me…”

Seulgi’s back slowly straightened as Sooyoung continued with the list of the things she loves about Seulgi. She didn’t know that Sooyoung actually viewed her that way. It was all new to her. If she heard all this information months ago then she would probably be bawling her eyes out now but it brought her a different kind of comfort.

“And with all this reason, my most favourite is…” A shy yet endearing smile lit up Sooyoung's face. “I just really loved it when I was with you. It was like the best feeling in the world during that time.”

“I see…” Seulgi felt her heart swell with warmth. She smiled back at Sooyoung. “Then what made you give Unnie up then?”

Sooyoung sneered. She was expecting this question. “Well, I was basically dongsaeng-zoned.”

“Dongsaeng-zoned?” 

The younger girl rolled her eyes. “Unnie! Whenever you talk with me you always address yourself as unnie! Unnie is this, Unnie is that! It was like you were drawing a line between us. It was like you were telling me that our relationship was only up to that! Unnie, unnie, unnie! I took it as a sign to just give up!”

“Huh?” Seulgi felt like everything was swirling. She dongsaeng-zoned Sooyoung? She knew her feelings for the girl were never shallow but she didn’t expect that the way she addressed herself in front of the girl was what bombed things down. What’s even more shocking was that she is feeling the same way towards that certain someone now. “D-Does that mean there might really be something else…?”

“What are you suddenly murmuring over there, Unnie?” Sooyoung pouted.

“N-Nothing…” 

The two then proceeded to eat but Sooyoung couldn’t calm herself down. She hasn’t heard that name yet and just looking at all the descriptions Seulgi told her about the people interested in her, none of those fit the woman she was rooting for.

“Unnie…” Sooyoung carefully called. “It’s okay to be completely honest with me… You know I won’t judge you, right?”

Seulgi’s shoulders slowly dropped. A faint smile curved up her face. “Does it show in my face?”

“Yes.” Sooyoung tilted her head to the side. “Everytime we have this kind of talk, your face brightens up after even just a little bit. I haven't seen your face lit up yet.”

Seulgi stared at Sooyoung’s face for a while before tilting her head in the same way as Sooyoung. “I’m really glad you’re the one I called for.” 

The older girl looked through the window wearing a look on her eyes that was hard to decipher for the owner herself was confused with whatever she’s feeling. Her confusion even manifested in her confession.

“Sooyoungie, you see…”

This time not only her ears burned, even her cheeks were red.

“...” Seulgi let out another sigh. “I think… I started liking someone. I don’t know… I believe I should not like her but I can’t bring myself to distance myself from her…”

Last night…

“BAE JOOHYUN, what on earth are you even thinking?”

The director was already at her car waiting for Seulgi who just went to take a shower. They agreed to spend the night at Joohyun’s place since Yujin told the director that she’s not allowed into their room. Seulgi didn’t know about it so she got more surprised when Joohyun asked her to spend the night at her flat. 

Usually, no one does overtime during Fridays so the two even waited for about thirty minutes before leaving the company, hoping that no one would see them. Seulgi used that time to take a shower and think abou