"Hm, that's strange. I thought it would work. It usually does, doesn't it?"

"Well, it obviously didn't work, because Seulgi ran off afterwards and we haven't spoken a word to each other since." Wendy huffed, crossing one leg over the other as her friends Joy and Chen mulled over her current situation. They didn't appear as concerned as she felt, but at least they were trying to help despite their preoccupation with their own responsibilities. They didn't have a lot of free time, being the active, overachieving college students they were, so Wendy was thankful that her friends had even bothered to show up at her place when she asked. All she had wanted to gain from kissing Seulgi the other night was to remind the girl that she liked her. Not Irene Bae. From what her sources were telling her, Seulgi and Irene were getting a little too close to each other. Wendy wasn't going to turn a blind eye to that and take her chances of losing Seulgi to a serial dater who was only going out with her for kicks.

Joy pursed her lips, a sympathetic look crossing her features. "Have you ever considered the possibility that Seulgi might not actually like you? At least not anymore? People have been talking and I've heard that she and Irene seem pretty happy together." Wendy quirked a brow at her friend, and she shrugged. Chen simply nodded in agreement with Joy's words.

Wendy could only sigh. She picked her phone up from her nightstand. "There's only one way to know for sure. I'll just ask her myself."

After exchanging what had felt like enough kisses to make up for the ones she'd missed during the nineteen years of her life, Seulgi quietly sat beside Irene. It was all clear to her now, and judging by the equal silence from Irene, maybe it was the same for her too. Seulgi had never felt so stupid; it was so obvious, this entire time, but she was so blinded by the thought of her so-called 'crush' on Wendy that she didn't take the time to step back and think about how she really felt - until now. What would it all mean anyway, when she and Irene have already gone this far? She'd never thought for one second that it would come to this, never expected it, never prepared for it. Irene most likely didn't either.

"That was incredible."

Irene snapped out of her reverie and returned her attention to the now speaking Seulgi. "What was?"

"The first kiss you gave me. And all the ones after too - but you had asked me about the first one right afterwards and I never gave you a real answer. I just kissed you back." Seulgi explained with a blush on her cheeks that had probably been there since the first time Irene kissed her. "So that's my official answer: 'it was incredible'." An embarrassed yet glad smile stretched across Irene's lips, and Seulgi internally sighed at the sight. It really took her that many kisses to realize that the feelings Irene's smiles gave her were most definitely not normal between friends, or between people who were dating each other simply for experience. Seulgi wet her lips, anticipating the next words that were soon to come out of her own mouth. "Irene."

"Hm?"

"I think I like you."

For some reason, Irene didn't appear all that surprised, or she did at excellent job of masking it. It turned out to be the latter, as the hesitation and slight stutter in her voice uncovered the fact that she too, did not expect Seulgi's sudden confession. "...don't you like Wendy?"

"I don't think so. Maybe not anymore? I don't know." Seulgi felt like she was betraying Irene, who had only agreed to help her gain experience, not carry the burden of her feelings for her. She also felt like she had betrayed Amber, Luhan, Suzy, and everyone else who had also helped her for the sake of her crush on Wendy. She even felt bad for Wendy herself, who had kissed her so suddenly the other day, thinking that she liked her. She had pulled everyone around her into an unnecessarily twisted situation. Still, she was going to tell Irene how she felt, because she needed to and also because she truly didn't know what else she could do at this point. "I truly enjoy spending time with you and getting to know you. I've realized that Wendy has never made me feel the way you do. Comfortable. Safe. Warm. I can't really think straight right now and the words are totally going over my head but...you're just a genuinely great person." Seulgi wasn't going to expect everything to perfectly come together like they do in fairy tales. Whatever the result was, whatever it came down to, she was never going to blame Irene. "I know this is really sudden. You don't have to have an answer for me now. You don't even have to respond at all, really. I just need to know where we should go from here."

Seulgi gave Irene the minute she would need to process what she had just told her. She didn't seem angry or upset - just confused, and that was more than understandable given the circumstances. "I'm sorry Seulgi, but I'm going to need some time to think about this first. I'll let you know as soon as I figure things out. Is that okay?" She seemed apologetic, and Seulgi was already bracing herself for another rejection. Still, she managed to muster up a weak smile.

"Of course it is."  

"Um, I should get going then. It's late." Irene stood up from the couch, and Seulgi followed, walking the other girl to the door. She offered Seulgi a smile, though it felt more courteous than anything else. "I'll see you later, I guess. Good night, Seulgi."

"Good night, Irene."

With that said, the girl was gone, and Seulgi finally felt her heart drop to her churning stomach. She allowed a sigh to escape from her lips as she walked towards her room. Was it a stupid move to tell Irene about her feelings right away? She was sure of them, at least, but maybe she could've just withheld the confession and ended their experimental relationship right then and there. She could've spared Irene her time and the obligatory countdown to an expected rejection. She was too honest, and maybe impulsive, for her own good. 

As soon as she reached the hallway leading to the bedrooms, Seulgi spotted three familiar faces peering at her through a crack in the door to Amber's room. She narrowed her eyes as they grinned at her. One by one, they walked out the room and unconsciously formed a conversational circle with her. "Were you listening in on my conversation with Irene?" She questioned the visibly excited trio.

Luhan shook his head with a proud smile. "No, we actually were not eavesdropping, being the kind and respectful friends that we are - but we might happen to know that you made out with Irene on our couch. So congrats for the most action you've gotten thus far in your entire life, Seul!" The blond suddenly let out an obnoxiously loud cheer that only Yeri echoed. Amber at least smiled, but Seulgi was going to have to eventually rain down on their little parade.

Yeri jumped up and down as if she were on the receiving end of everything behind their mini impromptu celebration. "This is the best day ever! I'm so happy for you, Seulgi!" She told the older girl as she gave her several excited pats on the back with both hands. Somehow, she managed to look even more excited as she turned towards Amber with expectant, sparkling eyes. "So, does this mean that I receive at least half of my payment now?"

"Um, excuse me?" Seulgi asked as she and Luhan shot questioning glances at both Amber and Yeri.

"Is this really the time to be asking that?" Amber said to Yeri, who nodded her head vigorously. In the meantime, the confused pair went completely ignored.

Yeri tapped on her watch. "I'm not working for free, you know."

"The original agreement stated that you wouldn't get paid unless they became a real couple." Amber argued back as her roommates' bewilderment only seemed to increase as her conversation with Yeri progressed. "Are you really going to make me pull it up on my phone?" Yeri merely puffed out her cheeks in flustered silence.

"Hold on - you're the one who hired Yeri?!" Seulgi hissed, jabbing a finger into Amber's deadpan face. "Why would you even do something like this?"

"I thought that Irene would help you get over Wendy. You were very upset about the rejection you know. Being with Irene would be like...the boost of confidence that would help you get back on your feet. Yeri here is actually the one who matched me up with Suzy, so I figured that she might be able to help you too."

Instead of the explosive reaction from Seulgi that Amber had expected when the revelation would be made, Seulgi only sighed. Her friends were puzzled by her lack of response, knowing immediately that something was up with the girl. "If this were revealed any other time, I would feel absolutely scandalized and I would probably attempt to fight you, but I have much more important things to concern myself with. Like a certain Irene Bae-shaped problem."

"What do you mean?" 

"What I mean is that I like Irene! For real!" Seulgi snapped.

Yeri let out a sharp, slightly overdramatic gasp