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The President Game 
Limited Series 

The Visit: Ep. 7
When Seulgi is absent from school, Irene goes out of her way to make sure she is okay. Heartfelt conversations lead to new confessions.

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once again, irene found herself standing before the two girls who were currently talking excitedly against the lockers before the first class of the day started. 

“miss president!” yeri greeted with an unnatural enthusiasm that startled irene. “perfect, we were just talking about you.”

“what? why?” irene asked, immediately wary as she noted the way joy was smirking. 

yeri tucked her phone away into her blazer pocket, leaning her side against the lockers as she folded her arms to look at irene with a sly grin. 

“so…you and seulgi on the staircase, huh?” she said. 

irene hoped her gulp wasn’t noticeable and her eyes darted between the two girls who currently stared at her with the same mischievous gaze. 

“what are you talking about…” she muttered, tugging nervously on the straps of her backpack and mentally scolded herself for appearing so timid in front of them. 

“you know by now that i can find out anything.” yeri bragged, flicking her hair behind her shoulder. irene knew it was true; the young influencer was very well connected and always seemed to get the latest information or gossip before anyone else. maybe that was why her and seulgi got along so well.

she wondered if seulgi told yeri what happened yesterday or if yeri found out through other means. 

“anyway, that’s not the point.” irene shook her head to refocus. “where is she? seulgi, i mean.” 

yeri exchanged glances with joy, breaking into cheeky grins. “why? do you want to skip class again to kiss-” 

“um!” irene interrupted her quickly, indicating for her to keep her voice down and her flustered reaction made the girls giggle. “please. i just want to know.” she said as seriously as she could. 

“we don’t actually know.” yeri replied and joy nodded when irene looked to her for confirmation.

“maybe she’s at home sick?” joy said. “she seemed pretty weak after school yesterday.” 

irene’s heart sank and her worries increased tenfold. “she did?” she was unable to see seulgi again after school since her driver picked her up as soon as class ended to take her home for her tutoring lesson.

“well, fair enough right?” yeri said and joy nodded. 

irene was about to leave because she had the information she needed but curiosity kept her there. “did seulgi tell you what happened?” 

yeri unwrapped a lollipop, put it in and shook her head. “nah. but the teachers talk.” 

joy looked at irene, knowing what she was thinking about. “seulgi doesn’t tell us much. we a lot but she keeps things private, especially if it’s about you.” 

“yeah, so lame.” yeri quipped. 

“right.” irene said in deep thought and she appreciated joy for the reassurance. “thanks.” she added, looking at the two and dipping her head before she turned to leave. 

she was supposed to be at peace after knowing seulgi was just staying home, but she ended up being unable to concentrate for the entire day, her thoughts only filled with seulgi and concerns about her wellbeing. 

by the end of the school day, she had made up her mind to go and see seulgi. she wouldn’t be able to rest without knowing for sure that seulgi was okay and she felt guilty that she was unwell because of the punishment she took for her. 

and she wouldn’t admit it aloud to anyone, but she also missed her and her stupidly charming smile. 

>>

“irene?” seulgi’s eyes widened when she opened the door. “what are you doing- wait i’m sick, you shouldn’t come here.” she said, holding up her hands to stop her from coming closer. 

“i wanted to see if you were okay.” irene said, gaze filled with worry when she saw seulgi’s pale lips and sweaty forehead. 

“i’m okay, thank you. you don’t have to worry about me.” seulgi said, trying to send her away and close the door. 

“wait!” irene held the door open. “i can’t help but feel responsible for what happened. so please let me take care of you. i know you live alone and i’m worried…” her voice tapered off as the shyness caught up with her. 

seulgi looked stupefied at her request, not expecting her to want to stay. 

“i can wear a mask so that i won’t get sick too.” irene added to address her concern and seulgi looked conflicted but she couldn't possibly say no to having irene’s company.

sometime a while ago on one of their bus rides home, irene asked about seulgi’s family to which seulgi answered that her family lived far away. irene was surprised, asking who seulgi lived with then and that was how she found out seulgi lived by herself in that apartment. 

“so how are you feeling?” irene asked when they were inside the house and irene was surprised at how empty the place was. but then again, seulgi was only a student living alone so furnishing was unlikely to be a priority for her. 

“tired. my legs hurt.” seulgi said but she still had a smile on her face from seeing irene. 

irene walked closer to press the back of her hand against her forehead. “you have a fever too.” she noted with a concerned expression that was mainly covered by the face mask but seulgi could see the furrow of her brows. 

“i’m really happy to see you.” seulgi said sincerely, looking at her with eyes that seemed brighter than before.

irene was thankful her blush was concealed by the mask. she cleared , glancing towards the spotless kitchen. “have you eaten anything today?” 

“not really hungry.” seulgi admitted. 

irene frowned again. “you need to eat to recover.” she lectured and seulgi just nodded. “go and lie down, i’ll make something. and drink a lot of water.” she instructed. 

“i love it when you tell me what to do.” 

“shut up.” irene muttered, pushing a smirking seulgi the other way and heading to the kitchen. seulgi obediently headed to lie down on the couch in the living room with a water bottle in hand and she made sure she could still see irene from where she laid. 

after observing her for a short while, an amused smile grew on her face. “you don’t know how to cook, do you?” she spoke up, making irene turn around and look at her embarrassedly. 

“no! i just…i’ve never really tried.” she admitted.

“cute.” seulgi murmured out of earshot. 

“it can’t be that hard, right?” irene said self-reassuringly but she was nervous. she had confidently bought the ingredients for the soup to make it herself but in hindsight, she should’ve asked the family chef to cook it first before she came here. 

“are you scared of the chicken?” 

“no.” irene lied but she eyed the meat on the counter warily. 

seulgi chuckled, getting up from the couch. “i can do that part.” 

“no, you need to rest!” irene tried to argue but seulgi made her way into the kitchen to roll up her sleeves and wash her hands. “aren’t you tired?” she asked. 

“nope. it’s strange.” seulgi said thoughtfully. “seeing you restored all my strength immediately.” she grinned and irene scoffed, flicking some water at her as punishment and seulgi giggled. 

“the recipe said to chop this.” seulgi said, pointing at the green onions on the chopping board.

“i did.” 

“the recipe said to chop this finely.” seulgi reiterated with a teasing laugh and irene stomped her foot angrily, making seulgi laugh more. “i’m just kidding, i’m sorry.” she said, feeling bad for making fun of her. “i really appreciate you doing this for me. and…” she stopped and didn’t finish her sentence. 

“and what?” irene asked. 

seulgi bit her lip, suppressing a smile. “and i wish i wasn’t sick because i really want to kiss you again.” 

irene’s brain could’ve short circuited from how honest and direct seulgi was with her words, and she felt the heat crawl up her neck and to her ears. 

“then hurry up and get better.” she mumbled, distracting herself with the onions because she was too flustered and her mind was now filled with the thought of kissing her again.

“okay.” seulgi said with a grin, turning to take the chicken from the counter. she looked over again at irene who was focused on preparing the rice and her gaze lingered for longer as the smile stayed on her face. 

“what?” irene asked, looking up eventually and noticing her stare. “am i doing something incorrectly?” she glanced down at her bowl worriedly. 

“no, it’s just that no one’s ever done this for me before.” seulgi said with a small smile. “you’re the nicest person i’ve ever met.” 

irene felt shy from the heartfelt compliment and it reminded her of one of their earlier interactions the first time she walked her home. 

“just president duties, right?” she said nonchalantly and seulgi laughed happily. 

>>

“not too bad for a first timer, right?” 

seulgi smiled, looking up at her. “not bad at all.” and saw the smug smile grow on irene’s face. “and thank you, for cooking and for being here with me.” 

irene’s gaze softened and she gently brushed her fingers through her hair before touching her forehead to feel her temperature. she was still warm but the temperature was going down and seulgi already seemed less fatigued than before. they were sitting side by side on the couch after eating and the television was on but neither of them paid it any attention. 

“you’re welcome. it was the least i could do after what you did for me.” she said. 

seulgi smiled and laid her head back down against irene’s shoulder, resting contently with the comfort of irene’s presence beside her. 

“do you ever get lonely?” irene spoke up after a while. she couldn’t really imagine living alone at such a young age. 

“sometimes.” seulgi replied in a murmur and irene was secretly thankful for tonight where seulgi was sick because it seemed to make her more honest and serious. 

“do you miss your family?” irene asked. there was a brief pause and she wondered if she had asked the wrong question. 

“not really.” seulgi eventually said. “i am happy like this.”

irene was curious what her relationship with her family was like if she was happier living alone but before she could prompt her further, seulgi had turned it on her. 

“are you happy with your home?” 

irene was stuck for words and seulgi shifted her position to look up at her with an inquisitive but patient gaze. seulgi’s words from the other night at her house came back to her mind and she swallowed, making the decision to be honest with her too. 

“you were right about my family.” she said slowly, working up the courage and seulgi’s gaze didn’t waver as she listened attentively.

“dad remarried after mom died and my new mom was a lot richer, famous, and with a reputation to uphold.” she said. “we’re always being watched and judged, we have to be careful with everything we do because we have to keep up the act of a perfect happy family.” she continued and seulgi nodded, encouraging her to keep going. “and people believe it but it’s not true at all…” she confessed. 

“but we are not u